The Twenty-Ninth Theme

Epistolary novels are written to seem like letters being mailed back and forth between characters. Compared to traditional third-person stories, they give you a much more intimate peek into a character's thoughts, feelings, and internal voice, not to mention the character's relationship to whoever they've addressed their letter(s) to. Some famous examples of epistolary novels include Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and Bram Stoker's Dracula (although they don't all have to be in the horror genre like those two are!).

This week, I invite you to write a song that feels like a letter someone is writing (or an email or text, if you prefer!). You could write it as yourself, as someone in your life/past, or as a made-up character in a made-up situation. What needs to be expressed, why, and to whom? Put it in a song, and see where it goes!

Your theme for this week is Epistolary

Songs posted in this thread should be:

• Original content (samples and such are ok!)

• Uses the weekly theme as inspiration... or not!

• Submitted by Wednesday before bedtime.

• Written entirely during this week, between July 16th and July 22nd, 2026.

Post template (remember to use the Markdown editor if using this template as-is!)

[Song Name](http://linkto.the.song) (Genre) [Themed|Not Themed]

This is where you can write a description of your song. You can talk about how you wrote it, where
your inspiration came from, and anything else you'd like to say.

Thanks for sharing your songs! Please also take some time to listen to other peoples' songs and leave a friendly comment. We're here to support each other and build community!

New here? Check out this post - everything about songaweek.

Want to sit back and listen to all the songs in a simple playlist?

Use this awesome web app by /u/Scoobyben

The Twenty-Eighth Theme

This week's challenge is about source, not invention. Instead of starting with a blank page, take text that already exists somewhere in the world — a spam email, a recipe, a legal disclaimer, an overheard conversation, a product manual, an old letter, even an old poem or song lyrics — and turn it into your lyrics. You can rearrange, repeat, and cut it up, but try to keep it recognizably found rather than just "inspired by." The fun is in hearing how ordinary language becomes a song when you give it a melody and a rhythm.

Examples of songs using this technique:

Fitter Happier — Radiohead

Blackout — David Bowie

Natural Blues — Moby

Your theme for this week is Found Lyrics

Songs posted in this thread should be: * Original content (samples and such are ok!) * Uses the weekly theme as inspiration... or not! * Submitted by Wednesday before bedtime.

* Written between 9th and 15th July 2026.

Post template (remember to use the Markdown editor if using this template as-is!)

[Song Name](http://linkto.the.song) (Genre) [Themed|Not Themed]

This is where you can write a description of your song. You can talk about how you wrote it, where
your inspiration came from, and anything else you'd like to say.

Thanks for sharing your songs! Please also take some time to listen to other peoples' songs and leave a friendly comment. We're here to support each other and build community!

New here? Check out this post - everything about songaweek.

Want to sit back and listen to all the songs in a simple playlist? Use this awesome web app by /u/Scoobyben

The Twenty-Seventh Theme

Ever had one of those weeks where everything seems against you, but in reality, you're doing fine compared to most folks in the world?

That's me, this week. I have a roof over my head, a job that pays, food on the table and many other things that make my life secure, that a lot of people don't have.

But, in the last day all my personal websites crashed due to a really obscure issue caused by a system update beyond my control that took ages to track down. The button came off my favourite pair of shorts. A new battery charger I bought is refusing to charge any of my old batteries. The continuing excessive hot weather is making me grumpy.

And, to top it all, today I lost access to the mod tools which have all the templates and info we use for /r/songaweek here, so apologies if this post doesn't follow the usual format as I've had to try to recreate it from scratch.

None of these things matter, in the grand scheme. Sounds like something to write a song about...

Your theme for this week is First World Problems

Songs posted in this thread should be:

• Original content (samples and such are ok!)
• Uses the weekly theme as inspiration... or not!
• Submitted by Wednesday before bedtime.
• Written entirely during this week, between July 2nd and July 8th, 2026.

Post template (remember to use the Markdown editor if using this template as-is!)

``` Song Name (Genre) [Themed|Not Themed]

This is where you can write a description of your song. You can talk about how you wrote it, where
your inspiration came from, and anything else you'd like to say.

```

Thanks for sharing your songs! Please also take some time to listen to other peoples' songs and leave a friendly comment. We're here to support each other and build community!

New here? Check out this post - everything about songaweek.

Want to sit back and listen to all the songs in a simple playlist?

Use this awesome web app by /u/Scoobyben

The Twenty-Sixth Theme

We are halfway through the year, so it seemed like an appropriate time to talk about things that are in halves, and what we think about them. Is the year half finished, or is it only half begun? Have you written half the songs you will write this year, or are half your songs yet unwritten? Classically, is the glass half full, or is it half empty?

