Writing Music
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Grow Up To Be A Musician
"Oh, grow up!" is sadly the usual reply we get when we try to tell others we write music. Here is a little food for thought to prove that it is the songwriter that is actually more mature than the average person one runs into everyday.
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Meditation Songs
If it relaxes you, it can relax others, and is probably something you can write a song about. Here are a few ideas you might try to write music for the self-help and meditation markets, or maybe pen a good tune to help you unwind and nap.
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Even More Homemade Instruments
Everywhere you go, there is something making music. If you look to check where the sound is coming from, you can easily find more new sounds to add to your songwriting arsenal. Here are a few you might not have noticed just yet.
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Little Successes Become Big Ones
Learning to see everyday actions as songwriting related really helps composers build up their self-confidence. Here are a few ideas to help you see even small items as songwriting success stories.
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Painless Songwriting
Songwriting doesn't have to break you or your budget. Here are a few simple tips to help you keep writing, without having to slow down or worse yet, give it up entirely.
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Fingerpicking Fun
Fingerstyle guitar isn't as tough to write into your songs as you might think. Here are a few simple exercises you might try to build your playing up and add a few new but classic sounds to your compositions.
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More Disaster Preps For Musicians
This year has been very bad for natural disasters. Here are a few more ways a songwriter can prepare for the worst and handle this sort of emergency.
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Painting A Song
Song composition and painting have a lot in common. Using a similar approach, a songwriter can easily create and mix a tune from scratch single-handed. Here are a few ideas to get you started.
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Uninspired Songwriting
Most jobs don't require inspiration, and neither should songwriting. Here are a few ideas you might not have tried to get a few jots recorded, even if they aren't products you are proud of. A little jogging helps us all be better runners.
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Song Storage
Secretarial work isn't something songwriters like to do, but it is a necessary evil. Here are a few ideas to make it a little less painful.
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Don't Get Mad - Do Something!
Taking the energy you get from being angry at something life has dealt you and doing something constructive with it can really help your songwriting. Here are a few ideas of how to channel that power into something positive.
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Dealing Without Your Computer
The demise of your computer is usually only temporary, although it might seem the end of the world to many songwriters. Here are a few practical steps you can take to keep moving, until you can get your machine back from the shop.
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Your Music Job Box
Making a "job box" full of music-related prompts can be a great way to get unstuck when you know you should do something musical, but just don't want to think too hard about it. Here are a few ideas you might add to make yours more fun.
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Natural Riffing
Riffs don't have to be bits of scales or regular groups of notes. Some of the most memorable mimic sounds we hear every day. Here are a few exercises you might try to get you to hear the riffs around you.
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Heat Training
Some of the best paying gigs are in the summer, when kids are out of school, have extra cash and spend it on a concert or so. A musician has to be able to handle the heat, though. Here are some training ideas to get you ready.
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Handling Windfalls
Sudden cash is a wonderful thing! Sometimes, it is best, though, to remember you are still a struggling musician and think of the best way to use this windfall instead of blowing it all on a big party. You can celebrate your wisdom later.
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Too Good To Be True
Contrary to what most scam artists seem to think, most musicians aren't rich. Heck, most of us are broke and barely getting by. Here are a few ideas to try the next time someone tells you they can "make you a star."
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Finding More Music Funds
Rising oil prices are playing havoc with many musician's plans for this year. Here are a few ways to squeeze those pennies so you can still afford studio time, seminars and that next demo, instead of just barely making survival bills.
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Songs Of The Bored
Boredom is something everyone faces, including the frustrated musician trying to do something useful for the day. Here are a few approaches you could try that will ring true with your audience without them changing the channel.
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Silly Strings
Non-guitar stringed instruments are often treated as the poor step brother of the guitar in much of pop music. Lately, though, they have started to come to the forefront. Here are a few fun ideas you might try to put them into your new tunes.
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Healing The Hurts
Coming close but still failing to make a big personal goal can be a career ending defeat to many musicians. Here are a few simple steps you can take to heal and refuel yourself to get back into the hunt as soon as possible.
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Bored Stiff To Dos
Bored with songwriting? Don't even want to look at your guitar or even go into your practice room? Here are a few more ideas you can try to "trick" yourself into at least writing a few lines, if only to relieve guilt for taking a walk.
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Preferred Formats Come And Go
Always ask the person you are giving your music to exactly what format they would prefer to get it in when you send it. This can make the final difference in many cases of whether or not your song gets picked, or whether someone joins the band.
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More Writing For Performance
A lot of musicians do like getting their music exposure by playing it themselves live. Here are a few more tips so you can do that effectively, and pull off your songs even if you have a really tough crowd one night.
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Songs Of The Unexplained
UFOs, miracles, heroes and the paranormal are all fun topics to write songs about. Why take the usual approach, though? Here are a few ideas to put a new spin on songs about the improbable.
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You Never Know....
Robert Plant's new CD illustrates pretty well how a songwriter can take risks and still hit the charts. The interview disc I got with my copy has some pretty good insights on how he approaches songwriting too. Happy listening!
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I Just Want To Write!
There is nothing wrong with just wanting to be a songwriter and not a performer. Actually, this is probably harder to do that putting your own music on stage. Here are a few ways you can make this work for you.
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Songs Of Home
Even the word "home" triggers all sorts of thoughts in a listener, so why not use it as a song subject? Here are a few ideas to get you writing about the place you feel most comfy.
