Category: WHAT’S ON THE SITE

Writing Songs From Personal Experience

Most of us began writing songs because we wanted to share a personal experience or emotion that was important to us. And we’re not alone. Many of the music industry’s biggest hits are based on personal experience—from songs by Fleetwood Mac and Joni Mitchell to Adele, Lewis Capaldi, Sara Bareilles, Ed Sheeran, John Legend, and more— the story behind the hit song is often a personal one.

Writing songs from personal experience is a good choice because you are the best person to write that song. You were there, you know how it felt, you know what you did. You can describe it better than anyone because it happened to you.

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No More Songwriter Burn-out

At some point, just about every songwriter comes down with a case of songwriter burnout. Stressing over your writing (or lack of writing), unable to finish songs, dissatisfied with everything you write, losing touch with your creativity, feeling uninspired—these are all symptoms of songwriter burnout. You just feel like you’re so done with it all.

Next thing you know it’s weeks or months and you haven’t written anything since you can’t remember when. Your creative muscles are sagging, your inspiration has gone to sleep, and it seems like too much trouble to start it all up again… and do you really want to anyway? That’s a serious case of Songwriter Burnout.

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25 Really Good Lyric Prompts

A good lyric prompt can be incredibly useful. It can launch creative ideas and get a song going even on the toughest day. When you don’t feel like writing, the right nudge can turn that feeling around and get you excited again.

An effective lyric prompt gets your emotions, memories, physical senses, or inspiration engaged. For example: “Write a song about a memorable summer.” Summertime can evoke memories of lost loves (Taylor Swift’s “Cruel Summer”) or the joy of escape into a balmy summer night (The Lovin’ Spoonful’s “Summer in the City”). The prompt encourages you to remember and feel the past, but lets you choose where you want to let those feelings take you.

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Americana Songwriting

This year there are close to a dozen TV series using songs in the broad, acoustic-based Americana songwriter style. This trend started with Yellowstone, a series that popularized the music of many Americana artists. Zach Bryan’s songs appeared six times in the 2022 season, driving his song “Something In the Orange” to the top of the Country Music Charts and launching his career.

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Give Your Old Lyrics a Makeover

LET’S RENOVATE!

I was watching a home renovation show recently. You know… one of those reality TV shows where a couple of energetic, muscular types swing a hammer and—Voila!— they turn a moldy-smelling shack into a sleek duplex complete with landscaping. And I thought to myself: What if you could do a lyric makeover like that on an older song, give it a fresh coat of paint and plenty of current listener appeal!

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