Hello my friends,

I would like to share with you how to defeat the foe and enemy we call writers block.
It's an interesting topic .
Everyone that makes music has def been there.
Let's dig down deep to see what is at the heart of this phenomenon.

I am going to be referring to two concepts which are at the heart of music on every level

1.Form ( structure ) following a system
Conservatism

2. Chaos ( creativity ) coming up with things on the spot, improvisation, liberal

These two oppossing concepts

Planning vs spur of the moment .

A pattern vs static

Information vs chaos
You Can refer to them in several ways ,

However what we are really talking about is
The brains ability to recognize a pattern a structure , vs no pattern or chaos or no information.

This is a very helpful way of looking at the aspects of music.

We are going to talk about task orientation
Like
" Completing a song"
An activity a human partakes in with strategies and goals and methods .

And also creativity
( Tapping into your subconscious to pull out expression individualism right in the spur of the moment with no preparation .)
Just like when you speak , you only think of the concept then instantly seemingly effortlessly you come up with several different sentences with meaning transmitted through their layout and form , yet you did it creativity. You didn't plan each articulation each word what order for the words.
You simply expressed yourself , improvised .
In the spur of the moment .
Just like this situation we all do
We are going to discuss carrying this exact situation over to music.

 

Form vs improvisation


These opposing concepts in all levels of music
Work together and both are required.
We don't want to get rid of one and have only the other .
What we want to do is build an understanding for where each one takes place where each one fits in .
So that we can accomplish the task of
Eliminating writers block as a possibility entirely .

Think about your life for a moment .
Many areas you follow a schedule ,
You do things a certain way all the time .
This is form.
You don't run into the street so you don't get hit and killed. This is like a " rule" meaning you adhere to this all the time.
You wake up in the morning get ready for day eat s meal excersise clean the house go to the restroom .
This is a patterns , structure, form.

Imagine though a person who thinks about all that different.
They sleep an hour wake up eat 2 notes food go back to sleep wake up hour later go for run,
That treat all normal like activitys randomly purposely removing patterns , regularity , structure ,form .they might say " I want to have freedom "

We recognize that we don't want to have only form and structure with no spontaneous , and we also recognize that we don't want to only be spontaneous with no order form structure .

It's about having a balance that works for you .

The human brain looks for patterns ( form) structure .

We look a another person we don't see 50 billions living cells in a community ,
We don't see a skeleton with muscles nerves and skin on top .
Our brain creates a pattern that the human is represented symbolically in out brain as 1 single object .( Even though it's not true literally )
We see a pattern and instead of needing to think about every detail of a person to even know we are thinking about a person at all.
The brain compartmentalizes to see 1 object conceptually.
This is pattern recognition .
When we think of a house or car or coffee table it's like one object .
You see our short term memory can only store so many objects in our mind at once .
However, we can package things into folders or containers in our mind ( form,structure )
A tree is thought of as one thing a pattern
When our senses detect that complex patterns the touch,sights,smells,texture,colors,sounds
Millions details we package that into 1 tiny form
The "tree"
We couldn't function at all if we did not constantly
Do pattern recognition.

 

Write a book.
Maybe in haiku form.
It will be structured.

Maybe it will become a hit.
Or a just blend into the noise.
Of all the other books on this subject.

 

Chaos simply means no form.

The static on a TV, the static when you go to turn radio station and your in between signals .
( The radio station is a pattern of audio you hear it's not random ) the static in between is no order or structure or form no information is there , it's random . Same thing with television but visually .

So you see our entire life every moment , we are seeking and recognizing patterns all around us then labeling and compartmentalizing them .

Line up a row of human beings all ages, sizes,
Colors, looks, and you see that with all that is different you create patterns. Into objects conceptually .
The backwall , the rows of human beings .
You just took trillions of bits of information per second with trillions of variations yet compartmentalizes all that into 1 conceptual sentence .
" 1 backwall, 1 row of 50 human beings "

What is the reason that I'm making 2 opposing categories here?

1.form
2.chaos

The reason is that with music, from the largest zoomed out level to the most detailed zoomed in level. These 2 concepts exist , and even though
At all the current levels of music these 2 concepts work differently , but using this understanding you can see music itself in a new way .
Using the skills you have already developed so well
Just to be a human being who has survived this long. You can transfer the incredible abilities you have with pattern recognition into 1 main idea dealing with making music.

