where do you seek inspiration as a songwriter?

[darrellcampman1]

Hey all.
So I'm trying to get back in the groove of songwriting, and I can't even seem to get started. The mere sight of a blank page sends me scurrying for cover. Anyone else go through this? If so, how did (or do) you overcome this? Thanks

 

[bassbully]

Someone coined the saying "Write what you know" this is my approach and it works for me. I cant write unless I am driven by a life experience good or bad..but that's me. I'm not good at making up any old thing or goofy songs etc. A song has to have a personal attachment to me and i have to of lived part of it to have my feeling into it.
I guess in a nutshell, I write about me ,my life and my world...works for me and that all that matters.

 

[R. Laevinus]

^ +1

 

[thudfromafar]

Someone coined the saying "Write what you know" this is my approach and it works for me. I cant write unless I am driven by a life experience good or bad..but that's me. I'm not good at making up any old thing or goofy songs etc. A song has to have a personal attachment to me and i have to of lived part of it to have my feeling into it.
I guess in a nutshell, I write about me ,my life and my world...works for me and that all that matters.

agreed. although one thing you can do is use that as a starting point, and then have the option of "making up any old thing or goofy song" from there. sometimes you just need a main idea and then when you sit down and work on it, it starts to come naturally and you can take it a lot of different ways.

 

[poorbassist15]

I write what's on my mind.
Lyrics-Easy
Music-hard

I guess the music part comes from me being a horrid guitar player and drummer.

I do write songs on mandolin sometimes.

 

[bassbully]

agreed. although one thing you can do is use that as a starting point, and then have the option of "making up any old thing or goofy song" from there. sometimes you just need a main idea and then when you sit down and work on it, it starts to come naturally and you can take it a lot of different ways.

That's good advice.

 

[Mike M.]

I do it backwards, but it works for me. I grab my guitar (6 string) and just start nerking around. Before long I find something I like, be it a chord progression or a groove of some kind then I'll listen to see what a good follow up part would be.

Then I just play what I have and start mouthing off any words that come to mind while keeping the mood of the song in mind. Pretty soon I'll find words that fit along with melody lines. Then changes will come about to the music but that always happens.

For me, the hard part is finding a subject that I can totally relate to. If I can't relate to it then yes, I also stare at a blank piece of paper. But once the right thought comes to mind the words don't stop.

 

[bassbully]

I do it backwards, but it works for me. I grab my guitar (6 string) and just start nerking around. Before long I find something I like, be it a chord progression or a groove of some kind then I'll listen to see what a good follow up part would be.

Then I just play what I have and start mouthing off any words that come to mind while keeping the mood of the song in mind. Pretty soon I'll find words that fit along with melody lines. Then changes will come about to the music but that always happens.

For me, the hard part is finding a subject that I can totally relate to. If I can't relate to it then yes, I also stare at a blank piece of paper. But once the right thought comes to mind the words don't stop.

I also know people who write this way and that's great. I have done a few minor pieces this way but already had a subject. While noodling with guitar I found the chords to put it together without having written lyrics. Its a great feeling when a song flows out of you and you write it in minutes.

 

[bassbully]

Question to any and all who posted here. Does anyone songwriter inspire you or your style?

 

[StonewallValent]

+1 to Mike M
I've found that if I try to just sit down and come up with something the results are less than satisfactory. I usually just leave composition alone until inspiration kicks me in the face. Sometimes noodling about results in a catchy hook to work off of. What also helps is listening to or playing something I've already written.
I don't really have a system for making a full song down, though.
It's usually just on feel. I do know that overworking a song tends to end badly.

 

[80'sRocker]

You have to be in the mood for sure. Sometimes I don't wrie for months then all of a sudden write 2 songs in a day...then nothing! Try listening to some of your fave influences or likes. Fool around long enough and something should pop up. Bass writing can be tough

 

[jpTron]

I'm working on a "solo project" right now that's very NIN inspired. For that, basically I open a drum program, program random hits and keep messing around till I have a cool beat/mood, then I just "hear" the bass parts in my head and play along. Then the rest kinda falls into place. After all these years of playing music and hating on the stuff I write, I've found this is the best method that gets me writing stuff I actually like, hah

 

[Mike M.]

Question to any and all who posted here. Does anyone songwriter inspire you or your style?

While I have my favorites I don't write in any one particular style. But I will tell you what got me going more than anything and that was the three Beatles Anthology CD's. For me those CD's were a God send and they inspired me more than anything.

Prior to those CD's coming out I use to get very frustrated with my song writing efforts. I thought everything I came up with was about as lame as you could get. When the Anthology's came out I could NOT believe how rough some of those early takes were. Some were even downright laughable. I'm thinking, "no way. This is the Beatles for crying out loud!!" I then realized that one of the great things about the Beatles was how they found merit in an idea, no matter how lame it may have first been. So they worked on it, changed chords, altered the melody line and then they played it, and played it, and played again over and over and over and in doing so they found other ideas which became the little details that add so much.

One song that was not included on the Anthology's was "She Said, She Said." I'm telling you, check it out out. The rough beginnings are somewhere on YouTube and you're not going to believe it's the same song. It's just Lennon working on it but you'll get the full idea of what he was doing. He knew he had a good idea but he also knew he had could present the idea much better.

So the biggest lesson I learned from all of this was not to throw any idea away and do what the Beatles did: let it evolve. This is what gave me the confidence I needed to try and write.

