Writers block from hell

[guitareben]

I actually think that you SHOULDN'T wait it out, quite the opposite.

You have to realise that the only way people get better at writing is by writing.

Also, you can't just expect songs to happen, they do to some people, but many artists, like Frank Zappa and Sting etc will (or would) allocate large portions of every day (or all day, in Zappa's case) to writing music, like a you would a job.


So yea, just stop fooling along, lock yourself up, and come up with something, anything. Just do SOMETHING.

Also, listening AND LEARNING new music can really help inspire too

 

[osmosis2259]

Listen to new music
Try different tunings
Write in a different environment

 

[Krullnar]

Go out into the forest at night alone with a boombox and A Blaze in the Northern Sky.

 

[JohnIce]

Why do you want to write music so bad? Use this time to pursue alternative endeavours that may or may have to do with music.

For some of us, writing new music is a prerequisite to establishing or maintaining your dream career. Saying "why do you want to write music so bad?" is like asking a car salesman "why do you want to sell cars so bad?".

For me, music is my chosen career because it's what I'm most passionate about, but it doesn't mean that I've got some unrealistic expectation that it's gonna be a dance on rose petals every day. No job is like that. A whole lot of it is just things you "have to do" in order to reach your goals. For me, dealing with writer's block by ignoring it and pursuing alternative endeavours, although it sounds nice, would be shooting myself in the foot in the long run.

 

[DXL]

just get yourself bored, you'll be coming up with riffs and rhythms like rapid fire

 

[Nonexistant27]

Get inspired, maybe go back and listen to bands you liked a few years ago, anything that will get you inspired, a lot of people say that you should take some time off, but that usually doesn't work for me, it tends to make me go backwards in writing and I get more creative ideas the more I keep working then the writing seems weak compared to hours later

but honestly, it's weird, but the best inspiration I get and flow of ideas come when I'm procrastinating from something else more important that I should be doing lol, once the thing I'm supposed to be doing is over I try to ride the inspiration from that, but it goes away after a few days, and it is way easier to write when I was supposed to do something else, this is a pattern I notice I do a lot

I love these threads, it's interesting to see how you guys write

 

[AStarlitNathan]

Simple:

You joined the band because the other guys recognized your writing ability, which boosted your ego and made you feel like you not only could write well, but had to write well.. And that's how it happens. You have to keep with the mentality that you're always in a position of exploration and learning. The more open you are to growth and discovery as a musician, the more creative you'll be. Almost seems counterintuitive, but it's the only way.

Edit: the key is, you absolutely HAVE to be open to making mistakes or writing mediocre/outright bad material. The creative process has to be a flow of ideas, not a process of criticizing everything that comes out until something comes along. If you do that, the criticism will kill your creativity indefinitely.

Haha, harshly true.

I am always trying to push my writing in different directions, I've just been waiting for the new direction to become clear I guess.

Get inspired, maybe go back and listen to bands you liked a few years ago, anything that will get you inspired, a lot of people say that you should take some time off, but that usually doesn't work for me, it tends to make me go backwards in writing and I get more creative ideas the more I keep working then the writing seems weak compared to hours later...

I love these threads, it's interesting to see how you guys write

I made a playlist of some stuff I've been/want to be inspired by since JohnIce kind of helped me realize that having an idea of where I want to go will help, and the playlist is definitely helping me hone in on a sound.

but yeah seeing the wait it out vs. write it out thing is interesting.

Why do you want to write music so bad? Use this time to pursue alternative endeavours that may or may have to do with music.

Well, largely because of the Sound Recording degree I'm in, we have weekly projects that involve song writing, plus my ambitions to write music in general...

I have been pursuing other endeavors (exercising, video games, school work etc.) but as a musician with hopes to work more on a professional scale, I can't really just give up on that.

 

[jeffguy]

I'm one of the main writers in my band. When I get stuck I do a couple of things.

1st is switching tunings. This forces me to play in different ways and get used to different sounds and chords. Lots of ideas come from this alone.

2nd is to make a playlist of NEW music that I'm into. Take some of my favourite ideas and dissect them. See what note is playing against what chord - basically figure out why I like it so much and apply that idea into different structures, riff patterns, etc. Lots of ideas come about this way too.

3rd is to bring by my favourite little riffs or even a chord and free jam with the co-writer in my band. this has worked well for us - even something like a heavy chug breakdown that we want in our next song, so we make it work!

Hope this helps. Keep at it though, if you don't use it you lose it!

 

[DarkWolfXV]

Look for inspiration, maybe the water droplets dropping from the roof outside after rain are dropping in interesting pattern, or time signature, maybe your dog (if you have one) is barking a heavy riff and you dont know it.
Works for me.

 

[irondavidson]

Listen to new music
Try different tunings
Write in a different environment

This is a good advice, or get a new instrument, amp, if you can! New gear always inspires me.

When you practice, dont forget to jam also. Dont concentrate to come up with new things, just paly!

If i dont have anything, many times im just thinking about some catchy drum (, or even just some kickdrum) rhythm picture playing it over and over in my head and start to put notes on it. Often i have already a nice riff (sometimes a song idea) in my head, before i touched even the guitar..

 

[8last]

Sometimes I'll just hit record and let it go for 15 min. Sometimes what I'm playing at the moment doesn't grab me. Then I listen back to the tape and I'm like what was that part? That was cool and then i try to recreate it as a riff or flesh it out into something. Another thing that helps is if I'm not feeling the acoustic,.switch to the 7 string, or the bass or.the keys. A different instrument is sometimes the right ingredient to knock that writers block out

 

[ghostred7]

When you find out, let me know. I've had writers block for 20 yrs due to being stuck in either "i hate music" or "omg....another cover tune to learn....will this band ever write anything original?" (mostly the latter).