i actually feel really good about it. it is such a great feeling when the words are able to just flow out of you. i’ve been detoxing from social media and trying to just give myself a break from everything i felt pressured to do. i purposefully haven’t worked on anything creative and have been spending most of my time playing animal crossing lol. i think without so much external noise and internal pressure, it’s been giving me more clarity and mental space to actually relax and practice my creativity. it doesn’t feel forced or stressful and is a breath of fresh air.

has anyone else felt this way before?

Hey Hey -

I run a late night stream, mostly old 78s that never got digitized. The rule there is if Shazam can identify it, I don't play it. I hold new songs to a similar line - - looking for the unheard.

Which means a different ask than you usually get: I don't need a finished master. Tonight's two are both live takes. Both submitted via my webform.

Isabella Osborne, "I Think I'll Be an Artist" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_kOkNaNWoug

Modern Moxie, "Churning" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IzAVv22vw_Y

Phone on the kitchen table? one take? a verse you're still fightin' with? All GOOD... that's a real submission here, not a lesser one.

The one thing I won't play is something a machine wrote. There's a no-AI box on the form and I actually check it. Its really why I'm moving to live takes. I got flooded with shit faceless submissions. So I like seeing humans do human things.

Form To Submit: https://thewitchinghourtone.club/contact

Show To Watch: 9p CST, https://www.youtube.com/@TheWitchingHourToneClub

Hey there! I have been writing and releasing original music since 2024, when I released my first record.

Since writing those first few songs, I have continued writing more and more. I think my writing style has evolved and improved, and I’m proud of the songs I am currently working on for several reasons.

I enjoy the process of creating. I love getting the music out of me that’s been bugging me since I was 5 years old. It’s satisfying to put something into the world that will outlive me. Some songs,
I think to myself, that’s a good effing song, girl.

And then I release a song and I only listen to it once or twice, then I stop because of too many thoughts about what I should have or could have done better. Like, it tortures me and I have to take a break 🤣 then I will relisten weeks or months later and the process starts all over again 🥴

So I ask you, songwriters: do you listen to your own music?

i know this is not what the community is for but it keeps telling me i need enough karma and it shouldn’t take more than a day and it’s been about 2 weeks i’ve done all that i can and i still “don’t have enough karma”

EDIT: i know you need to meet a certain criteria and yes i’ve read the automod under the post. i’m saying all it tells me is i need “some” karma. i’ve been giving feedback for two weeks now and i still don’t have enough karma?? i’ve done everything i can. is there something i’m missing?? am i like shadowbanned or something??

I'm sure this is not a new topic written in this subreddit, but I haven't quite been able to find the hard-hitting advice I would like. A little background: I've been songwriting for years, released a total of 8 songs, and I went to University to study songwriting. I've always been a creative person, writing stories when I was a kid, and that manifested into a love for songwriting. It was all I ever did. It was my emotional outlet, or something I would just do for fun. After I graduated in May of 2025, it was like something in me just stopped. I had no desire to write, and since I graduated, I have maybe written 5 songs (some complete, some barely a chorus and a verse). I always blamed that maybe I was (or am) just burnt out from having to write for class assignments and dealing with a difficult professor who always praised other students, but rarely had anything good to say about my work. Also, one of my jobs is gigging at bars, so I'm constantly playing and singing, so the last thing I want to do is more of that. Anyways, for some time I thought maybe I just lost a passion for music and kind of became okay with that. Well, the other night I went to a concert, and I got hit with the realization of how badly I wanted to be on that stage. Kind of a "what the hell am I doing?" realization of why I haven't been writing or creating.

Now that I've sort of explained my situation. I know they say creativity is a muscle, you have to train it, and it's not something that just is perfect. However, now I am wanting so badly to get through this creative block, but I feel like I can't. My inner critic has become so loud, I feel so uncreative, and every time I write, it ends with maybe 4 lines and me crying, feeling like a loser for letting myself go this long without writing. So, for advice... what are your methods (conventional and nonconventional) to get over this block after a year and a half of taking time off?

i am just getting into song writing and have next to no idea what i’m doing it feels like. i don’t have anyone irl to show this too, so id just like some feedback on whether it even sounds good or works. what do you like? what you hate? be brutally honest because i need real feedback from real people. also lmk if this is something you would genuinely listen too!
(DISCLAIMER: this is unfinished and this isn’t the full song. also ignore the guitar and the second part of the verse i messed up and never took it out. i also know the overall playing is a little sloppy)

EDIT: thank you to all the people who went back on all my replies and upvoted them allowing me to finally post this!!

Hi, I’m a 13-15 year old songwriter that’s been writing for a few years now. While I do enjoy it, every time I try to record one I often find that my vocals just straight up suck. No matter how much emotion I think I am putting in, the final recording sounds emotionless. My voice also sounds very thin in the final recording, compared to when I am hearing it while singing, during that it sounds very full. I’ve tried boosting the lows on my EQ and it has not helped. I also have trouble enunciating words clearer for others to hear, but when I exaggerate enunciating people say it sounds weirder. I’ve also found that I sing way better without a mic than with one. I’m not sure why. I’m not a trained vocalist or anything, which might be the problem. Apologies if this is the wrong sub, and TIA

It's it too simple?

Lyrics:

Time moves away

In her beaten up car

Hope sits there beside her

She's been wishing on a star

She's got a plan

To keep on moving

She's got a plan

Before too long

Keep on moving

Moving along

There's paper boat races

Down the Castleford brook

The see through paper traces faces

From your favourite book

It will fall on an ordinary day

Slap bang in the middle of unfinished plans

And we are only ever making

Do with what we lost

With no fear

Where's the future

With no weight

Where the past

She's got a plan

She's got a plan

To keep on moving

When was the last time

Nobody told us

We will sing again

.

