Songwriting is certainly not easy. It takes a number of musical talents to develop a great song, from instrumentals to lyrics. In some ways, finding lyrical inspiration can be the most difficult part.
What do you write about? Are your songs moments in life, or something you may have seen happen? “I think songwriting is the ultimate form of being able to make anything that happens in your life productive,” Taylor Swift said.
The good news is that there are a few songwriting tips you can employ to find inspiration for your next song. You can find a variety of song ideas in the normal places, as well as a few not so obvious. This can be useful for a songwriting competition or a gig.
To help you get your next song on paper, here are seven songwriting tips to find lyrical inspiration.
1. Get Out Of Your Daily Routine and Take Notes
One of the best ways to get new song ideas is to stray from the normal path of your life for a moment or two. By breaking your daily routine, you heighten your senses and experience new things that can serve as lyrical inspiration for your next song. This can be visiting a new place, or spending time with new people.
2. Find Inspiration In Music
Music can serve up plenty of songwriting inspiration to help you break through the wall of writer’s block. One of the best things you can do to let music inspire you is to find a quiet place, turn off your cell phone and let music that you love take hold. It can be a playlist you absolutely love, or an album that brings you back to a moment in your life.
3. Write A Song About Someone You Don’t Know
This songwriting tip for lyrical inspiration is not only a good way to get a song idea on paper, but it can be a rewarding and fun process as well. For example, sit on a park bench and begin observing others — people watching. Find an interesting character and begin writing that person’s life story. This could maybe be a man on a bench near you. A woman playing with her children, or even a couple laying in the grass sharing love.
4. Just Start Writing Things Down
To find lyrical inspiration for your next song, you do not necessarily need to write a song at all. The key to writing anything is to simply start writing. One of the best times to do this writing technique is first thing in the morning and right before bed. Jot down anything that comes to mind in a few sentences and move on with your day. It could take as little as five to ten minutes and you may be surprised to find a song idea pop out from the page when you read your notes after a week or two of doing this.
5. Doodle What You’re Thinking And Seeing
Another non-songwriting way to write a song is to doodle. This may seem odd, but sketching out things is one creative process that can fuel another. As a songwriter, you are certainly a creative person, so be creative in multiple ways to find the best lyrical inspiration.
6. Browse The Internet For Lyrical Songwriting Inspiration
The Internet is home to just about everything, and it can serve as a great source for song ideas. Google search words that pop into your head, or read odd blog posts and short stories in news publications. Even poetry sites or famous quotes can spark the songwriting mind a bit. You may be pretty surprised what you will come across for a song idea to work on.
7. Never Forget To Team Up With Other Musicians and Songwriters
This is a very important songwriting tip. By spending time with other songwriters and musicians, you can get the creative juices flowing easily, bounce ideas off one another, and find unlimited inspiration. Go to local jam sessions, play odd gigs at senior centers with other musicians, do a bit of busking, anything is on the table when it comes to creative collaboration.
In Conclusion . . .
There are definitely a number of ways to find lyrical inspiration, and the above seven songwriting tips are just the starting point. To truly find your next song idea and get your thoughts on paper, you will need to be patient and really look for ideas in the not so obvious places. What is your favorite songwriting tip or technique? We want to hear about it!