justinc said:

It is said that if you want to write well, you should to read a lot. Read poetry and challenging novels.

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pwnasaurus said:

justinc said:

It is said that if you want to write well, you should to read a lot. Read poetry and challenging novels.

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Yes, reading novels and poetry will certainly help with creating chord progressions and interesting melodies...

Actually, no, it won't at all.

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Synocybin said:

i've been playing guitar for almost 10 years and i've never been able to write my own stuff..

i've tried everything but my mind just constantly produces nothing..

any tips on how to help my creativity flow?

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pwnasaurus said:

justinc said:

It is said that if you want to write well, you should to read a lot. Read poetry and challenging novels.

---

Yes, reading novels and poetry will certainly help with creating chord progressions and interesting melodies...

Actually, no, it won't at all.

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RP didn't say he needed help with chord progressions or interesting melodies.  Just that
he knew how to play guitar but had trouble being creative.



So my question is this, when you say you know how to play guitar, do you mean you have just
been learning other peoples songs, looking up tabs and things?

Or do you know your scales?

Not that you can't write good music by butchering other peoples tunes

How about words, how are you with poetry or lyrics?

justinc said:

It is said that if you want to write well, you should to read a lot. Read poetry and challenging novels.

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I find this helpful when trying to be creative as well.

Reading (novels/poetry) creates visuals in your mind that no one
else has, as the brain is a peculiar thing... Then it's up to you to get it
down on paper or to come out of that instrument.

Subconscious said:

It's a hard thing to give tips on... but here is my process of writing. I've written and recorded several albums worth of material at this point.

I generally begin by just messing around playing in a certain scale; trying different notes, patterns, picking techniques, and generally just fooling around and tossing out ideas. Eventually I'll stumble on something that I think sounds good, and I'll begin to build off that idea, developing it into an actual riff. Sometimes at this stage that riff then develops into several variations/alternates.

I take any "riffs" I would consider A-grade material and record them onto a tape player. Unless I'm really passionate about developing the material immediately I generally forget about it at this point. Sometimes I'll forget about them for months, or even years.

After some time has passed I go back to my tapes and listen to them. Time allows you to separate what you thought was A grade material at the time of recording from the shit that genuinely is A grade material; and trust me there is usually a lot. I relearn all of the riffs that jump out at me and really stand out and then rerecord them onto a "keepers" tape.

From there I take all of my riffs that are in the same key or compatible keys and try stringing them together, this is the beginning of the "composition" process.

Once I have a string of riffs that flows well enough to be considered a "song", I record the string and begin developing bass, drum, and vocal patterns, sometimes with the help of other musicians.

The only real advice I can give you is try to write all the time, record the results, and develop the shit that's worth developing.

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Todcasil said:

justinc said:

It is said that if you want to write well, you should to read a lot. Read poetry and challenging novels.

---

I find this helpful when trying to be creative as well.

Reading (novels/poetry) creates visuals in your mind that no one
else has, as the brain is a peculiar thing... Then it's up to you to get it
down on paper or to come out of that instrument.

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That's kind of weird.

Talking Head said:

Todcasil said:

justinc said:

It is said that if you want to write well, you should to read a lot. Read poetry and challenging novels.

---

I find this helpful when trying to be creative as well.

Reading (novels/poetry) creates visuals in your mind that no one
else has, as the brain is a peculiar thing... Then it's up to you to get it
down on paper or to come out of that instrument.

---

That's kind of weird.

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THEN I GUESS IM KIND OF WEIRD

Todcasil said:

Talking Head said:

Todcasil said:

justinc said:

It is said that if you want to write well, you should to read a lot. Read poetry and challenging novels.

---

I find this helpful when trying to be creative as well.

Reading (novels/poetry) creates visuals in your mind that no one
else has, as the brain is a peculiar thing... Then it's up to you to get it
down on paper or to come out of that instrument.

---

That's kind of weird.

---

THEN I GUESS IM KIND OF WEIRD

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That's ok, I practice my golf swing when I'm training for basketball.

x Ju x said:

My knowledge on musical theory and scales and what have you is based solely on what I've learned through teaching myself how to play different instruments.

I understand the basics of it all. Like how to translate notes through different octaves and finding notes the fit in the same key. But if someone were to hand me a guitar or bass or whatever and tell me to play a certain scale I wouldn't have a clue.

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That's kind of the way I have taught myself music over the past fifteen or so years,
but i find it's also good to mess around with different giutar tunings, or to learn a
crazy scale and that sort of thing, when I'm stuck in a rut musically. 

Sometimes taking a break helps, let's you reset your frame of reference.

I guess a good question to ask yourself is this:  why do you want to write songs/music?
I think the answer to that question can help you decide how to navigate next, perhaps.