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Recharging Your Batteries
Drowsiness can really put a dent in your creativity, as well as waste you money in slowness and goofs in the studio. Here are a few healthy ideas to keep you awake that won't break your pocketbook.
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Be A Good Friend
Most songwriters will admit to you they don't want a handout, they want a job. Here are a few ideas to get you started on how to be a better pal to your fellow musicians when they come to you asking for help.
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Honesty Pays
A few lawsuits or an embarassing visit to a local psyc unit later, some finally realize that it isn't a good idea to pad their music resumes. Here are a few good reasons for just being truthful, and as wonderful as you really are.
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Create Yourself
Commercial songwriting can seem formulaic, but it is often someone coming up with a sound that everyone else copies. Here are some ideas for creating your own signature sound you might not have tried, yet.
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So What?
Missing a chance to get some music exposure you hoped for is hardly the end of the world. Sometimes we learn more by effectively handling disappointments than we can by showcasing at any overhyped music event.
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It's All Good
We need to stop thinking about formats, rules and whether or not something is good. We can freeze ourselves up thinking we shouldn't write unless it is perfect, forgetting the best songs are rewritten. Just write!
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Moving On
Rotten stuff happens. It seems a lot has happened bad to a lot of folks this year. Here are some musical coping strategies to let awful stuff enhance your music, not keep it from flowing.
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Are You Ready?
Many times, people aren't ready when the wonderful happens. The dream becomes a nightmare as you stumble out silly words, or otherwise embarass yourself because you just forgot to work out the details. Here are a few ideas to prevent the worst and help ensure the best.
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Make Your Own Chords
Why follow convention? Try coming up with your own scales and chords to write from. Sure, they probably have actual names you can discover later, but why not try something a little freeform to free up your imagination?
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Can You Give More?
Charities are great at twisting arms to get folks to help them out. Musicians are often useful softies, so they love to push us into their corners. Here are a few ideas to have this help, not hurt your career, and be a lot more fun.
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Young Love Songs
Just to counter all the sex and raunch on the radio, why not write a song about a child's idea of love. Here are a few nudges to get you writing some lyrics on a very fun twist to the usual romantic tune.
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More Fun With Homemade Instruments
A new sound is often all we need to give a special touch to a new composition. Here are a few more oddball ideas of instruments you may have around your home you haven't tapped the assets of just yet.
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Songs To Sleep By
Lullabyes aren't just for little kids, anymore. A songwriter can come up with dozens of homemade songs to lull the average businessperson to sleep and make some good side money doing it. Here are a few ideas to get you started at least getting a better night's rest yourself.
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Making The Dream Come True
It's a new year, and many of us are looking for ways to make our music work this year if we came up a little short of our goals in the last one. Maybe it's time to take a closer look at the way we are doing things, uncomfy as that may be.
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In The Morning
After a late evening practice or gig, getting up early is probably the last thing a songwriter wants to do. Learning to use those dazed and confused moments before you leave for work can really help your songwriting, though. Here's how.
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Keeping Yourself Repaired
Sometimes we neglect our health in the name of our music. Here are a few tips to prevent this, and a few quick fixes for when you do slip up to get you through your next gig.
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Dream Songs
Dreams can be a great source of songwriting material. Here are a few ideas you may not have considered in writing a song about your or someone else's sleep life.
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Holiday Ideas For A Musical New Year
Use your holiday downtime to set up your musical goals for next year. Here are a few ideas to get that ball rolling.
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Damage Prevention
Songwriting can sometimes become a dangerous profession. Here are a few common-sense tips to keep you safe as you run around trying to further your music career.
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Your Gem Collection
Like a good rock collector, songwriters should be able to recognize a valuable piece when they run into one. Here are a few tips to help you know where to find them, recognize them, and file them away for future use.
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Writing The Apology Song
There have been many apologetic songs that have done well on the charts. Here are a few ideas to get you writing a few songs on this topic.
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Start Now--Avoid The Rush
The year-end is hectic for everyone, songwriter or not. Here are a few tips so you'll enjoy the season, without neglecting anything important that could get in the way of your composing or other fun things.
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Unfreeze Yourself
The holidays make some folks blue, and not in a musical way. If you're unable to concentrate on your music, sometimes you just need a little distraction to get you moving again. Here are some fun things you need to do anyway.
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The Guitar As Second Fiddle
Pop music used the guitar a lot in the past, but recent tunes are putting other instruments out front in the mix. Here are some tips to keep the guitar in there and interesting, not just strumming the odd power chord.
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Keeping Your Head
Winning and losing are really both illusions. Sometimes what is more important is learning what you can from both so you can come back and try again with even better results.
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Dream Big
Thinking of what you want to accomplish with your songwriting is often half the battle to getting you there. Here are some suggestions to get you moving by creating a clear picture of just where you want to end up.
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More Holiday Gift Ideas
The holiday season is closing upon us fast. Here are a few easy ideas for gift giving that will not only help you find more songwriting time this season, but not seriously dent your budget at the same time.
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Writing The Political Song
Hotbutton issues have always been good songwriting topics. Here are a few ideas you might try to get some of your more controversial songs picked up, as well as some topics you might want to write about.
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Oddball Rhythm Fun
Sometimes the stuff you bought from the drum department just seems to sound trite to you. Here are a few more ideas you can try even at home to add a novel aspect to the rhythm track of your next song.
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Welcome To Reality
Songwriting is a tough profession. You need to find others to work with who find music so fun they'd never quit over troubles life might throw at them, and also have that same quality yourself.
