Vicious_Turtle

ok, so ive been playing for 5 years. in that time ive been writing for about 3 or 4, and for some reason. i cant write any good rock riffs! really! when ever i turn on the overdrive i feel limited and handcuffed. but on the clean cahnnel? its a play groud. i have a sh*t load of clean riffs. which alot of people tell me are awsome. ive tried everything. only playing with over drive for a while, vice versa, playing with over drive the way i do without it. nothing works! i have all these ides when it comes to being on the clean channel! i can make it sound dark, happy, in between, theres never ending shit in my head! (clicks overdrive).............. ive posted this problem before. ive tried using theory. it doesnt work. i am starting to go crazy! help! wtf do i do!

BradIon1995

You start a band that doesn't need overdriven sounds, or get another guitarist that will play an overdriven riff while you play a clean one (See Def Leppard's "Photograph") or just play acoustic stuff. If it doesn't inspire you, it doesn't inspire you and that's okay! Also, try learning heaps of songs in the style that you would like to write in, and eventually it will rub off on you. Hope this helps!

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Ibanez TSA30 < Ibanez Tube King Distortion < Yamaha RGX620DZ/Squier Bullet Strat]

Vicious_Turtle

thats the thing! i listen to all kinds of overdrive stuff. metallica, pantera, alice in chains, guns n roses. theres a huge list. im inspired by both but i just cant seem to write any riffs like them.

Zaphod_Beeblebr

Have you tried stepping away from the guitar and thinking of a song or sound in your head before trying to get it on to the guitar? What's probably the problem, as it usually is when it comes to writing, is that you're not thinking enough and by sitting with your guitar you're not making yourself think at all.

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Vicious_Turtle

hmmm, i can surely try that. when it comes to writing the cleans though. its all spontaneous. ill play a chord and bam! ton of ideas where i could and want to go with it. and its not just like that sometimes. everynew chord i feel like i should be writing a damn concerto. who knows maybe thats my thing. i love classical stuff and movie soundtrack stuff. (if you like movie soundtracks check out the dark knight rises soundtrack....holy sh*t) i thought i would have a break through one day. but i still havent

Zaphod_Beeblebr

Maybe, maybe not, but the fact remains that if you lack a skill (writing rock/metal in this case) then it's something you need to practice. That's really why you'd good at writing cleans; because you've practiced it enough, whether you know it or not.

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Vicious_Turtle

i practice all the time though! im so hopeless

Zaphod_Beeblebr

The right kind of practice though, it's no good just letting yourself go over what you've already done.

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Vicious_Turtle

sometimes ill take a riff i like. lets say the riff in my michelle, take the notes and try and come up with my own riff. cant do it. i try just taking 3 or 4 notes. still nothing. is it possible im being to criticall?i feel like if i dont write the next huge sounding arena rock riff its garbage. but then again. i want to write those riffs......so

Funk Monk

Learn more covers. Learn the style your wanting to learn, and improv off of that riff/cover. Part of being an artist is being able to creatively address and overcome your weakness.

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Dreamdancer11

This.Leave the guitar and try and listen closely what is in your mind.Get a backing track you like for example and create simple melodies without bothering about scales modes etc etc etc.Your mind has listened to tons of music and is more sofisticated than your muscle memory that most of the times takes over .

Same for riffs.Get a drum pattern you dig and start "heavy riffing" with your mind above that .You might come up with something simple that sounds awesome that you wouldnt even consider with the guitar in your hands.Sometimes you want to overcomplicate things to show you are "the man" but the end result isnt always musical.Your mind though ll choose what is good.It may sound foolish and generic at first but if you really give it a go you ll you ll tap into your subconsious where all the scary but also the good things are.....geez...i start to sound like a shrink....lol but i think you got the idea here...

Vicious_Turtle

more ideas!