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36 Impeccable Ways to Overcome Songwriters Block

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photo by Sean McGrath
afbeelding-1Does 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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So you wanna write a song huh?

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                                                   photo from Istockphotosongwriting
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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How to Memorize Lyrics, Chords and Chord Progressions

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photo from IstockphotoCool time
One of the things I have always had a hard time with is memorizing lyrics. I see this in people around me as well; finding it difficult to memorize chords and chord progressions. So based on my experience and some research I’ve done I give you some tips to overcome this obstacle.

But why do we need to memorize and remember lyrics and chord progressions? What’s the use of that?

Well, let’s say one of these days you’ll have to perform in front of an audience somewhere, somehow.
Maybe with a band or on your own…

  • or a friend asks you to perform a few songs at his wedding or birthday party…
  • or you would like to accompany a singer…
  • or you want to play some nice songs to entertain a few people on a holiday in the south of France while drinking a cold beer…
  • or just to try out a guitar in the guitar shop in town.

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Writing a Song When the Pressure Is On!

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                                             photo from Istockphotowaveform
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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