How To Get Inspiration For A Song: Starting A Track
Hello everyone! I got a lot of questions about this last month. A few of you have reached out asking about writer's block and how to move past it. Figured I’d put together a few tips for you all!
Before we start, I think it’s important to note that writing is a process, and that it takes time; and, that there’s no such thing as a bad writing session. There are going to be days where you sit down to write a song, and it all pours out in a few hours. There are going to be other days where you sit down to write, and words just don’t seem to flow that day. You may walk away with a few key phrases or concepts, and that’s completely fine! So, with that said, let’s get into some of my go to tips for finding writing inspiration!
1. Listen. Listen. Listen.
You’ve heard me say it multiple times, and I’m going to say it again!
Listen!
It’s so important to take time to listen to music you enjoy, and to music you may not enjoy. Just like learning in school, you’ll get a lot out of spending 5-10 minutes a day critically listening to songs. You’ll find a lot of cool ideas that you probably didn’t hear the first time. This is my first go-to tactic for finding inspiration when creating a track. Usually I’ll pull up a “study” playlist of songs I’ve heard in the car and wanted to take a deeper dive into. I’ll usually get a few good ideas from there to kickstart my own writing ideas!
The second listening tactic you can try is to look up some of your favorite artists and find where their inspirations came from. Good examples of this are Billie Eilish and Sevdaliza. Tracing music inspiration backwards is a great way to find sources to draw from.
2. Get Into Your Feels.
Like I mentioned in the beginning of this blog post, writing takes time. You may be coming from a great session where an entire song or track was completed in 2-3 hours, and now you’re struggling to get even a sentence out. That’s very common! When this happens, take a step back, and let yourself get into your feelings a bit. It’s difficult to write a song when you’re not feeling it. If you’re writing an emotional song, take some time to get into that mood. If you’re writing a hype track, do something to get into that mood! Regardless, let yourself feel your feelings!
3. Change Your Method.
My go-to method when writing songs is to pull up a Google doc and write my lyrics and notes in there. Sometimes that doesn’t work. If I ever find myself just staring at my computer screen, I take that as a sign that I need to change up my method. I keep a journal close to my desk for this very reason. Sometimes getting out a pen and feeling the process of putting ink on paper helps me organize my thoughts. It feels slower, and lets me get into the writing process. Similar to the last tip, set the mood. Light some candles, change the colors on those Philips Hue lights you spent way too much money on last year. Get yourself into a creative place!
The other method I find helpful is to change my writing goal. Instead of getting out a full topline or track idea, I’ll string together a couple of thoughts instead. A journal page full of lyrics ideas or phrases. A couple drop ideas. A couple groove ideas. etc.
4. Do Something Passive
A lot of times we end up being studio hermits. We stay in our studios all day or all night trying to get our ideas out, and the environment becomes stale. What once was an exciting place to create has become an office and it’s quite hard to draw inspiration when that happens. Whenever I feel like the walls in my studio are closing in on me, I try to go for a walk or a drive. Maybe I’ll go find a new coffee spot or grab a sandwich from the nearest cafe and let my mind wander a bit. Usually that helps me come up with fresh ideas.
Another thing that helps is keeping a white board in your shower. It’s a bit unconventional, but some of my best ideas seem to come to me in the shower, and if I don’t immediately grab a voice note or write down the lyrics, they leave and I can’t recreate them. It’s helpful to have tools nearby to write down thoughts as they arrive! One time I had a bunch of dollar store journals and pencils scattered about my home just so I could write down any ideas I had while going about my day.
5. Go to a Concert.
When’s the last time you went to see music performed live? Not just a recording of a performance on Instagram or YouTube. But, a full in-person concert? I find that going to see some of my favorite artists in person is something that helps ignite new inspiration. Granted, that can be hard at times. You may not be able to go see a show at the moment, or some sort of last minute emergency comes up. That happens, and it’s totally fine! Even seeing a singer songwriter at a local coffee shop helps! This is just one tip that helps me out!
6. Collaborate With Another Artist or Producer
My last go-to tactic for overcoming writing block is to partner up with another creative. Often times, we experience blocks in different places, and the person you write with may not have the same blocks you have! They’ll most likely be able to bring a new perspective to your writing. Even just being in the room with another creative can help. Once I asked my friend if I could sit in her studio while she was painting, and try sketching out a few beats on my laptop. The change of environment coupled with the creative energy in the room helped a lot!
Anyways, that’s all I got for you today! Hope these ideas help you out!
Spike
P.S. Want another take? I wrote a post about getting out of a creative rut last year. Check it out here!