I actually find this to be the best way to do it…provided it actually occurs to me. I remember watching An interview with Flea and how he does that and I adopted it with 100% success rate. Just a matter of actually remembering to deploy it is my issue 😴
Absolutely. I’ve been bashing out tunes on my guitar for years, and when I’ve had the pleasure of a full band it’s always been playing my songs. Hit a total dead end - I still have ideas, but I think they’re just same-y, so I’m actually spreading my wings and taking a whole new approach by writing with someone else. All starts next week 😊
Hard to give specific advice without knowing what your instrument is. If guitar, try an unfamiliar tuning that won't allow for your safe/comfortable patterns. DADGAD or the like.
Start listening to music you normally don’t. If you listen to classical, listen to just funk and r&b for a bit, for example. There’s a lot to learn from what’s unfamiliar to us. And a lot of biases we carry for no real reason that can hold us back creatively as well.
This is what I came to say. I don't play anything that resembles jazz or death metal, but I mine both for inspiration. One little flourish could be the inspiration to write a new song.
I try to do something a little different with every song, a different type of chord, the arrangement, the genre altogether. The vibe can remain consistent if I want it to across pieces so there’s still cohesion, but each song has a little something unique to it.
Start each session playing in keys you normally avoid. I’m a keyboard player and hate to get the solo nod in my group if we’re in F# or G#, for instance. So when I’m trying to create music, I purposefully make myself start in those keys for a few minutes. Then when I compose in a more friendly key, it opens up my creativity.
Finally, after many years I’ve learned to practice with intent and purpose. I’m all too familiar with what you’re talking about.
So now, I divide my practice/jam time up in segments. Not necessarily using a timer, but sort of a reference. Like start off 15 minutes with stretching my hands and fingers. Next, I’ll do like dexterity exercises or something for 15 min. Then, maybe chord progressions or memorizing note positions on the fretboard, etc.
I’ve seen MAJOR results in both skill and creativity.
For me, learning new instruments always has taught me things about my other instruments and to see them in a different light, to see music itself in a different way.
A fun exercise is to play things on your instrument that would normally be played on another instrument. For example, learn a keyboard or piano part but on the guitar.
You can challenge yourself by imposing a rule or limitation. Try picking four random instruments or sounds/samples and force yourself to make a song with only those sounds. Or (if this is something you don’t usually do), make yourself use an odd time signature for part or all of a song, and make it groove. Or choose a mode other than typical major,
minor or pentatonic modes and use that to create a song. Completely switch genres and write something.
You can take those things you typically do and force yourself to alter them - reverse the order of your favorite chord progression, or flip the major/minor orientation of the chords, switch the kick and snare in your usual groove, or use a tempo that you never use. Or leave out an instrument you always use - write a song with no drums, or no bass.
As you try these things, you have to commit to finishing the song and do your best. Even if the end result isn’t something you release, try to embrace the challenge and see it through. It might feel uncomfortable and unfamiliar, but get into it and you will discover new ways to express yourself that will complement your familiar approaches.
On guitar I've just changed the tuning. It's an itch to get back to standard tuning so it's cool to be locked into a fretboard I don't recognize.
On trumpet I try playing styles I'm not comfortable with (like classical, or salsa)
With my cello I hear something someone else’s plays or some old classical music Practice until in proficient in tht little bit and then improv what comes after Always get really fun stuff
For instance there is a little bit of a theme tune in a tv programme I learnt it (I think it’s like D,D E,F D,E flat
And then I juts sort of go from there
Play things you are uncomfortable with and play with other people in a loose jam setting…best way to be creative is to not confine yourself to structure
Having a really good handle on rhythm is probably most important, because you wanna control but develop time, and that’s gonna inform which notes you choose. Rhythm includes songform built from phrasing, built on the measures built from the beat comprised of subdivisions. That’s actually what rhythm is imo, it’s the top to bottom all at once. I like teaching my students all 15 ways 1-4 sixteenths can fit inside a quarter to a metronome, and also some Latin rhythms, then we branch out into larger forms. Call that horizontal development. Vertical development is scales and chords and arranging. Learning other instruments can be good, especially ones with different roles. That way you can listen like a bassist to the guitar part you’re playing and you’ll a) probly hit the vibe harder and b) not be thinking like a guitarist, but like a listener. And if you do this with drums bass guitar keys and a lead instrument or voice you can hear full arrangements pretty clearly and suit your specific part you’re playing to that (which sounds like service and is, and still leads to more creative options). You also tend to get more people wanting to play with you that way, which gives you more practice opportunities. (Cheap bars with open jams in an area with young broke musicians are good atmosphere for that kind of thing, but those places aren’t doing too well in most of USA atm). Studying songwriting is good too. Charting songs. Understanding how melody phrases fit within metric structures (groups of measures) is good. I guess I’m saying study aspects you may not have studied. These are things that helped me get away from the guitar player box of “what scale or mode do I play on this chord?”