Getting bogged down in your own self capitulating, self absorbed mire?
Finding your inspiration and enthusiasm has sapped itself away into the very floorboards?
Grab hold of something and shake yourself then.
Writers block is not easily fixable, I’m not an expert but it is an ever decreasing circle.
Procrastination is the friend of excuses in this game and excuses are just that.
Well um that’s hardly fair to say…
Yada yada bing bong pffft I say.
It’s a state of mind, or more a state of play.
Think about it, music is supposed to be fun, it’s supposed to be a joy, a hobby, a giggle…
It’s supposed to be something you enjoy, so ok it can be almost a religion at times but if that’s how you feel about it then have ‘faith’.
Breaking some eggs…
To make an omelette you need to what?
So break out of what you normally do, do something away from what you normally do.
Do something against what you do, how you normally work, how you normally think.
Organization…
Boring tip one – organize – not yourself but your
1. Hard Drive: So ok it sounds dull, and it can be but bear with me.
Your hard drive has millions of files, samples, vst effect, vst instruments, soft samplers, romplers etc etc etc.
Now I know it’s not tidy, we all know that.
Samples, jesus how many samples have you got? How many do you need?
Why not find out? I mean do you really need all of them? Do you actually know what you’ve got?
Same with VSTs do you actually no what every single one does or sounds like.
If it’s of use keep it, if you don’t use it then bin it.
It’s at times like this you can fall upon creative processing – testing a new toy, checking a samples use.
Organize your samples/vsts – creativity is a funny thing it can come from nowhere. If it doesn’t in this case then no harm done and you’ve got a tidy sample library.
2. Music Collection: Organizing your CDs or MP3s can be really enlightening. I mean how many times do you actually listen to music these days?
I dunno about you but my TV only get’s switched on when I’ve got a DVD to watch.
Other than that I’m listening to the radio or CDs.
But the problem with listening to music is it’s not random enough, radio stations have playlists that only change periodically and your taste is the same.
So root through some music, check your CDs and pull at random. Have fun with it, listening to music is like watching food programs for me. I get hungry.
Get hungry.
Comfort Zones…
Play an instrument your not used to: Hard but if you’re a guitarist, pick up a keyboard or try an lay down some drums. Do some programming, use the staff view or piano roll…
Play in a different style/genre – get out of your comfort zone musically and try and create something extremelly different to your taste buds.
Expand your mind…
Working your brain is important, not just musically.
Read. Reading increases your word power, it also stimulates imagination and ideas.
Lyrics for example are excruciating for me, so I rely on words, the sounds they make I practice my vocabulary at every turn and try and develope my wordplay by the way I interact with my friends, I have quite a sarcastic tone so being able to mix my turn of phrase and my inate pisstakery is practice for me.
Books, magazines, cereal boxes, manuals, wikipedia…if you can read it, read it.
If you can write, maintain a blog.
Ending Words…
So ok this was a bit of a mind splurge for me but it’s partly the reason I created this site, something to keep my mind occupied while waiting for something to drop but things do.
I create rules for myself, self purpetuating ideas and purposes. Stuff to keep me entertained/occupied in a musical sense.
Music creation can be dictated if you have the inclination.
Talent is great, but practice makes perfect.
I practice creating music by giving myself music tasks.
1. Detune a guitar.
2. Create a music with rules ie: No longer that 3min / Key of C / Two Chords Only / Melodic Theme / No Melodic Theme / No Dynamics / Mood / No Guitar /
There’s lots of ideas and tricks and I’m not saying they’ll break the cycle but they can’t hurt.
The most important thing I can say though is to not take it too seriously.
It’s supposed to be fun.
If it’s not then try something else like headgehog wrestling…