Songwriters

Brainstorming Possible Song Titles

A song title is a songwriters best friend. It can encapsulate the whole song in a few well chosen words.

For me, nothing gets my songwriting process off to a flying start more than a good song title to work with. The more possible song titles at my disposal, the more songs I write.

How do I find these possible song titles? I brainstorm them.

Brainstorming is a technique in which you automatically write down ideas on a given topic or a problem at hand.

In this case we want to fill an A4 page full of possible song titles.

The task is not to write a song but to come up with possible titles for a song. Writing the song comes later. It’s important to make that distinction before you start this exercise.

I personally do this at least twice a week.

From doing this I have pages and pages of possible song titles for me to look back on. Here’s how I do it

On a piece of A4 paper I write the first thing that pops into my head. From there, I use that phrase to start writing other phrases that are related to the one before it.

A short example is below:

Cry baby
Baby don’t cry
Don’t cry for me
Don’t cry
Why so sad
I’m so sad
I’m leaving today

(I think you get my drift)

I set myself a weekly target of at least one A4 page divided into two columns, two to three a week. Once I complete my target I stop and go onto the next thing.I prefer to look at what I’ve brainstormed with fresh eyes.

After a couple of weeks I look at what I’ve written and pay close attention to the rhythm of the words. Something will almost always jump out at me.

When this happens it’s like fishing. I have snared the muse. It’s time to reel in the songwriting idea and write the song.

To make this technique work effectively you need to be able to let go of any outcomes or expectations. Don’t even think about what you are writing. Just be automatic and spontaneous.

Most importantly, have fun with it.

Remember, with brainstorming you can write anything down, go off on any tangent you like and not worry about whether you are going to use what you write it in the future.

I find looking back on what I’ve written to be a very interesting experience in itself. Its amazing what you can achieve when you stop judging what you write.

In the meantime, give it a go and see what happens.

Until next time, happy writing,

Corey Stewart
Singer/Songwriter/Musician

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

Tags: brainstorming, Corey Stewart, Creativity, song, songwriters, Songwriting, Songwriting Zen, writing, zen

Sunday, March 9th, 2008 Songwriting Tips 4 Comments

Let It Go – Writing Songs Without Prejudice

Writing songs can be as easy or as hard as you want to make it.

One of the main reasons why songwriters find the songwriting process difficult is that they have an inability to let go of the outcome and allow themselves to write.

There are a lot of songwriters that get in their own way by placing a pre-determined outcome to their process.

For example, while writing, a songwriter may say to themselves things like:

This song must be a good one
This song must be original
I can’t sound like anyone else
This song can’t be bad
I must be inspired when I write
I don’t have anything to write about

Let’s bring this back to you now.

If you were experiencing all of this negative dialogue while you were trying to write a song, do you think you would be able to finish it?

I don’t think so.

Creativity in any form exists because its creator is free of distraction. Learning to let go enables you, the songwriter to become free.

Allowing ourselves the freedom to create without any prejudice or pre-conceived notions is one of the greatest gifts that we can give ourselves.

Next time you start writing a song try this.

As you start writing, think of nothing else but writing. Don’t worry if the result is going to be a good or bad. Better still, don’t think of any result at all. Just write.

Treat writing like it’s a meditation.

As you write you will hear your inner voice start to rant. When this happens, write down the rant on another piece of paper (or another document on your computer) and allow it to pass through you.

Treat these negative rantings as if you’re a matador allowing a feisty bull to run past your red cloth.

You never know, at the end of your songwriting session you might have finished a song plus have the beginnings of another. All thanks to letting go.

Until next time, happy writing,

Corey Stewart
Singer/Songwriter/Musician

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

Tags: Corey Stewart, music, songwriters, Songwriting, Songwriting Zen, writing, zen

Saturday, March 8th, 2008 Songwriting Zen No Comments