looking to expand from folk

hi there I am writing songs on acoustic
and I have hit a brick wall they all sound the same
I want to do some acoustic stuff thais a bit more ballsy
a bit funky but don't know where to start
I'm fine with basis of chords and write based on that been playing
since feb

Experiment a bit with writing 3 melodies seperately (in the same key) and then combining them on your guitar. Chances are the first couples times around you'll have to re-work them a bit in order for them to be practical and sound good but it can really help you get out of the rut of thinking of chords as just chunks of notes that get tossed in together.

Originally Posted by: gmixstudioshi there I am writing songs on acoustic
and I have hit a brick wall they all sound the same
I want to do some acoustic stuff thais a bit more ballsy
a bit funky but don't know where to start
I'm fine with basis of chords and write based on that been playing
since feb

I think there are 2 common brick walls that people run in to:

1. Trying to write a song in a certain style or akin to a certain artists style. If you do that you're doomed to averageness and songs you don't much like.

2. Not re-writing material...Most great songwriters are ruthless re-writers. If you noodle something out and put together a verse/chorus structure, that may not be a song per se, just elements of a songs.

I feel the key is to listen to what you feel is ear catching in the newly minted song and start re-working from there. Few song happen organically despite the few you hear about in interviews. Paul Simon, a great songwriter, said 'Who ever said songwriting was easy?'.

Not sure what to say about what to listen to. I'm a big believer that playing should often be accompanied with a groove, at least when you're not practicing technique. Something like Sony/Acid's R&B loops is cheap and good for building a groove to play to. It also helps build your timing by playing in time.

I wouldn't direct you to acoustic players for inspiration but listen to lots of old P-Funk, early Prince or Stevie Wonder from the Early to mid 70's (ie - Songs in the Key of Life). Listening and even playing along with them even if you aren't playing the songs kind of gives you a sense of the songs and changes and grooves.

Writing is a tough art and doesn't often come easy but hearing what does work is a great thing, I think.