When it comes to song writing, there are about as many approaches to creating as there are song writers themselves. That being said, there are obviously far fewer excellent examples of songwriters than there are of poor song writers. I don't write this blog post as being apart of the former group, but I and every other songwriter certainly strive to serve with excellence at what we do (if not "the" best, then at least "our" best). Probably the most efficient way for anyone to learn a creative process or technique is by seeing what has worked and has not worked for other. So here are a few techniques for songwriting that have helped me out.

1. Write often

There is a school of thought that works for many artists; shotgun song writing. That is, if you give it enough tries you are likely to hit the target with at least one song. This is probably the best for anyone who has never written a song before, because it helps to mature the ability to feel when a song "works" and when it doesn't. We have all heard it said,"practice makes perfect". So writing a lot of songs gives you practice in the craft of songwriting. It will also leave you with a lot of songs that are worthless, or "worthlittle". I can remember writing pages and pages of songs that I will likely never sing to anyone. But I wasn't discouraged because I knew that if I wrote 10 songs, 1 was likely a good or at least a "better than most" song.

After a while (maybe a few months, or a few years) you start writing more songs that "work" and you steer more clear of the ideas that don't initially. Like I said this is great if you are just starting to write and you don't have a family and other things vying for your time and attention. I don't have the time luxury anymore to do the shotgun approach. Now I have to write songs that work at least half of the time. So out of 4 songs I need 2 of them to be singable and mature enough for an audience of more than One. If my ratio slides then I tend to get discouraged. But there are a lot of artists out there that will write 50+ songs just to get 10 to 12 great songs for an album.

2. Don't get discouraged!

So if you feel like you are not able to write a good song just keep writing and you are likely to have something that works come along. Also, remember your value is in Christ alone. If you hit a wall then you should pray and rest. Or find another avenue of creativity that might help stimulate song writing. Whatever it is, remember that your prime audience will and should always be One. So serve God with a sincere heart, and worship Him with your creativity as well as your lack there of.

Has anyone out there tried this approach?

What are your thoughts?