Song Prompts

This list of “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 circumstances. As a twist on the song prompt, you […]

What’s better than a 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 time trying to manufacture a scene, characters or circumstances, and get right into the writing! As […]

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 […]

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 Noun+Verb Mashup. As an ongoing exercise, keep an excel […]

Need more song prompts, or looking for ways to create song prompts on the fly? There are a number of online song prompts available including sites and random generators. We’ve aggregated several into a handy post so you’ve got them at the ready!     SongChops Online Song Prompts With more than 20 prompts, you’ll […]

Take fifteen minutes to “free style” on one of the common objects listed below. Don’t worry about creating a story line or a narrative.  Just go ahead and write down whatever pops into your head. Once you’ve completed the “free style” write on one of the common objects below, move on to the next step. […]

How To Use The Prompt To Start A Song:   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.   Song […]

We all collect stuff. 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 connections between objects – to you. It’s a way to create a strong emotional element […]

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 with columns for nouns, verbs and adjectives. […]

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?     Take 2 – 5 minutes and quickly jot down what happened to you during your weekend, or last weekend, or the past several days. Make the […]

What better way than a mystery package that arrives at your home to get the creative buzz going? Remember – this is about getting the muse to show up and having fun! Song Prompt Next Steps: Take fifteen minutes to “free style” on the song prompt topic. Use one of the chord progressions to get […]

Get Started With Song Plot Roulette   I thought we’d use some lists I’ve compiled from several places and categorized to give you a quick selection grid for key song elements. Go step-by-step using the grids below, and you should have a pretty good plot outline for your lyric by the time you’ve hit the […]

How To Use The Prompt To Start A Song:   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.   Song […]

How To Use The Prompt To Start A Song:   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 and work through the creation of a song. […]

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 the song, eventually becoming a metaphor for what the speaker has become. One of […]