Posts Tagged ‘guitar’

Hitting the Wall (Tips for Creative Blockages)

Saturday, April 4th, 2009

There are several experiences that all songwriters face. Every  songwriter has had writer’s block at some point. You either become bored, frustrated, or just plain blocked. Writer’s block is a terrible experience but have you ever hit “that wall”. I know that the wall is considered synonymous with writer’s block most of the time but my definition deviates. Writer’s block is a temporary condition in which you can’t seem to write a song - music and lyrics just don’t flow. It sucks, its painful, its a lot like constipation but it is a cakewalk compared to the wall.

When you hit the wall you feel as if you will never be able to write a song again. Nothing you’ve ever written is good when you hit the wall and you can never come up with anything better or more original than what you’ve already written. You think about it obsessively, you go out and do all the things you would do to halt writer’s block but it won’t work.  I recently worked through a year long block where I wrote absolutely nothing and thought my days of songwriting were over. The feeling of hitting the wall is much like a deep depression. I can’t tell you what will work for you but I can give you some ideas as to how to overcome your blockage.

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Your Guitar’s Brand Doesn’t Matter

Wednesday, February 25th, 2009

When I bought my fist guitar back in 2000 I chose it because my favorite color is green. It was an ugly Washburn with dual humbuckers and a rosewood neck. It sounded terrible. Not because it was a bad guitar but because I’m not a fan of humbuckers on a solid body. But that was the guitar I did most of my learning on. The foundation of my current skill set was forged by playing Smashing Pumpkins songs over and over on that ugly dissonant sounding guitar.

When I became a decent musician and knew just a tad more about guitars I went out and bought a Squier Stratocaster. This was a downgrade from my Washburn but it had two single coil pickups and came pretty close that trebbly Fender sound I loved. Eventually I became knowledgeable enough to know exactly what sound I wanted my guitar to make and I upgraded to another green guitar - a Fender Standard Strat with a maple neck.

Had I not known how to play guitar in the first place not one of those guitars would ever have sounded good. There were many times when I swore that if I had a better guitar I would be a better player. I had this crazy idea that as soon as I got that Fender I would be on stage playing for adoring crowds. But that never happened because its all about skill.

I’ve been playing guitar for almost a decade now and I finally see this issue clearly. Great songs aren’t hashed out on brand name expensive guitars, they’re created in your heart first. You can hand me a cheap beat up guitar and I’ll write a beautiful song people love on it while someone who needs their Fender 1950’s Buddy Holly Reissue to write a song will churn out crap. (more…)