Even the most talented musicians in their interviews like to repeat that they owe their success not to a unique voice or long fingers, but to the fact that they have worked a lot on their music all their lives. Even among the most talented and hardworking ones, there comes a moment when the fingers mechanically play melodies became annoying, the synthesizers sound somehow old and tasteless, and the new sound seems unattainable. Sometimes the question 'how to write a song' seems an extremely hard to answer.
This is called a “crisis of inspiration,” and it happens to everyone. For many musicians, this is even part of the working state - so, Martin Gore from Depeche Mode could not finish a single song for a year while composing ‘Ultra’ album, but just listen to how good it is! The ChordChord team has compiled for you a list of five inspiration-finding methods, and we hope that among them will be the one that will help you.
It is not a joke. The exhausting work on a song in any genre leads to the effect of “washing up the ears,” which is why even new progressions may seem bad or inappropriate by inertia. Try to spend a few hours away from your musical instruments.
Yes, there is a ‘practice, practice, practice’ rule of making music. Yes, you definitely need to work hard to get the best results. But sometimes to take a small break is the best decision. Recharge your ears, refresh your mind and get the job done!
Rock and roll, ambient, doom metal, industrial, sludge - the doors of a huge music library are open before you, and there is no reason to spend all your time in only one part of it.
Listen to the unusual music, artist, which friends have advised you for a long time, and you put it on the back burner. Check out this list of super-easy tunes you can play with just 4 chords.
Maybe you, just like Sonic Youth and Brian Eno in their time, you will find a unique sound by mixing genres.
In synthesizers and plug-ins (for example, Loom) there is often a “random” button that generates a new preset via mixing random sound waves from an existing set. This will help you to refresh your head a little.
If you always start writing a song with text, try changing your workflow a little. Start with the melody - play something until you find an interesting sequence, and do not pay attention to the text. You can hum something awkward (this method may be known to many of you as the “Norwegian recitative”), so long as the song turns out to be beautiful. That is how Paul McCartney once wrote the legendary "Yesterday." He just played guitar and mumbled "Scrambled eggs, oh you've got such lovely legs".
If you already have a finished text and you have some idea how you want to sing it, but you can’t write a suitable chord progression, you may need to turn to the help of a program that builds a chord progression instead of you. It is likely that you will discover some new ways for the development of the composition.
Moreover, you can easily use the chord generator as a full-fledged working instrument, which you can use along with guitars, keys, drums, and plug-ins to make a song.
You can not order an inspiration package by mail or on Amazon, you can not even force it to come. But when it comes you should ensure it to become a full song. Like Pablo Picasso and his alarm clock, you should have your pencils, paper, and recorder prepared when the inspiration needs you to take notes. Don’t be shy to use your mobile phone on the crowded street to sing into it and make a quick voice-note. Shyness doesn’t suit a musician.
We hope you found our methods interesting and useful. Try to use them and, maybe, you’ll find something suitable especially for you. Don’t be scared of experimenting with music and methods of making your music.