5 Tips To Overcome The Writer’s Block for Music Composing
All songwriters at some point in their careers experience the songwriter’s block. It does not matter whether or not the songwriter in question is a successful idol or just an energetic individual starting out his or her career; it reaches a point where the ideas just stop flowing. Luckily, this is not a permanent state and can only last for a few days or weeks, if managed correctly.
The following are five tips to help you overcome your block and bring back your songwriting ideas.
1. Do not criticize yourself when you are facing a writer’s block; let others do that for you.
Writing music is hard enough as it is without you becoming your own biggest critic. One of the major causes of writers block is the feeling by most writers that what they are working on is not good enough to see the light of day and will never be as good as their previous work. If you really want to go back to writing music when you’re still in your prime then you will have to turn off your inner critic and throw all caution to the wind.
2. Change your environment and routine in order to avoid destructions and getting caught up in your own cliches.
Leave your safety zone for a while and try working your writing from an angle you’ve never done before. Write your music using an instrument that you are not very familiar with. If the guitar is your forte, then try writing with a piano or even a set of drums. Combine this change with a change in your environment and the people you interact with daily such as visiting an old friend instead of going to your neighbor’s or visiting your parents instead of spending the whole day at the studio.
3. Look and listen everywhere for inspiration.
Listen to the works of other great songwriters for inspiration. Compile a long list of only your favorite writers, sit down and play them all back one at a time. One of the songs you listen to is bound to shock your creative side back to life.
4. Take some time out to do some free writing.
Do not think about it, just take a pen and a notebook and start writing. Start with the title and keep this up for as long as you feel is necessary. When you write, do not erase or strike out anything. This at first may be slow, but in a few minutes you will find yourself picking up the pace and actually enjoying it. After sometime you may even find yourself surprised at the quality of what you would have written.
5. Ask for help.
If you are working with a deadline and do not have the luxury of overcoming your writers block with the above tips, then do not be afraid of asking a colleague to co-write your song with you. You will however, need to choose your co-writer wisely. Ensure that his or her contribution will bring in what you feel is lacking and that he or she will give your project the amount of seriousness and attention it deserves.
Some of the above tips work better than others in terms of the amount of time it would take you to feel any change. If you try one and feel like you are still out of songwriting ideas, then try another one. You may even try using more than one tip at the same time in order to improve your chances of getting out of your slump faster.
written by: TabieAn