# I need help. I can't write.



## SimonCharlesHanna (Jan 6, 2014)

I've been privately studying music for about a year now and it has ruined me. I started to see the scope of music theory and the possibilities and now I sit in front of my computer with a blank stare. 

I did two films which could have been great opportunities to create some nice music but instead I just fluffed it. 

I guess you could call this writers block but I can't shake it.

I want to write some music just for myself in genres/moods that I want and even then I am failing. I've tried coming up with chord progressions, melody lines and any other trick I could think to "get the ball rolling" but nothing's working. 

Has anyone had any issues like this before? I've had minor road blocks before but this is ridiculous. I need help.


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## Walid F. (Jan 6, 2014)

What I do when this comes along is just listen to some of my favorite late 1800's, early 1900s classical composers. So much great inspiration can be found from them. Sibelius, Wagner, Stravinskij, Hoolst, Musorgskij - there are just so many fantastic pieces and inspiration sources.

If that style doesn't suit you, then listen to some great film scores that you like. Or game scores!

It seems to me that you have been tilted towards the technical side of music for quite a while, so you have forgotten what it really means to write music - to express yourself and have fun. (Of course for commercial projects you have to obey the director/leader and do things you don't really like doing, but you said that you wanted to write music personally).

So yeah, listen to some great scores, maybe read something, watch artwork, concept art and classical paintings - they all help refresh your creative mind.

Best of luck, dude!

EDIT: I forgot to ask, is there anything else in your life troubling you, occupying your mind? This is a huge factor to consider... Money problems, relationships, stress, things that really take up a lot of your mental energy and hinders motivation - these can all create writer's block. Just a thought (that maybe there are other things you should worry about first!).

W.


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## marclawsonmusic (Jan 6, 2014)

Here's a thought... go see a rock show. Watch some guys with little training play with passion and zeal and see if it kicks something loose!

_-) 

Sometimes going in the opposite direction (or backing off from the problem altogether) can yield good results.

I wish you well, sir.
Marc


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## AC986 (Jan 6, 2014)

SimonCharlesHanna @ Mon Jan 06 said:


> and now I sit in front of my computer with a blank stare.



Welcome! :lol: 



SimonCharlesHanna @ Mon Jan 06 said:


> I did two films which could have been great opportunities to create some nice music but instead I just fluffed it.



What do you mean you fluffed it? Did someone tell you that you fluffed it, or is this part of the staring at the computer scene.

And what did you privately study for a year?


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## Lex (Jan 6, 2014)

How did your writing/inspiration process work before the year of studying?

alex


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## Jdiggity1 (Jan 6, 2014)

Same boat Simon. 
I've often considered myself 'a bit of alright' at music, and when i have a deadline I can usually come up with some pretty cool stuff, but when it comes to writing for ME, I haven't quite worked out how to start.
I am sually very busy though and preoccupied by other things, but I would also love to push through the writer's block I get.
Personally I find that my problem is getting my music into the computer. I can hear how it should sound in my head, but i play it into my DAW and suddenly the magic of it all slowly disappears, until I am left with a half-arsed attempt at a mockup and the inspiration has gone. I must learn to not be so picky when it comes to sonic quality during the compositional process, and leave it for the post production stage.
SO!! I am now dedicating my time to learning my V.Is and DAW, to eliminate as many technical boundaries as I can, in order to get the best sound as possible, as quick as possible. AND!! practicing writing the music without getting too obsessed with the tone of the sample.

For inspiration I browse the Members Compositions forum here, and listen to sample library demos. So much gold when I go digging!


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## Consona (Jan 6, 2014)

I had terrible writer's block and the only thing that helped me was to stop judging my work. Now I have too many unfinished compositions which is another problem. :D


I thought music theory will help me overcome my block but it was not true in my case. I just needed to learn to work with my self-doubt. I needed to switch my mindset from "trying to invent some melody noone ever created" to "enjoy the process".

Now I just use whatever comes to my mind. Brain will fill the gaps and some nice melody appears out of nowhere. These days I just want to capture feeling of some place. I like to compose to some picture. I go to deviantart and I browse through pictures of fantasy, sci-fi or cyberpunk landscapes.


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## Jimbo 88 (Jan 6, 2014)

You must not be studying with the right situation. Learning new things should open up creativity, not shut it down.

