Every year during the month of February there’s a challenge to write a song a day. Just because. I did it half-heartedly a couple of years ago, just before Covid shut down our lives. But I’ve finally gotten my music life back in order and I’ve been writing.
Writing Using Prompts
This year I’m using a set of “prompts” — phrases that make you think of something to help jump start the writing each day. Just coming up with something out of the blue can be daunting. So far, on day 6, they’ve proved to be very useful:
The Fruits of My Labor
I wanted to put all my work together in one place so you could track it as it was happening. I try to put some version of whatever the song is for that day. They are all in various state of “doneness.” And many are subject to change but I figured it would be fun to see the progression of what came out at each moment.
Day 24: Want What I Can’t Have
Day 25: Happy Loner (coming soon)
Day 26: How To Love Other People
This is a “scratch” version–just threw it together in like 40 minutes. Gets the point across. There’s lots of space for other stuff.
Day 27: In a Man’s Clothes
Since I missed like 10 days in here due to winter break, I’m now working backwards through the prompts. This is what came out today. The prompt was “Stepped on a Bee”…
Day 28: House on the Ocean (coming soon)
I wrote it this morning after being away for a week on vacation with the family. The voice memo is a bit segmented, so the song shall get posted when it gets posted.
Day 18: Halfway There
It took discipline to not think of Bon Jovi’s “Livin’ On a Prayer” when working with this prompt. Anyway, the song is, as the prompt suggests, halfway there.
Day 17: Best Revenge (coming soon)
It’s in progress. I swear.
Day 16: Love Like That (coming soon)
I’ve worked out some lyrics…just need a tune!
Day 15: Follow Me Into The Dark (coming soon)
I have a chorus for this one, but my well pump died the night before this song. Needless to say, I was busy trying to get clean running water back for the fam.
Day 14: Here’s To Moving On (coming soon)
The voice memo is recorded…I just have to decide if it’s post worthy.
Day 13: Strangers Again
UPDATE: I sought out help from a fellow songwriting buddy. He helped me shape the verses to support the chorus! Recording coming soon!
OK, this is just an idea. It was Sunday. And it was Super Bowl Sunday. Needless to say, I hadn’t the time to really push this one through. Nor the energy. Congrats to LA.
Day 12: Your Eyes
The prompt for this was “so many skies.” This was a Saturday song, so the logistics were different from my typical week. I wrote the lyrics in the morning around breakfast. Then sort of let it sit until 9pm. This is what came out in the late hours.
Day 10: Second Chances (Year from Now)
This prompt was “Year from now,” which is used in the chorus lyric. However, second chances became the payoff.
Day 10: Worst Case Scenario
I wrote the song for Work Case Scenario, but the voice memo doesn’t do what I hear in my head justice. Recording coming soon…. 🙂