A Common Problem That Songwriters Face...

Here is a common problem that one of my subscribers expressed recently...

"I'm 16 and the main problem is, I know what I want to write, but when I do write it down I think it sounds lame"

Now she's 16 years old, but I'm pretty sure that this problem transcends all ages.

The truth is, nearly every thing *I* put down I also think sounds lame too... at least at first. We all have to understand that in most cases you will never write a 'great song' the first time around. It doesn't happen that way.

I always jokingly tell those who are aspiring songwriters that "you aren't in the business of writing a song"....but more like... "you're in the business of editing them".

By that I mean, you're not necessarily song'writing', but rather song'crafting'. That's how you should be thinking. It's about constantly editing and re-arranging your song until you see it fit to be heard by other listeners. When you have a song down, don't just let it stop there. Trust me, it ain't finished.

There may be exceptions to the rule, but mostly - you still have work to do.

Listen to the verse... could it do with a change of melody? Does it tie in well with the chorus or Pre-Chorus? Does the song make sense lyrically? Step out of the song for a moment... would you dig the song if you were an outsider listening in? Does the song bore YOU? What could you do to change that?

Now, you don't have to go mad here. Don't nit-pick every little knock and cranny - that will only drive you crazy. Take in the first instance of what you feel could do with re-working, then DO IT. Change it up... and make it better.

Critiquing your own song is probably one of the most difficult things to do in songwriting - but it CAN be done relatively easily. It involves you really having to stand apart from your song and looking at it a little objectively. By listening to the song from other people ears can do wonders for your songwriting.

After you have done this, it's time to let the cat out of the bag... BUT only for a limited audience.

What do I mean by that?..

...I mean, you should now play your song to a fellow musician, singer or songwriter. All three if you can. If it's somebody you respect, then even better. Here's the ticket: There is no better way to drastically improve your songwriting then when you actually begin to listen to your song though another songwriters/musician's ears - of whom you respect. That's the ultimate.

In fact, I'll say that one more time so you can engrave this phrase in your mind...

There is no better way to drastically improve your songwriting then when you actually begin to listen to your song though another songwriters/musician's ears - of whom you respect.

If you don't have a friend who's a songwriter or a musician that you admire and/or respect, then go get one. Honestly. Befriend one. Develop some sort of relationship with one. FIND one. It will be the greatest move you ever make in songwriting.

Normally people who sell songwriting products (like me... I won't deny it here) won't give you that kind of info because it hinders any chance of making a sale for whatever product they are offering. But to be honest, I don't really care. I want to help, and this info WILL do that if you apply what I'm saying.

Finally, remember you will get better as you write more and more. By definition, if you do something more than often, you will get better at it. So keep at it and for goodness sakes, ENJOY it

Shamir
[formally Calvin]
SongwritingTipsOnline.com

PS. Feel free to leave a comment here on the blog (click on 'post a comment' below).

Do you write BEATZ? Maybe This Will Inspire You...

Must say, I have written drum loops and 'beatz' -- in fact, I used to do them very often. As I writer, I like to explore different 'virtual' drum kits here in my little studio.

BUT...what about you're to see goes way beyond creating drums loops in the studio. How about this -- creating drum beats in the kitchen. Ok, so now I've got you pondering. And before you guess... NO, he doesn't use pots and pans and other kitchen utensils to produce a drum loop.

Well...

Not exactly anyway ;-)

Take a peak...

Emi & Apple Offering Better Quality Files That You Can Trasnfer To Any Device...

So the time has arrived, and I knew it would. Some see this as 'earth shattering' news, and I guess to some degree it is. So whats all the fuss about?

Apple and EMI have now announced that they will be offering downloadable music without the DRM encoding. What's DRM? It stands for Digital Rights Management. And this short video below (which was created few days ago, *before* this announcement) will give you a light hearted version of what DRM is all about.

Give it a watch...(don't skim, watch all of it, it's very short).



So now that you're an expert on DRM you can see how utterly annoying it can be. From today though, things have changed. Most of the songs which you download from the world famous iTunes browser will now be 'easily transferable' to other music devices. This means you don't have to rip the darn thing to your PC first to ransfer it to another device.

Not only that, but they have also announced that the 'new music files' will be better quality -- at 256kbps. I'll be honest with you, most people won't notice the change in sound. It's only those who 'care enough' about the sound, that will actually significantly *hear* the difference.

They are also asking us to pay for these privileges -- songs will be $1.29 a pop, as oppose to the usual $0.79.

I for one have never really been an Apple fan -- and I may be in the minority here. The thought of being totally restricted to the Ipod really does my head in. It's silly when you think about it... why pay for music that you can ONLY listen to on your Ipod? Makes no sense. Of course, things are different now. Who knows, I might consider the Ipod now that they've finally woken up.

The main thing that bugs me is that Apple work by an audio format AAC. And although some non-Ipod players can handle non-protected AAC, it's hardly in the same league as an mp3 file -- which ten times more universally accepted.

What do you think about all this? Are you a ipod user? Are you happier that this change has been embraced by EMI? What about all the file sharing that's going on right now.... is it only a matter of time before music doesn't have a value anyway? Are we headed that way? I would love to know your thoughts.....

Post a comment here on the blog

Shamir

[formally Calvin]