Song Writing Tips & Tricks

 
There are literally hundreds of different methods used to write a song, and every musician has tailored their own rhyme and reason of doing things. Sometimes it’s as easy as playing some piano and having the words write themselves, or it can start with a poem and a mission to find the right music to fit it.
I have compiled some of the ways I have come across to write your own music. Please keep in mind that these are only a few of many different ways to come up with your own material, and these are great ways to learn. But you get much more satisfaction if you start from scratch.
Enjoy, and I hope this helps.
 

Scaffolding

Stuck? Here’s an old trick to get you going. What a good song offers is structure, repetition, form and balance. Not always easy to create, but easy to borrow. You can build on the form of another song, without sounding at all like that song. Much as a scaffold is used to frame a skyscraper — the scaffold may look familiar, but once removed yields a unique building.
Try this exercise:
A) Take some song you like — any song at all from any era, any style — just so long as it is familiar to you.
B) Write a new lyric to that song. Verse for verse, chorus for chorus, refrain for refrain.
C) Take that new lyric and write completely new music to it. Try switching keys, time signatures, tempo, etc., to remove yourself from the original.
D) Edit. Adjust your new words and melody to fit your newly established mood. Rewrite as necessary.
(Or you could do A-C-B-D — write the new music to the “scaffold” song and then write a new lyric.)
What remains is a new song with only a hint of the “ghost” song that acted as a scaffold for the process.
 

List making

Out of ideas? Start a list. Pen & paper ready, start a list of practically anything — things people eat for breakfast; words that remind you of your mother; things your high school counselor told you were important; all the shades of blue — anything. Just write it down!
A list could become a song (remember “My Favorite Things” or Tom T Hall’s “I Love...”) or could be a starting pad for an essay song, enumerating facts or feelings. But more importantly, writing down a list begins to mine your unconscious — unlocking creativity. You may wind up with an idea entirely tangential to your list, but that’s O.K. The point is to get those words flowing.
Focused Imaging
Similar to listmaking, but more purposeful, is putting your imagination to work in creating a scene, place or mood.
Imagine a perfect day in your childhood – or the day your childhood sweetheart left you. What is the weather like? The temperature, the breeze, the clouds – how does your skin feel? What are the smells? What are you wearing? Who else is there? How is her/his hair fixed – what is his/her scent? What are the sounds around you? How about taste? Engage all your senses in creating the image. When you look at what you have written, is there a center to your images? What overarching image sets the theme? What phrase could capture that central image? Now you have the nugget from which a song might flow.
Out-of-context Images
Brain dead? Take a book off your shelf. Crack it open to page 113. Point your finger at the middle of the page and see what the word or phrase is. Any book will do; any page will do. Perhaps it is the manual that comes with your garage door opener — you see the phrase “worm gear.” Think about the image. A gear that looks like a worm. Or acts like a worm. What kind of gear does a worm need? Raingear? Maybe the gear to catch a worm? Flashlights and tweezers on a rainy night?
Do this a few times and you start to see language in a new light. Hmm – what kind of light is a “new” light? What kinds of things would you see in an “old” light? See... it just doesn’t stop!
New Sounds
The better you know music, the better you will compose. But you don’t need to be a musical genius to make a new melody. If you find yourself in a rut, try confusing yourself — play an instrument you don’t know and make a tune on it. Or retune your guitar to an open tuning and try normal chord forms over the new tuning and hear the sounds you make.
Break your old rhythm molds. Listen to some music from another culture other than your own — whether that means listening to Afro-pop or Wisconsin polka. There is more than one beat in the borscht!
Sometimes taking a lesson or two, or studying a page or two of a book of jazz chords, or attending a concert of music or poetry you love (or you thought you would hate), can give you one new thought; just one pearl of insight that might just become your next best song.
Journal
One of the best things you can do is keep a songwriting journal. A workbook you can scribble in, daydream with, experiment with. It’s O.K. to be messy and write in the margins. But keep it — start a shelf full of journals. You will often write half a song before you decide it’s too lame to finish. Keep it. A year later look back and you might see the one line or two in it that is the real gem — the nugget from which to build a new song.
Using a computer with a good word processor may be your preference. But try to keep early versions of works. When you go back to work on an old piece, you may decide that an earlier version has more promise. And don’t forget to backup your work!
However you choose to do it, do keep track of your thoughts and remember to revisit them from time to time.
 
Staying Motivated
1. Set up a place at home to write.
As simple as it sounds, having a place to go where you can focus and be creative can be motivating. Even if it’s just a small desk and chair in a corner of your living room, the fact that you’ve dedicated it to your art will serve as that little push you might need to write. Keep your writing tools — rhyming dictionary, guitar, laptop, etc. — out and easily accessible. It’s amazing what a difference putting your guitar on a stand versus keeping it in a case can make. Make things as easy as you can for yourself and you’ll be much more likely to dig in.
2. Set up a time of day to write.
Routine can be a good thing even for something as artistic and creative as songwriting. If, for example, you know that every day at 7 p.m. you’re going to write for half an hour, then you’re more likely to do it. They say it takes a few weeks of consciously making yourself do something before it becomes a habit. Setting up a daily time to write will go a long way towards the healthy habit of songwriting.
3. Keep a file of unfinished songs.
One of the hardest things about writing is starting with a blank page. By keeping an organized file of your unfinished lyrics and rough recordings, you won’t have to climb the mountain from the bottom every time you sit down. While sometimes it feels good to start with a fresh idea, don’t forget to check your unfinished ideas from time to time. It’s remarkable how a few days or weeks can add the perspective you need to see a partially finished song in a new light and finish it.
4. Find a co-writer.
Nothing motivates more than accountability. If someone is counting on you to show up and work, you’re more likely to do it. Not only that but halving the burden can make writing a much more approachable pursuit. This is one of the many benefits of co-writing. Other advantages include having someone whose songwriting gifts complement your own in such a way that you both get a better song than you would have separately. If you haven’t co-written yet, this is as good a time as any to give it a try. Even if it’s not a perfect experience, we all benefit from observing firsthand someone else’s writing process.
5. Give yourself an assignment.
Sometimes the idea that you can write about anything offers too much freedom. Often, it’s easier to write if you have some guidelines. If, for example, you tell yourself you’re going to write a song with one chord you’ve never used or a song about a topic you’ve never covered, you’ll find it’s easier to get to work. Anything you can do to give shape and structure to what you’re attempting to write will make the task that much simpler.
6. Tell yourself you’ll only write for five minutes.
This is one of my all time favourites. On days where you’re really struggling to make yourself write, tell yourself you’ll sit down for five minutes. That way, if nothing is happening after five minutes, at least you’ve tried. It’s astonishing how often those days are the days where the breakthroughs happen. Taking the pressure off of yourself may be all that you need to get on a roll. That being said, if it’s just not coming, stop. There’s no point in making yourself miserable. There’s always tomorrow.
Being a songwriter is a gift but, as with most gifts, some assembly (otherwise known as work) is required. My hope is by suggesting a few ways to lessen the burden of getting started, you’ll be able to write more consistently and enjoy the accompanying results.
In my experience, music is a lot like crack.. It only makes you smarter and there are no negative effects on the human body. (kidding) Keep on writing, keep on playing and keep on keepin’ on!
-Ben Jammin Kraft