Been having issues!

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DAS19

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Ok so to me songwriting is a good chord structure with a good melody line. Lately I have been really stuck not writing anything If eel new and catchy that usually comes easily (at times). When I play older songs I used to think were good they aren't heard as the same greatness. I wonder if I forgot the melody and changed it naturally over time.

Anyway I was thinking of just taking a break from any musical instrument (iplayguitar and piano) for about a week and just take a trip and set my mind free from music and then come back to it. im not really sure... I always feel so down cause my music is no where near where I know it could be.
 
Any writer hits periods where the muse does not strike as effectively or consistantly as hoped for. The ability to work through these periods, using the skills and craft of writing (vs. depending on pure inspiration) is what sets writers apart.

Certainly a short break can help bring new perspective and a trip (or any stimuli) can often generate new ideas.

Regarding older stuff not sounding as good as you thought, or as good as you remember - I think this is very common, perhaps for a few legitimate reasons:

1. Perhaps you've grown as a writer and you simply write better stuff now (making the older stuff seem less significant).

2. Your musical/lyrical tastes have changed (making older stuff semm less relavant).

3. Or perhaps, this being the most common reason - you simply have moved on.

I think most writers would admit, the song they are currently working on tends to be the newest, most favorite creation. We grow close to that tune (as if it is our new "baby" and the other older kids simply don't require our immediate attention). However, being removed from that creation for a while and then revisiting it - we start to see the blemishes and suddenly, it no longer seems new, fresh and special.
 
Any song written before 1923 is public domain. That means it has no copyright on it whatsoever.

SO....


What I like to do is listen to some recordings of those songs (remember, the actual recording IS copyrighted, but the song is not), and then rework some of those licks or progressions into a song of my own.


Take the classics, for example. Mozart has no copyright. So you can take any of his symphonies, and bend them into something your style.

If you simply take a popular melody from back then, and speed it up or slow it down, it's hardly recognizable, but might be really good.

Now, that's not a very original idea, but it does help to push the creative levels, and those composers really won't mind. They're either in Heaven and aren't concerned with such petty things, or aren't in Heaven, and have a lot more on their minds than you picking up a riff or two.

Find some American folk music or gospel, etc. Remember, anything prior to 1923 is free game. Get the sheet music for free off the internet, and have at it.
 
Yeah right, feeling uninspired - rip something off - not unconsciously mind - search for & use something someone else did albiet a long time ago!
Unconscious rips are normal & nearly unavoidable but delving into & lifting stuff through lack of a fresh idea? Sounds very Malcolm McLaren to me.
How often do you get angry or feel like puking when you hear a blatant yet unacknowledged rip off? What's your honest musical opinion of an RnB tune on the radio/phone that is just a reworking of another piece?
"Now group, today we're going to address your short term lack of inspiration by plundering the past. Who has a copyright free work they can suggest?". "Let's all make our way to the computers & search the data base for expiring copyright." That sort of therapy compounds the problem &, by providing fast temporary relief, ignores the underlying condition.
I know folk who use older music in their work & acknowledge the source etc all the way to using the original names etc lest someone should miss the point - in fact build around it, but those I know are paying homage to it & not wrapping it up as new or filling inspration gaps.
I think you self diagnosis is pretty good as is your planned treatment.
Take a break, play someonelse's music, record covers, get re-inspired by the music you once lived in, see performers &, after relaxing & learning to enjoy music again,let it come as naturally as you can.
I guess the best idea would be to stay as true to yourself as you can - if that means you're happy to pillage you'll be able to live with it.
 
I felt the same a while back and someone told me "get dumped and your heart broken, then write a country album".


Mike
 
DAS19 said:
Anyway I was thinking of just taking a break from any musical instrument (iplayguitar and piano) for about a week and just take a trip and set my mind free from music and then come back to it. im not really sure... I always feel so down cause my music is no where near where I know it could be.
Click to expand...

