5 Techniques for Overcoming Writer’s Block in Music Composition

Part 1 of 5 of our series on “Overcoming Writer’s Block as a Musician”

Published in

Fun Songwriting

3 min readJun 28, 2023

As a musician, your creativity is what sets you apart from others. However, there may be times when you hit a creative wall and can’t seem to move past it. This is known as writer’s block, and it can be frustrating and demotivating. In part one of our 5 part series on writers block, we’ll explore five techniques you can use to overcome writer’s block when composing music. From taking a break to exploring different genres, these methods will help you to reignite your creativity and get back to making the music you love.

1. Take a Break

When you’re feeling uninspired, taking a break from music composition may be the best thing you can do. Work on another project or take a few days off completely. This will give your mind the space it needs to recharge and come back to your music with fresh ideas and renewed energy.

2. Collaborate with Other Musicians

Collaborating with other musicians can be a great way to get new ideas for your music. By bouncing ideas off each other, you’ll be exposed to new styles and techniques that you may not have considered before. Cosonify’s project functionality allows you to easily collaborate with other musicians and share tracks and ideas.

3. Explore Different Genres

As a musician, it’s easy to get stuck in a particular genre or style. Exploring different genres can be a great way to break out of that rut and get your creativity flowing again. Listen to music you wouldn’t normally listen to, and experiment with incorporating new techniques into your compositions.

4. Use Limitations to Your Advantage

Often, it’s the limitless possibilities of music composition that can lead to writer’s block. By setting limitations for yourself, you can actually stimulate your creativity. For example, try composing a piece using only a limited number of instruments or use a particular key signature.

5. Get Inspiration From Other Art Forms

Music doesn’t exist in a vacuum. Inspiration can come from many different sources, like art, literature, film, or even nature. By looking outside of music for inspiration, you can bring new ideas and energy to your compositions. Use Cosonify’s ideaboard to collect inspiration and ideas from a variety of sources and use them to fuel your creativity.

How Cosonify Can Help

Cosonify provides a range of tools that can help you overcome writer’s block and streamline your ideation process. The researchboard allows you to research music and leave comments on what you like and dislike, while also listing meta-data such as instruments, genre and mood. Cosonify’s taskboard allows you to keep track of tasks and issues, while the whiteboard allows you to experiment with ideas and set limitations. Finally, the ideaboard is an excellent tool for collecting inspiration and feedback from a range of sources. All of these tools are available in projects, which allow for easy collaboration with other musicians. The upcoming mobile app will allow for even easier ideation on-the-go.

Conclusion

Writer’s block can be frustrating and demotivating, but it’s not insurmountable. By taking a break, collaborating with other musicians, exploring different genres, using limitations to your advantage, and looking to other art forms for inspiration, you can overcome writer’s block and reignite your creativity. As a last bit of advice: don’t focus too much on being blocked — that would increase you feeling of being blocked. Techniques like taking a break or consuming other art can instead give you a feeling of being free and thus counteract the mental pressure.

Read Also

This has been Part 1 of 5 of our series on “Overcoming Writer’s Block as a Musician”. The series consists of these articles: