Share a songwriting tip/trick/technique.

[Nicole_Rose]

I don't see a lot of discussion of the actual craft of songwriting in this forum. i thought i'd start one. share a tip or a trick or a technique. if you have lot's to share, go right ahead.

my trick to share:

i like to write a bit like a storyteller sometimes. but i've found that it's very easy to get sidetracked and try to write too much detail about the story i'm trying to tell. my trick is to focus on one aspect of the story and tell it from that perspective. i find it simplifies matters.

ie: the story in "baby i saw you" was much more involved than what is seen in the song, but i focused on writing about how i felt at the time and i only touched on the parts of the story that related to that.

 

[azraelswings]

Write frequently. Try to force ideas out of yourself. Not to the point of forcing entire songs, but sitting down to write can often prompt some great stuff.

 

[djhead]

sit in a dark corner, and write about how you getting cut from the J.V. track team made you feel. Drink Jones Soda and whine about how emo is more than just music, its a way of life.

You'll be a success in no time

 

[mikeh]

Try to write something every day. It can be easy to write when the muse hits - but to write even when it's not flowing - that is where you start to develop skill.

Learn the value of re-writes. While all writers must at some point learn to accept when it's "done", the process of re-writing is where you turn a frame into a solid structure.

When writing melody lines, don't limit yourself to only that range you can sing. Good singers can cover several octaves, average singers can cover maybe 1.5 octaves. If you limit the melodic range to only what you can sing, you limit the potential of the melody.

Keep very aware of perspective. Many novice writers move from 1st party to 3rd party, etc. which is very poor form.

If you are looking to be a writer (vs. an artist) try to write with an artist in mind. Who do you hope to "pitch" your songs to?? Obviously this is limited to the genre you are most suited to, but writing with an specific artist in mind, can really keep you focused.

 

[fraserhutch]

KISS, always KISS.

 

[Monkey Allen]

Write in big long rambling sentences, filling the whole page. Then go back through and pick phrases.

Either that of get high on lithium, grip a pen in each hand and foot

 

[bloomboy]

figure out exactly what you want to say with a song and then try and find the simplest possible way to say it without being direct.

 

[J.C. Scott]

An extremely effective visualization technique is to try and imagine what an awesome new song by your favorite artist would sound like. Start with a feeling, and let that feeling dictate what bubbles to the surface in your mind.

 

[Arrowhen]

If the verses are concrete, make the chorus abstract, or vice versa.

 

[Ced]

Personnaly, I write some lyrics every time I'm lying in bed unable to sleep. I can get very good sentences/ideas by this time.
I try to be the more metaphorical I can so that only me know what I'm talking about. Proceeding that way, everyone can make their idea on what the song is about.

Ced

 

[TheTrickster]

Watch a movie with sound off. Describe loosely what you see. Pick the best lines afterwards, work with them.

Watch documentaries, read books. Turn off the TV.

 

[fraserhutch]

How the hell do you watch a movie or a documentary with the tv turned off?

Watch a movie with sound off. Describe loosely what you see. Pick the best lines afterwards, work with them.

Watch documentaries, read books. Turn off the TV.

 

[Arrowhen]

How the hell do you watch a movie or a documentary with the tv turned off?

That's the best way; your brain comes up with all sorts of ideas just to escape from the monotony of staring at a blank screen.

 

[scrubs]

Personnaly, I write some lyrics every time I'm lying in bed unable to sleep. I can get very good sentences/ideas by this time.
I try to be the more metaphorical I can so that only me know what I'm talking about. Proceeding that way, everyone can make their idea on what the song is about.

Ced

Similarly -- Keep a pen and paper next to your bed.

 

[Ced]

Similarly -- Keep a pen and paper next to your bed.

It helps yeah

 

[Dogman]

Have fun....

 

[Nicole_Rose]

It helps yeah

my friend Rick is a prolific writer. amazing talent with words. He keeps a little note taking tape recorder with him at all times. if he's driving down the highway he can get an idea and have it preserved on tape the moment it occurs. i should do that cause i forget more ideas in one day than i write down in a week lol.

 

[Ced]

my friend Rick is a prolific writer. amazing talent with words. He keeps a little note taking tape recorder with him at all times. if he's driving down the highway he can get an idea and have it preserved on tape the moment it occurs. i should do that cause i forget more ideas in one day than i write down in a week lol.

That is really a good idea. I was about to buy one 3 months before.. but I forgot
now that you remind me that.. I will buy one toniiiiight

 

[Emusic]

masterwriter.com
--------------------------------
It's a fantastic tool for my songs lyrics.
I've been using it for a long time.
Its great for coming up with rhymes or rhymed phrases and a lot more. Off from these suggestions ideas can easily spin off into new ideas.
I'm not a masterwriter employee or something. I just love the tool and what it can help me with if I'm stuck somewhere.
Truly; its a great tool.

 

[Nicole_Rose]

masterwriter.com
--------------------------------
It's a fantastic tool for my songs lyrics.
I've been using it for a long time.
Its great for coming up with rhymes or rhymed phrases and a lot more. Off from these suggestions ideas can easily spin off into new ideas.
I'm not a masterwriter employee or something. I just love the tool and what it can help me with if I'm stuck somewhere.
Truly; its a great tool.

automated song writing? the idea of it makes me queasy.