by lashibes | Sep 4, 2020 | Exercises, Song Prompts
There are great characters who create great stories throughout history. The best thing about those stories is that all you have to do is a little research, find the human side of all the facts, and bring it to life as a song. OK, so maybe it sounds a little harder now...
by lashibes | Sep 4, 2020 | Exercises, Song Prompts
I recently got a song prompt at a songwriting workshop (yes – a virtual workshop), that initially I was going to pass on. The prompt? Find a picture of yourself and write a song about it. In the moment I thought, there’s nothing more self-aggrandizing...
by lashibes | Mar 30, 2020 | Song Prompts
You can find quite a few songs with a hometown theme. That’s because they’re usually great places to write about – for a few reasons: Hometowns are idyllic for many, and a source of pride – or some other emotion – depending on your...
by lashibes | Mar 29, 2020 | Song Prompts
It’s pretty easy to start a song with a Chorus. But how do you do it well? And . . . why even start with a chorus? Usually, you start with the chorus to get the song focused on the vibe and the message right up front. But, you can’t start with the chorus...
by lashibes | Mar 29, 2020 | Song Prompts
Who doesn’t love breaking the rules? But, just throwing rules to the wind isn’t what I’m talking about. I’m talking about intentionally breaking the rules for a specific reason. A great example is Brandi Carlile’s “The Eye”...
by lashibes | Mar 29, 2020 | Song Prompts
Do you have a song that starts with a simile? Probably not – most of us don’t. So, let’s add one to your song catalogue. What's A Simile A simile uses the words “like” or “as” to make a comparison. When done well, the simile will give the listener...
by lashibes | Jan 13, 2018 | Song Prompts
We’ll keep this one simple: you’ll use your own catalogue of memories for step one, then we’ll add a word challenge twist. This one evolves from Jason Isbell’s “Cumberland Gap” which uses memories of his hometown to set the scene of...
by lashibes | Oct 18, 2017 | Song Prompts
What’s better than a song prompts list of “more things” to get your brain working and go somewhere you didn’t imagine? These prompts can help generate some song or poem starters you can relate to quickly and easily. You’ll spend less...
by lashibes | Aug 8, 2017 | Song Prompts
This list of “11 things” is a great way to start getting your brain working not only for songs, but poems as well. By using items most of us can relate to quickly and easily, you will spend less time trying to manufacture a scene, characters or...
by lashibes | Jan 29, 2016 | Song Craft, Song Prompts
A cliche phrase can be a great song prompt. The trick is to give it a twist by changing a word, using it in a way in a line, or taking a new perspective on the cliche by framing it in a unique way. We’ll give you a list of cliches so you can write a song today...
by lashibes | Dec 27, 2015 | Song Prompts
We all collect stuff, which is why finding like objects is so easy! Objects are powerful elements in our lives. We save them because they have significance for us. This finding like objects song prompt is a way to not only focus on a single object, but find the...
by lashibes | Oct 2, 2015 | Song Prompts
Trying to write a Halloween song? This prompt is a basically a seasonal version of the the Noun+Verb Mashup. You can do the same for any holiday, like Christmas, just change up your nouns and verbs! And remember, as an ongoing exercise, you can keep an excel worksheet...
by lashibes | Aug 9, 2015 | Song Prompts
Nouns and verbs are powerful elements of a song. Create your own song prompt with a NOUN + VERB combination that surprises you! If you really want to push your creative thinking, then start putting together words that don’t logically go together. This one is a...
by lashibes | Aug 2, 2015 | Song Prompts
How Was Your Weekend? We hear it all the time on Monday at work – “How was your weekend?” So why not make it a prompt? 1 Take 2 – 5 minutes and quickly jot down what happened to you during your weekend, or last weekend, or the past several...
by lashibes | Apr 10, 2015 | Exercises, Song Prompts
Think songwriting prompts and exercises can’t turn into something good? Zane Williams shows you how he took some fan suggestions as a song prompt and turned it into a challenge for himself as part of his Music Mondays video series. This song was written over...