Introduction
The fact that you’re reading this article means that you are trying to become a better songwriter. If you already write songs or write music, this article would help you on your songwriting journey to write great songs.
Put yourself in one place.
You need to put yourself in one place.
You might be thinking, “But I’m constantly on the move.” Maybe you’re travelling for work and don’t have a place of residence. Maybe the idea of living somewhere for more than a few days makes you nervous about getting bored or unmotivated. All of these are valid concerns, but here’s what else is valid: your career as an artist depends on it!
If you want to be a better songwriter, then do whatever it takes to stay in one place for at least three months (preferably longer), preferably somewhere that feels safe and comfortable enough so that whenever inspiration strikes, instead of feeling distracted by some new sight or sound around the corner, all I’ve got to do is turn around and sit down at my desk again—with my guitar strapped on—and start playing.
Use your surroundings.
One of the best ways to stimulate your creativity is to use what you have around you as inspiration. Take a walk, sit on your porch, or visit an art gallery. You will be amazed at how much inspiration can come from simply using your environment as inspiration.
- Use everything around you as a source of inspiration:
- People
- Objects
- Weather conditions
Be objective with your work.
When it comes to your own work, you have a responsibility to be objective. It’s your job to identify what works and what doesn’t. If something isn’t working, don’t be afraid to make changes.
You need to be able to assess your own work with the same scrutiny as someone else looking at your songs would do—and this includes the ability to see when something is just not good enough yet.
Having an objective perspective on how people respond (or don’t respond) will help you understand where their criticism is coming from. Do they want more tension in that chorus hook? Are they confused by something going on in the verses? These are all questions that can only be answered by listening objectively—something which should also extend into collaborating with other writers as well!
Be open to new experiences and pay attention to them.
One of the best ways to become a better songwriter is to experience new things. Great songwriters are open to hear, feel and taste—and pay attention. It’s not enough just to have a general awareness of your surroundings; you need to focus on what you’re experiencing in the moment. That could mean noticing the texture of something (like how smooth it feels), or taking note of its colour or temperature. You could even be mindful about how loud something sounds—a dog barking, for example—or whether it has any particular smell attached to it. When I’m writing songs, I often find myself imagining how things look: The shape of an object might inspire me into thinking about other ways I might use that shape in my songwriting process! Is there anything around me right now that sparks an idea for a song or makes me want to sing along with someone else’s lyrics? That’s worth paying attention too!
Keep track of your ideas.
Keeping track of your ideas is essential to being a good songwriter. The best way to do this is by using a journal or notebook, but you can also use a computer, phone or voice recorder.
A journal can be anything from an old-fashioned paper one with just lined pages and a hard cover, to an iPad that automatically syncs everything up with the cloud so it’s accessible from anywhere in the world. You could even just use an app like Evernote on your phone if that’s all you have access to—as long as it works for you!
A notebook will allow for quick access when inspiration strikes without having to turn on your laptop or search through endless emails for that one idea you wrote down months ago. It also keeps all your work in one place where it doesn’t get lost among other papers on your desk or forgotten about because it’s buried somewhere deep inside another folder on your computer’s hard drive.
Start with a title.
The first thing you should do is come up with a title. This is not as simple as it sounds, so here are some tips to help you choose the best title for your song:
- Make sure the title fits with the tone and mood of your song. A good title can give listeners an idea about what kind of music they’re about to hear, which helps them decide whether or not they want to listen.
- Don’t try too hard! If people don’t understand what your song’s about right away, they’ll get bored before they even get past the first verse. The more straightforward and descriptive your title is, the better (but don’t be too vague).
- Stay away from puns and double entendres unless they’re really funny (or at least clever). They may make sense when someone says them out loud but most people won’t get it when reading them in print (especially online!).
Set some rules for yourself.
You may be surprised to learn that I’m not a huge fan of rules. I think they can be helpful, but only if they’re set up properly and followed thoughtfully.