One thing that has always worked for me is a technique I learned studying jazz arranging. It is very common for a jazz arranger to re-voice, re- harmonize, melodies. The idea is to give a fresh feel to an established melody, you should hear the melody in a different way. Well you can take this technique a little farther out to the point where you do not recognize the melody or harmony.

My suggestion is to find a piece of music that you really admire, transcribe it, and then rework it. Give it a new rhythm, re harmonize it and re work the melody. Keep changing things up, rework all the elements until it sounds like an original piece. 

That is how all the greats have done it and hence the discussion about how great composers steal.


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## SimonCharlesHanna (Jan 6, 2014)

*Walid* - I always kind of have things on my mind that I worry about. I put quite a bit of pressure on myself to achieve. I am a bit of a stress head. 

*Adriancook* - By fluffed I mean I wrote uninspired, unoriginal music that was functional at best. 

I studied with an old school composition teacher who was teaching me species counterpoint and some basics (cadences, chords etc). I LOVE the counterpoint work - for me that is what makes music sound beautiful. I haven't had much luck integrating it into writing though because I only worked on 2 voices with fairly limited guidelines. 

*Lex * - Back a few years ago when I knew almost nothing about music theory I use to just write what ever came to mind and it was fun! I kinda let my body tell me what I was going to write. I never really had a "process" down though. That's something I am still trying to work out. 

*Consona* - I think that is what I need to do. I know that when you start - like any other piece of art or creation - it is unrefined and doesn't sound amazing. I keep scrapping everything before it even gets to the next stage.


Thank you all for the help so far. It's really scary not being able to write.


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## Jaap (Jan 6, 2014)

I once had a masterclass from Boris Tisjtjenko (former student of Shostakovich) and he told to me to compose every day at least 6 hours. That it had nothing to do with the so called inspiration, but that the art of composition is a craftmanship. Instead of only composing the works you want, he told me a composer should work on everything.
No "inspiration"? Go create some canons, fugues, work out certain melody lines within alternative harmonies or otherwise on orchestrations.

I took his advice very dearly and I have always been composing for at least 6 hours a day to improve my craftmanship. I also noticed that while working on study material I often got the idea I needed for the composition I needed to work on. Beside that I created a big catalogue of ideas, workaround and material I can use when I need to get something done quickly or within a limited timeframe.

If you lack even inpsiration to create a starting point, maybe take a familiar piece and excerise with it. You can take a line from a classical piece and orchestrate it, add counterpoint or go beserk and try to orchestra everything from Limp Bizkit _-) 
Excerise feeds the mind and creates new connections which is for me the so called inspiration.


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## Blakus (Jan 6, 2014)

Lots of good advice here!

Getting started is the hardest part, and I found the best way to get started, is to just... get started. Haha! I now open my blank template with the mentality that *no* idea, no matter how basic, is innately too simple or boring. 

Here's something practical and simple that I find works for me when I'm feeling stuck.
Create an extremely short theme (even just 3 notes), start brainstorming or trial and error: how many different chord progressions can sit underneath it to make it sound like something entirely new? Record a snippet of each one in your DAW like a virtual notepad. The more simple the theme, the more fun this is.

Then do the same process but this time allowing yourself to vary the actual notes of the theme. I haven't started composing yet, I'm just building a library of ideas. Once I have done this for about 15mins, I begin composing! It becomes a fun game of finding clever ways to link the ideas you liked the best. By this stage I find my brain has already been kicked into gear and I'm usually ok! But if I ever get stuck again, I just refer back to the original brainstorm midi clips. Also, I usually brainstorm 2 contrasting themes at the beginning rather than just one. This allows you to alternate between them however you choose. 

If I have picked one theme/variation as a starting point, and then another as the desired destination, I find that simplifies things in my head and allows me to just create! I actually just finished a piece today using this exact method!  My brainstorm produced over 20 variations, but in the 3minute track I only needed 5-6 of them.

I hope that makes sense, sorry if it doesn't! If it works for me, maybe it will work for someone else! All the best!

Blake


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## Rctec (Jan 6, 2014)

What do you want to write about?

