14 Ways For Musicians To Beat Creative Block

[EnochLight]

Fantastic article on getting past something we all suffer from:

http://output.com/14-ways-to-beat-creat ... ters+Block

[JNeffLind]

I'd say the number one thing for me when I'm in a slump is to look at what others have done and try to use some of their tools in my own ways. A bit of this list briefly touched on this idea, (learn some theory, etc.) but none hit it head on. A jazz fakebook or a Beatles songbook will give you endless new chords to try. If you pick out your favorite Beatles song there's a decent chance it uses something besides the basic I-IV-V-vi. Needless to say the same is true of most jazz. Chord progressions are great for inspiring new ideas. While one wouldn't want to take a whole progression (even though it's technically legal) picking out a particular change or just a particular chord can lead to great things in my opinion.

I'm sure some will chime in saying they want to do something "new," but from a theory perspective there is virtually nothing that sounds palatable (outside of avant garde hipster nonsense) that hasn't been done somewhere by someone. Anything "new" you come up with has been done in some form. Google will confirm this. The key is to take something and make it your own. Frank Lloyd Wright built houses out of wood and brick just like your local McMansion purveyor, but he did his own thing and became immortal. You get the idea. Get all the wood and brick you can, and do something different with it.

[motuscott]

something we all suffer from

What're you sayin?
I spit out one or two songs a year.
Pretty consistently.
Not counting the last few years.

[chimp_spanner]

I'd say the number one thing for me when I'm in a slump is to look at what others have done and try to use some of their tools in my own ways. A bit of this list briefly touched on this idea, (learn some theory, etc.) but none hit it head on. A jazz fakebook or a Beatles songbook will give you endless new chords to try. If you pick out your favorite Beatles song there's a decent chance it uses something besides the basic I-IV-V-vi. Needless to say the same is true of most jazz. Chord progressions are great for inspiring new ideas. While one wouldn't want to take a whole progression (even though it's technically legal) picking out a particular change or just a particular chord can lead to great things in my opinion.

I'm sure some will chime in saying they want to do something "new," but from a theory perspective there is virtually nothing that sounds palatable (outside of avant garde hipster nonsense) that hasn't been done somewhere by someone. Anything "new" you come up with has been done in some form. Google will confirm this. The key is to take something and make it your own. Frank Lloyd Wright built houses out of wood and brick just like your local McMansion purveyor, but he did his own thing and became immortal. You get the idea. Get all the wood and brick you can, and do something different with it.

^ This. When I'm trying to write I tend to put myself in a bubble because I want to be original. And also because I'm scared I'll hear something that makes me feel bad about what I'm doing. I know that sounds utterly dumb but it's just how it is. But when I do pop that bubble and just start enjoying LISTENING to music, and not only trying to make it, I get new ideas. I feel inspired.

Everyone wants to be an originator, but really we're all working from the same basic framework. There's nothing wrong with re-interpreting or evolving an idea to the point of originality. I just need to remind myself of this more often!

[selig]

Great stuff there - #4 is something I've been doing (among others) for years, learned the hard way I must say!

[adfielding]

This is a really good list. Lots of useful stuff in there, lots of stuff I wasn't even aware that I was doing

I've had a bit of an annual ritual for the past four years or so where I basically just hole up for a good chunk of October and see what pops out (musically, of course!). I'm not really sure how it started, but there's something about that low autumn light and everything becoming more... hazy, I guess... in October that I now find really inspirational. It's become my month for working on fun stuff that often catches me off guard when I come back to it. I think it's important to set time to work on music where you don't place any expectations on it whatsoever, and just see what happens.

[selig]

This is a really good list. Lots of useful stuff in there, lots of stuff I wasn't even aware that I was doing

I've had a bit of an annual ritual for the past four years or so where I basically just hole up for a good chunk of October and see what pops out (musically, of course!). I'm not really sure how it started, but there's something about that low autumn light and everything becoming more... hazy, I guess... in October that I now find really inspirational. It's become my month for working on fun stuff that often catches me off guard when I come back to it. I think it's important to set time to work on music where you don't place any expectations on it whatsoever, and just see what happens.

