5 Easy Ways to Locate Song Ideas
1) Take a walk, but be sure to take pen and paper with you. Maybe you don’t have to take a walk, per se. But it’s beneficial to make an effort to get out or pull away for a minute. We have to run from the distractions of technology before we’re able to hear what’s churning in our own souls. While you’re out walking, dig deep, but stay random. Let your mind wander. Listen for bits of inspiration. Questions. Phrases. Prayers. Write ‘em down.
2) Watch a movie, with pen & paper. If you listen closely, you’ll find great phrases & questions & existential experiences in the scripts of contemporary movies. Many make subtle (and direct) mentions of faith as it applies to the human experience. Listen with open ears and you’ll be surprised what ideas come your way.
3) Listen to other great songs. This one is pretty well-known, yet often neglected. Didn’t someone famous once say “art begets art?” They knew what they were talking about. Listen to the kinds of songs you want to write. Study them. Analyze them. Find out what makes them tick, and then creatively incorporate those tricks into your own writing.
4) Find a co-writing partner. Or, better said: Find a co-writing partner with ideas. They can bring their ideas to the table and you can help expand them. Easy enough!
5) Read Scripture, while looking for phrases and concepts and imagery to spark your mind. Like listening to other songs, this is not a new strategy, either. And, if you use “The Message,” you’ve probably already noticed that a lot of new worship songs have phrases and even entire verses that come out of Peterson’s paraphrase. It was written with modern language, but still holds true to the concept and poetic form of the original text. In short, there are lyrics just waiting to be written around portions of “The Message.”
These tips aren’t magic. In fact, you’ve probably experienced the unintentional benefits of a few of these activities already. Let this list serve as a reminder, and use these strategies intentionally. If you find yourself facing a bit of writer’s block, one of these methods can serve as a tool to chip away at that block and get the ideas flowing again.
-by Mandy Thompson
The First 5 Steps of Writing a Song
1) Collect ideas. These could be melodies, an ideas, images, or phrases. Find ways to pull them together like an idea bank that you can go through whenever you’ve got the itch to write. If an idea is worth keeping and writing, use it.
2) Take that idea and write all you can, without editing or critiquing. Just let the phrases and notes flow. This will usually become the first verse and potential chorus of the song. A few lines are enough to get a general understanding of where the song is going.
3) Collect a word bank. When your brain runs out of words, go find some more. There are a few variations on this step, but the general idea is to create a collection of thematically-related words to pull from. Use key words that fit the main idea of the song, and create lists off those words. The lists will include synonyms, related words, imagery, phrases, and rhymes. Use this word bank to improve the lyrics you’ve already written, as well as complete the remaining sections.
4) Tweak the chorus. By now, you should be able to summarize the main idea in one sentence or phrase. Be sure that the chorus clearly reflects this concept.
5) Build the second verse. There are two simple approaches to the writing the second verse. One strategy is to re-phrase what the first verse says. Use different words, but basically state the same thing. Another strategy is to say the next thing, taking the message of the first verse even farther. This works if the song refers to chronological events, experiences, or a progressive question/answer.
Congratulations! You’ve got a couple of verses and a chorus. And a strong central message of the song. Not only have you progressed a long way into the songwriting process, you may be looking at a complete song!
TSC Episode 3: Andrew Peterson – Show Notes
Wisdom Moon and Mandy Thompson are back for the third episode of The Songwriter’s Cafe Podcast!
On this episode, we…
- discuss how we’ve been doing with the Songwriting Challenge
- feature a song by Caroline Cobb – “Woman on the Roof” – submitted to the Songwriting Challenge for February 2011
- discuss songwriting with our featured guest – Andrew Peterson
- feature “Dancing in the Minefields” by Andrew Peterson
QUICK LINKS
- Subscribe to The Songwriter’s Cafe on iTunes
- TSC on Twitter
- TSC on Facebook
- Andrew’s official site
- Andrew’s on Twitter
- Andrew’s music on iTunes
- Gary Ewer’s Blog – The Essential of Songwriting
- WorthWhileWorship.com
- Wisdom’s blog
- Mandy’s blog
- Wisdom on Twitter
- Mandy on Twitter
- Factor7 Agency’s site
We would love to hear from you! Email us at share(at)thesongwriterscafe.com or leave us a message on our comment line: 913.735.4229
A special thanks to Andrew Peterson for stopping by our show.
Intro bumper music is provided by Jared Anderson from “Closer to You” on his album - People of Troy.
The Possibilities, Practicals & Pitfalls of Co-Writing! (Upcoming Webinar)
Ever had the dream of walking in to a room with your guitar, a notebook and a Starbucks, shaking hands with a total stranger and then spending the next three hours composing the most beautiful piece of worshipful art you’ve ever come across?Inspired by people who can sit down beside you with a blank piece of paper and find rhymes for words like essence, Bethlehem and hermeneutic that actually seem to work in a song? Too afraid to actually begin to explore the idea of co-writing because you just have no idea what’s supposed to happen?
