Turning On & Tuning Up Your Songwriter Radar

This quarter we're having a lively discussion group all about Turning On & Tuning Up Your Songwriter Radar.

My dad Kim Williams always talked about keeping your "songwriter radar" on all the time.

"Songwriter radar" is another way of describing what some people call mindfulness, awareness, observation and being present in the moment.

It was using his "songwriter radar" that Dad came up with the idea for "New Way To Fly" driving up Music Row one day.

He saw the "birds on a high line," and using his quick songwriter wit, started turning the idea over in his mind.

What he uncovered was a comparison - the birds on the high line were lined up in a row...

What else lines up in a row?

Bar patrons line up on their bar stools in front of the bar.

That simple act of comparison gave Dad the first lines of the hit song he would finish writing with soon to be superstar Garth Brooks.

How many other songwriters drove down Music Row that same day?

They all had the opportunity to see those birds and make the connection between the "birds on a high line" and the "birds" lined up at the bar.

And yet only one man did it.

You can use this same technique to make comparisons - similes and metaphors - in your own environment.

EXERCISE

Here's an exercise we did in our meet up last week for you to try at home.

1. Set a timer and write for 1 minute about things you observe around you answering the questions: a) what is it, and b) what is it doing?

2. Set your 1 minute timer again and answer c) what else does that?

Practicing this exercise will help you identify similes, metaphors and comparisons you can use for songwriting.