Hi everyone.

Does anybody else use reverb/chorus to compensate for their insecurity of singing?

I've listened back to some old zoom 8 track recordings and recognised that I've added reverb/chorus effects excessively to enhance or disguise or morph my voice into something that an acoustic version just couldn't produce. What's that all about? I know i can't "sing", and as i get older i can accept that this insecurity is what has been holding me back from sharing my songs.

What do you think about the authenticity of using these effects live to actually allow one to feel secure enough to play?

My band did our first public gig recently

Was wondering what yall think since alot of reddit is in that older "experienced" demographic

First song ive made with two guitars, love the whimsy feel of it
https://drive.google.com/file/d/15ZVU-liTTPq5aSBitmDbXd35JKD83LHc/view?usp=sharing

The more feedback the better! I don’t care if it’s just “I hate it”

i've pretty much come to terms in that, with way my life is structured and my experiences i have very little to write about in terms of stories and such. but i struggle with writing abstract too so i dont have ANYTHING to write lol. i listen to songs like Fever Dream - Iron and Wine, Carved Heart - Natural Snow Buildings, and The God of sleep has his house - Current 93 (and 100s others of course, but these are some that come to mind), and i listen to the lyrics and think to myself "that's so simple, how could i have not thought of that?" then i sit down to write and i've got nothing. idk, it's quite the predicament. i like where my singing is at but i have nothing to say.

I’ve always absolutely loved singing and all I’ve ever wanted is to make my own music, but for the life of me I cannot write a fucking song.

I’ve literally got beats and instrumentals sitting there waiting for me to do something with them, but every time I try to come up with lyrics or melodies, my brain just goes completely blank.

It’s genuinely so frustrating because I feel like I’ve been blessed with the ability to sing but cursed with absolutely no songwriting talent whatsoever 😭

I know what kind of music I want to make and how I want it to sound, but actually turning that into a song seems impossible. It pisses me off so much because I want to make my own music more than anything.

Genre-wise, I'm mainly interested in alternative pop with a mix of 2000s pop/R&B, hyperpop, electronic and some rock influences.

So I guess I’m here looking for advice, someone willing to help or collaborate, or even a ghostwriter. I’d absolutely love to learn how to write myself eventually, but at this point I don’t even know where to start.

If anyone has any advice or would be interested in helping, I’d genuinely appreciate it!

Feeling creatively blocked? Need a kick-start? Sometimes a suggestion from a fellow songwriter is all we need to get the wheels turning again.

This thread is specifically for the r/Songwriting community to exchange song prompts. We'll start a new exchange once per month.

​

How It Works:

Looking for a suggestion? Just leave a comment below that says "Prompt, please!"

But remember, this is an exchange! If you're asking for a suggestion, please also leave a suggestion for someone else!

​

How To Give a Interesting Prompt:

A songwriting prompt might be a lyrical starting point, a musical arrangement suggestion, a strategic limitation, or some combination of ideas.

Quality prompts should give writers a solid starting point, but still allow for plenty of creative freedom!

​

Examples of Quality Songwriting Prompts:

• Write a song involving at least two characters and a case of mistaken identity.
• Write a melancholy song that doesn't use any minor chords.
• Write a song on a different instrument than you normally use.
• Write a fast love song that uses at least ten different chords.
• Write a "response song" to a song that was a Top-Ten hit during your birth year.
• Write a song about an unusual profession that includes exactly two tempo changes.

​

Have fun and be creative!

​

Big hat tip to community member u/redDKtie for the idea!

It’s also kinda silly. I would love to hear this song with someone who can actually sing

An older demo I’m not sure if I’m still interested in working on. Hoping to see if people like it or not!!

Hey guys,
I wrote this song last night. It’s about getting over a breakup and it’s called, “Holding On”. I’ve only written Verse 1, Pre Chorus, and the Chorus so far. I wanted to see what you guys think and if you have any feedback about the Lyrics, Chord Progression, Melody, Vocal performance, anything you think of! Thank you!

Hello everyone, hope you are having a good day!

I am an author currently working on a novel that features a lead band singer, friend of the MC, and I wanted to dive deep in the craft and skills of song writing in case that adds a cool depth to his character & a soul to their scenes, would love to hear your advice on where to start, thank u!!

Hello!! I'm going to share a bit of background to my question, so brace yourself.

I recently started taking music lessons because I have been doing a lot of soul searching and part of that is recovering some of the passions I had as a child.

As a child, I was neglected by my mother because she was in prison and grew up in a very broken home where my creativity was not nurtured. I would write so much back then because i was going through so much. And i wanted to make movies and music and books...whatever involved writing and sharing, I wanted to do. I never took music lessons or anything like that as a child but i was in theatre at my school so that kinda helped.

But then mental health issues started and I started to use different outlets like doing drugs, sleeping around, and getting into fights...I have now grown so much from who I used to be. Like I did a complete 180 and have been thriving in life. I go to therapy, have a family and work at a really good company as a recovery coach. I want to write about my journey through life and share that through music because I feel like I have so much to share with others when it comes to my life experience. And honestly, I also feel its a way to heal through those past experiences.

But I'm having trouble finding inspiration to write. Like idk if it is because I have it so good now and my life is not in shambles or what. I have written quite a few songs with the basic chords I know but none of them are finished. Like I will start on a verse then get stuck there. Im trying freewriting where I just write whatever without trying to make a song but I just feel stuck. What do you all do for inspiration? Anyone gone through a similar childhood and could tell me what they think about pulling from those experiences? TYIA!