...And yes, you must write every day. Get that critic to stop whispering in your ear. You are a composer, not an editor. But it's like I imagine runners, running every day, developing muscle - and it's really hard to get back into it after you take a break. I had a ten day holiday this summer, and then spent 3 month to come up with one good phrase... But I knew that would happen, so I didn't panic - I enjoyed my incompetence and lack of originality. Write shit!...but write. You have to write the shit out of the system to get to the good stuff. Do you think the opening motive of Beethoven's 5th is genius? Any kid could - and probably has - come up with those notes. It's what he does with them is the true magic. And I'm pretty sure that was all to do with putting time in to do the work. It's not art or inspiration, it's making things, its working. But still - it's a game. it's play/work. Where do you think I was on New Years Eve and day? Sitting in front of my computer, moving notes around. I'm deadly dull, I have no hobbies, I write. I don't want to go to the Oscars, or any of that stuff. And writing is working. My inspiration is deadlines and the adrenalin of panicking about them. This is my first evening off - and I'm on a composer forum. But I'm happy, because I know I'll crack the next problem, one note at a time.
The only thing between you and a good piece of music is time and sweat, and the knowledge that it's o.k. to write crap. It's a stepping stone to writing something better. But don't compare yourself to Mozart, or it's game over!
-H-


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## Jaap (Jan 6, 2014)

Hans, Hans, Hans....10 days off during the summer and now again a free evening? Slacker! o-[][]-o


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## H.R. (Jan 7, 2014)

Magnificent suggestions from Hans Zimmer. Thanks.

I had the same problem until last week. I'm working on the most expensive videogame in Iran right now and that scared me a lot. Everyone expecting something great in every aspect of the work and me as a composer have to go above the bar. It's been like 3 months that I was trying to come up with a proper tune. I was playing a lot, studying billions of soundtrack albums and I came up with some good stuff but not very characteristic.And suddenly something strange happened, last week I was washing my dishes and humming random notes, suddenly a great and worthy tune came to my mind. threw dishes away, grabbed my cellphone and recorded what I was humming. There, so simple! The point is, great musics are not always get to your mind at great circumstances, If you make it hard on yourself sometime it would backfire at you. take it easy and think about it with a relaxed mind.

Wish you the best!


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## Resoded (Jan 7, 2014)

Here's a few things that might be worth a try:

Go away from the DAW screen, don't even open it.

Don't use any instrument were you have developed muscle memory. Use either no instrument at all or an instrument you really can't play. Either think music or hum music. Humming and whisting is also very inspiring to do in inspiring rooms, if you have somewhere were there's a lot of reverb.

Record whatever nonsense you come up with, focus on quantity. Don't try to find the holy grail, just keep gunning for quantity. If something good happens, keep going for quantity, explore that idea in different ways.

After that, go somewhere else and do something physical. Don't think too much about the music. Do the dishes, go for a walk, play basketball. It's important that it's physical and that it doesn't need any real thinking. Don't read or anything like that.

Then go back and start going for quantity and record everything.

I repeat this process until I find that thing that makes me want to abort the process and go for the DAW and instruments I know.

Another trick is to instead of going for quantity, go for something different. Do insane, silly and stupid things. My favorite is, while I do the dishes, I sing famous songs and change the lyrics to offensive and vulgar themes. It's completely childish and ridiculous, but it's fun and creative.

Also, consider studying creativity and not only music. Incubation is something that's interesting in this context.


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## Arbee (Jan 7, 2014)

Rctec @ Tue Jan 07 said:


> The only thing between you and a good piece of music is time and sweat, and the knowledge that it's o.k. to write crap. It's a stepping stone to writing something better.


Nice quote. We all know it to be true, if only we would believe it sometimes :D 

.


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## Christof (Jan 7, 2014)

I am very familiar with this issue, I never learned to write, I just did it after listening to a lot of music and performing thousands of concerts as cello player.All advices and comments above are very helpful, so I can just speak for myself.
Composing EVERY day is probably the most important thing, it's all about training, like in sports.The result can be awful many times, but sometimes you have this special moment and that's it!Sometimes I pick up a chord progression from Bach or Mozart, and I try to use this as base for the piece.


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## Ned Bouhalassa (Jan 7, 2014)

When I'm stuck, I like to walk around the block, with my hands behind my back, brooding, like Beethoven. Half the time, a solution will emerge. If it doesn't, at least I got up from my chair.

With some luck, deadlines become your oil. :wink:


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## Consona (Jan 7, 2014)

The problem is nobody knows what is good and what is bad. Different person = different opinion. That's why self-doubt is so hard to manage, there are no rules. It is about feeling but after some period of over-thinking you are no longer able to judge anything, every rhytm, every melody sounds the same, it's just succesion of notes.









