How do you get past creative block?

Shayper

Shayper

Shayper

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Hey guys.

So, I'm sat here working on a new electro track, things are going really well, and it's sounding great. However, I am now stuck on it, and I can't think of what to add to give it that proper high end level of production. I get this sort of creative block a lot - even though I get ideas for how tracks should sound like, I can't transfer that to the production.

So, do any of you get creative block, and how do you get round it? :)
 
Get wasted and try again the next day. :p

Best to step away for a few hours. Go for a walk or do something else that you enjoy to clear you mind.
 
Serious answer: don't force it.

Not everyone will be able to follow that advice, because you might be writing to a deadline, or being paid, etc. If you're writing and recording for your own pleasure, or for the pleasure of your fans, I suggest that you just leave it. The worst thing that can happen is that you let your determination to finish it force you to come up with something and just pop it in. You will hear the finished piece and be severely annoyed in a few weeks. As you're practicing, jamming and playing, perhaps a new idea will pop into your head and it will finish to tune off perfectly. It has happened to me every time.

When looking for inspiration on how to finish a piece, I just sit back and learn some new songs. The best way to come up with new ideas is to steal them from somebody else. ;)
 
Go and exert yourself, exercise, do something strenuous and fun. Have some rest and come back to it.

Alternatively, just follow the process that you used for other tunes. Listen to other music outside which you normally listen to, look for some ideas :-)

You could even get out... and just go and record some noises/sounds from life around you.
 
Struggled with this for a few weeks while we were recording our album (funded by the Princes' trust :)).

In the end it just clicked and we slammed out 9 tracks in the space of a few hours. It'll come, just don't be afraid to step back away from it.
 
I find it best to just take a break. But saying that, have you ever produced with anybody else? It could be an idea to get in the studio with some other artists and see how they work / just for fun. If it's for drawing I draw with the intention of binning it - no pressure, it's not going anywhere anyway. It doesn't always work but you can get good results just having a stab at something new with no expectation.
 
Sounds silly but... to get over a block, do not think; for me if I try too hard the block becomes a never-ending cycle of frustration, best thing to do is...

Do something else, focus on other things, then the block will lift.
 
Thanks a lot guys :)

It's great advice, I do need to step away for a bit, as listening to it over and over really isn't helping :D

Here's what I've got so far, anyway :)

Audio Shock
 
davedudes said:
Sounds silly but... to get over a block, do not think; for me if I try too hard the block becomes a never-ending cycle of frustration, best thing to do is...

Do something else, focus on other things, then the block will lift.
Click to expand...

This is correct.

Doing a mundane task that requires little to no thinking aids you afterwards when you get back to the complex task!
 
The problem is, if I'm working on a project and try to distract myself with anything, I'm still constantly thinking about said project. I have no idea why :D
 
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