How do you keep fresh?

[Plaswuff]

No, this isn't a question about hygiene.

 

What I'm really curious about is how you guys and girls keep the flow of fresh ideas coming when you are songwriting.

 

I personally have felt a little dried up in terms of making music these last few months. I've tried rejuvenating myself with a new computer and speakers but it isn't having quite the desired effect. I usually feel frustrated that I come back to the same chords over and over. I really hate using similar ideas in different songs, something I know I should get over but have yet to figure out how. I can sit at a computer playing and recording for three or four hours and feel disappointed with myself for not finding that riff. Not every writing session is disappointing, sometimes I come away very happy with what I have made. Perhaps I'm wrong in assuming after a couple of years making music I should always expect gems from a lengthy session.

 

I've considered investing in a midi keyboard to allow me to approach things from a different angle. I stick exclusively to guitar these days and I wonder if that's corking my flow.

 

Any thoughts or comments or suggestions on how you keep writing new ideas AND feel happy about them?

 

Cheers.

[yump]

i'm with you. same here about the last few months.

 

sometimes i would just do a cover, which are all really diff from my own work.

 

don't know if it really helps but gives me satisfaction between times.

 

get a midi, a harp, a bass, a diff instrument can open up a lot of ideas.

 

quiet time, for me, generates some good ideas.

 

it sucks when you feel dried up but i look at it as a temporary thing and don't sweat it too much.

[RickDieffenbach]

Hi Plaswuff,

 

You asked how does one keep fresh, but to me the more basic question is how to generate new ideas. It's probably different for everyone. I have been writing 3-5 songs per month for the last year. They may not be the greatest tunes but (most) are different from each other.

 

I do two things that are easily reproducible. First, I always have a recorder going when I am jamming (by myself) and relaxing on the guitar or the keyboard. I may recognize something that I like while I am jamming, but most often I just relisten to the jam at some future time.

 

And if I hear something I like, even if just a tiny snippet - a few words sung in jibberish or a chord sequence or melody that I like, I extract it a file and store it in a folder called song ideas. later - weeks or months - I relisten to those extracted files. Many are seeds of songs for me. I don't think I would be able to generate the number of new tunes I do if I did not practice this. It's like a garden. Throw some seeds in and often things grow.

 

The other thing that really helps me come up with song ideas is mixing up the instruments that I compose on. Guitar, keyboard with different instruments. Sometimes I put a drum track on that uses a unique time signature. I jam to these. A few months ago I decided to write a song composing on the bass guitar alone. Also a few months ago a composer forced me to try writing melody alone on the keyboard, without any words or chords in mind. That felt weird but it worked! I wrote some of my better melodies that way. (Incidentally, the reason she said to do that is that I was in a rut composing songs the same old way just on a guitar.)

 

 

 

Hope this helps,

 

Rick

[Jimmy Chaos]

Seriously. Change your name, change the sort of music you want to write. Just be someone else. It unburdens you from the rest of your work and just allows you to be free. I started playing an open mic night as a totally different person/band. called 'The Jaffa Cake V.A.T. Anomoly' since then I've written a lot of songs 'as' The Jaffa Cake VAT anomonly. Because It's not really me (even though it actually is) I don't feel pressure to deliver a certain level of quality. And because I don't feel that pressure then the ideas flow easier.

[Oswlek]

 

Seriously. Change your name, change the sort of music you want to write. Just be someone else. It unburdens you from the rest of your work and just allows you to be free. I started playing an open mic night as a totally different person/band. called 'The Jaffa Cake V.A.T. Anomoly' since then I've written a lot of songs 'as' The Jaffa Cake VAT anomonly. Because It's not really me (even though it actually is) I don't feel pressure to deliver a certain level of quality. And because I don't feel that pressure then the ideas flow easier.

 

 

Sgt Pepper's was created with this mindset.

[Lee Knight]

I listen to music I think I don't like.

[rhino55]

Start with a different instrument

Try writing a melody with just your voice

Play with different people

Use samples

Try different tunings on the guitar

Next time you are changing your guitar strings, try composing a melody with only 3 strings

If you normally start with music, try starting with lyrics. Let the cadence of the words dictate the melody

[HoboSage]

Don't start with any ideas. Keep them at bay. Don't direct - let the hands play. Feel how they play. Don't think - just sing to the music. Hear, but don't listen.

[straightblues]

I just got a mandolin. It has really opened up a lot of song ideas. Not only on the mandolin, which I am just learning to play, but it opened up new ideas on the guitar. I also recently got a Digitech JamMan pedal. It is a looping pedal. I allows you to record phrases and play them in a loop. With it I can bounce different rhythms off the loop until I find stuff that is complimentary.

[espec10001]

Learn how to read and write in music notation (if you can't already). Don't listen to anyone who says that writing music notation is a waste of time (especially guitarists). I know that there are plenty of Jimmy Johns who will say you don't need to be able to read music to play it, but if you want inspiration there's nothing better trust me.

[Plaswuff]

 

Learn how to read and write in music notation (if you can't already). Don't listen to anyone who says that writing music notation is a waste of time (especially guitarists). I know that there are plenty of Jimmy Johns who will say you don't need to be able to read music to play it, but if you want inspiration there's nothing better trust me.

