# Blocks, no inspiration and unable to finish pieces...



## Sasje (Mar 31, 2013)

I am not a formal trained composer, I am tinkering and learning as I go. I am not working as composer, I do this as a hobby. A serious hobby. Lately, when I work on pieces I hit certain blocks, especially on how to finish a piece. I can get started with a piece really easy, but I am unable to finish it somehow? Finishing a piece seems a bit disappointing sometimes, I get bored and start a new piece and then I get stuck with folders full of unfinished pieces.

I am not sure why this is, but it's frustrating... Does anyone recognize this?


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## Inductance (Mar 31, 2013)

I think different people encounter "blocks" at different points. In my case, if I've been working on something for too long, it doesn't feel fresh and exciting anymore and I start to lose interest. Also, it's always more interesting to work on the meaty and exciting parts of the piece, and I always get stuck on the less exciting parts. 

I don't think there are any secrets to getting over these blocks. I've found that if I tell myself that I HAVE to finish this, eventually inspiration does come back. I almost have to take a worker-like attitude for awhile until it starts becoming fun again.


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## Vlzmusic (Mar 31, 2013)

Hi Sasje!

First of all - don`t feel uneasy with yourself, believe me - pros do get blocks and troubles as well!

As a measure to take in your specific case, I would suggest to learn a few basic forms which are used for writing pieces. I guess there are some fairly easy chapters written out there, on how to construct rondo/prelude/pop song, so you can start by following those rules, and fill them with your creative content. Don`t worry - there is no wasted effort, and no sub-par output in these - talented composer can write a genius piece by doing music school homework.

Good luck!


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## Sasje (Mar 31, 2013)

Thanks.  

@Vlzmusic I now think the lack of theory breaks me up. I am always trying to do things my way and ignore basic structure/form and try to come up with my own form. But I now realize that this approach hurts me and I get stuck.


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## Lex (Mar 31, 2013)

I mentioned this couple times before here (and I get the feeling nobody else relates to this  ), but here it goes again.

Try to answer one of the these questions for every piece you start and see if it helps.

1. What is it about/what do you want it to say/what are you expressing?

2. What is it for/what do you want it to do?

3. Why are you writing it to begin with?


alex


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## Alex Cuervo (Mar 31, 2013)

“Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art.”


― Andy Warhol


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## Vlzmusic (Mar 31, 2013)

Sasje

Just to relate to the last bit you`ve mentioned (as this comes up frequently when people discuss music theory):

Following the guidelines will not "break" your individuality. They will not make your workflow unnatural. You ARE following those instinctively already, when you construct motives and "know" by your heart how they should round off. As in every craft - awareness amplifies and intensifies your own strengths, which are "already there", cause you live that culture of musical forms since the day you where born, with every piece you listen to.


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## gsilbers (Mar 31, 2013)

Alex Cuervo @ Sun Mar 31 said:


> “Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art.”
> 
> 
> ― Andy Warhol




on the similar vein, 

its all about keep going. keep at it. write whatever. just get it down in writing/daw. move on , finish the job. its getting from a to b and fill in the blanks. spend the time going on detours or things you don't like for that piece but might work well on a new one. 
the most important part is sitting down and writing what u can and little by little the flow of creativity will open . but its all about sitting down and writing. whatever. 

its on several books i read about writers block. 

you'r best friend is "save as".


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## Peter Alexander (Mar 31, 2013)

Sasje @ Sun Mar 31 said:


> I am not a formal trained composer, I am tinkering and learning as I go. I am not working as composer, I do this as a hobby. A serious hobby. Lately, when I work on pieces I hit certain blocks, especially on how to finish a piece. I can get started with a piece really easy, but I am unable to finish it somehow? Finishing a piece seems a bit disappointing sometimes, I get bored and start a new piece and then I get stuck with folders full of unfinished pieces.
> 
> I am not sure why this is, but it's frustrating... Does anyone recognize this?



One of the reasons this happens is because many starting out ignore music form which is a roadmap for starting and finishing anything from a song to a full composition. It's also a guide to help learn how to listen with focus to see how others dealt with the same issue.


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## Resoded (Mar 31, 2013)

Lex @ 31st March 2013 said:


> I mentioned this couple times before here (and I get the feeling nobody else relates to this  ), but here it goes again.
> 
> Try to answer one of the these questions for every piece you start and see if it helps.
> 
> ...



