An object writing exercise is one of the easiest ways to keep song ideas flowing and find new ideas. Inspiration is sometimes a hard thing to come by. This writing exercise will help move things along, by challenging you from a few unconventional sources – a dictionary and photos (not yours). Dictionary Exercise STEP 1 – Pick up a dictionary or thesaurus (or head online).  Randomly choose a word, or a few words, and an image from your photos or off Google images. STEP 2 – What do they mean for you? Do they remind you of something, someone, a memory? STEP 3 – Start writing whatever comes i ..read more

Transforming poems into songs sounds like something that’s pretty easy to do. After all, the words are there. The rhyme is there. The meter is there. All you have to do is add the music! But the challenge is in creating something accessible to a listener that comes at them in a song’s structure. Ultimately, they shouldn’t be able to tell it was a poem. Transform Poems Into Songs: Getting Started  Choose Your Poem Try and choose a poem with a “form” rather than a free verse poem. Free verse usually lacks end rhyme, and there’s not a pattern to the meter, line count within a stanza (verse ..read more

Stuck with a blank page and nothing is really inspiring you? Use the ghost song process. Start with a song you like and build a new one! Ghost song writing is a type of songwriting exercise that can move you into a new song, and sometimes a new sound that’s very different from the songs you normally write. The main idea is that you start with a known song and start changing it incrementally, using the original as the template to get your writing in motion. The key here is changing it.  You cannot keep any of the lyric or the melody line.  That would be copyright infringement. Ghost s ..read more

Master of Becoming the Other! Becoming the other is a true form of transformation. Not only is Suzanne Vega’s ‘Small Blue Thing’ one of my favorite songs, it is the master class for songwriters who want to write from the perspective of someone – or something – else.  I first heard it in 1985 playing through the mid-quality speakers of a boom box in a small record store.  It was on her debut album. I stayed until the last song, bought the cassette tape, and didn’t remove it from my car stereo for at least 6 months (yes . . . I made cassette copies for in-home use and friends – but we ..read more

Object writing is one of the best ways to learn how to write great lyrics full of imagery – quickly. It’s also a way to create ideas in your songwriting notebook for those days when inspiration is hard to come by. To help move things along, try challenging yourself with an unconventional source – objects around you. Object writing is really about finding a moment or message by using objects around you. To be honest, you’ve probably already done it a time or two, but didn’t realize it. For an example: you see an old wooden sign on a shop that reminds you of where you used to vacation as a kid ..read more

A progression is basically the chord series or the chords you choose to use and their order. If you’re just starting out, using some common chord progressions as your starting point can help get you past the blank page. Here’s a trick to keep up your sleeve for when you start getting into theory a bit more.  All major scales follow the same pattern:  W-W-H-W-W-W-H where “W” is “Whole note” and “H” is a “Half note” – or “W2HW3H” as I like to remember it!  And, to make sure you always have plenty of chords handy, use this free chord grid: Guitar Keys And Chords Cheat Sheet EZ ..read more

Cliche phrases can be a great song prompt starter. Whether you’re using in a song, or as your hook line, they can help you create interesting new songs that challenge you to come up with new song ideas. The trick is to give it a twist by changing a word, using it in a way in a line, or taking a new perspective on the cliche by framing it in a unique way. We’ll give you a list of cliches so you can write a song today (or at least get an idea in your notebook), and give you examples of cliches done well. What’s A Cliche? According to Dictionary.com, a cliche is a trite, stereotyped expression; a ..read more

A song prompt is a starter. It’s a way to get to a song by assigning yourself a specific focus. The benefit of a prompt is that you’ve got a way to keep writing songs even when you may not feel particularly inspired. That way, when inspiration does hit, you’ve practiced so many times you’ve got the tools to make your inspired idea shine! They also keep you from writing the same old song ideas: love, loss, regret, happy beer mug raisers, etc.  They get you onto a different path every now and again. Who knows, something surprising may happen! As an example, Nanci Griffith’s “Love At Th ..read more

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