{"id":27506,"date":"2023-06-30T11:23:52","date_gmt":"2023-06-30T15:23:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/?p=27506"},"modified":"2025-10-08T11:53:55","modified_gmt":"2025-10-08T15:53:55","slug":"creative-songwriting-techniques","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/creative-songwriting-techniques\/","title":{"rendered":"6 creative songwriting techniques to get you inspired"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Illustration:<\/strong> Franco \u00c9galit\u00e9<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finding that initial spark of inspiration can sometimes be the hardest part of making music.<\/strong><\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Whether it’s an empty DAW session or a blank piece of paper, the mental hurdle of committing the first idea for a song can be paralyzing. In this article, let’s explore six creative songwriting techniques that can get you out of your head and start feeling inspired the next time you’re not sure how to begin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Voice to verse\u2014anywhere. With the addition of Splice Mic, you can instantly test and record ideas, explore genres, and unlock new creative possibilities, all from <\/strong>the Splice mobile app.<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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1. Start with a hummable melody<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Your melodies will often be what a listener latches on to\u2014and for this reason, they’re regularly a go-to starting point for songs. However, when trying to write them via MIDI in the DAW, or even on a physical instrument like the piano or guitar, we can sometimes get carried away and end up with melodies that are overly complex or just don’t stick.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An effective technique for arriving to a memorable melody that you can build your song around is leaning into humming. Humming helps ensure that your melodies won’t be inaccessible, and you’ll naturally stick within reasonable melodic ranges and rhythms. It can also help you better connect with how different melodies feel emotionally, and assess whether they flow naturally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Start with a chord progression<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The flip side of starting with a melody is starting with a chord progression. Whether it’s major, minor, or modal,<\/a> this is a great way to establish a concrete but open-ended emotional palette for your song that you can then write melodies or sequence beats over.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If a particular progression doesn’t come to mind, consider analyzing the chords of songs you like. You’re also welcome to draw on any of these free MIDI chord progressions<\/a> or download our Collection of free songstarters<\/a> for inspiration. Once you land on a chord progression you want to use, you can loop it in your DAW and try humming ideas over it, add or subtract energy by adjusting the harmonic rhythm, or play with different inversions<\/a> and extensions to introduce emotional nuances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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