3 Composition Tricks I Use When I Get Stuck

3 Composition Tricks I Use When I Get Stuck

Let’s talk about the part of the composition process that no one likes talking about: getting stuck.

Welcome back to The Composer Challenge. Today I want to dive into the less glamorous part of composing, but it’s something we all experience. There comes a point where we hit a block; where material doesn’t flow easily, you can’t quite narrow the direction that the piece wants to go. I’ll be honest, I experienced this a lot with the piece I wrote this week, [Hint of Hope.] I planned to address this topic later in the month, but I personally needed it now. There were so many walls I hit, so much lack of inspiration mixed with an overwhelm for all the parts I needed to write. I knew I needed to persevere, so I began digging into my memory of techniques I could use to get over the hump. Once my gears started turning again, I was able to make progress. Here’s how I did it.

Work Backwards

I find it helpful to begin at the end: start with the applause. If I can envision how my piece will be received, think about the emotions lingering in my audience as they acknowledge the performance, it can fuel the material that provoked that response. It’s a way of reverse-engineering the work. I’ll start with the last note, the last phrase, and slowly back my way to where I am. This doesn’t always work in a perfect straight line, and that’s okay. Maybe I’ll write the last four measures of the piece, then jump back to the beginning of that last section, whether it’s the recapitulation or B section or whatever. If I can have the main cornerstones of the piece, writing the transitional material is easier once it has the direction and purpose where it’s going.

Reimagine Current Material

This is perhaps the most powerful technique I use, and I use it with almost every piece to keep things fresh. After I write a melody I like, I’ll listen to it over and over and over until it feels so stale I’m not even sure if it’s my original idea anymore. What helps me is to take that phrase and rewrite it in as many different ways as possible. I’ll invert the melody, play with the interval direction, change the rhythmic stress, try different colors, use a new key, the possibilities are endless. Once I have at least 12-15 new versions of the same material, I consider each one and what direction it would take the song. This does two things: it lights up the creative part in my brain with all this new material I just created, and it reminds me that there are more possibilities than I think; good ideas are not narrow. This will usually jumpstart getting me out of the hole I’m in.

Searching for Inspiration

Sometimes, you’ve just done all that you can do. You can only twist, turn, manipulate, and reform ideas so much before they’re exhausted. When this happens, I’ll look elsewhere for new material.

I have a file where I keep old, unused material in case it can serve me later. I’ve learned to never throw out bad ideas, because they all have different purposes. I’ll search through this material and see if anything fits in the puzzle I’m trying to solve. If it doesn’t, at this point I will reach out to other composer friends, or search Pinterest. I’ll also try to open myself to more serendipitous opportunities, because sometimes the answer can come in any shape or form.

So there you have it! These are three techniques I use when I get stuck while composing. If you found these tips helpful, give us a thumbs up and comment below if you use a technique I forgot. I’ll see you next time on The Composer Challenge.