Top 10 Tips for Curing Musical Writer's Block

[BadFinger1997]

That cat is going to eat my soul... O.o

[ichigo1901]

PERIPHERY FOR DAYS!!!!!

[themetalwolf64]

Fuck yeah, Jet Set Radio! UNDERSTAND THE CONCEPT OF LOVE!

[DjEsemar]

AND YOU MAKE A FRIEND, YAY!

[Martintoney2012]

Sample your girlfriend LOL!

[Hector95100]

omg ur freakin amazing!

[ElecktroProduction]

Nice Computer Background :)

[WTHeezay]

I've ''sampled'' my girlfriend many times, but lets not stray from the subject

[LauraLourenco01]

you should make a video explaining how to make a MIDI keyboard not lag without an interface

[FAB0LOUSZ10]

press 5 or 7

[Mrdjmatticus]

PERRY FAIRY!!

[xPowerKittyx]

This guy is my fucking hero xD

[1787dude]

I sampled my girlfriend one time.

[OhFuckItsHeather]

The kitty on his computer<3

[94asilaydying]

I'm pretty sure you're in that last band.:P haha

[KarlKatten]

Have you ever watched Bladerunner? Well, a guy called Vangelis made the music for it and it's great. It's really weird and lovely at the same time, you should check it out!

[TheJayMansPlan]

Bratz movie and game?

[Crazymofoinamajikbox]

Something i do when I'm out of ideas for a guitar riff is just mess with the knobs on my amp and pedals. sometimes just do it at random other times just set everything to 5 then tweek. Also a great way to find a cool guitar tone

[DDentonas]

Deus ex. The original of course.

[kwarzee]

Le background cat is ultra awesome

[narutosa33]

Freakin love the Persona 3 soundtrack!

[analisdnb]

...you should do something with your hair mate...you look like a damn hippie...but i like your tutorials very much...i find you very proffesional and you have great speech technique ;)

[OfficialXsist]

repeatedly press 8 for gangsta dave

[becbec746]

my cure for writers block is watching Dave tell me cures for writers block. :D

[OoQU1CKS1LV3RXoO]

ACNE WINS

[batnguitar]

masturbation? only bad thing is you'll be tired afterwards and have to work on a song after a nap lol

[MFRecordsOfficial]

What a cute kitty

[AnythingDark]

I put Smarties tubes on my cat's legs. He just looks so confused... If I'm really out of ideas, I make him walk down the stairs.

[bushicheeno]

@AnythingDark a Jimmy Carr fan im assuming.

[AnythingDark]

@bushicheeno I'm glad someone got that.

[JustinAllenNelms]

I am hip hop producer and I really appreciate this video! I can relate to not listening to music as much as I use to...sucks but, what can you do? Listening to music and taking breaks (I have found) really do help! Anyway I just wanted to drop by and say thanks for this video! It has helped me!

[iApex3]

Fucking fagget....take out your glasses.

[xand134]

@iApex3 faggot* take OFF your glasses*

[grayden321123]

@iApex3 obvious troll is obvious

[CyXaPuK1986]

scary girl =/

[swissbeats23]

any one notice the zit on his lip??? man please pop it

[psgsummers]

Kitteh desktop background.

[MrJaiLeeworthy]

but according to wikipedia, indie rock is a really really diverse genre, so listening "exclusively to indie rock" can't be that much of a bad thing, can it?

[cRaMer347]

want to make the most interesting creative and mind-blowing song ever?? start with a half oz of super-skunk then if possible come back to this video and press 7 repeatedly :D

[swissbeats23]

@cRaMer347 lmfao man did it FUNNY tho instead of making a mind blowing song i fell out my sit laughing :) PS it was lemon haze instead of skunk

[musikmakerman]

thanks really helped im now getting a roland fantom x6 to bring all my ideas together been doing a few covers getting rockier 2 been practicing on a fender electric hope to bring together kinda electronica rock may even do some metal soft trance anyway thanks for the tips im going into a studio any tips as i feel really nervous such a big step??

[OneMoreMusician]

Hmmmm this is going to be a Marmite comment I'm sure. The Halo games have some amazing songs though not very electronic, more centred around guitar, kick ass drums and some aaaahhing. And as for the limiting myself thing, I made a song using just the D chord on guitar that lasted about 5 minutes (not on my channel sadly).

[Aiiemusic]

Press 1, two times fast, and he's saying "Tin-Tin" :-)

Cheers !

[KalleBlomquist93]

FUCKING F ZERO ON n64.

every time i struggle with drum n bass.