You're not alone, I've been doing the same thing and it helps me a lot. If I start out with a piece with a clear intention of what I want it to contain and what I want to say with it, and also have a clear picture of which instruments to use, how long it should be and in which context it should be used, I immediately get into a more creative zone.

If I'm completely free to do whatever I want, for no reason in particular more than the fun of it, I often end up blocked by this freedom.


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## re-peat (Mar 31, 2013)

gsilbers @ Sun Mar 31 said:


> (...) the most important part is sitting down and writing what u can (...)


Potentially bad and dangerous advice, if I may say so. Cause if the reason for the lack of inspiration, or whatever one wants to call it, is a certain frustration with one’s own limitations, then “sitting down and writing whatever you can” will actually make it worse, as it'll only repeat and confirm the cause of the frustration, the feeling of "being stuck".
This is actually one of the worst side-effects of lacking a solid grounding in music: you end up fishing in that rather small pond of your own natural (and undeveloped) abilities, and no matter how much talent you may have, there’s an end to the variety and the quality of the results this lazy and convenient attitude will yield. A broader knowlegde, more technical insight, a better musical know-how will allow you to look for, and explore, different and bigger ponds, and this is something which will automatically bring new waves of vitality, enjoyment and energy to your work.

Always fishing in the same pond of your own raw talent means that, before long, you know exactly what the rewards will be — and this is a predictability which inevitably becomes awfully boring and, in a further stage, completely paralyzing. (If you have any pride and self-esteem that is. If not, none of this does matter all that much, I suppose.)

To get the energy and the inspiration back, you need to do something which gives you a sense of making progress, of covering new ground. It doesn’t necessarily have to be musical-technical new ground (although there will come a moment when you can’t avoid that challenge any longer), it can also be something in the area of music production, programming, mixing, … anything really, but the thing is: you gotta work on something which generates a feeling of doing something which will take you where you haven’t been before. You have to be able to look back on your work as some sort of achievement, a step forwards.

The most important thing in all this is: be mercilessly honest with yourself. Don’t tell yourself you’re doing something worthwhile when, deep-down, you know you’re actually turning out the same old stuff you were turning out yesterday. Set yourself a challenge, don’t accept easy solutions, go find the limits of what you can do and then find a way to cross that line. And if that requires study, then study. 
If you can manage that, you’ll be suprised at how much energy and inspiration you will suddenly have. In short: develop and educate yourself. The better equipped you are, the less obstacles (of whatever kind) will be able to stop you in your tracks.

_


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## mverta (Mar 31, 2013)

In my composition class, I talk about the constant balance between things familiar and things new. Music is a communication with others, and as such, you are best served by initially speaking simply, before teaching them new vocabulary. In composition, this means don't shy away from the simple, tried-and-true, repeated-a-billion-times chord progressions found in both the children's tunes by Mozart and Beethoven, and the pop tunes on the radio. They define a common language we all intuitively understand and connect to, and this is the motivation which keeps the audience listening to what else you have to say. Having won their confidence, you can slowly begin to take them to places they've not been to before. In fact, the more solid that initial connection, the more range you have to explore.

You may be a formally-trained composer, but you have a lifetime of experience with music, so much of which has tons in common. Start simply. Practice writing children's tunes/pop songs. If you can't say something compelling and satisfying in the simplest of realms, you will not have control over the more complex ones. And remember, the human brain is an insanely powerful pattern recognition machine; it will always look for patterns in the chaos - rhythmic ones, melodic/intervallic ones. Satisfy that.

Short, simple, and familiar. Begin there, before blazing all the new trails you envision. It will also make it easier to complete your pieces, as structure, too, has precedent we've all experienced countless times in our lives and naturally connect to.


_Mike


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## Arbee (Mar 31, 2013)

re-peat @ Mon Apr 01 said:


> A broader knowlegde, more technical insight, a better musical know-how will allow you to look for, and explore, different and bigger ponds, and this is something which will automatically bring new waves of vitality, enjoyment and energy to your work.


This is a double edged sword. I have a modest but reasonable stylistic understanding across baroque, classical, romantic, swing, modern jazz, art rock, jazz rock, techno and metal (due purely to the places my life, education and curiosity have taken me, oh and how long I've simply been alive  ). And I enjoy every single one of them. Getting a genre sorted for my ideas is one of the main blocks as the pallette these days is so vast, and in almost every dimension sonically, harmonically and structurally. Breadth of knowledge can equally create inspiration or paralysis.

