Do you believe in writer's block?

  • Thread starter Thread starter songright
  • Start date Start date

Do you believe in writer's Block?

  • Yes.

    Votes: 63 78.8%

  • No.

    Votes: 17 21.3%
  • Total voters
    80
Maybe we're not talking about substance abuse, rather we are talking about lowering inhibitions. I've always been rather mellow on the outside, but burning up with thought constantly on the inside so puffing the magic dragon or sipping some Gentleman Jack quiets the inner voice, if only long enough to gather some of those racing thoughts, or even stir them up. I only do distilled, or naturally occuring substances these days although I have used LSD on quite a few occasions in the past. I repect other musicians' choices not to partake in these things, but kindly ask that they not shove their own moral beliefs down my throat. I like drugs, and there is a time a place for everything...just not all the time everyplace.
 
I’m sorry that it came across as ‘shoving moral beliefs’ – thought we were involved in a dialogue in which we are all entitled to an opinion.

I saw it more as a warning on a cigarette packet.

I conceded that ‘Ilovejesus’ might be right about substance abuse being a way to liberate neural pathways and create some novel combination of words and music – I just added that the stats on the wall – like the correlation between smoking and cancer- suggest that there is a risk involved in such activity.

Yours, TerraMortim’s, andor Ilovejesus’s use of substances without ruining your lives, is not proof that there are no risks involved; and that should be pointed out to provide balance - so people can make an informed choice.

If the thread had gone the other way and someone was saying the only good songwriter and musician is chemical free I would have opposed that as well.

On the moral front - my only fundamentalism is a hatred of fundamentalists and absolutes – I might have the rhetoric of a preacher on occasions; but that is about as moral as I get.

It is happy hour Hong Kong time so I’m off to the pub. I hope this thread gets back to writers block again

Cheers

Burt
 
Whatmysay said:
A lot of really good drug addicts who ruined theirs and lives of others came out of substance abuse.

I lot of really good music also came out of being dumped, lied to, betrayed by your best friend, being tortured by oppressive regimes, having good friends die (obviously not the one that betrayed you), spending time in prison. I'm not recommending it, just stating a fact.

There are a lot of healthier ways to alter your perspective on the world. While there is a clear connection between drug abuse and creative people - I think you are pushing it to say that it is a 'fact' that substance abuse actually makes us more creative.

I think this whole drugs and creativity thing is an over–romantisation with the 60s and I would question whether it was the drugs or the artists inate creativity that produced the songs?

In fact a lot of artist who have had trouble with substance abuse and have recovered often talk about how they rediscovered the writing abilities of their youth, that had been clouded for so many years by drugs and alcohol.

Writers block is just another of life's frustrations if you resort to drink or drugs to relieve it then it is no different than drinking because you hate your boss! If you use chemicals for that reason then you need help.

I’m no saint and probale should be in ‘recovery’ myself but, I think it is a dangerous point of view to be posted unchallenged - you may be right, but it is a hell of a risk to take just because the old song writing isn't flowing for a couple of weeks or even months.
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Excellent points.
 
Lately I've been using downloaded acoustic drum loops. I love them! A real drummer makes money (yeah, I pay for them), and I get incredible beats, fills, etc. that are easy to copy and paste into my songs.

My drum programming days on Fruity Loops might be at an end. I suck at drums, and they are so important in a song.


Anyway, I make a drum track, and since they sound so good, I grab my guitar and bass and start jamming. A lot of good ideas are creeping up.

I'm more jazzed as a home recording musician than ever. Drums have always been a thorn in my side, because I have no ability to play, my creativity with percussion is nil, and the programs I use sound fake.

Not anymore. Now I'm in great shape with drums. And it's improving my creativity dramatically.

And the occasional glass of wine.
 
What? Does this thread have writer's block!?

Whatmysay, I wasn't attacking you! Sorry that I made you write so much! lol We're all just giving advice here, good bad, and sometimes ugly. You remind me of college. In the way that when I was "attending" courses online, I really had to back up the information that I posted, otherwise it was merely an opinion. We're LOOKING for opinions here, and you made me feel like I was in college again! That's a compliment.. I loved college! Great job with that!