Have we got a webinar for you!
Chris Vacher & Joshua Seller are no co-writing experts but they have written songs together and with others. These songs have come out of old friendships, new introductions and life experiences in general. Some of these songs are now being sung in churches all over – but that’s not the point.
In this webinar, we’ll talk through some of the things we’ve learned through writing songs with
other people. We’ll talk about some of the great possibilities, some of the real practical things that can help you as well as some of the pitfalls that may come along the way.
Chris Vacher’s Bio
Chris began his role as the Director of Worship at Orangeville Baptist Church near Toronto in 2005. In2009 he began spearheading WorshipRises, a movement of Canadian worship leaders committed to developing worship resources for & from the Canadian church. He is married to Sonya and the abundantly proud dad of four kids.
Joshua Seller’s Bio
In a time when the lines between church music and mainstream music have been hazed and blurred, Christian artists rooted in humility and focused on exalting Christ are hard to find.
That’s where Joshua Seller comes in.
Based out of Harvest Bible Chapel in Oakville, ON, Songwriter / Worship leader Joshua Seller represents a breath of fresh air in both Canadian church-culture and the larger Christian music industry too. Seller is passionate about his art but also determined and mindful to eliminate ego from the equation. No rock star attitudes here.
But don’t let his modesty fool you. Having opened for Casting Crowns on their 2009 Canadian tour, garnered mega-exposure for his song “Song of the Angels” through CCLI, won “Scriptural Song of the Year” at the 2009 Covenant Awards and, last but definitely not least, finished in the Top 10 in the 2002 season of Canadian Idol, Seller has definitely been a busy man.
“Through the Canadian Idol experience, God showed me a brief season of fame,” Seller explains. “The whole time I thought I could serve both God and the World. But I was wrong.” It was through releasing and touring a secular album that God revealed that no fame could buy happiness for Seller. “I remember getting to the point where I had to choose between Christ and the world. I chose Christ because He revealed His love and grace to me in such a way I could do nothing but choose Him.”
Following these life changes, Seller found himself at Harvest Bible Chapel, a church where he would soon put down roots with his family. Serving there now as a full-time vocational worship leader, Seller’s number one focus is writing songs for the church and leading services there.
His progressive sound is built around songs that move and build – from soft and intimate to big and exciting. Drawing inspiration from worship leaders such as Chris Tomlin, Bob Kauflin, and Kristian Stanfill, Joshua Seller is excited about being used as a Psalmist for our generation: Writing songs that God would allow the world to sing to Him.
Seller is passionate about the church, plain and simple. “The heart of why I write & sing is to make Jesus known and lead people into His presence.” Whether with local congregations in Ontario or on larger stages through out North America, Joshua Seller’s passionate songs and servant-heart will continue to inspire and draw people in closer and closer to where God is leading.
Episode 62: Interview with Jaime Jamgochian
This is episode 62 and we feature worship leader/songwriter/Centricity Music artist, Jaime Jamgochian. She is interviewed by Mandy Thompson about songwriting, ministry, and much more. We also feature her song “Hear My Worship”.
Also, on this show we:
-discuss Gungor’s song “Beautiful Things” and songs for Easter.
-share some listener feedback, including a question a listener posed: What does worship look like in 10 years?
-share about a new feature of our sponsor, WorshipPlanning.com that makes it easy to find a replacement when a volunteer declines their scheduled day. Use promo code “podcast” and receive a 45 day free-trial.
-discuss our upcoming worship retreat taking place May 19-21. Plus Members of our site receive $50 off registration.
-share about an upcoming webinar for songwriters, presented by Chris Vacher, founder of WorshipRises in Canada. He will be sharing about how to host songwriting events. March 8th, 8pm CST.
-talk about the launch of WorshipDevotional.com.
QUICK LINKS
- Hosts: Wisdom Moon & Ben Abu Saada — check out their blogs
Connect with us:
Comment Line: 913.735.4229
[wpaudio url="http://allaboutworship.podbean.com/mf/web/r7zhs2/062AAWJaimeJamgochian.mp3" text="Episode 62: Jaime Jamgochian"]
Dancing in The Minefields – Andrew Peterson (music video)
Recently, Wisdom had the opportunity to interview Andrew Peterson over video skype for The Songwriter’s Cafe. The interview will be featured next month, but check out this music video of Andrew’s song “Dancing in The Minefields”.
Songwriting Webinar w/ Dave Fitzgerald – Registration Giveaway
We our excited about our very first webinar we’ll be hosting this year! It takes place Tuesday, February 22nd, 8-9pm Central. This webinar is geared towards those interested in worship songwriting. The instructor will be our good friend and Kingsway artist, Dave Fitzgerald. We’re thrilled to be able to offer this webinar in video & audio using today’s top technology.
