Just a quick post today, just a few days before Christmas. Developing songwriters should get into the habit og writing everyday. It's like keeping your muscles in shape. Have a desk or some place where you can keep all of your writing things so you can to that place anytime and go through your song ideas, choose one to work on and try to write a few lines. I've read how some writer sat down and wrote what turned out to be a great song in fifteen minutes. That has rarely happened for me. Instead, I have partial songs in a database in my computer and in notebooks I keep in a stack. I try to go there often and try and write a few lines on a few different ideas. When I'm lucky, inspiration will take over and I will write for hours or get new song ideas.
Let's talk about keeping your songs on your computer for a moment. I have a main file entitled "Joe's Music Files". In a sub folder under that I have "Joe's Original Songs". Under that I divide my writing into "Completed Lyrics", "Lyric Ideas", "Needs Melody", for lyrics I think are complete but have no tune and a few folders fo "Style" like Blues songs, Rock Songs, Gospel Songs and a few others. This arrangement helps keep me organized.
Like a lot of things, staying organized can help you keep things in order so you can be productive with your writing. Here's hoping you can stay organized and write some great songs.
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Saturday, December 18, 2010
Who Needs Your Songs?
Carrie Underwood, Faith Hill, Gart Brooks, Tim McGraw, Sara Evans, Kenny Chesney and Martina McBride. What do all of these Superstars have in common other than the fact that they have all reached the top of the music charts? The all have everything they need except for...great songs. When they get ready to cut a new CD, they begin the search for their next hit song(s). And that's where you as a songwriter come in. Although these days many artists, like Taylor Swift, write their own material, these artists I've mentioned here, and many others, all turn to outside songwriters for at least a portion of the material they record.
Songwriting Nashville Style is where you can develop into the kind of songwriter who can write songs good enough to be pitched to these artists for their next CD project. There are many things to learn along the way. Here we will talk about not only the craft of songwriting, but also things like how to pitch songs to people in the music industry, how to demo your songs, co-writing songs, working with musicians aand much, much more. Next time I will post the first article about getting ideas for songs. I think you may be surprised, so please come back often and lean what's new at Songwriting Nashville Style. See ya then.
Songwriting Nashville Style is where you can develop into the kind of songwriter who can write songs good enough to be pitched to these artists for their next CD project. There are many things to learn along the way. Here we will talk about not only the craft of songwriting, but also things like how to pitch songs to people in the music industry, how to demo your songs, co-writing songs, working with musicians aand much, much more. Next time I will post the first article about getting ideas for songs. I think you may be surprised, so please come back often and lean what's new at Songwriting Nashville Style. See ya then.
The Art Of Songwriting
Songwriting is an art. There is no doubt about it. Thousands, probably millions of people get inspired and begin writing songs with little or no knowledge or training. It is wonderful to be able to sit down and turn out a song. But my question is, what makes anyone think they can be a great songwriter without any training. After writing songs for several decades and spending more than a dozen years in Nashville I now equate learning to write songs with trying to be an NFL player or Olympian. It is a serious but very rewarding adventure to undertake.
This blog is for all aspiring songwriters and is intended to give readers the real scoop, the bottom line on what it takes to be a successful songwriter. Yes, most of what I talk about here will be related to songwriting in Nashville, thus the name of the blog. But except for a few differences, which I will talk about in a future post, it doesn't matter whether you wish to write Country, Rock, Jazz or even Hip Hop music. Structure wise, a song is a song. Yes, there is an art to it and to be successful you must study that art just like a doctor goes to medical school before he goes into practice. There is no short cut.
I want this blog to be informative, entertaining and encouraging to all who aspire to be great songwriters. I hope you will consider us your friend on your songwriting journey. A place you can turn to when you need help or encouragement. Here you will find related articles, photos, videos and some interviews with successful songwriters. So please come back often and find out what we are up to. See ya then.
This blog is for all aspiring songwriters and is intended to give readers the real scoop, the bottom line on what it takes to be a successful songwriter. Yes, most of what I talk about here will be related to songwriting in Nashville, thus the name of the blog. But except for a few differences, which I will talk about in a future post, it doesn't matter whether you wish to write Country, Rock, Jazz or even Hip Hop music. Structure wise, a song is a song. Yes, there is an art to it and to be successful you must study that art just like a doctor goes to medical school before he goes into practice. There is no short cut.
I want this blog to be informative, entertaining and encouraging to all who aspire to be great songwriters. I hope you will consider us your friend on your songwriting journey. A place you can turn to when you need help or encouragement. Here you will find related articles, photos, videos and some interviews with successful songwriters. So please come back often and find out what we are up to. See ya then.
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