How to build an Idea Bank?

The Idea Bank has been an essential tool for me over the years. It has allowed me to access all of my ideas wherever I am. It has also helped me turn up ready to serve my co-writers as best I can.

What is an Idea Bank? 

You can include many things in your Idea Bank — everything from lyrically or musical notes to your co-writer's publishing details. Or even the name of their dog! But having used this tool, using different versions and iterations over time, there are now five processes that each goes through. 

The five processes are: 

• Captured — fresh ideas that I'm thinking could be turned into a song at some stage.

• Writable — ideas mapped, using a Song Map or otherwise, giving some structure on how the fresh idea could be used when being written.

• Organized — what, when, why, and who this writable idea could be used for writing.

• Written — yes, actually creating a final draft song - this is when the music and the lyrics all come together, either written by myself or within a co-write.

• Delivered — having signed off the final version that is recorded (even as a rough work tape on my iPhone to finished in a studio) and then sent to the publisher and included in the catalog.

As an idea is developed or written, they are updated from fresh ideas to completion (or delivered). This is captured in the 'status' column of my own Idea Bank. 

Steps of building an Idea Bank

In both of my Workbooks, I've set out more details on how to build an Idea Bank. But, if you've not seen this before, here's how to set up an Idea Bank just simply using a couple of spreadsheets. There are two main elements of this:

1. Details about new fresh ideas, and

2. Details about your co-writers.

There are four steps involved in building an Idea Bank.

Step 1. Prepare the idea spreadsheet

1. In Row 1, Column 1, enter the title “Idea Bank” in bold

2. In Row 3, enter the titles across the sheet as follows:

   • Reference number

   • Date

   • Title

   • Link to Lyrics

   • Link to Music

   • Song Map

   • Status

   • Cool Score

   • Genre

   • Structure

   • Tempo

   • Co-writers

   • Final shares

   • Notes

Step 2. Prepare the co-writers spreadsheet

1. In Row 1, Column 1, enter the title “Co-writers” in bold

2. In Row 3, enter the titles across the sheet as follows:

   • Name

   • Publisher details

   • PRO

   • Notes

Step 3. Enter your idea details

This is all about capturing all of the ideas, wherever they are lurking, whether lyrical or musical ideas – from half-written ideas on an old pad of paper to voicemails of music you've sent back to yourself. The trick is to capture all of your ideas because if it's not captured, it can't be there when you need them.

Step 4. Categorize your ideas

Once all of these ideas are captured, it's time to review these ideas and categorize them to give you a feel for how your very best ideas could be used. I used the Cool Score (OK, Cool, Very Cool, Brilliant) column as a way of highlighting the best ideas to the top of the list when looking for which should be written in a coming up co-write. 

The (Possible) Co-writer column is also something I'd use, especially when I'm planning a trip to Nashville, so that I've at least a few ideas that are likely to work for each co-writer, even if we end up writing something else. 

To set this up, here is a Google Sheets template https://tinyurl.com/Idea-Bank that you can copy/paste and use on your drive.

This is the simplest way of setting up your Idea Bank. There are alternative ways to do this – from simply having a long list of all of this on paper to using a database like FileMaker Pro or using something between these like Notion.

Questions

Here are a few questions: 

• The key thing about an Idea Bank is that it keeps everything, everywhere with you. The brilliant thing about computers is their ability to search very quickly. That's why I love databases like FileMaker. If you haven't yet set up your own Idea Bank, what method would you prefer most - paper, spreadsheets, database, or other?

• If this approach is too left-brained, how would you rather keep these ideas around when you need them most?

Hope this helps with your songwriting!

– Simon. 

www.simonhawkins.com

What is foreshadowing?

Hey, I'm writing a Christmas song! And this is partly what made me think of this lovely songwriting tool: foreshadowing. 

Foreshadowing is an English language device to drop into a lyric, linked to something used later on in the song.

How does it work? 

