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Contents
How to Boost your Songwriting Creativity 5
Making Your Brain Work for You 11
Setting the scene 19
When All Else Fails 21
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How to Boost your Songwriting Creativity
Creativity is a ckle thing, prone to periods of inactivity, and many of us have been there,
pen in hand as we wait for some type of inspiration to come only to be left waiting.
These blocks, as they are often called, can happen briey or over a long period of time
and there is generally no reason why they should occur. That is where this article will
help immensely and whenever you feel a block all you will need to do is pull out one of
our handy exercises to boost your creativity.
Before we really get into how you can boost your creativity, let’s look at how creativity
really works. Everyone has been fed the same information, that creativity comes from the
right side or hemisphere of the brain and a truly creative person is a right side thinker. That
is true to an extent, however, where the right hemisphere imagines, the left hemisphere
works at putting it into motion. It lines up every step of creating into a neat and logical
sequence. Writing, especially songwriting, follows a logical pattern or rhythm so it is not
hard to imagine how our left hemisphere is hard at work when you are creating.
So although the right side is very important in creating the end picture, it is the left side that
will encourage its creation, through inciting the need to create, and then implementing
the tools needed to make it a reality.
If you feel a little overwhelmed at this point and are thinking back to school when
some art teacher or other person said the words, “You obviously think with the right
hemisphere,” just sit back and take stock at how you truly think. No one is purely a right
or left side thinker, although some people will use one or the other more heavily. To
create you need to use logic and the rst step to boosting your creativity is in boosting
the use of your left hemisphere, which coincidently deals with language and vocabulary,
a much-needed ability for the best songwriting.
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Laying the Groundwork
The process of creativity can be a long one but it can also be very quick and painless and
it really depends on your mood, how interested you are in what you are creating and
what is happening around you. I know that we are talking about boosting your creativity
and this may seem a bit redundant but there is a reason behind what I am discussing
with you.
As mentioned before, the creative process is only successful when both the right and
left hemispheres are working together. The left hemisphere sees a problem that needs to
be solved creatively, which causes it to send signals to the right to start creating. At that
point, the right hemisphere breaks up an image that it sees and sends it back to the left
hemisphere; where it begins correlating the information into sequences that will be used
to create the end result. By now, I have probably taken out all the mystery of the creative
process but knowing how the brain works is the best way to optimize its potential.
When your brain is focused on some other task or background stimuli, the potential for
creating is lowered signicantly. Learning what you need to create is the rst step in
boosting your songwriting creativity.
Finding a space to create is a wonderful way to ensure that you are reaching your full
creative potential. Many people are ne with just sitting down anywhere and writing out
a song while others need a specic area that makes them feel creative. This can range
from your backyard to a quiet room in your house or even a quiet or noisy space out
of the house. I have known people who are more creative when the busy sounds of a
coffee shop is thrumming around their head, providing a backdrop of sound to the rush
of words owing out onto the paper. Personally, I do better when I am curled up in a
comfy chair and the only sound is the soft beat of music.
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Ah ha, music, what an excellent aid for the creative process. Thousands of dollars,
possibly even millions, have gone into research looking at how music affects the brain,
its development, thought patterns and creativity. Everyone agrees that classical music
aids in the development of the brain and how it can inspire many to amazing creative
heights. It is so strongly proven, that experts encourage parents to play Mozart for their
child even when the baby is still in the womb. The potential for how music can aid
your songwriting creativity is limitless and you should not shy away from listening to
music even though you are writing a song. It is suggested that you only listen to music
without lyrics to avoid any subconscious copying but adding some type of music to your
workspace may help with the creative process and understanding your creative needs
will help in deciding if music will aid you.
If you choose to work in silence, I still strongly recommend preparing for the creative
journey by listening to some type of classic music before hand. Johann Sebastian Bach
has been recommended as a wonderful aid to creativity and is a great place to start.
Coincidentally, studies have shown that there is activity in the part of the brain that
accounts for math when a person is listening to classical music. This activity proves that
while you are listening you are not only boosting your creativity but you are also giving
your left hemisphere its much-needed exercise. For an exercise involving classical music,
please see Laying the Groundwork: Exercise 1.
Since we mentioned exercise, it is important to get some exercise yourself. This helps
alleviate stress, makes you feel much better and the fresh air will get rid of the cobwebs
taking up room in your head. It might seem a little much but exercise benets not only
your body but also your mind. When you exercise daily, even for a short walk, you will
begin to see the benet in everything you do including songwriting.