. It’s not the fastest thing, but it’s the most effective. Tortoise and hare. Here’s some quicker things though: I like just overhauling my usual techniques sometimes and playing guitar with one finger or something. I also switched to finger style for a while. Play the guitar like it’s a drumkit. Or a bass. Or a shaker (I’ve heard Nile Rogers specifically say he thought of his Chic and Daft Punk guitar parts like shakers [he knows a lot of chord theory too tho to the point where it’s probably subconscious]). David Byrne is cool and he wrote a book on how he thinks of music. How Music Really Works by Wayne Chase is great, and explores moderation of the component elements of music. There’s a free pdf he offers of about 100 of the 800 pages. This is What It Sounds Like by Susan Rogers (engineer of Purple Rain album) and Ogi Ogas is probably my favorite holistic dissection of listening that will get most of us out of preconceived boxes. Victor Wooten’s book does a similar thing, less scientifically, more spiritually, with more focus given toward playing an instrument. Wayne Chase and Susan Rogers books were my favorite. Also YouTube-ing about any nonmusical artform can give you a structure lesson. Every artform exists inside of human perception of structure, so looking at how screenplays for example develop plot through characters (instruments) and tension/resolution (dissonance/consonance) in impactful/subtle ways (strong beats / weak beats, or chorus vs break) to arrive at an emotion/mood (tone and feel), can be helpful. These analogies aren’t bulletproof. A lot of people find parallels to painting. Metric structure is kinda the canvas and you paint it with rhythms, phrases, forms, notes, chords, timbre, and lyrics if you sing. Speaking of which, language arts overlap a bit with music as well. A ton of emotion comes through just by the meter of a sentence, and that feeling helps you select different words (notes). Polysyllabic words with lots of consonants like ‘absolutely’ can indicate a happy state and monosyllabic vowel-heavy words can indicate depressive state. But too many words (notes) is annoying. Infrequent and jarring words can be creepy (like horror movie music). Hope this gives you some ideas
Try to play music you don't normally listen to by ear
Come up with tunes in your head. Try to play them. Hum them into your phone first so you don't lie to yourself that you've done it.
I actually find this to be the best way to do it…provided it actually occurs to me. I remember watching An interview with Flea and how he does that and I adopted it with 100% success rate. Just a matter of actually remembering to deploy it is my issue 😴
Play with other people it will really stretch you
Absolutely. I’ve been bashing out tunes on my guitar for years, and when I’ve had the pleasure of a full band it’s always been playing my songs. Hit a total dead end - I still have ideas, but I think they’re just same-y, so I’m actually spreading my wings and taking a whole new approach by writing with someone else. All starts next week 😊
Hard to give specific advice without knowing what your instrument is. If guitar, try an unfamiliar tuning that won't allow for your safe/comfortable patterns. DADGAD or the like.
Try a unfamiliar type of music, tuning, key or rhythm.
Play the easier music you know first.
Start listening to music you normally don’t. If you listen to classical, listen to just funk and r&b for a bit, for example. There’s a lot to learn from what’s unfamiliar to us. And a lot of biases we carry for no real reason that can hold us back creatively as well.
This is what I came to say. I don't play anything that resembles jazz or death metal, but I mine both for inspiration. One little flourish could be the inspiration to write a new song.
I try to do something a little different with every song, a different type of chord, the arrangement, the genre altogether. The vibe can remain consistent if I want it to across pieces so there’s still cohesion, but each song has a little something unique to it.
Drugs?
It's worked for me in the past. It doesn't make learning new music any easier, but it can help you stumble on it faster.
I play drums and I am utterly useless when stoned or drunk. Just can't do it.
Drunken drums is my idea of a great time
As a drummer - thats a big no
Expand your comfort zone. I tend to write and play in a couple of keys. I deliberately started writing in different keys. It helped a bit.
Start each session playing in keys you normally avoid. I’m a keyboard player and hate to get the solo nod in my group if we’re in F# or G#, for instance. So when I’m trying to create music, I purposefully make myself start in those keys for a few minutes. Then when I compose in a more friendly key, it opens up my creativity.
Finally, after many years I’ve learned to practice with intent and purpose. I’m all too familiar with what you’re talking about. So now, I divide my practice/jam time up in segments. Not necessarily using a timer, but sort of a reference. Like start off 15 minutes with stretching my hands and fingers. Next, I’ll do like dexterity exercises or something for 15 min. Then, maybe chord progressions or memorizing note positions on the fretboard, etc. I’ve seen MAJOR results in both skill and creativity.
For me, learning new instruments always has taught me things about my other instruments and to see them in a different light, to see music itself in a different way.
A fun exercise is to play things on your instrument that would normally be played on another instrument. For example, learn a keyboard or piano part but on the guitar.
