Writers block: Present and Future

[bewildered]

Im just starting out in learning audio production, so my knowledge on how to produce music via electronics is rather limited, but that hasnt kept me from trying to write music. My problem lies in two places:
1. Everything i create seems to be in some way related to music i listen to, kinda like a variation on a famililar theme.
2. If i do create anything original, no matter how complex it is, it chords always breaks down into I - V, or I - Vii, or I - ii - III. Its the most incredibly frustrating block.

Its strange though cause i know somewhere in the back of my mind that i have it in me to create original pieces, which brings me to my second question:

If artists are intrinsically talented in writing original music, why are bands like radiohead, boards of canada, four tet, 30-40yrs old before they release anything truely artistic? shouldnt they be able to any time in their life? Or does the psyche go through some transformation around that age which heightens creativity?

has anyone else experienced this block that has worked through it? i would like to know what it is i need to do to overcome it.

thanks.

 

[andydeedpoll]

hhmmmm...... to me it doesn't sound like you have a 'block' ... i think it more sounds like your writing skills just need to naturally develop which they slowly but surely will do.

if you want to push it along a bit, go out of your way to experiment - don't write whole songs, but just mess about at your guitar/piano/whatever and try some things you know you haven't tried before.

and keep writing! it's the only way to get good.

Andy.

p.s. i haven't got a clue about the second question.

 

[Jack Russell]

Well here's a test for you.

Get a chord book (or just write down 12 of your favorite chords...doesn't matter if they are in key or not!). Randomly go through the chord book and select blindly 5 chords. Or draw 5 out of your fav chords from a hat.

Next take a dictionary and randomly open it up and select 5 words.

Play the chords over a structure of 2 measures each. You can use a drum machine if you like to keep pace. Then write a melody that fits it. Then write some lyrics to match the melody, using each of the 5 words you took from the dictionary somewhere in the song.

The result will be hilarious, but it will help you unblock your mind.

Good luck!

 

[bewildered]

cool. ill try it.

 

[ethos]

in regards to the Radiohead question...
record label restrictions, might have played a part in that.

as for the block question...
the random chord and word idea is a good one.
also, try writting from someone elses perspective. campare things in ways that are abnormal to you, (or anyone for that matter).
find a way to compare God to a gumball machine, yes that sounds weird, but
it might get your mind wandering in a different direction.
experimentation never hurts.

 

[travelin travis]

When my mind is good and constipated........

I just play around like a little kid. I'll just play a few chords, usually an unfamiliar progression, and just close my eyes and start spouting stuff out. It's like being a kid again. You can go any where you want to and do anything you want to do. When I do this, I don't worry about anything like singing in key, playing sour notes, or rhyming. Just keep it going and don't think! No thinking allowed! This is pretty similar to the idea already mentioned in a previous post. The key is no thinking/worrying. It's called Free Writing.

It will surely unblock that turd from your brain and it's alot of fun. I guarantee if you try this a few times, you will find something new and you will make yourself laugh. You're not gonna write a hit song doing this but you will find some fresh ideas to start working with.

Surely, Hendrix was a master at this type of thing.

 

[zed32]

Im just starting out in learning audio production, so my knowledge on how to produce music via electronics is rather limited, but that hasnt kept me from trying to write music. My problem lies in two places:
1. Everything i create seems to be in some way related to music i listen to, kinda like a variation on a famililar theme.

i HATE when that happens! and it happens to me all the time!!

whenever i sit around and play my guitar trying to come up with something new, i'll come up with something that sounds awesome, then when i come back to play it later, i realize its basically the same as some song that some other band has already done. it frustrates me so bad. like just the other night i had some lyrics, and i was trying to make some guitar music for this song, and i came up with something that i thought was absolutely awesome, so i recorded a scratch track so i could work on it later. the next day, i listened to it again and said "wait a minute, this sounds almost exactly like Judith by APC!" i was pissed because i thought i finally had made a cool sounding song. so then it was back to the ol' drawing board. and when stuff like that happens i tend to beat myself up about it so that makes it even worse.

my advice to you is just don't be overly critical of your own work, and don't beat yourself up about it like i do. just let things flow and like others have said, try not to put too much thought or logic into a song, because it tends to suck the MUSIC right out of it!