Never Ever again experiAnce Writers Block.

 

All that I guess depends on what why you are looking at it and assembling pattern recongition.
Does it come together as a pattern of disappoint ment? With prior expectations unmet and an outcome which failed to succeed at the goal?
Or does it lead to interacting with many people from all over the world who take the information see patterns which can assist in very specific set of strategies for successful outcomes?
That's up to each one person I guess.

 

We are looking a goal in mind.
" Eliminate writers block"
Meaning when writing music you want a zero probability that you arrive at a point where you cannot figure out what to do next which leaves that song in a unfinished state .


Before we start talking directly about music itself .

Think for a moment about a " house"
This pattern of millions things we shrink down to 1 item .

How do we break down the levels of detail for building a house? ( While never getting Carpenters block)

Well we developed a form for the process of making a house .

1 blueprint

Using mathematics and measurements
We design the layout and structure of what the physical house will be.
( We always have a goal in mind first then work toward it .in this case the house is to meet certain needs and the ideas about what it has to accomplish are set first ( for example is it 1 person cottage or a 1000 person complex?(


When it comes to the blueprint the reality of the situation informs every detail of the layout and structure .
No matter how different all the blueprints in the world are in done areas they are exactly the same each time this is a pattern.
The way materials work the strength how much it can hold , what angles things work at etc )

This blueprint is equivalent to music theory.

In music there is a structure a layout for songs .
No matter the differences between songs , music itself works the same way Everytime .

When building a house metal nails go into softer wood. It's not true that you drive to another county and there wooden nails drive into metal beams.
Why isn't reality that way?
It's pattern recongition or form or structure.

" There is a way things work"

This means patterns exist in reality .

Now with our blueprint .
Engineering is same for all blueprints ( the topic itself )
And music has an equivalent to this called
Music theory .
It just means the way music itself actually works .
Just like you can drive to a town where wooden nails drive into solid diamond beams used for walls.
Music is the same way .

So we have our first step in building house the blueprint .

In music
Tonic subdominant dominant
Are the 3 categories all chords for in all melodies and harmonies express .
Tonic is home or relaxed or still
Subdominant is motion or leaving home or tension
Dominant is very tense or farthest from home
These 3 categories are what you use to create your songs blueprint ( how to pick a KEY then using it's 7 chords which fit in 3 categories
You assemble progressions
Following these structures

Tonic subdominant tonic
Tonic dominant tonic
Tonic subdominant dominant tonic

..........

Once that step is completed you level the land
And pour your cement foundation the house sits on.
In music
This means you
Found your KEY and it's 7 chords
You know that 7 chords for in 3 categories.
You take the knowledge of music as s whole to begin designing a specific song .
( Which step1 you had the idea what the song was going to be about how it suppose to feel how fast or slow it is what it's about )
Because you initially began with a purpose that the song was accomplishing
( Let's say you started off it's your wife's or girlfriend or husband's birthday coming up you want yo write a song for them expressing how much you love yj and ate happy with them with all the struggles you too have overcome )
You have the concept and goal step 1 .
Now everything else until the finished song is informed by the songs specific purpose and intent.

I{you tried to write a song with no specific purpose or goal and nothing that it's about , you are going to get writers block }

The step of pouring a cement foundation
Is equal to in music taking your KEY

Let's say KEY of C major .
CDEFGABC
1.Cmaj7 CEGB tonic
2.Dmin7 DFAC Subdominant
3.Emin7 EGBD tonic
4.Fmaj7 FACE Subdominant
5.Gdominant7 GBDF ( G7
6.Amin7 ACEG tonic
7.Bmin7b5 BDFA dominant .

7 chords in the key .
Fit into 3 categories .

Tonic ( home relaxed hero no motion
1.Cmaj7
3.Emin7
6.Amin7

Subdominant ( motion, leaving home plot develops

2.Dmin7
4.Fmaj7

Dominant ( lots movement , very tense far from home( the villain )

5.G7 GBDF
7.Bmin7b5 BDFA

Any chords in same category can be swapped each other .

