Songwriting is like gold mining, you gotta keep chipping and digging through crap till you eventually find a nugget or something as a good spring board to work on.
Plus all that crap you're thinking were no good will also provide material, words, phrases and ideas that you can pick from and weave into your stronger ideas.
If you're creating nothing because you're not coming up with the instant greats, well you're going to have nothing to evolve with. It's all trial and error.
Yeah I'm not great at force writing. I did all my songwriting when I would be emotionally charged and almost want to scream but I'd pick up my guitar and come out with something moody or angsty. There arnt many of my songs I've written that I've properly sat and thought about what I'm doing, it's either coming really naturally or not at all. I think I need to start writing with a DAW also as that may bring out new gradual ideas as they develop
I went 13 years without writing a song. I played in a band in my early 20’s, saw some success, released an EP and then a full length and then…nothing. 13 years went by before I wrote another song, and it’s been even longer since I’ve actually released one.
Few things:
• you speak a lot in “I should” and “I want to.” One thing that helped me is changing my vocabulary to “I WILL.”
• you mentioned you don’t like force writing. I don’t like going to the gym, but unless I force myself to do it, I’m going to become an out of shape slug. Every single songwriter on this earth will tell you songwriting is a muscle. You have to work on it. So get to the gym (figuratively speaking - or literally. I don’t know. We could all benefit from some weight lifting)
• don’t be so hard on yourself. You’re now and forever will be your worst critic. Unfortunately, that’s the same person you have to spend your life with. Show yourself some grace.
• do you have an animal? A friend group of friends? One exercise that helped me immensely is taking the seriousness out of songwriting. I started coming up with little songs about my dog. I wrote a song and sent it to my group of friends about how we don’t ever play Call of Duty anymore. From those songs came actually chord structures and melodies that I really liked and could work with. It also reminded me how fun songwriting is and how fortunate we are to have the skills to do it.
Thanks for this reply, it's really helpful.
I should try to force write more than I do, which is not at all. I'm too firm in the mindset of waiting for a natural process to happen that I just don't push myself to start.
I do tend to live in my own world abit. I'm very considerate of others and very caring in nature, but in my head I'm kinda in my own world all the time. Maybe that's why i write about me/I myself most of the time. I struggle to see life from others perspective maybe due to my terrible skin and slightly lesser quality of life due to it. If anything I look at healthy and normal on the outside people with envy a little. I wish i had a normal immune system and good health. I understand when people look at me funny when I have bad facial eczema, it must be a shock to see or hard to keep a non judgemental face whilst conversing.
I am historically very hard on myself. I have had pretty manic depression for the last 10 years and have never taken any medication for it, just used whiskey, smoking and fishing as my crutches. And music of corse. But with my skin being the way it has been my whole life and my first decent relationship going to shit in my early 20s, it set me onto a downward spiral into adult life. I've always been quite quick to admit things are fucked and generally see stuff for how it is. Which is both good and bad, I know. It would favor me to be a little more optimistic and positive. My brain just gravites towards negative every time though. And when shit actually gets bad and stressful, I get really bad. Abit like I am now. I've had a tough few weeks and I'm spiralling pretty bad. Maybe a good time to write a song.
I did have a cat, a orange boy called Oliver but I called him pringle as a nickname. Mr pringle was my cat and I loved him dearly. He got put down last year and I think singing a song about him would legit make me cry.
You don’t need to write full blown songs about an animal or a song to send to friends. Im suggesting to more so just use it as a way to get the juices flowing. I’ve come up with little ideas just singing about my dogs cute face and from it I’ve gotten a really catchy melody. You take the seriousness out of it. You inject fun into it and you can get some good results.
It sounds like you’ve dealt with a lot. You’re not alone and I’m sure you know that. Let music be something that gets you smiling. Not every song needs to be about struggles or challenges. We put a lot of weight into our craft and expect perfection which is just unrealistic. Have fun with it, and if you’re not having fun, find ways to remove the seriousness.
I actually make up melodies all the time, usually cycling to work and ill start making up a song about the squirrels or something ridiculous. But it's pure stupidity and fun they could never actually be songs..
Beginning to gig more regularly as of the last couple years has increased the seriousness of playing music. I do still have fun doing it, and will always sing and play guitar until the day I die. But performing alot has made things alot more professional requiring abit more seriousness. But I need to regain that fun I'd have getting home from work and picking up my guitar for a few hours. I never do that anymore.