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Never A Loser
"Loser" is a term losers call people they envy. Sure, with a full life, songwriters are bound to make mistakes. Here are a few tips to fix goofs when they do happen, and help prevent future ones from happening. Winners goof, too.
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Vagueness And Clarity
If you check out the Billboard charts, there really is no magic formula for hit writing. Whether you like to be very barebones and plainspoken or place hidden meanings in techno distortion, the important thing is to just write.
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Music Is Everywhere
Running out of ideas of places to pitch your songs? Here are a few you might not have considered.
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Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
If you think about it, you are already very rich. You are surrounded by musical goodies that you have already created that just need to find the right homes. Here are a few ideas to help you find where things belong.
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The Getting Even Song
Being a songwriter offers one a unique way of getting back at those who wrong us. Here are some fun ways to vent off that negative energy and turn it into something positive that might help your music career.
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Don't Let Your Illusions Use You
Too many artists talk themselves out of a music career. Here are a few tips on how to keep that from happening to you.
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Dare To Be You
When we are first learning to play, copying our idols helps us learn our craft, but the time comes when we have to fly solo. Here are a few ideas to help make that transition to being yourself, and not be just another clone.
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Learning To Sound Real
Sometimes we try so hard to do things that we come off sounding fake. Here are some fun ways to relax into writing, and enjoying it in spite of ourselves.
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Writing With No Words
There are some subjects that are tough to find words for in the real world. When trying to write a salable lyric, avoiding the overdone can often be done by describing what is going on rather than just reporting what was said.
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Laugh It Off
Songwriting doesn't have to always be serious. Also, taking a lighthearted approach to music, you may find that not only you feel healthier, but others find you more fun to work with, too. Here are a few tips to get you laughing.
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The Silly Keyboardist
The keyboard/piano is a versatile instrument, but is sometimes taken all too seriously. Here are a few more ways to make playing it not only more fun, but possibly add the needed spark to your next composition that uses one.
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Nothing Is Important
Many songwriters let stupid tiny things get in the way of their writing. A lot of it is just placing barriers in front of ourselves that simply don't exist. Here are a few ways around some of the most common excuses.
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Life Sucks--Write A Song
They say a good blues writer has to live it, first, so we need to learn to take the dreck life gives us and channel it into our music. Here are a few ways you can help your music while helping yourself at the same time when things suck.
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How To Avoid Irritations
Don't you hate finding you've run out of ink right in the middle of a great idea, then can't find a pen? Here are a few tips to keep that and other bothers from ruining your precious writing moments.
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Teddy Bear Songwriting
Some musicians have a secret co-writer--that soft, fuzzy bear or a close cousin that we turn to in times of need to let us know we deserved a hug, even when we didn't do good. Here are a few tips to get it to do its, and your, job better.
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You Are Already A Star
Motivators tell us that we become as we think, so if we want to be star songwriters, we need to think we are already. Here are some actions you can take to get yourself believing you are already "all that," and seem that way to others.
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Staying Signed
Everyone has advice about getting signed, and that seems pretty easy these days. Staying with a label and making a living from your music without the label driving you to near bankruptcy is another matter. Maybe these ideas might help.
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More Silly Vocal Ideas
Many vocalists have to work hard to make notes using only their ears for reference when they can barely hear what they are trying to produce. A short vacation is prescribed, here, to relax you so you can be the diva others seem to think you are capable of being, at least from a singing standpoint. Here are a few ideas as starters.
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Deposing The Idols
To many working musicians, "American Idol" is a joke. For those of us who have to take the real route, there are lots of things you can do, even if you are broke to better your chances. Here are a few simple suggestions.
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Boredom Can Be Your Friend
If you are at a point where you just don't want to write another song, don't. Take a break. Here are some ideas to get your creative juices unblocked so that you can't wait to write, again.
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More Weird Love Song Ideas
Well, people keep asking me about more love song ideas, so I'm going to get a little weird, here. There are a lot more things to love than just love, you know? Hopefully you will find these odd prompts to unlock those creative juices useful.
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Becoming A Pearl
Like pearls, most musicians become good ones by accumulating layers of goodies over their rough edges. If you feel life is irritating you, here are a few ways to make something valuable from your songwriting dilemma.
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Three Steps Back
If you think you have failed, sometimes it is important to rewrite what we think failure is. Here are a few ways in which you can see that not reaching goals is just a reminder to see what needs improvement, not a sign you need to quit.
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Silly Cures For Writer's Block
Sometimes we take songwriting too seriously. Here are a few silly things you can do to work your frozen brain loose and get you writing again when you reach that stalling point.
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Time Thieves
We tend to waste a lot of our living time doing silly things. Here are a few tips to steal back some more of this time for your music, and make yourself a happier person in the process.
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More Fun With Love Songs
Everyone has a love song in them, but it is tough sometimes to come up with one that doesn't sound either like every other one written or where it is just a long string of insincere words. Here are a few things you might try just for a change.
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Breaking Out Of A Writing Rut
Quick, find your favorite chord! Is it usually the same one? Here are a few tips to get that personal signature out of your writing, especially if it tends to get you noticed in a bad way at song pitches.
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You Just Weren't Ready Yet
Okay, so you suddenly find your musical dreams squashed. It's not the end--the target has just been scooted back a bit, and it's up to you to get up and pursue it again. Here are some little ways to get you up and aiming at it again.
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Computer Crashes Can Be Fun
My computer crashed again, so this article is late. Crashes are rarely career-wreckers, though, and sometimes they are an easy fix any musician can do without expert help. Here are a few tips to get your electronic pal back to work.