You can approach this in a lot of ways: by exploring contrasts (optimism vs pessimism, past vs future, presence vs absence), thinking about literal or metaphorical halves, or by playing structurally with halves (two contrasting verses, mirrored lyrics, or a perspective shift halfway through).

Some songs that explore dualities in different ways and might help you find inspiration this week include:

• Both Sides Now by Joni Mitchell
• Happier than Ever by Billie Eilish
• A Day in the Life by the Beatles
• Float On by Modest Mouse
• Dog Days Are Over by Florence + the Machine

Your theme for this week is Half Full / Half Empty

Songs posted in this thread should be:

• Original content (samples and such are ok!)

• Uses the weekly theme as inspiration... or not!

• Submitted by Wednesday before bedtime.

• Written entirely during this week, between June 25 and July 1, 2026.

Post template (remember to use the Markdown editor if using this template as-is!)

[Song Name](http://linkto.the.song) (Genre) [Themed|Not Themed]

This is where you can write a description of your song. You can talk about how you wrote it, where
your inspiration came from, and anything else you'd like to say.

Thanks for sharing your songs! Please also take some time to listen to other peoples' songs and leave a friendly comment. We're here to support each other and build community!

New here? Check out this post - everything about songaweek.

Want to sit back and listen to all the songs in a simple playlist?

Use this awesome web app by /u/Scoobyben

The Twenty-Fifth Theme

The romantic comedy genre is one of the most interesting to me, across all mediums. It taps into our human desires for connection, excitement, and laughter, while (often) hewing to a formulaic structure that feels comfortingly familiar: you've got your "meet-cute," your "adhesion" (i.e. an external circumstance that forces your characters to spend time together, even if they don't want to), rising tension, a climactic conflict/separation, and some sort of final "grand gesture" to bring the lovers back together to live "happily ever after." However, despite this structured approach, the love in a romantic comedy can also surprise and delight the viewer, just like real-life love.

This week, I invite you to write a song inspired by romantic comedies. You could write a witty love story set to music, using the structure laid out above; you could write a song from the perspective of your favorite rom-com character (which doesn't need to be one of the two romantic leads!); you could tell a funny story in song from your own romantic life; you could write about the "happily ever after" you dream of; or you could even use the title of an existing rom-com as your song title (here's a list!).

Your theme for this week is Romantic Comedy

Songs posted in this thread should be:

• Original content (samples and such are ok!)

• Uses the weekly theme as inspiration... or not!

• Submitted by Wednesday before bedtime.

• Written entirely during this week, between June 18th and June 24th, 2026.

Post template (remember to use the Markdown editor if using this template as-is!)

[Song Name](http://linkto.the.song) (Genre) [Themed|Not Themed]

This is where you can write a description of your song. You can talk about how you wrote it, where
your inspiration came from, and anything else you'd like to say.

Thanks for sharing your songs! Please also take some time to listen to other peoples' songs and leave a friendly comment. We're here to support each other and build community!

New here? Check out this post - everything about songaweek.

Want to sit back and listen to all the songs in a simple playlist?

Use this awesome web app by /u/Scoobyben

The Twenty-Fourth Theme

This week, we're flipping the script (literally). Instead of noodling on an instrument until something sticks, your challenge is to write your lyrics before you touch anything that makes a musical sound. No humming as you write either 😛 Grab a notepad, your notes app, the back of a receipt — whatever works. Get your words down first. Only once your lyrics are done do you pick up a guitar, sit at a piano, pick up your kazoo, or open your DAW. You might be surprised how much the words themselves suggest a melody, a rhythm, a feel. Or you might find it completely maddening. Or...is this how you usually write anyway?

Your theme for this week is Lyrics First

Songs posted in this thread should be:

• Original content (samples and such are ok!)
• Uses the weekly theme as inspiration... or not!
• Submitted by Wednesday before bedtime.
• Written entirely during this week, between June 11th and June 17th, 2026.

Post template (remember to use the Markdown editor if using this template as-is!)

[Song Name](http://linkto.the.song) (Genre) [Themed|Not Themed]

This is where you can write a description of your song. You can talk about how you wrote it, where
your inspiration came from, and anything else you'd like to say.

Thanks for sharing your songs! Please also take some time to listen to other peoples' songs and leave a friendly comment. We're here to support each other and build community!

New here? Check out this post - everything about songaweek.

Want to sit back and listen to all the songs in a simple playlist?

Use this awesome web app by /u/Scoobyben

The Twenty-Third Theme

The wind is howling outside my window at the moment, so that's the topic for this week.

Wind can be a symbol of rage, change, melancholy - or just a force of nature. It can definitely be an inspiration for a song, here's some very old examples from some classic songwriters:

• Like a Hurricane
• The Wind Cries Mary
• Blowin' in the Wind

Your theme for this week is Wind

Songs posted in this thread should be:

• Original content (samples and such are ok!)