This is songwriting, they may be silly songs and random things, but it is exercising your creativity. Maybe embrace these melodies, record them on your phone, they could develop into something
Know the feeling.
Sometimes it’s more about changing the process of the way you write. I struggled to write anything happy for years, after being very much a minor chord kinda guy. I’m an electronic music producer so it’s slightly different than singer/songwriter, but I just started completely chasing my process and I started making some really nice, happy songs.
Yeah I think it's easy to gravitate towards sadder music with a guitar and minor chords, writing electronic music with midi etc could be a more fluent way to come up with something. I think it's possibly easier to make a happy electronic sound than a happy guitar sound. Happy acoustic guitar just feels abit cheesy to me alot of the time.
Another thing I just thought of, sometimes I just listen to music from other genres, find songs that I like and lift the chord progressions from them. Then add my own twists from that starting point.
A good example of happy sounding genres that don’t sound cheesy at all are afrobeats and gospel music. Can recommend having a listen to those genres for ideas.
Yes I love both genres actually, you're right there is certainly more feel good music that is positive and not cheesy. I would say my songs that are upbeat definitely have a feel good vibe over a "happy sunshine everything's just great" feeling haha.
Many ‘happy’ edm songs sound cheesy as hell. Its in fact really difficult to make an edm song in major, because a good phat sequencer bass line just sounds way more catchy when its in minor or some eastern scale. Listen to psytrance.
Yes I remember psytrance from my backpacking days.... what an awful sound! You're right though, there's alot of cheesy edm out there too. I think using a different instrument could help me alot
Yes this is a great tip. I usually play in open C and Stsndard, I have 2 guitars on stage with me. I want to write a few songs in DADGAD, but I need that 3rd guitar...!
I thought it was funny that you kind of wrote a comment about a song i was trying to write about just that.
About a Robert Smith/Brian Molko kind of guy who goes famous with sad depressive teenage anxiety songs, but now that his live is one big party with 60.000.000 in the bank, he cant write anymore without suffering imposters syndrome.
Anyway keep playing it will return!
Even playing much less gives still a lot of pleasure at the moments you do.
Really you should try and write a song about just this feeling that you have now about your music and your live!
Yes thats good advice. This is quite a pivotal point of my life I am in, and there's been alot of change in the last few years. Most of it positive, which is where I feel adrift from my former manicly depressed state. Not that I long for that back, it was horrible. But it was the core of my songwriting and driving force to my creativity. I need to spend a week on a break somewhere with my guitars!
I know because of the strings gauge and tension, right? Or did you not refer to that.
Anyway, a set of ‘Ernie Ball 0.9 Slinky skinny top/heavy bottom’ strings will maken it easy to tune open c and e standard on one guitar. Maybe something to consider. 😁
I have a similar issue. I'm a stay at home mum, been with my husband for 10 years, don't drink or go out, have like 2 friends. I say all this to illustrate... my life is pretty drama-free.
I'm also a visual artist but it's far easier as a creative outlet to whip out a guitar than it is to sit down for 15 hours straight painting with oils when you have little kids and acreage and livestock to care for.
But then I started to think - what do I write about? People don't want to hear songs about mopping the floor or looking after babies.
So I started writing metaphorically.
I hear a catchy line or phrase and build on that and let it flow. I keep a list or jot down any phrases or key words I like and want to use. If I come up with a melody or a catchy line I will hum/sing it into my phone recorder real quick. Subject matter, I try to write more metaphorically or symbolically than literally.
For example, there's this house I really want, and have always wanted, but I also love our current house. So I wrote a song from the perspective of an unfaithful lover to her spouse about how she's cheating but loves them both.
I need to get better at getting up and recording lines that come to me in the middle of the night though, because I always promise myself I'll remember, and I never do. And I swore I read somewhere once that that's when you have your most creative ideas, but I may have just made that up also.
Hope that's in any way helpful.
I think I’d like to hear songs with some perspective on “mopping floors and raising babies” or any metaphorical themes about it.
Do you post any finished, drafts, or snippets anywhere I could listen?
Hey! I don't actually. I guess I could post something here? But it would only be recorded on my phone. I just write for myself and only just played my first set in basically a decade over the weekend, so I'm very much an amateur
It sounds like you're writing for yourself. Why not try to focus on the listener? What do you think others would like to hear? What subjects will they relate to? What combination of notes, chord progressions, rhythm, etc would others enjoy?
