Songwriters aren't superhuman. We can't stay in a constant state of inspiration, cranking out hit after hit. Just like jogging helps you learn to run better, though, writing even bad songs can help you improve your songwriting. Here are a few ways you might not have tried to crank out a few practice tunes.
REWRITE ONE
Any of us can just do a rewrite. You can go through your existing attempts and alter just one thing you don't like about it. If you have a song you hear on the radio a lot you want to change the dial on when it rotates up, sit and decide just what it is you can't stand about it and fix it until you can at least smile when it comes on because the parody lyrics you came up with soothe away the irritation it gave you before. Try the usual ideas of changing instrument roles, genres, or maybe just adding a different drum or bass line--it's amazing how even a little variation can completely change the tone of the song. As always, have fun with this and find some way to amuse yourself while you do this and you may be suprised how quickly you can get a new song together when you didn't think you had one left to write.
INSIPID LOOP FUN
Most cheap keyboards have plenty of those obnoxious bass and drum tracks you can play a simple melody line along with and get a band 'feel' at least. Why not have a little fun and just bang along with one with the recorder running--you might actually come up with some nice melody lines you can put with something much better later, but at least you bothered to get this little bit done, already. A lot of drum machines have a similar ability, and you can always take random 2 or 4 bar loops, string them together, and try jamming to those. If you want to have something a little closer to a real song, put the groups together into an AABA, ABABCAB format or a similar one and see if you can tweak it into a tune that actually sounds like a song you could finish out. It can be a great giggle just putting a march chorus with a swing verse and salsa bridge just to see what you end up with. I've actually done that with a hand-held synth and have the finished tune get an honorable mention in a song contest, so don't let the initial shock keep you from rewriting the song into a finished product. You just never know what a judge or industry rep might like. Again, don't forget most of the greatest songs are rewritten, not bursts of inspiration.
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