How do YOU beat musician's block?

[Meffy]

Actually I think most instruments - particularly traditional orchestral instruments - are primarily monophonic.

One must never let inconvenient facts get in the way of a good spell of bloviation.

[whiteanxiety]

I don't let musicians block affect me, I just get to work! If I let unmotivation kill my music I will not make any money and not be able to pay rent or buy things I need, so that pretty much motivates me to not goof off in the studio and stare at the screen.

[dan_s]

If people would actually learn an instrument, they would never run out of possibilities, because instead of playing dinky monophonic melodies they could play beautiful polyphonic tapestries.

So folks, learn an instrument.

aren't a lot of instruments monophonic? like a kazoo or someshit.

Actually I think most instruments - particularly traditional orchestral instruments - are primarily monophonic.

-Kim.

yep, woodwinds, brass... not sure about a someshit, but kazoo's as well.

yess, you guys know more about instruments then someshit, although i would think someshit must be monophonic. polyphonic shit- scary thought.

[dirty oscillators]

If people would actually learn an instrument, they would never run out of possibilities, because instead of playing dinky monophonic melodies they could play beautiful polyphonic tapestries.

So folks, learn an instrument.

aren't a lot of instruments monophonic? like a kazoo or someshit.

Actually I think most instruments - particularly traditional orchestral instruments - are primarily monophonic.

-Kim.

yep, woodwinds, brass... not sure about a someshit, but kazoo's as well.

yess, you guys know more about instruments then someshit, although i would think someshit must be monophonic. polyphonic shit- scary thought.

one person can't play polyphonic someshit - but several can. think of the campfire scene in Blazing Saddles.

[whiteanxiety]

If people would actually learn an instrument, they would never run out of possibilities, because instead of playing dinky monophonic melodies they could play beautiful polyphonic tapestries.

So folks, learn an instrument.

aren't a lot of instruments monophonic? like a kazoo or someshit.

Actually I think most instruments - particularly traditional orchestral instruments - are primarily monophonic.

-Kim.

yep, woodwinds, brass... not sure about a someshit, but kazoo's as well.

yess, you guys know more about instruments then someshit, although i would think someshit must be monophonic. polyphonic shit- scary thought.

one person can't play polyphonic someshit - but several can. think of the campfire scene in Blazing Saddles.

Saying "someshit" is the way people talk over here in USA. Like when you add "someshit" at the end the of a sentence, it'e the same as saying "something or other."

It's pretty common to speak this way over here. I notice a lot of people on here are from UK and don't really understand USA lingo.

Really strange. But then again, I have a hard time cause everyone this forum seems to say shit like "bugger" or "take the piss out of" or some wierd UK lingo like that. Maybe I should start making fun of it the way these people are.

[Aroused by JarJar]

If people would actually learn an instrument, they would never run out of possibilities, because instead of playing dinky monophonic melodies they could play beautiful polyphonic tapestries.

So folks, learn an instrument.

The secret of beautiful polyphonic tapestries is that they are woven of
MONOPHONIC melodies, punctus contra punctus. Learn a monophonic instrument, preferably without frets or keys! voice, violin, kazoo, whatever and study counterpoint if you're genuinely interested in "beautiful polyphonic tapestries", rather than totalitarian 12-tET cartoons of them.

If I hear one more piano plunker riding a bunch of string samples and thinking they're making "orchestral music" in a soundtrack I'm going to
f-n squeal in agony.

[dan_s]

Im from NJ, I say someshit, alldayyylong. I was making fun of it myself. we should be thankful for the great cultural diversity here

[dirty oscillators]

Saying "someshit" is the way people talk over here in USA. Like when you add "someshit" at the end the of a sentence, it'e the same as saying "something or other."

It's pretty common to speak this way over here. I notice a lot of people on here are from UK and don't really understand USA lingo.

Really strange. But then again, I have a hard time cause everyone this forum seems to say shit like "bugger" or "take the piss out of" or some wierd UK lingo like that. Maybe I should start making fun of it the way these people are.

i know what it means, but i usually write it as "some shit"...

or i say "that dude was talking some SHIT".

[dirty oscillators]

Im from NJ, I say someshit, alldayyylong. I was making fun of it myself. we should be thankful for the great cultural diversity here

are you from Newark?

[dan_s]

Im from NJ, I say someshit, alldayyylong. I was making fun of it myself. we should be thankful for the great cultural diversity here

are you from Newark?

hell no , close, I say that as people recognize newark.

i meant cultural diversity on this board, but i guess newark too..

[ouroboros]

USE THIS PART!