Next to actually pour the foundation ,
We decide on what patterns to use and which chords to use

Tonic Subdominant
Tonic dominant
Tonic Subdominant dominant

Let's say for the songs verse 1 we pour it's foundation to be in KEy of C

Cmaj6....Fmaj7.....Dmin7......G7
CEGA......FACE......DFAC.......GBDF

And that repeats 4 times

Then we pour foundation for the chorus of the song

Emin7....Amin7........Dmin7...G7
EGBD....ACEG.........DFAC.....GBDF

Then the bridge layer on of the song is .

Bmin7b5......E7........Amin6
BDFA.........EG#BD.....ACEF#


We now poured our foundation for the house.

 

Just like a you could make 500 million vomplelty different types of houses from 1 basic concrete foundation.

In music this exact progressions
{Let's say for the songs verse 1 we pour it's foundation to be in KEy of C

Cmaj6....Fmaj7.....Dmin7......G7
CEGA......FACE......DFAC.......GBDF

And that repeats 4 times

Then we pour foundation for the chorus of the song

Emin7....Amin7........Dmin7...G7
EGBD....ACEG.........DFAC.....GBDF

Then the bridge layer on of the song is .

Bmin7b5......E7........Amin6
BDFA.........EG#BD.....ACEF#}


These exact progressions ( foundation)
Can lead to 500.milluon totally different songs .

Now that we see step1 have a exact reason to make a song what it feels like ( equivalent to needing a 5 person house or a 5000 person complex )
Step 2 drawing on all structurally engineering way
It really works you pour the cement foundation all else will sit on.
( In music you draw on knowledge how music itself works , then select your tempo time signature what key and assemble your song sections and the chord Progressions for each section )

Step 3 we now drill the well for drinking water , dig your septic tank make sure electricity access nearby and then start assembling your wooden structural beams .

In music this means take you chord progression
Our first is
Key c

Cmaj/ Fmaj/ Dmin/ G7/ x4

The notes work a certain way
The root is the bass instrument .
C F D G

The other 3 notes in 4 note chord are your accompan iment is it guitar strum or piano chord ?
Synth maybe .
So
Cmaj7
C is bass
GB is piano
E 3rd is vocal melody.

Next chord
Fmaj7
F 7s bass instrument
CE is piano
A 3rd is vocal melody

Dmin7
D is bass layer
AC is piano
F 3rd is vocal melody

G7
G is bass layer
DF is piano
B 3rd is vocal melody

So now we taking basic chord progression structure foundation and starting figure out number of instruments and what part of the chord they going to have.

Our drums define the timing tempo beat
The bass established the harmony and works with drums creat what type rhythm we want which is the feeling . Our highest note is the vocal melody , the middle notes are the accompaniment to fill out the song thicken it and help define the harmony space we are in just like putting in your well them putting up your wooden support beams .

 

Now that we have our cement foundation,
Drill well septic tank wooden structural foundation.
We start putting in the framing for the placed the rooms are going to be what size are they? Is it 2 story's high? An attic?

In music this means forming your main melody for vocals that all the tiny details confirm to later on.
Or maybe instead you form a clear beat with the drums as main driving force .
This is when you put in your creativity your vision.
Initially we said the songs is for husband or ride or girlfriend birthday what they mean to you obstacles you over came to be do close .
In this instance it might be a written lyrics that serve as the main driving force of creativety
You use at this point then once you have it
You can later begin to put tiny details into the song.
It's going yo be different depending on the initial goals what type music what traditions etc.

Let's say it's the lyrics right now.
A wife writing song for husband for birthday


She brainstorms the main concept .

" How much you mean to me after all we been through "

Then starts trying lyrics .

" Like the setting sun , his colors shine on me
And when the clouds roll up , his beems of light pass through .
Small twinkles of light from the stars behind the clouds make it through,
When I'm at home with you."

That's a rough draft
And she continues to build it up looking at the timings of the words which notes of melody they hit in how much fits into the chorus etc.
Pass by pass fine tuning more and more until through creativity, a clear vision comes through

 

You have your initial purpose for the song.
What it has to accomplish what it about and feels like.
Then you set the key tempo speed rhythm .
Using 3 categories tonic Subdominant dominant
You take 7 chords of the key and make exact progressions for the verse, chorus, bridge
( However many sections you need (

Next you start building up which instrument layers you need and what part of the structure of the chords and melodies each instrument plays.

