How do you get past a musical rut? [Archive] - Jordan Rudess' Community Forums

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whitelightening

01-23-2007, 11:04 PM

bobbykunkle

01-23-2007, 11:17 PM

i dont know how you write, but a lot of the time i might write two bars or two lines of material and not look at it for even a year. sometimes when im in a writing mood but i dont have any ideas in my head ill just sit at the keyboard and just start hittin some notes or improvise over a progression or even one chord by itself and something usually comes up. im very into film-scorish styles of writing and a lot of my music i can picture what could happen on the big screen and what emotions or excitement it could creat. if you have anything thats pretty old material of yours laying around somewhere, get it up and listen to it again and you might hear it in a whole new way and you can elaborate on what you wrote.

mlunapiena01

01-23-2007, 11:46 PM

Stop thinking about it & go do something else... even if that's in music... go play another style or go read or draw or exercise or something ... take a few days away... generally from what I've seen ruts are from repitition, you need to replenish your brain and give it new circumstances so that the creative process can start up again... hope that helps, maybe it could have been worded better... dunno, I'm tired, so good luck and good night...

-Mike

Piranha

01-24-2007, 06:59 PM

I hit a wall 4-5 months ago, and I'm still stuck there. It's kind of depressing, really.

Analogkid

01-25-2007, 09:05 AM

Ive been in a rut for about 10 years :mad:

Omega Monkey

01-25-2007, 02:11 PM

I think one of the best ways is to read about other creative artists and what theyve accomplished and how. For instance, I just read the autobiography of Ray Manzarek (if you dont know who this guy is you shouldnt be on this forum), and that was very inspiring hearing his whole history of how he started playing and different films and books and music that inspired HIM to create music and all that stuff. I actually plan to go back through the book at some point and make a list of all of the stuff he mentions and check out as much of it as possible.

I also just read a book about the making of Are You Experienced which was also very cool, except I didnt like that the guy basically trashed everything after Hendrix' first album, implying he peaked with that and then was just trying to recapture that the rest of his life, which is BS. If anything he only got better and better as he went on, despite his personal struggles.

Anyway, stuff like that, as well as just plain learning more about music in general (whether its historical or more technical, or both, like the "Analog Days" book Im reading on the history of Moog, as well as a lot of info on Buchla, ARP, Oberheim, etc...) pretty much always gets me in a creative mood.

Another thing is playing a really nice instrument, especially if its one you wouldnt normally get to play (like a B3 maybe, or a harpsichord). Ive been sneaking into Sage Chapell at Cornell to play the really nice Steinway 9' grand they have there. Not only is the piano itself very nice, but the acoustics in that place are absolutely perfect. But playing a great instrument in a great space, music almost writes itself as youre playing, which I think is how some groups end up with such great music. Something like the last Lifetime lineup (with Holdsworth), all those musicians just kind of had a "sound", which just conjures music out of nowhere, so you get these great grooves with this awesome liquid guitar over it.

siebenboy

01-25-2007, 04:49 PM

Another thing is playing a really nice instrument, especially if its one you wouldnt normally get to play (like a B3 maybe, or a harpsichord). Ive been sneaking into Sage Chapell at Cornell to play the really nice Steinway 9' grand they have there.

I second this. I'm much more productive with my improvising when I'm on a grand at school, than on my upright at home. Try to find a fancy, but accessible instrument in a church, school, or conservatory somewhere.

And then ya, try different things like listening to lots of diverse styles of music, not listening to music at all for a week or two, not playing, playing, etc.

King_Ellesar

01-25-2007, 06:41 PM

Yo. I've had these problems too. But there is hope!

I think a big help would be to try and branch out from what you usually play and listen to. Experience different music, don't be closed minded to other styles and music. Like Jordan has said "Breathe the inspiration". Inspiration is like air. It is all around us, everywhere! So breath it in! Don't try and tie yourself to one specific genre of music to try and fit in to. Just make music and don't worry what it fits into, or what you ought to write or play so that it fits into something else. Look at King Crimson. Some could say they are the grand daddy's of prog. I'd agree. But not all their stuff is very technical, not all of it is rocking your socks off, actually, the only thing that is consistent and predictable about them is that they are unpredictable and inconsistent as far as what style or feeling they may try out next. I think that is very inspiring. They don't limit themselves to one style or one expectation, and nobody else should either.

Another thing I think is important is to make sure you are keeping your feelings in the music. If you are just trying to come up with notes that sound good together, you probably wont come up with anything spectacular. But if you focus on a feeling, a mood, a picture, you want to create from the beginning of the music writing process, you may find gold.

Often, when I drive in my car, I have music playing. I'm sure most musicians do. But I tried listening to something else the other day: NOTHING! Nothing but what was going on in my head. And I found that I was gradually overwhelmed with cool musical ideas I would like to pursue. Concepts for songs, feelings I'd like to explore with music, stories I'd like to tell...etc. And since then, I've been coming up with a lot of fresh ideas.

So I guess a big part of it is finding fresh inspiration first. Whether it is a new type of music to listen to or learn to play, or if you find a fresh idea (no notes, just idea like a story or a feeling), starting with fresh inspiration can motivate you to come up with new fresh music.

Taking a break for a couple days has worked for me too. Read a little. Go out to the beach or go for a walk. Then come back after a couple days.

I guess it is all pretty subjective, but this has worked for me.

ChrisMcCoy

01-26-2007, 09:00 AM

I know there are a lot of great musicians and many of you write your own tunes. I've been stuck in the worst of musical ruts lately and I just can't get seem to get any creative juices flowing. My question is simple. How have you pushed through the wall, climbed past the plateau, filled, the rut (insert favorite cliche here)?

Change styles for a while. Try on something completely different.
If you're playing Rock, try Jazz for a while. If you're playing Jazz, try Heavy Metal.
The change in venue will not only broaden your horizons, it will show you that you have options as well. When my hair metal rock band "Intution" split up in 1994, I got into Chick Corea, Spyro Gyra, The Rippingtons and Steely Dan...I had never owned any of their stuff before, and it introduced a completelty different influence into my playing. Buy yourself some new CD's, MP3's, etc. and listen to something else for a while.

C.

whitelightening

01-26-2007, 02:04 PM

All seems like very good advice. I've grabbed some Depeche Mode and Gary Numan and I'm gonna see what happens. I'm also taking a trip to the Rockies in Colorado in a few weeks. Maybe that change of scenery will help "inspire" me.

King_Ellesar

01-26-2007, 05:23 PM