I think we’ve all gotten stuck at times creatively- when trying a part to play on a song, or writing a song.
I feel sometimes that the ‘limitless’ possibilities of creativity can be a bit overwhelming; it can be difficult to find a good direction when there are many different ways to go.
And many of those ‘ways’ can wind up being blind alleys.
I’ve found that I will often set ‘limits’ for myself when I get stuck, and many times those limits can actually force good creative flow.
By ‘limits’ I mean a rule that you follow while trying to write or play a new part. Here’s some examples (and I would generally only use one at a time):
• I will not bend a string on this song.
• I will play on only the lowest octave of the neck.
• I will play this without my normal guitar tone. (If I always use distortion I will turn it off).
• I will not directly follow the chords to the song, I will focus on the root.
• I will not play single notes anywhere on this song.
I am not suggesting you use these exact rules- make them up to fit your situation. Because they are YOUR artificially imposed rules you can drop them or change them if it doesn’t work out.
Here’s another example…. I had written a riff for a song I was trying to write- I had something that sounded like a good ‘chorus’ part, that was based around an a minor and G chords.
For weeks I tried to find the verse and bridge that would complete the song. I tried to change to all of the different chords and nothing ever sounded right to me. Whenever I switched away from the a minor or G, the song lost it’s feel. I was stuck.
Since no other chords fit with my chorus, tried creating a ‘rule’. Write a verse and a bridge and you can ONLY use A minor and G. And they all need to sound like distinct parts.
In about 10 minutes the song was finished and it turned out a lot better than I had expected. I doubt the song would have gotten finished if I hadn’t created a ‘rule’ to follow.
Hope this helps someone dig out of a rut…
Cheers-
James Wilsey
www.myspace.com/jameswilsey
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3 responses so far ↓
1 admin // Aug 28, 2007 at 8:03 pm
Great lesson here. We live in world today where so many things have been done and so much is possible. Sometimes it really can give you brain freeze because there are so many choices on where to take your music.
“Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler.” ~Albert Einstein
2 Joel // Aug 28, 2007 at 11:02 pm
Phenomenal insight, James.
You know, it echoes the philosophy of another great artist, the late animation director, Chuck Jones.
For his Roadrunner and Wile E. Coyote series at Warner Bros., Jones intentionally set strict limitations on character, setting, and plot (e.g., no spoken lines; all of the action takes place solely in the desert of the U.S. Southwest; the Roadrunner seldom leaves the road; Wile E. Coyote’s mishaps are always self-inflicted; Wile E. must always fulfill George Santayana’s definition of a fanatic–someone who redoubles his efforts when he has forgotten his aim”; etc.).
And Jones’ formula worked: The Roadrunner/Wile E. Coyote Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies shorts are known the world over, are commonly referenced by animated film directors and live-action film directors alike as a major cinematic influence (Steven Spielberg being just one of those directors), and are as hilarious now as they were when they were created 50-60 years ago. Just like the unique guitar parts in “Wicked Game” will be as compelling and influential in 50-60 years as they were upon the song’s 1991 breakout.
A superbly themed and well-written article all the way around.
Joel
3 Less Is More: The Art of Musical Guitar Playing | Jeff Fajans // Jun 14, 2009 at 7:18 pm
[...] a great article by notable guitarist James Wilsey (who has played guitar with Chris Isaak) titled Expanding Creativity by Setting Limits at my online creative guitar magazine, Guitar Player [...]
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