Photo (“black music”) by kyramas
One thing I really love about the sharing of original songs in the Songcraft Songwriting Circle is the fact that it is one of most “democratic” of experiences.
There’s something about songwriting that is so democratic. Let me explain…
I’ve always felt that songwriting is one of those fascinating things whereby anyone can be good at it, as long as you have enough passion and dedication for it.
Anyone can write a great song. You don’t necessarily need to be some accomplished musician/composer/arranger/producer in the industry to come up with great songs. You don’t necessarily need to have any formal training or qualifications or credentials to write great songs.
Some of the greatest songwriters in the history of music never went through formal musical training. Some of them couldn’t even read musical scores, but yet they wrote legendary songs.
All you need to do is pick up the pen, or pick up your guitar, or go to your piano…or do whatever it is you write best with, and just work at it. It’s hard work, believe me, but if you have the passion driving you, then you’d find it all worthwhile.
It doesn’t mean that if you carry with you a Martin acoustic guitar, then you write better songs.
It doesn’t mean that if you’re a concert pianist, then you write better songs.
It doesn’t mean that if you’ve got a “Julie Andrews” voice, then you write better songs.
It doesn’t mean that if you’re a GarageBand genius, then you write better songs.
It doesn’t mean that if you’ve got a gazillion dollars worth of recording equipment in your home studio, then you write better songs.
It doesn’t mean that if you’ve got the Sibelius notation software, then you write better songs.
All that doesn’t matter (although having certain valuable qualities certainly does contribute toward your songcraft).
At the end of the day, everyone has the ability to come up with a great song. All it takes is a bit of inspiration, and lots of passion.
That’s why I call it a “democratic” experience. Equality for all.
All the money and status in the world can’t write you a great song.
I’d gladly take being able to write a great song over money or status any day.
Do you think song writing is like writing poetry?
Blogscapes: Yeah, very much so. In fact, I think they’re almost identical. I personally consider Poetry to be the “music of words”, just like Dance is the “music of movement”.
So yeah, there are lots of similarities between writing songs and writing poetry. In fact, you could even consider the lyrics of some songs to be poetry, although I personally feel that there should still be a distinction between “song lyrics” and “poetry”.
Gee, it looks like I could go on talking about this and never stop…haha!
what i find complex about songwriting is that in order to have a good song, everything must be perfectly in place. the lyrics, melodies, counter-melodies, etc. so it takes experience and continuous honing of the craft in order to produce good songs.
it might be able to explain why some bands are 1 hit wonders, while others have been able to consistently churn out good stuff.
oh btw, i wish i have all the qualities u mentioned! (e.g. Martin guitar, concert pianist, gazillion dollars!) it’d make songwriting more fun and accessible for me at least, in terms of knowledge, equipment and technique-wise, heh.. i know paul mccartney and george harrison both wished they knew notations, so they can save money instead of hiring people to notate their songs for them!
[...] Songwriting Is A Democratic Experience (This post was originally posted on the Songcraft blog.) [...]
I didn’t know that! Then I’d gladly apply to be their music notator ;p
Writing your own songs is like a reflection/release/response of your innermost feelings/experiences… I find that really liberating.
I have been playing the guitar for the last 48 years and still can’t write songs. Why? Because every time I start, it sounds like something known and my enthusiasm stops.
Does any one have this problem
In reference to Xubin’s problem, I have got the same problem everytime i write something. However, I push on, telling myself that even if my tune may sound familiar, my lyrics are going to be unique. My story is going to be told in my way. And nobody can imitate that. Not really sure for instrumentals though..
it’s difficult to compose something totally original though, both music and lyric-wise, because we are influenced by what we see and hear. plus there are already billions of songs written, so definitely some will sound similar to what you’ve composed. so as long as you’re satisfied with what you’ve written, it’s great!
B: Yeah, “liberating” is a fantastic word to use. Great choice of word. I often find myself using the same word “liberating” to describe songwriting too!
