---
title: 'The Surprising Truth About Noel Gallagher''s Songwriting Process'
source: 'https://youtube.com/watch?v=C5xDBV6kLuQ'
video_id: 'C5xDBV6kLuQ'
date: 2026-07-31
duration_sec: 482
---

# The Surprising Truth About Noel Gallagher's Songwriting Process

> Source: [The Surprising Truth About Noel Gallagher's Songwriting Process](https://youtube.com/watch?v=C5xDBV6kLuQ)

## Summary

This video explores Noel Gallagher's unconventional songwriting method: strumming an electric guitar absentmindedly while the TV plays with the sound down. It connects this distracted, relaxed state to research on creativity, explaining how 'not trying too hard' can spark aha moments, and also covers his daily habits like walking and his melody-first approach.

### Key Points

- **Noel's TV method** [00:28] — Noel sits at home with the TV on (sound down) and an electric guitar on his lap, daydreaming until a musical hook catches his ear — 'hang on a minute, what was that?'
- **Science of distraction** [01:08] — Jonah Lehrer's book 'Imagine' cites a Harvard/Toronto study of 86 graduates: those who struggled to filter out distractions were 7 times more likely to be rated as eminent creative achievers.
- **Gamma spike / aha moment** [02:14] — Creativity often strikes when you're not trying to solve the problem — in the shower, falling asleep, or while relaxed. This 'gamma spike' is the aha moment.
- **Personal experiment** [02:56] — The narrator tried Noel's TV method and got a song idea from an interview showing Russian dolls — inspiring a metaphor about inner versions of ourselves.
- **Daily habit / fishing metaphor** [04:03] — Noel compares songwriting to fishing: 'If you're not down at the river you're not going to catch anything.' He writes every day rather than waiting for inspiration.
- **Walking as a creative tool** [04:59] — Walking is key to Noel's process — he says a lot of writing happens in his head while walking, almost getting run over while working out a chorus. Sting and Stanford/APA studies also support walking's creative benefits.
- **Melody first, lyrics later** [06:03] — Noel is only interested in the melody, not chords. 'It's a lifetime of waiting for the melody to arrive.' He finds the idea of writing lyrics first (like Elton John) alien, and he writes the backing track then waits for words.
- **The fuel: love of the craft** [07:13] — Asked why he keeps going, Noel says: 'Because I really love doing it.' The passion sustains the process.

### Conclusion

Noel Gallagher's creative process proves that inspiration isn't something you force — it's something you make room for. By pairing a relaxed, distracted state with daily discipline, walking, and an unshakeable focus on melody, he creates the conditions for aha moments to arrive.