 

[R. Laevinus]

Question to any and all who posted here. Does anyone songwriter inspire you or your style?

Lots of artists inspire me, though not consciously. I tend to find that the new songs I write usually bear some similarity to whatever's curently in my CD player - though like I said, I don't do it consciously.

Also, I tend to write lyrics and music separately - often the lyrics will have a vocal melody attached, but I leave it at that. Then I noodle around with progressions and riffs, on bass, guitar, or sax, and record any good concepts. Eventually, I'll match up an instrumental concept to a vocal concept, and BAM! New song.

 

[poorbassist15]

Question to any and all who posted here. Does anyone songwriter inspire you or your style?

Not any one, I combine a lot of styles in my music.

 

[Stumbo]

I do it backwards, but it works for me. I grab my guitar (6 string) and just start nerking around. Before long I find something I like, be it a chord progression or a groove of some kind then I'll listen to see what a good follow up part would be.

Then I just play what I have and start mouthing off any words that come to mind while keeping the mood of the song in mind. Pretty soon I'll find words that fit along with melody lines. Then changes will come about to the music but that always happens.

For me, the hard part is finding a subject that I can totally relate to. If I can't relate to it then yes, I also stare at a blank piece of paper. But once the right thought comes to mind the words don't stop.

Same for me.

I'll noodle on the acoustic (6 string) for quite awhile sometimes.

Sometimes I'll check out some chord books or song writing books to get a bit of info on voicings or structure to stir the pot once in awhile.

Also, if I hear a song (from any genre) that sounds good to me, I'll keep it mind, pick up the acoustic (6 string) and play something similar by memory until I get something that may or may not be in the same style. Try out some different melodies, chord changes, tempos, etc. while making up lyrics or just humming until I can work the structure out.

I also write lyrics/poems without attempting to put them into a song.

IMO, you can write a story on just about anything. Just like a fiction book writer. Writing about only what you know gets boring fast.

I've found that reading 100's of books over the years has help my lyrics immensely. Just like knowing the 19 shades of blue available instead only the most popular one helps out a painter, knowing sentence structure, grammar and vocabulary help a writer out.

As far as writing about what you know, new experiences help out in that area. e.g., we had a 3 year old nephew stay with us for a few weeks. Turns out he's already got rhythm. We started a "band". He plays drums-Oatmeal boxes and some tinker toy sticks(turns out he keeps time like a clock). Speaking to him is like speaking with a 15 year old in may ways. Music will be a big part of his life as far as I can tell. Wrote a song about him.

 

[bassbully]

While I have my favorites I don't write in any one particular style. But I will tell you what got me going more than anything and that was the three Beatles Anthology CD's. For me those CD's were a God send and they inspired me more than anything.

Prior to those CD's coming out I use to get very frustrated with my song writing efforts. I thought everything I came up with was about as lame as you could get. When the Anthology's came out I could NOT believe how rough some of those early takes were. Some were even downright laughable. I'm thinking, "no way. This is the Beatles for crying out loud!!" I then realized that one of the great things about the Beatles was how they found merit in an idea, no matter how lame it may have first been. So they worked on it, changed chords, altered the melody line and then they played it, and played it, and played again over and over and over and in doing so they found other ideas which became the little details that add so much.

One song that was not included on the Anthology's was "She Said, She Said." I'm telling you, check it out out. The rough beginnings are somewhere on YouTube and you're not going to believe it's the same song. It's just Lennon working on it but you'll get the full idea of what he was doing. He knew he had a good idea but he also knew he had could present the idea much better.

So the biggest lesson I learned from all of this was not to throw any idea away and do what the Beatles did: let it evolve. This is what gave me the confidence I needed to try and write.

Great post and information...i will check that out. There is allot to be said about how we all come up with ideas for song. The one thing I know is never rush a song. I also sometime hear something or come up with a saying and write them down. I then can add these scraps of words to a song or re-use it for a song idea.
Believe it or not the best songs I have written have been by myself on long boring car trips for work.

 

[Rob17]

Currently I'm also a bit lost when it comes to writing songs.
I'm glad I have this DNF file ( Did Not Finish) , where I dump all the songs that we're not finished in a time when I had plenty of inspiration.
Those not so good parts from the period when I was in the zone, are now all the sudden sounding a lot better.
I go through my garbage, for some leftovers, for inspiration.
Sometimes I just make a simple drumline and start playing along with it, just jam away and something will pop up.
Lyricwise, I get a lot off ideas from discovery channel, especially those space programmes.
I don't write much about my "feelings", those wood be boring and sad songs.
I like a bit off science in my lyrics.
I have a song called "Supernova", that came to mind after reading about Hubble's first pics he send back in a newspaper.
Yes, that is a long time ago.
For me it can come from anywhere.

 

[Stumbo]

.... the three Beatles Anthology CD's.... were a God send and they inspired me more than anything.

Something to go along with the CD's. http://www.amazon.com/Beatles-Complete-Chord-Songbook-Guitar/dp/0634022296

 

[zachoff]

Depends... Sometimes I'll spark an idea making up words to get the vocal melody down. Sometimes I'll sit down and actually think about it and make changes as I go. Sometimes I can't think of a single thing to write. Sometimes I settle for crappy lyrics. Writing words is my least favorite part of my job.