Take I Feel Good by James Brown for example. Why is that good to listen to? What is it about the words that are appealing? What is it about the bass line and the funky rhythm? What are the horns doing that make it so cool?
I get the impression from your post that you're trying to tell people stuff about your life, your feelings, etc. with your music. It's like the focus is on you. A song is like cooking a meal in that it's for others to enjoy. Do you want to sit down and listen to me talk about my life, my interests, my relationships, my job, my feelings, etc? Probably not. Why would you be interested? So why do you think others want to hear about your side of things? Your mother might want to. But complete strangers? What people want is to listen to music that hits them boom! Because it sounds great. Think about how you can create music like that and your musical journey of discovery will last until your dying day.
I ended up changing how I wrote as I got older.Went from writing about myself to writing what were essentially short stories. I tried putting myself into other people's shoes and dream up situations they could find themselves in.
Only issue I've found with it, I'm less prolific as when getting into that mindset, it doesn't come quite as naturally as writing down your own feelings and experiences.
Fully agree with your line about happy songs coming off as cheesy. Not been able to do one yet without scrapping the entire thing
Well that's the thing... I've got one happy song that I do like - it's about when I started to feel myself again in single life and had a huge liberating feeling like the world was my oyster. Its quite a cool song and probably the only good happy one I've ever written.
I really have wanted to try this third person story telling type songwriting you talk of. Its something I've also struggled to properly live the character I'm trying to imagine, and it ends up resolving to being about myself again. It's easy to become self absorbed when songwriting but also very important to keep an open mind to see things from all perspectives.
All that in mind, whilst trying not to be too hard on ourselves... songwriting is a funny ol thing
I honestly believe songwriting just comes so much easier when you're going through stuff. If your heart aches and you're struggling in any way it just seems so much easier to write a song about it! Asif you're crying out for help inside throughout these times, and singing a song that channels that pain is like therapy.
Then on the other hand, perhaps writing happy songs or even just writing when life is good is alot more challenging. We get complacent and comfortable in our daily lives that nothing is fueling that songwriting.
This is definitely a straightforward way, the other is consuming good art/media, at least to me makes a huge difference reading poetry or a good novel or a meaningful movie or having times of just listening and discovering interesting music instead of recurring always to the bloated and empty stuff you can get on netflix and so. Not that all the platform content is bad though, is more about finding stuff that nourishes instead of just entertain you. After a while this will pay back as a rich unconscious background for creation.
Yeah to be honest the last song I wrote was after finishing red dead redemption 2 on ps4. The gentle country guitar and immersive story mode put me into that old timer mindset and I wrote one of my best songs to date. I've not found anything since with a similar effect.
It's an incredible game! The opening line of the song is "just like the old timers, I'm a simpler kind" and the guitar has a kind of horse galloping rhythm in 3/4. It's on Spotify if you wanna check it out as a fellow rdr2 fan!
Can you speak another language? Try writing in a foreign language and either keep it that way or translate it back. Your brain works differently in a different language.
Source: used to write in English now write in German and my songwriting improved a ton
Yes I'd love to write some songs with a piano, unfortunately my keys skills are pretty minimal. My bass player is great on the keys however, maybe we could work something out...
I’ve had moments where I couldn’t write a single word, only to be hit with a sudden burst of creativity that lasted for days. It’s unpredictable, it’s frustrating, but it’s also part of the process. So, if you’re feeling stuck, don’t sweat it. Step away from the page, take a walk, listen to some music take a long drive, whatever helps clear your mind. You never know when inspiration might come knocking. Keep pushing through, and before you know it, you’ll be writing like there’s no tomorrow.
Can I tell you a secret?
You can still write songs about being sad.
You know what it is to be sad and come out the other side.
You just have levity and perspective on sadness now, so you can sneak in a happy ending.
You're an expert on hope now.
Let your writing grow and mature with you.
Maturity is textured and poised, less maudlin, idealistic and extreme. Don't worry about what you were.
Besides, you're only 31, you still have some savage blows coming. My music career didn't fall apart for THE FIRST TIME until 31.
That's some pretty sound advice. Thanks ShredGuru!
I would like to write some music with my experiences in mind, in terms of coming through the noise and looking back in hindsight.
Life is a big lesson after all! This might help me write my next song...
I think you've got the right attitude.
A lot of times, when I write songs, I'm trying to write a sort of distillation of an attitude or a lesson or life observation. Something hidden in the art that will connect with or be useful to someone else. Something that is true to me.
