Songwriting is the foundation of all music, and the best way to improve your songwriting is to create new music. But, that’s not enough. Once you’ve written your new music it has to be added to your repertoire of ideas. Music is a very fluid art form and it’s near impossible to keep up with everything that’s going on and what’s coming next, so you must constantly be on the lookout for new ideas and new ways to apply them.

There are many different ways you can improve your songwriting and there are many different ways you can go about improving your songwriting. The easiest—and perhaps the most obvious—way to improve your songwriting is to have more songs. While this is a great place to start, it can be difficult to break through the creative ceiling.

1. Imitate and Innovate

The simplest, most effective way to improve your songwriting is to immerse yourself in the process of songwriting and song production. This can be done by imitating the compositional style of a songwriter you admire, or by creating new music that incorporates the techniques and instruments in your musical vocabulary that you would like to know and use in your own music.

Aspiring songwriters face a wide range of challenges in their pursuit of songwriting, from finding the time to write to putting together a cohesive song to get it out there. While there are many ways to improve, one of the most important is to imitate and innovate.

2. Learn Your Craft

Singing and writing are two things that come naturally to a lot of people. But, if you want to improve your songwriting skills, you have to put in the hard work it takes to master your craft. Judging by the number of songwriters I know who share their songs freely on the internet it’s clear that songwriting is one of the most collaborative skills we have. In fact, you might even say it’s the ultimate collaborative art form. 

It’s not enough to just write a song, you need to learn how to share it, learn how to critique it, learn how to interact with it, and most importantly – learn how to improve it. If you want to learn how to be a better songwriter, you need to learn something first. Something that I have in common with every other songwriter – is that I have taken a long time to learn how to be a better songwriter.

3. Explore Other Genres

Songwriting is a craft. It’s not something you just do when you feel like it. It’s something that must be practiced constantly, often. You should never stop improving your songwriting craft because the process never ends. You must constantly be on the lookout for new ways to improve.

Songwriting is the life of any artist or singer, and it is something that can be gained through practice and dedication. There are so many different genres of music that you can explore, and there are so many different ways you can approach them. Some prefer to explore the genres that they know best, while others prefer to explore new ways of expressing themselves in creative ways.

4. Communicate with creative people

As you know, creativity is not limited to just the music business. It is important to be creative in any area that you want to excel. You don’t have to be a musician to be creative, and you don’t have to be creative to be a musician, either.  There are plenty of other creative ways to get your music out there, and plenty of ways to grow as an artist.

Songwriters spend many hours thinking and writing, but they almost never communicate with other writers. Aside from having to deal with the annoying music business, one of the most frustrating parts of songwriting is how hard it is to find other writers to work with. Communication is an important skill for anyone to have, but as a songwriter, it’s especially important. 

5. Images Are Word Pills

Image is an extension of your songwriting vocabulary that can cause a lot of trouble for many songwriters. The trouble is that images are often used in a very loose way, being applied to entire songs and verses, parts of a song and even lyrics.

If you’ve ever tried to write a song, you’ve probably realized that images are a major source of inspiration for music. They are one of the many ways that your brain connects words to music, and it’s easy to see how our minds subconsciously make associations between the two. It’s in our genes to be visual creatures, so there’s no reason you shouldn’t make use of that ability to access your true inspiration.

Usman Raza is a CEO and the co-founder of Faith-Based Advertising Company and a content marketing specialist at Church Marketing Agency, The Glory Candle, and a Christian Store. He is devoted to helping small businesses bridge success gaps by providing in-depth, actionable advice on digital marketing, SEO, and small business growth. Follow him on Twitter @usmanintrotech.