 

 

I'm intrigued, but it seems like a huge undertaking. And, at the risk of coming across like a Jimmy John, I can't really imagine how it would improve my creative output. That's probably because I know so little about it though. How would you say it gets you inspired?

[espec10001]

 

I'm intrigued, but it seems like a huge undertaking. And, at the risk of coming across like a Jimmy John, I can't really imagine how it would improve my creative output. That's probably because I know so little about it though. How would you say it gets you inspired?

 

 

Different time signatures, key signatures, dynamics, articulations, note durations, it really opens up a more 'visual' aspect to music. That chord you play over and over, it can be played soft, loud, gradually getting louder, gradually getting softer, gradually slower, gradually quicker; the possibilities are endless. All of this is notated in sheet music.

 

As a bonus, if you become fluent in it you can learn different instrument's range and what keys are best suited for them, and you can have a MUCH easier time picking up ANY instrument because you KNOW what you're playing. Much popular music is in 4/4 or 2/4, but there are TONS of other time signatures you can use which give a very different sound. All of this is written out for you in notation which is why it will show you that the possibilities are endless and you won't be limiting yourself.

 

There's lots of great books out there that can teach you everything for maybe $30. Idiot's Guide to Music Theory is a good one I recommend it helped me a lot.

[Ferdinandstrat]

Listening to a lot of music, watching cartoons and playing video games.

[diggthis23]

My best thoughts on the subject is to learn songs from different genres, and develop different tastes in new artists.

 

Not only that, but also having sessions where you're playing randomly, even if it sounds bad, in order to keep fresh and to not play the same stuff over and over again.

 

Cheers

[loganonymous]

I think we need to start a songwriting "game". We all decide on a song title, and we have a certain time limit, say, a week to get it done. Then we post it all here to enjoy. It'll help keep creative juices flowing, and since none of it is all that serious, the only true purpose will be keeping it fresh and having fun.

[diggthis23]

@loganaonymous Cool idea; it would take a great deal of time; writing, lyrics, arranging, recording, mixing. But it could still be done. And I'd personally like to have a songwriting contest where we have to write strictly about 'platypus' or 'broccoli'.

[loganonymous]

 

@loganaonymous Cool idea; it would take a great deal of time; writing, lyrics, arranging, recording, mixing. But it could still be done. And I'd personally like to have a songwriting contest where we have to write strictly about 'platypus' or 'broccoli'.

 

 

There wouldn't be any need for a full-fledged recording unless we just wanted to. Bare-bones demos would be just fine.

[kurdy]

I think if you are not confident in your abilities, you tend to stick with what you know has worked in the past. And that can lead to using the same riffs and chords over and over. I think learning covers is a good way to learn how songs are constructed, and the little things you pick up tend to seep their way into your own writing. If you already do this, than perhaps learning songs you've never tried before, or exploring different genres might be what you need to break out of your rut.

 

I think learning musical notation is a solid plan in the long term, and one I wouldn't discourage anyone from trying...however, there's a learning curve. If you are seeking inspiration right now, there might be other options that will get you where you want to go a bit quicker. A good grasp of music theory helps...some people might consider theory and notation to be one and the same, but this isn't necessarily so. I am horrible at sight-reading, but knowing the notes of the different scales, diatonic and non-diatonic harmonies, I feel have really been a huge help to me, and doesn't require a lot of reading to learn the concepts of. There are some books on the market for beginners that may help you with this...one I own that immediately springs to mind is Writing Music for Hit Songs, by Jai Josefs, but there are probably many others that are just as effective at explaining the basics as they relate to songwriting.

[stickboymusic]

 

I think we need to start a songwriting "game". We all decide on a song title, and we have a certain time limit, say, a week to get it done. Then we post it all here to enjoy. It'll help keep creative juices flowing, and since none of it is all that serious, the only true purpose will be keeping it fresh and having fun.

 

 

Welcome to the monthly challenge.

 

It has been a little bi-monthly of late but this is exactly the sort of thing we do

 

You should join in

[loganonymous]

Welcome to the monthly challenge. It has been a little bi-monthly of late but this is exactly the sort of thing we do You should join in

 

Awesome! Thanks for following me on soundcloud, too, by the way.

[Plaswuff]

 

Welcome to the monthly challenge. It has been a little bi-monthly of late but this is exactly the sort of thing we do You should join in

 

 

Where do I sign up?

[diggthis23]

That's a pretty cool idea!

 

To still to the main idea on this thread; I've found that the single best way to learning song structure is to get a music notation program that puts it out visually (shows the notes). Something like Guitar Pro or TuxGuitar. I personally use Guitar Pro 5; best program ever

[loganonymous]

Where do I sign up?

 

This.

[stickboymusic]

Type "blockbuster challenge" into the search box and you should find some old ones

 

I try and post a new one monthly.... it seems to happen bi-monthly though

[Plaswuff]

Looks good, but I really like this idea too:

 

 

I'd personally like to have a songwriting contest where we have to write strictly about 'platypus' or 'broccoli'.

 

 

Anyone else up for starting something like this? It could be a one off to begin with, with potential for repetition if it goes well. Maybe have the next Blockbuster Challenge as a themed event?