Top Ten Songwriting Tips

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1. Inspiration

What inspires you when writing a song? Life events, films, books, love, tragedy… boredom? If you don’t have inspiration, songwriting can be a chore. Inspiration can be observation, feelings, opinions, if you put pen to paper with a blank slate, you are making things difficult for yourself.

Can’t think of a theme? Rather than focus on music and songs, focus on experiences. Try new things, reminisce of the past, dream of the future. Let the lyrics come to you. Sometimes it can be nice to take some time away from the song, and come back to it with a fresh mindset.

2. Persistence

This does not necessarily mean you should set a time every day to sit down and force words out. Practice your songwriting, vary what you do. If you want to improve your writing, try a bit of poetry, or a short story. When you’re out and about and notice something interesting, characterise it lyrically in your head. The goal is not to create a masterpiece in a week, but sculpt it, improve yourself and make it the best it can be.

A better goal would be to try a new style every week, a few lyrics with a different idea. Keep your creative juices flowing!

3. Trust yourself

If you enjoy your own lyrics, chances are there will be someone else who will. It’s easy to ask friends what they think, but often they won’t be trying to help you write a song, they want to make you feel better. If possible find another musician who will analyse it more objectively! If you have low confidence, think how the song would sound from one of your favourite artists.

4. Push yourself

A big mistake you can make when writing a song is to settle. Is it the best it can be? If you are not fully satisfied, fix it. Don’t be stuck doing what you’ve always done. What could be a great song could be doomed to mediocrity just from, basically, laziness.

5. Write it down

You’ve probably heard this one a few times before, carry a notebook, use the back of a diary, even your hand, if you have an idea, write it down. Sometimes you will have something that strikes you as amazing, but if you try to remember it later it can be blurry and not what you had in mind. Amy Lee, lead singer of Evanescence, once wrote almost a whole song on a train, because out of the window she saw something that inspired her in that moment. Maybe she could have accomplished this the next day, but it wouldn’t have been fresh in her mind.

6. Hooks

Another obvious one that many people don’t always think of. You have a particularly interesting point of a song? Use it. Build on it. It’s not always a case of following a story or theme in a linear way – if there’s something that really grabs you, work around it and its appeal. You don’t have to lose the theme completely – you’re just approaching it in a more unique way.

7. Old ideas

This is where writing on paper, as opposed to a computer, comes in very useful. Rather than shaking your head and deleting a line which doesn’t seem to fit, put a small line through it. Later, when you’re brainstorming, you can look back over the ‘mistakes’ and find a way to reincorporate them into the song in a creative way. You don’t need always need fresh content!

8. Learning from others

There’s a reason these people are famous. Look at their songs, their style. Don’t be afraid to mix it with your own. All artists have at some point got inspiration from others, the trick is to be creative and make something that is different. Just don’t outright copy it! Even if you’re not an experienced songwriter, it’s a simple matter of breaking down a song and looking at what you consider to be the best points. Mixing two styles and throwing in your own touch? That’s creative genius.

9. Being in the right mindset

Most people will have an environment which they can work better in, and achieve better inspiration from. If you have had a bad day at work, climb over a pile of junk to get to a cluttered desk and hope to make things better with a song, a masterpiece isn’t very likely to break out. Unless, that is, you’re writing about how much you hate your job! Put yourself in a place which most inspires the song you are trying to write. Even if you are writing an unhappy song, you will want to focus on that situation.

Enjoy yourself when you write a song. If it makes you unhappy (when writing a ‘happy’ song), or you pressure yourself too much, you will inevitably lose the motivation you once had – think back to why you started writing the song.

10. Feel good about yourself

This is something people greatly underestimate. If you live an unhealthy lifestyle, don’t exercise, and don’t look after yourself, you will suffer emotionally. It’s more likely you will write a good song if you have the focus and energy which comes from being healthy, and getting plenty of sleep. You will be surprised at the difference it makes!