A Little Tip for Aspiring Songwriters


 
Professional songwriters never sit down and think "Hmmm, I'll just write from my heart and I'll end up with a great song." It never happens! They all have a set of techniques they use to help them write!

The best songwriters usually achieve their fluency by writing about everyday topics such as love, using a different angle each time. In this way, their audience remains interested and entertained by having an old and familiar subject treated in a new and interesting way.

Think of something you'd like to write about. Maybe a bad relationship from your past, or an occasion or event that sticks in your mind, literally anything! Then do a stream of consciousness session where you take a few sheets of paper and just write about your chosen topic. Just let the words flow onto the page without worrying if any of it makes sense.

Repetition increases the likelyhood of repetition, that means the more you do something, the more you are likely to do it. The more you get into the habit of writing down lyrics in a notebook that you carry with you at all times, the more likely you are to write down lyrics in a notebook that you carry with you at all times. Get into the habit of writing down your thoughts when your inspiration strikes because ideas always strike when you least expect them.

Your inspiration could be in the form of a lyric, a sound you heard in the street, an unusual chord change you heard on the radio or a rhythm your mum was tapping out on her coffee cup. By doing this, you can consult your own wisdom as and when you need it. These are the gems that will determine your style and show you your way forward.

It is easy to discount a popular and easily understood song as "not creatively sound". Nothing could be further from the truth. Music and lyrics are a very subjective thing, and everyone is different. Your least favorite song could be somebody else's all time favorite.

Realize that to write a song, you do not need to be anybody other than who you are, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Whether you are beating out a rhythm on a pair of spoons or bowing an upright punk guitar accompanied by someone tap dancing in a different time signature, songwriting is subjective. Someone somewhere will love whatever you do, someone somewhere will absolutely trash it as the most unbelievable pile of garbage to ever appear on the music scene in the history of music. The most important question you need to ask yourself at the end of the day is, do you like it?

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