Song-writing gives musicians the ability to express themselves through their lyrics - but it can be tricky. Here are some of our best tips.
For many artists, creating musical content, like song-writing, is the essence of making artistic magic.
It is the bread and butter for all things music! If an artist is venturing into the pop music world, writing a song with a catchy melody and interesting lyrics can be challenging.
However, song-writing is a constantly difficult task even for well-experienced musicians as they interact with the demon artist’s all despised ‘writer’s block’.
Writer’s block is a condition in which an author or songwriter is unable to create new work due to a creative shutdown.
Although scary in design, many artistically creative individuals go through this at some point in their careers. So, here are six quick tips on handling writer’s block and song-writing.
Getting Started With Song-writing
The hardest part of any song-writing endeavour is simply getting started. For me, channelling all my creative energy into a song can be a bit overwhelming.
I start by developing the song’s main melody line (whether it be instrumentally or lyrically) More often than not, the chorus seems to pop into my head much easier, as I can then build a structure surrounding the central part of the material.
Some artists prefer to start from the beginning of the song and bake the delicious musical cuisine step by step.
Even depending on which way an artist decides how to write their material, patience needs to be the main ingredient.
Lyrics
I am a very strong lyricist in which the lyrics outweigh the vocals at some points in my music.
Lyrics are the most important aspect of the song, as it is the words that will stick to the listener’s mind and find relatable features within them.
Having a clear idea of what the song will be about, is a very good start to creating musical content.
I am a sucker for heartbreak and sad music, so I usually tend to break down the different and realistic parts of relationships and love through song.
If mainstream pop music is your goal of creation, a strong lyrical hook such as “Love will make you stronger” or “Kill me with kindness” is very important while the verses and bridge can be created around that key element.
Record Anything
It’s important to understand that recording music is separate artistry. Many artists are amazing through live performances, yet freeze up during any opportunity to record material.
It’s a common pressure an artist creates, and overtime a skill an artist can develop.
In terms of song-writing, it is always important to simply record any inspiration you find.
If you are an iPhone user such as myself, the voice memo app should become your best friend.
From more than hours of 10-second material, my voice memo has been an important part of developing ideas for songs, hooks, or collaborations.
Experience Matters
The truth is that music listeners want to relate to the music they listen to. That is a huge factor as to why they gravitate to various artists or genres.
In some way, shape, or form the material created by the artist helped them in time of need or lent amazing vibes that later formed memories.
Relatability is essential for creating content and it’s not hard to tap into creatively.
Putting the artist’s feeling into a form of song also develops as a therapeutic process and is the best form of release for artists everywhere.
Take Breaks
To avoid writer’s block, the artist must take breaks to ease their mind from the halting of creative juices flowing. In many situations, song-writers do not need a timer and can take all the time in the world to create a song.
Whenever, an artist feels stuck or trapped over one section of the song, or the material in general, they would be amazed at how crucial taking a break would make on the successful creation of new projects.
Don’t Overthink
Song-writers and musicians tend to be consumed by their negative thoughts. We can’t help it, we are emotional beings!
However, artists can truly be their own worst critics. I have known many talented artists who yet to release musical content out of fear that the songs won’t be good enough.
Unfortunately, they realise that much of their fear hindered them from creating valuable opportunities for themselves.
When creating bodies of work, I tend to send a rough version to 2-3 people with very different backgrounds.
One person may not have a creative bone in their body (non-musician), another person who is knowledgeable of music and or music production (musician), and someone who doesn’t know me at all (random potential listener).
From there, I make the changes and process the feedback, and ‘BAM’, the song is ready to be finalised and sent out to the world.
It’s important to know that some people are guaranteed not to like your material, but there are plenty of other people that will enjoy it!
Some people mastering song-writing won big at the Grammy’s last week. We took a look at one of the biggest nights in music.
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