Whether you are a teenager or are well into your golden
years, it is never too late to explore your creative
side, especially if you are interested in music.
Songwriting is an excellent way to express your thoughts
and feelings and to communicate them to your friends and
family, even if you have no aspirations of musical fame
or fortune. If you are interested in selling or
performing your songs, however, you should be aware that
it is a hard road and that very few songwriters achieve
great fame or fortune, and especially not instantly.
Nonetheless, if you have realistic expectations, you
will find that writing music is a worthwhile experience
whether it is a hobby or a profession.
People write songs in many different ways. Some writers
compose the music first, while others first write the
words. For some, the words and the melody come to them
at the same time, while others write the melodies first
and write the words last. No matter what order you are
comfortable with, you will eventually have to decide
what the song is about. There are a variety of
different types of songs ranging from songs that tell
fictional stories to songs that communicate deep
personal feelings.
If you decide to write a story song, a good first
exercise is to write about a news story or about
something you~ve read in the newspaper. That way you
can use your first song to hone your word choosing
skills without the pressure of coming up with your own
story. However, if you already have an idea for a story
to tell, you can write it out in poem form and try to
make appropriate rhymes and structures that help
communicate what happens in the song.
Because music is so expressive, many songwriters use
their compositions to express how they feel, whether it
be about a person or a situation or even geographic
location. Writing these types of songs can be highly
personal, so every person does it differently. When you
have a strong feeling about something, write it down in
a notebook and come back to it later. You might think
of a good line that expresses an emotion really well,
and if you remember it you might be able to build an
entire song around it. Having quiet time to think is
always helpful when you are trying to write a song.
There is not only one way to write a song because it
actually depends on your musical ability and your focus.
When you write just to communicate something, you do not
need more than a few carefully selected guitar chords for
the accompaniment. But if, on the contrary, you are an
instrumental expert, you will see writing music from a
different perspective. A lot of people think first of a
musical idea and then play it a thousand times until they
finally think of a melody. But in many other cases,
songwriters create whole pieces, with the melody included,
and they do not know what the song is going to be about.
Finally, when the melody is complete, the writer will sit
down and relax to start thinking about lyrics that can go
with the feeling behind the music.
In the end, when everything is put together, words and
music, you may feel the necessity to perform your new
song. An advice: it is always convenient to play first for
family and friends before trying to play in front of a
multitude. Only after you feel comfortable enough playing
your song in front of the ones you know, you should start
thinking about going to an open mic night at a local bar
or coffeehouse. In these kinds of places, songwriters have
the opportunity to play one or more of their songs to an
appreciative and considerate audience. Performers can talk
about their craft with different writers and this is a
way to learn more about the writing process.
Learn to play guitar!
Lyede Siefur is the webmaster of Music For You, Inc.
that is an expert resource for information
about music. If you have questions or comments
about this article, please visit:
http://www.fjpmusic.com
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