The Thinking Stack Behind My Songwriting
I've been writing a lot of tunes again. Just me, the piano, my voice, and my handy-dandy AI producer. Somewhere in the middle of it all, I stopped to think about why I write the way I do.
If you've ever wondered why you create the way you do, or why certain patterns keep showing up in your work, this might be useful. I didn't realise how many types of thinking show up at the same time. It kinda makes me laugh because it probably sounds like I'm "overthinking" it lol, but it explained a lot.
Turns out the same thinking patterns I use in engineering show up when I'm writing music. Same brain, different output.
Complexity Thinking
The Connector
This is when every thought in your head reacts to the other ones. Thoughts, memories, feelings all pushing on each other. One idea triggers another, the direction changes.
I'll start a line one way, then an old memory jumps in, and the song takes a turn I didn't plan. You know, because my brain couldn't just let me finish the original idea like a normal person.
Adaptive Thinking
The Improvisor
This is when your brain changes direction mid-flow so you don't get stuck. You can't plan this, you just work with whatever shows up.
For example, a chord progression just isn't working well, so I'll flip it. The verse is too long, so I cut it while I'm still writing. The melody goes somewhere I didn't expect, so I follow it instead of forcing my original idea.
Fancy way of saying "well, that didn't work, let's try something else." But calling it "Adaptive Thinking" sounds way more professional than "I gave up on my first idea halfway through."
Empathetic Thinking
The Mirror
This is when you feel something but also recognise someone else could feel the exact same way.
Even when it's personal, I'm writing from inside the feeling, not like I'm watching myself from the outside.
Forever Was Never Ours
It's a bit messy and emotional, but that's how I understand people. That's how I understand myself.
Systems Thinking
The Pattern Spotter
This is when you notice the patterns that keep repeating in your work. This one's pretty much impossible for me to turn off. It's why I reach for the same chords when a specific feeling lands, why my songs end up following the same emotional arc.
Once I saw the system, I stopped wondering why my brain keeps reaching for the same blueprint. Turns out I'm not being creative and unique, I'm just running the same program with different lyrics. But at least now I know why.
Pattern Thinking
The Recogniser
Patterns show up everywhere in music. A good example is that 'Evolution of Pop' mashup on YouTube. It shows how a bunch of completely different songs can still feel familiar because they follow a structure even if you don't consciously notice it.
Which is just a nice way of saying every pop song is basically the same four chords rearranged. The music industry's been running the same con for decades and we all keep falling for it. Myself included.
Strategic Thinking
The Planner
This is when you take in what's happening now but you're already lining up what needs to come next so things don't fall over later. Not some grand plan, just keeping the path clear.
When I write, I'm thinking ahead in a way that keeps a song from collapsing on itself. Same instinct I use in product thinking, just with chords instead of components.
Because apparently even when I'm trying to be artistic and emotional, my brain's still project managing. Can't even write a sad song without mentally tracking dependencies.
Integrative Thinking
The Collector
This is when your mind collects things from different areas of your life and mashes them together.
My songs pull from things that have no business being together. Old memories, random conversations, something I felt while driving, a melody that showed up out of nowhere.
It's like my brain's a hoarder who refuses to throw anything away and instead makes art out of the pile. "Oh, you know what this song about heartbreak needs? That thing someone said at the supermarket three years ago." Sure, brain. Why not.
Flow Thinking
The Immersed
This is when most friction's removed. You're fully in whatever you're doing and nothing around you gets a say.
If something interrupts flow when writing, I know I've gone off track. Same rule I use in UX. If it breaks flow, it's probably the wrong move.
The irony of analysing flow state is not lost on me. "Let me interrupt my complete immersion to tell you about complete immersion." Yeah, I see it.
Transdisciplinary Thinking
The Translator
This is when you take what you learned in one area and apply it somewhere completely different. For me, it's why systems thinking from engineering shows up in my songwriting, why UX flow principles guide how I structure a verse.
What I ended up realising
Once I looked at it closely, the whole thing made sense. Why certain chords show up when they do. Why my songs sound more emotional when I have a lot of energy. Why my verses carry tension and my choruses ease off.
Same thinking stack, different contexts. Makes the whole creative process way easier to work with.
Turns out I wasn't having profound artistic moments, I was just running the same mental algorithms I use for building software. Romantic? No. Useful? Absolutely.
What you can do with this
Next time you're working, writing, or just thinking through a problem, pay attention to which of these you're actually using. Are you The Improvisor who adapts on the fly? The Pattern Spotter who sees structure everywhere? The Connector where one idea immediately triggers five others?
You don't need all nine. Most people have two or three that dominate. Once you know yours, you'll stop working against how your brain actually works.
Or you could just ignore all of this and keep doing what you're doing. That works too. I just spent 1,500 words analysing my creative process when I could've written three more songs. But at least now I have fancy names for why I do the things I do. Progress, right?