In this series, I ask other songwriters about their quest for inspiration and how they tackle the day-to-day tasks of writing quality, engaging songs. Behind every good song is a hard-worker. I want to know how songwriters work and how they fill their well so it never goes dry.
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Today I do the answering… I’ve been pursuing music full time for six months now. That means no school, no desk job, no excuses! I’ve written a song a week in 2013 and am gearing up to record my third album in May. Here’s what I do to keep my wheels spinnin’… Read part one here.
(Read my answers to questions 1-4 here!)
5. Where do you get ideas for songs? How do you catalog them?
I get ideas in all kinds of places – things I’m reading, watching, eavesdropping. What I read almost always inspires a song – I underline and star passages, then free-write my thoughts in Evernote. I think TV is a good source of inspiration for me – carefully crafted emotional situations driven by stories and characters but in a compact and easily accessible form. Pop lyric and melody works in the same way. It helps to look at other mediums and see how they do it. Lately I’ve enjoyed House of Cards, GIRLS (like everyone else), and a new UK Channel 4 series Utopia.
Songs almost always begin lyrically for me before they begin musically. I catalog unstructured melodies and parts in Voice Memos and then into a folder on my computer. If I ever feel like I’ve run out of ideas, I turn to that folder and remember several promising melodies that still need good homes. I still feel like I’m getting the hang of it though
6. How do you combat writer’s block?
If I need new concepts for songs, it’s important for me to find time for directed leisure; it helps me feel like I am being indirectly productive. I attend lectures, see art exhibits, visit an interesting shop, have tea with a new friend. If I need new musical ideas for songs, I practice my instrument! I study theory and try to learn a new classical piece (I am an ear-player, so very this is a low level endeavor). But, if my writer’s block happens in the moment of creating a song, I revisit those passages I’ve underlined and sit and think my way through it. I finished a song yesterday that has had FIVE drafts. That is almost embarrassing to admit. But you just know when it’s right and when it isn’t. Sometimes I have to work through the writer’s block and other times I have to get out of my 400 sq ft and walk around my neighborhood.
7. Who is your songwriting hero?
Joni Mitchell. Other writers I really admire: Karen Peris of the Innocence Mission, Fiona Apple, Dolly Parton, The Boss, Rufus Wainwright, Dwight Yoakam, Lauryn Hill.
8. Do you have any advice for a new songwriter?
Read this blog? Ha!
Since I came to London I have had an overwhelming certainty that I’m doing what I’m meant to do – maybe it’s the quitting your job thing. But I really don’t want to do anything else. I think it’s important to define your commitment level for songwriting and own it – is it a hobby or is it your dream? If it’s a hobby, then make time for it and have fun! Don’t put a lot of pressure on yourself. If it is your dream, then stop messing around and get to work! Be grateful that you know what your dream is – a lot of people don’t.
Seek out other writers who are more experienced than you and ask them questions. Demo your work and send it out to get feedback. Find someone who can listen to your songs and be absolutely ruthless with you. Find someone who you can get together with regularly and play your first drafts for them. Ask them to read your lyrics over your shoulder and tell you when they think you can do better. It is scary but so important – don’t put anything out that you don’t believe in.
Need a personal kick in the pants? Or a little warm fuzzy? You can always email me to talk more about your writing.
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I hope my finger didn’t start shaking at the end there… hope you enjoyed my FILL THE WELL.
Here are a few of my personal favorite Fill the Well interviews: Matthew Perryman Jones, Aron Wright, Andrew Combs
good stuff allie!