Doing something ten thousand times is the only way to become a master. But what about your ten thousand and tenth try? Let’s face it: practice may make perfect, but it can also make things feel stale. That applies to all things in life, whether it be your daily running routine or your songwriting.
But don’t worry: if your muse to write is starting to run dry, we’ve got you covered. Here are five ways to freshen up your songwriting:
1. Switch up what you’re listening to
This one may seem a little obvious. If you’re one of the songwriters out there who only listens to the kind of music they write, try switching it up and finding some new music to listen to.
After all, new music often has new elements you may have never thought of trying, whether that be in the production, the vocal styling, or the writing itself. With ubiquitous streaming these days, finding a new playlist on your favorite service or taking a listen to the artist your friend recommended weeks ago is easier than ever. And who knows, you may discover your new favorite song or artist in the process of re-inspiring yourself.
2. Try a new genre
Similarly, or perhaps adding onto the previous suggestion, why not try your hand at writing a song in a different genre?
This may be easier said than done, but don’t worry: music has no rules, and genre has no boundaries – therefore you can write the song in a way that still suits your individual writing style. Exploring these new genres will help freshen up your ear and instincts, giving you more musical ideas to play with and perhaps giving you permission to try things you wouldn’t have previously explored.
It’s worth noting that songs don’t always have to be released – writing just to reinspire your songwriting is important too. So why not get creative with it and try some songwriting in styles you’ve never tried before? In the process you may create something beautifully unique and new to you.
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3. Write from a new perspective
Sometimes feeling like your writing is getting stale has a lot more to do with your real life. Now, we’re not saying your life is stale by any means, but you don’t always have inspiration to write from it. And that’s okay!
On days like these, try writing a song about someone else’s life, be that a friend, that character from the television show you just binged, or even a story from the news.
Sometimes all you need to freshen up your writing is to freshen up your perspective by storytelling from another point of view. So why not try your hand at it?
4. Write for another artist
If you usually write for yourself, songwriting for other musicians can be a freeing experience. Especially if your own writing is beginning to feel uninspired.
So why not write for somebody else? Pick out your favorite artist, and try to write a song that sounds like something they would perform. Or even reach out to your artist friends and set up a session to collaborate with them. This will give you another shift in perspective that will hopefully open up a whole new world of fresh ideas, melodies, arrangements, and instrumentation.
And since the songwriting industry in itself is run on co-writing more often than not, it’s a good practice to develop if you want to make sure fresh ideas are always flowing. Especially since collaborations offer you at least twice the brain power to come up with new ideas.
5. Try a writing game
Last but not least, you can find incredible new ideas through playing writing games. Nothing freshens up the flow of ideas like not giving yourself time to overthink. Set a timer and brainstorm around a concept word for a minute. Make a flow-chart of all the ideas. Or even challenge yourself to get a whole song done in ten minutes. Pick a word at random to write about. Or a character. Or a vibe.
Really, there are all kinds of writing games that can inspire and change your writing by allowing you to think outside of your usual box. Try it out!
Remember: it’s completely normal to feel that your writing’s getting stale every now and again. After all, all the hours and hours of practice and draining your inspiration on a daily basis can’t always nurture the coolest new ideas. But, luckily, there are a lot of ways to freshen up your songwriting. If we missed any great ideas, let us know! We’d love to add to the list and continue helping each other find new ways to create new fresh ideas.
And as always, remember to have fun. Songwriting is made up of passion, emotion, and your stories. Even on your best days, or your worst ones, there’s always a better song in you waiting to come out.
Happy writing.
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Sammy Hakim is an up and coming young songwriter based in Los Angeles. In May 2018 she graduated from Berklee College of Music with a Major in songwriting and a focus in music business. These days she spends most of her time in songwriting sessions with artists all over the country.
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