Songwriting comes naturally to some and is incredibly challenging for others. However, just like anything else, songwriting is a skill that can build with enough time, patience, and practice.
We’ll share some of the best songwriting tips for beginners and experienced musicians alike to build bangers below.
13 Unique Songwriting Tips To Take Your Music To Next Level
Consider these stellar songwriting tips and exercises for musicians the next time you set down for a session.
Just Get Started
Allow Yourself To Write Nonsense
Write With Other Artists
Keep It Simple
Sleep on It
Seek Out Feedback
Take Time To Critically Listen
Build Up Your Writing Muscles
Give Yourself Creative Constraints
Create In A New Way
Set A Time Limit
Work With Your References
Seek Out Musical Muses
1. Just Get Started
One of the most important songwriting tips for beginners is being brave enough to just get started. It isn’t easy to block out the nagging voices in your head but try your best to ignore any thoughts that may distract you, ranging from, “Why don’t I sound like this artist?” or “I can’t write a song!”.
If you get in your own way, you’ll never have the chance to enjoy the songwriting process and come out the other side with a finished track. Trust that the process will get easier once you commit to writing, and go for it! If you block out the excess noise, you’ll find that writing a song is a lot more simple than it may seem.
2. Allow Yourself To Write Nonsense
So many songwriters get caught up in constantly desiring to write a track with earth-shattering importance. This isn’t always possible. Also, some of the best songs have no true meaning to them at all!
It’s great to draw upon personal experience while writing music, but know that you don’t have to either. Opening up a stream consciousness can help you write more efficiently and effectively. Open up your voice memos app, press record, and see what comes out. You’ll be surprised how many ideas you can generate by letting yourself experiment.
3. Write With Other Artists
Collaborating with other artists can introduce you to new melodic and rhythmic ideas that you can build upon and add to your songwriting toolbox. It’s also standard practice throughout the music industry, so it’s worth getting a head start on.
If you don’t know anyone nearby who would be interested in playing together, don’t fret! You can find plenty of online collaborators through Reddit or Discord threads, or even start small with the TikTok duet or stitch features.
4. Keep It Simple
The best ideas are sometimes the least complex. Don’t get discouraged if you feel like your song’s subject or feel sounds a bit too cliche. Just keep writing! Remember that you don’t have to put yourself in a box, either. You could write one magnum opus and move onto a bubblegum pop song. Let your writing flow free!
5. Sleep On It
Ear fatigue is real. If you find yourself running into writer’s block or losing perspective on what sounds good and what isn’t working, stop your session. Come back tomorrow with a fresh set of ears. The key is to truly revisit your song and finish out the track, but allowing yourself a brief break if you need one is often best for the song and for you!
6. Seek Out Feedback
We get it; asking for feedback puts you in an incredibly vulnerable position. However, your feelings of vulnerability are going to become all the more common as you progress throughout your career, so you might as well get used to it.
More importantly, feedback helps you grow and opens up the door for you to connect with other artists in person or online. It’s also a great way to pilot new song ideas before selecting which demos will be transformed into a formal release.
7. Take Time To Critically Listen
In order to be an amazing songwriter, you need to be an avid music listener. Set aside time to really listen to your favorite songs and analyze what it is about those songs that you love so much. Is it the subject matter? The creative song structure?
Critically listening can help you train your ears as an artist and provide you with answers that you can take with you into your own creations.
8. Build Up Your Writing Muscles
Whether you’re a beginner songwriter or an experienced musician, remember that songwriting is like a muscle. The more you exercise it, the easier it will be to use. Regardless of what types of songs you’re writing, you need to consistently create.
Quantity can breed quality given enough time and focus. It might be helpful to set songwriting deadlines for yourself or ask another music friend to help keep you accountable.
9. Give Yourself Creative Constraints
Sometimes, endless possibilities can feel overwhelming. Make it committing to the first choice for your track. This could be selecting a rhyme scheme, opting for a chord progression, or choosing to include certain samples in your song. The first decision is always the hardest, so get that out of the way first.
10. Create In A New Way
Songwriting can be difficult because we can unintentionally corner ourselves into the same, monotonous creative processes. Allow yourself to make a song using a different process than what you’re used to. This could be working on the instrumental first, or opting for a new plugin like Controlla.
11. Set A Time Limit
If you work well with deadlines, set a timer the next time you sit down to write. Try to keep it under an hour if possible, and see how much you can get done within your predetermined window. Sometimes, simply having a limit can help us work more efficiently.
Should the timer run out and you still feel the need to write, keep going! If not, set a similar time limit the following day.
12. Work With Your References
You never want to flat out copy another artist’s work. However, you can certainly pull inspiration from a wide body of songs. If you find yourself getting stumped, take the song structure from one track and mix it with the rhythmic delivery of another. You’ll start to form your own ideas by mixing and matching those laid out by other artists.
13. Seek Out Musical Muses
To write excellent music, you need something that’s worth writing about. Sometimes, the best songwriting exercise is giving yourself time and space to experience the world around you. There are a myriad of musical muses if you take the time to observe them, and taking time off is essential for avoiding creative burnout as a musician.
Staying consistent as a creator, but you’ll want to do so in balance with enjoying other aspects of your life to better your well-being and music.
Whatever songwriting rituals get you to write are the perfect picks for you. Enjoy making music with these simple yet effective songwriting tips!