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The Silly Guitarist
The guitarist is often the most stodgy member of a band, but it really shouldn't be that way. Here are a few ideas for guitarists to try to make themselves a little more approachable and a more fun person to write songs or perform with.
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Finding Your Voice
Many of us hope to someday be the next person that all the karaoke singers want to imitate. That's hard to do if you are still imitating your favorite singer. Here are a few tips on creating your own personal style.
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What's Love Got To Do WIth It?
It's hard to write good love songs if you don't have love in your life. Here are a few tips that might help if your songs are suffering because you don't have this solid foundation to work from.
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Musical Stress Busters
Stress isn't the enemy--it can be a musician's best friend. Here are a few ways you can get the jitters to work for, and not against you.
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Shock Value
To shock or not to shock? This is a question that all songwriters and artists have to ask themselves. Here are a few pros and cons that might help you make a decision about this controversial topic.
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Music Isn't Always Fun
Working hard on your music can often take the fun right out of it, as well as the rest of your life. Here are a few tips on how to get the joy back into your favorite pastime, and maybe make a few new songs in the process.
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Baby Splitting Sucks
Bill paying has to get done, but a struggling songwriter is better served by making wise choices when money runs out and you have to make hard choices. Here are a few ideas to make it a little easier to make these tough decisions.
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That Last Yard
Sometimes we quit too soon. Here are a few ideas you might not have tried if you are yet another musician thinking of tossing in the towel.
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Writing the Lonely Song
Loneliness can be a good thing. Try writing a song with a positive spin on this subject. Here are a few ideas to scoot you in this direction, but, being a songwriter, I bet you already have a few ideas along these lines....
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More Lyric Hunting Tips
Sometimes the usual sources of inspiration just don't work for a lyricist. If you find yourself stuck just now, here are a few sources of material you may have overlooked.
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More Writers' Block Fighters
Sometimes life events make it tough to write music. Here are a few ideas to get those writing juices moving, even when your thoughts are on work or the holidays.
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Working Wounded
Don't use a cut pinkie as an excuse to miss rehearsals, gigs or studio time if you can help it. Here are a few ideas for working around what may seem to be an impossible problem that really may be a blessing in disguise.
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You're Doing Great!
Sometimes songwriters can get down on themselves at the end of the year, feeling they just didn't do much. Now is the time to get that pencil out and see just how much you did do, and can do next year to push your music career forward.
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It Doesn't Have To Make Sense
A lot of popular music lately is freeform. Lyrics may not rhyme, instruments may jump from one style or key to another, but this is a great way to dust off those great lines you've come up with and mixmaster them to your first real hit.
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Almost The End Of The Songwriting Year
The end of the year is a great way to get ready for next year's songwriting. Here are a few tips of things you can do now, and in the next few weeks to help you help yourself and others before the year is over.
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Embrace Your Inner Fool
It takes a lot of courage and inner toughness to be a songwriter. Don't let others shame you by calling you a fool. Have fun, instead, being the biggest idiot you can, and show them that they are the real idiots--living passionless lives.
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Music And Love Can Mix
For most musicians, our art is our main passion in life. If your significant other feels left out, though, this can generate frictions that can cut down on your writing time in the long run. Here are a few tips to keep that from happening.
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Versatility Helps
Versatility seems to be a hallmark of the consistently working songwriter. Here are a few examples and ideas that might inspire you to try something you didn't think you could do as a composer.
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Solar Flares and the Songwriter
The solar flare we are getting this week can cause songwriters trouble, but not if you prepare for it. Enjoy this wonderful spectacle of nature, and let it inspire you to write, not keep you from doing so.
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Giraffe Writing
Next time you feel stuck as a songwriter, think of a giraffe...a very tall giraffe. Here are a few fun ways this creature really helps us think of how to be better songwriters.
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It Hurts to Learn to Play Guitar
Guitar is one of the easiest instruments to write with, once you get around to learning to play one. If you've made this decision, here are a few tips to make the processs a little less physically painful.
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A Songwriter's Holiday Gift Wish List--Part Two
Here is a continuation of last week's article, and hopefully both will provide you with some good ideas for your holiday gift lists.
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A Songwriter's Holiday Gift Wish List--Part One
It isn't too early to start researching what to give folks, especially your fellow musicians for the holidays or hinting what you'd like as well. Here are a few ideas to get you started.
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Fattening Your Sound
You don't have to create a "wall of sound" to get the thicker sound industry types seem to like. Here are a few simple ideas to add to what you already have and create fuller--sounding songs.
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More Health Tips For The Musician
Here are a few simple health tips you can try that strangely will help your songwriting, too.
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Enlarge Your Vocabulary
As any sort of artist, you can really never know enough. Here are a few ways to increase your vocabulary, whether it pertains to words, musical styles, or things you know about so you can write songs about or sound intelligent discussing them.
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Faking It
Just because some musician stiffed you and didn't show up in the studio or you need a drum or other track for a song doesn't mean you have to do without. Here are a few ideas to get you past this little roadblock.
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Playing The Street
Here are a few tips for becoming a street musician. Busking is becoming very popular, and is a great way to get your music heard.
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Creating A Music Space
Most of us only have a small area in our home we can devote to music. Here are a few ideas you might not have thought of to make it a more efficient and enjoyable space where you can work.
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Travel and the Songwriter—Part 3
Here are a few more travel tips for musicians, especially if you have to travel alone to places or if you have a limited budget.