Then you draw on your initial song concept informing what way it has to feel to start building
The song outward rough outline .
Now the song has main shape to it .
1 by 1 you start filling in the detail of each instrument to match the main concept and fit like puzzle peices with how you need it to feel to the listener.

Using your knowledge of music as a whole category .
You use melodic vocabulary that fits with your idea .
Maybe a couple fast notes in the melody when it's about change chords to smoothly transition .
Or a soft drum fill when the song goes from verse to chorus and the energy and feeling has to increase pick up. So you decide have the chorus kick in with a high note right away to elivate the feeling and give a lifting feeling.

 

Your are getting lost in theory, don't worry you can recover.
Take a deep breath, think that all your sub dominant jazz inversion patterns etc etc are just an illusion.
Make a simple music line to describe your emotion, care a lot about the sound, smile.
It's hard but is the only way.

 

Jeez. All this rambling text about nothing. It's like Alice in wonderland on LSD.

I wrote a paper at university about writer's block and how to find ways out of it. It's basically all about silencing the inner critique. There are multiple techniques and everyone has their own way of muting/silencing the inner critique. There isn't just one fool-proof way.

 

Last edited: Dec 1, 2019

I don't know what you mean by this.
Can you explain?

What do you mean by lost in theory?

Are you saying that you didn't know that there is a theory foundation to every song that has ever been written? That because you were unaware of that , for me to mention how the theory part fits in the process your instinct is to think that it's too much?
Reality itself determines how much theory is in the process writing music.


What's the difference between these above sentences
And this one right now
Fhkhuiggj hfjk eehi9 yrjkj dgmkg kuugdegjh jjhj sfh

The top ones have form that lead to a deeper meaning .

Fhkig hehkj mnkpokk cdfghj

That has no form expresses no deeper level.

Music is the same way.
Music theory
Is the deeper level of meaning in music.

You don't look at letters of the alphabet for the shape they have And combine them based on visual.

The alphabet transmits information.
Information is form.
The level of meaning Is what we care about.

What's the difference between a motion picture movie and lines shapes colors changing randomly on a screen?
Everything
The answer is everything is the difference.

Music is identical.


Why you you commented to me
With " English theory. "

With letters and words and rules that existed before you were born ?
( And which no made no original contribution to designing how to assble words and sentences (

The answer is easy.

Because if you just commented

Fyivsghg khhkiyfhk knojk fhjvdfjk kki89jn

There would be no level of information being communicated to me it defeats the purpose of using language.
Music is identical to this.

Music is not sounds changing over time.
Just like a movie or motion picture is not shapes and lines and colors changing over time.
Just like the English language is not letters strung after each other .

 

Last edited: Dec 1, 2019

What do you mean a text about nothing ?
What do you mean about silencing the inner critique?
I'm not following but I'm open what you are saying.

I don't understand what you mean by inner critique that's s positive thing.
Writers block means not knowing what to write.
It means you cannot visualize the millions of possibilities which exist in music for that exact chord or chord progression in that exact key .
Since the person cannot picture the possibilities and the way music works they don't know what to write.
Hence writers block.

If a person couldn't speak finished sentences,
What could be the explanation ?
That they have an inner critique ?

No it's that they cannot pictures all the possibilities for sentences about the topic
Just like with language
There are a million things you can make over a C major to F major chord I to IV in the key of C major

It's nothing to do with a inner critique .

As far as a text about nothing .

Compare my last 5 sentences to this one below

Hfigg pi8uh8 rehf fehh ohui. 6tudu jhgkj hg do it fjj

What's the difference?

The above have form which lead to a deeper meaning then just the shape of the letters.

Tuhfdjfg kgfuhjiy sfjjvgiu jggjh

Has no form no deeper meaning .


You are able to speak sentences not because some type of lAnguage critique was dampened
It's because you know how the process works.
People that know how music works experiAnce writing just like speaking sentences effortless and infinite.
I can take the idea of " department store "
And speak millions sentences all different based on it. Because I understand how the language works .

