[ElRay]

Originally Posted by SchecterWhore

It sounds like you've made a comfort zone for yourself and refuse to leave it. (Hint: You're going to have to leave it.)

Old habits die hard. Some semi-stream-of-consciousness ideas:

• Try an alternate tuning - Maybe an open tuning or something favoring 5ths
• Try thinking more "accross" the fretboard and less "up and down". This especially works with tunings that have more 5ths & octaves.
• You said you're in a band, try leaving the rhythm to bass/drums/keyboard and focus on melody for a while
• Listen to other music. Pandora sounds like a good fit. Create a station with a bunch of seed songs in the direction you want to go, and then thumbs-down anything that's too much like what you're trying to move away from and thumbs-up anything that you like that's different.
• Delve into some form of "serialism" (not just 12-tone). Sure you'll encounter many sets of seemingly arbitrary "rules", but they will force you out of your comfort zone. Then you can "dirty-up" what you created with the rules to make it more your style.
• Apply Rush's "Solo building" technique: Alex Lifesong will lay-down four or five tracks of semi-improvisational ideas, then he & Geddy Lee will sit at an editing console and build the solo from the pieces, and then Alex would learn the manufactured solo.
• Take guitar lessons, especially in a different style
• Take drum lessons, so you can learn some "real" rhythm and play internally complex rhythms instead of building complex-sounding rhythms by layering simple rhythms. Think drum solo vs. Taiko group.

Ray