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Travel and the Songwriter--Part 2
Many musicians find that they have to travel in order to get their music heard. Here are a few more tips not covered last week if you need to move around to get your music the exposure it deserves. Next week's issue will cover a few more tips.
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Travel and the Songwriter--Part One
Well, another threat to our airlines came out this week, so count on longer waits at the airport. Here are a few tips on how musicians can make travel easier on ourselves.
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Putting Up With Nonsense
Sometimes folks can be pretty heartless picking on you because of your choice of aspirations. Here are a few tips for handling the meanies that put you down for being a musician.
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Trigger Yourself
Sometimes we need to play mind games with ourselves to get us moving when we need to come up with material on demand. Here are some fun ways that might work for you to train yourself to be able to write anywhere, anytime.
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More Something From Nothing Ideas
Sometimes we are stuck without our instruments for a time. If you are in this rut, here are some ideas to keep playing, even if you've had to sell or pawn your favorite instrument.
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Your Music Journal
Many of us use computers for burning demos or arranging, but many of us don't use them for earlier steps in the songwriting process. Here are some other computer-based ideas to help you look more professional and save time, too.
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Listenability
If no one wants to listen to your songs, you pretty much have to settle for writing for just your own enjoyment. If you want to write for a living, though, here are a few suggestions to making your songs a little more ear-friendly.
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Birthday Songs
I think there should be more birthday songs. Writing a birthday song for someone can be fun as well as become a possible hit for you. Here are a few possible approaches if you decide to try your hand at a song of this type.
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Writing In Your Sleep
If you want to write songs that don't sound like a music exercise, sometimes you just have to try to have a little fun. Here are a few ideas you might not have thought of to get a little more fun back into your practices and your writing.
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Weather Songs
If you are stuck at home griping about how the weather is keeping you from rehearsing, write a song about it! Here are a few ideas of how you can take even an old topic like this and work it into something new and interesting.
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Packaging Is Important
Sadly, the way you first are seen by a rep can make or break you with that industry person. Here are a few basic tips to put your best foot forward.
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Lyrics--Do You Talk Too Much?
When it comes to lyrics and popular music, sometimes less is more. Here are a few ideas you might try to cut out those unneeded words that are keeping your songs from getting the exposure they deserve.
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How Many Singers Do You Need?
How many singers does it take to pull off your song? That depends on your song, the singer you use, the genre it's in, and the effect you want to make. Here are a few pros and cons for each style to help you decide which is best for you.
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Tune Your Guitar
Keeping your instrument properly tuned may make or break your chances of getting cuts picked up, but playing with standard tunings can add a whole new dimension to your sound. Here are a few ideas you might not have considered.
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The Very Young Songwriter
Do you have a kid who loves to write music as much as you do? Here are some ideas how you can get your wonderchild moving along as a songwriter. Who knows? If you help them enough, maybe they will sing one of your songs someday.
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Choosing A Song Title
Sometimes the hardest thing to do when writing is to come up with what to call your song. Here are a few basic ideas you might consider to help that tough process along.
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More Weird Ways To Write Music
Sometimes a really strange approach to writing is just what you need to knock out the cobwebs and at least get you to decide you can do better than that piece of junk you just created. Here are three really odd ideas to get you started.
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Making Your Own Instruments
You really don't need to spend a lot of money to get a fresh new sound to your songs. Here are a few easy and often quick ways to create instruments you can use at least in the studio if not live to give you a one-of-a-kind sound.
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Should I Go or Should I Stay?
Moving to the "big city" to get "discovered" is a goal of many songwriters. Before you head off to NYC, Nashville, LA, or some other place, here are a few things you might consider first.
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How Many People Do I Need?
Sure, many of us can get our music out in public just by submitting demos, but playing live is a much quicker way to get your music heard. Here are a few configurations you might try to get your tunes out in front of an audience.
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Letting Go
Sometimes writers are too hard on themselves when they don't measure up to what others think they should be accomplishing. Here are some tips on how to stop that thought process and instead stay in a more productive vein.
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Help! I'm Stuck!
This time of year, a lot of us are feeling down as the awards ceremonies get televised and spring festivals start up with us not among the chosen. Here are a few ways to get moving and past the feelings that we aren't moving or "good enough."
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So What Are You Going To Do When You Grow Up?
In Transactional Analysis, we learn that it is the Child within us makes us creative, but can also be so selfish that it keeps us from what we want in life. Here are a few ways to keep the best the child has to offer without the bad.
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What Do You Want?
Having a clear idea of what goals you are striving for as a writer can help you reach those goals. Sometimes all we have to do is cut down the number of choices we are giving ourselves so we can get that clearer picture of our future.
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Writing The War Song
Unfortunately, wars seem to be a part of life anymore. Writing a song about war is one positive way in which it can affect you and your songwriting. Here are a few ideas to get you going along these lines.
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How Do I Update My Sound?
If you are just getting back into music, and want to be competitive, you can always just write from the heart. If you keep hearing that your songs sound dated, though, here are a few ideas you might try to freshen up your compositions.
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Writing Help Wanted Ads
Writing an ad in your local paper is an important step in finding co-writers, bandmates or maybe a band that could use your services. Here are a few tips on how to get the most out of your money while writing an ad.
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Choosing A Studio Part Four--The Comfort Factor
Sometimes no matter how much you pay for a studio, it just doesn't feel right. Here are a few things you might keep in mind to make sure you find a recording facility that makes you feel at home and able to record at your very best.
