Songwriting for Music Therapy (Part I: Research into Therapeutic Songwriting)

Every great idea starts as a seed, and as many seeds are planted among it, only a few break through the ground...As my husband and I get moving with developing a new web tool for music therapists, I have decided to revisit some of my past research related to the area.


A few years back I conducted a research study on therapeutic songwriting for music therapy.  At the time, I was focused on developing my own skills as a songwriter, and it sparked my interest in researching the topic.  I wondered how the pros did it. How do they got started in the creative thought process?  Now don't forget that music therapists must always keep therapeutic goals in the forefront, and writing songs for therapeutic use is a little different than just writing a song. So my research involved interviewing music therapists, and simply asking them about how they got started in the process of writing a therapeutic song.  For the purpose of this study, we focused on composing original songs with original text...no piggybacking, no fill-in-the-blanks, and no improvisational song writing...even though these activities often played a roll in the creative process. (Keep in Mind: Because it was a research project I had to really narrow my area of focus, and to add to the insult, it was being done by just "me-myself-and-I", with a $0 budget, very limited resources, and about a million constraints!)


So, before I launched my official research, I did my own pilot study, and I used nothing other than Facebook!  As a musician I happen to have a circle of friends who are into music, including: composers, music therapists, Broadway stars, music teachers, opera singers, and closet musicians of all levels and backgrounds.  So I messaged each and every one of them, asking for some input..."When composing an original song, how do you get started?"  (This turned out to be a great way to narrow my research questions and test the waters for appropriate prompts for my future research interviews.)  The question was purposefully vague, and got the variety of responses I was hoping for.  Of course there were some trends, and that is what I was interested in!  


So what were those trends??? Though I love the build up of tension and excitement, I won't make you wait 10 years for me to actually write it up for journal entry! (Blog writing is so much more fun :) If you're interested, please read on, and follow the series of posts that will continue after this one!


Seldom do we sit down with pen and paper in hand, and just write. In "Part I" of this blog series, we will list some of the many ways people get started in the creative process for songwriting. What gets them motivated? How do they set their focus?  How do they plant the seeds for something new, exciting, and different. This is what happens before the fine tuning and editing happens, and before a top hit is created.  This first list is all inclusive, and contains responses from people who are not professional music therapists...and not necessarily goal oriented (Because they have good ideas too!) Though a good song always considers its purpose and audience...It is a very different battle when creating a song for entertainment purposes, as opposed to creating a song for artistic purposes.


So...When composing an original song, how do you get started?


The Number 1 answer of all time...."I don't know!  I just do it!"
1.  Just do it!  It just comes to you, and there is not just 1 way it happens. Every time is different.
2.  Improvise on your primary instrument, and it all flows from there. Or get away from the instrument, which might distract your focus, and improvise with your voice...then let it flow. Play/Sing...and then write!  Of course you'll have to be good at transcribing...or you might be able to enlist some help.  You can always make a recording of it, then transcribe from there.
3.  Improvise with CHORD PROGRESSIONS on the Piano/Guitar - other than your primary instrument....If you're a beginner musician, you might even want to consider using a q-chord or harpsichord when playing around with chord progressions. That way you don't even have to think about how to play the chords...you just simply push a button and change it to Major/minor/7th/etc.  Find what sounds good and go from there. Play some chords, and then play around with a melody line above the chords, searching for something that fits. Improvise over chord progressions in a variety of styles. 
4. "Noodle around" and challenge yourself with new techniques, forms, structures, instrumentation, or sound qualities. For learning purposes, you can start here, but don't expect to always play everything in 4/4, key DM, I-IV-V progressions.  It gets old fast! If you want to create something new, then don't do what's already been done.
5.  Start with a melodic line/motif.  Make up a melody (hum, sing, play), and then find the chords that fit that melody. Change it as you go. Often times this first melody will become your chorus or bridge.  Think about how you can make those verses related, but different, both musically and lyrically.  
6.  Lyrics first.  Write out the lyrics, decide on a feel/mood/setting, and make some music to fit the phrase and structure of the lyrics.  Music may speak louder than words, but the words can also be the foundation of a song.  The wonderful thing about music, is that it brings out the meaning and substance behind the words.  If you have a very specific behavioral purpose for your song, you might consider writing the lyrics first. (Eg:  A hello song might start with the words "Hello, Hello, Hello, to all my friends...").  
7.  Start simple with I-IV-V.  Pull out those I-IV-V chords and sing along, then add in some other stuff and develop it...adding, subtracting, and sometimes multiplying. (Check out that Circle of 5ths!).
8.  Set a goal and purpose.  Think about your audience, your ultimate goal, and build upon what tends to work. Are you creating a song for entertainment purposes?...if so, you might want to make it catchy, simple, and repetitive...think audience involvement!  If you're creating something new and artistic (ars nova), or experimental, then you probably want to go away from the ordinary.  Think John Cage, Jacob Druckman, Tom Johnson, or Greg Pattillo.  If you're writing for a specific music therapy group, consider their needs. (Eg:  A group of developmentally delayed adults may require repetition, simple structure, familiarity. A geriatric client with motor delays may require a slower tempo, with upbeat rhythms for exercise.)  
9.  Play Play Play. Get out some of those old dusty music books and play...the improvisation will eventually take hold, a jam session will begin to flow, a song will come out of it, and then you write it down.
10.  Immerse Yourself & Wait till Inspiration strikes...and you just know it! Use that inspiration and "juice it". It might come to you on a walk, or late at night as your mind wanders into space. Maybe the entire song will be composed in your dream. Close your eyes and imagine it.  Immerse yourself in the creative world, and look at/make some art, listen to songs, and dance.  Create opportunities for inspiration before sitting at your instrument.
11.  Develop Structure. Establish a musical structure by deciding on the mood, feeling, message, and then develop the parameters for the lyrics to fit into.
12.  Use Electronics.  Play around with variations of a scale or chord or motif...develop it electronically, by varying the rhythm, timbre, pitch, delay, etc.  Through trial and error of a small idea, something comes out of it. Take a seed of inspiration and develop it...you might just discover something new and unique as you explore the possibilities.  Always ask yourself, "What if I did this?"
13.  Write it down. Keep a book of your ideas...combine all those post-its and notes into one book, then reference it when you want to make something new.
14.  Warm-up.  Use an existing song and make a game/rhyme out of it. (Thanks Mom for teaching me Tinkle Tinkle!)  See what other ideas come from there.  


...Songwriting can be intimidating, but don't let it be!
When I conducted the actual research I tried to find patterns for best practices.  Like, what comes first (after the goal has been defined)...is it the melody, the lyrics, the harmonic structure, or something else? You'll come to find that everyone finds their own method, and most struggle to clearly define the creative process. (It's creative after all!)  Some change up their technique, and others are very clear about the process structure. As a beginning songwriter (as I still consider myself), you will want to know some of the techniques and tricks...and that is what we will reveal more of in the coming weeks...and I'll be helping you to write your own original hello/goodbye song in no time!