I hope I am not the only one with this “issue”, but whenever I pick up my instrument (most of the time guitar) with a specific genre or style in mind, I struggle to write just something like that.
To give a little background info: I listen mostly to blues rock, hard rock, and alternative/garage rock I’d say. But for the longest time my music leaned more towards the blues rock side; slower (e. g. 80-100 bpm), very focused on the blues scale. These days, I want to create songs more in the vein of Guns N Roses, Van Halen, Motley Crue and the like but I struggle with the general feeling of those styles.
What are your tips regarding this? When I look up some actual songs, it’s just I-III-IV power chord stuff or basic pentatonic scales again. So why do my powerchords not sound like that as well? Phrasing it that way makes it sound ridiculous, but I hope you get the point. It feels like I am missing the point that distinguishes let’s say sleaze rock from classic heavy metal. Maybe I’m m overthinking it but it annoys me that my writing process seems to be very trial-and-error.
Thank you for the detailed reply! You might be right about learning more cover. I am kinda lazy in that department so I try to discover everything “by myself”. That approach might not be the best for everything that isn’t obvious just from listening to it though. I do like the idea of learning a whole album from start to finish.