Often, it can use many nouns to set up what/who/where/when we are in our lyric. Foreshadowing is linked to plot (which I mention in Song Maps) and narrative, so often used in books or films, and foreshadowing is used to create anticipation, a sense of thinking: 

'Something is about to happen' 

In one of my favorite songs, Three Wooden Crosses sung by Randy Travis, the great songwriters Kim Williams and Doug Johnson used foreshadowing in this. It's is an excellent example of setting up the whole song in verse 1 - introducing five people and a bus (a farmer, teacher, hooker, preacher, and bus driver) who are all on a journey bound to Mexico. And 'the eighteen-wheeler can't stop on a dime.' And the plot thickens in verses 2 and 3.

Interestingly, verse 3 ends up much later in the future with someone else describing this in a story to others, also part of the lyric. It's a fantastic example of saying so much in so few words. And this song uses foreshadowing to quickly introduce the story in verse 1. 

How to use this?

Although 'Three Wooden Crosses' is a story song, foreshadowing can be used in any kind of song, as long as a little bit of planning is done to make this work. In terms of using this device, here are a few steps I'd suggest:

1. Verse 1: Find the main verbs/nouns and weave them into this verse (i.e., foreshadow them) for them to support the main idea in the chorus.

2. Chorus: Summarize the main idea. This could even be a very simple chorus.

3. Verse 2: Move on the story about the verbs/nouns from verse 1, somehow linking to the main idea in the chorus.

4. Verse 3/Bridge: Move the story on again but try to complete the lyric before getting to the chorus.

These are similar to the Timezones Song Map I mentioned in the book:

Verse 1 - Timezone 1 - the story begins

Chorus 1 - Title

Verse 2 - Timezone 2 - the story moves on

Chorus 2 - Title

Bridge - Timezone 3 or Payoff

Chorus 3 - Title 

And this Song Map is a great way to write with foreshadowing. So it looks like my new Christmas song might be a Timezone song!

Question

What writable ideas in your Idea Bank could maybe be developed using foreshadowing? Do you have any Timezone writable ideas that could be developed this way?

– Simon

www.simonhawkins.com

Where do you write your best work?

In my latest book, The Organized Songwriter, I suggested that it’s sometimes cool to have two parts of your physical space: 

• A left-brained logical space (my office), and

• A right-brained creative space (my studio)

And this worked well for me for a long time. 

However, I’d been thinking more and more that I need an additional right-brained creative space exclusive for writing lyrics and books. In reality, I had been spending more time at home than ever, especially during the last 18 months of this COVID pandemic. And being in an office has not been so great for writing creatively.

Nashville inspired

Whenever I’ve been to Nashville, there have been super-cool areas at publishers and studios for co-writers to write. Not just spaces to meet, but dedicated spaces that writers want to write in, with comfortable chairs, lovely carpeting, natural daylight, air-conditioning (sometimes), etc. Arriving in a Nashville writing room has always made me want to write more than ever. So, a few months ago, I thought, let’s do something about this.

I made my own writing room 

It took a while for me to figure out what this space should look like, given it is just for me, not for co-writers (at least not for right now). As time went on, I realized that a new space might help me be more productive. 

What I was looking for

Here’s what I think I needed:

1. A ‘booth’ feel, so I have no other distractions (my old studio cupboard, everything thrown out or stored somewhere else)

2. A wooden desk (IKEA’s NORBO wall-mounted drop-leaf table, birch would be great)

3. A good computer (Mac mini, wall-mounted, everything out of the way)

4. A good monitor (Apple cinema screen)

5. A Bluetooth keyboard (Logitech solar keyboard)

6. Nice lights (LED backlight USB lighting, smart light bulb, WiFi smart LED dimmable)

7. Great music (stereo Apple HomePods are fine)

8. Candles (IKEA, Sainsbury’s)

9. Comfortable chair (IKEA HENRIKSDAL with cover)

10. A shelf for plants, clock, books, and pictures etc. (IKEA LACK)

The Result

Here’s what it looks like right now:

The reality is: this is a cupboard. It also used to be a loo! But, having spent a few months with my new writing room to work in, it’s given me a space to work without any distractions. No pianos. No guitars. No DAW. No mics or plugins. Just me, a basic computer, fresh air, and daylight. And that’s been incredibly helpful so far.

Question

Not everyone needs a writing room. See Gina Boe’s brilliant take on this ‘Face The Window’. But, wherever it is, where do you write your best work, music, and lyrics? I would love to know.