[UnderEvaze]

all 3 motorstorm titles for the ps3 have great OSTs. just sayin.

[ninjamaster97]

These are great tips!

[sean8is8a8beast]

theres a stalker lolcat in the background following u dude......

[packing999]

his eyebrows r on extasy

[TellMeAmerica]

Periphery = Awesomeness.

[ProductTheCatalog]

zit on the lip

[benson8922]

hell yeah periphery

[WavezLoL]

Naaaaw look at the cat at 0:20 :'') soo cute <3

[ISMBOFepicly]

OWL CITY! O.O

[cGPendoom]

I always get over block by surfing the audio portal in newgrounds, It really helps you learn about what other people are currently making around the world.

[VintageFlux]

His Wallpaper <3 

[RealTalkWithTheHahn]

kitty in the back :3

[bboyfabolous1994]

you're one of the coolest guys everrr!!!!

JET SET RADIIOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

[pisky]

i love ur hair =D dont ever cut it!!!! =D

[bboyfabolous1994]

JET SET RADIOOOOOOOOOOO

LOVE THAT GAME!

[STVRBonjasky2]

ugly shit)

[drummaboy2346]

Bratz?

[woahbre]

What camera did you record this video with? Thanks

[paperpro3223]

Wait..What is on your lip dude

[JayJordinBeats]

@paperpro3223 Herpes...

[IIEL3CTRiicKx]

Why did you just show a picture of another dog when you said "Sample your girlfriend".. Oh wait..

[cptorangutang2]

@IIEL3CTRiicKx i LOLed.

[LoveMyGaming]

bratz the game ......

[golluba]

THIS GUY JUST PISSES ME OFF

[0Nello]

no joke i look at my cat and new ideas just pop up

[MindOfCreativity]

Tip: Make a remix of a track

[FrankiethePirate813]

i listen to classical music and play along if i get a lil blockage goin..always helps..

[krimsonkorspe]

Nice Video! Some of what you said including trying next genres is what i am after. You should take a listen at some of my music, its really nightmareish

[Infaskate]

number 1 WEED

[dylankrolick]

@Infaskate weed made it worse for me

[MrXtamar999]

s ss s ck s ck s ck s ck ck s ck s ck..č č č

[TViener]

JETSET RADIO!!!!!! YEAHHH !!!

[gloryholedigga]

always watchingout for great producers. ur defiently one.

also a couple of REALLY talented fl studio users.

great tips, and watch out for my homie jnp. cuz he is killing stuff off! (type JNp as so... u shd find him) also check out Mike Klassic, Ruskos Beat Classes and many many more. subbed

[shrimpy342]

'psst try the boyinaband forum' - 'thats not creepy is it?' - >:D

[MarleyXVI]

coffee and the American Analog Set

[Chyaman09]

5,555th viewer

[Redwanbeatz]

your voice sounds soooo familiar! are u featured on any other youtube videos, partners channels?

[1OCBR]

Halo Has A Great Sound Track!

[yupferris]

It's like watching Boxxy all over again..

[VSTTutorials]

my channel helps me get over writers block. when others request synth tutorials, it forces me to sit down and work with my programming, which helps me to learn how to make my own synths, or adaptations of other synths, which in turn helps me to get a new idea for a song.

[smashingpoop]

number 11 "listen to CHON!!"

[Zhevros]

I listen /almost/ exclusively to indie... anything.

[Holykatzbob]

METAL FUCKING GEAR FUCKING SOLID FUCKING .... FUCK

[OeNoesRAWR]

I had to compose some piece for my Music GCSE, Getting writers block was not an option :'(

[BioGeometric066]

Dude, I frickin' LOVE Jet Set Radio. Best soundtrack I have ever heard.

[swimmerforlife789]

MEGAMAN!!

[TheFlameEssence]

I normally just find any two kick and snare samples that work with each other (as I can EQ or change the sample file later) and either make some chords or mess around with a vst until I have something that I can build on.

When I don't know what to make I listen to a music podcast whilst doing something so you can get a good idea of different styles without sitting next to your screen getting bored ;)

[pieinaboxproductions]

i tried sampling my cat and it bit me

[FrenchClassIsBoring]

F-ZERO

FUCK YEA

[TYDrumnBass]

Does any one how to cure writers block when it comes to making dubstep leads? I'm shit!

[Magnifikate]

@TYDrumnBass just get a synth and arpegiate it! FUN! >:D

[TYDrumnBass]

@Magnifikate i got no good sounds though

[TWMusicBerlin]

usually i take a synth i like and play around with some chords while hearing a drum beat, within minutes i usually have good idea

[stoffmiester]

sample your girlfriend? id hope you had sampled her before she became your girlfriend lol

[dariusberne]

Akira Yamoaka's soundtracks for the first 4 Silent Hill games... omfg...

