The Craft Of Songwriting
There are many skills that people have and use in their everyday lives. Some of these skills are aquired through study and practice, such as driving a car or speaking a new language. Some other skills, people are born with. Many skills, however, are a combination of the two. One of the most important skills I use in my life was acquired though both practice and through genetics. This skill is songwriting. Many people, when listening to music, do not stop to think about what exactly goes into writing a song. There are many things one must consider. Who is my audience? What purpose will this song serve? Am I writing within my limits? Why am I writing this song? These are just a few of many things I ask myself when I am trying to put together a piece of music. In this essay, I hope to show, step by step, the process that I go through when writing a song. The first thing I ask myself when I sit down to write a song is, “Who is my audience?” I have many different styles with which I write a song. If I am writing a song to convey a personal message to someone, for example, a love song to a girl, I will write in a different style than I would if I am writing a song to make people move around and get
Perhaps the biggest downfall of many unsuccessful musicians is that they try to play and write music that exceeds their skill level. One thing that a songwriter must realize is that a song doesn’t have to be musically complex to be good. In fact, many of the legendary songwriters of the past century, like Bob Dylan and Bob Marley, for example, wrote songs that were hardly complex at all. Nine times out of ten, when I am getting frustrated with a song I am writing, it is beacause I am trying to make it too complicated. Sometimes, a simple three-chord progression provides for a much more memorable song than trying to make a key change every ten seconds. Songwriting is a skill that is acquired through a combination of genetics and practice, and it comes more naturally to some than to others. Everyone has a slightly different way in which they go about creating a song, but most people consider the same things along the way. In the end, a good song is not made of complexity and ambition. A good song comes from the heart of the writer and does not try to pretend anything. Every songwriter writes music with a specific mood or feeling in mind. Whether or not this mood or feeling is conveyed accurately depends upon the skill of the songwriter and the awareness of the listener. The music is open to interpretation. However, a song’s lyrics are usually pretty much self-explanatory. Thus, the lyircs of a song are vital to its effectiveness. When asked how he goes about writing the lyrics for a song, Tom
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Approximate Word count = 1018
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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