Not feeling inspired to write? Explore song writing in other genres.
Exploring songwriting in genres other than our usual or preferred genre can be a healthy option for many reasons, particularly if recently, you’re not feeling inspired to write.
Being proactive and purposefully seeking out distractions that steer us away from our normal creative processes for a time, or from our current projects (song or songs) in our usual genre will lead to a refreshing change. Spending some time away from what we might ordinarily be focussing on and perhaps even fretting upon, can only lead to renewed enthusiasm and more than likely, new creative ideas to add to our craft.
Learning how patterns are formed in genres that differ from our preferred writing style will inevitably influence our songwriting on the whole. New moods and structures as well as tempos and feel, will seep into our creative work without any conscious effort.
What we learn when we attempt something new or different to our normal approach, remains with us after the experience but we are also very good at tricking our minds into thinking that we’ve forgotten this new information. This is where our purposeful creative intentions need to kick-in. What have we learned that we wish to try to incorporate into our creative process? What was it that ignited our emotions most, when studying song form in other genres? Were there lyrical patterns that are entirely different to our own lyrical song structure? Rhyming and non-rhyming patterns? Changes from and to each section of each song that we dissected and were moved by? These are just a few examples of what we should be looking for and remember, our choices are infinite when it comes to constructing a song.
The influence of analytical study in our songwriting process is priceless. After all, what has come before us is the reason we were compelled in the first place to jump in to the world of creating our own songs.
Whether or not we’re not feeling inspired to write, exploring the writing methods of songs in genres other than our own usual style, regularly or just occasionally is definitely a healthy option, and when we do, we must take notes, write down in our moleskines what lit-up our senses! Throw down some voice recordings as-we-go on our phones or recording device of choice, then review these notes before we sit down to write our next brilliant song.
Feel free to comment or ask any questions. Let me know if there’s anything you’d like me to discuss? Maybe you’ve discovered songwriting methods for times when you yourself are not feeling inspired to write?
Comments can be made below and ALSO, if you prefer (exciting), leave me a voicemail using my new VOICEMAIL tab on the right frame of this page. Remember to leave links to your own work if you’d like to me to give you a plug here on the site or on the insidesongwriting podcast! http://www.insidesongwriting.com.au/itunes/podcast
All the best!
Karl
