WAYS TO KNOW IF A SONG IDEA IS WORTH PURSUING

A lot of people DM me asking if I can tell them whether an idea is good and worth pursing. Though I’d love to give an answer, I generally believe it’s better to teach a man to fish, than hand him a fish. This is what my mentors did for me and I’m lucky they didn’t give me the answers for every time I asked the question and instead, they gave me questions! So, I’d like to share with you some questions I ask myself before spending too much time on an idea:
 
Does your song idea feel real or clever? Real always trumps intellectual or clever in my book! I like to find a lot of ideas that happen naturally in conversation. Like when I, or the person I’m talking to, says something with conviction. I’ve gotten some of my biggest songs this way. Especially with artist co-writes. Artists are great at expressing themselves. That’s their job! So, I like to take things they say and feel — and then write it! And that’s our job as the writer. 

Does the idea have legs? Once I get an idea, does it make my mind race with the next line, and then the next? Or do I get stuck immediately? I find that the idea I’m supposed to write that day will usually take off with a creative burst and have the legs to get a good bit down on paper before the creativity stops. If an idea bogs down too quickly or has a hard time getting started, then I search for another idea. My definition of saying an idea must have legs means “does this idea run in your mind?” “does it make you want to go more?”. If the idea makes you want to go further and find out what will come in your mind next, there is a good chance your listener also wants to follow you and find our more. They will want to know what happens next and where this story is going. As I had always said, look at your song as a movie. When you are watching a great movie, at the end of each scene, it makes you excited to keep watching and see where this story is going? What is happening next? How the writer’s mind worked on it? This is exactly what happens in the mind of listeners of your music, without them knowing!
 
Is the idea believable? People want to listen to a song that is believable. They want to be taken on a journey. And the listener won’t do that UNLESS the idea is believable. I always try to avoid ideas that can be called into question. Just when the idea is believable, then the listener can relate to it. Then they can imagine themselves in the story and that’s when they actually pay attention to the song with all their heart.
 
For example: “Everyone Knows Love Is Just A Game”.
I would not write this title because not everyone believes this. A lot of people believe in real love and don’t think it’s just a game! This may seem like a small thing, but I’ve witnessed it kill a lot of potentially good songs.

Author

Hangi Tavakoli is our in-house established and professional music producer with 20 years of experience in songwriting, music production, mix and mastering. He has written and produced more than 5,000 published songs to-date, including some major hits in international scale.