Great songwriters seem to have an infinite well of ideas and
inspiration which never dries up. Just how do they manage this?
How is it that they resonate and connect with their audience
over and over? Perhaps they have some mysterious bag of
songwriting techniques which they use again and again. Perhaps
they are just born talented!

Successful songwriters usually tap into every day topics,
coming from a different perspective for each new song. By doing
this, the songwriter ensures their listeners stay entertained
and engaged via the familiarity of an old subject presented with
a new and fresh treatment.

One wonders just exactly how songwriters can achieve this.
Exactly what techniques do these songwriters use to keep
producing new and creatively fresh material? There are many
songwriters and many songwriting techniques, but here are just a
few which can help to keep the flow of ideas and inspiration
coming. Try them!

1. Keep a digital recorder and/or notebook with you at all
times. It's impossible to predict when inspiration will strike,
or a new melody might come to you.

2. Make time to jam with others. Getting songs ready for a jam
session can help creativity and song fluency.

3. Practice singing harmony. As a songwriter, one of the best
skills that you can develop is to sing harmony on the fly. By
singing harmony on the fly you are really "composing".

4. Listen to lots of different music. Listening to other
writers' music can give creativity a real jump start. The
subconscious can pick up riffs, nuances and tone which can help
a writer to write much more fluently.

5. Don't censor yourself. If you have a strange or unusual idea
for a song, use it and keep going with the song. You can change
it later if you still don't like it.

6. Get inspiration from everywhere. Many writers have been
inspired by great works of fiction or art. (remember Mona Lisa
and Wuthering Heights?). Another source of inspiration for
starting songs can be the titles used in magazine articles,
which are often short and snappy.

7. Find supporters. Writing music is very personal and
difficult to produce without positive feedback. Having friends
who really enjoy your music and provide encouragement helps to
keep you motivated and inspired.

8. Use poetry. Challenging yourself to produce poetry can
really help with writing lyrics for your songs. Take existing
poems or bible verses and write melodies for them. Tuning in to
others' imagination through reading can also assist with
imagination and so improve lyric writing ability.

9. Think in multiple lines of instrumentation. When music is
going through your head, try to stretch your composition ability
by thinking in multiple lines of music. This is not easy, but
the more lines of instrumentation you can hold in your mind, the
better you will be able to compose.

10. Practice writing music on the fly. Improvise melodies while
alternating between two chords of accompaniment. Use the left
hand to alternate between two chords, and the right hand to
improvise melodies.

It is easy to discount a popular and easily understood song as
“not creatively sound”. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Music and lyrics are a very subjective thing, and everyone is
different. Your least favorite song could be somebody else's all
time favorite.

So the moral of this story is, don't ever suppress your
artistic and creative instinct. Perhaps some of the songwriting
techniques you are reading today could just make the difference.
And never forget that there are people out there waiting to hear
your songs!