Songwriting Tips

Songwriting Tip – Always Be Prepared

“Songs come from the most amazing places”

I was asked some time ago to lead a songwriting workshop for the songwriting organization that I belong to called SCALA. The topic for this particular workshop was ‘how to capture songwriting ideas’.

In researching for the workshop, one of the questions I asked myself was “where have my songs come from?”

It was one of the first times I really looked at my songbook and traced the origins of my songs in this way. I realised that some of my songs had come from the most unlikely places.

This was most interesting to me.

Doing this research reinforced the notion that, as songwriters we have to be prepared to note down everything because songwriting ideas can come from anywhere.

I have written songs while sitting in cafes, waiting for and on buses, having showers, going for walks, drinking at the pub and waiting at traffic lights.

I try as much as possible to have a notpad or a dictaphone with me so I can capture these flashes of inspiration at anytime.

Get into the habit of seeing at the world we live in as an infinite songwriting ideas machine.

As a songwriter all you have to do is find your own way to reach out and tap into this amazing resource. Of course doing this takes practice and a willingness to become much more observent and mindful of what’s going on around you.

On a personal note, since making an effort to be more observant and mindful of what happens in my life, I have managed to get more things done and my songwriting output has increased.

Don’t be afraid of what you see and what you feel. Write down your emotions.

Emotions demonstrate to us all what it’s like to be human. Embracing what you see, hear and feel on paper will go a long way in developing your own style as a songwriter.

Be brave in the face of the unknown. Always BE PREPARED.

Until next time, happy writing,

Corey Stewart
Singer/Songwriter/Musician

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

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

Thursday, March 27th, 2008 Songwriting Tips 2 Comments

Songwriting Tip – Increase Your Life Experience

To increase your ability to write songs it’s necessary to increase the amount of life experiences you have.

The best way to do that is to get out of your comfort zones, break out of your routines and do somethings different. There are so many ways that we, as songwriters can escape our zones of comfort and in turn, enrich our lives.

Just think, the worse that could happen is that you could write a great song about it.

Imagine having the confidence to experience life to the fullest with the knowledge that there could be a song awaiting as a result of that risk.

Your life can be one big songwriting idea. That’s an empowering way of looking at it.

A prime example of a situation that can benefit from this way of thinking is the topic of intimate relationships. So many people don’t take the necessary risk of falling in love for the fear of getting hurt.

My argument is that if you are committed to songwriting then, as songwriters it is our duty to take any calculated risk and go with it.

If the risk pays off then you have some great songs to write, if it doesnt work then you still have some great songs to write.

With that attitude how can you lose?

Here are some other simple examples of small things you can do to get more out of life and therefore, get more out of your songwriting.

Go to a movie by yourself
Take a long walk on the beach
Go for a drive
Call a friend you havent spoken too in ages
Strike up a conversation with a complete stranger
Catch public transport
Go to a cafe and write in your journal
Smile at people and watch their reactions
Meditate and listen
Go skydiving (a little extreme maybe, but not impossible)

It’s really sad that we try so hard to control everything in our lives just so we don’t have to experience anything that we would consider BAD.

If we choose songwriting as life we need to relax a little and let life unfold before our eyes. We need to experience what happens and then write about it.

If everything that you do can be written into a song, what have you really got to lose?

Until next time, happy writing,

Corey Stewart
Singer/Songwriter/Musician

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

Tags: Corey Stewart, Creativity, music, Songwriter, Songwriting, songwriting tip, Songwriting Zen, zen

Thursday, March 13th, 2008 Songwriting Tips No Comments

Collaborate With Other Songwriters

When it comes to writing songs, two (or more) heads are better than one sometimes.

Songwriting doesn’t have to be something that you do by yourself. Some of the greatest songs were written by two or more people.

Examples of these songwriting teams are:

Elton John/Bernie Taupin
Hal David/Burt Bacharach
Tim Rice/Andrew Lloyd-Webber
Mick Jagger/Keith Richards
John Lennon and Paul McCartney (of course)

Working in collaboration with someone else can be the most rewarding thing for your songwriting process you can ever do. There are many reasons for this.

1. You can be challenged by someone else
Some people relish the opportunity to work alone but for the most part it can be pretty lonely and un-motivating working by yourself.

