1. Be functional on at least one instrument
Many of the best singer-songwriters were also great instrumentalists, and many famously were not. Being at the very least functional on at least one instrument will open many doors for you to create freely. If you have a guitar and capo and know 4 chords, you can pretty much play anything. Being able to accompany yourself, at least during the writing process, is crucial to knowing what your ideas sound like. You will automatically gain a basic understanding of the way your melodies work with chords. The term ‘music theory’ is such a turn off to so many artists, but if they play an instrument, they know more than they think! There’s a reason why the phrase ‘3 chords and the truth’ exists. A lot times, that’s all it takes.
2. Write with other people
Want to expand your horizons? Travel. Get out of town and go see a new place. Eat different food, experience different cultures. Want to be a better musician? Play with musicians that are better than you. Same rule applies to writing songs. Expanding your palette as a songwriter goes well beyond reading a book or taking a class or reading a silly list on a blog. There are other people just like you who want to write songs and create art together. One of the most important things you can do is write songs with other songwriters. Some people (like me) prefer to write with people that I know and trust, others like to write with strangers who share a common love for writing. It’s guaranteed to be a great learning experience every time.
3. Study the greatest songs and performers
When a song resonates with you, it’s important to understand why. There are so many components to what makes a song great and they all need to be considered. What are they? Well, for starters, I like to consider how a song makes me feel. Do the lyrics hit me hard? Is the melody just too good to deny? Is the relationship between the melody and the chords interesting? There’s a reason why everyone knows ’Let It Be’ (or whatever your favorite greatest hit is) and it’s your job to understand why so you can let that influence your writing. Analyze these songs from top to bottom, every single word, every single note and ask yourself what it is about the song you love so much. Same thing goes with a performance. You see a performer that just blows your mind. Why? It could be many things. Maybe it’s their voice, maybe it’s their delivery, but chances are it’s because they made you feel what they are feeling.
4. Don’t feel the need to conform
We all dream of writing that #1 hit. But sometimes, we sacrifice our own artistry to try and write it. This is about YOU and how YOU become a better artist. The best artists are the ones that push boundaries, not the ones that stay within them. I realize that may sound trite and douchey, but if you think about it in not-so-literal terms, it’s not as impossible as you think. Breaking down your own walls and digging below the surface, being fearless and taking on things that make you uncomfortable; these are the things that help artists blossom. It’s good to be in the know with current trends in music. It helps artists make informed decisions about their writing and performances. However, when we allow that to dictate our art, that’s when we run into trouble. By limiting yourself to operate within the scope of what’s happening right now, you are potentially shutting down the reason you do this in the first place.
5. Be yourself
Duh! This should go without saying. Do you like Ingrid Michelson ? Awesome. She’s great, but she’s also Ingrid Michelson. We don’t really need another one. I wanna hear what ____________ sounds like. It’s totally awesome if I hear some Ingrid Michelson in there. Nothing gives me greater pleasure as a sideman or a producer than when I can pick out your influences. The beauty of music is that everyone hears it differently. I may hear a John Mayer song way differently than you would. The main reason why some artists are so great is that they stand alone as the only one there is. And to take it a step further, the greatest artists are the ones you can recognize instantly. Even songs that you’ve never hear from an artists repertoire, you have a good shot of guessing who it is. As I’m writing this, Bruce Springsteen comes to mind. I’ll admit that I’m not the deepest Springsteen fan and I’m not widely versed in his catalogue, but I could probably correctly assume that I’m listening to a song of his within 10 seconds of it playing. Why? Because he’s the only Bruce Springsteen there is. As an artist, take your influences and use them to your advantage. I don’t want to hear “I’m Yours” by Jason Mraz part II, I want to hear YOU and how Jason Mraz’s influence comes out of your music!
6. Know when to step away
This is a common problem that I myself have experience countless times while writing. You’re writing, you’re on a roll, but then all of a sudden you hit a wall. Then you start to question whether or not you even like the song, whether it’s cool or good or whatever. We’ve all been there. If you’re stuck, it’s totally fine to walk away for a bit. Don’t put so much pressure on yourself. Take a deep breath, go for a walk, eat a snack, clear your head for a minute. It’s not the end of the world if your song isn’t written in an under and hour. Sometimes you need to sleep on it for a night, maybe a few nights, maybe even a few weeks or months. Some offices require their employees to take a 5-10 minute break every hour. Writing songs is no different. Taking a break is a healthy practice.