– SJLH

www.simonhawkins.com

How long should my song be?

This is all about timing, which is one of the most important tools for writing commercial songs.

Here’s a story

Twenty years ago, when I finally left my corporate job to become a full-time songwriter, I knew there was a lot of information I didn’t know about this beautiful craft. Especially for Christian music. It was not just about lyrics and music, but about what commercial songs needed to be crafted to be pitched by publishers and, ultimately, cut on artists’ albums. In particular,

How long should my songs be?

And this was one of my main questions. The best way to find out was to ask the pros, those who knew what the answer would be. So I jumped on a plane from Heathrow to Colorado and drove up into the mountains to Estes Park, where the GMA’s Music in the Rockies took place. And this week-long festival (now replaced by Immerse by GMA) was full of seminars, competitions, concerts, and everything related to Contemporary Christian Music (CCM), other genres, and the Christian music business industry. It was just what I needed. During the competitions, that’s where I found gold. Some judges would give feedback on my songs and, even better, let me listen to their input on EVERY song my songs were up against in the competition. Fantastic! One thing they would always say is this:

“Keep songs under 3:30 minutes.”

That’s right. And, looking at my copious notes, some judges said to keep it within 2:45 minutes. They also always used to say -

“Don’t bore us. Get to the chorus”.

And this is great, helpful feedback. But, after all these years, does this remain? Recently, several people have said that 2:45 is the new 3:30. But I needed some evidence.

The answer is out there

The best way to answer this question was to get out my old spreadsheets again and see the evidence on ‘paper.’ Albeit digital paper. It took a while, but after analyzing over 500 songs in different genres, here are the results: In terms of how long are the songs out there on the radio:

• CCM – 3:33 minutes
• Worship – 4:37 minutes
• SOGO –3:36 minutes
• My Church – 5:19 minutes
• Pop – 3:12 minutes

Note that this is data analyzed using finished tracks rather than work tapes or demos. But I think it’s helpful to see them as final versions because they are commercially successful songs. There are exceptions, like one Dove award winner ‘Joyful’ by Dante Bowe that got played TWICE together on K-Love because it’s only 2:17 minutes long. Then there are others, like ‘Overwhelmed’ by Big Daddy Weave that run well over 5 minutes, like a few of their other tracks end up. So there we are.

What does this mean?

While these are averages (not about the songs, but in terms of length!), the split of songs is fascinating to me. See the attached chart:

With over 50% of K-Love songs still running 3:00-3:49 minutes, we can still ok to go and write that bridge. And, if we can push up the tempo to 150+ BPM and beyond, we might even be able to write a third verse!

Questions

Here are a few questions:

• Do your favorite songs on the radio bear this up?
• Are your co-writers looking to write shorter songs?
• Are you wanting to write shorter songs?

Economy of our words has always been vital for us as songwriters. But, I’m thinking for my writing, economy of our music is also essential.

I hope this is helpful!

– SJLH

www.simonhawkins.com

More similar than we think

The other day, Poppy and I went to have 'special time', which means taking off and finding a nice cup of coffee somewhere and having a chit-chat for an hour or so. There was nothing specific to talk about – no bad news or good news. Just chatting. A few other people were having special time, or whatever they call it, some dads and daughters (like us), some parents who wanted a break with their small, young children, and some moms with their children. But we were all doing the same thing. On our way back to the car in the car park, there was something odd: right next to each other, there were two cars of the same make, model, and color. How crazy was that? There are not too many Fiat Pandas around this part of Great Britain. But to get two parking right next to others is rare.

And it made me think:

• We often do similar things – sitting or parking next to each other.
• We often look similar – sure, we are all unique in our own way, just like my car has its salty white deposit on its black windshield wipers from living on a beach, but, ultimately, both cars look remarkably similar.
• We often like finding others – just like when found our lovely little car blue Fiat parked next to her sweet sister, we needed to celebrate by taking a picture!

I'm sure there are many other ways we're similar right now. So, let's celebrate!

– SJLH

www.simonhawkins.com

Highlights

And another one…

Highlights

Here’s another…