[nogodfortomorrow]

Thanks Dave. Collaboration at first place! I'm trying to do some with some old hiphop rivals... let's see what will happen.

Ah, by the way: finally I got the cursed reason 4. Next step: wobble bass..

[jasonjbundy]

The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron

[MrZokked]

Pro cat background

[Anjiruu]

Have you managed to only write 8 bars to a song?

Then halve the bpm but record at twice the speed.

[sludgewig]

@Anjiruu just shut up

[Anjiruu]

@sludgewig Trollsense is good sense.

[artemvyrtosu]

Thanks Dave!!! Your videos are just great. By the way what do you think about music in the Portal 2 game?

[JeffUpdike1992]

Thanks Dave! some of those things I have recently started doing ironically but the majority i have not and this helped a lot!! Thanks!

[robbaaayyy]

when your making a dubstep song, what goes first , the drum beat or the bassline ?

[MilkeyGueyVideos]

@robbaaayyy drum beat

[Vestu]

@robbaaayyy you can make a minimal (1 bd 1 snare) beat just to give you the time signature feel and spice it up along with the bassline you're coming up with etc.

[DJThundersnow]

Jet Set Radio Future!!!

[jdkbriggs]

techno.org/electronic-music-gu­ide/

[tekdeker029]

a cool indie band is cake.....

[theseterms]

@tekdeker029 very cool :)

[apcreed]

That was the best snare noise i've ever heard.

[GeekBoyMusic]

I normally deal with my writer's block by watching one of Dave's tutorials!

[OfficialClarkKent]

/watch?v=0sK0Ozn8LDA

[kissanainen6969]

your cool but you really need haircut =DD

[tehpwnagerer14]

be in a few bands.. of diferent styles.. then get them to help you out.. like im in a melodic metal-core band and a moshy sort of band.. like Confession from Australia.

or watch dvds of bands.. i watched the I Killed The Prom Queen dvd. went home at like 4 am after the dvd.. sat up till 7 am writing and it came out quite good :D

[PentApleX666]

VST's: megaman 8 and any megaman X game. for real man.

[tMCBF2]

I find that watching a movie and then trying to recreate the emotions you feel in a certain scene through music is a good way to come up with some crazy new stuff.

[noobtard07]

OMG JET SET RADIO YES

[jdkbriggs]

GTA IV

"electrochoc"

[JAKThaRapper]

Dude ur awesome but u need a haircut..

[ZombiePopshot]

kitty



[moonsugar1]

Have a mental weekend, recover sunday night, monday your born again.

Theres no such thing as bad inspiration, if you hate something, it inspires you to do better. If you cant enjoy the style of music your making because you've been doing it for a long time, find something to listen to that totally offends you and you'll remember why you started doing what you were doing in the first place!

Get out there. Most of my song titles come from conversations and sayings or things I see whilst out.

[FinnTheSharpshooter]

CELLDWELLER!!!

[Spermwhales93]

Recommending Celldweller AND Periphery! You have an awesome taste in music Dave! :-)

[inews87]

SSX 3 has best soundtracks

[marcuelcajon]

You better win.

[NimbusFirecloud]

Good advice which I have all pretty much have applied myself. Especially lately doing the "Genre Surfing" I have had a broader perspective on music and song writing techniques and theory. I love these vids. Thanks yet again.

[toggicreep]

when i have writers block i go out in the nature and just walk around and look around... or just shrooms

[WeSpeakProse]

A tip from moi', look up a remix competition or something of the like, having some musical blocks to play around with to begin with can be reaaallly helpful I find when searching for creativity. :D

[Melee54]

I've had writers block since 2005, lol. I've done all of these things to no avail. I think I need music theory or something. Everything I attempt to write consists of the same dumb generic chords. But these are great suggestions though that will probably work for most people.

To viewers: Try music from Chrono Trigger and Chrono Cross. Really inspirational stuff.

[ninja2217]

JET SET RADIO FUTURE! i LOVE that game!!!! ahhhhhHhh!HH!Hh!!!

[JustinMPerea]

bratz the movie and bratz the game has the best music

[Pizzpa911]

Best video game music has gotta be VVVVVV! My favorite game :}

[H3xTOxTHExZ]

i now love periphery! haha

[DynastyUKOfficial]

whats the tune at @02;56 ? ? ?

cant get it out of my head!

for that... I VOTED!!

