General Music Chat

Seriously... I've been blank as a slate for so long.
I have no idea where to start. I've been thinking about writing about not being able to write.

What works for my fellow man to get the creative juices flowing?

Seriously... I've been blank as a slate for so long.
I have no idea where to start. I've been thinking about writing about not being able to write.

What works for my fellow man to get the creative juices flowing?

When you are in a rutt: Kompoz.com is an online workspace for musicians and songwriters. Use it to compose new music with other artists around the world. Got an idea for a song? Record a track. Upload it. Then invite others to add drums, bass, vocals or anything else!

or

Or, search for an existing project and lend a hand! You can search for projects by genre, by artist (other members), keywords and tags, and license type. Kompoz.com is a community site.

Trust me its a boost in a very good way.

I should have sent this to you in a PM, there is a couple of people here I hope don't show up. There forum is still a good one.

Really all you need is some good hooks to build on.
Go to a bar or restaurant and stand near some people talking
and listen in. You will hear phrases you have never heard before.
Bring a note pad but don't be obvious. Write down the catchy things you hear
and when you've got 10 or so. Take them home and diasect each one.
You are an artist, make it happen. The world is full of things to write
about. There's really no excuse for lack of material. Writers block is
a sign of something else distracting you.

I don't feel easy about trying to force creativity. I still sit down and pick for about at least 1/2 hour a night. I play songs that I am working out, several at a time so I don't bore myself to death. I can work on passages to polish them and that is enough to appease me. A lot of the time I end up jamming with my own bad self. Some times I simply enjoy just playing whatever comes to mind. During those jams something may trigger a song idea. If it is lyrics, I write a couple of lines down. If the inspiration keeps up I continue with that. If not, I jot down the idea or record the riffs so I remember how it went and move on.
Sometimes something I heard on the TV or radio starts the creative process. Whenever it does, I head for my guitar. But I can't force inspiration. Maybe some can, I simply can't. I can have an idea and push a bit to complete it if I am enjoying it, but not very often.

I read when I'm stuck, and it works every time! Anything that's out of the ordinary I check out. Sometimes just browsing the Library site will give you a good list of original/imaginative topics.

Check out a bunch of books too. Don't read anything that bores you, it will only slow you down more.

Bang head on piano.

Drink a shot of scotch.

Bang head on piano.

Drink a shot of scotch.

Bang head on piano.

Drink a shot of scotch.

Repeat until some ideas come along or you pass out.

Definitely try all the above. I get a lot of mileage using Klugmo's technique.

Also, I tend to experiment a whole lot with my tone and playing techniques. That's why my equipment changes so often. I study other guitarists, famous or not, dead or alive.

Dissecting other musicians and genres will not only keep you playing and trying new things, but will help in finding your own voice/sound and style.

If you can read music (or tabs), try something wild; once, I listened to and taught myself some Celtic melodies written for violin just to see how they translated into loud distorted guitar.

Good luck, you'll break yourself out of that rut.

I like to leave a guitar set up in an open tuning, forces me to think differently on the neck. Has helped me during dry spells, probably why I always have one tuned to an open G or C.
lol!

Seriously... I've been blank as a slate for so long.
I have no idea where to start. I've been thinking about writing about not being able to write.

What works for my fellow man to get the creative juices flowing?

When you are in a rutt: Kompoz.com is an online workspace for musicians and songwriters. Use it to compose new music with other artists around the world. Got an idea for a song? Record a track. Upload it. Then invite others to add drums, bass, vocals or anything else!

or

Or, search for an existing project and lend a hand! You can search for projects by genre, by artist (other members), keywords and tags, and license type. Kompoz.com is a community site.

Trust me its a boost in a very good way.

I should have sent this to you in a PM, there is a couple of people here I hope don't show up. There forum is still a good one.

Thanks for posting this. This is good to know.

If I become blank, I step away from the music. THere is a pice I have been trying to finish for months. I started to write nonsensical lines to an otherwise nice pice of music. I have not worked on it for months but now it is becoming clear as to what I should do improve and complete the piece. FInally.

For me if it aint happenen then it aint happenen


I can write songs when I dont feel it but they come out very formula sounding. So I just dont sweat it, if its not working.

I can ussually come back later, a day or two and maybe even a month or so and go again.

I agree - Kompoz is a great place for inspiration. Lot a really good musicians on that site and it's much more rock-pop centric than Indaba. I've only managed to join one private project last year, doing a simple guitar track to be looped in a rap song. Overall experience was a good one.

Seriously... I've been blank as a slate for so long.
I have no idea where to start. I've been thinking about writing about not being able to write.

What works for my fellow man to get the creative juices flowing?

When you are in a rutt: Kompoz.com is an online workspace for musicians and songwriters. Use it to compose new music with other artists around the world. Got an idea for a song? Record a track. Upload it. Then invite others to add drums, bass, vocals or anything else!

*snip* .

Seriously... I've been blank as a slate for so long.
I have no idea where to start. I've been thinking about writing about not being able to write.

What works for my fellow man to get the creative juices flowing?

Stop looking ... it's all around us.

I can't write anything worth while when I try. Sometimes the airwaves just give you static. Be patient, it will be back.

For me if it aint happenen then it aint happenen


I can write songs when I dont feel it but they come out very formula sounding. So I just dont sweat it, if its not working.

I can ussually come back later, a day or two and maybe even a month or so and go again.

See ... this is what I mean brother.

Sometimes it takes two to write songs. Right now I'm working with a very young guitarist and we're finding we have a magical chemistry. Even though I'm 3 times his age and then some we find we are on the same wavelength. Tonight we learned five brand new originals. Within a few minutes of each tune we had this incredible groove. Kind of scaring me actually. What happens a year from now? I'd say if you're hitting a wall try finding others to collaborate with. Sometimes one plus one equals infinity. Sometimes just by yourself you equal zero. I know the feeling.