# 21.03 Songwriting Exercises 🏋️
## Word exercises
- [[Collect words]]
- [[Jam with words]]
- [[Word ladder]]
- [[Sing nonsense syllables to a melody]]
- [[Scan a book for interesting words]]
- [[Write new lyrics to an existing melody]]
- [[Cut up and rearrange lyrics]]
- [[Have a conversation]]
- [[Play with rhymes]]
- [[Imitation is an exercise in finding one's voice]]
- [[Write from a different perspective]]
- [[Free write to stoke creativity]]
- [[Turn prose into verse]]
- [[Re-write verse in a different meter]]
- [[Let your mind wander]]
- [[Write from a single word]]
- [[Pick rhymes and work backwards]]
- [[Write a song about a character in another song]]
## Music exercises
- [[Collect sounds]]
- [[Find the music in the words]]
- [[Make a musical track first]]
- [[Play a one-note melody]]
- [[Learn others' songs]]
- [[Set a timer]]
- [[Spice up a simple chord progression]]
- [[Record an improvisation]]
- [[Try a different instrument or tuning]]
- [[Remix others' ideas]]
- [[Start with a chord machine]]
- [[Use a random number generator]]
- [[Write without an instrument]]
- [[Use every note you haven't used yet]]
- [[Change the key]]
- [[Pick a structure]]
- [[Write a new score for a scene]]
## General exercises
- [[Give yourself a deadline]]
- [[Take lessons]]