If one is not pursuing music as a full time professional activity (as I did for 15 years and hoping to again), then perhaps the block is also the result of no deadlines, and perhaps even the depth of passion lacking that it takes to make this very challenging area of human endeavour a full time commitment.

On the other hand, you can spin your wheels a lot while trying to ignore the teachings of centuries (I know, been there  ), so yes, more knowledge may get you over the "speed hump".

.


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## germancomponist (Mar 31, 2013)

Arbee @ Mon Apr 01 said:


> If one is not pursuing music as a full time professional activity ..., then perhaps the block is also the result of no deadlines, .. .



Very important! 

If there is no deadline, then you have all the time in the world to philosophize on every single note. That mostly ends in a dilemma. ...


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## Guy Bacos (Mar 31, 2013)

Lex @ Sun Mar 31 said:


> I mentioned this couple times before here (and I get the feeling nobody else relates to this  ), but here it goes again.
> 
> Try to answer one of the these questions for every piece you start and see if it helps.
> 
> ...



Maybe nobody relates to it for the reason that behind each of your points, you have a whole book...


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## Lex (Apr 1, 2013)

Guy Bacos @ Mon Apr 01 said:


> Lex @ Sun Mar 31 said:
> 
> 
> > I mentioned this couple times before here (and I get the feeling nobody else relates to this  ), but here it goes again.
> ...



As in : we could talk and talk and talk about each of the 3, for they are very complex questions ?

alex


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## George Caplan (Apr 1, 2013)

germancomponist @ Sun Mar 31 said:


> Arbee @ Mon Apr 01 said:
> 
> 
> > If one is not pursuing music as a full time professional activity ..., then perhaps the block is also the result of no deadlines, .. .
> ...



:lol: very true!


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## Guy Bacos (Apr 1, 2013)

Lex @ Mon Apr 01 said:


> Guy Bacos @ Mon Apr 01 said:
> 
> 
> > Lex @ Sun Mar 31 said:
> ...




Exactly! 

Kind of like a teacher saying to a piano student about playing a Beethoven piano Sonata: 

"Junior, what is it you are trying to express?"


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## Lex (Apr 1, 2013)

Guy Bacos @ Mon Apr 01 said:


> Exactly!
> 
> Kind of like a teacher saying to a piano student about playing a Beethoven piano Sonata:
> 
> "Junior, what is it you are trying to express?"



I see your point, but if we are talking about creation and composing, if you can't answer any of these questions with a simple sentence you are just plonking around...which can be great fun, and lead to many original ideas...but plonking it self doesn't really needs to go anywhere or be finished. 

And I totally agree with re-peat, making your pool of knowledge wider and deeper as much as you can is essential, but it's only half the work (if that much) because if you don't force yourself to answer one of those 3, you are still just plonking...you will have absolutely amazing set of composing and orchestrating skills, that you will use for plonking around.

alex


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## Guy Bacos (Apr 1, 2013)

Well maybe you're right Alex, I know that what I think is obvious on this subject, others can be light years away from what I'm talking about. Forcing yourself to do something can become more frustrating if some crucial elements are lacking. Everybody on this forum wants to have the answer to these questions, but if it was that easy, then that one post would do the trick.


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## Sasje (Apr 1, 2013)

Great pieces of advice, thanks everyone. I'll read the comments more carefully in a moment.

To continue, there is this inherent fear of theory that I have. I've had the same with doing paintings. I painted for a long time, and I realized (just as in music) that there are certain rules. 
Thing is, rules and creativity seem to contradict each other. Music & Art is like Math, there are rules, formula's. It's somewhat deterministic. It has boundaries on creativity. And I don't really like that. 

I want to color outside the lines. :D 

One exception is oriental "Zen" painting. It's one of the only art forms (besides abstract) where there are no rules. No golden means, no mathematical truth, no patterns, no structure. 
Just expression, it's complete creative freedom. It is something that I look for in music, in composition. But as the name suggest: composition = composed. It's structured, determined and has boundaries.

Anyway, just some random thoughts I had...


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## Guy Bacos (Apr 1, 2013)

Sasje @ Mon Apr 01 said:


> Thing is, rules and creativity seem to contradict each other.




That's more of a bad habit. When we are bombarded with too many rules, it tends to crush our creativity. It's a real art to combine the 2. I fight with that all the time.