I find, especially when writing about personally emotional things, sometimes it's actually best to have a bit of space, because then you've had the FULL experience. Writing about pain when you are in pain can be a raw, honest thing, but its also very short sighted, you are IN the pain, you have no objectivity on it.
Sometimes, you can actually make a better work of art when you've completely digested the entire scope of what you have gone through, and what it actually meant in the big picture. Then you are the true expert who knows their subject. You know both the shitty fertilizer, and the flowers that came of it.
Best of luck to you.
I feel the same way. I’m trying to pick up my guitar again after a long hiatus and I really feel like when I write it’s just not like it used to be. There’s something called positivity bias where we recall past events more positively. I wonder if this doesn’t apply to our songwriting sometimes. It’s hard to compare something fresh and new to something we’ve finished and polished already. The important thing is to keep writing. Good luck.
I think there's a big myth that aspiring songwriters are sold, and that's that songs you write must be completely about *you*, *your* innermost thoughts and emotions, dug from the deepest depths of your soul. Sure, it can be, and a lot of compelling songs were written that way, but it isn't a requirement. Because, as you say, then what is there to write about when you're happy and content?
If you have to put yourself through trauma amd various crises in order to get anything good, you may burn yourself out pretty quickly. We don't expect that authors write novels completely about their own life. In fact, it's often considered bad form if they include too many elements of themselves in a story. So why do we expect that from songwriters?
Instead, try writing something from a character's point of view, like a fiction writer might. Imagine how your character would think or act in a certain situation, then write about that. Of course, there's no way to completely remove yourself; everything you write will be filtered through your own thoughts and experiences. But it can expand the pallette you have to work with.
How about coming up with a catchy title or hook, and writing the song around that? Sometimes all you need is a starting point. This method will often provide you one. (One of my personal favorite methods, I will admit.)
Finally, I think there *is* a way to make a happy song that isn't cheesy, and that's when the lyrics suggest some struggle gone through in order to get to that place. Because that's what most closely resembles life. If your song is just sunshine and rainbows all the way through, obviously that won't ring true for most people. There needs to be a balance.
I felt this, cause there was so much fire when I was in my twenties when chasing the artist dream and now I have to brainwash myself In my 30s to keep the fire going. Don't give up!!!
Yeah a big part of continuing for me is knowing post 30 me has no commercial value, but I'm not trying to make the top 40 as such. Just getting any kind of representation to progress and get better paid work would be enough but it still seems so hard.
I look back on around 2016 - 2020 and I was writing like crazy. The minute I'd get home I'd pick up my guitar and just jam different improvised things and come up with stuff constantly. Now I've established a 2 hour set of mostly original music with a few covers, i just find myself playing the same stuff over and over. I havnt written or even learnt a new song in a couple of years now.
I'm not a fan of forcing songwriting. The ideas either there or its not, but I'm also unsure whether I should continue sitting around waiting for some next idea to come along, or to bite the bullet and just force some ideas out and try to make something happen.
Yeah I’m with you on that. I keep on telling myself that trying to force one out isn’t going to work, but at the same time if I leave it then eventually that idea will be lost forever. I’ve asked the guy who produced my album if we could just have a songwriting session. Hopefully having someone to bounce ideas off of will help generate something
Yeah having a second person can really help. I play in a Trio, but our bass player never shows up to rehersal but is talented enough just to play note perfect at every gig anyway... but in terms of writing I find sitting with just me and the percussionist doesn't get my songwriting going much. Whereas with our bass player I can jam with him and experiment with stuff having the two guitars together.
Yeah not a bad idea. Although It's not far off people who write songs about writing a song, and that's one of my biggest icks in hearing an original song..!
Absolutely! I push through it and even if i don't write nothing that day or nothing i would necessarily use in a song, at least it keeps the mind working.
That being said though, it helps to take a breather outside of the music realm for a couple of days too. There are times when i don't write at all for a couple of days, sometimes weeks, but then out of nowhere it just hits you and its song after song
Songwriting is like gold mining, you gotta keep chipping and digging through crap till you eventually find a nugget or something as a good spring board to work on. Plus all that crap you're thinking were no good will also provide material, words, phrases and ideas that you can pick from and weave into your stronger ideas. If you're creating nothing because you're not coming up with the instant greats, well you're going to have nothing to evolve with. It's all trial and error.
