The Songwriting Technique David Bowie Used To “Trick” Himself Into New Ideas (That I Will Be Stealing)

Over his decades-long career, David Bowie implemented many-a songwriting technique while writing his 26 studio albums. Coming up with 30 solid records would be difficult enough as it is. But Bowie took it one step further, practically reinventing himself each time, whether he was adopting his Ziggy Stardust personality or moving into funk or something more avant-garde.

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In 2001, Bowie spoke to Classic Rock magazine about his different approaches to songwriting that helped him stay sharp and creative over the years. (And yes, I will be stealing these techniques, and you should, too.)

David Bowie Used Trickery As a Songwriting Technique

During his early 2000s interview with Classic Rock, David Bowie described how he would trick himself into getting back into a beginner’s mindset. Although it might seem paradoxical, sometimes, having narrower limitations helps foster the most creative ideas. So, Bowie would effectively “shrink” his know-how so that he had less chords and ideas to choose from.

“It’s absolutely essential that I get surprised and excited by what I’m doing, even if it’s just for me,” Bowie explained. “I think process is quite important. To allow the accidental to take place is often very good. So, I trick myself into things like that. Maybe I’ll write out five or six chords, then discipline myself to write something only with those five or six chords involved.”

“That particular dogma will dictate how the song is going to come out,” he continued. “Not me and my sense of emotional self. Of course, I’ll cheat as well. If I’ve got the basis of something really quite good coming out of those five or six chords, then I’ll allow myself to restructure it a bit if I think, ‘Well, that could be so much better if it went to F-sharp or something like that.’”

The Songwriter Said Location Played a Big Role, Too

The right setting can certainly make or break anyone’s songwriting process. Too much of the same thing, and the writing can grow stale. Too many external distractions, and a songwriter is lucky if they come up with anything worthwhile at all. For David Bowie, he allowed his geographical location to inform the music he was writing, even if it was subconsciously.

“Wherever I’m writing, that place tends to make itself very known, either in the atmosphere or sound. Heathen, as an example, that was written up in the mountains of Woodstock. And you do have that sense of the magnificence of this really disquietingly tranquil place. But the sense of indifference about nature within it all.”

It wasn’t just mountainous retreats that helped knock ideas loose in Bowie’s mind. He also gained immense inspiration from his usual stomping grounds, like New York City. “I think the one thing that goes through Reality is the sense of New York. It feels very ‘street.’ There’s a lot more about being a New Yorker, which indeed I am. The accent may not say that, but I am. I wrote the songs here, downtown, where I live, and it does reflect that. I notice that there are more references to streets around here than I realized. Tony Visconti and I were counting them up the other day, and I think there are seven streets on the album.”

Bowie added, “But to define the rules, then take it as far as you can go with that little rule, then break it, I find is really a way of breaking writer’s blocks as well.”

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