Hi all, I know its been a long time since i posted anything. but...
I've been getting writers block a lot lately...Like evertime I open my DAW (I don't drink or get high) I call it Black Sequence. I make an awesome electro riff, then I can't finish the song.... I'm 19, so I'm not sure why this is happening. I can't get far at all. I need your Help, how to resolve this... This black sequence is lasting too long. biggest writting block ever.

Secondly... my resolution for this is a collaboration.
This is how I collab.
I use ableton and Fl Studio. Then use skype to video chat and figure out what we are making. We send back the alp or fls file until the song is finished.
How do you Collab?

 

Don't worry about it man, it happens to me all the time, and I'm pretty sure it happens to alot of others too. The key to sparking your creativity is to actually be out and about doing things, meeting and talking to people, seeing nature, going out in the city, or just contemplating about things in general. All of these things feed your creativity and keep your mind active and helps you generate more ideas for your music.

Also, if you feel that you've been stuck on a song for too long just move on and start something new. Or just listen to some other music and get some inspiration and ideas from other producers, there's no shame in that.

As for collaborations there are alot of ways you can collaborate with other musicians on here. Skype is always a great option and I use it all the time to collaborate. I do alot of remixing for other musicians so that's also a good way to get the creative juices flowing as they say and is even a good way to promote yourself and your music. It really doesn't matter what DAW you're using since you're working with wav and midi files, and many producers use the same synths and stuff like that.

 

Agree with Fuad, don't force it too much, if you are stuck just go out, leave it there or start something new, later comeback with fresh ears and inspiration if you feel like it

Go to the party or some festival, always works for me, like fresh injection of vibe, suddenly another perception in your quiet studio, dance floor is still in you, you just move party to another place, many times I just choose DAW instead of sleeping early in the morning, magic.

Collaborations always raise an issue of different DAW's for me, so always one guy is just working and other dropping ideas, never had one actually where I can open Logic and feel comfortable knowing the other guy is on the same boat, so I just don't interfere too much with them, I always felt we are just victims of circumstances and some things are not possible without messing all the time from both sides. *no*

+1 on remixing *yes*

 

Drinking and smoking, to some degree, won't enable you to compose a better track or even rid you of your writers block in my opinion. So don't feel weird or bad about being a songwriter/musician that doesn't smoke or drink. In fact, I'm almost positive that some of the biggest producers and songwriters in the business work on a sober state of mind.

As far as collabos go, I keep it local and I like to work directly with the artist, band, producer, mixing engineer, or songwriter. At this point I'm very much comfortable using whatever DAW the person I'm collabing with uses. Once you get to know a few there all the same in my opinion, well except for Ableton, which is what I use :dancing:

Hope your writers block fades and you get back to business. Peace out, fam.

 

I think the advice everyone gave is superb and spot on so I'd just like to ask a question: Do you know music theory? If you don't then that could be hindering you from being able to develop your piece. If you do know music theory then you should go out and experience the world and the people in it. When you get back home you will have emotions, experiences, knowledge and therefore something to get your creative juices flowing. Also actively listen to a lot of good music in the genre you're trying to write. I say actively because the purpose here isn't to connect emotionally to what you're hearing but to dissect it and see how it ticks. Good luck.

 

hi man-

this is a touchy subject, since artistic creation in my opinion can't be forced...

the more you "try" the worse off you are in my opinion.. thats why clearing your head and stepping away can be good for a track, to get a fresh set of ears, as they say..


that being said, my advice for producer's block when you are a beginner is dont be afraid to try anything and everything, remember, undo is one click away, and you can purge unused clips periodically-

so when you are stuck, drop tons of different melodies/beats/ambiance/etc etc into the track to see if they fit, if not, dont delete it yet, try a crazy delay or reverb
on em, maybe that will make em fit? if not...try reversing the sample... or changing the pitch to crazy slow or super fast... if none of that works- Delete the sample and try again! then try again! and again! eventually, you will find some crazy thing you never would have thought would "complete" your sound...

you can always take the beats you have and chop and slice them up to create a new variation, or slightly change your synths melody's chords in the piano roll to make a new sequence

these are some of the things i do when i feel a track is needing some variety

good luck!








PS- SMOKE SOME WEED! (it helps me)

 

+1 on everything Frito wrote, trial&error is the thing that made professionals what they are, stepping OOTB and just trying something different, something random and just seeking for something beyond average.

Fast results are for people that are pretty much experienced and they already have that trial&error thing in their sleeves, but even they spend decent time on something, it's wrong to think everyone is just flying all over the DAW and finishing things fast, on contrary, some of them are spending even more than usual to nail something good, it's reality, the greatest of greatest are just trying different approaches and only thing that is obvious in all that is their final outcome, which is pretty much showing what amount of knowledge, dedication and trial&error they actually invested.

In the times when most of the people are obsessed with just making anything and taking any shortcuts that are there to prove the world they are capable, they miss whole that artistic development, it was always like that, people will spend like 10 years or something like that before their first release just growing up in all ways, learning,developing, finding their own vision and just spending time with no actual results for people outside, but what they gained whole that time is whole deal, they matured and now evolved so much they are ready to roll.

Fast results and just using shortcuts all the time are obvious when you listen to that music, no actual weight and if you look for details and some hidden gems, there isn't any, even main things are basically so simple and poor, motives are fast money and ego boost, writers block is healed with just ripping of someone else previous work and presenting the world something they can easily swallow

 

Thank you all for your response. @Xsze and @fuad and all of you guys! Thank you! @Catalyst I don't know music theory but I will start going out more and take your advice! @ghostinthemachine Thats cool that you like doing local collab with the person right there with you! Work probably turn out better that way!
Thanks again all!!!

(PS)@Frito Zanzibar I can't smoke weed because i have a college scholarship for playing soccer(futball). Random drug tests....Can't throw my life away

 

Learn music theory my friend. You will find it invaluable on your journey and it's really not that difficult. It can give you a framework that will allow you to get your ideas across both structurally and emotionally. Best investment I ever made in my music. *yes*