u/Key_Fig_7231

I’ve been trying to figure out what actually makes music feel psychedelic.

Not just “put a phaser on the guitar” or drown everything in delay. That can be cool, but a lot of effect-heavy music still just sounds like a normal track with trippy sauce poured on top.

The thing I’m more interested in is when the song itself feels warped.

Like when the chords are pretty simple, the drum groove is not doing anything insane, the bass is repeating some small idea, the guitar is barely playing, but somehow the whole track feels bigger than the parts. It opens up into some other room.

I hear that in a lot of psych rock/pop: the repetition starts feeling hypnotic, the bass almost becomes a hook, the guitar is more like fog than a “guitar part,” the vocal sits weirdly inside the track, and the production makes the space feel slightly fake in a good way.

That’s the thing I’m trying to understand.

If you write, play, or produce this kind of music, what makes it work for you?

Do you usually think about it from the songwriting side first - chords, melody, bass movement, groove, repetition and then make it weirder with production?

Or does the sound itself come first sometimes? Like a texture, a delay, a drone, a tape wobble, a synth patch, a weird guitar tone, and then the song grows out of that?

I’m also curious about guitars and bass specifically.

With guitar, how do you make it psychedelic without just turning it into mush? Are you thinking riffs, chords, drones, little countermelodies, textures, or just messing with the sound until it sits right?

With bass, is the trick more about locking into the drums, being melodic, repeating hypnotically, outlining chords, or something else?

I’m not looking for presets or a clone recipe. I’m trying to understand the language of it.

What do you actually listen for or change when a song feels too normal and you want it to get more psychedelic?

Hey everyone,

I’m trying to write psychedelic rock/pop music, but I keep running into the same problem: most of my ideas start to sound like different versions of the same thing.

My instinct has always been to write mostly by ear. I like the idea that theory should be secondary: play guitar, bass, drums, experiment, follow what sounds good, and slowly develop your taste. I still believe in that approach, but after making several demos I noticed that I keep falling into the same habits.

The same kinds of bass movement, the same guitar shapes, the same drum feel, the same melodic instincts. It starts to feel like chewing the same piece of gum over and over.

The confusing part is that many artists I love seem to make these surprising, non-obvious choices. Their songs still feel natural and emotional, but there is always some chord movement, bass note, melody, rhythm, or arrangement choice that I would never have found by just repeating my usual shapes.

So my question is:

What parts of music theory are actually useful for breaking out of repetitive songwriting habits?

I’m not trying to become a “rules first” writer or replace my ear with theory. I want theory to help me understand more possibilities and make more intentional choices.

For example, should I focus on:

- chord tones and voice leading
- intervals
- modes
- borrowed chords / modal mixture
- rhythm and phrasing
- counter-melody
- bass movement against chords
- learning songs by ear and analyzing them
- ear training
- something else entirely?

If you also started mostly by ear, what theory concepts actually changed the way you write?

And how do you use theory without making the music feel stiff or overthought?

Hey everyone,

I’m trying to write my own guitar parts, but I keep running into the same problem: almost everything I play starts to sound the same.

When I try to improvise, I often end up sliding around on one string or moving up and down to nearby strings without really knowing what I’m aiming for. The result feels like something between a lead line and a random riff. It is not really a chord progression, not a strong melody, and not a part that gives the song a clear mood.

With chords, I mostly move power chords around. With melodies, I don’t really know how to make them feel hypnotic, memorable, or connected to the harmony. I can find little phrases by ear, but I don’t understand how to turn them into better musical ideas.

So I wanted to ask:

- What should I learn if I want to write more interesting guitar parts instead of just sliding around shapes?
- How do you connect melody to chords when improvising or writing?
- Should I focus on chord tones, intervals, scales, triads, learning songs by ear, rhythm, or something else first?
- How do you make a guitar part feel hypnotic without it becoming repetitive and boring?
- What exercises helped you stop playing the same habits over and over?

I’m not asking for tabs or feedback on my playing. I’m trying to understand what to practice so my guitar parts become actual musical ideas instead of random movement on the fretboard.

What would you work on first in this situation?

Hey everyone,

I’ve been listening to Tame Impala’s Lonerism a lot lately, and I keep getting stuck on the bass parts.

I know Kevin Parker has talked about being inspired by Paul McCartney, and I can hear that kind of melodic Hofner-style approach in some of his writing. But even knowing that, I still can’t really understand how basslines like that are born.

When I try to write my own bass parts, they often feel too obvious or repetitive. A lot of my ideas become some variation of “hold a note, move a fret or two, repeat,” and even when I want the bass to feel hypnotic or memorable, my lines end up sounding the same.

So I wanted to ask more experienced bass players:

- How did you learn to write more interesting basslines?
- What should I study or practice if I want my bass parts to feel more melodic, moving, and psychedelic?
- How do you avoid just following the root notes or playing the same shapes over and over?
- Are there specific concepts that helped you: chord tones, passing notes, rhythm, muting, space, singing the line first, studying McCartney, learning songs by ear?
- When you hear basslines on albums like Lonerism, what do you pay attention to?

I’m not asking for tabs or exact Tame Impala parts. I’m more interested in the mindset and practice approach behind writing basslines that feel alive instead of generic.

What helped you break out of boring bass habits?

Hey everyone,

This is mostly a question for people here who write their own music and are inspired by Kevin Parker / Tame Impala.

I’ve been listening to Lonerism a lot, and the more I pay attention to it, the more it feels like the bass is one of the most important parts of the album. Not just the guitars, synths or effects, but the way the bass moves, creates hooks, supports the drums, and makes the songs feel alive.

