Songwriting Tips & Techniques

The best way is to constantly and persistently study what hit songwriters do. You couldn't be a starting quarterback in the NFL without spending years studying the greats who came before you. The same is true for writing songs and songwriters. They learned their song writing craft from the great writers who came before them.

Learning How to Write a Song

Study song craft and work on your song writing every day. Listen to current chart-toppers and take notes on what those hit songs have in common. Don't write songs that could have been hits when you were twenty-one. Analyze songs that appeal to today's audience.

What is their song structure like? Which chord structures work best? Does the song have a bridge? How many bars are in the intro? Do their lyrics tell a story, or are they more abstract?

How to Sell Your Songs

Getting your songs heard and sold is just as hard as learning how to write great lyrics or an unforgettable melody. It takes years to build a network of friends in the music business (that's why you need to attend events like IdOMusic EVERY MONTH!!), and it's a full-time job to leverage a list of music industry contacts and turn them into success.

If you're trying to get your songs cut by major label artists, then  find out who their managers, producers and A&R people are and learn how to get their contact information so you can systematically contact them and ask for permission to submit your music.

If you're trying to get film and TV placements for your songs, then you'll need to watch a lot of TV and movie credits and look for the names of music supervisors and music editors. Licensing your music for film, TV, and video games won't make you rock star wealthy, but you can build it up over a period of a few years. If you treat it like a full-time job, you'll be able to amass the contacts, build more music industry relationships, begin pitching your songs, and eventually replace your day job doing something you love.

Independent A&R companies like TAXI.com can do much of the legwork for you, and can shorten the time it takes to sell your songs. Click on the link below to learn more great song writing tips, techniques and find many more resources to help you get your music heard by the right people.

The entire original article written by Taxi.com can be found at this link

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