truely original stuff

[Psycho Amram]

lately i've tried to write some new licks...
however i always feel that what i write was already been done by someone else. every combination of chords sounds like a known song and if i try something new it hurts the ear. it seems the every posible combination of chords that sounds decent has been tried out.
to cut the long story short my q is: Is there truely original stuff?

[Bardsley]

Part of the reason the stuff you try is hard on the ears might be because you have never heard such stuff before. The more you work on it, it can be made to sound decent, especially if you mix up wierd sounding progressions or licks with more normal ones. Originality is a bit overrated in a way. I notice you put a Dylan quote as your signature; he spent several years of performing writing songs that stole the tunes form other folk artists, but he was still great. You can be original in more ways that simply playing a chord progression no one has heard, it is the way you play it, the way you combine instruments, voice, etc.

[lalimacefolle]

The guy who invented dodecaphonism (or serial music) was looking for something just like you, something truely original. His teacher said , "what's crazy about it is that you get used to it!". Mayde it hurts your ears, but try playing it over and over, find a MELODY that fits the progression, and tadaaaaa, you have a song.
Nirvana's song progressin were weird, but the melody over them made them normal...And everyone would agree if I tell you they were great songwriters...

[atc323]

I think the more techniques you learn the easier it is to sound original. I remember back when I first started playing all I knew was how to play a power chord.. so no matter what I played I pretty much sounded like Nirvana or Green Day... you get the idea. When you start adding different styles and techniques to your music it will sound more and more original. Also the more you broaden your musical horizons the less likely you are to sound like any one band.

[PonyOne]

I had a fruitless post up in the "speed or feeling" argument a few pages back in which I gave a few examples of interesting scales and stuff from the east. I sounded just like a Tool/Rammstein flunky until I started looking around me at other stuff. I bought a few Etheopian cd's with some awesome, if not weird, stuff on them, and a bunch of stuff from Japan, China, the Middle East, etc. Now, I do a verse that's your archetypical power chord type thing, then break into a less-standard chorus & solo.

I used to be diehard rock guy, I wouldn't give a listen to anythig but rock. But now I listen to rap, country, surf, blues, folk, "ethnic", echno, pretty much anything I can get my hands on. It's helped a lot; I just find something good and then think of how it'd sound retooled a bit and with distortion...

[Metalmanbc]

Try using the same old chord progressions but change the timing. this makes for something a little different.