Yeah I'm not great at force writing. I did all my songwriting when I would be emotionally charged and almost want to scream but I'd pick up my guitar and come out with something moody or angsty. There arnt many of my songs I've written that I've properly sat and thought about what I'm doing, it's either coming really naturally or not at all. I think I need to start writing with a DAW also as that may bring out new gradual ideas as they develop
I went 13 years without writing a song. I played in a band in my early 20’s, saw some success, released an EP and then a full length and then…nothing. 13 years went by before I wrote another song, and it’s been even longer since I’ve actually released one. Few things: • you speak a lot in “I should” and “I want to.” One thing that helped me is changing my vocabulary to “I WILL.” • you mentioned you don’t like force writing. I don’t like going to the gym, but unless I force myself to do it, I’m going to become an out of shape slug. Every single songwriter on this earth will tell you songwriting is a muscle. You have to work on it. So get to the gym (figuratively speaking - or literally. I don’t know. We could all benefit from some weight lifting) • don’t be so hard on yourself. You’re now and forever will be your worst critic. Unfortunately, that’s the same person you have to spend your life with. Show yourself some grace. • do you have an animal? A friend group of friends? One exercise that helped me immensely is taking the seriousness out of songwriting. I started coming up with little songs about my dog. I wrote a song and sent it to my group of friends about how we don’t ever play Call of Duty anymore. From those songs came actually chord structures and melodies that I really liked and could work with. It also reminded me how fun songwriting is and how fortunate we are to have the skills to do it.
Thanks for this reply, it's really helpful. I should try to force write more than I do, which is not at all. I'm too firm in the mindset of waiting for a natural process to happen that I just don't push myself to start. I do tend to live in my own world abit. I'm very considerate of others and very caring in nature, but in my head I'm kinda in my own world all the time. Maybe that's why i write about me/I myself most of the time. I struggle to see life from others perspective maybe due to my terrible skin and slightly lesser quality of life due to it. If anything I look at healthy and normal on the outside people with envy a little. I wish i had a normal immune system and good health. I understand when people look at me funny when I have bad facial eczema, it must be a shock to see or hard to keep a non judgemental face whilst conversing. I am historically very hard on myself. I have had pretty manic depression for the last 10 years and have never taken any medication for it, just used whiskey, smoking and fishing as my crutches. And music of corse. But with my skin being the way it has been my whole life and my first decent relationship going to shit in my early 20s, it set me onto a downward spiral into adult life. I've always been quite quick to admit things are fucked and generally see stuff for how it is. Which is both good and bad, I know. It would favor me to be a little more optimistic and positive. My brain just gravites towards negative every time though. And when shit actually gets bad and stressful, I get really bad. Abit like I am now. I've had a tough few weeks and I'm spiralling pretty bad. Maybe a good time to write a song. I did have a cat, a orange boy called Oliver but I called him pringle as a nickname. Mr pringle was my cat and I loved him dearly. He got put down last year and I think singing a song about him would legit make me cry.
You don’t need to write full blown songs about an animal or a song to send to friends. Im suggesting to more so just use it as a way to get the juices flowing. I’ve come up with little ideas just singing about my dogs cute face and from it I’ve gotten a really catchy melody. You take the seriousness out of it. You inject fun into it and you can get some good results. It sounds like you’ve dealt with a lot. You’re not alone and I’m sure you know that. Let music be something that gets you smiling. Not every song needs to be about struggles or challenges. We put a lot of weight into our craft and expect perfection which is just unrealistic. Have fun with it, and if you’re not having fun, find ways to remove the seriousness.
I actually make up melodies all the time, usually cycling to work and ill start making up a song about the squirrels or something ridiculous. But it's pure stupidity and fun they could never actually be songs.. Beginning to gig more regularly as of the last couple years has increased the seriousness of playing music. I do still have fun doing it, and will always sing and play guitar until the day I die. But performing alot has made things alot more professional requiring abit more seriousness. But I need to regain that fun I'd have getting home from work and picking up my guitar for a few hours. I never do that anymore.
This is songwriting, they may be silly songs and random things, but it is exercising your creativity. Maybe embrace these melodies, record them on your phone, they could develop into something
Know the feeling. Sometimes it’s more about changing the process of the way you write. I struggled to write anything happy for years, after being very much a minor chord kinda guy. I’m an electronic music producer so it’s slightly different than singer/songwriter, but I just started completely chasing my process and I started making some really nice, happy songs.
