Archive for the ‘Songwriting’ Category
33 Impeccable Ways to Overcome Songwriters Block
photo by Sean McGrath
Does songwriters block affect me? Yes, sometimes, but fortunately not for a long period of time. If I really get stuck it’s just for an hour or a day.
I can also have writers block over one particular song, but then I start writing on something else and the inspiration miraculously comes back.
I spent a decent amount of time on lyrics to make it work. It can take a day, a few days or a week and it is only seldom that I finish a complete song in a hour or so. When it does happen it’s mostly one of my better works.
Nice chord progressions, finger-pickings, cool licks and solos is the fun part. I can write music endlessly. Lyrics for me is the more difficult part and sometimes I can get stuck, but that is where the list comes in. This list definitely makes things go a lot smoother.
Put these 33 impeccable ways to the test yourself and experience the magic of inspiration:
1 - Ask why, how, when, where and who?
Ask yourself questions about the subject. If your song is about a suspicious old man then ask the questions: Where does he go? Where did he come from? Who is he? What is he going to do? Who are his friends? Does he have any? What are his interests? What are his dreams? Is he married? What is his history? Why does he act so strange? Ask as many questions as possible to come up with ideas.
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Learning New Things
photo from Istockphoto
Whenever I become lazy I ignore that voice in my head saying: “I don’t want to, I don’t feel like it, why should I, tomorrow is another day”. I stop listening to myself and start doing something. Something small. I know when I learn something new I get a great feeling out of it. So I say to myself: “Just learn one new thing, even if it is just a little one.”
To become productive I always first stretch my legs and drink a glass of water. If I have done these two things my motor is up and running. Now I just pick up my guitar, put a guitar book or magazine in front of me and tell myself I will learn one or two new licks or chord progressions. Before I realize it, time is flying by and I’m enjoying myself immensely. I write down in a little notebook next to me that I want to learn one or two new things tomorrow without expecting major results, without expecting the same level of productivity I accomplished today. It is not about that. It’s about learning something new and and enjoy that new lick, chord progression or whatever you learned to the fullest. Read the rest of this entry »
So you wanna write a song huh?
photo from Istockphoto
Songwriting is a great skill to learn but not always an easy one. Sometimes you are in the flow and sometimes you are just not. The process can be hard work but the result can be euphoric.
I’ve written songs since I was young and still I think it’s a challenge to write good quality and authentic lyrics. Writing lyrics and music are two different things. When you create music you got something to lean on. You already got a vocabulary of chords, scales, riffs, licks, arpeggios, triads, etc. You can put those in a certain order, shake them around a little bit, tear ‘m apart, add your own personal touch and voila music is in the air. I know that is easier said that done, but you have something to begin with. Writing lyrics is a little bit more difficult because you have to start from the bottom up, so were gonna help you out a bit.
Pick up your guitar from the stand. Grab a pencil & paper and let’s create a piece of art. You’ll be amazed what you can do after a little practice.
My dad always says: “The fans are already out there, you just have to come up with something.”
Here are some tips to get you started:
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Writing a Song When the Pressure Is On!
photo from Istockphoto
A while ago the bass player of my band called me on the phone. He told me he wasn’t quite satisfied with the repertoire for the upcoming festival. He thought it still needed one ass-kicking rock song. I totally agreed. It was not a surprise, since it was part of the discussion for the last two weeks.
The only problem was that we didn’t have enough time to write and rehearse a new song. But I also couldn’t live with it, not having that extra rock song. It just didn’t feel good to leave it at this.
So I said to our bass player “I’m gonna write us a song today, record the demo with drums, guitars and vocals and send it to each of you by tomorrow morning”. By that way we could rehearsal it the same evening and play it at the gig in the same week.
O gosh, did i regret my promise after a few hours. I wrote like my life depended on it. It certainly felt that way. My stress level was enormous, but I learned a great deal out of it. The thing is….because you are limited in your time, you need to make decisions quickly. You are not going to sit around thinking a hundred times over a melody or that one word, “Is it deep enough?”, “Can’t I put it some other way?”, “Doesn’t this riff sound to familiar?”, “Don’t I have to make it more complicated, sophisticated?”. Nope: you don’t have the time!
Instead what you get is a great honest rock song to the bone.
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