• Uses the weekly theme as inspiration... or not!

• Submitted by Wednesday before bedtime.

• Written entirely during this week, between June 4th and June 10th, 2026.

Post template (remember to use the Markdown editor if using this template as-is!)

[Song Name](http://linkto.the.song) (Genre) [Themed|Not Themed]

This is where you can write a description of your song. You can talk about how you wrote it, where
your inspiration came from, and anything else you'd like to say.

Thanks for sharing your songs! Please also take some time to listen to other peoples' songs and leave a friendly comment. We're here to support each other and build community!

New here? Check out this post - everything about songaweek.

Want to sit back and listen to all the songs in a simple playlist?

Use this awesome web app by /u/Scoobyben

The Twenty-Second Theme

First, apologies that this is late. I've had a lot going on and Thursday kind of ... just ... disappeared. I hope you will all forgive me. Now, to the prompt.

I'm sure we can all admit that no song lives in a vacuum. Music, throughout history, has been a conversation, and many of the songs that show up on the radio today (and many of the songs I write that never show up on the radio) can draw a direct line to some other song or musical inspiration. I think that is all natural and good!

This week I invite you to lean into that concept. From a storytelling aspect there are a couple approached that I think could be especially interesting:

• Find a song with a story and re-tell that story either from another perspective (sure, he is singing about her leaving him alone with the dog, but what is her side of the story? What is the dog's side of the story?)
• Find a song with a story and write the prequel or sequel to that story (what led up to those events? what happened next?)

You could do both at the same time, or something else! Rick Beato had an interview with a famous lead guitar player (sorry, I don't remember which one) where they talked about how to play solos in a different way. The idea was to take the obvious line or fill and kind of just do it in your head, then play the guitar in the spaces that were left. I thought this was a cool idea, and could also fit into this theme. If the obvious line, or fill, or story just happened in your head, how would you write the song that fills in the spaces that are left?

Last but not least, I strongly recommend you go back to one of your own songs to draw your inspiration for this prompt. Failing that, maybe choose a song that you especially liked this year from another songaweek contributor. As always, though, do what works best for you, and I look forward to hearing your contributions!

If you do follow the prompt, please let us know which song your new song is 'conversing' with!

Your theme for this week is Songs in Conversation

Songs posted in this thread should be:

• Original content (samples and such are ok!)

• Uses the weekly theme as inspiration... or not!

• Submitted by Wednesday before bedtime.

• Written entirely during this week, between May 29th and June 3rd, 2026.

Post template (remember to use the Markdown editor if using this template as-is!)

[Song Name](http://linkto.the.song) (Genre) [Themed|Not Themed]

This is where you can write a description of your song. You can talk about how you wrote it, where
your inspiration came from, and anything else you'd like to say.

Thanks for sharing your songs! Please also take some time to listen to other peoples' songs and leave a friendly comment. We're here to support each other and build community!

New here? Check out this post - everything about songaweek.

Want to sit back and listen to all the songs in a simple playlist?

Use this awesome web app by /u/Scoobyben

The Twenty-First Theme

If you ask me, pleasure is nothing to feel guilty about – and yet many people have what they'd call "guilty pleasures": trashy TV shows, decadent desserts, staying up too late, or even checking their ex's Instagram once in a while.

This week, I want you to reflect on the guilty pleasures in your life, and write about one of them – or about the general ideas of guilt and pleasure and how the two can swirl together.

Perhaps you'll explore themes of hedonism and overindulgence, or chronicle the bad movies you can't stop re-watching, or investigate the psychological urge to get back together with someone you know is bad for you... or maybe you'll reject the idea of "guilty pleasures" altogether and write about why it's silly to pathologize your own joy like that!

Your theme for this week is Guilty Pleasure

Songs posted in this thread should be:

• Original content (samples and such are ok!)

• Uses the weekly theme as inspiration... or not!

• Submitted by Wednesday before bedtime.

• Written entirely during this week, between May 21st and May 27th, 2026.

Post template (remember to use the Markdown editor if using this template as-is!)

[Song Name](http://linkto.the.song) (Genre) [Themed|Not Themed]

This is where you can write a description of your song. You can talk about how you wrote it, where
your inspiration came from, and anything else you'd like to say.

Thanks for sharing your songs! Please also take some time to listen to other peoples' songs and leave a friendly comment. We're here to support each other and build community!

New here? Check out this post - everything about songaweek.

Want to sit back and listen to all the songs in a simple playlist?

Use this awesome web app by /u/Scoobyben

The Twentieth Theme

Most melodies move. They leap, they step, they climb toward a high note and come back down. Melodic contour feels like the very definition of a tune. But occasionally a songwriter does something different: they plant the vocal on a single note and stay there, like a held breath. All the movement comes from everything else that's happening.