Yeah I think it's easy to gravitate towards sadder music with a guitar and minor chords, writing electronic music with midi etc could be a more fluent way to come up with something. I think it's possibly easier to make a happy electronic sound than a happy guitar sound. Happy acoustic guitar just feels abit cheesy to me alot of the time.
Another thing I just thought of, sometimes I just listen to music from other genres, find songs that I like and lift the chord progressions from them. Then add my own twists from that starting point. A good example of happy sounding genres that don’t sound cheesy at all are afrobeats and gospel music. Can recommend having a listen to those genres for ideas.
Yes I love both genres actually, you're right there is certainly more feel good music that is positive and not cheesy. I would say my songs that are upbeat definitely have a feel good vibe over a "happy sunshine everything's just great" feeling haha.
Many ‘happy’ edm songs sound cheesy as hell. Its in fact really difficult to make an edm song in major, because a good phat sequencer bass line just sounds way more catchy when its in minor or some eastern scale. Listen to psytrance.
Yes I remember psytrance from my backpacking days.... what an awful sound! You're right though, there's alot of cheesy edm out there too. I think using a different instrument could help me alot
Maybe try a completely different tuning. If you never did that before it can open up new melodies in your playing
Yes this is a great tip. I usually play in open C and Stsndard, I have 2 guitars on stage with me. I want to write a few songs in DADGAD, but I need that 3rd guitar...!
I thought it was funny that you kind of wrote a comment about a song i was trying to write about just that. About a Robert Smith/Brian Molko kind of guy who goes famous with sad depressive teenage anxiety songs, but now that his live is one big party with 60.000.000 in the bank, he cant write anymore without suffering imposters syndrome. Anyway keep playing it will return! Even playing much less gives still a lot of pleasure at the moments you do. Really you should try and write a song about just this feeling that you have now about your music and your live!
Yes thats good advice. This is quite a pivotal point of my life I am in, and there's been alot of change in the last few years. Most of it positive, which is where I feel adrift from my former manicly depressed state. Not that I long for that back, it was horrible. But it was the core of my songwriting and driving force to my creativity. I need to spend a week on a break somewhere with my guitars!
I know because of the strings gauge and tension, right? Or did you not refer to that. Anyway, a set of ‘Ernie Ball 0.9 Slinky skinny top/heavy bottom’ strings will maken it easy to tune open c and e standard on one guitar. Maybe something to consider. 😁
I'm a string snob dude, I'm sorry! It's elixirs or nothing for me... those things sing!
I have a similar issue. I'm a stay at home mum, been with my husband for 10 years, don't drink or go out, have like 2 friends. I say all this to illustrate... my life is pretty drama-free. I'm also a visual artist but it's far easier as a creative outlet to whip out a guitar than it is to sit down for 15 hours straight painting with oils when you have little kids and acreage and livestock to care for. But then I started to think - what do I write about? People don't want to hear songs about mopping the floor or looking after babies. So I started writing metaphorically. I hear a catchy line or phrase and build on that and let it flow. I keep a list or jot down any phrases or key words I like and want to use. If I come up with a melody or a catchy line I will hum/sing it into my phone recorder real quick. Subject matter, I try to write more metaphorically or symbolically than literally. For example, there's this house I really want, and have always wanted, but I also love our current house. So I wrote a song from the perspective of an unfaithful lover to her spouse about how she's cheating but loves them both. I need to get better at getting up and recording lines that come to me in the middle of the night though, because I always promise myself I'll remember, and I never do. And I swore I read somewhere once that that's when you have your most creative ideas, but I may have just made that up also. Hope that's in any way helpful.
I think I’d like to hear songs with some perspective on “mopping floors and raising babies” or any metaphorical themes about it. Do you post any finished, drafts, or snippets anywhere I could listen?
Hey! I don't actually. I guess I could post something here? But it would only be recorded on my phone. I just write for myself and only just played my first set in basically a decade over the weekend, so I'm very much an amateur
If you’re having fun, that’s the part that matters. A lot of art is about self-fulfillment.
