SONGWRITING
PUT DOWN THE INSTRUMENT | Kevin MacDougall
It ’ s such a default setting for me that I rarely consider doing any different .
I sit down with a guitar or at a piano . I begin to play from a familiar place . I tune again . I play a bit more . Maybe something strikes me musically . I explore it … And sometimes , it ends up leading to the writing of a song .
But songs do not require instruments to be sung . a clarifying thing to hear what comes to you naturally when you put down the instrument and find something worth singing . Whether your melody ascends , descends , sways back and forth , or jumps many intervals , you ’ re allowing that melody to be the guiding light in the process of writing . Wherever it wants to go .
And if you work at it for a while , and find something you can sing and remember , you ’ ve likely found something worth remembering . conclusions and unchallenged biases are great ways to kill artistic enchantment and stifle creative expression .
And there is no musical limitation quite so limiting as our assumptions .
Sometimes the very tools we need to build something can get in the way of us taking the time to still ourselves , listen to our inner muse , and dream of what it is that we ’ d like to build .
And songs do not require instruments to be written .
It ’ s a classic prompt among songwriters : put down the instrument . Just hum or sing until a musical idea strikes you strictly as melody . Free from the constraints of the chord inversions and voicings you habitually return to , there is a good chance the melody that strikes you without that outside influence is one you wouldn ’ t have come to otherwise .
There is also a good chance that it ’ s a memorable melody when it comes to you in that form , without leaning on an instrument to “ sing ” with you . A melody that can stand on its own is a powerful melody indeed .
We are creatures of melody . We only ever made instruments to create rhythm and harmony to support our obsession with melody in the first place .
So traveling into the process of song craft and discovery with just your voice to guide you is like a primal thing . Laid bare , with only humanity ’ s original instrument to make music with , you still have immense capacity to imagine and create . Whether you come up with a melody that would be supported best by a single droning chord or by many intricate jazz voicings , it can be such
After that , the trick is to find the chords which best support it . The chords implied by it . But in this practice , your melody has informed what those chords should be instead of it happening the other way around , or happening simultaneously — which can be great , but can also lead to an outcome where neither element is really propelling the song forward .
This part of the process can be laborious and even frustrating , like when you ’ re trying to figure out a song that already exists and the exact chord is proving hard to find … But it ’ s worth it . When you sing something in your head or out loud enough , you begin to have an idea of what might support it musically — almost as though you can hear it — even if you have yet to sit down and actually find the chords . While separated from an instrument , I ’ ve danced with melodic ideas that ultimately led me to hear significantly different chord textures and colors than I would have gravitated to otherwise . If the same first few notes of melody had struck me while playing an instrument , my default assumptions would probably have taken over , and would not have led me to those uncharted places . They would have kept me closer to some of the well-traveled roads I know .
If my time as a songwriter and musician has taught me one thing , it ’ s this : foregone
Instruments are wonderful things . They are crucial tools capable of incredible expression and passionate articulation . But your instrument can also limit your thinking when it comes to dreaming up and cultivating an idea for a song . Imagine a world where you have the option to go anywhere you want every single day . You have access to every means of travel , and you even have the ability to fly or teleport if you want … Only you don ’ t do any of that . Instead , each morning , you arise and jump in the cab of an old truck in Nebraska before deciding where you want to drive that day .
You might find you never get very far from Nebraska .
You will travel to and experience far fewer places , and far less wondrous variety , when you only ever begin in that same place . In that old truck .
So maybe get out of the truck . Dream freely again . And put down the instrument if it helps with that aim .
Kevin MacDougall Worship leader , published and recorded songwriter , engineer and producer . macdougall . k @ gmail . com