Blocked

I usually have plenty to say on any number of topics, but for some reason, I have been staring blankly at my blog screen for the better part of a day. I have started over 5 different topics, but none of them have piqued my interest much past 2 paragraphs.

So, today's blog entry will be about creative blocks.

They happen to us all at one time or another. My current block is directly attributed to my current state of health - not well. After the Online Conference of Music Therapy, I crashed and crashed hard. My lungs are full of gunk, and I have a cough that just won't quit. Blech. As a result, I find myself processing information much more slowly than normal. Producing information is an even more difficult situation. 

I am confident that my blockage will go away as soon as my breathing issues disappear. There are times, though, when I get into prolonged periods of creative blockage and have found that I can usually jump start my creativity through several techniques.

1. Write something silly. I randomly draw a word card and write a song about that word - whatever the word happens to be. I have songs about Snickers bars, chewed gum, and other silly topics.
2. Follow strict rules for composition - I limit the number of notes that I can use in any composition.
3. Go modal - remember those modes that we learned WAY back in our first degree program? They work very well for startling you into something new and creative.
4. Go shopping for something you have never used before. I love the Dollar Tree and go there often to help me create something new for my clients. Currently, I have a series of large pictures with writing lines on them - a school house, a pencil, a crayon, and a piece of notebook paper. I am currently staring at them and trying to figure out what I am going to do with them. I mean, besides the obvious use of writing out song lyrics. 
5. Improvisation with clients. I love to go into a session with a half plan and a plan to improvise. I get into the groove that the clients produce and then let sounds and music flow.

This upcoming week, as I am getting through the course of antibiotics and attempting to control my cough, I will be trying to get my creative spark going again. While I don't know if this creativity will transfer into interesting blog posts, I hope that it will.

What types of things do you do when you find yourself stuck??