ILoveJesus, I used drum loops for years. I used to program parts. Time consuming. This "acoustic drum beats for hire" thing is great! Do they you offer choices on the style, set, etc? If I'm paying for drums then...pa rum pum pum pum, little drummer boy! I want a jazz trap set played with brushes, and give me some more dry thump on the bass drum...and MORE COWBELL! Dude, that ride cymbal has a horrible ring to it..can you fix that?! Can you do that, Mr. Virtual Drummer? Thanks. lol Do they offer choices like this? That's a great idea. Session man in a box beamed over cyberspace into your inbox. I sometimes wish some drummers would give me beats in this way. I'm sure the real beats open up a lot of creative ideas. It's definitely much more respectable, from a recording and mixing perspective. How do the beats sound anyway?

I love using the cajon for drum beats. I also play acoustic guitar so the cajon naturally compliments it. I even get some separation between the bass drum-like sound and the snare sound by double miking it or plugging the B Band in on the Meinl Cajon. I pan the bass slightly off to the left just in front of the bass guitar, and the snare to the right just as slight. Turn it up. Add a touch of reverb. Some drum compression. Fiddle with the EQ. Drums.
 
songright said:
What? Does this thread have writer's block!?

Whatmysay, I wasn't attacking you! Sorry that I made you write so much! lol We're all just giving advice here, good bad, and sometimes ugly. You remind me of college. In the way that when I was "attending" courses online, I really had to back up the information that I posted, otherwise it was merely an opinion. We're LOOKING for opinions here, and you made me feel like I was in college again! That's a compliment.. I loved college! Great job with that!
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. . . You make me feel so young . . . you make me feel so spring has sprung! Happy to help.

I find that guitar teaching books can brake through blocks – take a ‘turnaround’ from ‘Blues for beginners’ and reverse it or change the note values and start to build a new riffs. Weird scales are often a great source of inspiration. Like the drum loops having something fixed (particularly if done by someone else) to respond to sets up a creative dialogue - rather than the monolgue we have with the empty sheet of paper. Thats why collaboration can work too!

A radical setting on an FX pedal or even a new FX pedal (any excuse to buy one of course!) can sometimes get the flow going.

I thinking trying hard to do something else is also great for writing – I find if I am working on my chops, or trying to recorded the muse is always annoyingly knocking at the door – I’m not sure if it is a form of procrastination but it can be very productive.
 
songright said:
Wow, lots of posts! Thanks everyone. Haven't been on in a couple of days, I'm still recovering from a kick@ss gig on Thursday followed by a flat tire in the freezing rain!

I checked into the house concert environment that you were speaking of and that looks like a cool collective! Good luck! I'm going for venues that traditionally feature acoustic acts. The fact that we sound like a full band @ 1/3 the volume is a miracle for those venues. I have been playing a biweekly gig for over 2 1/2 years because of the strippped-down approach. Besides, it's eery, in a good way, when we're torn down in under 15 minutes at the end of each show! THAT is a miracle in my eyes, and for my back!

Take a listen to a live tune from one of our shows on the purevolume link below.

My "sound" is and always has been pretty straightforward, and I value performance.

http://www.purevolume.com/chrisvandthestanleystreetband

Bilco wrote," That sounds great, similar to what I want to do. I want to write in a style and record songs produced in a way that is repeatable in a house concert environment. That is the market I am looking toward. I got to be the opening act at one and it was the most incredible gig I have ever played.

Do you have any examples of your new sound that you would be willing to share?"
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Thanks for sharing! That's cool funky acoustic stuff, really percussive. I think your material could really play well on the house concert circuit.

On the writer's block, I had a song come to me today while I was in the shower and I worked on it for about an hour before I had to leave for a gig. I think that is the 2nd or 3rd song this year, a pretty good start for me!

One thing I have remembered is that I have to be receptive to the ideas when they come and be willing to work when the ideas come. I have let a lot of songs get away over the years because I was too sleepy to get up and write down the idea that came to me in my sleep or too tired after work to sit down for an hour and try to get something started.

Songwriting is one of my greatest joys; nothing feels quite like finishing up a new song. But it is also WORK, hard work sometimes.

I believe in writer's block, but I also believe it passes with time, work and God's grace. Keep plugging away and the muse will return.

Keep on writing,
bilco
 
Thanks for the props, Bilco! I'm writing a lot this year, as well. I've been in contact with an old aquaintance that is the executive director of a performing arts theatre. Acoustically-tuned room. Beautiful venue. I think that performing live is a great source of inspiration, but only if you could harness the thoughts, feelings, and the vibe of a particular moment on stage and put it all into writing a song. I conceived, wrote, recorded, mixed, mastered, uploaded, and had a tune played on the radio last night. I wrote and recorded it in about 3 hours. Talk about instant gratification through mass communication!

