GuitarBizarre

I think really the problem is your idea of what songwriting is is colouring your approach.

Songwriting is not about knowing what you're doing at all times.

Just sit down, throw your fingers into some random shapes and patterns and play chords. If you find one you like, listen to it and try and use a note within it to imply a leading note, then improvise another chord shape around that leading note.

If you keep doing that you'll find a lot of cool new progressions very quickly.

Alternatively, just get a drum loop of something you like (The drum pattern from Steve Vai's "The Animal" is a good one), and improvise over it. If you find yourself coming back to a specific improvisation because it sounds good, then use that and build a song off it. Then later on you can change the drum pattern to something a bit more interesting than the one loop, and that isn't just a direct copy.

Hell, you can do that with any part of any music. Even chord progressions or basslines. Just write a song around someone elses ideas and replace the bit you stole right at the end with something else.

That's great songwriting practice. It gives you a foundation to work from which you can use intuitively, rather than focusing on some imaginary songwriting toolbox or set of rules.

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