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Choosing A Studio--Part Three
When choosing a studio, getting along with the people you will be working with can make or break many demos. Here are a few things you might be on the lookout for when checking out whether you want to work with a studio, personality-wise.
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Choosing A Studio Part 2--Facility Sound
Here are some simple ways in which you can decide which studio has the sound you want on your demos. If it is the only one you are stuck with, there are a few ways you can play with the sound just using what is on hand to your best advantage.
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Choosing A Studio--Part One
Sure, home studio demos are cheaper, but taking the next step and using a professional studio may be just what you need to get your demos picked up. Here are some ideas of what studios might cost you to help you decide which one to choose.
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It's Never A Waste Of Time
Here's hoping your year was better than mine. If it was pretty poor as far as songwriting went, see if you can find the rainbow after your storm. Here's how I'm looking back on my disastrous year.
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Learning Notation--Part 2
Sometimes just learning how to look up information can teach you a lot about writing music. It also helps you learn how to teach your music to others as well as learn new pieces yourself. Here are a few basic techniques to try.
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Why You Should Learn Notation--Part One
Learning how to explain what you just played is a valuable skill for any musician. It really helps when you want to show others how to accompany you and get your music at least on stage, if not recorded. First, let's learn chord notation.
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Controlled Weirdness
Sometimes it is better to be weird and noticed than to be like everyone else and get lost in the crowd as a songwriter. Here are a few fun ideas to get you going so that you and/or your music gets remembered even if you get rejected.
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Gift Ideas for the Struggling Musician
Hey, just because you are a broke musician, it doesn't mean you have to not be able to give like Elvis at Christmas. Here are a few ideas to help you get your elvish spirit moving and give to others even on the most miserly budget.
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Write Your Story
If we believe anything strongly enough, we can make it so. If you are a songwriter, you need to believe that you will ultimately be a successful one. Here are some steps you can take to persuade yourself to make that story come true.
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Baby Steps
Sometimes we feel we are just going nowhere with our songwriting. Here are a few ways you can quantitatively see that you are moving forward, and make yourself a better songwriter in the process.
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Your Own Home Studio
Setting up to record at home isn't just for the rich anymore--if you are a musician, you probably have everything you need to get started right now. Here are some ideas to set up your own personal demo center and save some big money.
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More Fun With Effects
Most "new" sound patches are created by creative utilization of old sounds. Here are a few ways you can come up with new sounds of your own using items you probably already have in your studio.
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Songwriter Clothing Fashion
Sloppy or overdressed can both lose you potential songwriting gigs. Here are a few tips to let you fit in with your fellow musicians, and not let clothing get in the way of your songwriting.
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Writing the Futuristic Song
Writing music for science fiction is something a songwriter of any age can do, and is often a great break-in genre for many songwriters. Here are a few ideas to get you off to winning your first soundtrack contract.
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Writing the Sad Song
Writing a sad song is easy for most of us, since we have all had sad things happen to us. Here are some hints, though, on how to write a well-crafter sad song that is more likely to stand up to repeated listenings.
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Learning To Like Yourself
It's hard enough to make it as a songwriter--we need every positive bit of input we can get. It is much harder if we can't even rely on ourselves for a pat on the back, though. Here are some ideas to get you to be your own best fan.
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Writing Songs For Children
Writing songs for kids can be a great way to break into the music business, or at least a way to keep your babysitting charges in line. Here are a few ideas to get you started in this genre.
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Good Business or Selling Out?
As much as it may hurt our pride, all songwriters need to honestly look at what is making them money, and what isn't. Perhaps you don't have to write jingles just yet, but here are some ideas to help you notice what you are doing well at.
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So What Did You Do Today, Little One? Part 2
Last week, we covered two important things every musician should do every day to keep yourself moving career-wise. This week we cover two more, and a bunch of suggestions on how to go about accomplishing these goals.
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So What Did You Do Today, Little One? Part 1
Get in touch with your inner Mom--did you do something, anything, to further yourself as a songwriter, today? Those tiny steps towards your goals all help. Here are a few ideas to get you moving.
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Do I Have to Learn Theory?
Learning music theory is a daunting task, and some of the best musicians never bothered. Should you bother? Here are a few ideas to let you decide or at least get your music to sound a little different.
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The Motivational Song
Writing motivational songs can be fun for both you and your listener. Here are a few ideas to get you going writing in this style.
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Advice to a Fellow Songwriter
Happy birthday, dude! With this letter to a fellow songwriter who is feeling his age, you might get a few ideas to get out of your own writing funk and look forward to the next years of your songwriting career.
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Fun With Singing
Good singers rarely "just happen," they are the result of hard work and learning basic skills. It doesn't hurt to be a little innovative, though, and be that added dimension that may get your writing noticed.
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Going Out on a Limb
Sure, you can write a formula pop song, but most of the biggest hits were the songs that used some attention-getting methods to stand out from the crowd. Here are a few ideas to put that good sort of weirdness back into your music.
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Helping With Compilations
For a fraction of the cost of doing your own album, you can put out one with a group of people. Here are a few ideas to get into a compilation album, and what you can do to make it work for you.
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Enjoying Other's Success
Sometimes crow is the best dish to try. If you lose out musically to others, try keeping in touch with the winners and see them as teachers, not competitors. Here are a few ideas to try so you can get to where the winners went.
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Avoiding the Jones Trap
Keeping up with the Joneses is never a good idea in any part of your life. Here are some ideas to keep this idea out of your songwriting.
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Treating Songwriting as a Business
Sometimes just applying good business thinking is all you need to get your music to become something you can do for a living, not just keep as a hobby. Here are a few ideas to get you moving in a more profitable direction.