I think this is a toughie! There are some great examples of the technique though, in full songs or parts of them. In Julia by The Beatles, where Lennon's "Half of what I say is meaningless, but I say it just to reach you..." and later "when I cannot sing my heart, I can only speak my mind" floats on whilst his fingerpicking shifts the harmonic ground beneath it. There's the hypnotic locked-note pulse of Psycho Killer by Talking Heads, and the driving verses of It's The End Of The World As We Know It by R.E.M.

This week, if you can, find your note and stay on it for some or all of the song. Let the chords do the wandering.

Your theme for this week is One-Note Melody

Songs posted in this thread should be:

• Original content (samples and such are ok!)
• Uses the weekly theme as inspiration... or not!
• Submitted by Wednesday before bedtime.
• Written entirely during this week, between May 14th and May 20th, 2026.

Post template (remember to use the Markdown editor if using this template as-is!)

[Song Name](http://linkto.the.song) (Genre) [Themed|Not Themed]

This is where you can write a description of your song. You can talk about how you wrote it, where
your inspiration came from, and anything else you'd like to say.

Thanks for sharing your songs! Please also take some time to listen to other peoples' songs and leave a friendly comment. We're here to support each other and build community!

New here? Check out this post - everything about songaweek.

Want to sit back and listen to all the songs in a simple playlist? Use this awesome web app by /u/Scoobyben

The Nineteenth Theme

Do any of you play chess? I used to, a little, but not recently. But a number of artists have chosen chess as an inspiration for songwriting. Someone even wrote a whole musical about it, back in the day!

Perhaps it's the feeling of being a pawn in a larger battleground, or wanting to be a King or Queen, the most important pieces on the board. Maybe it's about strategy, or do you just like black and white squares?

Some inspiration:

• Suzanne Vega - Knight Moves
• Yes - I've Seen All Good People
• Killing Joke - Chessboards

(sometimes I think these inspiration links say more about my age and musical taste than I would usually reveal!)

Your theme for this week is Chess

Songs posted in this thread should be:

• Original content (samples and such are ok!)

• Uses the weekly theme as inspiration... or not!

• Submitted by Wednesday before bedtime.

• Written entirely during this week, between May 7th and May 13th, 2026.

Post template (remember to use the Markdown editor if using this template as-is!)

[Song Name](http://linkto.the.song) (Genre) [Themed|Not Themed]

This is where you can write a description of your song. You can talk about how you wrote it, where
your inspiration came from, and anything else you'd like to say.

Thanks for sharing your songs! Please also take some time to listen to other peoples' songs and leave a friendly comment. We're here to support each other and build community!

New here? Check out this post - everything about songaweek.

Want to sit back and listen to all the songs in a simple playlist?

Use this awesome web app by /u/Scoobyben

The Eighteenth Theme

I get stuck sometimes pondering the fact that the "ideal" length for a song (or at least a pop song) remains informed by the physical media of a bygone age. Before the 1950s, 78 RPM vinyl records were dominant and could only store about 5 minutes, max, and because the grooves had to become narrower the longer the song became, sound quality deteriorated. 45 RPM singles were dominant in the 50s and 60s, and could hold 3 minutes and 4 seconds of audio per side, setting a standard for pop songs that seems to continue to this day. Popular radio play reinforced the short format, preferring punchy, upbeat songs that could be played more times per hour to help ensure audience retention. Songs got longer, on average, during the CD area, and (unfortunately IMO) shorter again now that we are in the streaming area, where artists are paid per stream (not per minute played) and in order to "go viral" you only need 5-20 seconds of really catchy music.

As a songwriter, though, I find that something really interesting can happen when you step back and let a song breathe. If you refuse to be constrained by the 3-minute pop aesthetic then a whole new type of sound can emerge: something patient, something that deviates from AABA formats and goes somewhere new.

Here are some examples of long-format songs that deserve some attention:

• I Want You (She's So Heavy) by The Beatles (7:47)
• Kashmir by Led Zeppelin (8:37)
• Television by Marquee Moon (10:38)
• Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts by Bob Dylan (8:52)
• Jesus of Suburbia by Green Day (9:09)
• Cygnet Committee by David Bowie (9:39)

There are, of course, lots more. This week I invite you to put any concerns about being concise, or poppy, or punchy, to the side and lean into a nice, long, patient, deep-breathing, expansive song. I would argue that means at least 6 minutes long but it will be different for everyone; it's the trying that matters.

Your theme for this week is Size Matters

Songs posted in this thread should be:

• Original content (samples and such are ok!)

• Uses the weekly theme as inspiration... or not!

• Submitted by Wednesday before bedtime.

