Curing Writers block
It happens to all of us sometimes: You’re sitting in the studio working on a track or remix and suddenly you get to a point and just can’t seem to move forward. I know it’s happened to me a few times and i can tell you, it’s pretty frustrating. At first i tried to force it - keep working and try every angle - to no avail. Eventually someone told me to just take a break and do something else and come back later. Yes, that’s what everybody says, but there’s a few things you can do while taking a break to help aid you in the “creative process”.
One of the things i like to do is to just go for a walk. Now, living in Texas, this is really only possible during winter and spring, unless you’re into 100F heat. Excercise is always a great way to freshen up and replenish your creative mind. Sometimes a writers block can last for a while, like a few days or weeks and in that case it’s best to just get away from the studio completely. One thing i’ve discovered that really helps is to go to a local Record Shop (If there are any left) and browse. You always find something you’ve been looking for for years. A lot of times i’ll find a few obscure records that are great for sampling and building your library of sounds.
If you just can’t get out of the house and don’t want to leave the studio, another great way to overcome a bit of writers block is to organize your files and clean up your computer. Whether you’re on a Mac or a PC, keeping your Harddrive tidy can really help out when working on music. Here’s another tip: Clean up the studio. Hey, i’m no angel, but i know how messy my studio can get when i’m working on 3 remixes in a row without a break - cleaning the place up and taking a break really helps me reset.
Here’s a great article The Emissary found over on his blog, that has a lot of good info on the creative process: http://amherstsaxophonequartet.buffalo.edu/Foss.htm
Posted on Nov 11th, 2006 You can skip to the end and leave a response.