Now that you have the music playing softly in the background of your choice, you
will need to ush out the inner stimuli that keeps you from focusing on your creative
work. You know the ones, the nagging feeling that you should be doing laundry or
grocery shopping or paying bills instead of working on a song. These little details and
responsibilities are a hazard to the creative mind when it is processing. I am not saying
that you should stop paying bills or worrying about the little details of life all together,
but while you are creating those little worries need to be put to the side. Although I am
sure the odd songwriter has incorporated paying bills into their lyrics, it does not usually
allow for the best songs to be written.
There are many different ways to remove the distractions of regular life but none of them
work more thoroughly, in my opinion, than meditation does. Finding a few minutes to
meditate is an excellent way to relax and move forward into the songwriting process.
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This doesn’t mean that you have to sit in the lotus position, both legs crossed with your
feet resting on the top of your thighs, but instead you can get comfortable on a couch
or a chair and just clear your mind of the worries of day-to-day life. Meditation can be
done anywhere and I have even done it on a bus as I watched the scenery slide past
my window. I used that as a way to let my worries pass by, out of sight, but I knew that
they didn’t go far and they were there for me to pick up as I got off the bus an hour later.
During that ride, I was able to focus on the world I was creating at my ngertips and I
didn’t even notice the other passengers around me.
Meditation is used to not only relax yourself and provide you with a break from the
distractions in life, but it is also an excellent means of kick starting creativity. You don’t
have to clear your mind of anything to properly meditate, instead clear your mind of
the worries and ll it with an image. You can make the image whatever you would
like and you could centralize it around what type of song you are planning on writing.
Let’s say you are thinking about writing a song about family, just picture your family or
a family in your mind and allow your right hemisphere to break it into parts. Chances
are you won’t even be aware of what your brain is doing but it is working. After you
are done meditation, jot down some of the ideas that you were thinking. See Laying the
Groundwork: Exercise 2.
The last point I am going to make when it comes to Laying the Groundwork, is to have
some access to water. Keeping yourself hydrated helps keep you focused but I am not
talking about simply drinking those recommended eight glasses of water per day, I am
talking about taking a shower, going swimming or having a meditation fountain. Water
has so many benets but generally it is a way to relax, something that I have been
stressing the importance of.
If you are suffering from a writer’s block, I nd the best medicine is to simply take a
shower. I don’t know about you but I nd that the ideas ow through my head like
the water owing into the shower. There is no end to the ideas that I have at the most
inopportune time and I try to have a pen and paper handy to write them out. Where
showers are benecial to me, I have heard that many people nd their ideas while they
are swimming; again we are looking at not only the benets of water but also at the
benets of exercise. Still others nd that a desktop water fountain helps them create.
There is something about the sound of water, the touch and smell of it that makes us
create more. Although no one really knows the answer as to why that is, I strongly
suggest capitalizing on its benets and using it while you are creating.
Once you have laid the foundation for creating, it’s time to start building your creativity
through little exercises that will boost both your left and right hemispheres.
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Laying the Groundwork: Exercise 1
In this exercise you will not be doing anything that involves pens or paper, at least not at
the beginning. All that you will need is some type of classical music. Although Johann
Sebastian Bach is recommended for creativity, any classical composer can produce
similar results.
Try to nd a composer that will reect the style of music that you will be writing. If you
are writing something lighter or even whimsical, Strauss’s works are often referred to
as whimsical and light and should induce the same type of imagery for you. If you are
writing something a bit darker, many of Beethoven’s symphonies can be considered dark
although there is often an element of lightness to the music.
Once you have chosen the music, nd a comfortable place to sit; avoid areas where
you will fall asleep because you will nd that after your unscheduled nap you are even
farther away from creating anything. Dim the lighting in the room and just sit back and
listen to the cords of music.
Begin by listening to the rise and fall of the notes, the heights that the song takes you to
and then the lows that it produces. Think about the emotions that are being pulled from
you when you hear the music. Once you have thought of the emotions begin assigning
colours to them and then images to the colours. The thought process could follow as
simply as the following example.
Beethoven’s Sonota No. 14
Haunting notes illicit sadness, and anguish -- becomes shades of grey, deep charcoal grey -becomes a storm cloud thick and heavy with unshed tears.
This is a simple version of mind mapping, which we will be going over later, but it is a
perfect progression of using music as the triggers. In the last sentence you could almost
begin to see the lyrics taking shape.
After you have listened to the music for about 15 minutes, start writing. It may help to
jot down some of the images that you saw when you were listening but it is not always
necessary. Many people nd that the time needed to write the ideas down will often
make them lose the creative energy that they built up while listening to the music.
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Laying the Groundwork: Exercise 2.