In the exact same sense .
You can take

Imaj vimin iimin V7

And come up with infinite number of totally different melodies and baselines to express that progression
( IF you understand how music works )

There's no inner critique to worry about.

 

Last edited: Dec 1, 2019

Why do you assume I'm unaware of that?
Theory is made to help, if your theory is not helping then your are lost and you didn't understand the basics.
Over complicated approach make things fragile, music is a solid thing.
Reflection please.

 

Because those that are aware don't formulate comments that express the exact information
Contained in your comment that you made the decision to write.

Theory is not made to "help" it is a description
Of how music works.

You can define " help" to mean anything in any circumstance . Music theory describes how music works .how every song you love was made and why it creates the feelings in you it does .

As far as overcomplicating things.

It's more important to accept the level of complexity in an actual thing in reality,
Than to seek less complexity.

We don't tell babies that say " goo goo gah gah"

That we are going to change the language to not
" Overcomplicate " the babies.
We accept language exists at a certain level of complexity .
And if a person has no grasp at the level that language exists at, they need to learn to had more and more complexity .
Music is identical.

 

Writers block is not understanding the form and structure in music .


Not knowing many many ways to create the emotion you want the song to be about .


If you learn the way music works ( just like you learned how your spoken language worked )

You can express anything inside you in a infinite number of ways .

Music has components

1.harmony
2.rhythm
3.melody

Except for drums and percussion,
All other instruments use all 3 of these at all times

The harmony us the initial concrete foundation everything happens in side of .

Take KEY of C major .

Progression.

Cmaj7/. F#dim7/ ..Dmin7/ G7/

Cmaj7
CEGB
Is the tonic, relaxed ,home main character.

F#dim7
F#AC D#

Is the Subdominant ( non Diatonic substitution
Leaving home creating a story.

Dmin7
DFAC

Is the Subdominant getting ready to transition to dominant

G7
GBDF

Is the dominant , motion, the villian in the story
Tension.
Going from Dominant to tonic is most powerful musical movement .

The G7 dominant tension resolves back to Cmaj
( The hero defeats the villian.

The bass instrument plays the lowest root movement of the chord on the 1 beat and creates a melodic motion to land in the next root of the next chord each measure.

We use the progression as the foundation
Then create melodies with the highest notes of the chord Voicings

We have our root movements in the bass our highest note as the main melody and have middle notes of each chord thicken the sound with chords
Synth, guitar,piano etc
Of you can even break the middle notes up so that you have a few instruments playing melodies with them ( and the sound of each sep layer adds up overall to be a chord like a choir )

 

If a person wants to never again experiAnce Writers block they are going to have to accept learning music theory component of music . The way music works. Music theory is not the whole story though.


It's actually a fairly small part in the whole thing.
( Music theory is a critical part that cannot be left out.)

Once you know music theory like second nature
It puts you at the starting line.
Now your journey can begin.

The first step after learning the theory so well (thatalljust in your subconscious)

You have to develop phrasing and music vocabulary
( These often reffered to as " language" a slang)

This is building up a massive library in your mind of
Music building blocks lines connections Melody's
With articulations .or things in music society at large uses this is vocabulary.
Think say about " trap" genre .
There is thousands of individual vocabulary in this subgenre.
From timbre considerations to the way a ding section begins , types of drum patterns , the way the vocals sag and detune .
And you take Any genre or style and there are thousands of individual unique vocabulary and phrasing articulations " language "

And depending on how much you buy into genres ,
If your music is just meant to sell like candy bars or if you really see music as a sophisticated art that you take serious the sophistication of the music language you need to develop changes.

Jazz is the most advanced type of music requiring decades to reach the highest levels .
Vs pop music that is the equivalent of
A baby saying " goo goo gah gah "
Hip-hop rock metal removing the music part out to mostly have drums , little filler than , words and the lyrics or words being the whole point.
Of course you do t have to buy into to any of these genres in traditional sense .
You can make music that has nothing to do with
Fitting into a tiny box
For instance what about making music that draws upon everything that's happened in history until today and uses the aspects of every genre a ND is just " music" itself?
There's so much involved in music .

