shredmasterscott
patreon
How To End Writers Block In 3 Steps | Part 1
🕑 Added 2024-04-17 15:00:08 +0000 UTCBased on my recent post about what you guys want to see on patreon, I've chosen to go with your #1 request....COMPOSING WITH MUSIC THEORY. This is where I need your help. How did I do in this course? Did I address the problems you struggle with, or did I miss the mark? I need your feedback to make these lessons better, so hit me up in the comments below!
WHAT YOU'LL LEARN
1. How to get started writing music
2. How to develop your idea
3. Using melody, harmony and rhythm to make RIFFS
🎸Theory Ruins Creativity?
Does music theory ruin creativity? When I first picked up the guitar, other players warned me that studying theory would stifle my imagination. To be honest, during my first semester at music school, I did feel less inspired to write music. I was taking 21 credit hours and was overwhelmed with all the new ideas being taught in my classes. However, by the time my sophomore year rolled around, everything changed for the better. There's no way I would have discovered things like chromatic mediants, secondary dominants or X-Cells on my own. It just took time for what I was learning to show up in my playing
🛑 THE PROBLEM
During a recent lesson, a student shared an aggravating problem with me. He said, "what if I have an idea but I don't know where to take it." Sometimes you come up with a riff but....now what? If you're a songwriter, chances are you've experienced this frustration at some point. Let's say you have a riff cooking but you just keep repeating it over and over. It's like you can start a song but you can't finish it.
So you shelve the track and move onto something else, only to encounter the same problem with your next idea. Over time it becomes this maddening, endless cycle. One day while sitting in orchestration class, my professor said something that solved this terrible affliction for me. He said, "Scott, composition is just repetition and development." Wait.....what the f#$%!!!? A lightbulb went off in my head. Here's the thing....most of us are fine with the first part, "repetition." You come up with a melody, rhythm or riff and rep it 666 times. However, when you try to take it somewhere, the next idea sounds unrelated, or like it doesn't fit. The real art of composition is being able to DEVELOP a concept. That means the next part in your song should build on what came before. This is where music theory really enhances your creative potential. Composers used to practice developing ideas with Sonata form. In fact the middle section of a sonata is called the "DEVELOPMENT SECTION!"
⭐️ LESSON OBJECTIVE
So how do you develop a musical idea? In this lesson I'll show you 3 ways to take your idea somewhere interesting if you feel stuck. Level one is melody, level two is harmony and level 3 is rhythm. These primary elements are the core drivers of music composition and will break through any creative barrier guaranteed! Get the full tabs, guitar pro file and Mp3 below
Comments
SHRED
Yes! Can’t wait to hear what you’re cooking up 🤘
Elijah
I took a lot away from this lesson, and it’s been very helpful. Thank you for introducing me to utilizing a drone too, that has been monumental the last few days.
SHRED
That's very interesting MD. Arranging is a close cousin of composition. That's when you blend other ideas with your own. It's actually a powerful way to improve your writing overall. As you said, it's harder to start from scratch with your own material. Beethoven would absolutely be a metalhead if he was alive today!
MD Ziglar
The irony is, historically, I’ve been able to take other people’s ideas in a collaboration, blend them with my own & actually finish. Doing it with my own ideas seems to create the very block you speak of. I have a few good ideas brewing but can’t seem carry them forward. I become my own worst enemy & expect the epic saga rather than just a good song. For decades I waited for inspiration…that never came. Your videos have explained why. I know enough theory now to find the inspiration to take these ideas somewhere. Yes, this video was very helpful & I look forward to the next. It’s why I subscribe to you: for composition. BTW: I’ve always believed that Beethoven was the Metal of his time…you’re the first one to confirm that conviction.
