Routines & Process

Write a song about a place you’d like to travel to | Songwriting Club

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Music has the ability to transport us to different worlds.

Although travel unfortunately hasn’t been an option for most of us this year, music allows us to emotionally situate ourselves in all sorts of real-world and imaginary locations.

For this week’s Songwriting Club, try writing a song inspired by a place you’d like to visit. Perhaps you can use sounds that are from a geographic region, write lyrics about venturing somewhere new, or channel the emotions that you feel about a particular place.

Here’s my example:

I personally found creative inspiration in a fictional location – the Kanto region of the Pokémon games. I always loved exploring that universe in my Gameboy as a kid (as much as I enjoy the newer iterations of the franchise today), and I was feeling particularly nostalgic for simpler times. I chose to specifically create a battle theme, and gave my hand at incorporating a lot of compositional techniques that are staples of Pokémon – fast chromatic runs, energetic counterpoint, a looping arrangement, etc.

Although it’s not a requirement, if you used a sound you found on Splice Sounds, let us know! If you want to use Splice Sounds in your song but don’t have an account, get your first month free with the code songwriting.

If you’re feeling proud of your tune or you’re looking for some feedback, upload it to the Splice community, SoundCloud, YouTube, Bandcamp, etc., and toss the link in the comments below. Before you share, just make sure you’re following these guidelines:

  1. Make sure your track aligns with the prompt – it should be something that you’ve specifically written in response to this blog post.
  2. No promotional posts – no links to contests, social media pages, etc.
  3. Comment on at least one other person’s song before you go – even if it seems small to you, your praise or critique can make a transformative impact on someone else’s craft.
  4. Give a quick summary of your goals for your song – asking for feedback on specific aspects (ex. the lyrics, chord progression, etc.) is also recommended!

Check back in for your next prompt on December 11th. We’re looking forward to hearing what you create!

November 27, 2020

Harrison Shimazu

Harrison Shimazu is a composer, content strategist, and writer who’s passionate about democratizing music creation and education. He leads the Splice blog and produces vocaloid music as Namaboku.