I love strong tunes, characterful melodies, yet more and more often I find myself in state where they start to iritate me and I search for more ambient styles or for melodies that are not so distractive, that don't catch all your attention. So in the end it's more like: Different person = different opinion*s*, which makes the whole thing even worse.



Not to mention music is so abstract.


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## Waywyn (Jan 7, 2014)

Just as a little add, but I found out that it is actually very good to stop thinking.
I mean, we all think all the time about something. Mostly it is about the past or the future and we tend to ignore the "now" so often. Some people spent their lifetimes just "being" in the past or the future and actually never live.

Why am I writing this? Why do you think people start humming music or get some "genius" ideas under the shower or on the rest room ... it is because you are stop thinking and it just comes along.

I know it is very hard to master it but very easy to get it going. Also to some it may sound like some esotheric shit, but we give a fuck about that for a moment! 

I think I was reading about it on zenhabits. Start just seeing and listenting to things without actually thinking about it. Start with it when changing rooms or opening doors. Try to smell whats different, notice the new light, how the sound changes ... use your senses and just embrace the moment. If you sit on a chair, listen how the chair sounds when you sit down. Does it do some funny noises? How does it feel to sit down on it? Is it comfortable or maybe not? Never try to start thinking but just living these things. If it just works out to be in that state for a few seconds a day, it was worth it. You actually won't believe how much time we actually spent thinking about all kinds of stuff.

This will take the pressure from you for sure! Maybe not just from having a writers block or related to music!


Another thing is, you had an easy time doing music. You were going with your heart. Then you started studying and looking actually behind the stage what was going on all the time. The mysterious process you had going was disturbed because now you were able to explain it.

It is like having sex, but you all the time hear that voice of explaining whats going on, because you studied the biological, biochemical and anatomically correct process of what happens when having sex!


My two cents, never try to think too theoretical. Maybe throw it away and forget about it, ... your brain will use it anyway.


Think I told this little story before, but at the end of my studying times in LA, we had a graduation evening and I had to perform Mike Stern's Chromazone. I actually wanted to kill the audience with a great solo, but all that stuff I learned actually was that annoying because it made me think about how to conceptionalize and do it. I spent a few nights on how to approach it, how to incorporate all kinds of scales and notes ... but right before the gig I just opened it up, gave a big fuck about everything I learned and just got it flowing and it turned out to be honest and awesome!


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## AC986 (Jan 7, 2014)

SimonCharlesHanna @ Mon Jan 06 said:


> *Adriancook* - By fluffed I mean I wrote uninspired, unoriginal music that was functional at best.
> 
> I studied with an old school composition teacher who was teaching me species counterpoint and some basics (cadences, chords etc). I LOVE the counterpoint work - for me that is what makes music sound beautiful. I haven't had much luck integrating it into writing though because I only worked on 2 voices with fairly limited guidelines.



Someone told you it was uninspired and functional, or you just came to that conclusion yourself? Most film music is functional. Has to be.

There was a recent thread about counterpoint and I seem to remember putting up youtube videos about it. I also remember saying that no one really cares too much about the type of music based on counterpoint training or design these days. I love counterpoint, particularly strict counterpoint but I wouldn't want to write it for living. 8) 

Best advice so far is write shit. To qualify that, it doesn't mean you sit down and set out to actually write shit. You could do that. But writing shit is good for you mentally and technically. 

When you hear a lot of these compositions in the composition area here, they are generally set pieces with a beginning, a middle and an end. And they are mixed and polished to a pretty high degree. Some of them frighten me to death they are that good. Most of them are like opening credits.

Film cues are sometimes a bit different to that and generally fall within the parameters of functionality because they have to don't they? So if you were to go the composition area whereby just cues were posted, you would very quickly get bored out of your mind. 

In terms of being ruined by study, I would put this analogy forward. I see a lot of people in the summer months practicing golf. I'm still a scratch player which is a miracle given how old I am. I see these people, men and women practicing. They are mostly practicing faults. Endless practising of faults that have become engrained in their muscle and mental memory, Very hard to eradicate. So practice and study is great but it must be the right type of practice and study for the application you need it for. In your case, film music.

So writing shit on a daily basis has got to be a good exercise and practice and the athletic analogy from HZ is a good one. Pretty soon you will be writing stuff that is not shit (and so what if it is?) and your writing issues will be over. I assume you are writing for a living. You don't have writing block btw. You have a confidence crisis caused by a slightly romantic and misplaced idea about counterpoint. You'll get over it.

