September Songwriting Challenges
Set a timer. Type or write words and sentences freely for ten minutes. When the timer goes off put your pencils or keyboards down. Now, go back and read what you wrote highlighting any words or phrases that stick out to you. Use these as titles or concepts in your next write!
Co-write with someone you’ve never met before.
Zoom sessions might be a thing of the past but maybe they shouldn’t be. See what happens if you take one of your sessions over Zoom this week.
A fictional break up can be just as heartbreaking as a real one! Pick a break up between your two television characters and a write a song about their experience.
There’s always 2 sides (or more) to a story. Pick a song from your own catalogue and write it from a different character’s perspective.
Modern pop song structure can feel rigid at times. Allow yourself to break free. Imagine a new structure for a song that is not verse - chorus - verse - chorus - bridge - chorus. What can a song sound like when you’re no longer bound by form constraints?
One of the interesting things about Billie Eilish’s “Bad Guy” is the way in which the outdo it tacked on at the end. Write a song in which the outro feels at odds with the rest of the song.
Songs seems to be getting shorter and shorter - have you listened to the Barbie soundtrack? Write a song that is 2 minutes or less.
Rachel Platten was onto something when she wrote “Fight Song.” Write a song that indulges in its desire to be inspirational!
Schedule an entire day where you do nothing but write. Challenge yourself to write as many songs as possible in a 24 hour period! Does your work get better or worse when you work relentlessly?