 

[HapiCmpur]

1. Everything i create seems to be in some way related to music i listen to, kinda like a variation on a famililar theme.

The exercise Jack suggested is an excellent idea. Also, try listening to music that you hate. And don't put in on in the background, either. Sit down and listen to it intently, and try to identify what it is that other people like about it. This isn't an attempt to make you like new kinds of music, by the way; it's an attempt to break you out of the rut of imitating the music you're most frequently exposed to, which is invariably the music you like.

Another idea is to listen -- intently, again -- to classical music, especially 20th century stuff that isn't based on standard themes and progressions. Take a little ride with Shostakovich, Bella Bartok, or Charles Ives. (Put on your crash helmet for Charles Ives.) Those guys'll take you to some new musical places. Better yet, if you're an instrumentalist, try playing some of their stuff, too.

If artists are intrinsically talented in writing original music, why are bands like radiohead, boards of canada, four tet, 30-40yrs old before they release anything truely artistic? shouldnt they be able to any time in their life? Or does the psyche go through some transformation around that age which heightens creativity?

Ethos is right about record labels. To get tapped by a label, an artist has to be pretty mainstream or have a fairly "newish" sound that will fit into the mainstream (and therefore sell a lot of records). Only later, when the artist's reputation is established (and the money's in the bank) will most labels encourage or even permit experimentation.

However, something else plays a role, too. Humans learn by imitation. I'm sure all of us in this forum had our share of childhood musical heroes whom we emulated. Even Mozart learned his skills by playing familiar, established pieces. And when he started experimenting (a little earlier in life than most of us!), he was still doing variations on older themes, expanding traditional musical ideas rather than breaking out with something radically new.

On top of that, there's usually a lot of audience resistance to music that's radically new. It gets rejected frequently, in fact. (The audience actually rioted at the premier of Stravinsky's "Rite of Spring.") So artists walk a tightrope between pleasing their audiences while at the same time perhaps trying to train their audiences and bring them along into accepting something truly innovative. It's a long process.

my advice to you is just don't be overly critical of your own work, and don't beat yourself up about it like i do. just let things flow and like others have said, try not to put too much thought or logic into a song, because it tends to suck the MUSIC right out of it!

This is great advice. Pour out ideas and do crazy experiments without listening to that little (or not so little) critic inside your head. You'll produce a lot of crap, of course, but you'll get your creative juices flowing and you can always edit out the crap later.

 

[Jack Russell]

Another thing to remenber, and this is how I feel today:

You don't have to write anything at all. Heck, if it feels like torture, then go play basketball, do a round of golf, or get stoned and whack off. Nobody told you that you HALF to do it!



Unless it is your job, then forget what I said.

 

[Folkie]

Another thing to try is learn (and practice) some music theory--if you aren't already an expert. Chord structures, progressions, unusual scales--all those kinds of things can open up your ability to play outside of your usual "I - V, or I - Vii, or I - ii - III. " progressions. Listen to some jazz chords, for example (Django Rheinhart is always a good bet) or some Gypsy Kings for different rhythms. The Beatles made some major changes to their music (on some tunes) when they listened to Indian sitar music and experimented with that.

One of the problems I have always had is limited skill (I know I'll never be an Eric Clapton.) Sometimes when I write tunes I use what I know how to play or what I can play. If I can't play it, I change the melody to what I can. And I end up with "I - V, or I - Vii, or I - ii - III" or similar type songs. So I sit down with a chord book or a theory book or a scale book and stretch myself so that I'm able to play, and thus to think, in those other chords. Works with fingerpicking, too. Tablature books to train my fingers to play other patterns and combinations.

Tom Paxton, I think it was, says he writes at least 2 or 3 songs a day. Every once in a while he gets one that doesn't go into the trash can.

Keep at it!