Tips for music producers on how to get over creative blocks
When you get stuck creatively and can’t get anything out, you get very frustrated, annoyed, and assume you must be shit or something. You’re generally quite miserable in those moments and would love it if anyone has any better way of looking at it.
So close, no matter how far
Especially when the drive is there but the creativity isn't, it’s very frustrating. Being so near to finalizing something but that magical part is missing. Many producers have dozens of songs unfinished because of this.
Overcome it by becoming more confident in your talent as a composer and/or producer
Perhaps when you were younger and you had less adulting to worry about, you were very confident and productive, but as you got older, you may have experienced struggles to earn enough money - with a day job or with music. Your confidence inevitably will suffer and that’s obviously quite terrible for your creativity and productivity. Your self-doubt stops you from completing even good ideas. Nothing feels good enough. It makes you give up on almost every idea.
Sometimes you need to put the bad ideas out to make room for good ideas to grow.
So make something ridiculous and put a crowd cheering effect under it. Laugh. Thank you, next.
Below is a non-exhaustive list of tips I’ve crowdsourced from my clients, friends, and acquaintances. I hope it can help you!
One way is to go and do something else and get back to that project after a week or so.
Revisit an unfinished track, finish it, and then move on.
Pull up one of your older songs and try and write a new part for it.
You can't cook unless you are in the kitchen, so don't force creativity but practice it.
Being consistent in making music reduces the block in a major way.
Take a step back and think about what you ideally would want to happen next.
You may want to try and listen to something totally different then what you were working on, because that can spawn ideas.
You can find a new reference track and download new sample packs.
Do something else entirely like play other people’s music or something bizarre you’d never normally listen to, play a game, read a book, go to places you’ve never been, watch a film you normally wouldn’t, or go for a ride.
If you have a tune in your head that pops up, just hum it into a sound recorder on your phone and use it next time you have studio time.
Before starting a track you can go through a lot of music and get inspired by it. It could be as simple as just finding a chord progression you like.
If Steven Tyler says he dares to suck at least once a week, so can you.
Try to trust your own judgement, trust your own creativity.
Focus on just making time for it and putting the work in. Some days the creativity will be there, others not but the best thing to do is to just make time for it.
Ask yourself, “What frame of mind am I in?”. If you got shit going on then maybe leave music for a few weeks.
Even when you broke out of it...
Even when you broke out of it, you made something you’re very happy with and you somehow always get out of it in the end, it's more about beating yourself up. That’s the part you find hard to snap out of. It’s happening on a more psychological level. With a simple breathing exercise and grounding meditation, you can get out of it. Especially when you practice this consistently on a daily basis. This means you shouldn’t just practice meditation when you’re feeling anxious - as a means to treat a symptom, you should do it daily to build up resistance, so that you can bounce back quicker whenever you get stuck.
Get a free copy of my grounding meditation and get started now.
The amount of beating ourselves up and negative self-talk we hoomans put ourselves through on a daily basis is daunting. We're so used to that behavior that it's often quite difficult to snap out of it because we've been doing it for so long that it takes some time to learn new behaviors and attitudes. Some habits are small and easily manageable, others are daunting and will take you quite some time to achieve. Having clear, actionable steps is a great way to start. Everyone has a different way, it’s up to you to find yours.
Need help with that? Let’s jump on a call and map out how you can get past your creative blocks, stop feeling frustrated and miserable and spend your time actually working on tracks. Let’s talk >>>
Let’s continue the conversation!
Which one of these tips do you like the most and why? Got a tip of your own to add? Post in the comments below and let me know!