Although we have talked about meditation and its benets, this exercise is not a meditation
exercise where we have you sit and focus on one thought. We still want you to focus
but it is more on words that are spoken to you than on any set thing. This is a meditation
exercise but what we are trying to accomplish is a creative journey.
It works best if you have someone helping you, say a fellow songwriter, but you can
purchase or download these creative stories, also called creative guidance or verbal
guidance. Whatever you choose, make sure that you can hear it clearly when you are
meditation.
Once you have the creative guidance, nd a comfortable place on the oor to stretch
out. Avoid using things like pillows and lay on your back with your hands by your sides
and your legs straight. Some people need to close their eyes when they are doing this
but really do whatever feels natural, well as natural as you can feel laying on the oor.
When the speaker begins, focus on only their words. Don’t look at them or try to gauge
their emotions; just listen to the timbre of their voice, the rhythm of the words and
allow yourself to relax. As you relax you will begin to feel very heavy and like you are
sinking into the carpet. This is natural and it is conducive to the exercise so don’t ght
it. Also, don’t try lifting your arms when they feel heavy since you will ruin the effect the
meditation is having on you.
The speaker will take you through a scene and then bring you back to wakefulness. Your
arms will begin to feel lighter until your entire body does. Once you are done, you will
feel refreshed and revitalized. It is very easy to begin creating right after the meditation
exercises so don’t hesitate.
A sample creative guidance:
Listen to the room around you, the peaceful silence that lls it. Forget about the soft
sounds that you hear outside and even the hum of the furnace or any other sound you
can hear in the house. Just focus on my voice, on my words and as you do you will
begin to feel very heavy, it begins in your feet with them pressing down into the carpet
and slowly moves up your legs. Your hands are also getting heavier and they sink into
the carpet bringing your arms slowly with them until both your legs and arms are heavy
and relaxed. Then your shoulders begin to relax and it
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Making Your Brain Work for You
We have already talked about the importance of laying the groundwork for the creative
process but an important step in boosting your creativity is making your brain do its
job. This means that both the right and the left hemispheres should be given equal
opportunity to ex its muscle.
The right hemisphere is the creative side of the brain, we know that and many studies
have proven it without a doubt. It is the side of the brain that sees the big picture and
then turns it into smaller parts. Not too much to ask, right. The problem is, your brain
needs to be able to see the big picture and not everyone is able to use the right side of his
or her brain efciently. After all, it is the side given to ights of fancy so why wouldn’t it
y away whenever you sit down to write, that is what it does best.
To make that right side of your brain work for you, you will need to capture its attention by
giving it outside, hands on stimulus to manipulate and explore. Doing things like visiting
new places and meeting new people help in stimulating that right hemisphere and it is
proven that the more your stimulate your brain the more exercise it gets. Basically, the
best way to build your creativity and how it pertains to the right hemisphere is by doing
creative things. You do not need to create but reading, studying art and even mixing
colours will stimulate the right hemisphere. Also, using the left side of your body, ie,
waving at all the new people you meet with your left hand, will help in exercising that
right side. See Making Your Brain Work For You: Exercise 1 for a creative way to stimulate
your right hemisphere.
Puzzles are terric at stimulating both the right and left hemispheres and I strongly
recommend either purchasing some or nding a few online games that simulate puzzles.
This helps the creative side, since it sees the whole picture and breaks it into smaller parts
and the logical side, which will take those parts and build them back into a full picture.
Not only do puzzles exercise your brain but they do so in a way where both sides of the
brain are ring neurons back and forth and working together to solve a problem.
Since we have mentioned again that both sides of the brain needs to work together for
the songwriting process, let’s look at some ways to make your left hemisphere stronger
and more capable of completing the tasks you put it to. Remember, everyone thinks
differently and they have their own limitations. You do not need to be ashamed of your
limitations when it comes to the power of your logical and problem solving side, but it is
time to focus on your limitations and nd ways to build on them.
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Games are a great place to start when you are boosting your left hemisphere and ultimately
your right. Although many games do focus on the left or logical side of your brain, they
do require some help from the right and this will keep both sides of your brain remain
active. Games like chess or any other strategy games will help you see the bigger picture
and reason out ways to beat the opposition or solve the problem as it were. Again, the
Internet has aided in making strategy games available to everyone and you do not need
to have someone sit down to play them with you.
Other games like Suduko, which help build patterning, and crosswords, which aid in
vocabulary and reasoning, offer as much benet as the strategy games. Playing other
logic games also have a positive effect on your brain and how it works. Again, these
games can be found online or in bookstores.
When it comes to the writing side of boosting your left hemisphere, we need to look at
ways to build your vocabulary. Words are your main media for expressing your creativity
so having a full vocabulary and knowing not only how but also when to use it is very
important.
