Hoping to Reset Inspiration

Bristol Posse

Bristol Posse

Okey Dokey
So I was feeling kind of “meh” about my song writing and guitar playing. Like I was running out of ideas and inspiration. I’ve written and recorded about twenty songs in the last couple of years, but recently everything I’m doing seems to sound the same as what I’ve already done. Add to this that I have pretty much been exclusively playing my own material for the last year or so and I feel like I have the guitar playing equivalent of tunnel vision.

So rather than feeling sorry for myself and sitting around waiting for some magical new inspiration to hit me out of the ether, I came up with a plan:
I went to the music store and bought a whole bunch of guitar music and lyrics. Everything from Bryan Adams to Zep and anything in between.
Now every week, I’m going to pick one song, learn it and play it out at an open mic/Jam night/party at friends house etc.

This will force me to be constantly looking at how other players/writers have approached things, play styles I never usually venture into (A7X, Black Keys etc), and get good enough to play by next week’s open mic/jam etc. I’ve got enough new songs to work on that I can do this for more than a year if I so desire.

Already signed up to play a Bluegrass festival this weekend which is a completely new style/genre and I'm going to keep it rolling from there

I thought I’d throw this out there in case there are others feeling the same way and looking for ideas to make playing fresh again.
 
Good for you! Seriously

I found my self in that "blah" rut for a long time up until recently. The way I got out of it was to get out of my cave and I went to Guitar Centers "Recording Made Easy" classes for ProTools and Garage Band. I did this primarily to have something to look forward to, but the great thing was the social networking. For those unaware of this, you can do this with out your computer or cell phone.

Anyway, I met a bunch of good people, all musically minded, and from all different view points. So now I'm working with a half dozen other home studio newbies like myself and the enthusiasm for music is running rampant. It's nice to have people to talk gear with, without getting the eye rolls.
 
Bristol Posse said:
So rather than feeling sorry for myself and sitting around waiting for some magical new inspiration to hit me out of the ether, I came up with a plan:
I went to the music store and bought a whole bunch of guitar music and lyrics. Everything from Bryan Adams to Zep and anything in between.
Now every week, I’m going to pick one song, learn it and play it out at an open mic/Jam night/party at friends house etc.

This will force me to be constantly looking at how other players/writers have approached things, play styles I never usually venture into (A7X, Black Keys etc), and get good enough to play by next week’s open mic/jam etc. I’ve got enough new songs to work on that I can do this for more than a year if I so desire.

Already signed up to play a Bluegrass festival this weekend which is a completely new style/genre and I'm going to keep it rolling from there

I thought I’d throw this out there in case there are others feeling the same way and looking for ideas to make playing fresh again.
Click to expand...

Most folks just smoke a doobie.... ;)


It's hard to get out of personal "comfort zones"....which can turn into "comfort ruts".
I try to intentionally just play/record out of my typical style. Maybe grab a different instrument than what I might have typically gone for on past occasions...use a different guitar amp....try a different mic than a go-to....etc.

I'm also working with a female singer now, so she's brought some music to the table with the intention of having me re-arrange it and completely change up the production from how she use to do it...so it's a real nice project, doing the arranging/production/recording, but not having to write all of the songs.
We very well may be expanding this music partnership further out and do a whole album together, and possibly even some playing out live.
She also likes my songs, and I have a pile of stuff I've started, but never did much with it...so now with her involved, I can take my songs and add a whole new twist to them that I might not have done on my own.

I don't honestly bother much with playing covers anymore (though I might record a cover at some point)....but yeah, they can help you with playing chops, especially if you are also performing them live. I kinda avoid the covers mainly so as not to draw too much influence that will translate as a copy to my originals...but that's just my preference for how I work. I also avoid listening to too much music right before writing new songs, so I don't unintentionally "pull" something into my own stuff.

Sometimes.....you just have to take a break and ride out the dull, uncreative periods. I'll stay out of the studio sometimes for weeks at a time when I hit boredom periods...and then when I'm back in the groove, I'll go like mad for weeks and be in the studio every day. Right now, the creativity is flowing real good...so I'm going to ride it as long as I can. :)

Good luck!
 
Go for walks, clear your head, hum some tunes. Hum a bass line, a melody or a beat, walk to the rhythm, get in a groove. I write loads while walking. It's a good way to let your mind wonder. I can write a whole song on a walk.

Also, like Miroslav said, try writing with different instruments. Keyboard, Organ, Bass, Uke, anything you've got.

Personally I never sit down to write and song. I sit and play chords and noodle around. Sometimes something will come out that sounds good while I've been hitting random progressions and skitting over the top with words sometimes, other times melodies or bass lines.

I also read a lot of randomness, fill my brain up with info. Last night I was reading about Caravaggio the painter. There's a song to be written there! Pick a random word from the dictionary or a story from a newspaper, film, book. Adapt it!

Do literally anything you can to get functioning. Always complete a song, even if you know it's rubbish. When it's done, move on. You never know, there might be something in that song that can be recycled in a later song.

My golden rule is : Never write at a computer. TOO MANY distractions! Before you know it the guitar is down, facebox is open and you're talking shite to someone you've not seen in 20 yrs! Pen and paper in a quite spot or little recorder (phone app) on a walk.

That's my 2p worth :thumbs up:
 
Mr Clean said:
Personally I never sit down to write and song. I sit and play chords and noodle around.
Click to expand...

The only time I sit down to write, is when I already have most of the song, and some of the lyrics...and then I'll sit down and just work on the lyrics to get them done...which then allows me to also finish off the song arrangement.

AFA song ideas....most of mine come either from just noodling around, or I may be in the process of tracking for a particular song, so like while I'm getting the guitar amp tone set, I'll be messing around with chords-n-stuff, and....BANG!...I'll get a song idea for another song.
Other ideas come to me just out of nowhere at the oddest times...I may be walking around and like the TV will be on in some other room, and from the distance I might hear some music playing on the TV...BUT....what I'm hearing has nothing to do with what's actually on the TV, since the distance from rooms and all the ambiance ends up "mutating" the actual sound from the TV...so I end up hearing some "song" that really isn't there, but hey, it gives me another song.

No kidding...once I actually heard a background melody while vacuuming! :D
I thought I was hearing music playing...so I turn off the vacuum, and no music. I turn it on again, and there it is, this slow, droning melody line. It was just the motor cycling, combined with the stuff in the room giving it a kind of repeating melody.
When I moved to a different room it went away....go figure! :)
 
Even the most mundane thing is inspiration. I wrote a song about junk mail. There is to much entropy in the world and if were not careful, we'll be buried in junk mail. ;-)
 
Usually I just hear a song on the radio and change it so the verse is the chorus and vice-verse-a (if you will). It's awesome- I can write a dozen songs a day like that! Like when Peter Cetera sings "Like a knight in shining armor, from a long time ago!", I'll change it to something like "Like a night in shining armor, from a long time ago!"... Bingo! Sparkly New Song!
 
I found myself with the same problem after my best buddy and recording partner moved across the country. My recordings and writing all of a sudden became like a string of all the same sounds and even similar cadence and beats. Long story short.....as in a band where all the guys push each other to be better and think and play at the top of their game in the moment......he and I had always done that to each other while writing and recording. I was thinking I had suddenly lost my mojo......and maybe what little talent I had. I changed how I approached my work by just trying styles and instruments I hadn't tried before. I challenged myself. Problem solved........for now.
 
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