Writing songs is not always easy. Some would argue that it’s never easy, but you get such a great feeling from completing one that it makes the task worth it, and you want to do it again.
That makes sense, because when something gives you a challenge, and you finally succeed, you get what might be called an “endorphin rush” — a pleasant feeling caused by chemicals created naturally within your body as a stress response. That rush makes the stress of getting a song written worth it, and you want to experience it again.
But there’s a potential problem that relates to songwriting and the endorphin rush, which is that you might try to replicate the previous songwriting experience so that you get that feeling again. In other words, there’s a natural tendency to apply the same songwriting process to your next song, because you know that process has worked for you once before.
So (and this usually comes about subconsciously) you start your next song by strumming your guitar in the same way as before, and then other things start to get replicated:
- You might use the same song form (verse-chorus-bridge) that you used before.
- You might sing — even just approximately — about the same things: your love life that went bad, or the friend who doesn’t call you anymore.
- You might use the same chords as the last song.
- You might rely on a similar kind of lyrical imagery as the song you’ve just finished.
As I say, most of the time this happens subconsciously; you don’t usually mean to give the world the same song in a slightly different format.
Music and Muscle Memory
When we do something physical, like playing a guitar, we rely on muscle memory as an important part of getting our fingers to do what they’re supposed to do. That’s usually a good thing.
But in songwriting, there is a kind of musical/mental muscle memory that causes us to make the same decisions we’ve made before, as an automatic response to problem solving. And that’s usually not a good thing.
The quick solution is simply to say that you need to change up your songwriting process once you’ve written something successful, to ensure that you don’t simply try to copy your previous success. It’s not so easy though. But here are some things to consider as you work out your next song, trying to make sure you don’t fall into the trap that musical muscle memory lays for us:
- Choose a different key or set of chords than the ones you used in your previous song.
- Keep a list of potential song topics, and choose something as different as possible from your last tune.
- Think about your new song’s form, and see if there’s a way to change things up: for example, you might perhaps start with the chorus, or write an instrumental.
- Consider a completely different instrumentation. The Beatles did this a lot, especially in their mid- to late-period songs, adding sitar, string quartet, harp, oboe, etc.
- Think about ways to use a different time signature. Most songs use 4/4 (also called ‘common time’), but 3/4, like the verses of “Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds”, or a combination of different ones, like Peter Gabriel’s “Solsbury Hill”, which is written in 7/4, which comes about by combining 3/4 with 4/4, can go a long way to pushing your songwriting process in new directions.
The obvious problem that comes from too much similarity between your songs is that your fans will feel that they already know what your new song is going to sound like before they even hear it, and that’s the start of losing your fan base.
Most of the time, combating muscle memory starts with making conscious decisions about what you’re going to do to make your next song different. By learning to use different processes, your fans will come to know that you’ve got a very creative approach, and they’ll be interested in what your next song will sound like.
Written by Gary Ewer. Follow Gary on Twitter
Thousands of songwriters are using “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” eBook bundle to polish their songwriting technique. Every aspect of how to make a song better is covered. Stop wasting time — take your songwriting technique to a new level TODAY. Ten eBooks, plus a free one: $37 USD (Immediate download).