Songwriting Series #3: The handy jotter

Don’t ever underestimate the importance of a handy jotter aka small notebook. It turns everyday occurrences into inspiration for future songs.

For example, last night, the band and I were driving back from Houston, and someone said “my dreams keep me awake”. Sam heard it and thought, “That’d be a good song lyric” so he had me write it down for him in his handy jotter.

Ideas come to us all the time. How often have you thought of something great and told yourself “I’ve got to remember this and work on it later” and then it just disappeared? I am totally guilty of this. I don’t let it happen anymore. I got tired of losing so much material while driving, I finally bought a voice recorder to keep in my car for those ideas.

Sources of inspiration

Pay attention to people around you. Write down clever or interesting ideas or phrases people say.

Get ideas from other songs. Sometimes a mis-heard lyric can turn into a good one for you.

Watch movies and TV shows for ideas…it’s not breaking copyright if you use the lyric in a different art medium, i.e.) a song.

Sermons and teachers

Self-introspection, journaling, meditation, and prayer.

Find a common place to keep all of your bits of inspiration. I have a file folder on my laptop labeled “work in progress” where I type in all lyric ideas. If it’s a melody I don’t want to forget, I record it on Garage Band and save it on my computer.

If you’re jotting everything down on old receipts and post-its that are scattered throughout your purse/car/bedroom, it’s likely that you’ll lose them and never develop the ideas. What a shame that would be!

So, in conclusion…

Step 1. Get a notebook and pencil to keep with you at all times.

Step 2. Keep your eyes and ears open for inspiration.

Step 3. Turn that inspiration into something great.

* A handy jotter is really just a small notebook that you keep with you. I call mine a handy jotter because when I was studying abroad in England, I needed a notebook to take backpacking, and the one I bought said “handy jotter” on the front. So, the name stuck.