Have you ever sat down to write a song, only to find that you had a case of writer’s block, and couldn’t find a place to start? Or do you find that you’re always writing songs with the same theme, chord progressions or melodic ideas? If you’d love to break out of your old routines, and get into the world of inspired song writing, this article is for you! In this guide, we’ll share 50 of the best songwriting prompts so that you can get song ideas started quickly. With these songwriting ideas you’ll always have inspiration for a new song, whether you’re writing alone or going into a co-writing session.
Follow along with this tutorial using Komplete Start, a free bundle of professional-grade instruments, synths, and sounds.
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1. Start with a melody
Find a sound you like in Kontakt, and play a simple melody or riff. It could be three or four notes that just seem to fit together. Build the song around this melody.
2. Use Playbox
Use Playbox to start a song idea quickly. Assign one of Playbox’s 900 samples to individual notes in your chords, for one of a kind harmonic sound design. Play one note on your keyboard, and Playbox will generate a chord progression that will give you a place to start in your track. Playbox allows you to start by playing chords, then change the sound design of the samples. If you’re looking for ideas for chord progressions, Playbox offers over 200 chord sets to choose from.
3. Tell a story people can relate to
Songwriters sometimes choose a subject because it resonates with them. It also might be worth considering how much a situation could resonate with other people too. Write a story about your experiences, but carefully choose your words so that others will be able to see their own experiences in the story.
4. Use rhythm to inspire your song
Rhythm can be the foundation of a song. Write a funky drum groove, figure out a song story that fits it, then write that song. One of the best tools for creating drum rhythms is Battery 4.
5. Write the chorus (or drop) first
The chorus, (or drop, if you write dance music) is the main part of the song that contains the main message or theme. Try starting your song by writing the chorus, and then see how easily the other parts will fall into place.
6. Inspire your song with samples
Start with a longer sample you like, and chop it up in your DAW so that it flows differently from how it was originally. Play the sample overtop of a kick drum, or the drum loop until you find a melody you like. There’s your song idea.
7. Discover new sounds
If you play guitar, but want some new tones for inspiration, try using Guitar Rig 7. It’s an inspirational suite that simulates amps, studio effects and pedals. A new guitar tone can add an original and unique flavour, and give your songs their own sound. Guitarists like Jimi Hendrix, Slash (Guns N’ Roses), and Andy Summers (The Police) all created their own unique guitar tones. Be creative, make your own tones and use them to start song ideas.
8. Study poetry and literature
If you’re writing lyrics for your songs, reading poetry, literature or other song lyrics can give you a better idea of how to write lyrics.
9. Focus on one idea
Many of the best songs are clearly focused on one idea. Choose your idea, and make each part of the song re-enforce this one idea, rather than having it drift off into other tangents.
10. Use a chord generator, and output the MIDI to a VST or Kontakt Instrument
Use a chord generator like Captain Chords, and output the MIDI to a Native Instruments synth plugin, VST or Kontakt instrument. Chord generators can help you to get song ideas going quickly, even if you don’t know a lot about music theory. Once you have the chords for your song, you can easily write the melodies and lyrics. Outputting the MIDI from the chord generator to a VST, or Kontakt instrument will help you create a unique sound for your song.
11. Driving
Write a song about driving – this could take many routes. Focus on the journey, and give it meaning. Who’s the passenger, where are you going, and how do you feel when you’re with them?
12. Switch up your workflow
If you’re a beatmaker who usually starts building the drums and bass first, try switching up your workflow and starting with the chords or melody.
13. Start with guitar (even if you don’t play)
Fancy starting songs with guitar, but don’t have the chops? Session Guitarist Instruments can be your go-to Kontakt instrument for song ideas. Try using Session Acoustic Sunburst Deluxe or Strummed Acoustic 2 for mellow strumming, and picked parts. You’ll be impressed with how easily you can write authentic sounding guitar parts!
14. City vibes
Try to capture the vibe of a city you’ve visited, or want to visit in a song. If it’s a hot and sunny place, the vibe of the location is generally going to be upbeat and happy. If it’s a cold and darker spot, the sound and energy of the song should reflect that.
15. Reverse psychology
Take someone else’s chord progression and play it in reverse. From there, you could alter a chord or two, create a variation on a chord or add a note to a chord to jazz up the progression.
16. Get inspiration easily using Kontakt Chords Tool
Tools are sophisticated MIDI effects that can be used with any Kontakt instrument – old or new. One easy way to get creative with your chord progressions is by exploring the Chords Tool for Kontakt. Chords can help to make writing chord progressions easier, especially for those who don’t have music theory training.
