well im having trouble writing new stuff ive hit a wall and ive been trying to write new stuff in the vein of bloodbath/malevolent creation, are there any scales or anything i can try to break out of this?

Get some sleep, give yourself some time, and don't focus too hard on it. It'll come eventually. For me, I usually get creativity spurts for a little bit and then I get the writers block, but with time, I get over it.

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Don't try to sound like other bands too hard man, it just boxes you in.

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learn some songs by those bands to help give you ideas

just write what you have, tab it out, don't focus on it too much. Writers block is when people focus so hard on writing something, they can't. Give it a rest.
Do something else. Play something else on the guitar, maybe just songs. Whatever. Maybe not even guitar. In three days you'll have inspiration again. Well, at least thats how it works for me.

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Good site, granted my favorite girl left it or something. She basically fell of the side of the earth. She must have finally paid for college. haha

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I think we should start an "Official drum loops" thread, that always inspires me, but it's a bastard trying to find ones I like etc... Usually I'll play a GP file with the drums on solo and jam along until I find a good bit, then select it and use it.

But yeah... If anyone would be up for posting some GP drum loops etc for metal, I for one would really appreciate it

Try listening to stuff other than those bands, or even metal at all.

But yeah the best advise was go away and come back to it. If you force yourself, all you do is bang your head against the wall harder.

Go and walk your dog, it always gives me inspriation. I guess you should take a tape recorder and sing some riffs into it tho, cos I always forget the melodies by the time I get home...

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This is precisely how i produce my music, but instead of using GP i use Fruity loops. I have a shit ton of basic and complex beats set up for metal music that i can just go.. "ok i want to make a riff.... that has some double bass in it" click it on let it go on loop and start playing to it.

Works like a dream.

But yeah i get writers block alot. Usually the best thing i've noticed to do is try using a different key to help push you out. This new cd i've been working on probably has songs in 8 different minor keys so it should be pretty intresting.

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all i gotta say is live your life. try and have fun, things that get you relaxed. then once ur in the zone try and write more

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i went away for a week on vacation and i decided to leave my guitar and hopefully comeback and have something fresh and new and nothing came of it

and as for the singing riffs, as gay as that may seem, i do that all the time and forget it the second i try to play it, so maybe i will try that one

Only once did I manage to remember the idea, and even then it was subjected to 'chinese whispers' and ended up being different.

Just got to let it flow.

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A technique I often use to compose songs is initiating many compositions at a time; Then I compose them in different order etc.

E.G I might compose another minute of song A day 1, the day 2 I got to song C and compose a bit.

Meh I feel I get creative this way; even if I discard 2 or 3 songs and i'm left with one in the end I feel its worth it.

Write something for a feel rather than a sound.

Maybe pick a scale or something and work out something that gives the right feel and melody. Right now, I'm writing this moody, hypnotic number and I picked out the Six Tone Symmetrical scale for the hypnotic, augmented feel.

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When I write, I usualy will sit there for quite a fucking while trying to come up with a melody I really dig, and then I'll write around that. Theory is your friend by the way!

well melodys it is easier if u just try and hum something to it. something catchy but not annoying

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My style is pretty tech so when i am stuck for ideas i play around with some Jazz licks. All of a sudden

INSPIRATION

I totally agree with this. I've had writers block for a good few months now since January and it's only just started to fade away. If your trying to write metal and you get a block...don't listen to metal for a while, months if possible....listen to other stuff and distance yourself because it's easy to get so invested in a genre you like that it will impede your writing.

Also the worst thing you can do is to play/practice songs by a band that is your heavy influence...you'll only end up sub-consciously ripping off a riff...this will not help.


I myself have been listening to alot of Jazz, Industrial/Electronic and Drum & Bass music and it has really helped me approach my writing from a different musical angle. Also the best riffs come when your watching tv and just "strumming off" not thinking about that killer riff.

Riffs just come to me while im playing. or when im writing a song i know this doesn't sound artistic or fluent but i find writing structured songs are easier. So if you have a lot of pedal note riffs then put in a chugging palm-muter or blastbeat riff.

as far as scales go use

Diminished: H-W
Muhummedian
Diminished: 3halfsteps

and this scale(s)


0 1 3 5 7 8 10 12
0 2 3 5 7 8 10 12

Those were fret numbers on the E string

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minding the first part i wrote: that is unless you want a song that only uses one style

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