How to write songs, when you have absolutely nothing to write about?

rayc said:
Having the "girl" or fellow isn't the crutch for songwriters.
If your having trouble writing lyrics get a life or get a lyricist.
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I can't imagine someone thinking that you have to do it all or
you're inept. If it wasn't for George Gershwin's brother, Ira, there
would have been many, many lost songs. Hammerstein of Rogers
and Hammerstein. Lorenz Hart of Rogers and Hart. Virtually every
opera composer had a librettist, including Beethoven, Mozart, Rossini,
Bartok, Wagner and you name it. Even Procol Harem had a lyricist.

Writing music and lyrics are two different ways of thinking. There
are some who do a good job of it and not everybody can expect
to be a Lennon or McCartney.
 
When I "can't" write, it helps me to just play the song and sing doodles and then they turn into words, words into sentences, then I've got a theme and it's much easier after that. I'm not good at writing songs with pen and paper so this method works well for me. Also, it helps if I name the track, then I already have an idea to build on. Also, the songs don't have to be non-fiction stories of self. Surely you have an imagination, you're a creative person AND a teenager. What is the mood of the song? Make up a story that matches the vibe of the music and roll with it. Anything is better than nothing, and you can always change/improve it as it develops.

Also, make sure you're tuned in to the music and not multi-tasking.
 
I agree with what much of what has been siad already. The world is pretty much a song waiting to be written. There are kinds of stories out there, you just have to look and listen and it doesn't hurt to carry a pen and notebook around or a small hand held recorder. Everything fom 9/11 and the heros and rescuers who risked and lost their lives, to killing Bin Laden to Hurricane Irene that devasted the northeast and the wild fires that devastated Texas or hte balckout in California; the capture of Whitie Bulger; the approaching fall and winter seasons, the falling of leaves and snow, the rising cost of living and gasoline prices, the struggles of the American trucker, soldiers going off to war or returning home with no arms and legs, the high unemployment rate, the recession/depression we are in; the uncertainty of our economic and polictical futures, our role in an ever changing global economy and how the rest of the world views America, global warming and it's effects, the cop who was shot on the street, the drug dealer or gang member who shot him, the child that was reported missing in your neighborhood or state, the lunctic who went on a shooting spree, the collection of meaningless reality tv shows, everything from biggest loser to Jersey Shore and Mafia wives, perhaps most relavent to you - video games, World of Warcraft or Grand Theft Auto or something like that or make one up? Sift through news websites everyday, i.e CNN, Fox News, ABC and NBC local news stations from around the country or around the world if that interests you. Listen to Jay Leno and Letterman and see what they are talking about. I even go onto trucker websites and and tune itno various satelite radio stations, police websites, listen to police scanners on line for ideas etc. poke through forums like this one and see if anything clicks. There are tons of ideas out there; the key is to focus on the ones that interest you, research them if need be and put them in your own words that can fit into a song structure you're looking for.

Good luck....
 
Inspiration can come from a funny idea, old thoughts, personal experiences ... pay attention to what you react to, the points you are making, what you make fun of, what you dearly like, that could be material for a song.
 
One of my friends commented on my proficiency at writing - "I don't see how you can write so many songs."

I told him that EVERYTHING inspires, but if he wanted to write something meaningfull, he might want to consider something that he loves. .... at the time I was trying to quit smoking, and I said, "I should write a song about my cigarettes!" I made a note on a torn piece of paper to self - WRITE TO MY CIGARETTES - the next day I finished that song.

There is always something to write about. There just isn't always enough ink in the pen.
 
Some of the best threads are right in this section.

Writers block assumes that you are SUPPOSED to write something. Are you? Do you have a record coming out? Are you being summoned to write a song for a movie.

If you dont have a reason to write, dont. Take a few months off and start then, dont try to create spontaneity. The more you force things the worse your songs get.

Btw, I think knowing what to write about is what makes an artist great in the first place. Most people can write about whatever pops in their mind, the good ones can make it work too. But the great ones somehow know what it worth writing about, what people care about, what is relavent.

Try coming up with a concept for an album, with all the songs fitting the theme...it's tough! Very hard to do.

Anyway, better to be ready when inspiration strikes, than to try and create inspiration.

Watch the news, watch TV, read, read, read.
 
When I was younger , my 1st music teacher told me , " if you ever find your self at a road block in your writing, remember all songs lead back to one another, you can all ways a find a new song in one that has already been written.....so what I tell my students is, if you can't think of something new, try and rewrite your favorite song. the only original thing in music is you
 
Write about all the things you don't have going on in your life, your lack of social life, your lack of inspiration, what you would like to be doing, places you want to go etc etc.

Just one song called "If only" or something like that.
 
When I was younger and avid to write songs massively (like at least a couple ones a day) I never started with a theme or an idea. Instead I simply picked a sequence of two or three chords that seemed to sound OK for me and kept playing it in my guitar while I just mumbled random small phrases until I put out something that looked like cool as a first phrase for my lyrics. Then it was just a matter to follow the initial idea by putting words together and creating sentences with some impact and that gave the impression to have a connection with the initial idea. Funny is that after to finish the lyric, even I didn't have started from a solid idea the finished lyric always seemed to have some meaning. LoL.

However I don't think that this is a good method. It will 'work' if you have to compose a whole album in a week, but the songs will always ending to be like... 'meh'... that is the quality won't be there.

I don't do this way anymore since decades ago. Now I am strongly focused on the message I can pass with my lyrics. Fortunately it is kind of easy for me to have ideas and then start working with it however even the best writers (and I am not saying that I am one!) has their blackout seasons. My advice is that when you are running out of ideas don't try to write a song just because. Go do something else. Await for days or weeks until have the insight. Believe it or not sometimes your brain works better on a solution when you are NOT trying to find it. Suddenly you will have that bulb-lamp lighting over your head and you will yell 'heureka!'.

All in all, is preferrable to write one song that will be strong and nice and full of meaning than 10 that will be sound like a void. My experience has shown me that all of my crap songs ended abandoned.

Good luck!

:)
 
Whenever I have to write a song quickly for some purpose, I try some popular chord progression like I - vi - IV - V, vi - ii - V - I, etc... and then put on a nice melody so the lyrics come up.
 
In a matter of fact, you never should write a song when you don't have absolutelly nothing to write about. This is the same rule of thumb of keep quiet when you don't have something good to say. Actually it applies to everything... after all you aren't going to make the World better by just adding more crap to it.

:p
 
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