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Asking Questions
Sometimes the answer to your songwriting problems is just learning to ask the right questions. Here are a few ideas to get you to ask those questions and find solutions to them.
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Writing The Good Time Song
We all have our favorite pastimes, and chances are that lots of people share that interest. Here are some ideas to turn your favorite hobby or leisuretime interest into a song.
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It's Okay To Be Chicken
Having courage simply means facing your fear and overcoming it, not that you aren't ever afraid. Here are a few ideas to help you get over your jitters when it comes to getting your music out to the public.
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Buying An Instrument
Your favorite writing tool is your true co-writer. When picking one out, be even more choosy than you would be finding new bandmates, since you will spend more time with your instrument than with them. Here are some tips.
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Train For The Worst To Expect The Best
Be a good "music scout" and "be prepared" and you won't have to worry if emergencies come up. Here are a few ideas to have your own drills to ready you for bad circumstances.
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Day Job Ideas for Musicians
You need money to at least pay for the copyright forms and buy instruments unless you have a trust fund or a great spouse, so here are a few ideas of jobs that might work for you.
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Atmospheric Fun
Creating musical atmosphere is easy to do. Here are a few ideas to get you started and add a more produced sound to your tunes.
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The Concept Album
Writing a group of songs around a central theme is a time-tested way to write music, and a quick way to pump out an album's worth of material. Here are a few ideas to get you writing in this vein.
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Instant Songs
Sometimes you need a new song in a hurry. Here is a standard method for cranking out a simple tune in your chosen genre.
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Exercise For the Songwriter
Taking care of your body can really help your songwriting, too. Here are a few suggestions you could try to get your muscles toned and help your playing, singing and/or writing at the same time.
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Writing the Nonsense Song
Who needs words? Here are a few ideas to get you to finish that pesky line or chorus that just seems to defy your vocabulary, Thesaurus and rhyming dictionary.
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You Can Do It Part Two
Here are some more ideas of how songwriters can remain positive in spite of surroundings that discourage them to keep writing. See last week's article for the first half of this discussion.
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You Can Do It!
Here are a few ideas of how to stay positive when the rest of the world seems to want to stomp on your dreams of becoming a songwriter.
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STOP YOUR GRIPING AND JUST GET GOING
Sure, rotten things happen to all of us, but the important thing is to keep moving along and not stop to fret about the past. Here are a few ways you can take care of yourself so you can keep writing, and get bogged down in worry.
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Writing Theme Songs
Want to write the next James Bond clone theme song? Think you can write a better pickup truck selling song than the one for the local truck dealer? Here are a few ideas of how to get your themeworthy tunes heard by the right people.
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Learning Music Law
Here are a few ideas to get you started studying the perhaps most boring but most essential part of songwriting--the legal side of music.
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Should You Sing Your Own Songs?
Sometimes singing on your own demos can be the worst thing you can do. Sometimes it could be the best thing for your song. Here are a few thoughts to help you decide which singer would best serve your song.
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Writing For Yourself
Sometimes you need to just forget all the rules and theory and just fingerpaint with your music. Here are a few ideas to let the inner brat inside you out in your writing, and maybe create your big hit in doing so.
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More Rhythm Fun
Go ahead and buy that cowbell you've always wanted, and check the bargain bins for some AfroPop or Raga music. Here are a few ideas on how to get a fresh sound for your rhythm tracks.
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The Music Convention
Music conventions are held frequently all over the country. Here are a few ideas so you can get the most out of these great networking opportunities.
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Things To Do Part Two
Stuck home because of bad weather? Here are some musical things you can work on even if you can't get out of the house. There are always the taxes...
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Snowglobe Songwriting
Sometimes we need to totally change the course we are on as songwriters in order to keep moving in our field. Here are a few ideas you could try to shake things up and get your career on a forward path, again.
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Writing the Melodic Song
Here are a few ideas to get you started writing melodies if you are not used to doing so, and perhaps a few new ideas for those who are more used to writing whistleable tunes.
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It's Okay To Do Nothing
Sometimes the best thing a songwriter can do is absolutely nothing. Here are some good reasons why you shouldn't beat yourself up because you aren't accomplishing much at this point with your music career.
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Microphones Are Your Friends
Microphones are everwhere, and musicians need to learn how they work as much as they need to know how to play any other instrument. Here are a few ideas of how to get the most out of a mic, and a few tips of how to chose the best one for you.
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What Is In The Way?
Sometimes, we create our own roadblocks to being a songwriter. Here is a group of questions to ask yourself to solve this problem and get yourself moving again.
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Today I Will....
New Year's resolutions are fine, but there are lots of things a songwriter can do everyday to be a better writer. Here are some easy goals for any songwriter to stick to....
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Writing The Angry Song
Angry songs nearly write themselves, since many songwriters find writing theraputic for getting past anger. A fresh and modern approach can create hits, too--here are a few ideas.
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Writing Your Songwriting Resume
Here are a few tips on how to organize your biographical information so you can give it to industry people you may run into.
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Writing A Pet Song
Most people own or have owned a pet, so this is a great topic to write songs about. Here are a few ideas to help you write the next hit pet tune.
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Writing a Fun Song
If you want to write a song that will bring a smile to people's faces, sometimes you need to get in the mood, first. Here are a few ideas to get you moving in the right direction.
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Taking the Giant Step
So you finally got a big break--great! Here are a few suggestions on how to keep the momentum going, and prepare mentally for those moments.
