Photo (“Writer’s block”) by Incessant Flux
Songwriting is a craft just like any other.
Which means it is unlikely that you will master it overnight, in the same way one is unlikely to become a great poet or a great writer overnight.
You have to work at your craft, and it will improve over time.
When I first started the Songcraft Songwriting Circle, I had barely written two songs in my entire life till then. But I started to try my hand at writing songs, one song at a time.
The first few songs were (in my opinion now that I look back at them) bad. They were weak. But as I wrote more and more songs, I found that I became a bit more satisfied with my songs. They weren’t necessarily great songs, but at least I could sense some improvement in my songwriting.
You see, reading all the songwriting books in the world won’t make you a good songwriter if you don’t try your own hand at songwriting. I’ve probably read through dozens of books on songwriting in the past, but I feel that all that doesn’t make up for picking up the pen and just trying your hand at writing that one song.
If you want to become a good songwriter, my advice would be to just keep writing songs (thoughtfully, of course). And the more you write, the more you find out for yourself what works well and what doesn’t work so well. You’ll experiment with different ideas, techniques, devices, structures, etc…and over time, you’ll gain a much better understanding of the craft of songwriting, and you’ll become more adept at writing songs.
I’ve certainly gained much from my songwriting experiences.
I used to have major problems coming up with even one song. I used to sit at the piano for a long time and not be able to come up with anything. But as I persevered, I started to gain more experience in songwriting, and discovered a few ins and outs of the craft…and nowadays I find that songs come to me a little more easily.
And I find that once you gain experience writing your first few songs, you’ll start to have the confidence to want to explore newer things. You’ll start to want to push the boundaries, such as experimenting with different structures, or rhyme schemes, or harmonic progressions, or subject matter, etc. And that’s when you develop and evolve as a songwriter, the way Lennon, McCartney and all the other great songwriters/composers did.
So to conclude, when it comes to songwriting – practice makes perfect.
