Rewriting a song doesnt mean it's bad, it just means it will be even better.

Lets be honest, no-one likes to think that they have to rewrite something that they have put in their heart and soul into but what is the endgame of writing a song anyway?

It's certainly not to get something down in the shortest space of time and in the first attempt. It's to create the best song possible with the information and the tools at your disposal. Its a sense of pride and ownership of knowing that this song is a "really good" one.

I have just started reading a book by Molly-Ann Leikin titled "How To Make A Good Song A Hit Song" and even though the 'how to' title made me groan a bit (I am not a real big fan of overtly hyped up titles for things) the second part of the title grabbed me.

"Rewriting and marketing your lyrics and music". Hmmmm, I thought, I need to know a little bit more on the process of rewriting.

Being a singer/songwriter I write so I have something to play for audiences at my gigs. It's only been in the last few years that I have seen that there is more to songwriting than writing for yourself. This channel is part of my attempt to learn more about other avenues of songwriting.

Normally I would spend a decent amount of time getting a song completed to my satisfaction and then I would leave it to go onto the next thing I was doing. What Molly-Ann is saying in the first part of her book (which deals with rewriting) is that there should be an extra step in your process. The editing stage.

Since I've been reading this book I have got out my old songbooks and started to go through every song I have written looking for ways in which they can be improved or edited down. It's amazing what I have been finding.

1. Lyrics that can be changed - For me, there are always one or two lines of a song that can be strengthened. Sometime I read through a song and I notice myself cringing at a line. That is the time to change it and change it now.

2. Better chord structures that fit in with my melodies - This happens with older songs I have written in which the musical knowledge I have now was much more than what is was back then. I am using that to the songs advantage.

3. Changing song formating - Some songs are crying out for a bridge or a prechorus that I had not even considered before. This is the time to write them.

4. Some songs have too many ideas/confusing messages - Some of my songs need to be simplified and in doing so I have even written another song from that, what a bonus!!

When you think about it, your songbook is like a photographers portfolio of work. I suppose you could call it an 'aural portfolio'. It's good practise to look over your completed songs from time to time with a new set of ears and edit and adjust as necessary.

It's done wonders for me.

Until next time, happy writing,

Corey Stewart
Singer/Songwriter/Musician

PS: Check out Molly-Ann's site here there are some good articles to read.

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