The Ups and Downs of a Songwriter’s Soul

by Brian Casel | November 12, 2008 | Add Comment

photo by Kekka

It’s the force that drives us as songwriters. The flame in our belly that commands us to pick up our guitar and start strumming. The itch that makes us scribble a lyrical thought on a piece of paper. The emotion that sparks an idea. Inspiration is step number one in the life cycle of a great song.

In order to produce a great song, it’s important to understand that you need to be inspired by SOMETHING. Just sitting down with the intention of knocking out another song just won’t work. Forget about scheduling writing time, or planning a writing session. It should be spontaneous. When you find yourself in the midst of a creative flow without knowing how you got there, you’re on to something great.

The things that inspire us are uncontrollable. They are the things that draw emotion in us and drive us to pour out what we’re feeling into a song. Maybe it’s the up’s and down’s of your relationship with someone. Or the way a great movie hits home with you in a certain way. Maybe it’s built up frustration with something, or the burning need to broadcast a political message.

Inspiration comes naturally, but it doesn’t always come frequently. Sometimes it’s best to accept the fact that you’re just not “feeling it” at this moment. It’s much better to put your instrument down (for now) or switch to practicing written songs for the time being, than to try and force out a mediocre attempt at a new song. Just know that you this emptiness will pass, and you will write another great song. Just not right now.

If you accomplish anything at all during a forced writing sessions, it most likely won’t live up to your personal standards. This might cause you to doubt yourself as a songwriter and can lead to a longer than necessary writer’s block.

I have found that my songwriting output comes in waves. I tend to write sets of three songs with a good month or two in between each batch. Something tugs at my emotions, which snowballs into a two-three week writing frenzy. Then I’ll spend roughly the next month developing those ideas into complete works. The original inspiration has passed, I spend the emotional down time fleshing out those songs, practicing different arrangements, laying down rough recordings, and practicing old songs.

How do you harness your inspiration? How do you deal when the juices just aren’t flowing?

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