[meanderband]

i liked the socail network soundtrack. Trent is the man!!!!!

[DubstepUndergroundTV]

one of them should have been throwing a song of your genre into your daw (Audio) and trying to re-create some of it, but at the same time your own work, the original work gives you an idea and can trigger inspiration for the start of a new track. btw good video mate, pretty happy we subbed you.

[TheBassHeavy]

As you mentioned Inception for great movie music, I'd say anything by Hans Zimmer. He has a massive list of credits and very powerful inspiring music. Check him out!

[wertaw]

periphery! :P

[itsWillD]

If you want to make Trance or that kind of music, learn about fifths! So easy to make a standard Trance melody with fifths, even when you lack any basic ideas, just play around until it sounds cool. The rest normally follows (For me anyway). A bit of theory can go a long way helping with creativity I have found.

[Xaenima1]

Great tips Dave!

[TYDrumnBass]

How do I make my songs sound more proffesional, I think each seperate part is alright but it doesn't flow, if you know what I mean they seem jumpy?

[OmarBFG]

when i get stuck it mostly because im mostly lookin at the technical aspect of production as apposed to feeling the music and going with it. So try to feel the music as well as the technical sides, for example if you have a melody going and want to put in a 2nd melody but cant think of any, but you feel that one is enough for this type of track, then go with it, don't keep on trying to shove a 2nd one in if its not feeling right cause later on you might get fed up and leave that project aside.

[Kumquaticus]

Whatever you do, DON'T FORCE A SONG when you aren't feeling up to it. Your work will never be as good if you force it, and the song will suffer.

[truthfilter]

@Kumquaticus totally agree mate ..i realized that recently :)

[Alkoholwioslaidziwki]

Yay for TED!

[ttoxique]

Monster Energy.

It has drug like effects on me.

Moreso than cannabis.

>.>

[06a09]

"if your friends are the type of people that exclusively listen to indie rock... A you should probably get some new friends" so true.

[AxelKacoutie]

Haha noticed the RWJ comments below reference. Thanks for that!

[Cjdunne89]

I've been struggling with an epic case of writers block for about 2 months now.

Pretty much when I moved on to Ableton from Reason so I completely understand what you mean at 2:39 (too much choice)

It's got so bad to the point where I open up my software, play about with it for 5 mins, then close it down in a strop cuz nothing was workin

Then go watch porn

So no, porn doesn't help with creativity...

But thanks a lot for the video, cant wait to see what you have planned for the rest of the week!

[Alkoholwioslaidziwki]

@Cjdunne89 Why don't you just stick to Reason and use only the features you need from Ableton. Thats what i'm doing and it seems to work out really good. I make all the synths and beats in Reason, use its sequencer to build a song and then I rewire all the channels to Ableton, add samples and resample with Kontakt, some additional basses with Massive and sometimes record some vocals or something. Then I mix it all in Ableton and then i master the whole thing with Ozone.

[NaviRetlav]

Next vote : Done

And I still wish to know how to make vocal processor in REASON that will transform any vocal in to sexy oldshool radio vocal ?



[ThereByTheTrees]

@NaviRetlav Try the Digital vocoder. turn from vocode to equalizer, then play a bit around. you'll get the idea.

[NaviRetlav]

For ultimate inspiration I watch beardyman :p

Drugs.... we don't recommend it ,but everyone  knows that lot of good music was created with them :P

[TheIndisputed21]

i like your idea of trying new genre, it really helps me find some inspiration...

[LXseven23]

I was surprised Celldweller was mentioned... i always listen to him when i want to come up with a new song... oddly enough the album i listen to in particular was made in 2003, so it's always amazes me when i come across an older song i've listened to a thousand times and find something new...

[HamsterRapingBastard]

Collaborating wasn't positive in World War II. It wasn't.

[jonny478]

1:10 where did the cat go? :((

[withaspoon94]

weed. sex. sugary drinks. facebook. masturbating. spending time with family

[wwwboyinabandcom]

@withaspoon94 Hopefully not all at the same time.

[withaspoon94]

@wwwboyinabandcom that would be super multi tasking lol 

[psymon2005]

@wwwboyinabandcom Take out the last one and it's possible. And i didn't just write pobbisle... honest!

[MISTERXAVIERMUSIC]

@wwwboyinabandcom totally just pictured all that happening at the same time. please do not do the same after reading D:

[DubstepSam]

@withaspoon94 in that order?

[viperking001]

I love the soundtrack of the games Mirror's Edge and Portal 2. Check 'em out!

[chichoPeluo]

men! i love Periphery! hahaha i was really surprised when you mention it! nice nice