For musicians/producers here:

- What bass-related ideas or patterns have you noticed on Lonerism?
- How do you think Kevin uses bass differently from a typical rock approach?
- Are there any songwriting or arrangement lessons from that album that you’ve actually adapted into your own music?
- What should a beginner pay attention to if they want to learn from that style without just copying it?

I’m not asking for exact tabs or trying to clone the sound. I’m more interested in the mindset: groove, movement, space, repetition, melody, and how the bass interacts with drums and the rest of the track.

What’s one practical lesson from Lonerism that you’d pass on to someone trying to write better psychedelic/pop/rock music?

Hey everyone,

This is a question for people who have been writing their own music for a while.

I started out with a very instinctive mindset. I was inspired by artists like Kurt Cobain and the idea that music theory is secondary, or maybe even not that important at all. Just pick up a bass, guitar, drums, experiment, find parts by ear, record ideas, and eventually your taste and instincts should improve.

I still like that idea, but after making several demos I noticed a problem: a lot of them start to feel like different versions of the same idea. Same kind of drum movement, same bass habits, same guitar shapes, same arrangement instincts. It feels like I’m chewing the same tasteless gum in different forms.

So I have two questions:

1. For those of you who started mostly by ear/instinct, did you eventually study theory, songwriting, arrangement, rhythm, or anything more structured? If yes, what actually helped you write less repetitive music?

2. What does your rough demo workflow look like when you start from zero?

I don’t mean finishing a full 2:30 song or polishing something for a release. I mean the very first stage: you sit down, have no finished idea yet, and try to generate raw material.

Right now I often start by playing something on an instrument. If it sounds interesting, I begin recording it. But because it is a live instrument, I spend a lot of time getting it tight to the metronome, making a clean loop, fixing timing, recording multiple takes, then doing the same thing for the next instrument. By the time I finish that, I may only have one idea, and sometimes it turns out to be “cool bassline, but not really the idea I wanted.”

I’m wondering if I should treat early demos much rougher: forget perfect timing at first, quickly capture the core idea, add bass/drums/guitar around it in a loose way, and try to make maybe 4-5 rough sketches in one long session instead of spending the whole session cleaning up one loop.

How do you personally approach this stage?

Do you start with drums, chords, bass, melody, sound design, a loop, a voice memo, or something else?

And what helped you stop repeating the same musical habits over and over?

Hi everyone.

How the hell do you actually make music?

I genuinely love music. I know it’s what I want. It’s what I breathe. A bit of background: I was lucky enough to turn one room into a small music studio. I have electronic drums, an acoustic guitar, an electric guitar, a bass, a closet turned into a vocal booth, pedals, an effects processor, Logic, all that stuff. But the moment I sit down to record, my brain goes insane.

One loop looks like this:

I start with bass and immediately think, “No, this doesn’t groove like Tame Impala.” Okay, fine, I’ll try drums first. I record drums and think, “No, they don’t push the track forward the way I hear it in my head.” Then I go back to bass. Then guitar. Then drums again. Round and round.

Another loop is: I write a bassline and something kind of works. Maybe it feels interesting, like 3/10. I keep going, add drums, and suddenly the magic dies. I tell myself, “No, I killed it. This isn’t like Tame Impala. I can’t add anything that makes it feel the way I want.”

I’m a beginner. I first picked up guitar almost a year ago and realized I want to write songs. I can play instruments at least on a basic level, but something still feels wrong. I read advice like: just show up and write 8-bar loops, even if they’re bad, dumb, boring, whatever. Just write them.

But internally I can’t allow myself to do that. Every time, I compare myself to Tame Impala. It feels like Kevin Parker moved into my head. And I’m not even comparing myself to super polished Currents stuff. I listen to Desire Be Desire Go, old live videos, early Tame Impala, and my eyes light up. The bass, the drums, the fuzz, the whole feeling. My quality standard gets insanely high.

Then I sit down to record and immediately go:

“No, no, this isn’t like that. This is too weak. This is shit. This isn’t it.”

And I get lost. I start pacing around, destroying myself with thoughts.

Today was the same kind of day. I did leave with a loop that is at least listenable, but I was so mentally exhausted by the whole process that I literally fell asleep afterwards. I got so angry because it wasn’t coming out the way I wanted, and I thought, “God, I’m such a loser.”

I honestly don’t even know how to start writing a track. Bass first? Drums first? Main guitar first? What am I supposed to think about? How do people sit down, get into a flow, and an hour later nod their head like, “Yes, this shit is good”?

The only two things keeping me going are:

1. I keep a folder of loops/demos I’ve made. There are about 5 of them. When I listen back, I think, “Okay, this is listenable. I made this. It’s not all terrible.” Maybe it’s 4/10, maybe there’s no real psychedelia yet, maybe it’s rough, but it lives somehow.

But I got those loops through total self-hatred, pain, overthinking, endless comparison, and maybe some random blessing where my fingers happened to land in a way that made the bass kind of cool.

2. I know people with almost nothing have still made music that works. People with one tape recorder, broken gear, no perfect setup, still made real songs. And I’m sitting here in my almost-studio feeling like I can’t get anything out of myself.

And the crazy part is: I’m having these serious problems just with loops.

LOOPS.

What happens when I start writing vocals? What happens when I try to build a whole song? I don’t understand how to start writing songs.

I know that no matter how painful this gets, I probably won’t stop, because I love music too much. But I really want to make the process less brutal. Or at least I want Tame Impala to leave my head when I open Logic.

Has anyone dealt with this?

How did you stop comparing every raw idea to your favorite artist?

What the hell am I supposed to do?

How did you learn to finish rough demos without mentally destroying yourself?

Should I stop focusing on short loops and try writing full rough song demos instead, even if they suck?

How do you actually grow from this stage?