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## Sasje (Apr 1, 2013)

Guy Bacos @ Mon Apr 01 said:


> Sasje @ Mon Apr 01 said:
> 
> 
> > Thing is, rules and creativity seem to contradict each other.
> ...



Yes, indeed. My creativity seems to ebb away the moment I "need" to do a certain thing because it is expected in a piece of music. You know, like songwriting: Everyone expects a verse/chorus/verse formula. It makes me cringe... really.


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## Guy Bacos (Apr 1, 2013)

I remember hearing Burt Bacharach saying, at one point in his life he was over thinking his compositional process, like trying to make 8 bar melodies, then when he decided to let that go, that's when he became really creative, in his less conventional song form.


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## Lex (Apr 1, 2013)

Guy Bacos @ Mon Apr 01 said:


> Well maybe you're right Alex, I know that what I think is obvious on this subject, others can be light years away from what I'm talking about. Forcing yourself to do something can become more frustrating if some crucial elements are lacking. Everybody on this forum wants to have the answer to these questions, but if it was that easy, then that one post would do the trick.



I just get the feeling (might be a wrong feeling) that you see my questions as very deep "meaning of art" questions, and while they can certainly be seen and discussed as such, I intended them as very simple, "day to day" questions that I thought could help a stuck composer.

For example, are you writing a theme? Are you practicing your woodwind section voicing and orchestration? Are you simply testing out your template? Are you writing something that will be a movement of a larger work? Are you writing a "track" for potential commercial release? Are you writing material that should end up in your demo reel? Are you exploring ring modulation today? 

Are you writing about a story that moved you? Idea that you want to share with the world, but don't wanna use words? The last thing she said? The ray of light you caught on her cheek that day? The decomposing seagull you saw by the shore? The fact that you are insecure? The fact that you are awesome?

All of this should be more then obvious, I totally agree, but a lot of the times "listening" to other composers talk on this forum it looks like it isn't and people feel stuck. Music is a language, you can use it to say something, to express yourself, you can use it professionally, you can use it for fun, but you got to know what you wanna do with it, other wise you'r just playing scrabble with yourself, which is also fine if that's what you intended to do in the first place. 

A little focus can help a lot, am I wrong here? Make a great "something". Every time I hear people say they just wanna make great music, or that they are "just having fun", makes my skin crawl. 

alex


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## Lex (Apr 1, 2013)

Sasje @ Mon Apr 01 said:


> I want to color outside the lines. :D
> 
> One exception is oriental "Zen" painting. It's one of the only art forms (besides abstract) where there are no rules. No golden means, no mathematical truth, no patterns, no structure.
> Just expression, it's complete creative freedom. It is something that I look for in music, in composition. But as the name suggest: composition = composed. It's structured, determined and has boundaries.
> ...



That's a great idea. But keep in mind that even in Zen painting you have very clear practical if not artistic boundaries compared to the possibilities of a typical modern music studio. In Zen painting your work will not be bigger then the size of the paper you chose to work with, it will not use more then one brush and rarely more then 1 to 3 colors of ink. Your studio (or even your pen and paper if you write only orchestral music) is the equivalent of having unlimited and undetermined paper size coupled with every shade of color and brush known to man.

Make your own boundaries. Choose your colors, and choose your own paper size. It could help for those times when you feel stuck.

You got to have a firm and clear understanding of where and what the lines are in order to color outside the lines.

alex


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## Tatu (Apr 1, 2013)

When I get stuck, I turn off my computer, have a cup of coffee, perhaps a cigarette and walk in circles, repeating the music in my head until I find the direction I need. If it doesn't come within reasonable time, I do something else and revisit my thoughts the next day, week or month. When there's no deadline, there's no deadline.


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## Frederick Russ (Apr 1, 2013)

One idea - instead of trying to go full out midi mockup while you compose, it might also help to sketch out the piece entirely on piano first before it ever hits samples libraries and virtual instruments. This allows you to stop critiquing the sound per se since its simply a sketch, It lets you look first with less judgement sonically. Allows you to see whether the arrangement and the composition is actually working on a simplistic level by removing your sonic options to single compositional instrument. 

I personally like the approach of sketching out on piano for four hands. If the piece gets boring at this stage its a good sign that it will end up being boring even with the most lush sonics. Let's you play around with an idea, develop it without having to completely overhaul the orchestration and arrangement. Let's you focus on the intent of the piece rather than trying to make it sound pretty at the drawing board stage.