For example, you might have a rule that says “I will never use the word ‘ummm’ or any other filler words when speaking with others. This is because these words are distracting and make it harder for people to hear what I’m saying.” If you follow this rule carefully and with intent, it can help keep your conversations more focused on what’s being said instead of how long it takes for each sentence to get out there in its entirety (which leads us back again). However, when we start adding more specific rules such as “I shouldn’t use filler words anymore,” things start opening up some Pandora’s boxes: What about other sounds? Is there anything else about my speech I should change? How much does my behavior need fixing before everything goes smoothly again? Who decides which changes are necessary for me personally (me) versus those that should come from someone else (everyone else)? Rules tend toward extremes: either breaking them entirely or obsessing over them so much that nothing gets done at all.#ENDWRITE
Make sure the parts fit together.
Good songwriting is like building a house, and the parts are like the bricks and mortar. If you have bricks that are made of straw, or mortar that’s too soft, then your house will crumble—no matter how hard you try to make it work. The same principle applies to writing music: if the parts don’t fit together harmonically, melodically and rhythmically (and in a key that works with your song), then the whole song will fall apart quickly.
Make the lyrics tell a story or paint a picture.
If you have a story to tell or a picture to paint, go ahead and tell it. The audience will thank you for telling them something they can relate to. If you don’t have anything to say, don’t force it—if the song is about something that happened in your life but doesn’t connect with any of the people listening, then chances are they’ll turn off the radio before they get halfway through listening to it. However, if there’s something personal and honest behind your lyrics, there’s no way anyone can resist wanting to hear more from this artist!
When writing lyrics I recommend using lots of imagery: “The moon shines above me / It’s light reflects off my face / And glimmers on my skin / Like stars in outer space.” This line tells listeners about what it feels like for someone who loves them (the moon) shining down on them (their face) with such intensity that their skin glows like stars in outer space.
Play around with melodies and added instruments.
The best way to become a better songwriter is to experiment with your music. This means you should try different instruments, melodies and chord progressions. You can also play around with the tempo, time signature, key or genre. By playing around with all of these things at once, you’ll start to see which ones work well together and which don’t work so well together.
Listen to your favorite songs, you’ll might get melody ideas that will help you in the creative process and you might learn more about song structure and how to write good songs.
Musical ideas usually comes from a reference, personal life stories might help you with lyric writing, these will help you write good songs.
Work on lyric diction and enunciation.
As a songwriter, it is important to use words that are easy to pronounce. If you have listeners who don’t know English well or speak a different language, you should use words that are easy for them to understand. When writing lyrics, think about how your audience will perceive them and what emotions they may evoke. Make sure your meaning is clear by using simple words and phrases that don’t require too much thought from the listener.
If there are difficult words in your lyrics, be careful not to overuse them or make them too prominent in the arrangement of the song. You can also try breaking up difficult-sounding sections with easier-to-understand sections (like repeating choruses) or even add parts where no vocals are sung at all (like instrumental breaks).
Use these tips to become a better songwriter!
- Use these tips to get you started. If you are serious about songwriting, keep these tips in mind, they will help you with your songwriting career. The tips are not just for songwriters; they’re also good advice for anyone who wants to improve their writing.
Once you have created your new hit song, submit it onto a music submission platform like One Submit, so your newly improved song can get the necessary exposure and promotion it deserves. By using the One Submit platform, you can submit and send your music to Spotify playlists, Youtube channels, Radio stations, TikTok influencers and more, all in one place!
Conclusion
Hopefully, this article has given you a few tips on how to become a better songwriter and help you with your songwriting skills. Whether it’s by using your surroundings or keeping track of ideas—or both!—remember that the most important thing is that you keep writing. The more we work at our craft, the better we become at it. So don’t be afraid to try new things out, experiment with different styles and genres, and never stop creating music!
© 2022, Tedfuel. All rights reserved.
