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I know there was a similar topic recently, but...

I am suffering from severe writers block. I can get a basic 8 - 16 bar loop running with some nice drum arrangement going on, then, BAM!

Nothing, Nish, Lack, Sweet F A!

I can't for the life of me work out why this keeps happening? I've tried taking time out (days on end), listening to other genres, collecting new samples together, revisiting old tracks, but nothing, NOTHING will rid the dreaded block.

Please tell me I'm not alone!!!

Is there a rehab type centre for confused and irritated producers?!

happens to the best of us, try smoking some weed

I've had writiers block for weeks at a time before. It happens, just gotta wait it out!

Radical perspective shifts can help - and not just musical ones.

Some people have a cycle of creativity that sees their focus go other places for a while and then come back - like when you get more into listening to tunes for a while than making them, or more into beats than bass/vice versa, or even when your creative energies seem to want to make movies or write or draw or whatever... the point is, let it wander and just step away from the DAW for a while until you feel it come back, or at least try making music in a completely different way (beatboxing into a tape recorder or picking up an acoustic instrument or something.)

If that fails, Mescaline has been known to help some people too.

Alphacat wrote:
If that fails, Mescaline has been known to help some people too.

Ha ha! Now that's a plan!

Good advice there. It's defo cyclical for me. Just this time it's dragging on and on.

Thing is, I've got so many ideas in my grey matter that I wanna lay down, but just can't get them out.

Might try the beat boxing. Beardy Man watch out!!!

my thought:

Don't be afraid to make horrible sh_t.

If you get stuck, just try and even if it comes out kinda wack, keep working.

In my own experience, I think I hold myself back because I am trying to find the perfect way to proceed, and never do.

Finishing songs, writing songs, etc - all require practice.

(my current focus)

limit urself. Give urself a certain samplepack and say to yourself : 'oke i gonna make a track with just these samples.'

give ur self an assignment. It works for me. Or just experiment with synths or beats. Instead of make music, create some sounds you might use later on.

Listen some other music could be an eye opener too.

listen to one of your bars that you make and imagine it was someone else's tune and think about what you would want to hear...

maybe a good time to do sum promotional stuff ie update bio on any sites, work on some artwork, burn demo cds and send them out. basicly whilst u have a block and cant make tunes use the time to promote the tunes u have already finished or use the time to network so when u do get bk and make that killer tune. u have places to send it. or on the other hand for a bit of fun you could try another DAW and try learn it. thats always a mission or pick a synth or vst and say right im going to learn this bit of kit inside out.

contakt321 wrote:my thought:

Don't be afraid to make horrible sh_t.

If you get stuck, just try and even if it comes out kinda wack, keep working.

In my own experience, I think I hold myself back because I am trying to find the perfect way to proceed, and never do.

Finishing songs, writing songs, etc - all require practice.

(my current focus)

Good advice here Contakt.

I'm not afraid to make the shit stuff. Think I'm gonna look at the way I write and try a different angle.

Also - compete in the next DSF contest. The sample pack should be up soon. Working with limitations is fun and good practice.

Arktic wrote:maybe a good time to do sum promotional stuff ie update bio on any sites, work on some artwork, burn demo cds and send them out. basicly whilst u have a block and cant make tunes use the time to promote the tunes u have already finished or use the time to network so when u do get bk and make that killer tune. u have places to send it. or on the other hand for a bit of fun you could try another DAW and try learn it. thats always a mission or pick a synth or vst and say right im going to learn this bit of kit inside out.

Good stuff here too. Thanks Arktic.

I think the biggest problem for me is trying to hard. If anyone does this then the creativity just dries up.

I've been thinking about trying another DAW for a while now. I got a bit of spare cash, so I might go shopping (after demo'ing a DAW). Producing solely in Reason v4 (as I do) has it's limitations. I reckon it could be time to make a move...

Word, that can be fun too.

Try the new Live 8 demo (free for 2 weeks - saving enabled even).

I love it. Takes a while to get your head around then all of sudden it's like "damn - it's that easy?" over and over and over.

I just got over a looooooong block and am in the midst of a very productive period...

What helped for me was just focusing on DJ'ing... and while spinning paying attention to what it was about certain songs that really 'did it' for me, and then trying to recreate that in my own way. That, and taking more time to really think about where I wanted to take my tunes as a whole. Now when sit down to work on something new, I think as much about how I want the finished tune to feel as I can picture from the get go. By doing that, from step one Im already past the '8 bar block' problem since Ive already gotten past that point in my head before the first note is written.

Dont be afraid to hit stop once in a while and listen to where the tune needs to go in your head, and not just trying to push on with a loop thats continually running over and over in your headphones. For me, the more I hear a loop, the harder it can be to make changes to it because I get so used to how it already sounds that any changes sound 'wrong'.

My other piece of advice is when this block is done... ride out that wave of positive for everything you can... try new tecniques, new sounds, new styles. Get as much knowledge and as much work done as possible, so that when the next 'block' inevitably comes around again, hopefully it wont last so long.

Fuck sampling and start writing from scratch. Samples are the limiting factor in my personal Dr's opinion.

^ I dissagree, but thats more how I work... I find spending hours on a synth patch hinders writing the actual tune. You can always go back and change a sample into a synth later on, but you might miss that moment of melodic inspiration if you're worried about sound design. IMHO of course.

Im def not trying to discount the importance of being creative with your sound/s, but I find it easier to come up with a sound to fit a tune than to make a tune based around a sound.

A producer I look up to said this to my girlfriend recently, as she was just starting to learn Ableton... "...at some point you have to ask yourself, 'are you a songwriter or a sound designer?'"

kidlogic wrote:
A producer I look up to said this to my girlfriend recently, as she was just starting to learn Ableton... "...at some point you have to ask yourself, 'are you a songwriter or a sound designer?'"

I find this comment confusing...

I believe with DAW's being what they are these days that what he's said are one and the same, especially in EDM.

I produce a lot of patches from scratch, but don't consider myself a 'Sound Designer' as such. I just have the means to design sounds when I produce and if I feel like it.

Connection wrote:

kidlogic wrote:
A producer I look up to said this to my girlfriend recently, as she was just starting to learn Ableton... "...at some point you have to ask yourself, 'are you a songwriter or a sound designer?'"

I find this comment confusing...

I believe with DAW's being what they are these days that what he's said are one and the same, especially in EDM.

I produce a lot of patches from scratch, but don't consider myself a 'Sound Designer' as such. I just have the means to design sounds when I produce and if I feel like it.

I think it becomes apparent fairly quickly if you are one or the other.

You either write endless presets or use presets to wrtie endless tunes!

Sadly, I'm a sound designer!

futures_untold wrote:

Connection wrote:

kidlogic wrote:
A producer I look up to said this to my girlfriend recently, as she was just starting to learn Ableton... "...at some point you have to ask yourself, 'are you a songwriter or a sound designer?'"

I find this comment confusing...

I believe with DAW's being what they are these days that what he's said are one and the same, especially in EDM.

I produce a lot of patches from scratch, but don't consider myself a 'Sound Designer' as such. I just have the means to design sounds when I produce and if I feel like it.

I think it becomes apparent fairly quickly if you are one or the other.

You either write endless presets or use presets to wrtie endless tunes!

Sadly, I'm a sound designer!

Haha! Maybe this is where I'm going wrong as I'm stuck slap-bang in the middle!