7. Don’t settle
How many times have you been working on a song and you finally say “I don’t know... should just do ‘oh oh oh’s in the chorus?” “I don’t think this needs a bridge... I think it’s fine the way it is” “Let’s just repeat the first verse”. I’ve said those things a million times. Each. But every time I do that, I’m less than satisfied with the results. Never give up on your song. It’s going to translate the same way to your audience. It will sound like a half-written song and it will not be one of the more memorable songs in your set. Of course, not every song needs a bridge, there is nothing wrong with ‘oh oh oh’s, and sometimes there’s nothing cooler than being repetitive (’Sweet Dreams’ by the Eurythmics anyone?) As long as you aren’t settling.
8. Find a better way to say it
Perhaps even more important than settling on song structure is settling on lyrics. We’ve heard thousands and thousands of songs about heartbreak, but why do some songs bring us to tears and others leave us forgetting it an hour later? It’s not what’s being said, but how it’s being said. Sounds like a cliche, right? Some of the greatest songs ever written are two things. Simple and effective. The greatest lyrics are the ones that paint a vivd picture, whether it’s via some really interesting and relatable metaphor or just saying it straight up. To get technical for a moment, try expanding your rhyming vocabulary. Take the word ‘away’, for instance. A very common word used in a lot of songs because it’s easy to rhyme with and it’s appropriate for a lot of subjects (took my breath away / I had to run away / ever since you went away... the list is endless). Now, how do I rhyme this? Let’s see... day, stay, say, pray, today... so many options. But perhaps we’ve heard literally all of these before a million times. Try using what’s called your ‘poet’s license’, which basically means that it’s ok to use a word or phrase that isn’t an exact rhyme, but still flows easily in the writing. Maybe consider words like awake, wait, afraid, mistake, replace, masquerade, etc. It could potentially make your song much more interesting to listen to, and just as importantly, more fun to write.
9. Don’t over-complicate
This is so easy to do. You’re on a roll, you’ve got a badass lyric coming down the pike at a hundred miles an hour. You’re in a writing session and you throw it out there in an “I got it!” manner. Then, you say it, and your co-writer(s) look at you like you’re their calculus teacher. Maybe that’s because what you just suggested is more complicated than calculus itself. “But don’t you get it? It’s so cool and if you think about it this way, it’s like this relates to that and that is this and blah blah blah”. I’m sorry, but if it takes that much explaining, how is anyone else who listens going to get it? One of the worst mistakes a songwriter can make is to take away the impact of their song by convoluting it. A perfect example of this is when a singer sings the national anthem before a sporting event. It totally sucks when they over-complicate it and make it all about them instead of just singing the song the way it’s intended to be sung. Of course it’s nice to hear the singers personality shine through, but when it becomes all about the acrobatics and flash, the meaning is lost. Writing a song is no different. The meaning gets lost if it’s too complicated to understand, even if it makes sense to you.
10. Mean it
Finally, we land here. The most obvious reason why we all write and perform: we have something to say. If you want to say “I’m so happy today”, really say it! Tell us why, tell us what you’re so happy about, and help us feel what you’re feeling. Tell us AND show us. If you are performing and you’re playing the saddest song ever and you’ve got a big smile on your face, I’m confused as hell (and yes, I’ve seen this many times). Nobody wants to watch a basketball game where all the players are half-assing their way through the 4th quarter. Why should this be any different? Your performance is equally as important as your songs. The greatest performers are the ones who give 110% every single time. They are the ones that leave you speechless because what they just did requires you to catch your breath. Check out your favorite records, and then go on YouTube and look up performances of these artists playing these records (or if you’re lucky, actually go see them live). What you’ll notice every single time is that they are all in the zone the entire time, from beginning to end. No matter what you are saying, mean it!
Guitarist, Bassist & Pedal Steel (Matthew Morrison, Jesse McCartney, Megan & Liz, JC Chasez)