About a year ago, I found myself at an interesting intersection of my two passions: music and software development. Like every songwriter, I occasionally hit creative walls. We all know the frustration of just staring at a blank page. As a developer, my instinct was simple: build a tool to help.
That’s how Songwritingtools.net was born.
The Inspiration
The project started after I discovered one of Jeff Tweedy’s approaches to songwriting, using “word ladders”, in his awesome book “How to Write One Song”. The technique involves random combinations of verbs and nouns and can spark unexpected lyrical directions. I thought, “Why not digitize this?” What began as a simple word generator evolved into a comprehensive toolkit for songwriters.
What I Built
The site offers several tools, each addressing different aspects of the creative process:
- Word Ladder Generator: The original inspiration – randomly pairs verbs and nouns to create unexpected imagery
- Rhyme Dictionary: Because sometimes you just need that perfect rhyme (or imperfect…)
- Chord Progression Generator: For when the musical side needs a nudge
- Sense Writing Tools: Helping writers tap into sensory descriptions
- AI Lyric Assistant: A more recent addition that leverages AI to help with lyrical ideas. This is more about inspiring rather than generating.
Building this was a fun exercise in creating a clean, minimalist interface that gets out of the way and lets creativity flow. I implemented localStorage so users could save their scratchpad work without needing accounts or databases. The goal was zero friction. Just visit, create, no barriers.
Why It Matters
As both a musician and developer, I’ve learned that creativity isn’t always about waiting for lightning to strike. I’ve read many books on the topic of songwriting where inviting inspiration is a point that is driven home. We can’t just wait around for that lightning to strike, as nice as it is when it happens. Sometimes it’s about having the right tools to excavate ideas that are already there, waiting to be discovered. Code can be creative, and creativity can be systematic.
This site has been live for a while. I doubt it’s been used much. But I have used it for the scratchpad and word ladders and if you stumble upon this post or the site, I hope it helps.
Open to All
The site is free and open because I believe creative tools should be accessible. If you’re a songwriter stuck on a verse, a poet looking for inspiration, or just someone who enjoys playing with words, give it a try. You might be surprised what emerges from a random verb-noun combination.
Check it out at songwritingtools.net and let me know what you create with it.
What tools do you use in your creative process? How do you break through creative blocks? I’d love to hear about your approaches in the comments.
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