# 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]]