Re: Art of Songwriting

Date: Sun, 30 Mar 2003 11:52:53 -0500
Newsgroups: rec.music.folk
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Hi Steven,
I started writing songs in earnest about 5 years ago. For what it's worth,
I'm 43. I write songs as a hobby not for a living, but the process is the
same either way. There's lots of ways to get there, but here are some
suggestions that worked for me:
* - Read books on songwriting. Some suggestions include:
- "Songwriting and the Creative Process - Suggestions and starting points
for songwriters", Steve Gillette, c1995, Sing Out Corporation, ISBN
1-81322-03-3. Around $15 new. Steve penned the song "Darcey Farrow" that
some folks know from John Denver's recording. Besides performing solo and
with his wife, Cindy Mangsen, Steve also gives songwriting workshops in the
NY and NJ area when he's touring.
- "Beginning Songwriter's Answer Book", Paul Zollo, c1993, Writer's Digest
Books, ISBN 0-89879-561-3. Around $17 new.
Both of these books are written in an accessible style that can be read
cover-to-cover or browsed as a reference for solving particular problems
including getting "unstuck".
* - Get a small tape recorder to save those glimmers of muse when they hit
you.
I use an inexpensive Sony microcassette recorder to capture my words,
melodies or guitar riffs before they slip away. When I record a guitar
riff, I play it and then play it again while calling out my finger
positions, chord forms, etc. because it can be months before I drag the idea
back out for consideration.
I keep the microcassette recorder with me as much as possible. I've had a
lot of great lyric or melody ideas while driving to and from work. Be sure
to put about 4 or 5 seconds of blank space between ideas so that you can
easily find them with the cue button on the recorder. I write the starting
date on the A side of the microcassette and the end date on the B side so I
can roughly recall when the idea struck and find the tape again in the
future.
Oh, and don't lose those nighttime ideas. There's been times when the muse
strikes just as I'm getting relaxed enough to fall asleep. I get out of
bed, go to another room so not to wake my wife, and hum a few bars or speak
a lyric into the recorder before going back to sleep.
If your microcassette isn't handy use the phone. Yup, call your voicemail
or answering machine and leave the idea there. Your family will think
you've lost it, but what's wrong with a little eccentricity? Also, a lot of
cellphones have a voice recorder function that let you store short messages.
Whatever works.
* - Get organized
Do what works for you be it a simple notebook or a fancy filing system. I
have a paper folder for bits of inspiration like newspaper articles and
such, but my PC has a songwriting folder that contains a sub-folder called
"In Progress" and another called "Completed". When I get stuck, I browse
the In Progress folder. I've often married bits of incomplete songs -
lyrics, melodies, chords, whatever - to make something totally new. Also,
I'll occasionally play back old microcassettes to see if some unused ideas
are still around.
* - Buy a rhyming dictionary, a dictionary and a thesaurus
Heck, buy every one that you can find. I've got five rhyming dictionaries.
They can help you get unstuck or flesh out an idea.
I also use the thesaurus built into Microsoft Word. Whatever works for you.
* - Find other songwriters
Here in northern NJ, an organization called the "Folk Project" sponsors a
songwriters circle that meets once a month to preview and critique songs or
songs in progress. It's made all the difference for me. It's a casual,
friendly group with songwriters of all levels of musical ability. We
generally offer gentle criticisms, but folks that are trying to write more
commercially accessible stuff can ask the group to be more discerning and
blunt.
A Yahoo or Google search should help you find any songwriters groups in your
area. Also, the songwriters newsgroup might serve the same purpose.
* - Write and revise
This is the hardest thing to get used to at first. After I wrote my first
"acceptable" song, I refused to change it even with sincere constructive
criticism from other songwriters. It took so much work just to get that one
done that I couldn't bear to admit it wasn't truly finished. You'll tend to
fall in love with your original ideas and find it hard to let go until you
accept that sometimes the original idea is simply the path to a truly great
song.
Well, five years later I revise my songs multiple times with no remorse.
Sometimes I even toss out that totally cool lyric or chord progression that
inspired the song in the first place because it doesn't fit in the finished
song. I even revised my first "acceptable" song just two months ago and
it's better for it.
* - Do it often and regularly
Nothing builds your skill like practice. The monthly songwriters circle
makes me strive for one song a month, but I usually end up with only about 3
songs a year that I'm willing to play regularly. I don't sweat the
incomplete or B-grade songs. I just put them aside and move on. It's all
part of the journey.
All the best,
Steve Comeau
(remove the anti-spam word "not" to reply)
"Steven G." <email-address-deleted> wrote in message
news:email-address-deleted...
> Hello, all
>
> I always want to start this thread for a long time. Its about the art
> of songwriting.
>
> I have been playing the guitar for about 20 years now. I have been
> listening to a wide variety of music. Folk, country, early rock n'
> roll, a little jazz and blues. But over the last 7 years now, it's
> been around folk music.
>
> But over the last 20 years that I have been playing I never wrote a
> song. But over the 20 years, I have played around on my flat top, and
> come with a lot great air to great songs. And I said to myself, that
> would be a great air for a song to write. But when I would get out a
> piece of paper. My mind would be blank. Really hate that.
>
> The art of songwriting is very new to me. No doubt there is a few
> contributors to this group that have dabbled with songwriting. And no
> doubt you are a professional performer. How do you do it? What is
> secret to writing a good song. How do you start to write a great song.
>
> Anyway, if you can help me on songwriting it would be great.
>
> Thanks for your time.
>
> Steven G.