Listening to different music
Even if you intend to write a song in the genre of modern pop, it can often be beneficial to listen to music in a wide range of other genres. This may generate some great ideas and music you would never usually listen to might just inspire a new piece. Listening to different music can also introduce you to different songwriting techniques which you can incorporate into your own songwriting process.
While it is important to listen to music in other genres, it is also just as important to listen to a lot of songs within the specific genre you aim to write in. This is because there may be certain structure patterns that are used quite frequently and therefore will become a great base to start your song with. Taking inspiration from songs’ instrumentation can also help to generate more ideas and start to give you a rough idea of what may or may not be successful when putting down the basics within a piece.
Coming up with ideas
Many musicians will have a lot of ideas, but putting the ideas together is the tricky part. It is important that you still keep ideas available even if you don’t necessarily know how to use them. For example, you may be working on a song and come up with an idea which doesn’t really work with that particular piece of music. However, it is useful to keep the idea (whether that be lyrics noted down or a chord progression recorded into your camera roll) as it may become useful later on, and might just be the missing piece for a song you’re creating later on.
If you’re really struggling to come up with an initial idea, try the process in reverse. Typically you would think of a chord progression to use in a piece and then build on that, but you could also try writing some lyrics first and building around that, or even coming up with a melody which you can then put chords to. Finding a way which works for you personally will make the process a lot easier.
Don’t try and over-complicate everything. There are many successful songs which are musically very simple but very catchy. You don’t need a huge amount of instrumentation to create a great song. There are people who may prefer a complicated song, but there are also many people who enjoy the simplicity of music.
Lyrics
When writing lyrics, it is better to write them from personal experiences. (Music, 2018) This makes the song seem more genuine. Creating a story within the song is also very important. It can make listeners feel as though they are directly involved in a situation and make them more likely to relate to the song. However, also try to keep the lyrics open to interpretation; people love looking for different ways to interpret lyrics, as it means different people can relate to the song in different ways.
Feedback
Don’t be afraid of feedback! A set of fresh ears can often be extremely beneficial when writing songs. They can point out things you didn’t notice when in the initial songwriting stage, and provide constructive criticism on ideas which can help improve the song. (Music, 2018)