writing your own songs

[Dave's Bitch]

hey guys

i just started to write a few songs of my own lately,i have come up with a few riffs and some lyrics to go with them but i have kinda hit a creative block now and cant think of anything else.does anyone have any advise or tips or anything like that?.i need to work on a solo aswell,but basicaly i have an intro,verse riff and chorus riff and i cant seem to get anything else.

anyone have any advise or anything?

[ThrillsNSpills]

You could work through the block, then go back later and revise the stuff that you feel is crap.

Have the attitude that the block is an illusion and you are bigger than it is.

once you realize you can change the way you perceive things, your options increase.

A good tone can inspire you, but so can meditation, or strong emotion, or just playing for hours until something just "shows up."

As long as you are in motion, you can't do wrong. shut off the "inner critic". I know, it's all easier said than done but as long as you find one or two things that work, it could be all you need.

[Diamondjimi]

Demo what you've got so far. leave it alone for a week and listen again with "fresh ears" . If it stiil sounds cool new ideas will follow.
If it does'nt grab ya ,take the good parts and start fresh........

[guwapo_rocker]

Originally posted by diamondjimi
Demo what you've got so far. leave it alone for a week and listen again with "fresh ears" . If it stiil sounds cool new ideas will follow.
If it does'nt grab ya ,take the good parts and start fresh........

Just what I was going to say.

Put it on tape, move on, and check it out in a week or two.

[Rikk]

Originally posted by guwapo_rocker
Just what I was going to say.

Put it on tape, move on, and check it out in a week or two.

Yeah. Then it'll sound as "good" as PETE's stuff.:p

[DeadOrAlive]

If you ever forget those tasty licks, use Power Tab Editor to write them down. It'll even play back what your wrote down! Plus it's a free program. WHAT A DEAL.

[Matt White]

Try playing someting really werid for a bridge...something you usually wouldn't...like a country lick or such....'

Inspiration comes from the strangest places...

Listen to some Motown....

[sagebrush]

Everything everyone said is really good stuff but for me when im working on a song and hit the wall i put it on cd and start on something else for a bit . Solos are like trying to put the toothpaste back in the tube for me when i work on one all day and it still sucks i try to play the riff over and over and put licks in it till a licks becomes something else that i can use in my solo .

[BrownSound1]

The solo is the last thing I usually do, and even then I don't work it out, but just play it off the cuff. The only time that rule doesn't apply is when I want something melodic, then I'll work that bit out and wing the rest of it.

Writer's block is a pain, and I don't know how to tell you to work through it. For me, once an idea starts rolling for a tune, it usually comes together without much problem. It is only when I try to get too fancy with stuff that I'll get a block, then I'll bounce it off of some other people and see what they can come up with.

[GAR]

Take a bath with the tape playing and try to hear the fundamentals with your ears underwater, that's what I've done for ideas.

Another idea is jogging. I go jogging and increasing the speed while thinking of the song helps harmonic divisions come about because jogging is about patterns too. For me at least it works