[Lunatique]

IMO, talent comes in different forms. Some people are talented in being able to play an instrument at virtuoso level, some have the ability to construct beautiful music, and some have lots of great ideas. I see too often people in graphics or music related forums asking about "how do I find inspiration or come up with ideas?" While it is possible to try certain things that might refresh your mind and get your creative juices flowing, but ultimately the ability to be able to come up with ideas without any problem at all is a talent. You either have it or you don't. It's like some really amazing instrument players can perform a piece of music in such a way that no one else on this planet could match, and this person has been exposed to all kinds of great works in music, so it's not like he's lacking in having various references and inspirations to draw from, BUT, as soon you ask this person to come up with an original composition, he draws a blank.

So IMO, non-stop flowing creative ideas is a talent. You can work at it if you don't have it, but you'll never be able to match the guys whose brains are simply wired that way naturally--they NEVER draw a blank, and in fact have TOO MANY great ideas and often can't pick one to concentrate on.

[Lukeyb79]

for me... i just give up or delete it..

i figure if i cant get something dowen in an hour.. its not to be.

I got fed up of having files and files of unfinished work.

if a total block where i cant get anything done... just get pissed...

[artlowell]

I can tell you what SOMETIMES works for me. I believe you said that you already had a loop in play. Assuming that these are notes and not drum sounds, you have already created music that you can work with. Say it's 15 or 20 notes. Maybe 5 or six chords. If you go looking inside that, you are likely to find a sequence, maybe as short as 2 or 3 notes long, that suggests something to you, maybe a new chord progression. You could turn it upside down, or change the meter or change from major to minor.

In classical music, these are called "motifs" and they serve to tie a piece of music together and help keep continuity as the piece moves along and it seems to work at a sub-conscious level. It can do the same thing for any style of music.

[tattiemannie]

Mike-t3 wrote

I think the thing to realise with writers block is that is comes becomes you are trying to better yourself.


You could just write anything but the fact is you want to write to something better than you have before. As long you realise it's part of a learning process then I think it's easier not to be stressed out by it.


Often I find there is something I want to achieve in my head that I can't manage to replicate or perhaps its the otherway around, and I have techniques I want to use but I can't think of a way to use them. Either way its because one part of myself has improved and the other needs to catch up.

If you don't get writers block then perhaps you arent improving?

I can well relate to that!

There was a period of my muso career where it seemed my head wanted to do nothing else but write songs ... and I wrote some bloody good ones! .. and then suddenly I coudn't!
Seriously, I could get on a bus into town, and by the time I got to wherever i was going, I had to get a pen quickly and get it written down. At the same time, had loads of crap songs running around my head in some vain attempt to get better, and some nearly good songs which have been trying to find that last line ( and probably never will ) ever since.

Funny thing though, during this period, if I ever sat down and decided " I'm going to write a song" .... it either didn't happen, or the result was shit!

My 'dry up' happened about 17 years ago, and I dont know if I'll ever find that 'zone' again. However, via various methods, some already mentioned above, I have actually produced more songs/ music/ tunes/ material over the last 4 years than in any other 4 year period in my life! Some very good, some not so good. But I'm writing again!

So my advice is, read all the good advice above! set yourelf excercises if necessary .... but make them stimulating.

Discipline to a structure ... choose a theme, and write a parody of a nursery rhyme ... then take a look at what you've written.
Value the two bar loop you've created. listen to it every now and again ... and one day, maybe when you least expect, an idea will arrive re how to follow it ... hedge your bets! ie. create more 2 bar loops while you wait for that first one to multiply!
Do something different! Dabbling with hitherto untried genre/method/instrument/software/style/approach is not tantamount to changing religion/nationality/sex etc ..... your own personal feel to your writing will not suffer, .. more likely, your songwriting self might feel like it's on a wee adventure holiday and return refreshed!
I think the deadline idea is good, but the danger is that your confidence may be low, and by following a deadline you may end up with something that reinforces your lack of confidence rather than lifts you up ..... on the other hand, you may come up with something that will come good at some point after the deadline.

I think the most important advice already given here is that you have to keep going! there's no reason why you cant write as you did before ... its not like you've lost any ability, maybe just setting the bar too high!

View a good two bar loop as two bars up rather than X number of bars short of X number required.
While on your PC, play around! Break habits! When you are about to hit a note and a voice within you says "No!" .... hit it! ... it might lead you some where!
while away from your PC, look, listen, smell, think, feel! keep a notebook and pen in your pocket ... write stuff down and refer to it now and again ... some of it may be crap, but at least that crap is not running around your head preventing you from finding the clarity required when the good stuff arrives there!

Good luck ... I hope you keep us posted re. this thread .... it could become a resource for more valuable than "PC v's Mac" or even "Which Reverb/Compressor?"