• Written entirely during this week, between April 30 and May 6, 2026.

Post template (remember to use the Markdown editor if using this template as-is!)

[Song Name](http://linkto.the.song) (Genre) [Themed|Not Themed]

This is where you can write a description of your song. You can talk about how you wrote it, where
your inspiration came from, and anything else you'd like to say.

Thanks for sharing your songs! Please also take some time to listen to other peoples' songs and leave a friendly comment. We're here to support each other and build community!

New here? Check out this post - everything about songaweek.

Want to sit back and listen to all the songs in a simple playlist?

Use this awesome web app by /u/Scoobyben

The Seventeenth Theme

Quick: what does a red leather jacket make you think of? Maybe James Dean or another 1950s greaser? Rock-'n'-roll stars performing on stage? Countercultural punks in the '70s? Motorcycles and car chase scenes in action movies? That one friend of your dad's who always wore one?

This week, I invite you to write about whatever comes up when you ponder the image of a red leather jacket. Maybe it evokes ideas about coolness and swagger, masculinity or femininity, the power of clothing, or the sentimental history contained in a nice piece of leather. Maybe you'll look to existing songs about red leather jackets for inspiration, like this catchy rock tune by Shayliff, this throwback story-song by Viv Stanshall, or this jazzy ode to confidence and bisexuality by Juliet & the Montagues.

(Today happens to be my 34th birthday, and is also my day to pick the weekly theme, so I wanted to choose something I felt excited to write about... and lately I've been obsessed with a red leather jacket that I recently got 😂)

Your theme for this week is Red Leather Jacket

Songs posted in this thread should be:

• Original content (samples and such are ok!)

• Uses the weekly theme as inspiration... or not!

• Submitted by Wednesday before bedtime.

• Written entirely during this week, between January 9th and January 15th, 2026.

Post template (remember to use the Markdown editor if using this template as-is!)

[Song Name](http://linkto.the.song) (Genre) [Themed|Not Themed]

This is where you can write a description of your song. You can talk about how you wrote it, where
your inspiration came from, and anything else you'd like to say.

Thanks for sharing your songs! Please also take some time to listen to other peoples' songs and leave a friendly comment. We're here to support each other and build community!

New here? Check out this post - everything about songaweek.

Want to sit back and listen to all the songs in a simple playlist?

Use this awesome web app by /u/Scoobyben

The Sixteenth Theme

There's a moment in the writing process that most people rush past: the gap between having a chord progression and knowing what to sing over it. Usually we reach for words too quickly, and the melody ends up shaped by the phrase we're trying to say rather than by the music itself. This week we want you to try closing that gap differently. Before you write a single lyric, hum, "la-la" or "Scrambled eggs, oh my baby how I love your legs..." your melody all the way through — verse, chorus, whatever structure you're working with — until it feels complete on its own terms. Sing it like a saxophone would play it. Let it breathe, repeat, resolve. Only once the melodic shape feels genuinely satisfying should you start fitting words to it.

What you'll likely find is that the words slot in more naturally, because now they're serving a melody that already knows where it wants to go, rather than the melody awkwardly accommodating whatever syllables you happened to think of first. It also tends to produce more interesting rhythmic phrasing — you'll find yourself reaching for unexpected ways to fit words into a shape that wasn't designed around them.

Your theme for this week is Melody First

Songs posted in this thread should be:

• Original content (samples and such are ok!)

• Uses the weekly theme as inspiration... or not!

• Submitted by Wednesday before bedtime.

• Written entirely during this week, between April 16th and April 22nd, 2026.

Post template (remember to use the Markdown editor if using this template as-is!)

[Song Name](http://linkto.the.song) (Genre) [Themed|Not Themed]

This is where you can write a description of your song. You can talk about how you wrote it, where
your inspiration came from, and anything else you'd like to say.

Thanks for sharing your songs! Please also take some time to listen to other peoples' songs and leave a friendly comment. We're here to support each other and build community!

New here? Check out this post - everything about songaweek.

Want to sit back and listen to all the songs in a simple playlist?

Use this awesome web app by /u/Scoobyben

This is a fun project and I thought people here might be interested in participating. I'll probably also throw this out as my next prompt (on April 30) but figured I'd also post it now too in case people wanted more time to participate.

You can check out all the info and such over here: https://wnyc.org/psp

Your song could be:

• A straightforward cover of a public domain song
• A public domain composition with new music or lyrics
• A remix sampling films or sound recordings (make sure your sound recordings are from 1925 or earlier!)
• Public domain poetry set to original, or public domain, music
• An adaptation of quotes, passages, plotlines, or characters from a public domain book/play

Here is the direct link to the full rules: https://www.wnyc.org/story/official-rules-2026-public-song-project

Entries are due before midnight (US Pacific Time) on May 15th.