Exercises such as word association and thought free writing are wonderful ways to get
the left hemisphere red up and get you going but they are not the end of vocabulary
building. Memorizing items, lists and lyrics is another way to stimulate that left side as
well and it will help build your vocabulary
To help build ideas and also get your brain really working, it is often recommended
that you do mind mapping or brainstorming. Basically, the two techniques are almost
identical but an individual does mind mapping where brainstorming is usually done in a
group. Both have a central idea that is key to unlocking other ideas, words or information
that is linked to it. There really is no wrong way to do a mind map, some prefer a cleaner
mind map with columns representing ideas where others create a web of information
surrounding the central idea, and there are many sites that offer mind-mapping software.
Mind mapping is a great tool for expanding on an idea you had thought was limited and
also as a starting point for any song that you plan on writing.
Below is an example of a basic mind map that shows a simple word that is linked to by
other ideas. When you create your own mind maps, don’t hesitate to use full sentences
or anything that springs to mind. The key for you is to not think to hard when you mind
map and instead let the words and direction ow from you. If you nd that you are stuck,
pick a second word from your original mind map and start branching out from there.
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A mind map does not have to be perfect and it can be quite messy. Don’t worry about crossing out
things if they seem to correlate with another thought thread like the example shows you. Once you
have done a mind map you can always clean it up and format it the way that you prefer.
Learning new words and how to successfully incorporate them into your speech and
writing will take your songwriting to a new level. Begin by selecting a word a week
from a dictionary. It doesn’t have to be a large word but it should be one that you are
unfamiliar with or unsure of what it means. Learn the meaning and try to use it correctly
at least three times each day. By the end of the week, the word should have worked itself
into your natural vocabulary. Start over the following week and continue for as long as
you like. There is never a shortage of words and there is often new ones being created
on a regular basis.
For more information on how to stimulate your left hemisphere, see Making Your Brain
Work For You: Exercises 2 to 4
Once you have practiced a few of the exercises and played a few games, it is time to
move onto setting the scene for your songwriting sessions.
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Descriptors
Green
Bright
Pale sky
Blue
Colour peeking
through
Shadows
Emerging from
shadows
Sunlight
Bright
Warmth
Friendship
Travelling
Journey
Companionship
Moving forward
Following the
path
Hints of red
Wisps of white
Remember that you do not have to stick with just words or things that you see.
Use sentences and also think about what you would feel or hear if you were in the
scene.
Take a picture either from a book, magazine or even download one online and study
it. Once you feel you have studied it, begin writing descriptive words like red, giant,
peaceful, scary, and mysterious. This is a great way to encourage your right hemisphere
to break up the parts of a bigger picture and it will also help your left hemisphere
build vocabulary and give it the opportunity to start placing those lists into a logical
order. Another great benet to this exercise is that it will help you with creating a more
descriptive writing style.
I have included a sample to start with and a few pictures to use when you are doing this
exercise.
Making Your Brain Work For You: Exercise 1
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Example:
Creative Images for Creativity Exercise
Delicate
Secretive
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Fading Light
Portal
Sun-kissed
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Making Your Brain Work For You: Exercise 2
Word Association
Word association is a popular way to build vocabulary and to help the creative process
along. It can be played with others or you can do it on your own.
If you are playing it on your own, grab a pen and paper and start with a word, such as
Green. Then without thinking, write down the rst word that comes to your mind when
you think of green – tree. Go along until you have created a large list of words. You
can save the list to pull not only words from but also phrases. In the example tree could
lead you to forest, forest to deer, deer to hunter and hunter to green. There you have a
sentence forming, “The forest was dark, and inviting, an oasis of hunter green.”
If you are doing word association with someone else, it follows the same process only
you do not write down the words. One person says green, the next tree, and so on.
Making Your Brain Work For You: Exercise 3
Thought FreeWriting
Grab a piece of paper and a pen or sit down at your keyboard and load up whatever
writing programs you use. Don’t think about what you are doing, just begin writing
without any thought, close your eyes if it helps and if you are able to, and type or write
away.
What will happen, hopefully, is that the beginning of your song, poem or story won’t
have much substance to it but as you move forward, your brain will subconsciously
work for you and will start placing your words into a pattern. Write like this for about 5
minutes and then start writing with some thought behind it.
Three things may happen when you use this exercise: One, you will have ushed out the
unimportant stuff that was hindering your songwriting. Two, your brain was exercised.
Three, you may have created something really wonderful without trying.