That'll be 20 guineas please. Pay on your way out. :mrgreen: 

Yours

S. Freud.
(Ret)


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## Walid F. (Jan 7, 2014)

Rctec @ Tue Jan 07 said:


> What do you want to write about?
> 
> ...And yes, you must write every day. Get that critic to stop whispering in your ear. You are a composer, not an editor. But it's like I imagine runners, running every day, developing muscle - and it's really hard to get back into it after you take a break. I had a ten day holiday this summer, and then spent 3 month to come up with one good phrase... But I knew that would happen, so I didn't panic - I enjoyed my incompetence and lack of originality. Write shit!...but write. You have to write the shit out of the system to get to the good stuff. Do you think the opening motive of Beethoven's 5th is genius? Any kid could - and probably has - come up with those notes. It's what he does with them is the true magic. And I'm pretty sure that was all to do with putting time in to do the work. It's not art or inspiration, it's making things, its working. But still - it's a game. it's play/work. Where do you think I was on New Years Eve and day? Sitting in front of my computer, moving notes around. I'm deadly dull, I have no hobbies, I write. I don't want to go to the Oscars, or any of that stuff. And writing is working. My inspiration is deadlines and the adrenalin of panicking about them. This is my first evening off - and I'm on a composer forum. But I'm happy, because I know I'll crack the next problem, one note at a time.
> The only thing between you and a good piece of music is time and sweat, and the knowledge that it's o.k. to write crap. It's a stepping stone to writing something better. But don't compare yourself to Mozart, or it's game over!
> -H-



This was a great motivation igniter. Thx HZ!


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## shapeshifter00 (Jan 7, 2014)

I would like to give you a new trick if it's not posted here and I missed it... I have never actually done it myself, but last night I had problems sleeping as I always do when thinking about composing, studio monitors, room treatment, sample libraries and all that stuff that gives me a headache when I try to sleep /\~O 

I want to try it in practice and my idea is:
Watch a scene from a movie of a mood or universe you are trying to make... Use a microphone and hum or sing something completely rubbish with a melodic line and then try to make the melody fit to the tempo with ex. either piano or a legato string patch . Work out suitable chords for the melodic line and build upon that. Perhaps when that is done, try and sing or hum to what you made for a second counter melody.


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## reddognoyz (Jan 7, 2014)

I can't write either , I just pretend I can....


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## AlegalSoundz (Jan 7, 2014)

Rctec @ 7th January said:


> ...And yes, you must write every day. Get that critic to stop whispering in your ear. You are a composer, not an editor. But it's like I imagine runners, running every day, developing muscle - and it's really hard to get back into it after you take a break. I had a ten day holiday this summer, and then spent 3 month to come up with one good phrase... But I knew that would happen, so I didn't panic - I enjoyed my incompetence and lack of originality. Write shit!...but write. You have to write the shit out of the system to get to the good stuff. Do you think the opening motive of Beethoven's 5th is genius? Any kid could - and probably has - come up with those notes. It's what he does with them is the true magic. And I'm pretty sure that was all to do with putting time in to do the work. It's not art or inspiration, it's making things, its working. But still - it's a game. it's play/work. Where do you think I was on New Years Eve and day? Sitting in front of my computer, moving notes around. I'm deadly dull, I have no hobbies, I write. I don't want to go to the Oscars, or any of that stuff. And writing is working. My inspiration is deadlines and the adrenalin of panicking about them. This is my first evening off - and I'm on a composer forum. But I'm happy, because I know I'll crack the next problem, one note at a time.
> The only thing between you and a good piece of music is time and sweat, and the knowledge that it's o.k. to write crap. It's a stepping stone to writing something better. But don't compare yourself to Mozart, or it's game over!
> -H-



Thank you so much!!!


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## Consona (Jan 7, 2014)

reddognoyz @ Tue Jan 07 said:


> I can't write either , I just pretend I can....







+1


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## NYC Composer (Jan 7, 2014)

It's been said in various ways here ( as in "write for 6 hrs a day") but the most important three words I've heard: "a writer writes."

So I do. I don't pre- judge it. Sometimes what I write sucks. Sometimes it can be made better. In any case, if you write, you will have written, which generally feels better than having not written- which leads me to my most important FOUR words  

When a writer was asked if he enjoyed writing, his reply was:

"I enjoy having written."

Good luck!