Xubin: Thanks for sharing. Personally, I went through that problem for quite a few years myself. I just couldn’t write songs no matter how hard I tried. And those that I tried to write, I felt they were plain lousy or imitative.
I think it’s a matter of “taking the plunge”, so to speak. Just be bold and start penning down a few musical ideas here & there. Sometimes all you need is a little spark, and then you just build your song from that. It’s really a case of getting over that “I can’t write songs” mindset. That’s something I struggled with.
Daniel: Wise words. Well said!
Firdaus: That’s very true. We are all somewhat influenced by everything that we hear, be it consciously or subconsciously. And it will be reflected in our songwriting. I like what you said - as long as we’re satisfied with what we’ve written, then it’s great!
I agree with B that songwriting is like a reflection/release/response of your innermost feelings/experiences….. liberating….
I believe if we take songwriting seriously as a hobby, we will be better as the days go by. I like what Firdaus said on his blog regarding having an inner filter in him that blocks him from writing 4 chord progression song. It shows that it is something he wants to improve.
For me, as everyone knows, I have an affinity to C-Am-F-G or G-Em-C-D chords. I can write many many songs using the above chord progressions; however I am (slowly) branching out from them.
I believe writing songs is just like picking up a guitar course- you start from “beginners” to “intermediate” then “expert”. It’s a growing process. However I do believe there are many people who can write songs using complicated chords or structures, yet unable to write (nice) songs using simple chords (just my opinion). It just goes to show that songwriting is so unbelieveable. The people mentioned above don’t seem to fall into the category of writing songs from a “beginners” stage. They are, I believe, natural songwriters.
However I believe it is not advisable to take songwriting as a “career” coz it’s just not possible in Singapore. I do not know much about the prospect of English songwriters in Singapore, but I do know that if you are a Mandarin pop songwriter, the chances of making it big is highly.
However I still believe that joining songcraft is a wise choice.
Coz we are able to share and encourage one another. Coz at Songcraft Songwriting Circle, we are songwriters too……
Hello Xubin, you are not alone.
In fact I’ve been feeling it for a while.
I just simply stop trying, clear my head a little in hopes that when I return it’d be more “original” than previously.
It’s tough :/
But I guess that’s where the challenge lies :)
[...] point which Firdaus once brought up is that “there are already billions of songs written, so definitely some will sound similar [...]
I believe the goal is to aim towards excellence in the way we feel most honestly. This can turn out to be a simple 2 chord song, or a new Bohemian Rhapsody. Songs will always sound like previous ones because that is exactly where they originated from. The same way we learn to walk, talk or discover from previous experiences, songwriting just becomes another craft to master with time.
As far as being unique and original, we can aspire to greatness whilst humbly accepting where the greats lie. (Miles Davies, Hendrix, Lennon, Dylan, B.Wilson,…etc,etc)
Just keep writing!
I believe the goal is to aim towards excellence in the way we feel most honestly. This can turn out to be a simple 2 chord song, or a new Bohemian Rhapsody. Songs will always sound like previous ones because that is exactly where they originated from. The same way we learn to walk, talk or discover from previous experiences, songwriting just becomes another craft to master with time.
As far as being unique and original, we can aspire to greatness whilst humbly accepting where the greats lie. (Miles Davies, Hendrix, Lennon, Dylan, B.Wilson,…etc,etc)
Just keep writing!
I think original is the wrong word here. I saw a documentary the other day and some very clever people, scientists, musicians and so on said it was impossible to create something that had never been created, because so many songs have been made. The thing to strife for is TRUTH. There’s no such thing as original music, music is everything but original. You copy this and that, remember some melody, like certain chords, sing in such a way… WHy? Because you’ve taken all this influences… The result is not original, but it’s true and new.
[...] on the songwriting front, there was an interesting discussion in Songcraft Songwriting Circle and this post in Songwriting Zen made me laugh… Did he read [...]