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Making Your Brain Work For You: Exercise 4
Finding the Synonyms
In this exercise, you will be taking a word and writing out all the different synonyms for
it. This exercise will help you think of different words to use in place of common words
and phrases and will build your vocabulary. Don’t feel bad about cheating if you hit a
brick wall, use a thesaurus after you have exhausted your own vocabulary and then add
the newest words to your growing lexicon.
Example:
Wonderful
-remarkable
.
-wondrous
.
-amazing
-excellent
-marvellous
-astonishing
-phenomenal
-superb
-miraculous
-fantastic
As an alternative to writing out synonyms for a word is to list out all the antonyms for the
word.
Example:
Wonderful
-bad
-horrible
-mediocre
-lousy
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Setting the scene
Do you feel the creativity boost yet? Not quite, well don’t worry because we aren’t quite
done. As we mentioned earlier, creativity begins by laying the groundwork, especially
when it comes to the environment you choose to create in. This is where setting the
scene is very important to the songwriting process and I will run you through a few things
to help you set your own scene.
One of the rst things I am going to suggest is to turn off that television. Many people
will often try to create with a television playing in the background. As much as you want
to believe that it is, television is not conducive to creativity. Sure studies have shown
that it appeals to the right hemisphere and it can provide activity
for that side of the brain but it also hinders the left hemisphere.
Watching a little television now and again isn’t going to wreck
your creative ability but when you are actually creating it is best
to keep it turned off. While you are at it, turn off the Internet
and computer if it is not needed when you create. The Internet
can be a major distraction to the songwriting process especially
when the process seems like a chore.
Now that we have those distractions nicely put to the side and the latest television show
isn’t calling you, nd a nice place to create. We have already touched on this before
but I would like to point it out again. If you like creating in free hand, you can set up
wherever you choose; the same can be said for a laptop, however if you are creating
on a desktop, it looks like your setting is pretty limited. Make it more comfortable by
having a good chair and a few items that will help you create such as candles and water
fountains. You know what you need better than I do so discover what works best for you
through trial and error.
Creative spots are important to the process but so is writing a schedule for yourself. I
know, that probably doesn’t sound like a wonderful task but do it anyway. There are
times of the day when you are more creative and this goes for everyone. For me I nd
that early morning, usually before 7, and late at night, after 10, are the best times for me
to create, although it leaves me very little time for sleep.
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Also, know which days you seem to drag creatively. This
is really important if you also work since the beginning of
the work week might be a very good day to create while
the middle of the work week, when you are feeling tired,
may not be conducive to creative thought. Knowing
when you are creative will help you plan your day and
you will nd yourself sitting in the right place with the
right tools, i.e. a laptop, when your creativity hits. During
your optimal creative times just focus on creating and not
on any of the revisions that you need to do since those
can be done during the periods when you are not feeling
creative.
Setting the scene is very easy and only requires a few steps to meet all of the requirements
you will need to be creative. The main point is to become aware of what you need
to be creative and the timeframe when you are and you will be well on your way to
songwriting.
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When All Else Fails
Well you have tried everything from nding a perfect spot, removing distractions and
easing stress. You have done the exercises, more than once, and still nothing is coming
together for you in the songwriting department. I guess that’s it, your not creative, right?
Wrong!
Sometimes creativity is going to stay just out of reach no matter how much you exercise
your brain or how badly you want it. Let’s face it, writers don’t scream about errant
muses for nothing. Instead of wallowing in your song sheets, go online and nd some of
the many resources offered to writers and songwriters.
There are a multitude of online groups for writers and songwriters both and they offer
support and encouragement for all of their members. Many online groups also offer
writing courses, songwriting challenges and may direct you to contests and other means
to share your work. This encouragement can go a long way to nurturing your creative
side.
If you are looking at programs that will help you with songwriting, you won’t have
to search long. There are programs for mind mapping, word associations and even
songwriting. The sky is really the limit when it comes to downloadable programs to
help in your songwriting. At a loss for rhyming words and your rhyming dictionary is
just not a practical option when it comes to time saving, there is an excellent rhyming
program offered by WritePress.com. Both Mac and Windows operating systems can use
this program easily and it allows you to nd the rhymes for 93,000 words. This tool is
invaluable and is favoured by many songwriters and writers. For more information about
the program, visit http://www.writeexpress.com/rhyming-dictionary.html.
Now that you have the means to boost both your brain power and creativity, there really
is no reason to not write all the songs that you want. Just sit back, relax, meditate a little
and pick up the pen or laptop. Don’t stress if it isn’t coming to you, instead pick up this
article, pull out an exercise or two and get that brain working for you, after that it will be
easy to nish the song that is sitting in your notebook or even write several more.
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