Early Bird price is just $20. You’ll need to register by Feb 16th. Then, the price goes up to $25. Space is limited! You can REGISTER ONLINE TODAY.
We want to give YOU a chance to win a FREE registration! Just leave a comment here letting us know why you’d like to attend this webinar. Deadline is Monday, February 14th, 9pm CST. We’ll pick TWO random winners!
(You can help spread the word about this giveaway via Twitter.)
Let’s Co-Write!
Okay, so we are off to a great start with our Songwriting Challenge! We have a lot of song submissions and a very active community of songwriters giving each other feedback here. It’s very exciting!
One fun aspect of songwriting is writing with others. Co-writing with someone can often bring about ideas you never thought of and help you to become a better writer.
Let’s discuss: If you could co-write with any living person, who would it be and what topic would you want to write with them about?
-Wisdom Moon
Ten Free Tools to Help Your Songwriting
I am so excited about our Songwriting Challenge and seeing the first round of song submissions come in for January’s songs. It is great to connect with other Christians who are striving to grow in their songwriting. An important part of that growth is utilizing the right tools.
They don’t have to be the most popular tools out there, they just have to be the tools that work for us personally. Here are a 10 FREE tools you might want to check out to help you in your songwriting:
1. Voice Recorder: I’m sure most of us have voice recorders right on our phones these days. It’s a great tool to have around so we can quickly record song ideas on the spot.
2. Webcam: I have a built-in webcam on my MacBook. When I’m working on a song, I like to record myself singing and playing the song on my guitar. That way I don’t necessarily have to write down the chords and try to remember how I originally played it. Also, recently I sent one of these videos to a friend so that we could do some co-writing.
3. OmmWriter: This is a simple text processor that allows you to block out everything on your computer and focus on your writing. It has the ability to turn off all notifications, play quiet/relaxing background music, have a nice background graphic, and it also fills your whole screen so you’re not distracted. Unfortunately, it’s only available for the Mac.
4. Google Docs: I love Google Docs because it saves everything in the cloud and you can access your files from anywhere you have Internet. Also, it’s easy to share your files. You can also upload videos (and probably audio) and share them privately with others. Great for co-writing!
5. Google Voice: You can get a free phone # with Google Voice. You can then set it to go straight to the voicemail when you call. Got a melody or lyric idea? Just dial your number and leave a message to yourself. You can then later go back and listen to it or download the audio to your computer.
6. RhymeZone: I’ve never used this personally, but it may be helpful when you’re stuck on a lyric and looking for words that rhyme.
7. Audacity: If you need a free software to record your songs with, I highly recommend Audacity. It’s great for recording song ideas as well as a rough demo.
8. Skype: Here’s another great tool for co-writing. You can make free calls to other skype users and interact with them via video. You can also share your screen and files. I use Skype at least once a week for meetings, interviews, video calls, etc.
9. SoundCloud: This is a cloud-based app that allows you to create, save, and share audio. Great for sharing your songs.
10. Dropbox: If you need a free cloud-based app to save all types of files, check out Dropbox. I use it every week with my All About Worship Leadership Team to share files. Dropbox has apps for your computer as well as mobile devices so you always have easy access to your files. (If you signup using this link, we’ll both receive an extra 250mb of space!)
What are some free tools you utilize?
-Wisdom Moon
Songwriting Webinar w/ Dave Fitzgerald
Tuesday, February 22nd @ 8pm CST, All About Worship and The Songwriter’s Cafe are hosting our very first webinar of 2011! It will be a 1 hour webinar on songwriting – with Kingsway Music worship leader/songwriter, Dave Fitzgerald. Dave will be sharing his insights on songwriting and also answer questions from participants.
Registration is just $20/person. First 10 people to register will receive a free copy of Dave’s CD, Hope of Heaven.
All About Worship Plus members may attend this webinar free of charge as a part of the benefits of being a Plus Member. If you’ re a Plus Member and would like to attend, email wisdom(at)factor7agency.com. (AAW Plus members are excluded from the CD giveaway.)
About Dave:
Dave Fitzgerald has been writing, playing and singing since the age of 16. Dave’s highly anticipated debut worship album was released in November 2010 through Kingsway Music. Dave married the love of his life, Christy, over 7 years ago and reside in Tampa Bay, FL. Dave has been humbly used by God in many capacities of leading worship including revivals, special events, conferences and has served on staff as the worship leader in various churches. Dave currently travels doing conferences and worship events worldwide.
His debut album, Hope of Heaven, is a live worship project (recorded at Bethel Church in Redding, CA) featuring some of his friends: Brian & Jenn Johnson, Chris McClarney, Rita Springer, Christa Black, and Kristene Mueller.
CLICK HERE for more details and to register.
(You will receive instructions on how to access the webinar within 24 hours of registration and payment.)
Follow Us!