## Transcript

songwriters of his generation NL Gallagher has been at the Forefront of British Rock for more than three decades he was the primary songwriter guitarist and co-lead vocalist for Oasis who at the time of their breakup in 2009 had
sold more than 75 million albums with eight number one singles and eight form his current band The highflying Birds who have released four UK number one albums to date so given his incredible track record and reputation
as a songwriter it may surp surpris you to know how he actually writes his songs how I normally write songs is I'll be at home the Telly will be on with the sound down and I'll have an electric guitar on my lap and to the untrained eye I look
guitar but what I'm actually doing is neither I'm neither taking any notice of what I'm playing or watching TV I'm just in a days messing around and then I'll go hang on a minute what was that and I
writing during his interview with the guys from soda jerker on songwriting insights into his thought process when this process work how can not paying attention to anything in particular
yield the kind of musical results that N Gallagher has become famous for in his book imagine how creativity Works Jonah lerra says that being unfocused and distracted can boost creativity levels and he shares a study conducted by two
neurologists at Harvard and Toronto University in which 86 graduates were given a sensory test that as lra says was designed to measure their ability to conditioner humming in the background or the conversation taking place in the
nearby cubicle the test was essentially aiming to measure how well the subjects could focus and concentrate despite the distractions and apparently the researchers were astonished by the results those undergrads who had a
tougher time ignoring the unrelated stuff were also seven times more likely to be rated as eminent creative Achievers so N Gallagher is creating this environment where he's kind of in a days messing around with a few musical
ideas but he's also introducing external distractions through the television which become stimuli for his creative process and through that process of not particular but just being vaguely aware of all the sights and sounds around him
many studies now being done on how creativity works and how people come up with new ideas and one thing that you consistently hear from songwriters and not trying too hard when they're not focusing too much on the problem that's
and neuroscientists refer to this as the gamma Spike or the aha moment and we we're not trying to solve the problem when we're relaxing and letting our brain rest such as having a shower falling asleep and you hear so many
great idea that comes in the middle of the night so really what N Gallagher is doing here is replicating that relaxed state by creating an environment where he's not trying too hard to solve a songwriting problem and when I first
heard no gallaga talk about his TV method I was intrigued and so I sat down with my guitar and tried it out just playing around with a few little shapes my fingers were doing or what sounds were coming out of the instrument and at
video and had it on the background and the video was actually an interview with really low so I couldn't actually hear what he or the interviewer was saying but at one point I did glance over and see him picking up some Russian dolls
and playing with them and he was opening them up and revealing the smaller dolls inside and at that moment I thought what a great idea for a song the idea that inside of us there are these other versions of us and if we keep opening up
and digging deeper we get to that final doll the tiniest one at the middle the one that's kind of like the child in all of us that's always been there and so in minutes that song idea emerged and so personally I found this process
enjoyable not just because it was different to the way I normally write I not really paying attention to what I was doing took all the pressure off and that in a way allowed the idea to flow much quicker songwriting is like fishing
and if you're not down at the river you're not going to catch anything and I go down there every day of my life sometimes you get one sometimes you makes his feelings clear about one of the oldest debates in songwriting do you
wait for inspiration or do you make it a daily habit but the real question is why can't it be both surely if we're writing every day that increases the chances of makes the whole equation much simpler for us as songwriters to know that our
job is to do it every day and I love the metaphor that N Gallagher has created here the idea of going down to the river and fishing feels relaxing it feels enjoyable it feels like a process that has removed the stress and the anxiety
that often accommodates other processes and so no Gallagher really presents a very simple equation his job is to go down to the river throw in a line and wait for the fish to bite but if the fish aren't biting then there's another
usually when I'm writing and I'm not going anywhere one of the good things I do is just go for a walk I was nearly run over a few times coming up with a chorus walking really helps me I do a lot of writing in my head so many
artists are on record talking about the value of walking and how often it brings a fresh perspective to their project sting talks about the binary action of walking around and how it opens up the creative Channel which often helps him
with and this is again supported by a range of scientific studies including one by the American psychology Association and one by Stanford University both looking at how creativity is enhanced when walking
compared to sitting no Gallagher seems to have no trouble giving his opinion and some find him aggressive and controversial with some of his comments hearing him talk about music making and songwriting is how unambiguous his
responses are how clear he is in his mind about which methods really work for him and with his trademark honesty he addresses possibly the most asked question in songwriting what comes first the music or the lyrics it hasn't
changed at all still me and a guitar waiting for the melody I'm not interested in the chords I'm only interested in the melody and that's it it's a lifetime of waiting for the melody to arrive for nol it's music
first always and it's not just music he's all about the melody the way Elton send him a lot of words and he'll put the music to that I cannot get my head around that at all that to me is so alien I write the backing track first
will be in my head and then I'll just wait for the words and that can take ages again the beauty of songwriting is how many different ways there are to do it Jason isbel generally writes a complete set of lyrics first whereas
null clearly needs a Melody to build the song around and given that a Melody is the part that draws Us in that gets stuck in our head by putting Melody first by paying attention to it above all else perhaps this is what allows him
to connect with his audience so effectively more than most N Gallagher has a really clear way of defining and articulating his songwriting process and knows that if he goes down to the river and throws a line in every day sits with
his guitar goes for some walks and is consistently hunting for the next great Melody sooner or later he knows he's going to get one people say that a lot why do you keep going because I really love doing it I really really love it
love doing it I really really love it happy songwriting