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## dgburns (Jan 7, 2014)

SimonCharlesHanna @ Mon Jan 06 said:


> I've been privately studying music for about a year now and it has ruined me. I started to see the scope of music theory and the possibilities and now I sit in front of my computer with a blank stare.
> 
> I did two films which could have been great opportunities to create some nice music but instead I just fluffed it.
> 
> ...



i see I'm not alone in wanting to respond to this.oh well,maybe my thoughts can help as well.this is a touchy subject for us all,especially when the idea of the ...well "idea" is the everything that matters at all.

first thing I notice is I doubt alot at the first stages.Also there is alot of nervous energy.Ok,I admit it,there.So pounding away for a few min,hours whatever and getting some random thoughts out helps to get rid of the nervousness.then you get to that point where you decide to dig a bit deeper into one of those little parts sitting on your timeline.....what if....what if.....i just did.....
and off you go....

that,and trying your best to limit your palette.Limit anything.create boundaries.like,I will write the basic thing with just this one sound right now,or I'll use these four notes only for now.Whatever,limit your choices down to the ridiculous,and then expand later when something excites you....the words "what if" are the words Stephen King uses when he starts to think about writing a story.I like using those.as in,what if this cello becomes a 8string guitar,or what if this should be in 7/8 or what if this should be in lydian...just set some rules so you play inside a smaller box.we have too many choices and I suspect this overwhelms us too much until we have a pretense or premise to rally around.

I may not know if what I write is shit or passable,but I know that once I have a nugget that my gut tells me to explore further,I can trust on my theory to start filling in the holes vis a vis orchestration and the rest.It becomes a game to see how far you can go and iterate out into other cadences etc .Forwards,backwards,inverted,upside down,inside out,open chords or modal shifts.it's all fair game.

maybe most important of all,don't beat yourself up over it.I'm sitting in front of a new series right now,and I have NO idea what the producers want,let alone how much time I will have.I DO know that I will discovery it.I just hope it will be good and not crappy writing.But it Will be written,so the game is to write enough that the crap is tossed away.

in your case,I suspect that you are trying to synthesize all this new stuff you've run across,and maybe the old way of working is causing you some doubt.It's like you want to know the underlying structures as to the why and how so you can write more intelligently right from the get go.Well,if this is the case,maybe give yourself a bit of a break.Should it really matter anyway.So long as after you have something you like,you take the time to run an analysis on the music to come to a better understanding of what is written.No problem doing it after the fact.But do write it out first before deciding whether you like it or not.

just go for it.


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## G.R. Baumann (Jan 8, 2014)

SimonCharlesHanna @ Mon Jan 06 said:


> ....and now I sit in front of my computer with a blank stare. ....
> 
> ...I guess you could call this writers block but I can't shake it.



I have to make an assumption before I can offer some 4 step advice on how I dealt with that. So, you are an instrumentalist, right? You can play one, or more, instruments. 

If not true, scratch the rest, no need to read any further, it does not apply then! 

1. 
Switch that bloody computer out! Do not wait, switch it out now.

2. 
Forget about that deal, job, assignment for the next few hours, or even a couple of days, depends how hard that block is, really. I know, easier said than done, but it is possible.

3.
Grab a really good wine, your favourite tea, whatever you fancy. - I am a sucker for good Tuscany, such as the 2007 Casanova di Neri Brunello di Montalcino Tenuta Nuova, awww, what a wine! Your mileage may vary. :D - The idea is to pamper yourself.

4.
Hang that post with the skull and the axe on the door stating "Dare to enter!", and then sit down and.... improvise, improvise, improvise, improvise, did I say improvise? Yes, improvise and don't stop until you find yourself smiling and a certain and wellknown happiness is creeping up your heart again! Writers block is about conflicted feelings and

...*because*



Rctec @ Tue Jan 07 said:


> You have to write the shit out of the system to get to the good stuff.



Hope that helps.
Best
Georg

P.S. Personally, I record such improvisations, sorta roll da tape and play, this here for example was the last impro that I needed to overcome a writers block about a year ago before I left the NW coast of Ireland after having lived there for 14 years, seperation from a long term relationship etc, and these events caused a massive writers block, there you are, conflicted feelings! So, I purchased a couple of samples from Simon Stockhausen and improvised with them and I was probably smiling like an idiot when I played it. :lol: Then I knew, I was over it.

https://soundcloud.com/oceanviewstu...in=oceanviewstudio/sets/the-stockhausen-files


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## SimonCharlesHanna (Jan 8, 2014)

Wow.

