Now that I’ve written and recorded a new song every week for years at a time, I’ve gotten pretty good at making songs no matter where I am. While the vast majority of my songs over that time period have been created from start to finish at home, I’m something of a jetsetter these days (at least between New York and Toronto!), so I’ve sometimes written and/or recorded songs at my parents’ house in East York, in hotel rooms, and even outside in nature.
A common truism among creatives is that, as much as we love our fancy tools, true creativity comes from within, and can be achieved with rudimentary tools or sometimes no tools at all. When I’m at home, I have access to my full collection of instruments, my fancy audio interface and mic, and every notebook and songwriting text I’ve ever owned – but when I’m traveling, I have to pare down significantly. Here are the current contents of my “mobile songwriting kit,” as it were…
A notebook and pen/pencil
It all starts here! Truth be told, if push came to shove, I could write a song using just my notebook and pen, no instruments or other equipment required – it’s that vital! I typically take my journal with me when I travel, which is always a large hardcover ruled Moleskine, and will scribble lyrics in there, in between pages of melodramatic prose about my dating life, etc.
For the last year or so, I’ve also taken to carrying a Field Notes pocket notebook in my bag everywhere I go. It takes up practically no space, and is ideal for drafting lyrics on buses and subway trains, in waiting rooms, at cafés and bars, etc.
Choice of writing instrument is very personal to each writer; I’m partial to the two that I’ve got tattooed on me, Retro 51 Tornado pens and Blackwing pencils. Also love my rollerball Lamy Safari and Pilot Precise v5s. I switch back and forth between pen and pencil according to my mood – it’s always cool to see which lyric lines have been crossed out and rewritten (sometimes several times), but a pencil’s erasability can sometimes trick my brain into being less self-critical and perfectionistic, which is especially important in the early stages of drafting a song.
A ukulele
One of the best things about the ukulele is its portability. It’s not the best instrument if you want a solemn and/or full sound, but as Amanda Palmer says, “Chords are just chords. Give me any instrument that can make a couple of chords and I’ll give you a song in a few minutes.” Really, as long as I have access to a ukulele and something to write with/on, I can come up with a fully fleshed-out song literally anywhere.
I have way too many ukuleles, but my best option for travel and on-the-go usage is the Enya Nova soprano uke, which I bought specifically because it’s made of carbon fiber and is thus much more durable than my other ones. I have no qualms tossing it in a purse or suitcase, where it takes up minimal room because of how slim it is, and it sounds pretty good for its price point. (I wish I’d brought it with me on the Toronto trip I’m on currently, because the cheap uke I have here sounds like a tin can and barely holds a tune. I’ve still written many a song on it, though, which speaks to the ukulele’s utility!)
Novation Launchkey Mini
This has been one of my best songwriting purchases. It’s a tiny midi keyboard that I can plug into my computer, iPad, or phone. For songwriting purposes, I usually just open GarageBand and set the keyboard to sound like a normal piano. But when recording, I can make it sound like any instrument I want, from drums to bass to guitar to strings to woodwinds.
I have occasionally written songs using a piano app on my phone or iPad when I had no other instruments available to me, but I’d much rather play an actual keyboard with actual keys. This one takes up minimal room in a suitcase and I love it. I’ll typically pack this for short-term travel rather than bring a ukulele, because the keyboard is less likely to get damaged in transit and also forces me to break out of the ruts/habits I tend to get into when I’ve been writing on the uke a lot.
My iPhone
There are about a zillion ways a smartphone can help you with songwriting, but mainly I use just three apps in my process: Notes, for drafting/editing lyrics and storing song ideas; Voice Record Pro, where I capture little song fragments as they come to me and make demo recordings of songs as I’m writing them; and Rhymezone, which helps you find not only rhymes but also near-rhymes, synonyms, and antonyms. I’m usually flipping back and forth between these three apps the entire time I’m writing a song, with occasional diversions to google things when needed (chord shapes, music theory nuances, facts related to the topic of the song I’m writing, etc.).
My laptop
While it’s not crucial (especially since I can record on my phone or iPad mini if I need to), I prefer to use my computer to record finished songs. I’ll open up GarageBand, connect any mics or instruments I want to use, and build arrangements as needed in there. Currently I have a 2022 MacBook Air; I love it a lot.
Zoom H2n + tripod
It’s great to have a portable mic when recording music, even though the mic on my iPhone is serviceable if I’ve got nothing else. I’ve mostly used this recorder for vocals and ukulele parts.
One thing I really like about it is that you can plug it in and record with it directly into something like GarageBand, or you can just make recordings with it and then move them from the device’s SD card to wherever you’ll be processing/mixing/using them. This makes it a versatile part of my kit. I also use it as a podcast mic when I’m traveling.
Headphones
Useful while producing/mixing a song, obviously, but also during the songwriting process – if I have time, I’ll often listen to a song demo on loop while out on a walk, and it helps me notice any parts of the song that feel awkward or not-quite-right so I can edit them.
I’ll also sometimes listen to white noise in my noise-canceling AirPods while trying to write in public, because it blocks out any speech/music/etc. around me that might be distracting. (I’m not like Stephin Merritt; I could never write a song in a bar that was blasting bad music like he does!)
…and that’s pretty much it: everything I use to write songs when I’m away from home! Fellow songwriters, feel free to let me know in the comments what your mobile songwriting kit would consist of.