DAS19.... You need to listen to a different genre of music. Find some things on itunes or from friends that you have never heard before and immerse yourself in them. You don't need to copy or imitate them. Simply fill your head with different melodies and instrumentations and vocal treatments. The rut which has you stuck will disappear and you will emerge full of fresh ideas, licks, and chops. Good luck facing what we have all been through. ;)
 
nothing wrong with a little respit... but perhaps a different approach would help bring the muse back.... i try to write away from my instrument... that way your technique doesn't limit you... try to just whistle a tune and when it's solid go back and figure it out... if you're like most of us you'll already have a good idea on where the chords are gonna take you...
 
The only thing that seems to bring me out of a slump is getting so fed up that I decide to QUIT music altogether. Then, "bang," a new song is suddenly there.

You can see the problem here though - you can't fake this method. There's no tricking yourself into "being done." You have to honestly be grumpy enough to throw in the towel for good. :rolleyes:
 
So my slump has been getting better but im not out of it. I wake up not really wanting to play not really feeling the muse. I am just going to have to wait this out. You'll know when the muse for me has hit because there will be like 10 songs posted in here.
 
Ben Logan said:
The only thing that seems to bring me out of a slump is getting so fed up that I decide to QUIT music altogether. Then, "bang," a new song is suddenly there.

You can see the problem here though - you can't fake this method. There's no tricking yourself into "being done." You have to honestly be grumpy enough to throw in the towel for good. :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

I do that a lot. I regularly go three or four days without playing guitar, then I'll come back to it better after one of those "I give up!" breaks.
 
lol I never give up.... maybe thats cuase im only 18 and you guys have been doing it a lot longer but ive never thought about throwing in the towel I dont know what I would do without a guitar or piano by my hands.
 
The first and most important aspect of songwriting is having something to say. You start with an idea, a viewpoint or an image of a person or event. Often just going thru the process of getting a clear idea of what you see or feel about it (or them) will give you all the stuff you need to build a great story. Always stick to "who, what, where, when and why" and you can't go wrong.


chazba
 
Someone got mad about my suggestion. Goodness! Many good works are based on previous good works.


Truly successful musicians aren't pre-occupied with getting ripped off. Give me a break. They're inovators, and aren't threatened with it.



Mozart is public domain. That means you aren't ripping him off if you use some of his material (or all of it). YOU own it. It's public domain.

Saying that ripping him off is like saying that since someone else invented cars, you have to figure out your own way to travel. Be original. Stop ripping off other people's ideas (flying, driving, using a toothbrush and toilet paper, etc.). In fact, didn't Mozart play chords? Let's think of something original.

Didn't Eddie Van Halen play electric guitar? We should invent our own instrument.


Originality? Okay. ;)



That said, download some drum loops, and jam along. It works for me.
 
ummmm your examples dont really make sense. lol just cause eddie and I play guitar doesnt mean I have to play his riffs and his melodies.

I dont wnat to rip off mozart no matter if its legal or not.
 
fukin idiot....






gotta spread the rep around before....
 
i'm assuming das that you realized the post was not directed at you....

but who the hell made you the vernacular police???? back at ya buddy...
 
get out of my thread then. I posted this to talk about my problem not for you to rant about smething else.
 
I guess I wasn't clear. It's more about getting inspiration from the classics.

We all do this.

Kids learn to play Stairway, Smoke on the Water, etc. when they're young, and of course it comes back into your music.


Lots of songs you know and love came out of the work of others.

Same in science.


Obviously, ripping off a copyrighted work is immoral and illegal. Nothing wrong with creating a variation on Mozart or Bach.


And I wasn't saying to write an album based on Mozart. Just play with his licks and learn something new. Make something fun out of it.


You guys have sticks in the arse (or are pms-ing).

Relax.
 
I feel you on we all have sticks up our arse lol. I guess its cause we all interpret stuff differently considering we can't hear tone of voice.

Anyway I understand what you mean. You could have suggested playing cover songs sometimes learning new chord changes and rhythms from oldies are a good way to diversify yourself.
 
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