You have been passionate about music for as long as you can remember and everything in your life revolves around music. You can actually attach a song to every memory you have of yourself, your family, your friends and the places you have been to.
Perhaps you have come to that place where you have something to express and the best way you can think of doing that is by writing a song. Even if you have never tried it out, this is your opportunity to attempt something great.
You can be sure that this will be an adventure worth taking and be assured that regardless of those anxious feelings you’re experiencing, you can write a song – and a good one at that! The following article gives a wealth of information to get you started:
5 Starting Points For Songwriting (With Advice And Anecdotes From Joni Mitchell, John Fogerty, Rodney Crowell, And More)
It’s such a subconscious thing. It’s like this little song part of you fills up over time. It’s like a well, and then you just put your dipper in and dip it out. When you’re a songwriter, at least a songwriter like me, you have to work hard on your craft—if you hear something, you want to be able to figure out how to do it. But the songs themselves, I don’t know where they come from or where they’re going or why they picked me. They really are presents, and your job is to receive them and pass them on.
—Greg Brown
Ask songwriters where their ideas come from, and they grope for the right words or image to explain the essentially inexplicable: Songs just appear out of the blue, like lightning on a sunny day. They are forever floating past us, available to anyone who’s listening. They spring from interesting mistakes and lucky accidents and, of course, from private pain and emotional turmoil. They are like fish down in the dark waters, sometimes taking your bait and sometimes not. Inspiration is a mysterious thing, and oftentimes songwriters don’t even want to penetrate that mystery—they fear that if they understand what is going on, they won’t be able to tap into it anymore. Via DIYMusician…
Making mistakes is okay for any person looking to perfect what they do, and it is no different for a songwriter. You may even be surprised that some of those mistakes are what will make you stumble into a unique pattern that you’ve never thought of. So you can enjoy the journey and keep the recorder on for future reference.
As you progress in your songwriting journey, there are critical roadblocks that you need to avoid. One of them is the predictability syndrome. It is where you find yourself writing songs with the same characteristics. The following article by Gary Ewer explains more on this:
How to Avoid Getting Locked Into a Predictable Songwriting Style
Every songwriter has a style. If you’re a well-known writer, that style may be part of what makes your new song immediately identifiable to your listeners, even before they hear that you’re the one who’s written it.
More often than not, however, a song’s style of performance is what will give the song’s authorship away, not the style of writing. You might recognize a Springsteen song, for example, because of the way the melodies, lyrics and chords work together, but truthfully, you’re more likely to recognize the performance style of the various players in the band before you recognize the aspects of music that make it a Springsteen tune.
Nevertheless, your songwriting will benefit gratefully by asking a simple question for each song that you write: How does this song differ from my last few? Am I locked into a writing style that’s become too predictable? Via Secrets of Songwriting…
It is possible to keep broadening your scope of songwriting without losing your uniqueness and touch. So you don’t have to be afraid to venture into new areas of song composition. This will keep you fresh and your fans will always be guessing what you will come up with the next time you release your song.
Finally, it is always beneficial to have a write up of all the tiny details of songwriting in your resource centre for your reference. The following article has a collection of several pieces of advice for you in different areas of interest from books, experienced songwriters and other helpful resources which will be very handy in your songwriting adventure:
Songwriting: Advice And Insight On The Craft Of Writing a Song
We’ve posted songwriting advice that covers music theory, children’s music, interviews with hit songwriters, excerpts from books, songwriter’s block, and a variety of other topics that relate to the craft of writing a song. We’ve collected them here – check ’em out!
After The Beatles: Paul McCartney’s bass playing, Part II (July 2016)
Paul McCartney’s bass playing genius has never wavered, but his choices as a bass player post-Beatles show his focus was ever more on the song and serving the vocal melody.
Things I learned being a fan of David Bowie (July 2016)
David Bowie had a genius that set him apart, but his musical and artistic career provides a bounty of lessons we can all learn from and apply to our creation of art and music – and to our everyday lives. Via Discmakers…
With all the passion within you and this advice, you can now get your pen and paper and let those songs come to life!
Featured Image: Image Credit
Taylor Swift after seeing this hashtag. She writing up a song as we speak. #TaylorSwiftWhatUp pic.twitter.com/bMQvBPymQ0
— Rashfordhino (@Rashfordhino) August 2, 2016
nothing’s more better than writing your own songs. it’s just a rush through your veins when the song is finished. ?
— Tc (@thetimmyconnors) July 29, 2016
Related Articles:
At Music Biz, Nashville Publishers Offer Advice To New Songwriters, Praise PRO Efforts
Several music publishing heavyweights gathered Wednesday (May 18) during the Music Biz conference to discuss the evolving role of artist and songwriter development in the world of independent music publishing. John Ozier of ole moderated the panel Indie Publishing 2016: How Artist And Songwriter Development Is Changing The Independent Publisher. The panel included MusicSunk/LoudLab Ventures’ John Pisciotta, Wrensong’s Ree Buchanan, and BMG Music Rights Management’s Kos Weaver.
Much of the panel consisted of advice to rising singer-songwriters.
Buchanan stated that publishers typically first hear new songwriters through other industry contacts. She said, “Usually BMI or ASCAP will send them to me, or I might hear of a new talent through another publisher who perhaps can’t sign that particular artist-writer at the time.” She noted that she has signed a writer after hearing them through ASCAP’s GPS program, and has kept in touch with writers who have shown songwriting potential, and who have gone through such programs offered by the PROs. Via Musicrow…
How to Write Lyrics to Music: Advice From a Multi-Platinum Songwriter
If you’re like a lot of songwriters out there, you might find pairing lyrics with the melodies you write to be a little, well, intimidating. But according to Berklee Online instructor and multi-platinum songwriter Andrea Stolpe, you should stop trying to write incredible, organized lyrics right off the bat, and instead focus on the feeling you’re trying to communicate. Check out the video below for exactly how to streamline your writing process and take your lyrics to the next level.
A Hit Songwriters Advice On How To Survive
Now, I certainly don’t know everything about songwriting and how to get cuts- if I did, I’d be writing a song on a beach somewhere right now. But I have been blessed to land a top 5 country hit in the US (“Monday Morning Church” by Alan Jackson) and a #1 country hit in Canada Songwriter Advice Rolling Stone(“When Your Lips Are So Close,” by Gord Bamford) and several other cuts by artists such as Lady Antebellum, Randy Travis, Joe Nichols, Ruthie Collins, Ray Stevens and others along the way.
