AboutDaniel Johnson Expertise I can answer questions on verse and chorus construction.
I can answer questions on lyric and melody writing.
I can suggest ways to overcome writers block and to spark a creative flow.
I can`t answer advanced questions about notation or music theory.
I can`t answer questions about composing classical music or eastern music.
Experience I am an active songwriter and have been writing off and on for over 35 years. I have written and performed in a wide variety of styles, including folk, rock, pop, bluegrass, country, old school R&B and soul. Over the years I've performed my original songs in a variety of bands, duos and solo in the USA, Canada, Europe and Central America.
Publications I co-author a songwriting newsletter, the Songwriter's Tip Jar and I started an online songwriter forum also called Songwriter's Tip Jar.
Education/Credentials I studied classical music at Penn State University as well as guitar, jazz and theory with several excellent private teachers.
Expert: Daniel Johnson Date: 5/4/2008 Subject: Inspiration
Question Hi Daniel,
I asked you a question about a month ago about writing a song about a girl I liked. Sorry i didnt reply back to your reply but I just want to say thanks for your advice! It helped me make a little progress but now I think i have another problem. Lol
Well what can I say I'm a 16 yr old going through stress. With school and hw and SAT's and girls, its like I have time for nothing anymore. I still play or try to play guitar every day. But for me, music is my love. Music and working out are my two favorite things to do. But it seems to me that I enjoy listening to music more than writing music. But every time I pick up my guitar to write, for example about this girl that I like, I come up with ideas but my inside tells me that it doesent sound good. I guess I'm expecting it to be an epic song and I get too critical on everything I do. I'm sure that if I started writing my own original stuff, I'd progress both as a musician and songwriter and also feel better by getting emotions out. My Question is, how can I find that inspiration? What can I do to single out my objective that I want to get aross in my material? For me, I'll get hyped up over an idea I have one day, then I play it for the next two or three days and be like blahhh what is this?
I know my question may seem difficult to answer but any advice would help.
Thanks, Mike
Answer Mike,
This is a good question. You can rest assured that you are not the only one facing this songwriting dilemma. I'll bet every single songwriter that ever existed has had (and maybe still has) the experience you describe, wherein an idea seems great at first and after a day or so, it loses its appeal.
One short answer is, if it loses its appeal to you, that's a good sign that it's not going to be appealing to your audience. So use that info to your advantage. Do not spend more time trying to develop that idea. Spend time on a different idea. Of course, this may not be a foolproof way to weed out good ideas from bad.
Another valid answer is that your idea IS good and just needs further development. At first the development is just potential. At first you can only imagine how a good song could be created, starting with this idea. And if you stop there, then when you come back a day later, you may have forgotten all the imagined parts and are left with only the 'seed' idea.
So try to spend the time in the first go-round, developing the song (or finishing the song) as much as as possible. Then when you let it sit for a day or so and come back to it, you'll have more to work with and a better chance that your judgment (is this a good song?) will be correct.
The more you write, the easier it will be to finish a first draft in one sitting. It used to take me months to write a song. I'd write some, then put it on the back burner for weeks or months and then finally get back to it. Now I come close to finishing a song in one or two sessions up to many sessions over several weeks.
If you're looking for song ideas, check out the Titles thread in my Songwriter forum at