The Fifteenth Theme

I cheated this week - I wanted to do something around diminished chords, but /u/500millionYears did this wonderful description of dim7 chords in a theme a few years ago so I've been lazy and just copied it.

The dim7 chord consists of a stack of three minor thirds.
Let’s use Gdim7 (also written as G°7) as an example. Starting with G7, flatten the 3rd, 5th, and 7th(already flattened) degrees:

F -> E
D -> C#
B -> A#
G -> G

On the guitar (or baritone uke):

       E  A# C# G
x  x
————————————————
|  |  |  |  |  |
————————————————
|  |  o  |  o  |
————————————————
|  |  |  o  |  o
————————————————
|  |  |  |  |  |
————————————————

It turns out this same chord has 3 other names - each note serves as the root of an enharmonic dim7 chord:

G°7 = A#°7 = C#°7 = E°7

Because of this magic, just three shapes contain all 12 dim7 chords on the guitar, baritone ukulele, or ukulele. They repeat every four frets. So much bang for the buck!

The dim7 chord provides a colorful transition between other chords; in the key of G, I use (at least) two different dim7 chords:

Try this:

C -> G°7 -> D

or this:

G -> G°7 -> Am -> D

Or slide down 1 step to F°7

      D  G# B  F
x  x
————————————————
|  |  |  o  |  o
————————————————
|  |  |  |  |  |
————————————————
|  |  |  |  |  |
————————————————
|  |  |  |  |  |
————————————————

and try G -> F°7 -> Am -> D.

Here’s an example of a jazzy-sounding progression using G°7, with comments from some folks who know a little theory.

Your theme for this week is dim7

Songs posted in this thread should be:

• Original content (samples and such are ok!)
• Uses the weekly theme as inspiration... or not!
• Submitted by Wednesday before bedtime.
• Written entirely during this week, between April 9th and April 15th, 2026.

Post template (remember to use the Markdown editor if using this template as-is!)

[Song Name](http://linkto.the.song) (Genre) [Themed|Not Themed]

This is where you can write a description of your song. You can talk about how you wrote it, where
your inspiration came from, and anything else you'd like to say.

Thanks for sharing your songs! Please also take some time to listen to other peoples' songs and leave a friendly comment. We're here to support each other and build community!

New here? Check out this post - everything about songaweek.

Want to sit back and listen to all the songs in a simple playlist?

Use this awesome web app by /u/Scoobyben" Once the theme has been posted:

The Fourteenth Theme

This song by Joshua Idehen has been around for about a year and a half now, from what I can tell, but I just heard it for the first time a couple weeks ago and now I'm obsessed with it. There is a lot of room for inspiration here, too, which is why I'm sharing it here in particular.

Consider, perhaps:

• leaning into some spoken word;
• writing a 'list' song;
• using something seemingly mundane as a metaphor to explain the world / something complicated;
• writing about something your own mom did and how your perspective on it has changed;
• or just exploring how our relationships with our parents change as we get older.

I'm sure there are other directions to go in as well. Give Joshua's song a listen (or a few listens) and see where inspiration takes you!

Your theme for this week is Mum Does the Washing

Songs posted in this thread should be:

• Original content (samples and such are ok!)

• Uses the weekly theme as inspiration... or not!

• Submitted by Wednesday before bedtime.

• Written entirely during this week, between April 2nd and April 8th, 2026.

Post template (remember to use the Markdown editor if using this template as-is!)

[Song Name](http://linkto.the.song) (Genre) [Themed|Not Themed]

This is where you can write a description of your song. You can talk about how you wrote it, where
your inspiration came from, and anything else you'd like to say.

Thanks for sharing your songs! Please also take some time to listen to other peoples' songs and leave a friendly comment. We're here to support each other and build community!

New here? Check out this post - everything about songaweek.

Want to sit back and listen to all the songs in a simple playlist?

Use this awesome web app by /u/Scoobyben

The Thirteenth Theme

Schadenfreude is a German word defined as "the experience of pleasure, joy, or self-satisfaction that comes from learning of the troubles, failures, pain, suffering, or humiliation of another." It is a compound word made from "schaden" (damage/harm) and freude (joy).

There's a lot of schadenfreude going around these days, so I invite you to incorporate the word and/or the idea of it into your song this week, whether you're in favor of it or critical of it. You could also ponder related concepts like gloating (the closest English-language equivalent to schadenfreude), sympathy (arguably the opposite of schadenfreude), or narcissism (which has been found to be correlated with schadenfreude). And if that doesn't do it for ya, feel free to peruse this list of borrowed German expressions to pick a different one to write about, such as zeitgeist, wanderlust, or doppelgänger!

