Ive recently formed a three-piece blues/rock band and 3wks ago we performed our first gig, a short-ish 30 minute set. Now we have another gig booked and i'd like to write some more songs. We had 4 of our own already, and a handfull of covers.
Ive been pleased with my guitar playing, as ive eventually created my own style. I play a lot of open strings, never play rthyhm above 5th fret, rarely strum move than 3 strings and pick a lot of notes. Its very much unlike any other band in our area, and im very pleased that ive managed to do this.
However the problem is that now im into writing songs, i find many of the riffs and rhythm patterns im writing are very similar. They songs sound differant but many things in them are also in other songs. For example i end up using a 0-3 on the E string very often, or stick in a blues boogie part.
Is this just creating a 'band style and sound' or should i try and broaden out my ideas. I never use full barre chords, Should i look into this? Has anyone any tips on how i can expand my ideas and maybe create something more original to what i have been writing.
---here's a long post. pretty much, the answer is persistence.---
well, i'd say that you're definitely off to a good start, in that you have a distinct sound and are having success with your band.
i've been playing for over 10 years. in that time, i've definitely found that over a certain period of time that a lot of what i'm playing sounds the same, chordally or rhythmically. this isn't surprising... your subconsious mind probably prefers certain patterns or shapes, and any conscious efforts will be influenced by it, like a sculpture will be influenced by the grain of the wood or marble used.
keep exposing yourself to new sounds. listen to new artists, genres. play along to everything. use the net and learn songs and styles that you would normally disdain or ignore. try different tunings.
most importantly, don't stop writing. the songs may evolve over time, but having a large base to work from always means you can be more picky, so even if your songs mostly sound the same, if you have enough songs, you can always find some variety and hopefully some really nice songs.
john lee hooker pretty much made a career out of one style of playing though, and most metal sounds pretty much the same to me. 90% of gansta rap is interchangeable. it takes a lot of effort to create something original, i believe.
