when you get stuck in a rut

[cliff richard]

what are your songwriting tips for when you get stuck in a rut? I flick between the piano and guitar, or change the tuning on my guitar, or add a capo. Sometimes drinking copious amounts of alcohol does the trick, though i dont condone it. what are your tricks?

 

[Toonsmith]

I like to go back and listen to peices i wrote years ago and maybe put a new spin on them or just for inspiration.

Another thing is to listen to music outside of my own genre. I love to listen to the thistle and shamrock on public radio. Good tunes. Energetic. Smart. Just enough to turn the corner, sometimes.

 

[mikeh]

When I hit a dead period, I often pull out some old material and try to re-write.

Or I re-mix some old material - just to get the juices flowing.

Sometime, going to a different instument, helps unlock something.

I spend a fair amount of time (and cash) at used book & CD stores - and as a result I have a large backlog of music I have not listened to - (or books about various artists) often this helps me get inspired.

There are so many incredible recordings featuring great spngs and great performances - I find it hard not to get inspired when I listen.

Mostly I just keep writing. Sometimes it's crap (I know it's crap as I write it), but I feel a good writer not only has to write continuously, but should be able to write on demand.

 

[Jagular]

I have at least one 3 hour writing session I schedule for just me alone every week. It's hard to spend 3 hours with yourself in a quiet room and a notebook and not come up with something. Even if it's just 5 or 10 new hooks, or a few lines for a song you have been working on, or rewriting a song or...

You get the picture. One step at a time keeps you moving forward, no matter how small the step. Sometimes the steps come feverishly, sometimes slowly, but every step keeps you moving forward.