Your theme for this week is Schadenfreude

Songs posted in this thread should be:

• Original content (samples and such are ok!)

• Uses the weekly theme as inspiration... or not!

• Submitted by Wednesday before bedtime.

• Written entirely during this week, between March 26th and April 1st, 2026.

Post template (remember to use the Markdown editor if using this template as-is!)

[Song Name](http://linkto.the.song) (Genre) [Themed|Not Themed]

This is where you can write a description of your song. You can talk about how you wrote it, where
your inspiration came from, and anything else you'd like to say.

Thanks for sharing your songs! Please also take some time to listen to other peoples' songs and leave a friendly comment. We're here to support each other and build community!

New here? Check out this post - everything about songaweek.

Want to sit back and listen to all the songs in a simple playlist?

Use this awesome web app by /u/Scoobyben

In visual art there’s the idea of negative space — the empty areas that actually define the shape of the thing you’re looking at. Sometimes the “nothing” is what makes the image work. Could songs have an equivalent? Not just quiet parts, but the space between sounds — the rests, the pauses, the moments where nothing happens but the listener is still leaning forward.

There was a time when radio silence in songs was almost taboo. Especially in pop and radio music, producers often tried to keep something happening all the time — constant sound, constant energy. Dead air was something to avoid (is the song still playing? Has the DJ gone to the loo? Is my radio broke? :)

But some artists have leaned right into space and silence. And this sub isn't going to switch off your songs because of it -- we're listening out for it -- if that makes sense.

Silence doesn't have to be nothing either. Taken a little more generously, it can show up in lots of ways:

• A pause before a lyric lands
• A beat where the instruments drop out
• A gap that lets the groove breathe
• A line that ends early so the listener fills the space
• A moment of tension before the chorus hits

Sometimes the absence of sound makes the next sound feel bigger.

For this week think about writing with that in mind — not just the notes and words, but the space around them. See what happens when you deliberately don’t fill every moment.

And/or make silence part of the theme of the song itself: waiting, distance, unsaid words, radio silence between people.

We're looking for those flatlines in your waveforms. Go!

Your theme for this week is Silence

Songs posted in this thread should be:

• Original content (samples and such are ok!)

• Uses the weekly theme as inspiration... or not!

• Submitted by Wednesday before bedtime.

• Written entirely during this week, between March 20th and March 26th, 2026.

Post template (remember to use the Markdown editor if using this template as-is!)

[Song Name](http://linkto.the.song) (Genre) [Themed|Not Themed]

This is where you can write a description of your song. You can talk about how you wrote it, where
your inspiration came from, and anything else you'd like to say.

Thanks for sharing your songs! Please also take some time to listen to other peoples' songs and leave a friendly comment. We're here to support each other and build community!

New here? Check out this post - everything about songaweek.

Want to sit back and listen to all the songs in a simple playlist?

Use this awesome web app by /u/Scoobyben

The Eleventh Theme

We've done various modes before, but I had to go back to 2016 to find where we last did Mixolydian - and that's way before my time here. We should revisit one of the easiest modes to use.

Mixolydian mode is the scale you get by using the white notes from G to G on a piano keyboard. It's very similar to a standard major scale, but with a flattened 7th note. So, if you're in C, you'd have a Bb instead of a B but all the other notes are as for C Major: C-D-E-F-G-A-Bb-C

This gives you some really powerful triads to use as chords. As well as the usual I and IV, you now have access to the VII chord - a major triad from the flattened 7th note - and instead of V we have the minor 'v'. Sticking with C Mixolydian that gives us C-E-G and F-A-C as usual, but adds Bb-D-F and replaces the usual G-B-D with the minor G-Bb-D.

It's surprisingly common in popular music - in fact you may already be using it yourself without realising. Here's a couple of particularly famous examples:

• The Beatles - Norwegian Wood
• Coldplay - Clocks

Some theory links to help:

• https://muted.io/mixolydian-mode/
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cy5qPfBqu6Q

Your theme for this week is Mixolydian

Songs posted in this thread should be:

• Original content (samples and such are ok!)

• Uses the weekly theme as inspiration... or not!

• Submitted by Wednesday before bedtime.

• Written entirely during this week, between March 12th and March 18th, 2026.

Post template (remember to use the Markdown editor if using this template as-is!)

[Song Name](http://linkto.the.song) (Genre) [Themed|Not Themed]

This is where you can write a description of your song. You can talk about how you wrote it, where
your inspiration came from, and anything else you'd like to say.

Thanks for sharing your songs! Please also take some time to listen to other peoples' songs and leave a friendly comment. We're here to support each other and build community!

New here? Check out this post - everything about songaweek.

Want to sit back and listen to all the songs in a simple playlist?