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Fun With Samples
Using samplers and sampling can speed up your writing, as well as enable you to use instruments that may not be available to you otherwise. Here are a few ideas to get you started
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Immersion--Another Way to Write
If you try to make nearly everything you do every day music related, you may find it really hard not to be able to write new music. Here are a few ideas to get you started.
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Jamming With Your Computer
Your computer can be your best co-writer. Here are some tips on using your computer for jamming, rehearsals and low-cost recording.
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Bubble Baths for the Soul
Surrounding yourself with songwriting, or at least reheasal, without interruptions is essential to improving your skills. Here are a few ideas to accomplish this
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Songwriting For The Holidays
Here are a few tips on writing songs for this holiday season, as well as a few ways to get them some exposure.
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Surviving As An Older Songwriter
Being over 30 doesn't mean you are "over the hill" when it comes to songwriting. Many companies are more open, now to older songwriters. Here are a few ideas to keep you going.
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Don't Let Them Jerk Your Chain
The music industry is full of people who try to manipulate others. Here are a few ideas to keep from falling into the traps they dig for musicians.
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Try, Try Again
When you get a letter from an artist saying that your material wasn't suitable, but the person wonders if you have something in a different style, don't be discouraged, just rewrite!
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Fun With Chords
Learning new chords can only help your songwriting. Here are a few easy ways you can learn some, and how to work them into your musical compositions.
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Building on Strengths
A collection of strategies for finding out what you are best at as a songwriter, so you can use this information to better your chances of succeeding in this difficult career.
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Writing the Historical Event Song
To write or not to write? What does a songwriter do when faced with a tragedy--chronicle it or just vent musically and move on? Here's some ideas that may help your approach to this.
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Bassline Basics
The bass line you write for your tune is important. Here are a few ideas to creating low parts that enhance and can even take your song to a new level--bettering your chances of selling it.
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The Love Song--Keeping It Fresh
Everyone writes love songs, but how to make them special enough to get a rep to accept them? Here are a few ideas for making your love songs not sound like dozens the rep has heard before.
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Writing Music From the Heart Part of Your Head
Taking classes and seminars and reading books are great to better your songwriting craft, but don't neglect that special part of yourself that only you can bring to your music equation.
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DeClutter Your Music
Decluttering your music space and home not only makes it more presentable, it can create more time and opportunities for musical pursuits through time saved, while increasing self-esteem in the process.
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Fun With Guitars
The guitar is a staple of popular music, but add a few hare-brained techniques, a different bit of equipment or your computer, and you may get that quirk you need for your next hit.
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One Step At A Time
If your songwriting career seems to be on a plateau at the moment, here are a few ideas to get it moving, again.
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WHY NOT REWRITE?
Find those little scraps of paper you scribbled that riff or lyric on, and collect up those unfinished song parts--they may be your next finished song if you try putting them together.
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Persistence--The Magic to "Making It"
Setbacks happen to all songwriters. The important thing is to not quit, no matter how bad it is, and to keep trying. Here are a few inspirational words to keep you going
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Familiarity or Originality?
Do you go for the classic or the novel approach in your writing? Each has pros and cons--here are a few thoughts to help you decide one way, the other, or perhaps use both methods.
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Keeping Busy as a Songwriter
Career at a standstill? Here are a few hints to get you moving in some direction, at least, when it seems all you are doing is spinning your wheels.
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Networking on a Budget
A good bit of songwriting involves obtaining exposure for your work. Don't let a lack of funds keep you from meeting the people you need to contact. Here are a few tips to finding and getting your product to people that can help your career along.
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To Be the Best, Learn From the Best
If you want to write great music, find a great teacher--role models can be invaluable sources of ideas, allowing you to write in ways you otherwise might never have found on your own.
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Finding A Co-Writer
Finding a Co-Writer is almost as bad as finding a spouse, and the relationship may last longer than most marriages. Here are some tips to find the right person for you.
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Finding Your Niche--Easy as Falling Down
A quick way to discover what aspect of songwriting you are best at.
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Feel the Beat! Writing a Great Groove
A quick lesson on how to lay down a rhythm track, and a few fun ideas of how to make it a memorable asset to your musical work.
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The Job of Songwriting
If you want to be a professional songwriter, you have to treat it like a job, not a hobby. Here are a few pointers on how you can fit 4-8 hours of songwriting into even the busiest days.
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Life and Art--A Balancing Act
If you want to be a successful songwriter, you need to learn to balance life and art.
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Writing Songs You Don't Want to Write
Dislike of a music style is no reason to not try composing in that style. Stretching into other genres not only makes you a more bankable commodity, it exposes you to the opportunity to blaze unmarked trails and create the next trend.
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The Story Song
Writing a story is a time-tested way to write a song lyric--a good plot, a fun ending with a memorable melody and arrangement, and you'll have another pitchable tune.
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Turning Minuses Into Plusses
Every musician goes through setbacks--here are a few tips to help you get past them and move on to the next level.
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YOU HAVE ONE MINUTE ! IMPRESS ME!
Most reps will toss any song that doesn't reach the first chorus in 60 seconds. Here are a few tips to make sure it doesn't happen to you.
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Taping on a Shoestring Budget
Some basic studio tips that will allow you to record your demos without getting financially destroyed.
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So You Wanna Be A Pop Star?
A quick overview of the hard work it takes to become a successful performer/songwriter.
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Surviving White Paper Syndrome
Some simple tips for songwriters to use to put pen on paper and get at least a bad song written.
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