17. Lovers
Lovers can be a great source of inspiration. If you don’t have one, you’re trying to find the next one, wishing you had one, or trying to get rid of one. Write a song about your love. Or your wish-I-could-be-with-you love. Your forever always love. Your I never could find you love. Your true love.
18. Breakups
Yes breakups suck, but they also make great material for songs. If you’re the type of writer who thrives on heart break to fuel their creative output, pour that pain out into a song and you could have a hit on your hands.
19. Try a powerful start
Start a song with a heavy metal rock lick from Session Guitarist Electric Storm Deluxe. This instrument can easily create a short lick for you that you can use in many genres of songs, from rock to dubstep to hip hop.
20. Set a timer
Set a timer for 15 minutes and be creative in the allotted time. Try to quickly write a chord progression and short melodic idea. Be sure that you’re not distracted during this time, and just focus on writing a new idea!
21. Switch up your environment
Take your computer to a coffee shop, or go outside on the balcony or to a park. If you have a budget, you could rent a studio for the afternoon. See what new ideas come to you when you change your environment!
22. Start with a sample
Find a sample you like from one the Expansion packs. It could be a melody part, or a chord progression or a bassline. Use this as the starting point for your song, and write the other parts around it.
23. Use Battery to pitch samples to make melodies
Choose a sample you like and load it up into Battery. Set the Key Range to the range on the keyboard you’d like it to be, a couple keys or a few octaves. Click on the Set Up tab and set the Key Track, so the sample will change pitch as you play it. Play a melody with the sample on your keyboard, and record it into your DAW.
24. Deck of cards trick
Get a deck of cards, and draw a card. Look at the suite, and the number on the card, and write down all the ideas that come to mind. For example, if the suite is hearts, write down the ideas that suite evokes; for example, love, and romance. Use the number to clarify your idea further. If the number is three, jot down ideas above love that could occur in threes. For example, three strikes on my heart and you’re out, don’t wanna be a third wheel, the third date, etc. Use the best of your ideas.
25. Try hardware for inspiration
If you’re a producer who usually works in the DAW, why not try something new and use hardware that allows you to play samples and drums? Maschine is a versatile beat making tool and fun to play pad-based hardware instrument for those who want a hands-on approach to music making.
Try creating new ideas with the included sound library, or expand the range of sounds to start songs with Native Instruments Expansions. The Expansions are already pre-sorted by genre and style so you can easily find samples that suit the vibe you’re creating.
26. Keep a musical sketch pad
Keep a small instrument close by, and ready to play at all times in your house. This could be a small keyboard, an instrument or a miniature keyboard that you can always write ideas on. Record the ideas on your phone, and once every few weeks sit down to listen to them. Use the best ones as song starters.
27. Start with one or two sentences
Try writing one sentence and using this as a motif for your song’s theme.
28. Make lyrics that rhyme
Write a short verse idea and make every other line rhyme. It can help your work to sound polished. Once you have a theme, try to make the idea make sense while still rhyming. Emcees are the master of this technique, many bands rhyme their lyrics too.
29. Stop the clock
Time is a valuable thing. In a song, time could be a theme in many different contexts. Time after time. The passing of time. Is it summertime? Maybe it’s closing time? A ticking clock sample may itself serve as inspiration for the rest of the song…this worked well for Pink Floyd and Martin Garrix.
30. Try writing a melody idea using the Phrases Tool in Kontakt 8
Phrases is an inspiring melody creation tool in Kontakt that’s designed to help you start ideas quickly. Phrases give you over 100 carefully written groups of melodies, filtered by genre, style, and type. Load up a preset, and play the notes on your keyboard to different but related melodic phrases. By playing keys one after the other, you can string these phrases into a longer melody. You’ll quickly have a place to start your track!
31. Use a real instrument
If you can play an instrument, like guitar, saxophone, trumpet, or any other instrument, why not start a track with a chord progression or lick you write on an instrument? Record this into your DAW and finish the production off.
32. Use ideas from your dreams
If you have a particularly memorable dream, write it down and use this as an idea for a song. Keep a dream journal next to your bed, or by your kitchen table. Try writing down even one dream a week, and look back at your dream journal at the end of the month. See if any of these dreams would work as a song concept.
33. Write in a different key
The key matters in music, depending on the type of instruments you use in your track, genre you’re writing in (for kick and bass notes) and vocalists you’ll work with. Use a few references from tracks in the same genre you’ll compose, and see what types of keys are used. Pick one of those keys to work in.
