It’s a dark and stormy night. You’re alone in the attic, lit only by candlelight. Shadows loom from the corners of the room—or maybe that’s just the sleep deprivation talking. You’ve been trapped for days… not by ghosts or ghouls, but by something far more menacing: writer’s block.
At one time or another, every songwriter will face the dreaded “Blank Page Syndrome”. The Fountain of Song Ideas has dried up and, when you do start working on a dew drop of inspiration, you discover it sounds a lot like previous songs you have written. This can get so frustrating and even, at times, depressing.
But all is not lost!
One of the most effective tools that I have used over my career to break through songwriter’s blocks is an exercise I call “Decomposition”. Not only has it always kickstarted fresh song ideas, but I find it to be a lot of fun, too.
What Is Decomposition?
It’s exactly what it sounds like—sort of. You start by taking apart a song you love, dissecting its musical DNA, and then reassembling it into something unrecognizable... and uniquely yours. Here’s how to try it:
Step 1: Choose Your Source
Find a song that really inspires you, from one of your favorite bands or artists. Start with a high-quality recording of the song to capture every nuance.
Step 2: Learn It Inside and Out
Study the chord progression, melody, and bass line. Transcribe them if you can. If theory or ear training isn’t your strong suit, seek out a reliable chord chart or sheet music online—or visit your favorite local music shop.
Step 3: Break It Down and Twist It Up
Now here is the secret sauce behind this exercise: Start making big changes to the original song. These changes can include, but are not limited to:
1.) Change the tempo. If the original song was recorded at an energetic 150 beats per minute, slow it down to a laid back 84 beats per minute. Now play the bass line, chord progression and melody at the new tempo and see how they sound. If that tempo does not tingle your creative spider sense, try another tempo.
2.) Change the feel. If the original song is a shuffle, try playing it straight. If the bass line was recorded ahead of the beat, try playing it behind the beat.
3.) Change the time. This is one of my favorite alterations to make when I do this exercise. If the original song is in 4/4, try playing it in 6/8. If you are feeling bold, try an odd time signature like 5/8. You will need to adjust the original chord progression, bass line and melody, but this is where your creative spirit should gently be nudged into action.
4.) Change the key. This step can really differentiate your modified song from the original. If the source song is in the key of E major, try changing it to E minor. This does require you to understand keys and how the chords would change from key-to-key. This information can be found online, but I do think finding a good private instructor, who has a music theory background, will make this so much easier for you to learn. If you do not want to wait for lessons or to do the research online, you can simply experiment by randomly changing a chord from major to minor, minor to dominant 7, etc. As you make changes listen closely to how the new chord type might make it necessary for you to change the root and or chord type of the following chords.
Step 4: Listen for the Spark
At any point, if you find yourself inspired by what you’ve created—even if it’s just a fragment—stop referencing the original song. That spark is your new idea. Follow it.
It is important to remember that you are not plagiarizing the original song or trying to do a cover of it. You are basically borrowing another composer’s tendencies that might be different from yours and only using them to inspire you to explore new songwriting areas. When you fully commit to this exercise, your completed composition should sound nothing like the source song that you used for inspiration, but also should not sound like anything you have written before!
If you try using the Decomposition method, please share the experience was for you in the comments section below. Also, if you have other suggestions for breaking through writer’s block that you find helpful, please share them, too.
Write on!
Story by Dale Titus
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Dale has been a professional bassist for 40 years and during that time was an instructor/counselor at the Bass Institute of Technology, a freelance writer for Bass Player magazine as well as the Editor of Bass Frontiers magazine. He also released The Ultimate Beginner Series for Bass videos and book for Alfred Publishing, as well as the Everything Bass YouTube channel.