Have you ever sat down to write a song, but didn’t know where to start? Have you been trying to finish a song for three years but can’t figure out the bridge? Or do you feel likeyou keep writing the same song over and over? Has it been three years since you last wrote something?

If any of these things have happened to you (and it’s likely they have), perhaps you should consider a brainstorming session with other musicians. Brainstorming helps us take advantage of our natural thinking process by gathering our thoughts into a “storm” and transforming them into written words or diagrams. It’s a great way to put your heads together and build off knowledge from your peers – and yourself.

See if you can get a good group of interested musicians together and try out some of the brainstorming techniques below. They can really help you put a new writing or composing task in motion or breathe life into a project that hasn’t been finished.

Here are some brainstorming techniques:

• Freewriting: When you freewrite, you let your thoughts flow and write down anything that comes to mind. Anything. You can set a time limit or a space limit (for example, 15 minutes or three pages). Then, reread what you wrote. The idea is that you clear your mind, and while the freewrite might have a lot of filler (as in: “I don’t know what to write but I’m writing something anyway”), there might also be some gems that you can use. Dig out the words or lines that you want to keep and add them to your idea book. This helps get the wheels turning and might give you a basis for something you can use later.
• Three Perspectives: Take a look at a topic or idea from three different perspectives in order to see it more completely.

1. Describe it.
2. Trace it: the history, how it’s changed over time, specific events
3. Map it: What is your subject related to or influenced by? How and why?

• Journalistic Questions: Choose a topic and ask: who, what, when, where, how, and why?
• Dictionary, thesaurus, encyclopedia: Tried and true. Are you stuck for a word or idea or definition? Flip through some pages and see where you land.

So, if you’re stuck for an idea or are really hoping to finish that song you’ve been thinking about for months, now’s the time. Get some of your music peers together for a much needed brainstorming session.

Tell us what you think: Have you brainstormed? Did you try any of the techniques listed above? Tell us how they worked!

The SongCast Crew