Writers block is a matter of knowing what you need a song to be able then knowing music enough to create exactly what you need to o accomplish that.

If you don't know what to write a song about
You get writers block.
If you don't know how music itself is structures
Especially the initial cement concrete foundation
Then you get writers block.
If you don't understand how things create emotion in music ( tonic subdominant dominant )
You'll get writers block.
( Because you don't know how to create the type emotion the song is about (
If you don't understand phrasing articulation vocabulary and music language
( Harmony
( Rhythm
( Melody
( How these 3 are put together in each layer or instrument and what each instrument accomplishes in music the role they play (
Then you'll get writers block.

Think of it like this.
I have never studied engineering or carpentry don't know the tools or how things work.
When I go to build a house in going to get " Carpenters builders block "
Or a Dr same thing has no knowledge of medicine at all " healers block"
Take Any expertise any.
If you don't know how it works
Your going to get blocked .

 

The "block" is usually because of the inner critique, your left hemisphere. Our brains work in conjunction. If you have too much of one side, say right, you have rambling (like your posts in a way), inconsistent train of thought, chaos, etc. If you have too much left you are acting logical, stiff, waiting for something to organize into boxes and don't come up with anything. A mix of both is a good balance. Chaos AND order. Creative/writer's block is when your inner critique (left) takes over. It's that simple (when simplified).

it has nothing to do with form or language or what you know (or don't know) before that. We are all at different levels. It's usually the more we know (older, more knowledgable, etc), the more self-criticism we have.

Creativity is a craft, like any other. The best way to become good at it is by doing it over and over and over. That's when you let go of the inner critique and find a balance between the hemispheres. It then goes into automatic mode.

 

Last edited: Dec 1, 2019

Not sure what you mean by those mate. Writer's block refers to someone who already IS a writer, not someone who is trying to become one. The "Writer's block" doesn't happen to those who don't know what to write or those who don't understand form and/or structure. In music, it depicts a mental state of people who have already written music (and/or lyrics) in the past and perhaps with great success but somehow and for various reasons (maybe different ones for each individual), get stuck in a loophole which manifests itself most of the times the same way: everything they play or write seems insignificant to them. This mental state can be so strong, that people suffering from it may write great tunes and throw them in the garbage can.
So if i can name one remedy for this, i have to agree with @Baxter, silencing the "inner critic" should be the most important. That is the part of one's self which judges and weighs the significance of their own creations, in our case always ending up accepting their creations to be inferior to what they desire them to be, thus useless to them.
Cheers
PS: https://www.thepiano.sg/piano/read/sergei-rachmaninoff-suffered-writers-block

 

Last edited: Dec 1, 2019

Writer's block is a condition, primarily associated with writing, in which an author loses the ability to produce new work, or experiences a creative slowdown. The loss of ability to write and produce new work is not only a result of commitment problems or lack of writing skills.



You start off describing a person
Who has knowledge of music sufficient to complete writing and knows how music works.
You then move on to describe that person
Not having those those .suddenly
They forgot it all lost it?
Yes I suppose different tramatic injuries and rare situations.
When I say writers block with music I'm taking
To the people on this forum and just people who make music . There's not a single megahit writer on audiosex that I know of that had some condition and their inner critique is preventing new material.
It's just all regular people on here.
It's just weird you thought I was talking are writers block ( a specific type not applicable to anyone here or any of the people and threads existing on audiosex.)

Ive been very clear to describe what this package
" Writers block "
I'm taking about .
Its the deep meaning that's important of what I am talking about which I care about.
I don't care about some type of other definition not applicable to this whole context.

"Oh , by apple I mean a bent yellow L shaped fruit."

I'm, that's not the apple that I'm concerned with in this context.

I described before , before you start to write the song you have to have what it's about already what deep connection it has to you what feelings it create 8n people what meaning the song is about.

It's like im just going to make up a sentence right now I'll figure out what it'll be about and what the meaning is during the process of creating the exact sentence right now which I am typing.
Dang, I don't know what sentence to create next


There's other things like anxiety type psychological disturbances or medical reasons for not being able create music , thats it's own separate thing and requires a way of dealing with the root of that problem which is not the person's fault .

 

Last edited: Dec 1, 2019