Tag: writers block

How To Beat Writer’s Block – Tip #21

Here is a game you can play for writing melody lines, bass lines, arpeggios, accompaniments, etc.

Let the root be a given. After that, decide on different scale degrees to form a shape that you will use for in a chord progression.

Like this:

Say I decide the root (given), the second, and fifth. Now, on each harmony, I can only play those scale degree in relation to the chord being played.

If the harmony is a G major triad, I would only play the G , A , and D during it.

So what’s the purpose of this? Well, for one, the limitations in note choices will force you to be creative. Second, this is just a starting point – merely a game – to get your writer’s block defeated.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read! Feel free to comment, share, and subscribe for more daily tips below! Till next time.

How To Beat Writer’s Block – Tip #20

Can it be possible to bore yourself into creativity?

When things are so mind-numbingly boring, people usually tend to do something about it to make it more exciting (unless they are content with it or just plain lazy).

Try this exercise: start by playing the simplest rhythm you can think of (possibly quarter-notes) on a single pitch. Play it over and over again. More and more until the natural urge to change it comes out.

You will probably start by changing the rhythm, getting bored with the constant quarter-notes. Then, you’ll probably start varying the pitch – creating a melody.

And there you go! A start of a piece born from plain boredom!

Thank you so much for taking the time to read! Feel free to comment, share, and subscribe for more daily tips below! Till next time.

How To Beat Writer’s Block – Tip #19

Sometimes, what might be stopping you from beginning to write an amazing piece is that you are overwhelmed by what to write. Will it be a symphony, a pop hit, an EDM banger, a brass quartet..?

What might help is engrossing yourself in the genre or style you want to write. Meaning, constantly listening to that kind of music, watching videos about it, and reading books. Having your environment around you be that narrow pathway of music you want to write will encourage you to overcome the writer block and compose.

Think about this. Will a person who live in a town of only fast food venture out to eat healthy? Most likely not, because that person’s environment is basically a pathways to eating greasy foods.

By limiting your listening to a specific genre, watching videos, and reading about it – you will be pushed more into writing that piece you’ve wanted to for a long time.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read! Feel free to comment, share, and subscribe for more daily tips below! Till next time.

How To Beat Writer’s Block – Tip #17

Here is a tip just to get the ball rolling with music writing. This is not intended for you to write music to release.

Whenever you stop doing something (writing music, arranging, letting the creative juices flow, etc.) it can be difficult to get back into the swing of the activity.

So, you will need to start with baby-steps before doing it own you own – letting your music walk on two feet again.

One way to achieve baby steps is to take a musical logo or jingle from your favorite product and try rewriting it. Or take a favorite tune and rewrite it. See how close you can come to the original without sounding like a pirated or infringed work.

NOTE: infringing copyright, plagiarism, and stealing ideas are wrong. More important, I never advise anyone to do it.

However, trying to copy a song AND NEVER RELEASING IT – can help get the momentum and writing again. To repeat: try to get as close to the original in your rewrite without making it sound like a carbon copy.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read! Feel free to comment, share, and subscribe for more daily tips below! Till next time.

How To Beat Writer’s Block – Tip #15

This is a very abstract and avant-garde way of composing.

Start by writing on a piece of sheet music a bunch of notes at random – with a variety of note lengths and pitches. Do this without thought. You can even ask a friend to do this and ask them to randomly write stuff on a staff.

Next, rip the piece of sheet music up. How you do that is up to you, but I suggest that each scrap of paper contains at least one note figure of motif.

From there, arrange and piece back together the sheet music. You certainly don’t have to use all the scraps. Also, you can invert the scraps and turn them upside down against the staff to get a new pitch.

Now, play your creation. If you like it, keep it! In the case that you don’t approve of it, edit it or start from the beginning of the process again.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read! Feel free to comment, share, and subscribe for more daily tips below! Till next time.

How To Beat Writer’s Block – Tip #14

If you are struggling to come up with the start to your new composition or song – have no worry!

