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Page 1 of 2 Every composer is a fount of songwriting creativity … until deadlines loom. Then it’s writers’ block after writers’ block stacked into a nice tidy pyramid. Break the curse! Get out of that tomb! When you’re dry as a mummy, from whence springs that river of creativity? Try these ten approaches on for size and see if you can’t give writers’ block the boot!
1) Same Song, Upside down.
Take an existing song and express the same events from a contrasting point of view.
For example: "That Don't Impress Me Much" is a song from a woman's perspective in which the narrator talks about men and the various qualities they have that (you guessed it) don't impress her. The concept is that she’s discerning and her would-be suitors are foolish. Turn that approach upside down. What if she's actually a spoiled little, whorish tease who doesn’t know a good thing when she sees it? Maybe all the men she’s ever turned down get together and form a club where they sing “We’re Not Missing Much!”
And you can do this with plenty of songs. Perhaps "Billy Jean" was actually Michael Jackson's lover. (Although I admit that seem unlikely.) Perhaps Stacy’s Mom does not actually have it “going on”.
2) Someone Else’s Eyes.
Can’t think of a plot or a character? No problem, history is filled with them. Consider writing a song about historical events from the perspective of a well-known historical character: what would Abraham Lincoln, Michael Jordan or Albert Einstein have sung about? And you don’t need to make the historical character obvious to us. A song about the beauty of the Universe once you realize time and space are connected doesn’t require the line, “Hello I’m Einstein, but you can call me Al”. We don’t need a theme song, unless that’s what you want to write. Historical events are just the springboard to start you writing.
3) Steal from Yourself.
When you’re stuck for ideas, it feels like not one interesting thing has ever happened to you. But a little thought will reveal a personal story, perhaps even from your childhood. Maybe the story is told from your perspective, maybe from someone else's. Either way, you’ve been through good times and bad and both have given you lots of material, if you want it!
4) This Just In.
Still having trouble? Try narrowing your scope. What happened in the last day? A hell of a lot. From your own life to world news, there’s plenty to choose from!
5) Titles First.
A good trick to get the juices flowing is to read a news story and look for quotes. Find a phrase that appeals to you, something you find emotionally resonant or particularly interesting or revealing. Make that the title of the song and write a story around it.
6) Dream Job.
The phone rings. “Hello?” “Yes, this is George Martin. I produced a few of the Beatles albums. We’re doing a re-release of “Sgt. Pepper”, but we need some more material to fill out the expanded capacity of the CD and DVD formats. Can you help us out?” Imagine writing a song for your favorite band. They're re-releasing a favorite album and want a new bonus track that perfectly matches the existing material. You know you’ve always secretly hoped for that call!
7) Happy Holidays!
Write a song to celebrate a holiday: either personal (birthday, anniversary), or public (Christmas, president's day, Yom Kippur) or even a holiday you believe should be created but doesn't yet exist (Uncle's Day, Presidential Honesty Day).
8) Zebra. Paramecium. Corn-on-the-Cob.
Give yourself a list of random words. Open some novel and select a page at random and without reading, just put your finger down somewhere on the page. Do that 5 times with randomly selected pages. Now tie those words together to make a story.
9) Get Out. Seriously.
Go someplace you have never gone to before. This could be a new city or simply a street you haven't visited in your own town. Write a song based on something you see there. Whether it’s an empty Kansas cornfield or the corner of 42nd and 8th in Manhattan, there’s a story if you look for it.
10) There’s a Place for Us.
Reverse engineer a famous story like Romeo and Juliet, The 3 pigs, The Tortoise and the Hare, etc; take the plot line and turn the fanciful or old fashioned story characters to realistic modern day equivalents. That's how West Side Story was created.
Consider these ideas the fiber of your songwriting diet and good luck!
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