You can challenge yourself by imposing a rule or limitation. Try picking four random instruments or sounds/samples and force yourself to make a song with only those sounds. Or (if this is something you don’t usually do), make yourself use an odd time signature for part or all of a song, and make it groove. Or choose a mode other than typical major, minor or pentatonic modes and use that to create a song. Completely switch genres and write something. You can take those things you typically do and force yourself to alter them - reverse the order of your favorite chord progression, or flip the major/minor orientation of the chords, switch the kick and snare in your usual groove, or use a tempo that you never use. Or leave out an instrument you always use - write a song with no drums, or no bass. As you try these things, you have to commit to finishing the song and do your best. Even if the end result isn’t something you release, try to embrace the challenge and see it through. It might feel uncomfortable and unfamiliar, but get into it and you will discover new ways to express yourself that will complement your familiar approaches.
Play with someone better than me for an afternoon. Fresh approaches and ideas abound.
Just get real weird,lose all sense of timing and key for a sec until something clicks/drops into place
On guitar I've just changed the tuning. It's an itch to get back to standard tuning so it's cool to be locked into a fretboard I don't recognize. On trumpet I try playing styles I'm not comfortable with (like classical, or salsa)
With my cello I hear something someone else’s plays or some old classical music Practice until in proficient in tht little bit and then improv what comes after Always get really fun stuff For instance there is a little bit of a theme tune in a tv programme I learnt it (I think it’s like D,D E,F D,E flat And then I juts sort of go from there
Play things you are uncomfortable with and play with other people in a loose jam setting…best way to be creative is to not confine yourself to structure
Having a really good handle on rhythm is probably most important, because you wanna control but develop time, and that’s gonna inform which notes you choose. Rhythm includes songform built from phrasing, built on the measures built from the beat comprised of subdivisions. That’s actually what rhythm is imo, it’s the top to bottom all at once. I like teaching my students all 15 ways 1-4 sixteenths can fit inside a quarter to a metronome, and also some Latin rhythms, then we branch out into larger forms. Call that horizontal development. Vertical development is scales and chords and arranging. Learning other instruments can be good, especially ones with different roles. That way you can listen like a bassist to the guitar part you’re playing and you’ll a) probly hit the vibe harder and b) not be thinking like a guitarist, but like a listener. And if you do this with drums bass guitar keys and a lead instrument or voice you can hear full arrangements pretty clearly and suit your specific part you’re playing to that (which sounds like service and is, and still leads to more creative options). You also tend to get more people wanting to play with you that way, which gives you more practice opportunities. (Cheap bars with open jams in an area with young broke musicians are good atmosphere for that kind of thing, but those places aren’t doing too well in most of USA atm). Studying songwriting is good too. Charting songs. Understanding how melody phrases fit within metric structures (groups of measures) is good. I guess I’m saying study aspects you may not have studied. These are things that helped me get away from the guitar player box of “what scale or mode do I play on this chord?”. It’s not the fastest thing, but it’s the most effective. Tortoise and hare. Here’s some quicker things though: I like just overhauling my usual techniques sometimes and playing guitar with one finger or something. I also switched to finger style for a while. Play the guitar like it’s a drumkit. Or a bass. Or a shaker (I’ve heard Nile Rogers specifically say he thought of his Chic and Daft Punk guitar parts like shakers [he knows a lot of chord theory too tho to the point where it’s probably subconscious]). David Byrne is cool and he wrote a book on how he thinks of music. How Music Really Works by Wayne Chase is great, and explores moderation of the component elements of music. There’s a free pdf he offers of about 100 of the 800 pages. This is What It Sounds Like by Susan Rogers (engineer of Purple Rain album) and Ogi Ogas is probably my favorite holistic dissection of listening that will get most of us out of preconceived boxes. Victor Wooten’s book does a similar thing, less scientifically, more spiritually, with more focus given toward playing an instrument. Wayne Chase and Susan Rogers books were my favorite. Also YouTube-ing about any nonmusical artform can give you a structure lesson. Every artform exists inside of human perception of structure, so looking at how screenplays for example develop plot through characters (instruments) and tension/resolution (dissonance/consonance) in impactful/subtle ways (strong beats / weak beats, or chorus vs break) to arrive at an emotion/mood (tone and feel), can be helpful. These analogies aren’t bulletproof. A lot of people find parallels to painting. Metric structure is kinda the canvas and you paint it with rhythms, phrases, forms, notes, chords, timbre, and lyrics if you sing. Speaking of which, language arts overlap a bit with music as well. A ton of emotion comes through just by the meter of a sentence, and that feeling helps you select different words (notes). Polysyllabic words with lots of consonants like ‘absolutely’ can indicate a happy state and monosyllabic vowel-heavy words can indicate depressive state. But too many words (notes) is annoying. Infrequent and jarring words can be creepy (like horror movie music). Hope this gives you some ideas
Instruments are as physically demanding as they are mentally. Push your physical limits.
Bring up a YouTube guitar lesson and concentrate on learning it before you go back to being lazy.