Song prompts are a way to get your creative mind going. They’re also a way to change up your regular song idea routine.
They’re great at getting you into a different mindset and make it easy to try something new without worrying about the song meeting some expectation level, like a co-write might. I mean, no one expects a song prompt to turn into a great song!
We’ve all gotten bad gifts, but what’s the worst? A rabbit costume for PJs? A Pinto Station Wagon (manual shift)?
Let’s tap into some of those memories for a song.
Song Prompt: Write A Song About The Worst Gift You Ever Received
- Write a song about the worst gift you ever received.
- Write the song from your perspective as the speaker (first person), but write at least one version of the prompt as direct address.
- And – it doesn’t have to be a Christmas song!
- A few things to help get the song going:
- What is the personal story in the memory of the gift – what made it so bad?
- How will you use your senses in the lyrics? What do you see (imagery), smell, taste, hear? How do you feel (warm inside, dizzy, out of breath, heart pounding)? Can you get them into the song somehow to make the moment more real and act as enhancement to the story? When you’re done, can you find one or two in your lyric?
- Why tell this story about this particular memory? What’s your connection? What would you say to the person who gave the gift if you could? Your connection may get you to the personal story!
How To Use The Prompt
Take fifteen minutes to “free style” on the song prompt topic.
We’ve also provided a chord progression to get you started.
If you haven’t done this before, we’ve provided a step-by-step to help you use the prompts in the creation of a song.
Chord Progression (if you need one): D C G Bm
What’s Next?
Step 1: write for 15 minutes on one of the items (or similar) above
Step 2: create a song idea from the above
Step 3: use the chord progression to write around
Step 4: use a song you like to write a ghost song off of if you’re having difficulty with a melody line
