Songwriting: Inspiration and Starting Points
by Chris Porter
Ah, the blank page. Simultaneously a limitless canvas upon which to sketch one’s dreams and aspirations, and also a bleak and empty void that can never be filled (depending upon your mindset!).
It doesn’t matter if you’re a seasoned songwriter with writer’s block or an absolute beginner who has no idea how to begin, the great news is that there are no rights or wrongs when it comes to songwriting.
As much as there are many songwriters who cite the blood and sweat that their craft requires, there is also myriad anecdotal evidence of writers creating monster hits and hugely popular and influential tracks just by accident!
One thing is certain, the songs that gain traction have clearly found themselves an audience; they connect. We can argue endlessly about how to measure the ‘success’ of a song, but this article is designed to address how to cultivate starting points and the inspiration to create in the first place - whether the end product be deemed successful or not.
Firstly, just start.
Procrastination is the mother of non-productivity. If you never pick up pen or instrument, you’ll never write a thing!
Many people will advise you to write about what you know. That should certainly lend authenticity to what you create, but if you’re young and inexperienced, you may have less to draw on than others. So you’ll perhaps need to employ your imagination - but hey, you can watch movies, read books and listen to songs that other people have written. And the authenticity thing is good advice. Using experiences to help shape what you create is smart. If you’ve grown up listening to country music, you’re unlikely to excel in the field of rap - it stands to reason. This does not mean you can’t or shouldn’t - it’s just another way of saying ‘play to your strengths’.
More advice: a great song springs from a great idea.
If you have a great idea, it can help a song to write itself. Whether that idea is:
- beginning every line of a lyric with the words ‘I want’, or
- reading a book title or news headline and feeling like it could be a great song title, or
- looking at a picture or photograph and trying to describe it, or
- picking an emotion and writing about it as if it were a living person, or
- making a list of things you hate - to drive a strong emotional response, and crafting that into a lyric
And so on. There are all sorts of lyrical starting points. A girl’s name. A boy’s name. The name of a city…
You can create unusual word relationships and resonance by substituting different words into well known phrases or sayings. For instance, complete this phrase with a selection of words: ‘The price of ……?’ How about these words as candidates: fame, love, sunshine, waiting, indecision, dirt, skin, Autumn, the infinite. Some of these answers may resonate with you and spark other ideas, even if they are a little unusual or even downright surreal. But if it gets you writing…
Take the phrase you’re happy with (or any other phrase) and make up a tune for it. Does the tune emphasise the meaning of the words? Do you want it to? Is it memorable, even if only to you?These sorts of questions will naturally occur as a part of the creative process and will mean that you have to make decisions. And being brave enough to make decisions is CRITICAL to creativity - even if they end up being wrong - because you can always re-write whatever you make.
If you don’t make decisions, you’re procrastinating.
A level of certainty about what you’re making is not only an attractive quality as a creator, it also boosts confidence. Be bold.
But words and concepts are not the only places to start songwriting, of course. Pick up an instrument and play with it, fearlessly. Don’t expect a full song or an instant classic to instantly fall out of it. It may be that a sound or a riff or a single chord gets your creative juices flowing. Don’t be impatient, don’t force it.
Most of us have a recording device on our phones these days. Set it going and forget about it. Then have a play. Or sing a few random phrases, with or without accompaniment. Maybe some vowel sounds will sit nicer to your ear than others. Maybe some words will start to suggest themselves. Listen back to what you’ve recorded. There may be a sonic nugget or two that stand out. Re-record those for your records, live with them and then think about how to build on them. If nothing comes from them, repeat the process.
But make decisions! Start!
There is a reason this saying exists: success is 99% perspiration and 1% inspiration. And that’s because it’s true - you’ve got to be in it to win it!
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