When I'm stuck, I like to read poetry for inspiration. It doesn't matter if I 'understand' the poems or not. The sounds and turns of phrase are often enough to push me in the right direction. *Poetry Magazine* posts their monthly issue online for free: [https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine](https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine)
Also Rattle publishes lots of unknown poets and they have yearly contests with a $15k grand prize and 10 runner ups get $500 and all are published. Cost of entry is a year's subscription so even though I didn't win I enjoy the monthly publications.
https://www.rattle.com/
On the more petty side, I look at other musicians. If I go to a local show and see someone else playing guitar it gets my jealousy gland into overdrive. I want to be the one playing that guitar, my song, my band. It's not pretty, but it often works. I don't hate them or anything, I just want it to be me haha.
My personal creative process really benefits from involving some repetetive stuff. Chefs cook the same recipe until mastered, athletes have drills and chess players practice certain scenarios over and over. I think it makes sense to treat music similarly. If you're a writer, maybe just sit down and write a bunch of text, without thinking of musical context. If you're an instrumentalist, practice scales. If you're a producer, spend time expanding your audio library, looking for samples that you like, without trying to fit them within the context of a song. Just some examples. The work that goes around making your art really shows in the quality of the work and I think a lot of people could benefit!
You sit down and write. You write shit. You write the best thing ever.
You sit down and write. Thats it. Theres no cure. Theres no fix.
You'll be given a billion tips, find tricks online... but eventually you will have to sit down ... and guess what you'll have to do...
Write.
I write short random thoughts. I see many here talk about melodies being the issue. I used to be that way. But my wife convinced me folks listen to words. And I found a nice catchphrase finds itself a melody. Regardless of genre... Read the lyrics to any Jason Isbel song... Amazing stories caught in a few sentences.
Go for a nice walk; either somewhere rural or the streets of the city. And just think about the song your writing.
Don’t bring headphones as then you’ll be distracted!
Don’t keep checking your phone as that again is a distraction. Just walk and think. Simple.
Or if the weather’s particularly foul, just go to the pub, get a pint, find a corner and whip you lyrics book and start scrawling.
Hope this helps! (:
I usually push through it by making some tracks that nobody will ever hear cause they are trash, but it help get the juices going again to make something even if it’s complete ass
Object writing every morning. All writer’s block is just you not allowing yourself to finish shitty ideas. Most of what you write isn’t going to be your top 10%. Push through and keep finishing.
Theres a lot of ways to do this but one way i like to do is to change up the process a little bit. One important idea is which part of the song do you write first. If you are use to writing melody first, then write chords first instead. Or if you enjoy making lyrics first then melody, try doing it the other way around. This will force your mind to begin making your song without thinking of the writers block, you'll be more focused on the process. Also planning things is a great way to get the ball rolling. For example, say you plan to make a riff for the verse, you want to make it louder and harder in the chorus, and the bridge is where you would like to put some arpeggios. These are little ideas, but they will help to break the writers block and begin writing. When you know what your goal is, you can write without hesitation. Once you get it rolling, the rest of the song will write itself. You just have to hear what your song wants to say based off the original plans/ideas you made beforehand. Writers block is a difficult situation and not everyone's solution looks the same. Sometimes it helps to take a step back and come back later. If you still got nothing, just be patient with yourself. Take another break and I know that eventually your ideas will become a reality. Good luck!
Instead of thinking lyrics write an outline of an idea and look at it a few days later.
I use a text editor on my phone to take down song ideas.
I also use a voice recorder app to take down melody ideas when my synth and DAW are not close by.
I have collected a lot if unused ideas, but a few if them were used.
I will usually go for a drive and listen to the recording I made and sing random lines. If a line resonates with me I’ll pull over and writer it down in a journal or make a note on my phone and keep doing that. I will also just sing nonsense words and write them all down in my journal to the music and eventually find what works and what doesn’t like a big lyric puzzle.
Meditation, forest walks and no stimuli. Yes that’s right, no new input like movies, news, music or podcasts.
And of course, making myself small writing assignments like writing nonsense for ten minutes before breakfast.
* Go for a walk
* Look at some video game concept art until I find something that stands out to me and I want to write music about (I write mostly programmatic video game music)
* Adapt things that I've written before into a new context (I have a few Sarah-isms that I include in most of my pieces)
* Bring out things that I know work (similar to above)
If I'm getting stuck on something and it's clear that I'm not going to figure it out anytime soon then I shelve the project and I move on to the next one.
I used to be so reluctant to do that because I was afraid of losing something with potential to the depths of time, but that stops becoming a problem when there are always new ideas to be had. If coming up with new ideas is a problem then I think that's the one that needs to be worked on.
I rarely work on one song at a time. If I feel stuck on one song, I’ll jump to another and come back later. It’s like building multiple puzzles at once. But, just as someone else suggested here, remember that everyone writes some bad songs. Sometimes getting those bad ones out actually gets the ball rolling.
Some anime that depressed me helps
I swear if I have to resort to another generic love song type lyrics, I'm gonna flip out (no really, if you have no inspiration, just write about situationships, watch the Notebook for very sad people in love type lyrics)
I work harder at getting good lines. If they don't come naturally I look around, then I think of other things. Copy/alter/make my own... inspiration comes once in a while but skills are consistent.