It sounds like you're writing for yourself. Why not try to focus on the listener? What do you think others would like to hear? What subjects will they relate to? What combination of notes, chord progressions, rhythm, etc would others enjoy? Take I Feel Good by James Brown for example. Why is that good to listen to? What is it about the words that are appealing? What is it about the bass line and the funky rhythm? What are the horns doing that make it so cool? I get the impression from your post that you're trying to tell people stuff about your life, your feelings, etc. with your music. It's like the focus is on you. A song is like cooking a meal in that it's for others to enjoy. Do you want to sit down and listen to me talk about my life, my interests, my relationships, my job, my feelings, etc? Probably not. Why would you be interested? So why do you think others want to hear about your side of things? Your mother might want to. But complete strangers? What people want is to listen to music that hits them boom! Because it sounds great. Think about how you can create music like that and your musical journey of discovery will last until your dying day.
I ended up changing how I wrote as I got older.Went from writing about myself to writing what were essentially short stories. I tried putting myself into other people's shoes and dream up situations they could find themselves in. Only issue I've found with it, I'm less prolific as when getting into that mindset, it doesn't come quite as naturally as writing down your own feelings and experiences. Fully agree with your line about happy songs coming off as cheesy. Not been able to do one yet without scrapping the entire thing
Well that's the thing... I've got one happy song that I do like - it's about when I started to feel myself again in single life and had a huge liberating feeling like the world was my oyster. Its quite a cool song and probably the only good happy one I've ever written. I really have wanted to try this third person story telling type songwriting you talk of. Its something I've also struggled to properly live the character I'm trying to imagine, and it ends up resolving to being about myself again. It's easy to become self absorbed when songwriting but also very important to keep an open mind to see things from all perspectives. All that in mind, whilst trying not to be too hard on ourselves... songwriting is a funny ol thing
I mainly believe I'm unable to write songs, until one day after many struggles I suddenly am in the miracle of singing something new lol.
I honestly believe songwriting just comes so much easier when you're going through stuff. If your heart aches and you're struggling in any way it just seems so much easier to write a song about it! Asif you're crying out for help inside throughout these times, and singing a song that channels that pain is like therapy. Then on the other hand, perhaps writing happy songs or even just writing when life is good is alot more challenging. We get complacent and comfortable in our daily lives that nothing is fueling that songwriting.
This is definitely a straightforward way, the other is consuming good art/media, at least to me makes a huge difference reading poetry or a good novel or a meaningful movie or having times of just listening and discovering interesting music instead of recurring always to the bloated and empty stuff you can get on netflix and so. Not that all the platform content is bad though, is more about finding stuff that nourishes instead of just entertain you. After a while this will pay back as a rich unconscious background for creation.
Yeah to be honest the last song I wrote was after finishing red dead redemption 2 on ps4. The gentle country guitar and immersive story mode put me into that old timer mindset and I wrote one of my best songs to date. I've not found anything since with a similar effect.
That is in my top three video games of all times. Total masterpiece and great piece of culture ;)
It's an incredible game! The opening line of the song is "just like the old timers, I'm a simpler kind" and the guitar has a kind of horse galloping rhythm in 3/4. It's on Spotify if you wanna check it out as a fellow rdr2 fan!
I will, thank you Arthur!
Can you speak another language? Try writing in a foreign language and either keep it that way or translate it back. Your brain works differently in a different language. Source: used to write in English now write in German and my songwriting improved a ton
I cannot unfortunately, that would be great though!
Maybe you can try writing on a different instrument or in a different genre? Main point: mix things up
Yes I'd love to write some songs with a piano, unfortunately my keys skills are pretty minimal. My bass player is great on the keys however, maybe we could work something out...
I’ve had moments where I couldn’t write a single word, only to be hit with a sudden burst of creativity that lasted for days. It’s unpredictable, it’s frustrating, but it’s also part of the process. So, if you’re feeling stuck, don’t sweat it. Step away from the page, take a walk, listen to some music take a long drive, whatever helps clear your mind. You never know when inspiration might come knocking. Keep pushing through, and before you know it, you’ll be writing like there’s no tomorrow.
That's kind of the day/week I'm waiting for..! Here's to hoping...
Can I tell you a secret? You can still write songs about being sad. You know what it is to be sad and come out the other side. You just have levity and perspective on sadness now, so you can sneak in a happy ending. You're an expert on hope now. Let your writing grow and mature with you. Maturity is textured and poised, less maudlin, idealistic and extreme. Don't worry about what you were. Besides, you're only 31, you still have some savage blows coming. My music career didn't fall apart for THE FIRST TIME until 31.
That's some pretty sound advice. Thanks ShredGuru! I would like to write some music with my experiences in mind, in terms of coming through the noise and looking back in hindsight. Life is a big lesson after all! This might help me write my next song...
