Since 2000 I have written about 18 songs. That's it. Not due to writer's block, I just don't commit issues / topics to song if I can resolve them with a bit of thought. If something sticks in my head and I can't really work it out by thinking it through, I'll write a song about it. The songs that you will eventually hear on Talk to the Machine will be songs that are extremely important to me. Since I am an independent, no one has been waiting around for my stuff so I just let things come when they are ready.
I can't churn out a song a day because I can't and I don't want to. Don't try to be like another writer because you read that they wrote a song a day, or that they recorded 30 songs but kept 10. Let your writing style match who you are. I mostly use nature as my inspiration whereas someone else might get inspired by a gritty city. I wrote a song back in 2005, hated the lyrics so I waited...till 2009 and they finally came to me and the lyrics poured out. (The song is calledDo Not Feed the Wolves). Another song, The Vulture or the Raven, came all at once in about 5 minutes. I've learned not to force the creativity. Let it strike. That doesn't mean be lazy. I still sharpen my tools.
I've been studying music since I was 15 and my advantage is that I have been exposed to so many styles of music and that I can analyze them and figure out what is going on quite quickly, so I can usually implement several ideas quite quickly to see if something will work or not. If you get blocked musically, you may want to take some time to study a style / arrangement that you really like.
I remember in college when I first learned the chord progression Aminor--Aminor(maj7)--Aminor7th--Aminor6th (sounds like Stairway to Heaven intro, but it was a latin piece that I heard it in) I inserted it into about three songs right away.
For those interested I used it in a song called "In Silence" that is on iTunes under Nathan Fleet. I still use it. If I had not concidered studying music (read previous post Self Taught or Learned Theory - you don't have to be schooled to study) I may have never discovered the mechanics of that chord progression. I also use it on the new CD in a track called "The Devil is Coming" and in "The Staircase."
You may not have years to ponder what your song is going to be about so I recommend that you always add tools to your belt, a new chord, a new style, tempo, genre, technique, instrument, accessory etc...Then when the idea hits you have more resources to draw from.
I was trying to think of a clever way to end this post but I got writer's block.
This post originates from