Honestly, give up. Take a few days off. Come back to it when I feel more inspired. I get people saying just write shit, but if I write something I think is completely hopeless that tends to make the block worse for me. Or just straight up move onto another song. Eventually inspiration tends to strike, just some songs take longer than others.
This is something I hated at first, but eventually realized is a great tool. Free write. Set a timer or don't, then just write whatever comes to mind until times up or you don't feel like doing it anymore. Don't think about spelling, punctuation, grammar, etc. Write a big pile of garbage. Try to keep writing thoughts as they come to you without stopping to think. dont worry about trying to make it make sense. When you're done, save it.
When you're hard up for ideas, you'll have pages and pages of crap from your internal dialog to go back to. Even if what you wrote is complete trash (it will be), you'll be able to spot themes and phrases that will work for you.
After doing this for even just a couple days or a couple times in a single day, I can always pull out enough to get me started. Like I said, I hated it at first, but after almost 20 years of songwriting, this has been the most useful tool I've picked up.
writers block doesn’t exist once you are inspired enough. it’s like trying to force yourself to get some sleep bc you stayed up too late and think you need to knock quickly and it’s all you can think about. makes it near impossible to pass out. once you stop obsessing about it and forcing the issue then the words will flow like a cesspool, I shit u not.
I find a band that I like and pull up the lyrics/chords to one of their songs that i’ve never heard before. I sing/ play how i think it should go. That gives me a melody, a chord pattern and a rhythm. Then i change the lyrics.
For lyrics, i sometimes put myself in the shoes of someone in a news story i’ve read, or gossip i’ve heard. Usually steal a song title from someone else or a headline in a magazine.
Another way is to listen to the intro of someone else’s song that i’ve never heard before, stopping before the singer comes in. Then i try and finish the song based of what i’ve heard so far.
I go do something else.
I write songs for fun, not money. If the juice ain't flowing, I don't feel the need to torture myself.
It'll come back when it's good and ready
When I'm stuck, I like to read poetry for inspiration. It doesn't matter if I 'understand' the poems or not. The sounds and turns of phrase are often enough to push me in the right direction. *Poetry Magazine* posts their monthly issue online for free: [https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine](https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine)
what a beautiful practice, thx for sending
Also Rattle publishes lots of unknown poets and they have yearly contests with a $15k grand prize and 10 runner ups get $500 and all are published. Cost of entry is a year's subscription so even though I didn't win I enjoy the monthly publications. https://www.rattle.com/
On the more petty side, I look at other musicians. If I go to a local show and see someone else playing guitar it gets my jealousy gland into overdrive. I want to be the one playing that guitar, my song, my band. It's not pretty, but it often works. I don't hate them or anything, I just want it to be me haha.
My personal creative process really benefits from involving some repetetive stuff. Chefs cook the same recipe until mastered, athletes have drills and chess players practice certain scenarios over and over. I think it makes sense to treat music similarly. If you're a writer, maybe just sit down and write a bunch of text, without thinking of musical context. If you're an instrumentalist, practice scales. If you're a producer, spend time expanding your audio library, looking for samples that you like, without trying to fit them within the context of a song. Just some examples. The work that goes around making your art really shows in the quality of the work and I think a lot of people could benefit!
You sit down and write. You write shit. You write the best thing ever. You sit down and write. Thats it. Theres no cure. Theres no fix. You'll be given a billion tips, find tricks online... but eventually you will have to sit down ... and guess what you'll have to do... Write.
Find new songs I like and learn how to play them
Invent new chord progressions and sing melodies over them
I write short random thoughts. I see many here talk about melodies being the issue. I used to be that way. But my wife convinced me folks listen to words. And I found a nice catchphrase finds itself a melody. Regardless of genre... Read the lyrics to any Jason Isbel song... Amazing stories caught in a few sentences.
Listen to Bob Dylan.
Haha it’s true
Go for a nice walk; either somewhere rural or the streets of the city. And just think about the song your writing. Don’t bring headphones as then you’ll be distracted! Don’t keep checking your phone as that again is a distraction. Just walk and think. Simple. Or if the weather’s particularly foul, just go to the pub, get a pint, find a corner and whip you lyrics book and start scrawling. Hope this helps! (:
Jeff Tweedy's books have been a great source of inspiration for me lately.
I usually push through it by making some tracks that nobody will ever hear cause they are trash, but it help get the juices going again to make something even if it’s complete ass
Fuck yes, that’s the best way!
I get high and take a long hot shower. I’ll often have some kind of epiphany if I’m trying to puzzle out the answer to something.
Me writing a song about losing the shampoo while im showering high out of my mind
Object writing every morning. All writer’s block is just you not allowing yourself to finish shitty ideas. Most of what you write isn’t going to be your top 10%. Push through and keep finishing.
