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Songwriting Exercises

Songwriting exercises help you do a couple of things: (1) practice your songwriting skills so over time the entire process comes more easily, and (2) have techniques in your tool bag to get you beyond the blank page.

Below you’ll find some quick drills to sharpen your skills, song prompts to get a full song started, and some longer exercises if you have more time in your day.

Quick Drills (1 Hour Or Less!)

1 Create (And Follow) Your Own Rules

Give yourself some rules, then write within those:

The song has to take place over the course of 30 years, but you can’t mention that fact
You can’t use a bridge or a pre-chorus ( V | V | V )
Only use three chords: Bm F#m E or A C E
The song can only take place in a 15 minute window of time (my song following this rule below)

2 Rhyme Pattern Proxy

This one is great to use if you’re stuck on a song and works pretty quickly. The goal is to force you to find new words or ways to phrase what you’re trying to say. Have your rhyming dictionary ready!

Pick a song you like
Identify the rhyme pattern for each of its parts
Now take a song you’ve been working on (in progress) and use the new rhyme pattern
Change rhyme pattern as needed and the song dictates

3 Ghost Songs – Lyric

Good song starter if you’ve got nothing.

Pick a song you like
Write a new lyric for the entire song (each verse, chorus, bridge) as is
Now take the lyric and write new music (e.g., choose tempo, chords from a diff. song)
Take the new song and focus on it, rewriting as necessary

4 Ghost Songs – Music

Also a good song starter if you’ve got nothing.

Pick a song you like
Write new music for the entire song lyric (all parts)
Now take the lyric music and write new lyrics
Take the new song and focus on it, rewriting as necessary

5 Song Vamp

This is a great way to give a little twist to how you write, especially if you’re methodical about your lyrics.

Pick a song you like and write down the chord structure
Change chord pattern around (e.g., go backwards)
Pick a tempo using Drum Tracks 50-140bpm
Say whatever pops into your head and record it
Go back and refine your lyric and the chords

6 Auto-Generate Chords

Nice way to create some variety in your chords and get you out of common patterns or melodies you might use.

Switch up what you normally use for a chord progression by using an auto-chord generator
Easiest keys for guitarists: G major, C major, E minor, A minor
Choose a feel from the drop down
Choose your key
Play each one to see if you like it
Write some lyrics!

7 5 Tips To Skip The Blank Page

8 5 Songwriting Exercises Get Creativity Flowing

Song Prompts

1 Twist On A Cliche

2 Finding Like Objects

3 Noun + Verb

4 How Was Your Weekend?

10 Mystery Package

11 Confrontation

Longer Songwriting Exercises

Creating A Song Idea Habit!

Grab a notebook and start capturing interesting phrases you hear, thoughts you have and things that make you go hmmmm . . .
Do it consistently for a week – book goes with you everywhere
In week 2, go back and write for 10 minutes about each of the phrases or hooks you wrote down
If you wrote down a song idea in week 1, then create the hook for the idea
To put your notebook into action see the full article Songwriting Notebook

1 What Makes A Song Tick?

2 Verb Power

3 Another Verb Power Exercise

4 Object Writing

5 Capturing External Details

6 First Line Starts

7 David Bowie’s Songwriting Exercise

8 Point of View (POV) Switch Exercise