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After devoting some time in an effort to better understand the process of songwriting, I have learned something important. That is, there is no single process of songwriting. However, some 50 songs ago, I felt that it would be nice to have a process and I am now at a point where I can say that I have something that seems to work for me.

Songwriting is a very personal type of activity. Similarly, the process of songwriting is also very personal. People are very different in their approach to any art form or skill, so the songwriting process should be expected to be as different as the people who attempt it. Of course, this process depends on personality type, motivations, objectives, and style just to mention a few of the unique characteristics that define who we are in this regard.

Nonetheless, a process can be developed that is uniquely ours and that satisfies all of our requirements. It must be developed by the individual for the individual. So, the difficulty lies in finding that process which works best for you.

Before I begin my observations into this creative area that I shall call process development, I should make a few things very clear.

First of all, I have spent considerable time reading the thoughts of others, so much of what I might provide will not be original in nature. Instead, I will provide my perspective of that which I have learned from others.

Secondly, I may offer my own suggestions for a process, but you must decide if the process that I use is of value to you or set about finding your own process. Finally, I tend to be equal parts technical and creative by nature.

As an engineer, I learned the value of process, so it is something that I deem important in my own sphere of existence. It may not be for you. I suspect there are some folks who can create songs without the aid of a process. I respect and admire those who create without technical aids and my intent is not to disparage their way of doing things.

The most important element of creating songs is the muse. We should all respect the muse. Most folks regard the muse as the personification of the creative force that seems to exist in all of us, should we choose to listen.

Indeed, there is little that we can do to control this aspect of creative work. She has a mind of her own and will not respond to any form of intimidation or to any thought of lowering herself to become a part of a process (I think my muse is a woman and I think she looks a lot like Sharon Stone for some reason).

Therefore, our process must work alongside the muse and not attempt to encroach on her area of creative thought. I attempt to incorporate the muse into my process by keeping notes and a digital handheld recorder handy when the muse decides to bestow something on me. My muse has a rather nasty sense of humor as she tends to play tricks on me.

My muse likes to provide some of my ideas while I am sleeping or in the middle of the night. My muse also provides ideas that are sometimes worthless. It is my job to capture these ideas when and where they occur and then attempt to filter out the bad from the good. By the way, I collect all of my ideas in a rather large notebook filled with scraps of paper. This is part of my process.

I am also ready for the rare times when the muse gives me a complete song in a matter of minutes or hours. I cannot explain it, but I am happy when it happens. Otherwise, I collect my thoughts in somewhat random fashion until I feel the need to write songs.

This is the part of the process that I have not yet found in any other reference. I don’t know if it exists for anyone else, but it works for me. I will go through my notes and I will create a summary sheet of the various ideas and phrases and words that have been collected. Like magic, I find curious threads that tie these ideas together and I am sometimes able to assemble a previously random set of thoughts into a single idea for a song. I am always ready to receive a complete song.

However, I usually end up with a few words, phrases, and ideas that seem to be loosely connected. There are usually many more ideas that are not used. These ideas remain for the next time that I am ready to create some songs.

The next step in my process is to take those ideas, words, and phrases that seem to have a common thread and then apply some free association. This topic is well covered by many authors, so I will not devote much time to it, but it is valuable nonetheless.

In short, it is a process of taking ideas and freely associating other words and ideas. For me, I like to create little diagrams of words that might connect. I also like to write free verse or prose to some of the ideas without regard for rhyme or structure. These are both intermediate steps that will be refined later.

For me, creating music can happen in many ways. Sometimes, the music is completely separate and I am able to match the mood of the general direction of my free associations with a piece of music that I have previously recorded on my handheld.

Sometimes, the lyrics can create their own music and I then attempt to follow the lead of the lyrics. Of course, the reverse is also true. Sometimes the music provides the lead for the lyrics which are created specifically for the music. Generally, I find that some music is so powerful that it demands that a certain lyric be used.

Similarly, I find that some lyrics are so powerful that it demands that certain music be used. You must be the judge of this.

After this process of “shaking” my collected ideas around, a few songs tend to fall out. However, the process is not over. I think that most authors refer to the next step as the “editor”.

This is the part where a song may be revised or worked out to produce more desirable results. This process varies in time for me. I have some songs that are recorded as demos but are incomplete. There are some songs, on the other hand, that are complete from the time that I receive them.

This part of the process is the most difficult for me, as I enjoy the more creative aspects of songwriting over the more detailed oriented editing process. Most engineers would be exactly opposite, but most engineers don’t write songs.

This process works for me, but it may not work for you. If you are like me and feel like you should have a process, then I would encourage you to develop one for yourself. You can do this by trial and error for a while. Over time, you should find little techniques that seem to work for you.

This is the reason why it is important to write songs if you want to write songs. The practice of writing is the only activity in which the true nature of writing may reveal itself. You might want to keep some type of journal or write your thoughts down as you go, for future reference.

As a final thought, I believe that our minds are wonderful tools for creating, but they are also wonderful tools for organizing. It is our job to learn how to use the tools that we have available to us. Unfortunately, organization and creativity do not always occur in a single individual.

The good news is that organization can be developed for someone who is naturally creative. The bad news, I think, is that creativity is something that is much harder to develop at will. I will only say that organization tends to smother creativity when it occurs in that order. I

think it is possible, but I think the process of undoing our organizational nature, allowing creativity to exist, can be sometimes a very difficult task because organization usually has no time for creativity. I suppose I am one who started life in a creative way and then had to work at being organized. I am not certain that I am qualified to speak on organization as my wife would say that I remain a work in progress.

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