Working with others keeps us honest and there is a joy in being spurred on by someone else to be your best.

2. You can cover more strengths
Maybe you are strong with lyrics and not so strong with melody or arrangements. If you choose a collaborator that has strengths in other areas then imagine what songs you can come up with?

I bet you they will be songs that you will both be happy with.

3. Brainstorming is much more fun with a collaborator
The concept of brainstorming for songwriting ideas is most effective when there are more than one songwriter participating. When you have someone else to bounce ideas off of the songwriting process seems to run more smoothly.

4. Double the experience you can write about
You and your collaborator are both individuals with different experiences. The amount of scope you have to write about expands.

5. You get exposed to new ideas
Working with someone else can be very eye opening. I can guarantee you that you will learn something new every time you and your collaborator get together.

6. It’s a great way to meet new people
You can collaborate with people that you know or you can seek a collaborator by looking on different songwriting forums, websites and organisations from all over the world.

You dont even have to know what they look like, you can collaborate by email or (if you have the appropriate recording technology) do it all online.

How exciting is that!!!

The most important thing about working with a collaborator is open and honest communication to make sure that when a song is written you work out the writing credit percentages straight away.

There is nothing that destroys a songwriting team faster than the feeling that credit is not being given where it’s due.

If you are feeling like you are in a bit of a rut with your writing go and write with someone else for a while, you wont regret it.

Until next time, happy writing,

Corey Stewart
Singer/Songwriter/Musician

Keywords: songwriting, writing songs, songwriter, songwriting idea, songwriting tip, songwriting help, songwriting technique, corey stewart

Tags: Corey Stewart, Creativity, music, Songwriter, Songwriting, Songwriting Zen, zen

Tuesday, March 11th, 2008 Songwriting Tips No Comments

Songwriting Tip – Journaling For Lyrical Ideas

Winning the conversations that you have with your inner voice is one of the main keys to getting the most out of your songwriting.

For me, writing down my thoughts (journaling) is one of the best strategies for doing that however, there needs to be some conditions attached to this exercise.

1. It has to be done every day. Make that appointment with yourself. It will be the most important one you’ll ever make.

2. Set a minimum word (or page) target.

3. Start writing. Allow your writing to be good, bad or indifferent.

4. Pay attention to your inner voice. Maybe write down what its saying.

5. When you have reached your word (or page) target, stop.

6. Go onto something else.

As you start writing you’ll notice that little voice inside you will begin to chatter away. It’s amazing what it will say in its attempts to stop you from being creative.

However, instead of succumbing to the temptation, keep going. You will free yourself of self doubt and in its place will be a flow of ideas, confidence and inspiration.

This exercise will eventually break through the walls you put up for yourself. It will take some time but the results wil be worth your time, effort and persistence.

I should know because I do this myself.

I have been journaling (and now, blogging) for years but it wasn’t until I started reading “The Artists Way” by Julia Cameron (a must for any songwriter) that I realised the power of writing down your thoughts on a daily basis.

In the book the first thing she talks about is a concept called the morning pages. Three A4 pages of automatic writing that you do (preferably) first thing in the morning and boy, what a powerful tool it is for collecting lyrical ideas.

It is important to note that, for you to gain the most benefit from these ‘morning pages’, it must be done every day.

Writing is a craft, a discipline that require the writer to let go of any outcomes and become at one with the words that they write.

With writing songs, it’s not much different.

“So whats next?” I hear you ask.

Well, my suggestion is to start writing down your thoughts today and keep writing them for a week. It can be on paper or on your computer. It doesn’t matter. Go out and buy a really nice notebook for this experiment.

Treat yourself, you deserve it.

After seven days of putting down your thoughts, feelings, hopes, dreams, fears, aspirations and inner conversations, have a look at what you have written. Chances are you’ll see a lot of crappy stuff but, hidden away in all of that, do you see any lyrical ideas?

I’m sure you will. Sometimes you have have to dig through the dirt to find the diamonds.

Until next time, happy writing,

Corey Stewart
Singer/Songwriter/Musician

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

Tags: Corey Stewart, Creativity, lyrics, music, Songwriter, Songwriting, writing, zen