To be a songwriter you need to have the mindset of one. Always be on the lookout for an idea.
I came across an article called "Write a Song Today - The Songwriter's Way of Thinking" by Shamir Rele which sums up how I feel about writing songs.
No matter whether your life is going good or bad, is eventful or not, you can always find a song in whatever you do... If you let it that is.
That's the songwriting mind Shamir is talking about.
By Shamir Rele
Is there ever a 'right time' to write a song? So many songwriters have asked me, "can you write whenever you want?" -- well, the answer is a resounding YES. You can indeed.
But let's be real, what if your Mum was in hospital or you just went though a divorce.. then what? What if you simply weren't in the mood? Well, here's the secret.
First of all, let's switch the word 'writing' with the word 'creating'. In theory we are 'writing a song', but in practice we're actually creating something. Just think about that for a second. We're 'CREATING' something here.
So if we are creating something, we need to fuel that creativity with something. We fuel that creativity with INSPIRATION.
Before we even THINK about what to write about, what structure the song should be, what melody to use, etc, we need inspiration.
I can hear you already... "what if I don't feel inspired?", well this is exactly why you need to 'switch' your mind.
I can't even begin to tell you how important this is.
Let me explain -- stay with me here...
Here's a typical a scenario. You wake up early in the morning to go work, you miss your train and when you get there your boss gives you a hard time for being late.
Because you're late, you're made to work through your lunch hour. When you do, you eat some crummy old sandwich which makes your stomach upset. Despite the fact that you're now not feeling well, you carry on working -- dying for the day to end.
Work is finally over. You get home, and cook yourself some food. It's the best meal you've had all day. You're feeling a little better knowing you can finally relax and watch some TV over a nice beverage.
But guess what, you're too tired to write a song. You've had such a mad day, you just can't be bothered. You don't know what to write about. You just don't feel inspired.
Now here's where you 'switch' your mind. Everything that has happened in your day are a series of events all leading up to writing a song. How many events can YOU draw inspiration from?
The answer is ALL of them. You can write about your whole 'bad day' but the key here is to pick one or two events and elaborate on them.
For example, we can do something with 'being late for the train' and 'late for work'.
You could structure it in a way were your verse would be about getting up late, how your breakfast was burnt, when you left it was pouring with rain and you left your umbrella, the trains were running late, and you were late for work again.
In fact, that could actually be your hook (chorus) -- 'I'm Late Again'. The song can be structured in a way were you are simply stating how you are always late! (It doesn't matter whether that's the truth or not! It just has to flow well, that's all).
Songwriters who write constantly understand how to harness the power of inspiration. The above example was quite a negative day, but if was the opposite, then you would write about just that, (ever heard of 'Lovely Day' by Bill Withers?).
Structure your song so you are keeping your listener interested in where your song is taking them next.
More on structure in another article…
Sincerely,
Shamir Rele
www.songwritingtipsonline.com
Shamir Rele shows us that anyone can learn how to write a song with his 'no nonsense' styled approach songwriting tips.
Grab your tips here - www.SongwritingTipsOnline.com
What Shamir is saying here is that a song can come from anywhere. We just have to let go of the outcome and allow the song to be written based on our recollection of the days events.
If Shamir finished the "I'm Late Again" song would it be a good one? Would it be a hit?
Can you see my point? Writing a song can be the simplest or hardest thing to do. It's all up to you and your attitude to it.
Until next time, happy writing,
Corey Stewart
Singer/Songwriter/Indie Musician
www.coreystewartonline.com
www.myspace.com/coreystewartonline
www.orangutangmusic.com
www.myspace.com/orangutangmusic
While you're here you might as well check out my other blogs
Corey Stewart Songwriting Tips
The Bizzo - Indie Music Industry Tips
Recording Studio & Live Music Tips
Download my FREE eReports today
11 Ways To Eliminate Writers Block FOREVER!
30 Ways To SUPERCHARGE Your Gigs
Keywords: songwriting tip, songwriting, song writing, singer songwriter, songwriting news, songwriting idea, songwriting help, songwriting blog, corey stewart
That's a inner structure I could use sometimes when songs molder on multiple scraps of paper for months...