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Weekly Challenges

Week 1

Phobia

  • Tag - Week1 - Phobia NOUN: a persistent, irrational fear of a specific object, activity, or situation that leads to a compelling desire to avoid it.

    Write a song about or pertaining to a phobia.

Week 2

Trains

  • Tag - Week2a

    Week 2a: - Write a song about a train or involving trains in the lyrics - e.g Mystery Train, or One After 909.
    Tag the songs as Week2a.

  • Tag - Week2b

    Week 2b: - Write a song which somehow involves a train musically - for example - have it in 'train rhythm' (if that makes any sense) or have it involve the sound of a train otherwise in the background.
    Tag that as Week2b.

Week 3

Phobia

  • Tag - Week3 - Fantasy Commission

    • Imagine that your favourite band comes to you asking for a song. Write it.
    Tag as Week 3a.
    Challenge suggested by Paul Milne - thanks!

Week 4

Quotations

  • Tag - Week4
    Flip a book, pick a quote from it. Or pick a famous quote. Incorporate it into your lyrics, or base your song around it. Tag your completed song as #week4.

    • Week 5

    Food

  • Tag - Week5
    Write a song about food, or simply use food as an inspiration.

    Examples: Savoy Truffle (The Beatles), Heinz Baked Beans (The Who), Brown Sugar (The Rolling Stones)
    Thanks to Nancy Rost for the challenge!

    Tag as #Week5

    • Week 6

    City Life

  • Tag - Week6
    Write a song about the city or city life. Examples: Jungleland (Bruce Springsteen); Penny Lane (The Beatles)

    Tag as #week6

    Week 7

    Two Voices

  • Tag - Week7

    If you write music: write a song in which two instruments (and only two instruments) are playing at all times. You can use as many instruments as you want, but only two can play at any one time. But you have to have two instrumental lines going at all times.

    If you are a lyricist, write a lyric that incorporates two separate voices. This could be a classic duet or it could be something a bit more creative.

    If you do both music and lyric, you are challenged to do both of the above challenges. But we'll accept it if you do either of the above or some combination thereof.

    Please tag your songs #Week7

      • Week 8

      One Reason

    • Tag - Week8
      Think of a loved one (parent, significant other, child, friend, hero.) If you were forced to name ONE reason why you loved them, or one thing about them that makes you love them, what would it be? It doesn't have to be the biggest reason or the most impressive or anything else. Got it? Write it down. Now write a song based on what you just wrote down. (Oh and if you can, tell your loved one that reason.)

      Please tag your songs Week8

      Week 9

      Your World of Text

    • Tag - Week9

      1) visit yourworldoftext.com/songtitles

      2) scroll around a bit, there's more than may meet the eye at first

      3) choose a song title that catches your eye and write a song to go with it.

      4) tag your song week9

      5) come back to this thread and post the link to your song.

      BUT WAIT - Your song doesn't have to actually end up with the title you chose (though it could), but you could just use it as a starting point. If you're doing something with lyrics, it'd be excellent if you can fit more than one "title" from that page into your song (remember to tell us all how many you used in your liner notes!), and obviously you could still take inspiration from one of the "titles" there to write an instrumental too.

      Week 10

      Photograph

    • Tag - Week9
      I'm resurrecting a challenge from FAWM 2009 this week, the Photograph challenge.

      As i understand it, you just have to choose a photograph (it can be from the internet, on your phone, from a friend, from your attic, your family album, whatever), and use it as a springboard to write a song from (or instrumental, whatever).

      Tag your song week10

      Week 11

      Dedicated to You

    • Tag - Week11
      This week, the official challenge is to choose another 5090er and write a song for them, or about them, or to them. Importantly you don't have to tell them it's about them, you don't have to tell the rest of us who it is, just tag it week11 and that's it.

      It doesn't have to literally be about them, though it could be, it could just be something that reminds you of that person or their music, or whatever, maybe in the style of another 5090er? That's another way of doing this challenge.

      Of course you can say who it's about if you like, but don't let it put you off writing a song, you don't have to say who it is.

      Bonus points for including a walrus or a text in your song too. Wink

      tag it: week11

      Week 12

      Vive La Difference

    • Tag - Week12

      Write a song about something you HAVEN'T written a song about this 5090. If you haven't done one about a train, there's an idea, if you haven't done one set in the future, there's an idea... I'm sure you can think of better ones though.

      If you're really stuck, write a song about something you haven't written about but somebody else has, that way you just need to flick through the song list on 5090 for inspiration.

      tag it: week12