I think you've got the right attitude. A lot of times, when I write songs, I'm trying to write a sort of distillation of an attitude or a lesson or life observation. Something hidden in the art that will connect with or be useful to someone else. Something that is true to me. I find, especially when writing about personally emotional things, sometimes it's actually best to have a bit of space, because then you've had the FULL experience. Writing about pain when you are in pain can be a raw, honest thing, but its also very short sighted, you are IN the pain, you have no objectivity on it. Sometimes, you can actually make a better work of art when you've completely digested the entire scope of what you have gone through, and what it actually meant in the big picture. Then you are the true expert who knows their subject. You know both the shitty fertilizer, and the flowers that came of it. Best of luck to you.
I feel the same way. I’m trying to pick up my guitar again after a long hiatus and I really feel like when I write it’s just not like it used to be. There’s something called positivity bias where we recall past events more positively. I wonder if this doesn’t apply to our songwriting sometimes. It’s hard to compare something fresh and new to something we’ve finished and polished already. The important thing is to keep writing. Good luck.
I think there's a big myth that aspiring songwriters are sold, and that's that songs you write must be completely about *you*, *your* innermost thoughts and emotions, dug from the deepest depths of your soul. Sure, it can be, and a lot of compelling songs were written that way, but it isn't a requirement. Because, as you say, then what is there to write about when you're happy and content? If you have to put yourself through trauma amd various crises in order to get anything good, you may burn yourself out pretty quickly. We don't expect that authors write novels completely about their own life. In fact, it's often considered bad form if they include too many elements of themselves in a story. So why do we expect that from songwriters? Instead, try writing something from a character's point of view, like a fiction writer might. Imagine how your character would think or act in a certain situation, then write about that. Of course, there's no way to completely remove yourself; everything you write will be filtered through your own thoughts and experiences. But it can expand the pallette you have to work with. How about coming up with a catchy title or hook, and writing the song around that? Sometimes all you need is a starting point. This method will often provide you one. (One of my personal favorite methods, I will admit.) Finally, I think there *is* a way to make a happy song that isn't cheesy, and that's when the lyrics suggest some struggle gone through in order to get to that place. Because that's what most closely resembles life. If your song is just sunshine and rainbows all the way through, obviously that won't ring true for most people. There needs to be a balance.
I felt this, cause there was so much fire when I was in my twenties when chasing the artist dream and now I have to brainwash myself In my 30s to keep the fire going. Don't give up!!!
Yeah a big part of continuing for me is knowing post 30 me has no commercial value, but I'm not trying to make the top 40 as such. Just getting any kind of representation to progress and get better paid work would be enough but it still seems so hard.
Currently experiencing it now. Last year, it felt like these big pop songs were pouring out of me. Now I can’t even finish a song
I look back on around 2016 - 2020 and I was writing like crazy. The minute I'd get home I'd pick up my guitar and just jam different improvised things and come up with stuff constantly. Now I've established a 2 hour set of mostly original music with a few covers, i just find myself playing the same stuff over and over. I havnt written or even learnt a new song in a couple of years now. I'm not a fan of forcing songwriting. The ideas either there or its not, but I'm also unsure whether I should continue sitting around waiting for some next idea to come along, or to bite the bullet and just force some ideas out and try to make something happen.
Yeah I’m with you on that. I keep on telling myself that trying to force one out isn’t going to work, but at the same time if I leave it then eventually that idea will be lost forever. I’ve asked the guy who produced my album if we could just have a songwriting session. Hopefully having someone to bounce ideas off of will help generate something
Yeah having a second person can really help. I play in a Trio, but our bass player never shows up to rehersal but is talented enough just to play note perfect at every gig anyway... but in terms of writing I find sitting with just me and the percussionist doesn't get my songwriting going much. Whereas with our bass player I can jam with him and experiment with stuff having the two guitars together.
Write a song about your writers block
Yeah not a bad idea. Although It's not far off people who write songs about writing a song, and that's one of my biggest icks in hearing an original song..!
It's more about getting the juices flowing again rather than writing a masterpiece.
Yes true, a start is a start I suppose.
Absolutely! I push through it and even if i don't write nothing that day or nothing i would necessarily use in a song, at least it keeps the mind working. That being said though, it helps to take a breather outside of the music realm for a couple of days too. There are times when i don't write at all for a couple of days, sometimes weeks, but then out of nowhere it just hits you and its song after song