If you are only just joining us in this song writing series, you might want to go check out part 1, part 2 and part 3. Otherwise you might get a little lost.
I was inspired to write my second song while watching Nashville. I’m not usually a big fan of country songs but I especially liked “If I Didn’t Know Better” which Gunner made into a song from poems that Scarlet had written. The best inspiration for song writing is listening critically to songs from your favourite bands and artists. Make note of things you like and look at how they have structured their songs. I wanted to do something creative and productive but was feeling a little lazy so I looked through my old poetry book for inspiration and found a love poem I had written a few years ago. I thought that I’d give it a crack at putting it to music.
This process went a lot faster than my first song. Partly because I already had most of the lyrics written but I think I’m getting a little better at the song writing process too. So if you are a bit of a poet like me you could try putting some of your old poems to music or instead of starting out trying to write a song, start out with the mindset of just writing a poem. It might help the creative juices flow easier.
After writing this love song, which was about an old boyfriend and doesn’t really fit with my now husband, I felt like I had to write a love song about my hubby too. Especially since it was the weekend of our having been together for 5 years and the weekend before Valentines Day. This time I started on Garage band with some drum and synth loops that reminded me of him. They inspired a melody, which I then wrote lyrics to.
Garage band is great for getting inspiration with all the apple loops it has but try not to use too many of them in the final product. They have been used many times before and are easily recognisable to anyone who owns the program.
Three different processes but all have resulted in decent songs. This leads me to believe that there is really no right or wrong way to write a song. Just use any process that gets you there in the end. Since writing this series I have realised that song writing is so extensive that I could never mention everything there was to know in just 4 parts. There will always be more information and resources that are handy to know. But I hope this has given you all some inspiration on starting to write your first songs.
If anyone out there has any good tips or resources they’d like to share with me, I’d be very grateful. I’d also really love to collaborate with others. So if anyone is interested in writing together I encourage you to message me. This is just a hobby for me. I don’t really intend on becoming famous (even if I was that talented). So if you want to join the fun with me let me know.