October is a very inspiring month for many creative types - not sure why, but I've always felt that way and have met many others (one more with you, Adam) that also find inspiration in the Fall, particularly October.

[adfielding]

October is a very inspiring month for many creative types - not sure why, but I've always felt that way and have met many others (one more with you, Adam) that also find inspiration in the Fall, particularly October.

It's weird, because September is normally a bit of a lull for me - I didn't really realise until I tried to post a TBT thing on Facebook earlier in the month, and realised that September is generally pretty musically unproductive for me. It's one of the reasons I decided to change up my musical environment this month... I've been using Live for the past week or so, which has been a ton of fun and I want to run with it - but I'm very much looking forward to getting back to using Reason

[Exowildebeest]

October is a very inspiring month for many creative types - not sure why, but I've always felt that way and have met many others (one more with you, Adam) that also find inspiration in the Fall, particularly October.

I've been using Live for the past week or so, which has been a ton of fun and I want to run with it - but I'm very much looking forward to getting back to using Reason

...someone had a visit from ReKVD/Restapo/Restasi

...that's a very nice APC you got there... would be a shame if something were to happen to it...

[Exowildebeest]

I love the fall too btw - rain, nights getting longer, good motivation to stay inside and make music.

[adfielding]

October is a very inspiring month for many creative types - not sure why, but I've always felt that way and have met many others (one more with you, Adam) that also find inspiration in the Fall, particularly October.

I've been using Live for the past week or so, which has been a ton of fun and I want to run with it - but I'm very much looking forward to getting back to using Reason

...someone had a visit from ReKVD/Restapo/Restasi

...that's a very nice APC you got there... would be a shame if something were to happen to it...

I just wanted to experiment with live solo stuff, that's all! Honest!

*cough* CODE412 I REPEAT CODE412

[RealmUK]

My favourite times of the year are Autumn and Spring ... when there is the most change going on between seasons. I guess it stands to reason that this time of the year inspires many.

[RealmUK]

That is a great article. #7 is a good one ... we have so many options with tools like Reason you can find yourself questioning the best way to achieve a particular end-goal or which refill to use over another, etc.

Something I occasionally do is just to dabble with the refills I have at my disposal with no particular goal in mind. I'll preview many different sounds and tickle the keys on my controller ... different sounds will often naturally invoke different playing styles to suit and quite often little gems, hooks, riffs, or whatever fall out that really grab you. It's these that can be banked and will quite often form the inspiration for a whole new tune.

[selig]

It's worth noting that the creative blocks can't always be unclogged…
Here's another tip I've come up with over the years, based on the following quote:
When fishermen can't go to sea, they mend their nets.

For musicians, this means that even when you are not actively creating, there are STILL plenty of things you could be doing. These include tasks such as familiarizing yourself with your sound library (which can often evoke a track), listening to mixes you like to see what you can hear, doing basic practice work, even cleaning up your work space! For me this helps in a number of ways, obviously directly but also it achieves a break of sorts from the pressure of "having" to create ever time you sit at your workstation.

There's always something that can be done, even when you are feeling totally un-creative!

[cjb123]

Good points - thanks all for sharing!

I once followed a tip in the old forum in a thread that was along these same lines. Someone recommended a book called

'The War of Art' by author Steven Pressfield.

In it Pressfield presents his process for allowing artists to reach their full creative potential, essentially by overcoming what he calls 'Resistance' (anything that distracts the artist, causes procrastination or generally drags them out of complete commitment to their art). He talks about what is required to devote completely to doing one's art (as he terms it, becoming a 'Professional'). He then goes on to describe that he believes that by devoting to your art above all else you open the door to being visited more often by your muse (pure inspiration, your artistic gifts becoming well-tuned, achieving higher levels of creativity). It's a good read.