This is only one take. Lastly, if all of us had the exact same sample libraries and gear, the tie breaker will always be the writing itself.


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## dedersen (Apr 1, 2013)

Spot on, Frederick. Great advice, shift focus away from the production and onto the purely musical aspects.


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## Guy Bacos (Apr 1, 2013)

Except that your blockage could include any ideas or inspiration, even on the piano. This was my case a few months ago, and I had a thread about this, looking for advice. I couldn't get nothing, totally blank! But it's back now, but just to say it could be beyond the orchestration aspect.

But I do agree with writing a piano track first and 4 hands too. If it doesn't sound hot like that it won't sound hot with 1000 instruments either.


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## clarkcontrol (Apr 1, 2013)

The rules will set you free. Boundaries are necessary and desired. Without either of these there is no context and without context the art cannot be consumed effectively. 

The more rules there are, the less I worry about what to do because there are less choices to make.

Coloring outside the lines is a very romantic notion but practically speaking it is in exactly those occasions that I lose creative momentum because the focus of the piece starts to unravel. 

Understanding theory and styles is paramount to getting past creative roadblocks. Think about it: if you were writing poetry and you were looking for just the right word, that phrase that would really tie in the whole stanza, wouldn't you want a huge vocabulary? Wouldn't you want to know English grammar cold? Wouldn't you want to know all that stuff instead of choosing to ignore convention because you're worried that your art won't be original? So instead of making up a word that nobody will understand why not find a word that already exists?


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## Tatu (Apr 1, 2013)

Frederick Russ @ Mon Apr 01 said:


> One idea



This the one that always comes up in these discussions. And it's very true.


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## Sasje (Apr 1, 2013)

I'm not sure what I said made any sense anymore. It feels like my head/heart is just completely blank lately. I'm just seriously depressed. My apologies.


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## AlexRuger (Apr 7, 2013)

Sasje @ Mon Apr 01 said:


> Great pieces of advice, thanks everyone. I'll read the comments more carefully in a moment.
> 
> To continue, there is this inherent fear of theory that I have. I've had the same with doing paintings. I painted for a long time, and I realized (just as in music) that there are certain rules.
> Thing is, rules and creativity seem to contradict each other. Music & Art is like Math, there are rules, formula's. It's somewhat deterministic. It has boundaries on creativity. And I don't really like that.
> ...



It's this way of thinking that makes people think that classical music is old and stuffy. It's bold music made by bold artists questioning the supposed "rules" of their time.

There are no rules--only suggestions. And these suggestions were formed by theoreticians looking back at people more daring and creative than they are and saying, "Hey, I like this person's music. It is therefore _right_ and what they did is correct and I'll make rules based around this music to prove my point."

A little cynical and overly-simplistic, but the point remains: Theory follows practice. If it sounds good, it _is_ good. 

Think of harmony and theory as structures, not rules. You can use them to prop you up and help you better understand those above and before you.


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## impressions (Apr 7, 2013)

Good points guys.
I just want to add- everyone encounters blocks. Just depends on the kind, so define what your block is- and then you'll be at least able to know your "enemy".

Usually blocks occur when the musical motif or the essence of the composition isn't strong enough to continue. Like its sick and dies. Or like it can't break from earth's gravity and falls back down. 

When you find something really strong it will take you through the piece. Unless you're Mozart and every bunch of notes can be turned to a masterpiece.
Just find it, make sure your basis is right so you can "lift off" properly, the rest will come naturally.
It's like reading Bach, or a good story, it will make you breath life into it, you don't need to force it.


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## Darthmorphling (Apr 7, 2013)

I started composing as a hobby about a year ago and to this day I haven't finished a piece. Granted I have spent a lot of time learning and have about 40 idea projects saved.

I just needed something to force me to finish an idea. I started a collaborative learning project, and there a few people interested. You should join us. I have taken the original melody and have a project file with several variations/different instrumentations as of this morning. Almost enough to write an entire two minute cue. Are they all good. Not sure at the moment, but the difference is a I have a deadline now, and like writing my college papers the night before they were due, I do better under pressure.

Even if it's not a great piece, at least I will have popped the composing cherry :mrgreen:

Here's the link:

http://www.vi-control.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=30766

Don


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