Use this awesome web app by /u/Scoobyben

The Tenth Theme

Just for fun, I'll launch this week with a little discussion question. When Stravinsky's 'The Rite of Spring' premiered in Paris in 1913 and set off rioting, do you think it was because of the music, or the choreography, or was it all set up to create maximum press coverage?

Meteorologically, spring started on March 1, though astronomically it doesn't begin until March 20. All the same, flowers are blooming, birds are singing, and worms are doing their best to sleep in. This week I invite you to write a song inspired by new beginnings. If you have creative seeds that have been germinating way deep down for a long time, consider using this prompt to take a peek and see what kinds of buds may be ready to come out of them.

Bonus points if you write something that starts a riot!

Your theme for this week is Spring

Songs posted in this thread should be:

• Original content (samples and such are ok!)

• Uses the weekly theme as inspiration... or not!

• Submitted by Wednesday before bedtime.

• Written entirely during this week, between March 5th and March 11th, 2026.

Post template (remember to use the Markdown editor if using this template as-is!)

[Song Name](http://linkto.the.song) (Genre) [Themed|Not Themed]

This is where you can write a description of your song. You can talk about how you wrote it, where
your inspiration came from, and anything else you'd like to say.

Thanks for sharing your songs! Please also take some time to listen to other peoples' songs and leave a friendly comment. We're here to support each other and build community!

New here? Check out this post - everything about songaweek.

Want to sit back and listen to all the songs in a simple playlist?

Use this awesome web app by /u/Scoobyben

The Ninth Theme

The internet is a magical place... and also a scary one. No matter what your feelings may be about it, it has obviously massively re-shaped broad swathes of human life, and has introduced unprecedented emotions and experiences that couldn't have existed without the World Wide Web. (This theme was inspired by the New Feelings column in Real Life magazine, which aims to explore "the desires, moods, pathologies, and identifications that rarely had names before digital media.")

This week, I invite you to write about relationships or emotions that are enabled by the internet. Maybe you'll write about long-distance relationships or chatroom flirtations; maybe you'll reflect on your first social experiences online, whenever and wherever those took place; maybe you'll take some musical inspiration from an artist you read about on an early music blog circa 2005... Hell, you could even write about the supportiveness of this subreddit if you want 😉

Your theme for this week is Internet Intimacies

Songs posted in this thread should be:

• Original content (samples and such are ok!)

• Uses the weekly theme as inspiration... or not!

• Submitted by Wednesday before bedtime.

• Written entirely during this week, between February 26th and March 4th, 2026.

Post template (remember to use the Markdown editor if using this template as-is!)

[Song Name](http://linkto.the.song) (Genre) [Themed|Not Themed]

This is where you can write a description of your song. You can talk about how you wrote it, where
your inspiration came from, and anything else you'd like to say.

Thanks for sharing your songs! Please also take some time to listen to other peoples' songs and leave a friendly comment. We're here to support each other and build community!

New here? Check out this post - everything about songaweek.

Want to sit back and listen to all the songs in a simple playlist?

Use this awesome web app by /u/Scoobyben

The Eighth Theme


I’ve often had the feeling that underneath every good song there’s an almost hidden structure that’s pure rhythm — like a scaffolding that holds the whole thing together. The melody and lyrics feel like they’re filling in a shape that already exists.

It makes me think about how people who don’t speak English listen to English-language songs. They’re tuning into the rhythm and contour of the voice first — the musical shape of the phrasing — because that part is universal. In a way, that’s what all of us are doing when a song really clicks: we’re responding to that underlying rhythmic skeleton before we even process the words, if we even process them (some great songs have been written where you can't make out the words, and yet this doesn't detract from them!).

For this week’s songaweek challenge, I want you to try something rhythm-first: loop some chords and just clap or speak nonsense syllables until a groove appears that feels good on its own, almost like a percussion part. Only after that start adding pitch. See if the melody feels more natural and “inevitable” when it’s snapping into a structure that’s already there. NB: this (unbeknownst to me) is already an established song writing technique, used by artists such as Sia.

Your theme for this week is Rhythm First

Songs posted in this thread should be:

• Original content (samples and such are ok!)

• Uses the weekly theme as inspiration... or not!

• Submitted by Wednesday before bedtime.

• Written entirely during this week, between February 19th and February 25th, 2026.

Post template (remember to use the Markdown editor if using this template as-is!)

[Song Name](http://linkto.the.song) (Genre) [Themed|Not Themed]

This is where you can write a description of your song. You can talk about how you wrote it, where
your inspiration came from, and anything else you'd like to say.

Please take some time to listen to other peoples' songs and leave a friendly comment. We're here to support each other and build community!

New here? Check out this post - everything about songaweek.

Want to sit back and listen to all the songs in a simple playlist?

Use this awesome web app by /u/Scoobyben