I am overwhelmed by the support. 

I must thank each and every one of you for your help - and it has been incredibly helpful. I hope others who are in the same boat as me stumble across this post.

The advice given has already benefitted me tenfold. I have had a few sessions where I forget about everything else, be in the moment and just write. I am also trying not to criticise my work too much (still much room for improvement). 

Thanks again! I keep re-reading all the posts just to nail this information into my brain!


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## dgburns (Jan 8, 2014)

G.R. Baumann @ Wed Jan 08 said:


> SimonCharlesHanna @ Mon Jan 06 said:
> 
> 
> > ....and now I sit in front of my computer with a blank stare. ....
> ...



nice.Although I might like to add -

any 2009 Antinori ,Chianti Classico DSOG of course.Marchese Antinori is one fine wine maker(and a funny guy too). o[]) 

seems we sometimes forget to have FUN.But it shows when you do for the better...


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## Markus S (Jan 9, 2014)

SimonCharlesHanna @ Mon Jan 06 said:


> I've been privately studying music for about a year now and it has ruined me. I started to see the scope of music theory and the possibilities and now I sit in front of my computer with a blank stare.
> 
> I did two films which could have been great opportunities to create some nice music but instead I just fluffed it.
> 
> ...



Actually I know this feeling. While studying music, which I did very late in my life (didn't read a simple note before 20) after being self taught on my old guitar (and writing music on it), I'd go like. Wow, what can you possibly add to that immense work of the classic composers, everything has been done, said, so much better than I possibly ever could. Didn't write a note for years.

After my studies I said, ah to hell with it, I have my own personal relation to music and sound (like I did before). Throw it all away, the master pieces, the genius composers, the laws and theories. Just do what you want and not what you "should" do as a composer.

Really thought the rock advice from marclawson is excellent. Look at these guys, just playing along, having fun, doing it themselves. Thinking of myself as a punk rocker really did help.

On the other hand, if you just have a burn out : just stop, as opposed to write every day all those hours. Stop it, go out, do something else. Music may come back or not. But don't force yourself into it.


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## kmlandre (Jan 9, 2014)

One of my composition teachers once told me something like this: 

"There's only twelve notes and they've all been used before. Stop worrying about being original, because you're several thousand years too late. Just pick a note, write it down, then pick another one. Stop trying to write something great and just write something."

This is the same teacher who made me write a bassoon solo on a harpsichord, and when I got stuck, made me scratch out all the parts of the piece that I *liked* and only work with the parts I hated.

And it worked. Whenever I get stuck, I always return back to those basic lessons. Of all the years I spent studying music in college, it feels like biggest bang for the buck came from that first year of "Just the Facts, Ma'am."

Kurt M. Landre'
http://www.SoundCloud.com/kmlandre


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## Valérie_D (Jan 9, 2014)

NYC Composer @ Tue Jan 07 said:


> It's been said in various ways here ( as in "write for 6 hrs a day") but the most important three words I've heard: "a writer writes."
> 
> So I do. I don't pre- judge it. Sometimes what I write sucks. Sometimes it can be made better. In any case, if you write, you will have written, which generally feels better than having not written- which leads me to my most important FOUR words
> 
> ...




Great advice and way to look at composing! 

For my part, the best music I came up with (up until now) was when we had a 24 hours blackout. I went back to the old piano and composed more themes in 2 hours that I would usually do in a week. Because I "could not work" officially, I was more in a state of playing a game, improvising so my inner critic was completely shut off and I didn't stress about it.


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## SimonCharlesHanna (Mar 3, 2014)

I'm going to bump this because I want to remind people how amazing this place can be.



I just started Uni (music composition) and got very overwhelmed and going through another "I don't think I am capable of doing this" meltdown. I don't really have anyone in my life that supports me or understands some of these issues so I came back to this thread and re-read every post. It certainly helps me keep my chin up.


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## InLight-Tone (Mar 3, 2014)

Read "The War of Art" by Steven Pressfield today. An easy read and helps completely with the blocks you're having...


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## SimonCharlesHanna (Dec 12, 2021)

so a friend was having a similar issue that I was when I posted this. I told him that a long time ago there was a thread on VI that had a significant impact on me he should check out.

After a little digging, he found this (2014 -wow!)

I cannot understate the impact all the advice given here has had on me and my career - I thought I would bump it because the words spoken here are invaluable to all of us.


