Stuck in a rut

I was wondering if there was an easy cure for what I have.

All I've been doing for the last three weeks is write scores of riffs and solos, emulating this guitarist and that band, with no real purpose at all in mind which has resulted in me ultimately deleting them. This was of course pretty much destined to happen considering I write anything and everything in the space of a few hours of inspiration (And I do mean everything, not just music), in a linear flow with no pre-made plan of what's going to be done next.

[rambling]

I'm pretty sure Beethoven, and every other serious composer/artist for that matter, never wrote anything with that kind of immature impatience, which I guess adds to the overall crappiness of what I do.

[/rambling]

I'm not sure if anyone has gone through such a period but I find that even if I plan a song from top to bottom, if I go back to it the next day I always find myself either deleting the plan and calling it quits or doing something completely different...and then deleting that.

How does one find a healthy outlet for artistic expression? rather than a fragmented one?

I'm just not ready to wait for my muse to return when I'm pretty sure I'll trash anything she gives me.

I'm not sure if anyone has gone through such a period ...calling it quits or doing something completely different...and then deleting that.

How does one find a healthy outlet for artistic expression? rather than a fragmented one?

We've all been there. It's tough, and comes with experience. The better you know your stuff, the easier it is to extract decent material. i.e. the more tools in your toolbox, the better equipped you are to deal with any situation. By tools I mean intimate knowledge of: harmony, rhythm, orchestration, melody, time, form, colour, energy, density, counterpoint...aaaaand so on.

Be patient, and, just like I told this guy, don't give up; learn the basics; learn the basics better; listen a lot.

sounds like you have a classic case of white boy syndrom

i go to a school with a lot of asians, and whenever me and my friend say to eachother that we are doin homework, or studying but not really doing it, we call it white boy syndrom since all the asians study a lot (sorry if i offend anyone)

to me, u just need some self-discipline, or, do what i do every now and then

1) force urself to write a piece, only if its 50 measures long, in one sitting

2) write whatever comes to mind, and just keep going, dont look back, and dont edit, i've come up with some pretty interesting pieces that way

i go to a school with a lot of asians, and whenever me and my friend say to eachother that we are doin homework, or studying but not really doing it, we call it white boy syndrom since all the asians study a lot (sorry if i offend anyone)

:)

Looks like you have a severe case as well...perhaps studying your english textbook a little harder will help. (At least you spelled 'a lot' properly)

no, not with composing, i like music, therefore me sitting at my desk with my laptop on the desk, and my violin case opened with my violin tuned up, bow rosined and writing a violin solo doens't bother me

studying for chemistry honors, THAT bothers me

:)

(At least you spelled 'a lot' properly)

my english teacher in 5th grade put a lot on a spelling test, almost everyone spelt it wrong, and for homework, she made us write it 100 times with perfect penminship, my parents were mad at my teacher, but i havn't mispelled it wrong so far :D:)

I didn't say anything about composing...

Poor spelling, punctuation and grammar makes people seem ignorant...put some effort into it, please.

dont worry, i can't.

im too bad at english, I just don't get it, and its hard.

1) force urself to write a piece, only if its 50 measures long, in one sitting

2) write whatever comes to mind, and just keep going, dont look back, and dont edit, i've come up with some pretty interesting pieces that way

Acctually that's what I do Lol, and what I consider the problem. The thing is whenever I leave something to do another task that needs to be done, I find that when I return to it I lost all will to finish it, which has seriously crippled my ability to do anything more complex than 5 minute pop songs, or multitask projects. I want to get out of that habit.

By tools I mean intimate knowledge of: harmony, rhythm, orchestration, melody, time, form, colour, energy, density, counterpoint...aaaaand so on.

Be patient, and, just like I told this guy, don't give up; learn the basics; learn the basics better; listen a lot.

Yeah, I think it all basically boggles down to lack of good theory.