Songwriting 101

Writing original music is scary, so scary in fact that it took me nine years of playing guitar to write a single song.  But no need to fear.  Songwriting can actually be a very casual process.  In this article, I’m going to be talking about some of the basics of songwriting that will help you get started. 

First things first, my name is Soleil Engin and I am the songwriter, lyricist, guitarist, and producer of the band Puddlejumper.  I have been writing music for the past three years.  I am FAR from considering myself a professional artist or anything even close to it.  I mostly just write music for fun because I find it to be an incredibly helpful emotional and artistic outlet.  

Record all your ideas

Yes all of them, no matter how stupid or seemingly irrelevant they might be.  Make the notes and voice memo apps your best friends, or just keep a pen and paper with you at all times.  Those little thoughts and melodies that pop into your head in the shower or right before you fall asleep all add up to something.  I’ve literally written lyrics in line at the grocery store before.  By storing up all your little ideas, you might just end up with an entire song before you know it.  

Don’t try to sound like other artists

This is not to say that artistic influences are bad.  We are all influenced by others’ art, music, aesthetic, etc on a daily basis and this can inspire wonderful creations.  My point here is simply that you should avoid trying to specifically sound like another artist by copying their musical style.  The primary reason for this is that you probably will never sound just like them, and that should not be perceived as a failure.  Instead, take their influence and channel it through your own experiences and creativity to find your own sound.

Experiment

With different instruments, sounds, melodies, chord progressions, lyrics, anything.  Things rarely ever just fall into place on the first try.  Remember all those recordings and notes you stored up?  Spend some time seeing if and how they fit together.  Make adaptations as necessary.  Maybe you’ll end up writing music for lyrics you found in your notes.  Maybe you’ll end up writing new lyrics for the recordings.  Spend some time messing around with the pieces you’ve created and fill in the blanks where needed.  

Be patient

The first song you ever write probably is not going to be your best, sorry.  Remember to be patient with yourself.  Everything takes practice.  Just stick with it and your songs will get better over time, I promise.  In addition to just generally getting better, you will find your sound and after that most everything will feel smoother.  

Get others’ opinion

Every time I finish a song, I send it to about six of my closest friends.  Some of them are musicians, some of them are not.  I ask them all for their feedback.  While it can be really intimidating to share your art with others, especially in its early stages, it can also be a really helpful guide.  They might even recommend additions you had not thought of that move your creative process along.  Try and find someone or multiple people to be a sounding board for your creations.  This can even turn into a fun songwriting club sort of thing for sharing and receiving feedback on songs.  

Work hard, but don’t force it

The more songs you write, the better the likelihood that at least one of them will be great.  That being said, there’s also a pretty significant chance you’ll entirely burn yourself out.  Try to work on songwriting as much as you can, but also listen to your creative side.  If you really just aren’t feeling creative one day, don’t push it.  Again, just gathering the little snippets will help make up for this difference.  

There is no “correct order”

Some people like to write lyrics first (me), some people like to write instrumentals first, some people like to write them together.  There is no correct order.  Do whatever feels natural to you.  

 Write songs just for yourself

While others’ feedback can be really helpful in improving your skills as a songwriter--especially if your goal is to release music--it is also equally important for songwriting to be a casual, enjoyable, and healing process.  So, be sure to write songs just for yourself and just for fun too.  

Inspiration is everywhere

Make a playlist of inspiring songs, watch a movie, go on a walk, have a conversation, read a book… the possibilities are endless!

You might hate listening to your songs and that is ok

Truth be told, I hate listening to my music.  By the time, I’ve finished writing a song, I’ve had to listen to it so many times I am absolutely sick of it.  It usually takes me months to actually go back and listen after I am done with producing it.  This doesn’t mean the song is bad, but just that I’ve been listening to it too much.  Give yourself time and space away from your music and revisit them when it feels right in order to give yourself the benefit of the doubt.  If your song starts to sound bad, it might just be because you’ve been listening to it too much.