The #1 Habit Every Songwriter Needs to Keep Great Ideas Alive

Ever Had a Tune Pop into Your Head Out of Nowhere?

Did you ever have a great tune rolling round in your head that came from nowhere? What happened to that idea?

If it ended up as a finished song, well done!

But if it got forgotten and lost in the void, then that’s a problem with your note-taking habits.

So, I’ll let you in on what I’m currently doing about all those random ideas that crop up and get into my head from time to time.

The Habit That Changed Everything: Capture Every Idea

When I have a new tune in my head or lyrics that occur to me, I never let them go. Ever!

I’m in the habit of taking note of every idea that comes along. That means for a tune, or rhythm, I will make a short video on my phone and talk about the idea and sing it to camera, nonsense words or ‘doo-dee-doo’ or any other sound that demos my idea.

Nobody else needs to hear it – except when I occasionally find myself in a public place. But even then, I will find a quiet corner and hum into my phone.

The thing is, I always have my phone with me whenever I go out and about, and it’s always handy when I’m at home too. So, that is my go-to for notetaking – especially melodies, rhythms, riffs, and guitar chord sequences.

Notebooks Still Matter: A Songwriter’s Best Friend

If I’m at home, I also have my notebook handy – always – and I’ll write any lyric ideas in there. I’ll also note down that I made a video of an idea in my notebook too, (making sure to take note of the date as well.) That’s just to ensure I don’t forget about it.

Organizing Your Ideas for Easy Access Later

Then I’ll move or upload that video to my Dropbox folder dedicated to new song ideas. It’s also a good idea to have that folder organised with subfolders. That’s because there may be multiple videos around the same song idea – so, if those are kept in the same named and dated folder, it helps with locating and reviewing them all later.

So, currently, I probably have around 8 new song ideas that I’ve recorded videos of in the last couple of months, to revisit and work into finished songs when I have time and space to dig into those.

The thing is the ideas are not lost, and I can go in and review those ideas anytime. Some have me playing my guitar to camera (so I can see what I was playing) and speaking to explain what I’m doing. Others are just humming to camera. And yet others are lyric ideas I’ve spoken to camera while out walking.

That way, I always have a load of ideas waiting to be worked on when I’m ready to write a new song.

So, I urge you to get into the habit of getting your ideas down whenever, and wherever, you are inspired with a new idea.

Public Places, Private Moments: How to Be Discreet Without Missing the Moment

That said, there are a few places where it’s not a good idea to get your phone out to record yourself.

At the cinema or theatre – it’s disrespectful of fellow audience members to suddenly start singing and talking to your phone mid-show, and I don’t condone such behaviour.

But a small notebook in your pocket, at least, can come in handy there, it’s more discreet – just get comfortable with writing in the dark!

In the bath or shower, you can usually get out and make a note. Or if necessary, keep singing it in your head over and over, until you get out and find your device. But never, ever let it go and be forgotten.

The Practice Makes the Artist: Why Notetaking is Songwriting

You may or may not get to work on every one of your ideas and get them to finished songs, but it’s the practice of taking note of them, regardless, that’s important.

Just keep taking notes. The more ideas you have down, the more you’ll have to work with. And part of the work is already underway.

Enjoy talking to your phone as if it’s your friend!

It is your friend, after all.