30 Unique Songwriting Prompts to Craft Your Next Hit

‍Introduction

Are you experiencing writer's block? If so, you are not alone. Songwriting is an incredible journey of self-expression, storytelling, and creativity. However, even the most professional songwriters can sometimes hit a creative stump. That's where songwriting prompts come in!

Our team at Musiversal has come up with 30 prompts designed to spark your imagination, evoke emotions, and help you explore new musical and writing territories. These prompts have helped many of us at Musiversal overcome creative blocks (and they are quite fun!), and we hope they'll do the same for you!

1. Rewrite One of Your Favorite Songs

Take one of your favorite songs and use the lyrics as the starting point for your own. Alter the chord progression, and change the genre. Don’t copy it—use it as inspiration.

Learn how to spice up any chord progression by expanding your music theory knowledge with actionable tips.

Rewrite rhythmic patterns and intervals and see what kind of inspiration and creativity that sparks.

2. Stream-of-Consciousness Writing

Grab a pen and paper, go outside, and write everything that comes to your mind. No filtering, editing, or structuring. It’s okay if it’s gibberish or if your train of thought wanders. Do not lift your pen for 5 minutes. Then, re-read what you wrote for potential inspiration and interesting ideas.

3. Listen to Many Songs and Sounds at Once

Inspired by Tom Waits, turn on two radios set to different stations at once to gain inspiration from different sounds. This chaotic method can produce surprising results.

4. Do Not Talk for 24 Hours. Just Listen

Write down anything you hear. After 24 hours (it can also be less or more, it's your choice), write down what you felt and observed.

5. Draw a Picture with MIDI Notes

Inspired by Andrew Huang, open your DAW, turn the volume down, and arrange MIDI notes into a picture. Then, turn your volume back on and listen to what it sounds like!

6. Copy a Paragraph from Your Favorite Book in Reverse

This exercise comes from Austin Kleon’s “Steal Like an Artist Journal: A Notebook for Creative Kleptomaniacs”. Copy a paragraph from your favorite book word-by-word in reverse and look for ideas in this new paragraph. You can read the rest of Kleon’s journal to learn how to “steal” other people’s work without it really being stealing.

7. Use Your Senses

What are 5 things you see, hear, smell, touch, and taste right now? This Object Writing Technique helps you write about your empirical experiences in the present moment.

8. Write a Song About a News Story

Turn on the news, not to stay updated, but with the purpose of writing a song inspired by a current story.

9. Go Outside, Listen to Your Neighborhood, and Write a Song About It

Pay attention to those sounds we usually ignore: birdsong, bustling city noises, street conversations, children playing, trees rustling. Try to fully capture your surroundings. Look for interesting melodies or lyric inspirations in these sounds.

10. Write a Response to One of Your Favorite Songs

Examples include writing a response from Jolene’s perspective to “Jolene” by Dolly Parton or from Delilah’s perspective in “Hey There Delilah” by the Plain White T’s.

11. Write a Song from the Perspective of a Character from Your Favorite Book

This is a great exercise for overcoming emotional blocks. Maybe you don’t feel vulnerable enough to write about your own feelings, or you don’t really know how to! That’s okay; try writing from a character's perspective in a book you love.

12. Write a Song About Your Daily Commute

Narrate your routine as something beautiful rather than mundane. What do you see and feel? Where are you traveling to? What makes it special?

13. You Are the First Human on Earth

Write a song about this experience and the process of figuring out everything on your own.

14. You’re the Last Human Alive

Write a song about this scenario. What has changed? Who have you lost? What do you feel? Is it lonely? Is it peaceful? Why are you the last one here?

15. Write a Song to Your Younger Self

This might sound overrated, but believe it or not, it works. Turn back time and tell your younger self what you know now through your lyrics.

16. Think of a Story (Personal or Not) That Makes You Really Sad

Write a song about it. Be as vulnerable as possible. You don’t have to release it; it is just a songwriting exercise or a new journal entry format.

17. Try to Make the Worst Song You Have Ever Heard

One of our musicians at Musiversal once wrote a song titled “the crappy song,” and by intentionally trying to create something bad, they actually ended up creating something average! All jokes aside, this exercise can help you discover interesting melodies, chord progressions, or rhythms - unexpectedly.

18. Write a Song from a Child’s Perspective

Sit down with a child in your life and spark a conversation with them. Listen to how they narrate their thoughts to you and pay attention to the things they get excited about. Try writing a song by adopting their mindset or perspective.

19. Explain a Difficult Concept to a Child

Think about how you would explain and simplify complex concepts such as capitalism, heartbreak, death, or evolution to a child. Turn this into a song.

20. Ask a Stranger on the Street to Tell You a Personal Story

Pick a way to write a song about it - from their point of view, as a secondary character, or even as the stranger who asked them about it.

21. Write a Song About a Close Friend or Family Member

Think of this person’s personality. If they were a music genre, what genre would they be? Write the song in this genre and try to make it an auditory portrait of them.

22. Use Someone Else’s Chord Progression and Play It in Reverse

Pretty self-explanatory. Adjust as needed!

23. Write a Song About Your Favorite Place

Sounds simple, but you can turn this into a challenge! You cannot mention the name of that place at all during the song. Describe its essence and see if people can guess what it is!

24. Listen to a Classical/Instrumental Piece

Write a song on the story you think the piece is telling. Some easy ones to start with are "An American in Paris" by Gershwin or Vivaldi’s "Four Seasons."

25. Ask Different People to Respond to a Prompt with One Word

Combine all their responses into a song. For example, ask them to describe the feeling of being in love or of losing love in one word. Use all responses in your lyrics.

26. Write a Song in the Style of a “Missing Person’s” Report

Choose a missing person—it can be someone you love, hate, a character in a book, or even yourself. Make sure to be meticulously detailed. Remember, your description should be vivid enough to help the missing person be found.

27. Pick an Inanimate Object

Write a song about it. This is another example of Object Writing Techniques.

28. Try to Explain a Color to a Blind Person Through a Song

Describe this color through feelings, sounds, flavors, and concepts.

29. Imagine You Are the Only Human Left in an AI Society

How are you different from everyone else? Write about the qualities that define you as human. Is music one of them?

30. Write a Song from the Perspective of a Time-Traveler

How would you explain technology to a 16th-century child? How would you describe the present to a cyborg in 2400? You could even pick a historical character - travel back in time and tell Pavlov about phone notifications (he would love them)! Whether you decide to travel to the future or the past, there are a million ways to creatively use this prompt to explain the present.

Conclusion:

These prompts are just the beginning. Use them as a way to tap into your own stories, emotions, and unique ideas. Songwriting isn’t about getting it perfect—it's about discovering your voice and exploring new directions. Remember, there are no rules in songwriting—only endless possibilities.

Break out of your comfort zone with new key signatures. Our blog offers music theory resources covering chords, harmony, and techniques for creating compelling chord progressions.

At Musiversal, we understand that songwriting can be challenging, and that’s why we’re here to help. Along with these prompts, by joining Musiversal Unlimited, you can get unlimited remote recording and dedicated songwriting advice sessions from our team of professionals to guide you through those creative blocks. If any of these prompts inspire you to write a new song, share it with us and tag @wearemusiversal on social media—we’d love to hear it!

And don’t forget to check out the Musiversal Blog for more tips, tools, and inspiration on everything from songwriting to music production.

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Happy writing!