Every songwriting book I’ve ever read recommends that songwriters keep an idea file, which is simply a notebook or folder full of lyric ideas and loose ends. For years, I’ve dutifully kept such a notebook. Gallons of ink have trickled down from my brain, through the veins of my arm, through my pen, and onto those notebook pages by now. But has it really been worth the trouble?
I’ve rarely consulted this notebook. I use it to capture lines and ideas, but I’ve never resuscitated any of these old ideas to write a new song. My idea file may actually even decrease my productivity—by providing a venue for procrastination. I’ve thought carefully about ways to make this process work for me; here’s what I came up with.
Tips for using an idea file effectively
Use it as a capture tool. I do recommend jotting down ideas that would otherwise be forgotten in the middle of a busy day. The key is to remember to revisit these ideas.
Resist procrastination. I’ve found myself trapped in the habit of just archiving good lines instead of developing them. Once the ideas are written down, I relax. “There,” I think. “Now I know that song can’t escape—I’ll write it someday.” Someday never comes! The longer you wait, the less exciting the idea will seem. Don’t put it off!
Schedule time to read your own ideas. If you do find yourself just capturing loose ideas without developing them, I’d recommend sitting down with the notebook one evening and reading through. If one of the ideas gives you a flash of excitement, seize it! Begin developing a lyric right away. Repeat this process until the notebook has been totally strip mined. By then, it’s time to start a new notebook.
Devote one full page to every idea. If you’re using a notebook, write down only one song idea per page. This leaves you lots of inviting blank space to accumulate related thoughts later on and build upward. It also makes reading your own notebook much less daunting.
Write on only one side of each page. This allows you to use the right-hand page to write the lyric, and use the left-hand page as a songwriting palette of sorts.
Try multi-subject notebooks. If you buy a three- or five-subject notebook, you can dedicate sections to loose ideas, potential titles, observations, rough drafts, object writing sessions, finished lyrics, lists of finished songs (useful for compiling albums)… anything useful to your process!
Don’t let the notebook limit you. If your thought processes don’t fit well into a notebook, try building song ideas on index cards, or maybe buying a large sketch pad so you can spread your ideas out and work without all those ugly, boxy blue lines. Experiment and have fun!
What’s Your Process?
Do you use an idea file? If so, do you consult it often? How does it serve your songwriting process? I’d love to hear about it in the comments.
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I’m just working on a post on this very topic too!
I saw the title and was worried – I thought your suggestion was going to be “don’t bother keeping a notebook!”.
I’d agree with writing one idea per page and one side. That way If you pull out an idea and begin working on it you haven’t got another song idea on the back.
for this reason I wouldn’t write a palette thing on the opposing page (unless you leave the reverse of that page blank)
I’d pretty much agree with everything you said followed by “when you’ve written in your note book rip it up and file the pages according to what you’re going to do with them next”
That’s a great idea, Matt! Ripping out the pages definitely solves the “Overcrowding of ideas” issue that notebooks fall prey to.
sorry typo
should read “for this reason I wouldn’t write a palate thing on the opposing page”
For me, the ultimate notebook is my Blackberry + Google Docs. Here’s how I use the two:
When I get a lyric idea, no matter where I am, I use my phone to email to myself with the subject line “song idea”. Every so often, I search my email for this subject, and gather the lines into a Google Doc, which I regularly prune, lopping off the bad ideas and keeping the good. When I have a little extra time, I’ll look at the Google Doc and if something grabs me and I decide to work on it more, I open a new Google Doc with the working title of the song. Not as romantic as a notebook, but WAY more useful, at least for me, because all my lyrics and lyric ideas are right where I can find them, easy to browse and never get lost.
That’s a great approach, Jeff–seems to overcome all the potential logistical barriers involved in comfortably housing dozens of independent ideas within one notebook. I may try this! Thank you.