by Gary Ewer, from “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” website:
For songwriters who are serious about writing, it’s not just the quality of the songs that’s important, but the number of quality songs they can churn out. While acknowledging that more doesn’t mean anything when it comes to quality, it’s good to be more than a one-hit wonder.
Here are some tips for increasing the number of songs you write, while hopefully ensuring that the quality remains high:
- Don’t stick to one songwriting formula. If you write a successful song that began with a catchy chord progression, try starting the next song by focusing on a melodic hook or motif. Changing the formula in this way keeps songs feeling fresh rather than simply a new version of an old tune.
- Listen to musical genres that you don’t normally listen to. You’d be surprised what it will do. For example, listening to jazz if country music is your thing is a great way to become acquainted with chords and melodic shapes you may not encounter in your regular listening.
- Keep everything you write down. If you come up with a great little hook, but don’t have a song for it, keep it. You’ll start to find that several of these little bits will go together, and voilà… a new song.
- Set aside a specified time every (or almost every) day.Let that time be writing time, and stick to it. Regular writing time is a crucial part of becoming a disciplined writer, and most writers with problems, like writer’s block, etc., simply need that kind of discipline.
Those points aside, don’t get hung up on quantity. It’s nice when the songs just flow out of you, but don’t let it wreck your day if you sit down to write and it just doesn’t happen. And remember, even if what you come up with doesn’t seem to measure up on the quality scale, keep it. You’ll likely find yourself subconsciously modifying it over time, and what you’ve written will eventually make it into one of your new songs.
FREE OFFER: Gary’s newest e-book, “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting- Chord Progression Formulas” is being offered for free when you purchase any other of his songwriting e-books. Read more..