Add Some Spice to THAT!

Main Ingredients: Good Structure... Good lyrics... Great Melody

These are the things that generally make up a great song. More than likely if you're having trouble writing good songs or getting positive feedback about your songs they are lacking in one or all of these areas. What you have to do is FOCUS! Next time someone says "Nah, I'm not really feeling that" or you can tell by their body language that they aren't into your song try asking them which area (lyrics, melody, or structure) they think can be improved? Take their constructive criticisms and keep them in mind next time you sit down and write.

Cooking Utensils: Pencil, Pen, A Notebook or NotePad, and Vivid Experiences.

Whether you're writing about fictional scenarios from your imagination or real life experiences that are near and dear to your heart, one thing is for sure...it has to be vivid and authentic. Translated, most professional songwriters will explain this technique as "Speaking to the heart from the heart". The only way you can achieve this is by writing from vision or experience. One thing about writing is that you can always tell when something is fabricated and when it's really from the heart! If you ever experience writer's block or you just aren't satisfied with the songs that you're coming up with just STOP, leave wherever you are, and DO SOMETHING! You are an artists that paints beautiful portraits with their experiences so if you don't have any experiences you don't have any paint to add to the canvas! So the next time you settle down in your favorite spot to write, after you secure you favorite pen and pad, make sure you gather some fresh experiences to go along with it.

Your Spices: Remember that there are NO RULES in music creation. However there are guidelines and principles that can help you create more easily. Just be sure not to let them make your song stiff. These are some of the common elements you can use to spice up your song...

Verses, Choruses & Hooks, Pre/Post Choruses, Bridge, Chord Progressions, Transposition, Harmony, Velocity/Expression, Instrument Solos, etc.

The Number one Mistake New Writers Make: You're not Writing a "Rhyme", You're Writing a "Song"

Often a new writer gets so tied up in rhyming that the rhymes force the song to use words that sound like the words were picked simply because they rhymed, not because they helped the song. Don’t get discouraged. Like anything, writing good songs takes practice and some effort. A rhyme works best when it seems like it was an accident that words rhymed, and the lyrics are so fresh that the rhyming isn’t even noticed, the song just has that "effect" of all fitting together somehow and rhymes were a part of that. (Taken from http://www.easy-song-writing.com/articles/songBasics.asp)

Songs are not hard to write if you remember and master just a few of these things. As the saying goes... "Practice Makes Perfect". Immerse yourself in it! Live it, and Breath it. FOCUS on one thing at a time. With some hard work, determination, and a lot of faith I'm sure I'll see you on stage at the GRAMMY's in no time!

Till Then...


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