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Songwriting Prompts: 48 Ideas for Lyrics, Melody and Structure

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A songwriting prompt is a small, specific task that gives you somewhere to start. A blank page asks you to write anything, which is hard. A prompt asks you to write one thing, which is easier. Here are 48 original prompts for lyrics, melody, structure and rewriting, with a simple way to use them. 11 of them include a note on how to do it in Mouta Studio.

How to use a prompt

  1. Pick one prompt. Don’t read the whole list looking for the perfect one.
  2. Set a timer for 20 minutes.
  3. Write a rough verse and chorus before the timer ends. Bad lines are allowed.
  4. Record what you have, even if it is just a voice memo.
  5. Come back the next day and decide whether it is worth a rewrite.

The goal of a prompt is a finished draft, so stop when the timer stops. A rough draft you can work on is worth more than a perfect first line that never turns into a song.

Lyric prompts

Start from an image, a place or a sentence. Write a verse and a chorus, even if they are rough.

  1. Write about an object in your room that someone else gave you. Never say who.
  2. Start the song with the last thing someone said to you today.
  3. Write a chorus where the title is a question you are afraid to ask.
  4. Describe a place you used to go every week and don’t go anymore.
  5. Write a love song that never uses the word “love.”
  6. Write from the point of view of someone who thinks you are wrong.
  7. Use a phone notification as your first line.
  8. Write about the moment right before something changed, and stop before it does.
  9. Pick a color and let it show up once in every section.
  10. Write a song that is one long apology, but the chorus refuses to say sorry.
  11. Start with a time of day, like “4:12 a.m.,” and let the song happen in one hour.
  12. Write a verse made only of things you can see, then a chorus made only of feelings.

Melody prompts

Melody prompts work best with a limit. Sing into your phone and keep the take you want to hear again.

  1. Write a chorus using only three notes.
  2. Start the chorus on the highest note of the song.
  3. Write a verse that stays on one note for a whole line, then moves.
  4. Sing a phrase, then sing it again with only the last note changed.In Mouta: Tap the last Music Word and hit Rewrite to hear it ending other ways.
  5. Write a melody where every line starts on an off-beat.In Mouta: Hum it in, then edit the first note of each line so it starts off the beat, and play it back.
  6. Take a line you already have and sing it twice as slow.
  7. Write a chorus where the title is the longest note.In Mouta: Hook Score shows whether the line with the title is the one that stands out.
  8. Hum a melody while walking and match its rhythm to your steps.In Mouta: Hum it into your microphone when you get back, and it becomes notes you can edit.
  9. Write a melody that goes up for three lines and falls on the fourth.
  10. Write a verse with lots of short notes, then a chorus with only long ones.
  11. Speak a line in an angry voice, then turn that rise and fall into a melody.
  12. Write two phrases that answer each other, like a question and a reply.

Structure prompts

These change the shape of a song. They are useful when you have parts but no finished song.

  1. Write a song with no chorus. Repeat one line at the end of every verse instead.
  2. Write a song that starts with the chorus.
  3. Add a bridge that happens at a different time than the rest of the song.
  4. Write a song that is under two minutes long and still feels finished.
  5. Make the last chorus different by changing just one word.
  6. Write a pre-chorus that is only two lines and makes the chorus feel like a release.In Mouta: Check the energy curve in Mentor: it should rise into the chorus.
  7. Write a second verse that tells the same story from the other person’s side.
  8. End the song on a line that is not in the chorus.
  9. Write a song in which every section is exactly four lines.
  10. Take a song you finished and cut its first verse. Does it start better?In Mouta: In Struct, copy the song’s sections and try it without the first verse.
  11. Write a chorus that changes meaning each time because of the verse before it.
  12. Write a song where the bridge is the only quiet part.In Mouta: Mark the bridge in Struct and check that it is the dip in the energy curve.

Rewrite prompts

Use these on an old, unfinished song. Most songs get finished in the rewrite.

  1. Find the weakest line in your chorus and write five replacements for it.In Mouta: Hook Score marks the Flat line. Select it, hit Replace, and audition 8 candidates tuned to your Skill.
  2. Cut every word in a verse that you would not say out loud.
  3. Move the best line of the song into the chorus.
  4. Rewrite the first line so it starts in the middle of an action.
  5. Sing the chorus melody a step higher and see if it lifts.In Mouta: Select the chorus notes, move them up, and let the virtual singer sing it with your lyrics.
  6. Change the rhythm of one line without changing its notes.
  7. Replace one abstract word, like “pain” or “dream,” with something you could touch.
  8. Find two lines with the same melody and change the ending of the second one.In Mouta: Rewrite the last Music Word of the second line and Adopt the version you like.
  9. Record yourself singing the song once and write down the first line you want to skip.In Mouta: Or let the virtual singer sing it back to you as an a cappella demo.
  10. Give the song a new title taken from a line you already have.
  11. Shorten the intro until the voice comes in within ten seconds.
  12. Write a new bridge without looking at the old one.

Make it a habit

Prompts work best in small, regular doses. One prompt a day for a week gives you seven drafts, and usually one or two of them are worth finishing. Keep every draft in one place, so you can come back to them when you need a verse or a melody for another song.

If you have lyrics from a prompt but no tune yet, read how to write a melody for your lyrics. If a draft needs a new section in the middle, see what a bridge is and how to write one.

Common questions

Do professional songwriters use prompts?

Many do, especially in co-writing sessions and songwriting classes. A prompt is just a starting point. A title, a chord progression, or a story someone tells in the room all do the same job.

What if I don’t like what I wrote?

That is normal for a 20-minute draft. Keep it anyway. A line you don’t like today can be the start of a better song next month.

How often should I write?

Short and often beats long and rare. Twenty minutes a day, a few days a week, will give you more finished songs than one long session a month.