Many musicians have made their names off of songs about love and heartbreak. However, when you’re working on writing songs for a new album, you may find that you’ve already sung everything you can about your own life. Any good writer learns how to find inspiration outside of his or her own experience
Here are a few unique ways that you can find inspiration for your next song.
1. Ask older friends or family members about their love stories.
When she was working on her Red album, Taylor Swift spent a summer in Hyannis Port. There, she befriended the Kennedy family. She found an old photograph of Robert and Ethel Kennedy, which inspired her to write “Starlight.”
You can write love songs based on other people’s experiences. Ask your elderly neighbor how she first met her husband or have your parents tell you what it was like to fall in love.
2. Rewrite the ending to a classic story.
Taylor Swift read Shakespeare’s classic Romeo and Juliet when she was in high school. Unsatisfied with the tragic ending, she rewrote the story into a song. “Love Story” became one of her first major hits.
Think about the last book or movie that you hated. Consider how you would have changed the story if it was yours.
3. Immerse yourself in a different culture.
Ed Sheeran spent the year that he worked on his ÷ album traveling the world. Many of the album’s tracks took inspiration from different cultures across the world. His latest music video, “Bibia Be Ye Ye,” celebrates the African people who inspired it.
Immersing yourself in another culture doesn’t require you to travel. You can listen to traditional music or research the folklore of people who are different from you.
Inspiration is all around you. As a songwriter, you just have to learn to look in the less obvious places. Sharing other people’s stories through song will make your next album truly original.
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Kristen Harris enjoys listening to a wide range of music, from Taylor Swift to, on occasion, Celtic instrumental. She also spends her time writing, reading, and baking.
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