Music Career Talk 19

This will be a two part blog on songwriting. The first part will be on the act of songwriting and the second part (next Sunday) will be on what to do with your song and or catalog of songs. There are several ways people write songs, first of all some write with others as in a collaboration, maybe one writes the music and one writes the lyrics, or both do both. Finding a great writing partner is like finding a great doctor or auto mechanic, you want to keep that relationship forever. Some writers use an instrument to write, piano, guitar whatever feels right. I have worked with a number of writers who use no instrument, but write melodies and lyrics in their head and come up with great material. So what comes first the chicken or the egg, music or lyrics and does it matter? When you sit down to write it's usually based on some kind of inspiration. Another song you just heard (that doesn't mean stealing)a sunset, love, hate, politics, anything or just a message you want delivered to the world (or one person) through song. If you're writing in hopes of commercial success it's good to know who you're writing for, your audience, who wants to hear what you have to say. What's relevant to the people you're trying to reach. When writing for yourself anything goes, when your writing as a career for yourself or others to record your material there are some guide lines you might want to follow. It's great to be original, but at the same time you need to keep your ears and eyes on what's happening in the market place, and be able to feel where musical trends might be headed. Songs have a formula that consists of intro, verse, sometimes pre-chorus, chorus, bridge, and solos (which can be played over any part of the song) and a means of ending the song in a memorable way. With that said you can mix up these parts anyway you want. Sometimes I like to start a song with the chorus as an intro. When your writing in the contemporary music world there are a few things to keep in mind like don't wait too long for the vocals to come in, no one at a record company wants to hear a 5 min. song, unfortunately long solos are out and the old industry saying "don't bore us, get us to the chorus" is still in affect. Popular music should be easy to remember and easy to like. We all like the "hook" that one part of a song that we wait for every time we listen. The "hook" can be a lyric, a guitar lick or the bad ass chorus that makes the hair on the back of your neck stand up (if you have hair on the back of your neck). I tell my clients the best thing they can do for their career's is to write. When you collaborate with other writers make sure you have all the splits worked out, it becomes much more complicated when you're trying to figure out percentages with an $800,000.00 check sitting on the coffee table. Every major artist had their first hit so there's room for us too. We all have the same amount of notes to work with A - G including sharps and flats, it's how we mix them up and arrange them that makes the song. The Beatles said "all you need is love" that sure worked for them.