Whatmysay, these are all excellent ideas for songwriting. It's always great to take home a brand new guitar and drive it around the block a few times. Great sources of inspiration.
 
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wouldn't say i believe in writer's block either ...write through it. even if it's rubbish.

love hearing other writer's talk about how they work.
 
walkperson said:
wouldn't say i believe in writer's block either ...write through it. even if it's rubbish.

love hearing other writer's talk about how they work.
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Damn, walkperson is on to all of us...RUN!!!

I think that writing through it is great advice for everyday life, walkperson! My GF was having issues at work, you know the issues, boring job, horrible customers (she's an operator by the way), and just feelings of emptiness being enslaved to a computer with talking people inside. I gave her one of my blank Moleskine notebooks to jot down anything that came to mind while at work. I was pleasantly surprised when she took it out this past weekend at dinner, and it was almost full! She has only had it for a few months. It takes me about twice as long to fill my notebooks! She has had a much better outlook at work lately. I guess she wrote her way through the rough patch at work. It reminds of a T-shirt I saw online that read, "I'm blogging this." Maybe us geeks will be the only ones that get that one;) Good stuff, people, keep it coming!
 
yeah, there are times when ideas just won't come... then I spend time practicing guitar, listening to other bands, basically try to get inspired, smoke a good one here and there (but that's as far as I go...). My sytem is, once I get the spark of an idea in my head, I just let it grow there. If it's still in my head after a couple of days, I know (at least for me) that it's worth writing/recording.

But it's always a phase you go thru, 'cos there are times when the ideas just flow and you have so many, you can't keep up with them. I've gto friends who are painters and they go thru the same thing. Just don't lose heart, there's plenty out there to write about.

Cheers
Joey
 
Abstain from sex. Frustration can lead you down a path all its own.:D
 
Writer's Block

I just listen to Boston, and bam.

Do or do not, there is no try. Yoda
 
I wish I had writer's block. Then maybe I could concentrate on writing a song.
 
writing = ass in chair

Most of the time, I choose to spend that time on other things. I like having a place to live with furniture in it, and food. And I often don't want to concentrate that hard. Somewhat tired, somewhat lazy. Also, I fear failure, and my main defense against that is to put off trying.

None of these things are a block. It is just me doing something besides writing. True, sometimes ideas seem to come easier, but on some level, "inspiration" is the result of work. And much "inspiration" does not hold up to scrutiny. It has to be worked into shape.

Much of "writer's block" is based on the false expectation that ideas will come to you. They don't, even when they seem to. You go and get an idea. "Inspired" ideas are ones that you went and got without really knowing you were doing it. So it seemed easy. You can do the same thing on purpose. Like anything else, it's a matter of concentrated effort.

It's like this: some days it seems easier to wash the dishes or mow the lawn, and we may put off these tasks, but nobody has "housework block."

writing = ass in chair
 
intresting stuff so far, i must say.

as far as do i believe in "writer's block"... not really. i may have a hard time getting the right lyrics for a certain song, or might have to try for a couple days to get a transition piece sounding right to my ears... but yeah, i can always come up with something... no matter if i scrap it a couple hours latter or not.

honestly, that is one of the best ways to work past the "quality block" for myself. i have written an entire 5 minutes (or more) worth of music... only to completely erase it after i go back and listen to it. i may hear a few ideas i rewrite into something else, may not. but alot of times it does help with the frustration of "quality block".
other times... it's best to get up, turn everything off, and walk away for awhile. go visit a friend, watch a movie, read a book, play video games, take a drive, whatever... just get up and take a break. then when i come back, take a deep breath, and go back to doing what i do.
 
writer's block is symptom a deep and usually hidden damage to the self - there's a part of you that needs to be heard, but you've been conditioned over your life to prevent that part from coming out. If you really have it, it takes a lot of work to overcome, and those who are free of it might consider sharing some of the positive energy that they are blessed with, instead of just saying that writer's block doesn't exist.
 
I think that everyone has some excellent input! A little psychology, realism, and honesty goes a long way in a song.

I'm in the middle of a songwriting binger right now. I'm surfing on fire. Awesome.

Thanks for keeping this thread going everyone!
 
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