Skip to main content

Is Your Songwriting Inspiration-Dependent?

Is Your Songwriting Inspiration-Dependent?
Is Your Songwriting Inspiration-Dependent?

by Kapa Freeman

Talent may be keeping you from your songwriting goals, but not in the way you think.

There's an idea in the songwriting community that's really harmful. It's the idea that you have to have "talent" to write songs that people love. I know, because I used to think that too. It was crippling.

When you run into negative feedback on your songs, you feel like you should quit because you "Just don't have the gift.". We get this idea because hit songwriters make it look so easy, but watch any documentary on a hit songwriter's life and you'll see how many bad songs came before their good ones... and how many drafts went into the classic ones.

Talent can actually be a songwriter's handicap if it's not combined with skill.

The talent-only songwriter essentially relies on inspiration to give them songs that people connect with, but inspiration can be a crutch... a pretty unreliable crutch... and it comes and goes when it pleases. And when you don't have it, you simply can't write a good song without it.

Why?

Because you can't control it. In other words, depending on inspiration is basically writing songs on accident. Great songs aren't written on accident. There's an exception to every rule, but do you really want to bet that you're going to be the exception?

The alternative to being a talent-only songwriter is being a skilled songwriter. The talent-only songwriter writes great songs on accident, but a skilled songwriter writes great songs on purpose.

  • They know how to write lyrics that connect emotionally.
  • They know how to format melodies to make them memorable.
  • They know how to combine the two so they flow naturally.
  • They know how to use harmony to make a chorus explode.
  • They know how to use rhythm to ramp up energy.
  • The skilled songwriter has full control over their songwriting process.
  • They don't wait for inspiration to give them permission to write a great song. Inspiration takes orders from them.

Talent will only take you but so far. Skill will take you as far as talent can take you, and far beyond.


Check out all of the posts related to Music Marketing: 


Kapa Freeman is the Founder and Songwriting Coach of The Intentional Songwriter, whose goal is to help musicians become publisher-ready songwriters so they can access songwriter-only income streams that pay more money for less of their time.

After taking an "assembly line approach" to songwriting, Kepa added consistency to his songwriting and went from song rejections to publishing deals over the course of a year. Now he uses this same approach to help musicians go from beginning to publisher-ready songwriters in a matter of weeks.

https://www.prosongsonpurpose.com/




Tags:

Popular posts

"I'm Still Going to Praise You" by Die Taube: Choosing Praise in the Waiting

Can worship survive a season without answers?  Some seasons don’t resolve on schedule. “I’m Still Going to Praise You” by Die Taube ( ‘the dove’ ) was born from one of those seasons — infertility sitting alongside a father’s cancer diagnosis, disappointment stacking on disappointment. The song is part of an upcoming album, Pilgrimage, releasing one song per month until December. The album is a crossing, not a recovery, not getting back to who one was but coming through changed. The opening line of the song sets the whole tone: “Thank You has no seasons, worship does not wait.” God’s worthiness does not depend on our circumstances. Even when circumstances stay unresolved, we decide to look beyond our circumstances to praise and worship Him.  Notice what the second verse admits. “When I feel like I’ve got nothing and other times so much”  — our praises aren’t conditional on constant victory. The song is honest about fluctuating faith, and pairs it with a steady choice underneat...
More >>

"Is Anybody There? (Psalm 27)" by Stephen M. Miller: Holding On to Grace at Heaven’s Door

Stephen M. Miller's "Is Anybody There? (Psalm 27)" comes in the quiet aftermath of the Christmas celebrations, when reflection can feel like isolation. Stephen's song isn't about polishing away his mistakes, nor does it encourage you to do so with your mistakes. Stephen shares his painful experience, "I never saw it coming Lord // It felt right but it was wrong // Family and friends have left me // But I still have you and a song."   Stephen owns the fallout of his actions, taking accountability without despair. "I said it and I did it, Lord // Broke more hearts than I'll ever know // I can't fix this, though I've tried // Don't be angry, and please don't go." His song is a prayer for God's presence and guidance. "Hear me when I call you, Lord // Don't turn your face away // Don't give up on me like others have // Come help me through this day." Stephen describes a fear that we too experience when we ...
More >>

"There Was Jesus" by Zach Williams and Dolly Parton: Finding Him in the Wreckage

Even in loss, Jesus was already there.  Dolly Parton passed away on August 25, 2026, at age 80, after a brief battle with cancer, surrounded by family in Nashville. For seven decades she sang about faith, poverty, grace, and home — and one of her earlier duets (with Zach Williams) carries a message that fits her passing perfectly. In “There Was Jesus,” Dolly Parton and Zach Williams trade verses about the moments we miss Him most: “Every time I tried to make it on my own // Every time I tried to stand and start to fall.” Life doesn’t wait for permission before it crashes down. “When the life I built came crashing to the ground // When the friends I had were nowhere to be found”  — that’s grief. That’s a hospital room, a phone call you dreaded, a silence where a voice used to be. That’s seeing great people passing away. Where was God in it? “I couldn’t see it then but I can see it now,” the song answers. “There was Jesus.”   Psalm 34:18 says it plainly: “The Lord is near to t...
More >>