Writers Block . .

[Stofferson]

Coming up to start writing for our 3rd album.

I've never been a riff machine, but when i do come up with something, it fits well in our sound. lately it's just the same nuances around the blues scale, or harmonic minor and quite frankly it's boring.

i'd say you always want to progress and grow through each of your albums, especially with the work and gigs we've done. A bit of a workaholic with my music stuff and always want to be doing something.

Anyway, any tips on freeing the mind / fingers, inspirado?

 

[oldslapper]

Maybe try writing on a different instrument than you would normally do? 
What’s your “go to method”. Lyrics first? Riff/chord patterns first? Try changing stuff around. 

Read some different literature to get inspired for a story/theme?

I feel your frustration but changing my normal MO tends to “prime the pump”. 
Hope you find your flow soon?

[BigRedX]

IME at any one time you've either got the inspiration or you haven't.

Also IME if you don't have the inspiration, there's no point in forcing it and it's probably a sign that you should move on to something new musically.

[Cato]

Maybe try writing something in a totally different genre?

Stay completely away from the blues and see if you come up with something different.

Maybe one of your band mates can 'blues it up' a bit later so it fits more with the band's usual style.

[dave moffat]

Listen to some stuff you wouldn't normally go near, maybe some Spanish style stuff and Phrygian mode.

[Monkey Steve]

Something, anything for a change, or a new spark.

for me it’s changing the strings on the bass - the fresh, zingy brightness of new roundwounds always makes me want to play, and playing makes me come up with new bass lines

try some different things and see what works for you

[Lozz196]

I’m pretty much in the “if it’s not there don’t force it” camp. Many a time I’ve sat down and tried to get riffs/songs and ended up with nothing, however the times I’ve found most productive have been when I’ve simply sat down to play for the sake of it. At that point I seem to be able to produce good working ideas. These sessions usually start with me selecting songs I know how to play on YouTube,  playing along then going off on a tangent and ending up with some workable ideas. Probably as my mind was relaxed by that point I suppose, just enjoying playing stuff I love,

[Twigman]

1 hour ago, Stofferson said:

Anyway, any tips on freeing the mind / fingers, inspirado?

 

Take one of the songs on a previous album and stick a wav of it in your DAW. Reverse the wav file and play it backwards. play along with it - you'll have a new bassline, that works, in no time.

I've done this a few times when lost for inspiration.

 

 

Ooops - giving away secrets!

Edited October 24, 2019 by Twigman

[DanOwens]

I like to take some simple chord changes - boil them down to the simplest concepts, then write around that. So Sheikh of Araby has a passage in it (I / V7b5 / ii / V) that fits with Meghan Trainor's 'All About that Bass' (I / ii / V / I) so I've just written a tune around some ii / V / I type changes and I love it. So simple, so consonant, but very easy to depart from. 

I should say I'm not writing jazz though.

[Stofferson]

Thanks Guys, some great points here.

it's not always a case of if it ain't there don't force it, I do in general struggle to break outside my usual box of licks so to speak.

So any tips on breaking the mould is all welcome.

Honestly, i just plug into garage band make a beat and see what comes out, sometimes with 'G***tar.

I may be pushing myself to write a masterpiece every time as opposed to tinkering or jamming.

 

 

 

[dave moffat]

Inspiration for lyrics - try people watching, go to restaurant or pub with a small notepad, grab drink then sit at a table upstairs overlooking a square/train station/bus stop and just watch the world go by, bound to be something/one grabs your attention, so maybe make up a backstory.

Shopping malls work too and give you something to do while the Gf/missus (may they never meet) takes hours spending all the royalties your not gonna get.

[4000]

Most of my writing happens in my head. It’s then a case of translating that onto instruments/vocals. Instrument first is generally a last resort and suggests I’ve run out of ideas.😉

Assuming you can sing passably, then sing stuff. Melodies, bass lines, guitar parts etc. Then work out what you’ve sung. 

[Guest oZZma]

5 hours ago, Lozz196 said:

I’m pretty much in the “if it’s not there don’t force it” camp. Many a time I’ve sat down and tried to get riffs/songs and ended up with nothing, however the times I’ve found most productive have been when I’ve simply sat down to play for the sake of it. At that point I seem to be able to produce good working ideas. 

I can't "force" it either... I have had long periods of time I couldn't write anything decent, and this is one of them... But usually it ends, sooner or later

[Cosmo Valdemar]

Tony Iommi suffered with terrible writer's block after Vol 4. So he moved to a haunted castle, got frightened out of his wits and wrote Sabbath Bloody Sabbath.

So, that's always an option.

[Leonard Smalls]

I find that listening and playing along to music that's different from what I normally play helps... Frinstance, our band's latest song was inspired by me listening to Ornette Coleman's Prime Time and attempting to play along with Jamaaladeen.

I also got lots of inspiration from trying to do some of the chords in Jonas Hellborg's chord book - there were all sorts of inversions and strange chords that I'd never even dreamt of!

Edited October 25, 2019 by Leonard Smalls

[ambient]

The blues scale and harmonic minor are quite some way apart.

I find inspiration from sitting doing nothing in the middle of a forest or by the sea maybe.

I often find that inspiration comes when I’m tired, if I go to bed thinking about something; maybe a piece that I’m working on, or some writing, then I will usually wake up halfway through the night with an idea. I’ve taken to sleeping with my iPad next to me. I use an app that I can write notes in. The subconscious I think is the most creative of elements.