Today we are going to talk about a simple game/exercise that can spark your creative juices.

Start by taking some famous brand commercials – either by obtaining them online or just from pure memory when watching them on television. From there, erase from your memory what the music was in that commercial.

Now, be the composer and write a little musical logo or jingle that would appear at the end of the commercial. Most musical logos are only a few notes long, so this task shouldn’t be exhausting – but it does force you to be creative by making a musical jingle that consumers of the product will remember.

Or, even make up your own product. However, the focus should be on the composing of the motif that can be later recycled as a new musical work.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read! Feel free to comment, share, and subscribe for more daily tips below! Till next time.

How To Beat Writer’s Block – Tip #13

If you are like most other composers and songwriters – you spend a heavy amount of time listening to other writers’ works and not of your own. That’s okay, because you are listening to find your sound that you like in your favorite artists.

Starting a new musical work can be a scary task, but if you have a sound in mind from one of your favorite artists – you have gone over the biggest hurdle.

I AM NOT SAYING TO PLAGERIZE!

What I am saying to do is to use your ears and dissect what makes the music itself.

Write down in your notepad about what you hear with the:

  • Instruments, and how many/what kind
  • Timbre, and texture
  • Structure, and where certain sounds appear/disappear
  • Melody, and patterns
  • Harmony, and progressions/voicings
  • Rhythm, and beat/tempo
  • Growth of the music, and change
  • Text, and lyrics

This will give you an advanced analysis on how to make sounds similar to your favorite composers and songwriters.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read! Feel free to comment, share, and subscribe for more daily tips below! Till next time.

How To Beat Writer’s Block – Tip #12

Sometimes, we are tasked with writing a piece of music for a large band/ensemble comprised of many different instruments. That might turn out to be a daunting task – considering all the possibilities of what instruments to use and how.

From there, you might get a sense of writer’s block for not knowing how to proceed forward with all these possibilities.

One thing you can do to alleviate this stress is to focus down to one instrument – the piano. By composing to one instrument, you mind is more focused and more free to be creative within the realms of one instrument.

Once you have sketched out your composition, you have the ability to arrange appropriately by assigning melodic lines to instruments in their “natural register” and harmonic changes to the rhythm section.

There, a huge task made simple!

Thank you so much for taking the time to read! Feel free to comment, share, and subscribe for more daily tips below! Till next time.

How To Beat Writer’s Block – Tip #11

There are sounds and inspirations all around you, I grantee it – but you need to be conscious of it first.

Close your eyes, disconnect from the internet, and attempt to remove all senses from your mind momentarily.

Did you hear silence?

Probably not. Maybe there was the hum of a machine, the talking of people, the singing of birds, etc.

Regardless, you can use these sounds as inspirations. Try transcribing the melodic pitches of a songbird or of a windchime. Use the rhythm of natural speech as the source of your next beat. Sample live audio sounds from a household appliance. Be creative!

There are so many sounds and so many possibilities to utilize them. Go at it!

Thank you so much for taking the time to read! Feel free to comment, share, and subscribe for more daily tips below! Till next time.

How To Beat Writer’s Block – Tip #10

In some DAWs (actually, in most) you have a piano roll setting where you can draw in “notes” that will be played horizontally in time along with a keyboard instrument propped up vertically.

While most people use this piano roll setting to create the exact melody, harmony, rhythmic pattern that they are looking for – you can also use it to draw!

Because the “notes” are in shapes of lines and blocks, you can use them as lines in a drawing to create a cool image… as well as a cool musical idea!

Take a look at an example below made in FL Studios:

Notice how the blocks where arranged to look like a heart-shape… or shape of a cat’s face. Whatever you are up to imagine and interpret.

You can do a similar thing, too – but also try to stay conscious of the melodic and harmonic qualities of the thing you are drying. The object of this writer’s block tip is to be visually creative while musically driven.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read! Feel free to comment, share, and subscribe for more daily tips below! Till next time.