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Everyone has a great
song and a great book within them, you just have to find out how to get
it out. There's no real rules for writing a song, but it just so happens
that certain violations are common with beginning songwriters. Here are
some tips for beginning songwriters and recording
studio artists..
Keep
It Conversational
Go
through your lyrics and ask yourself, "Is that really the way I would
say it if I were talking to a friend?". All of a sudden lines like
"My love for you doth flourish" make more sense as "I love
you more and more everyday". This is our #1 tip for beginning songwriter's.
You'll be surprised how much it will improve your songs.
Make
It Real
Write
about YOUR experience and your thoughts, not what you THINK people necessarily
want to hear. Say it with honesty and openness. If you're feeling it,
chances are thousands of other people are too. What's going on in your
life write now that excites or depresses you? Write about that in detail.
Tell
A Story
Many
beginning songwriter's literally have a laundry list put to music. A long
list of sentences that don't tell a story. Keep your listeners interested.
Each verse should propel the story and/or resolve an issue. The verses
should shed light on and propel the intensity of the proplem to be resolved,
or should deepen the awareness of the idea or main character. Think of
it like a short movie. Some of the best examples of powerful story telling
are in Country music.
Say
It In A New Way
There
will always be new love songs, but the successful ones will find a way
to say the same old thing in a new way. Reflect the way soceity shifts
in it's views. This is new generations think the previous generation's
music is corny. They want to hear it said in THEIR language reflecting
THEIR ideas. Move on your ideas quickly, what works today might not cut
it in 5 years.
Writers'
Block
Stuck
for an idea? Try writing a story without any regard for song form. Sometimes
we get so stuck in writing verses we forget to tell a story. Freewrite:
Take a blank piece of paper and write everything that comes into your
head, never stop writing for at least a couple pages. Chances are there's
something in there for a good song.
Rewrite,
Rewrite, Rewrite
We
meet so many songwriters that are incredibly impressed with themselves
that they wrote a song in ten minutes. If they had performed several rewrites
on the song, they would usually be able to turn a mediocre song into a
fantastic one. You can get away with weak lyrics a little in a style like
alternative rock, but you're sunk if you're in the Country market. Make
every word count, every sentence push the story forward. It's not enough
to have a hip chorus, support it with strong verses. A good song could
have ten rewrites or more.
Forced
Rhymes
Even
Mozart talked about the horror of poor rhymes. Use regular sentences and
don't twist them around just for the sake of a rhyme. Example: "In
my boat I loved to ride, waiting for the rising tide". The line SHOULD
be: "I loved to ride in my boat". Figure out a different first
line, or change the second line. Also, not all rhymes have to be hard
rhymes. You can use loose rhymes like "grease" and "face".
Hey, who said you had to rhyme anyway? Maybe not all lines should rhyme.
Trite
Phrases and Rhymes
Common
reference to this is "Moon and June" lyrics: "I love you
in June, when full is the moon", or something like that. Avoid the
common rhyming pairs that are so obvious. After all, you want to say something
in a new way don't you?
Funny
Songs?
Ok,
so your first song was probably a powerful love song, that's common. Where
do you go for new subject matter? Not as many people write funny songs,
but you hear them all the time on the radio. By writing tongue-n-cheek
lyrics you can open yourself up to a whole new market. Not every song
has to help solve the world's problems.
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