5 Title-Generating Games to Spark Your Next Song

If you’ve ever sat down to write a song and found yourself staring at a blank page, you’re not alone.

Generating a killer song title can be one of the hardest parts of the process. Without a solid title, it’s easy to feel like you’re just aimlessly scribbling words.

The good news? It doesn’t have to be this way. There are tools—and games—you can use to get your creativity flowing and land on a title that feels perfect.

Here’s how to spark five solid song titles in a single sitting using fun, unconventional games. Let’s dive right in.

1. Roll the Dice with Rory's Story Cubes

Rory’s Story Cubes is more than just a children’s game—it’s a secret weapon for songwriters. Each cube is marked with images like lightning bolts, moons, footsteps, and more. The idea is simple: roll the dice, look at the images, and let your mind wander.

Here’s what to do next: Roll three dice and use those images to create a title. For example, if you roll an anchor, a pair of eyes, and a tree, you might come up with “The Old Anchor's Gaze” or “Eyes on the Branches.”

The magic of this game is in the combination of visuals. You’ll find yourself crafting titles you’d never have thought of otherwise. Want to speed it up? Set a timer for five minutes and challenge yourself to come up with three titles before the buzzer.

2. Word Clouds: The Internet’s Best Free Tool

Sometimes, all you need is a jumble of words to ignite the creative spark. Enter: Word Clouds. This free online tool lets you paste in a chunk of text—lyrics, an article, your latest journal entry—and turns it into a “cloud” of words. The larger the word, the more often it appears in your text.

Here’s how to use it: Pick a text that’s relevant to your song’s mood or theme. Paste it into a Word Cloud generator (like WordItOut), and let the software create a visual map of potential keywords.

For example, if you input a paragraph about summer, the largest words might be "sunset," "heat," and "waves." From that, you could generate titles like "Chasing the Sunset" or "Under the Heatwave." This method gives you concrete words to start with rather than vague concepts.

3. Newspaper Headlines Hack

One of the fastest ways to come up with song titles is to borrow a trick from journalists: scan headlines. Headlines often have the emotional punch and economy of words that song titles need.

Here’s the process: Visit your favorite news website or grab a newspaper. Skim the headlines, but don’t take them at face value. Instead, tweak them slightly to fit your songwriting vibe. For example, a headline that reads “Storm Sweeps the East Coast” could inspire “Storm Swept Love” or “East Coast Blues.”

The key here is to reimagine the headline in a way that speaks to a more personal or universal theme. This method works because headlines are built to grab attention in just a few words—exactly what your song title needs to do.

4. Use the Lyric Triad Game

The Lyric Triad, a tool mentioned in “The Speed Songwriting System,” takes title generation up a notch by blending three categories: content, senses, and thoughts. The idea is to use one item from each category to create a title that hits multiple levels.

Here’s how you do it: Pick a “content” word (e.g., “storm”), a “senses” word (e.g., “wet”), and a “thoughts” word (e.g., “loneliness”). Mix and match these elements to create evocative titles like “Wet Loneliness” or “Storm of My Thoughts.”

This game works because it pushes you to combine unrelated ideas, giving your title depth and intrigue. Play with this method for just 10 minutes, and you’ll be surprised how many unique titles you can create.

5. The “What If” Scenario Game

One of the most powerful songwriting tools is the question, “What if?” Start by brainstorming scenarios that are a little out of the ordinary or emotionally charged. This game gets your brain thinking in terms of storylines, which naturally leads to compelling song titles.

Here’s how it works: Ask yourself a “What if” question that feels intriguing. For example, “What if the sun never rose again?” or “What if I never left my hometown?” These questions inherently lead to stories, which then lead to titles.

From these scenarios, you might end up with titles like “Endless Night” or “Small Town Chains.” The beauty of this game is that it taps into your curiosity and emotions, forcing you to explore new angles in your writing.

Actionable Takeaways

These five games aren’t just creative exercises—they’re practical, fast, and effective ways to kickstart your songwriting process. If you set aside just 10 minutes to play around with any of these, you’ll walk away with a fresh set of song titles, ready to be turned into full lyrics.

To recap:

1. Rory’s Story Cubes will get you out of your usual headspace and force you to think visually.
2. Word Clouds provide concrete words that you can build titles around, fast.
3. Newspaper Headlines give you an easy way to find emotionally charged, attention-grabbing phrases.
4. The Lyric Triad blends abstract and concrete ideas for deeper titles.
5. The ‘What If’ Game helps you create story-based titles that naturally lead to strong lyrics.

Now, here’s the challenge: Pick one of these methods, set a timer for 10 minutes, and generate five song titles. Once you’re done, pick the one that feels the most intriguing, and let it guide your next songwriting session.

There’s no need to overthink it. The more titles you generate, the more natural the process will become. And remember, the first idea doesn’t have to be perfect—it’s just the start.

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