34. Use Hybrid Keys
Fancy writing songs with electronic piano? Use Hybrid Keys, a creative Kontakt instrument to add unique flavours to your song writing process. Hybrid Keys gives you the ability to explore the blend of organic and synthetic sounds that can lead to fresh ideas.
35. Change time signatures
Switch your time signature from a 4/4 to a 6/8. It can give the song a whole new vibe.
36. Try a co-writing session
One of the best ways to write a new song is to co-write it with one or more other writers. If you’ve heard the saying ‘two heads are better than one’, you’ll understand why co-writes are so effective! Are you great at writing chords, but not lyrics? Team up with a lyricist, or vice-versa. If you’re a beat-maker, you can collaborate with another producer and quickly decide the direction the track should go in. Try lining up some co-writes and watch how the quality of your work improves!
37. Partying
Not every song has to have a deep meaning. Sometimes people just want to cut loose and have fun! Write some songs about the good times, about partying and having fun with your friends. Maybe having a little much fun.
38. The third wheel
Relationships sometimes come with a third person, whether that person is wanted, or unwanted. What does this mean to you? Write about it.
39. Universal appeal
Great songs tell a story, often about a specific situation with a universal resonance. People relate to these songs as they can relate to them. Create the story you want to tell in the song, and then rework it so that it has universal appeal.
40. Reflection
Sit still and close your eyes, breathe in. What kind of ideas come to mind? Write them down on a piece of paper, choose the idea that appeals to you most and go from there.
41. Message in a bottle
Do you have something you’d really like to communicate to the world? People need to hear positive messages from artists who uplift them now more than ever. Choose one clear message you want to give to the world, and write a song about it.
42. The planets
People have long been fascinated with the planets in the solar system; Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. If you’re looking for inspiration for a dramatic song or themed body of songs, look no further than the planets.
43. Use repetition
Write a catchy chorus using repetition. If you repeat the title of the song in your chorus three or more times, it gets stuck in the listener’s head.
44. Keep the lyrics simple in the chorus
Use the chorus to spotlight the main message or feature of your song, and save the verses for the story building aspects of your song.
45. Use a different tempo
Start song song writing ideas at a different tempo than you usually work at. If most of your songs are written at 70 or 80 bpm, try writing at a faster tempo like 120 or 128 bpm. If you usually write at 128, try 140 or above.
46. Repeat phrases, but change them slightly
Start a song by writing a melody with a short musical phrase, then repeat it, altering the notes or rhythm slightly each time. Try changing one note each time the melody repeats. On the other hand, you could repeat the same melody three times, and in the fourth phrase, change the notes or rhythm.
47. Access more sounds on your favorite controller
Using new sounds can be inspiring, and lead to new ideas. Now you can access a vast range of Native Instruments sounds with the new NKS Hardware Partner program, which means controllers from Akai, Novation, Mektar, Korg and M-Audio are now compatible with Komplete Kontrol desktop software. Use your favourite controller to access over 2,000 NKS-compatible instruments, and you’ll be sure to find a sound that inspires you to write something new.
48. Get inspired by your favourite artists
Listen to your favorite songs, and see if you can identify which parts of their songs that you like about their melodies or productions. Deconstruct their ideas from start to finish. Try to borrow some of their techniques, whether this means borrowing ideas like types of rhythmic patterns, scales, or themes.
49. Learn song structure
If you’re writing songs, you’ll need to have a clear idea of what each part of the song is, and a general idea of how long it should be in the genre you’re writing in. Pop music has a different song structure from electronic music. If you learn how to structure your songs, the entire song writing process will be easier.
50. Keys to success
Whether a song is in a major or minor key can have merit on its success. Choose a key to work in depending on the emotion that you want to express in the song. Major keys tend to produce happier, more upbeat songs, while minor keys add a melancholy feeling to the song.
Start writing songs with these song ideas
We all need a few new song ideas now and then to spark our imaginations and creativity. Keep this list of song writing prompts easily accessible so you can refer to them before a writing session. Choose one idea to use for your song, and get busy crafting your song!!
Be sure to download Komplete Start, a free version of Komplete that’s a great addition to any songwriter’s setup. This toolkit includes Kontakt 8 Player, which gives you access to Tools, including the Chords Tool and Phrases tool that are perfect for aspiring or seasoned writers. Equipped with these tips for starting a song, you’ll always have a fresh flow of ideas to create your music.
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