And while I typed all that ^ I realized that it does sound pretty... spiritual... and the book does get pretty mystical with its concepts of being visited by some higher creative muse so it does depend on your sensibilities. But really you can see how far you want to go down the spiritual route if you read it - to me it just presents a really interesting approach to having a 'take-no-prisoners' approach to getting on with your creative output.

[JNeffLind]

He then goes on to describe that he believes that by devoting to your art above all else you open the door to being visited more often by your muse (pure inspiration, your artistic gifts becoming well-tuned, achieving higher levels of creativity). It's a good read.

And while I typed all that ^ I realized that it does sound pretty... spiritual... and the book does get pretty mystical with its concepts of being visited by some higher creative muse so it does depend on your sensibilities. But really you can see how far you want to go down the spiritual route if you read it - to me it just presents a really interesting approach to having a 'take-no-prisoners' approach to getting on with your creative output.

To me this is an endorsement of brain plasticity. Focusing your mind exclusively on a specific task can actually help to "rewire" your brain and make it into a more powerful processor as regards to that given task. Anyone interested in this subject should read "The Genius in All of Us," by David Shenk. It's an inspiring piece of pop-psychology.

[gak]

I love the fall too btw - rain, nights getting longer, good motivation to stay inside and make music.

Must be nice. It's 95 here and sunny. Supposedly it's going to be more 80's soon all the sun kills my creative mood. And I'm ADD/extreme so.....but good on you. I have at least another month.

[Libraquaricorn]

Good points - thanks all for sharing!

I once followed a tip in the old forum in a thread that was along these same lines. Someone recommended a book called

'The War of Art' by author Steven Pressfield.

In it Pressfield presents his process for allowing artists to reach their full creative potential, essentially by overcoming what he calls 'Resistance' (anything that distracts the artist, causes procrastination or generally drags them out of complete commitment to their art). He talks about what is required to devote completely to doing one's art (as he terms it, becoming a 'Professional'). He then goes on to describe that he believes that by devoting to your art above all else you open the door to being visited more often by your muse (pure inspiration, your artistic gifts becoming well-tuned, achieving higher levels of creativity). It's a good read.

And while I typed all that ^ I realized that it does sound pretty... spiritual... and the book does get pretty mystical with its concepts of being visited by some higher creative muse so it does depend on your sensibilities. But really you can see how far you want to go down the spiritual route if you read it - to me it just presents a really interesting approach to having a 'take-no-prisoners' approach to getting on with your creative output.

I just read War of Art and thought about recommending it here. It's a brilliant, inspiring and quick read and the kindle edition that I downloaded to my ipad and smartphone costs next to nothing. I came across Art of War when I read Jason Timothy's "Music Habits - The mental game of electronic music production" which is also good, and sort of a War of Art for people with DAW's. I dont think "Music Habits" would exist if it wasn't for "Art of War" though, so my strongest recommendation goes for that book. "Music Habits" has some nice practical tips and tricks for any DAW'er. Disclaimer: I don't usually read self help literature... I usually loathe it and I think that adds to my recommendations.


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[CaliforniaBurrito]

12

[freeQlow]

#15 Don't over indulge in rack purchases on black Friday

[gak]

4. Separate The Creative And Editing Processes

Easily top of my boo-boo list. But for me, the editing IS part of the creative process

It's a catch 22 here.

[CaliforniaBurrito]

13

[gak]

Oh, I forgot this was an old thread

BTW, from that last post about the weather, it's freezing (quite literally) here right now

I like it much more than the heat. Wish it was a larger part of the year. But I'm still recovering so not really "more creative"

[CaliforniaBurrito]

14

[gak]

No doubt, but it's kinda embarraskin' when I didn't even realize that I'd already read part of it and forgot (ooops)