The EDM

Producer’s
SONG
Inspiration
Cheat Sheet
How to generate
exciting new song ideas

Written by Will Darling .com

 Song Inspiration Cheat Sheet
How to generate exciting new song ideas
Coming up with new, original track ideas can be really tricky - especially if you’re going through a
particularly dry-spell of creativity. Here are 5 ideas I use to help me when I get stuck or uninspired:

1 THEME TUNE
Think of any great book, film or story and there’s always an overarching theme. Music shouldn’t be any
different. Choose a theme that’s relevant to you at the moment (you might be angry, chilled, in love...
whatever it may be), and commit to conveying that emotion through your track.
How to: If you’re struggling for inspiration, read a short story or watch a movie that moves you, then use that
theme as the theme of your song. For instance, you might watch Star Wars, and work out the three words that
best describe the theme (Epic, Futuristic battle between good & evil, exciting). Then use those words to inform
your song-writing.

2 BACK 2 THE FUTURE

I know we’re talking about NEW track ideas here, but re-visiting an older genre and putting a modern twist
on it can be a great way to get inspiration. Calvin Harris did this with “I’m Not Alone”, rocketing him to stardom
using an old Trance track as inspiration (Art Of Trance - Madagascar (Ferry Corsten Remix), but presenting it
in his own, unique style.
How to: Re-listen to a tune that you loved 3, 4, 10 or even 20 years ago, or if you can’t think of one, Google
search for “best house music 1994” (or something similar). Click the first list/blog/article that comes up, then
listen to some of those listed tunes on YouTube until you hear something that inspires you.

3 KILLER COMBO
Take two or more styles that you really like (for instance hip-hop and classical music), and try combining
elements from each. Major Lazer does this with Dancehall, Electro House and Reggaeton.
How to: Rather than try and combine too many elements, try taking just the strongest from each genre as
inspiration, e.g. you might try combining a Soul melody with a Dubstep bass and a House beat.

4 THE RE-ROUTE
The beauty of the modern DAW is that it’s so easy to route plugins in different combinations without the
danger of breaking anything. Experiment with routing sounds and effects in unorthodox ways to come up
with inspiring ideas.
How to: Try running a vocal sample through an arpeggiator, or a reverb into a distortion unit, or a guitar sound
into a vocoder. Propellerhead’s Reason makes creative routing even easier - just flip the rack and start moving
cables! Sample what you come up with and use it as an instrument.

5 THE RE-SAMPLE
You might have already written a melody or chord sequence, but feel it lacks originality or unique interest.
Re-purposing what you’ve already made can add a fresh spin on it.
How to: Try sampling the whole phrase, then load it back into a sampler, using it as an instrument. This can work
particularly well if you play it a couple of octaves above the original - it then becomes more of a harmonic texture.
You can also try triggering the sample from a point other than the start, or reversing it to spark off new ideas.

These ideas are just starting places to take you on that beautiful (but sometimes elusive) journey of
creativity; if any one of them gives you a spark from which other ideas fly, great!

© Copyright 2016 EDMtips.com. Written by Will Darling

All Rights Reserved. will@edmtips.com .com