How To Write A Song Today

To be a songwriter you need to have the mindset of one. Always be on the lookout for the next songwriting idea.

I came across an article written by Shamir Rele, who runs a songwriting blog called “Songwriting & Beyond.” The article is titled “Write a Song Today – The Songwriter’s Way of Thinking” which pretty much sums up how I feel about writing songs.

No matter whether your life is going good or bad, is eventful or not, you can always find a song in whatever you do.

If you let it that is.

That’s the songwriting mind Shamir is talking about.

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Write a Song Today – The Songwriter’s Way of Thinking
By Shamir Rele

Is there ever a “right time” to write a song? So many songwriters have asked me, “can you write whenever you want?”

Well, the answer is a resounding YES. You can indeed.

But, let’s be real. What if your Mum was in hospital or you just went though a divorce. Then what? What if you simply weren’t in the mood?

Well, here’s the secret.

First of all, let’s switch the word “writing” with the word “creating“. In theory we are writing a song, but in practice we’re actually creating something.

Just think about that for a second. We’re ‘CREATING’ something here.

So if we are creating something, we need to fuel that creativity with something. We fuel that creativity with INSPIRATION. Before we even think about what to write about, what structure the song should be or what melody to use, we need inspiration.

I can hear you already. “What if I don’t feel inspired?” Well, this is exactly why you need to switch your mind.

I can’t even begin to tell you how important this is. Let me explain, stay with me here.

Here’s a typical scenario. You wake up early in the morning to go work, you miss your train and when you get there your boss gives you a hard time for being late.

Because you’re late, you’re made to work through your lunch hour. When you do, you eat some crummy old sandwich which makes your stomach upset. Despite the fact that you’re now not feeling well, you carry on working, dying for the day to end.

Work is finally over. You get home, and cook yourself some food. It’s the best meal you’ve had all day. You’re feeling a little better knowing you can finally relax and watch some TV over a nice beverage.

But guess what, you’re too tired to write a song. You’ve had such a mad day, you just can’t be bothered. You don’t know what to write about. You just don’t feel inspired.

Now here’s where you switch your mind.

Everything that has happened in your day are a series of events all leading up to writing a song. How many events can YOU draw inspiration from?

The answer is ALL of them. You can write about your whole bad day but the key here is to pick one or two events and elaborate on them.

For example, we can do something with “being late for the train” and “late for work”.

You could structure it in a way were your verse would be about getting up late, how your breakfast was burnt, when you left it was pouring with rain and you left your umbrella, the trains were running late, and you were late for work again.

In fact, that could actually be your hook (chorus) “I’m Late Again”.

The song can be structured in a way were you are simply stating how you are always late! (It doesn’t matter whether that’s the truth or not! It just has to flow well, that’s all).

Songwriters who write constantly understand how to harness the power of inspiration. The above example was quite a negative day, but if was the opposite, then you would write about just that, (ever heard of ‘Lovely Day’ by Bill Withers?).

Structure your song so you are keeping your listener interested in where your song is taking them next.

Sincerely,

Shamir Rele
www.songwritingtipsonline.com

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About the author

Shamir Rele shows us that anyone can learn how to write a song with his no nonsense styled approach songwriting tips.

Grab your tips here - www.songwritingtipsonline.com

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Nice one Shamir

What Shamir is saying in this article is that a song can come from anywhere. We just have to let go of the outcome and (in the above example) allow a song to be written based on our recollection of the days events.

If Shamir finished the “I’m Late Again” song would it be a good one? Would it be a hit?

I don’t think it matters. What matters is that a song was written in the first place

Can you see my point? Writing a song can be the simplest or hardest thing to do. It’s all up to you and your attitude towards it.

Until next time, happy writing,

Corey Stewart
Singer/Songwriter/Indie Musician

Keywords: songwriting, songwriter, songwriting tip, songwriting idea, songwriting help, songwriting blog, corey stewart

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Tags: Corey Stewart, Creativity, lyrics, music, song, Songwriter, Songwriting, songwriting blog, songwriting tip, Songwriting Zen, writing, zen

Tuesday, May 13th, 2008 Songwriting Help

4 Comments to How To Write A Song Today

Sanoittaja says:

May 13, 2008 at 3:51 pm

Nice article. I think this is the most basic thing and needs to be learnt at first of all.

songwritingzen says:

May 13, 2008 at 3:56 pm

I totally agree with you there. A song can come from anywhere.

Shamir says:

May 14, 2008 at 12:46 am

Thanks for the mention Corey.

Funny how reading my own article can spark idea’s.

I’ve been reading every single one of your articles here (esp since you switched blogs). Great stuff.

Shamir

songwritingzen says:

May 14, 2008 at 10:25 am

You’re very welcome Shamir.

Your blog is full of wonderful and straight-to-the-point insights on songwriting. I would love the opportunity to feature more of your stuff in future posts.

With your permission of course