| 1.) Try to write something that is totally the opposite of what you need to do (or want to do).
2.) Imitate something as close to perfect as you can. (this one is a favorite, cause I hate doing it and my brain starts coughing up other ideas...)
3.) John Cage suggestion. Do something as boring as you possibly can. Then repeat it 4 times. If its still boring, repeat 8 times, then 16 then 32... in time it stops being boring. (and hopefully you're ready to move on to other things).
4.) Imagine that (insert name of favorite composer) had to write a song that sounded like (insert name of song). What would they do? What would it sound like?
5.) What would your music (assuming that you've come up with a little something already) sound like if it was a String Quartet? A percussion ensemble? Had to please the King of England (c. 1777)? Had to help sell a soft drink? Was going to be used to scare wayward children?
6.) If you only had 4 notes to compose with, what would your song sound like?
7.) What would (insert a song you know) sound like if fish sang it? Or dogs knew it, but couldn't sing it, could only talk about it with the vocabulary of a dog.
The point being that we get in a block because we are stuck doing the same thing over and over.... or because we have so many options available to us that we are overwhelmed by the choices. Narrow the choices... find a new path... don't worry about the end result.
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Never confuse beauty with things that put your mind at ease. -Charles E. Ives
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