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## Markrs (Dec 12, 2021)

I'm in the same place, leading theory but almost now afraid to write music. I know afraid is a strange word to use as if someone will criticise me for doing it wrong, but that it is how it feels. 

Part of it is being overwhelmed with new knowledge and choice whilst at the same time paralysed by not knowing the right choices to make due to a lack of knowledge. The old question, how much knowledge is enough.


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## SimonCharlesHanna (Dec 12, 2021)

Markrs said:


> I'm in the same place, leading theory but almost now afraid to write music. I know afraid is a strange word to use as if someone will criticise me for doing it wrong, but that it is how it feels.
> 
> Part of it is being overwhelmed with new knowledge and choice whilst at the same time paralysed by not knowing the right choices to make due to a lack of knowledge. The old question, how much knowledge is enough.


It was certainly a hump I had to get through. If you can try to separate your theory brain from your creative one when writing during this period, it will help I think (let your instincts guide you rather than your limited theory understanding). Perhaps even think of your theory learning as another exercise separate from writing music. Easier said than done but I can assure you, you will get past this initial paralysis of realising that there's so much you don't know.


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## Markrs (Dec 12, 2021)

SimonCharlesHanna said:


> It was certainly a hump I had to get through. If you can try to separate your theory brain from your creative one when writing during this period, it will help I think (let your instincts guide you rather than your limited theory understanding). Perhaps even think of your theory learning as another exercise separate from writing music. Easier said than done but I can assure you, you will get past this initial paralysis of realising that there's so much you don't know.


Thanks Simon, it is something I am working on. 

It probably doesn't help that I have a ton of books still to read, courses to take, let alone all the fantastic YouTube content out there on music composition. Yet, when I do try to compose, I then feel guilty for not studying, especially if the creativity process is difficult. 

I have to remember that composing is a journey, not an end point so I try not to get annoyed at myself.


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## GNP (Dec 12, 2021)

kmlandre said:


> One of my composition teachers once told me something like this:
> 
> "There's only twelve notes and they've all been used before. Stop worrying about being original, *because you're several thousand years too late.* Just pick a note, write it down, then pick another one. Stop trying to write something great and just write something."


I think there are still quite a lot out there who still do not understand the profound fundamental of what this means. From what I've seen so far, this is what I see contributes to writers block in many out there:

1. Pre-judging themselves before they even make an attempt
2. Paralyzed by the fear of being unoriginal
3. Superficially hiding behind things like technical theory to deal with self-doubt of their own muse, which is like putting a plaster over a gaping wound

It's normal to suffer from the occasional writers block, but for those who are suffering from it severely to a point of constant paralysis, it is most likely because their own vanity of "having to write something great and original" is their biggest enemy.

Most likely it's because they have spent most of their time and energy *publicly* judging other writers this way (instead of working on themselves), and now they themselves can't *publicly* live up to their own criticisms.

Before you set a trap for others, make sure you yourself can get out of it first! Nothing's worse than dying in your own trap.


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## doctoremmet (Dec 12, 2021)

Markrs said:


> almost now afraid to write music


This reminded me of the third Talking Heads album. I think they went through a similar phase back then.







Also, this indeed is a great thread @SimonCharlesHanna ❤️


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## Chamberfield (Dec 18, 2021)

Rctec said:


> ...And yes, you must write every day.


i would just like to say that I took Hans's Masterclass course on masterclass.com and that is the one line I walked away with -- "write something every day". It kinda blew my mind actually, because I would usually go weeks without writing anything, waiting until I was finished with other projects. So I decided to try it, just sit down and write something every day. Anything. Well for me it worked. Now I have about 20 more tracks in the queue.

Thank you, Hans! Sometimes a simple piece of advice can do wonders.


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## ag75 (Dec 18, 2021)

SimonCharlesHanna said:


> *Walid* - I always kind of have things on my mind that I worry about. I put quite a bit of pressure on myself to achieve. I am a bit of a stress head.
> 
> *Adriancook* - By fluffed I mean I wrote uninspired, unoriginal music that was functional at best.
> 
> ...


Being overly critical on yourself is pretty common. Keep pushing through it. Write everyday. I always loved this Ira Glass quote from an interview on creativity.


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## SimonCharlesHanna (Dec 18, 2021)

ag75 said:


> Being overly critical on yourself is pretty common. Keep pushing through it. Write everyday. I always loved this irs glass quote from an interview on creativity.



Thanks for the help - this is actually quite an old thread I resurrected for fun.


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