Songwriting Instruction – What to Write About?

So, you want to write a song but don’t know where to start or what to write about. Well, you’re not alone. Sitting there staring at a blank piece of paper or computer screen is something that happens to all of us. In this article, I’m going to give you a few ideas for coming up with things to write about. Hopefully, these tips will get you on your way to writing your first great song.

Do me a favor. Right now…turn on the radio. I don’t care what station it is. It can be rock, country, R&B, or easy listening for all I care. Just turn on the radio and wait until a song comes on. When it does, listen to the lyrics. Yeah, I know…a lot of songs have lyrics that are impossible to understand. This is especially true with speed metal. Anyway, listen to the lyrics. What is the singer singing about? Write down the general topic. After you’re done, pick another song and do the same thing. Keep doing this until you have a list of about 20 or 30 topics.

If you listen to enough songs, you will begin to see patterns. Over the 45 years that I’ve been listening to music, the categories that seem to pop up the most are love, hate, overcoming adversity, war, poverty, nostalgia, novelty songs, charity and giving to others, and some very obtuse themes that are quite hard to categorize. These main themes should give you plenty of ammunition to use for your songwriting arsenal.

But if listening to songs on the radio isn’t enough, go look at your own life. Certainly you’ve had experiences in your life. The older you are, the more experiences you’re sure to have had. Many times, a personal story, whether it’s sad, funny, or overcoming your own adversity, is going to be perfect material for a great song. As a matter of fact, some of the best songs ever written were written from personal experience. For example, Harry Chapin’s song “Taxi” was written loosely based from his personal experience at the United States Air Force Academy.

The key to coming up with an idea is to clear your mind and not censor yourself. Too many people say, “That’s a dumb idea” before they even give it a chance. Don’t do it! Let yourself be a kid again. Kids will say and do anything and not think about looking or acting stupid. As a songwriter, sometimes we have to do the same thing.

To YOUR Songwriting Success