Getting out of the songwriting rut
We had been noticing that all the songs with the kids in SongCamp were sounding pretty much the same. To do something different, I brought my new Boss loop pedal. Not only can I record my guitar and add a lead, it also comes with a number of prerecorded drum tracks. The result, two totally different sounding songs.
In applying this to songwriting, I made the following observations:
1) Change the energy - Just adding something new to the mix, immediately changed the energy of the room. We were in uncharted territory. I've had this experience before with a new guitar, plugging in my guitar, or adding a capo.
2) New rhythm - A new rhythm, changes the landscape. Inspiration came from seeing something new. It pushed me outside of my typical safe comfortable patterns into a whole new world and a totally different song.
Can wait to see what we do different next week.
Labels: rhythm, songwriter, songwriting, songwriting tips
posted by Jeff Oxenford @ 11:26 AM
7 comments
7 Comments:
Nice blog Jeff
I've been doing a similar job in the UK for about the last 10 years - rewarding but always unpredictable!
I've just started a songwriting blog analysing all 211 Beatles songs in chronolgical order - trying to add some fresh inspirqtion into my own writing - it's called (The) Blog After 909 if you want to check it out.
Thanks for your post. I too am a songwriter and I really need to learn more about home recording and putting technology to work.
David Patterson
http://theseedsofsong.blogspot.com/
Nice blog and great post! Thanks for the help!
Nice blog & good advice.
Jessica Brandon
Artists Relations
USA Songwriting Competition
http://www.songwriting.net
Jeff,
I use my looping pedal as well for songwriting! It really does wonders for inspiration to have multiple tracks going at the same time and being able to experiment with them.
I just finished a post about being in a lyrics-writing rut, and I thought your post would be a nice complement to it. Check it out when you have the time:
http://themodernmusician.net/2010/04/got-songwriters-block/
-Anthony
The good old boss loopstation, great for getting creative!
Craig S.
http://www.world-of-songwriting.com/index.html
I agree, it's good to try new directions when songwriting. I also find something simple like using a capo on the high frets of the guitar can add some refreshment. Nice Post.
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