There is a lot of songwriting mis-information out there, choose your info wisely.
I happened to come across an article by Andrew Hacker of ARTS Recording Studio in Newcastle NSW called "10 Songwriting Myths Busted". It certainly breaks open a lot of the misconceptions about songwriting and what the related process is really about.
Here it is for you to read and judge for yourself...
1) My songs are great because my friends like them and the audience screams when we play them.
Perhaps they are great! But perhaps your friends are just being friends, or perhaps the audience screams because they think you look hot! Just remember, there's a huge difference between a great performance and the song itself being great – don't confuse one with the other!
One basic guide for a lot of songs is whether they still stand up without much added 'performace' or 'production'. Are they still emotionally impacting just on acoustic guitar or piano - or even just sung a capella?!
Great song writers don't have to all shred like Steve Vai or play like Franz Liszt but they know when a melody and lyric hit home, when the imagery works and why you need a bridge.
Take Bob Dylan as a classic example - can't sing to save himself, but a brilliant song writer!
2) If I write non-specific, general lyrics, more people will relate to my song.
Great intention, but it just doesn't work. People love lyrics that tell them stories - specific stories - that they can connect with.
For example if I say "There was a man with a wife, a working-class job, a hard life.", do you really care? Probably not. But what if I tell you "Tommy used to work on the docks. Union's been on strike, he's down on his luck - it's tough - so tough!" (Thankyou Bon Jovi!)?
The specific images - a man with a real name, the docks, striking unions - tell a far more powerful story that you can more easily picture and so relate to.
Sometimes writers make lyrics vague because the story they're telling is personal. In that case - and if you still want the song out in public - then consider only revealing the specific details you're comfortable with or changing the lyrics to be in the third person (he/she/they), or both.
What ever you do, don't be vague and then expect the public to be interested.
3) To write a great song you need great gear.
To write a great song, you need a great idea.
Great, fresh, original ideas are all around you, and the gear you'll need to write a great song is probably a notebook and pencil. In fact, if you can even half sing, you don't need an instrument either - countless great songs have been written just by singing (probably in the shower!)
4) A rough demo is fine.
OK, to write a great song you need next to nothing, but to demo it is something else entirely. Labels expect pretty much radio quality demos. Why? Because recording gear is cheap, so there's no excuse!
A quality demo is like a tie at a job interview - it's just a basic expectation and anything less will suggest that you're not serious. Remember when you demo something, you're competing with everyone else's demo as well!
Of course there's more flexibility for non-performing song-writers who are pitching their songs for others to use. In that case a quality demo can just mean providing a clear, basic outline of the song (usually a cleanly recorded instrument and vocal line).
None the less, a rough, poor quality recording will put you in a worse light that no recording at all!
5) The song will come to me if I just wait to be inspired.
Successful song writers are proactive about writing new songs. They look at almost everything with a "could-this-be-an-idea-for-a-new-song?" attitude.
Perhaps hundreds of their ideas never become songs, but they don't wait for that perfect song to just fall out of the sky!
One of the best ways to be "inspired" is to set a deadline. Tell yourself you'll write a new song by the end of the day (in fact there are plenty of positions for paid song writers where one day is about all you'll get!)
6) My job is to put the song down just the way God / the universe / the muse gave it to me.
Never assume that the first version of any song will be the best. All great writers go through some editing or critical process. Sometimes (and it's very rare), this process leads back to the original version of the song, but usually the song can be refined so that it comes across more powerfully than at first.
One of the best quotes I ever read (sorry, I can't remember who said it exactly), goes something like "Song-craft without inspiration - no one will care! But inspiration without song-craft - no one will even understand!".
7) Some major A&R dude is going to walk into the club and "discover me" so all I have to do is look good and play well.
Sorry people. A&R dudes don't go to clubs any more! - at least not unless they were really, REALLY impressed with your demo first.
Put yourself in their position for a second… Your job is to find "the next big thing", and you need to find it among a bazillion artists! Which is easier? - to listen to demos (the great ones anyway!) or to drag your sorry bum all over the country from pub to club?
8) For a song to be original it must be like nothing anyone's ever heard before.
Face it - everything you write is in some way influenced by your previous experiences, including all the music you've ever heard. It's very unlikely that you'll come up with something totally new - and even if you do, people probably wont "get it" anyway.
Most mature song writers really value how previous music has inspired them. They are OK with recognising that they are original, not because they have created something new out of a vacuum, but because they've created a new thing by combining existing influences with their own experiences.
9) The real goal is to get a record deal, then you're a success.
I think for most artists, the real goal is to be able to communicate with others through their music.
Sure, a record deal could mean an opportunity to communicate with more people than ever before, but if fame and fortune and being a "rock star" are the goal then it's probably going to be really unsatisfying in the end.
10) Trying to write music that's commercially successful means you're a sell-out.
OK, so a record deal doesn't necessarily make you a success, but there's not much higher praise you can get than other people willingly paying thier hard-earned cash for your music!
Those who say being commercially successful makes you a "sell-out" often do so for one of two reasons...Some aren't writing music for others, but just for themselves. That's fine, but it doesn't automatically make those who write for an audience a "sell-out". (Of course there's probably no one like that reading this - at least not if you've posted any of your music on Myspace!).
Others seem to think that music (perhaps art in general), should transcend money.
Personally, I think all creative human endeavours are potentially artistic. When architects create buildings or scientists create new vaccines there's art involved, but no-one says "Hey you're a sell-out for making people pay for your creation!"
Personally, I think it's up to the general public to decide on the value of our musical creativity - be it worthless, worth something, or priceless!
For us to assume the value of our own art is (I think) pretty arrogant.
Happy song writing,
Andrew Hacker
ARTS Recording Studio
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About the author
Andrew Hacker is a producer, audio engineer, and multi-instrumentalist. He runs ARTS Recording Studio, based near Newcastle, NSW
Wow!!! What you have just read is (IMHO) PURE GOLD.
I think Andrew has successfully encapsulated all of the common misconceptions about the music industry and busted them all in one fell swoop.
Talk about MYTHBUSTERS
I really like his matter-of-fact approach to his article. There's no mincing of words here ;). If you want to read more of Andrews thoughts and find out more about his studio business check out his MySpace page.
Advice such as:
"...there's a huge difference between a great performance and the song itself being great – don't confuse one with the other!"
"...don't be vague (in your songwriting) and then expect the public to be interested."
"To write a great song, you need a great idea".
"A quality demo is like a tie at a job interview - it's just a basic expectation..."
"For us to assume the value of our own art is (I think) pretty arrogant."
Has certainly given me some food for thought. What do you think?
Until next time, happy writing,
Corey Stewart
Singer/Songwriter/Musician
www.coreystewartonline.com
www.orangutangmusic.com
www.myspace.com/coreystewart
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The Bizzo - Indie Music Industry Tips
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Keywords: songwriting process, songwriting tip, songwriting, song writing, singer songwriter, songwriting news, songwriting idea, songwriting help, songwriting blog, corey stewart
