I am another plateau victim

Question

I could use some advise from an advanced musician (I am a guitar player, who could have guessed). I have reached a plateau, I am trying to write music, I will occasionally noodle around and hear something I like, write it down, move on.. It is not getting me anywhere currently, I don't know if it is a creativity stump, or if I need more music theory knowledge.

I practice my scales daily, but am having a hard time putting that to use. If this question is not direct enough I can revise, but I hope this makes sense.

Answer 1

Players plateau when they keep doing the same thing... the same outcome happens.

So you need to make a change. Probably any big change will work, but let's go with the three that most musicians swear by (me included):

• Start or find a band - it doesn't matter how good, or whether you expect to gig live or just play in a garage; just playing with others forces you to learn and change

• Listen and play along to new stuff - buy some music in genres you wouldn't normally touch, or by bands you haven't heard of, and play along. You'll have to pick up new ideas and techniques.

• Get a tutor - developing you is what a good instructor will do. Technique, style, theory - all should be kickstarted!

Answer 2

What else is in your practice routine, besides scales? Try practicing modes, exotic scales, intervals, and simple etudes. You should also have a piece of music to be working on.

Answer 3

I find this part interesting

I will occasionally noodle around and hear something I like, write it down

Am I correct in thinking that you play stuff - perhaps not randomly, but not with any structure - and wait until what you play sounds (in some way) right, and then you write it down?

Just thinking about applying the same process to writing a book: throw some words onto the page, then read them back and keep them if you like what they say. In the context of a book it doesn't feel to me as though it would work. I would expect to think about what I wanted to say and then write it down. Probably re-read and amend it a bit later.

So I'm wondering if perhaps you should try the same thing with the music. Think of a musical idea first, then play it, and then write it down. Don't know if it would help but it might be interesting to try.

Good luck.

Answer 4

Try not practicing scales or doing anything relating to music theory (for a short while). As far as creativity goes, it can (after some time of application) begin to make rigid that which is intended to be pliable. It can also help to change your musical location; Dev Townsend uses C Major tuning, and that's something you could try to experiment with that will take you far enough out of your comfort zone (I'm making some assumptions here...) that you might be able to get some creativity going.

Answer 5

Some thoughts ...

• Practicing scales: Don't practice! Just play. Play what you like, what you want. Most importantly: play because you want to, not to get better. getting better will happen automatically :-)

• Inspiration: You could try listening to something utterly different to your 'norm' like if you enjoy metal, try classical or folk.

• More fun: Find a jam night. Facebook is great for this, or google more generally. It depends on the area you live in, but if you can find a pub / bar which does a regular jam, go along. The jams local to me work by getting 4 musicians (2 x guitar, bass, drums) on the stage fo 3 songs at a time. They may never have met. They just 'come up with something' : sometimes a song, sometimes just literally a jam. This is a great way of pushing your boundaries without it feeling like work/a chore.