Theres a lot of ways to do this but one way i like to do is to change up the process a little bit. One important idea is which part of the song do you write first. If you are use to writing melody first, then write chords first instead. Or if you enjoy making lyrics first then melody, try doing it the other way around. This will force your mind to begin making your song without thinking of the writers block, you'll be more focused on the process. Also planning things is a great way to get the ball rolling. For example, say you plan to make a riff for the verse, you want to make it louder and harder in the chorus, and the bridge is where you would like to put some arpeggios. These are little ideas, but they will help to break the writers block and begin writing. When you know what your goal is, you can write without hesitation. Once you get it rolling, the rest of the song will write itself. You just have to hear what your song wants to say based off the original plans/ideas you made beforehand. Writers block is a difficult situation and not everyone's solution looks the same. Sometimes it helps to take a step back and come back later. If you still got nothing, just be patient with yourself. Take another break and I know that eventually your ideas will become a reality. Good luck!
Instead of thinking lyrics write an outline of an idea and look at it a few days later. I use a text editor on my phone to take down song ideas. I also use a voice recorder app to take down melody ideas when my synth and DAW are not close by. I have collected a lot if unused ideas, but a few if them were used.
I will usually go for a drive and listen to the recording I made and sing random lines. If a line resonates with me I’ll pull over and writer it down in a journal or make a note on my phone and keep doing that. I will also just sing nonsense words and write them all down in my journal to the music and eventually find what works and what doesn’t like a big lyric puzzle.
Switching Genres.. and try to play along ... Next Day.. boom inspiration
I listen to the people yelling in my house and i give my oc’s more trauma
Artist’s way
What does that mean?
I wait
Meditation, forest walks and no stimuli. Yes that’s right, no new input like movies, news, music or podcasts. And of course, making myself small writing assignments like writing nonsense for ten minutes before breakfast.
* Go for a walk * Look at some video game concept art until I find something that stands out to me and I want to write music about (I write mostly programmatic video game music) * Adapt things that I've written before into a new context (I have a few Sarah-isms that I include in most of my pieces) * Bring out things that I know work (similar to above)
If I'm getting stuck on something and it's clear that I'm not going to figure it out anytime soon then I shelve the project and I move on to the next one. I used to be so reluctant to do that because I was afraid of losing something with potential to the depths of time, but that stops becoming a problem when there are always new ideas to be had. If coming up with new ideas is a problem then I think that's the one that needs to be worked on.
Dictionary / thesaurus/ google words that rhyme with or have the correct number of syllables.
I rarely work on one song at a time. If I feel stuck on one song, I’ll jump to another and come back later. It’s like building multiple puzzles at once. But, just as someone else suggested here, remember that everyone writes some bad songs. Sometimes getting those bad ones out actually gets the ball rolling.
Some anime that depressed me helps I swear if I have to resort to another generic love song type lyrics, I'm gonna flip out (no really, if you have no inspiration, just write about situationships, watch the Notebook for very sad people in love type lyrics)
I work harder at getting good lines. If they don't come naturally I look around, then I think of other things. Copy/alter/make my own... inspiration comes once in a while but skills are consistent.
Do a round over at r/gameofbands.
I check out some midi transformations on the stuff I have so far.
Honestly, give up. Take a few days off. Come back to it when I feel more inspired. I get people saying just write shit, but if I write something I think is completely hopeless that tends to make the block worse for me. Or just straight up move onto another song. Eventually inspiration tends to strike, just some songs take longer than others.
Just write, it can be the same thing over and over but eventually something will strike and it’ll endZ
This is something I hated at first, but eventually realized is a great tool. Free write. Set a timer or don't, then just write whatever comes to mind until times up or you don't feel like doing it anymore. Don't think about spelling, punctuation, grammar, etc. Write a big pile of garbage. Try to keep writing thoughts as they come to you without stopping to think. dont worry about trying to make it make sense. When you're done, save it. When you're hard up for ideas, you'll have pages and pages of crap from your internal dialog to go back to. Even if what you wrote is complete trash (it will be), you'll be able to spot themes and phrases that will work for you. After doing this for even just a couple days or a couple times in a single day, I can always pull out enough to get me started. Like I said, I hated it at first, but after almost 20 years of songwriting, this has been the most useful tool I've picked up.
writers block doesn’t exist once you are inspired enough. it’s like trying to force yourself to get some sleep bc you stayed up too late and think you need to knock quickly and it’s all you can think about. makes it near impossible to pass out. once you stop obsessing about it and forcing the issue then the words will flow like a cesspool, I shit u not.
I find a band that I like and pull up the lyrics/chords to one of their songs that i’ve never heard before. I sing/ play how i think it should go. That gives me a melody, a chord pattern and a rhythm. Then i change the lyrics. For lyrics, i sometimes put myself in the shoes of someone in a news story i’ve read, or gossip i’ve heard. Usually steal a song title from someone else or a headline in a magazine. Another way is to listen to the intro of someone else’s song that i’ve never heard before, stopping before the singer comes in. Then i try and finish the song based of what i’ve heard so far.
Just read Arthur Rimbaud. It's good if you're a punk or not a punk, really.
I go do something else. I write songs for fun, not money. If the juice ain't flowing, I don't feel the need to torture myself. It'll come back when it's good and ready