How many of you are also songwriters?

Larry Strawn · Post by **Larry Strawn** » 13 Feb 2007 8:00 pm

I'm a terrible song writer, over the years I've written several songs, the lyrics are terrible, and the vocal range is something I could never possibly reach, and all my aquaintances that can don't want to! So I've decided to leave song writing to those who actually have some talent for it!

Larry

Post by **Dave Mudgett** » 13 Feb 2007 8:12 pm

I agree that the best writers I've known do this intensively and write hundreds of songs. They knock them out so fast it makes my head spin. It's sorta like looking for gold - you need to sift through a lot of dirt to get some nuggets. They can't all be gems.

I deliberately try for combinatorial complexity - forcing myself to do things differently to achieve a different effect. Even random or orthogonal changes can lead somewhere, and get me "out of the box". I wish I had more time to write, but alas, it has to get juggled into my multi-tasked world. Unless I get more time, probably not much will come of this.

David L. Donald · Post by **David L. Donald** » 13 Feb 2007 8:33 pm

If you can write accessably, but unpredicatbly,
then you are successfully stradling that fine line
between popularity and originality.

A good example is Sting.
Nothing is what you expect at first listening
and yet it grows on you fast enough to become part of your life.

Get a decent rhythmn section and see about
upping the tempo a bit on your songs.
and accent them with vocal arranging.

Ben Slaughter · Post by **Ben Slaughter** » 13 Feb 2007 10:32 pm

Well, count me in as a writer. I've recorded probably 35, and lots more have never made it to tape (or disk as the case may be). Lots more to come, hopefully.

I've made it a point to try to write at least a few, to paraphrase Alan Jackson, "3 minute, positive, not to country, up-tempo, love songs." I've even had success taking songs that I wrote as ballads, and turning them into up-tempo, or medium tempo numbers.

For me, the hook generally comes first, as an inspiration. As they say 1% inspiration, 99% perspiration, so then I brainstorm, think about themes, and the "nut" (aka what's this song about in a nutshell) of the song, and make sure I'm communicating my initial idea and not going off on tangents. After all, I've only got 3 minutes to tell the story.

Sometimes songs are just gifts, written in 10 minutes. Some I've worked on for 10 years.

The melody and rhythm typically come second, as that's generally easer for me to be creative with. Rhythm tracks and things like Band in the Box can be great tools.

Klaus Caprani · Post by **Klaus Caprani** » 13 Feb 2007 11:51 pm

Here are some songs that I've written or co-written.

http://www.myspace.com/klauscaprani

Mark Lind-Hanson · Post by **Mark Lind-Hanson** » 17 Feb 2007 1:36 pm

I am also a songwriter and have a large backlog of stuff I will begin recordin gat the beginning of next month- about ten years worth of stuff which comes to near seventy songs!-
I have just finished recording & producing a cd composed completely of cover songs, but I do write my own material and in the future this wil probably be my entire focus. Once I get the basic stuff down I will probably put steel onto most of them. All that time I was writing this stuff I had no acces to recording equipment (until a brief change in fortunes for the better occured a year ago) and that's how I happen to have a huge stack of stuff I have lyrics for but not sat down & composed tunes for. It'll happen- I never leave anything unfinished!
Not if I can help it anyway.

Aaron Harms · Post by **Aaron Harms** » 18 Feb 2007 5:54 pm

I can't believe that somebody name dropped both Elliot Smith and Sting in a steel guitar thread. This is why I love it here!

Songwriting is such a varied and crazy art. I'm currently at work on a concept album of sorts, which has changed my ideas about traditional songwriting. Typically, I just wait for the muse to hit me, and scribble where i can, then work through where the music should go...almost always words first for me...then I started not having a guitar near me most of the time

and have begun the "sing while you drive the kids to school" behaviors...I DO feel bad for them...

This concept thing--where I'm trying to write in different styles, as the story demands, is very very challenging, but totally fun, rewarding, etc...I'm usually into the shoegazer, medium tempo sort of thing as well...but NEEDING to write an uptempo number to GET somewhere does push you to do certain things...in that area, I also find that "writing" at a louder volume tends to help. Acoustic (and lately on tenor banjo) I tend to write way more down tempo, "typical songwriter" songs...I feel like it also helps to hear the beat behind what you're writing, as opposed to just thinking guitar or singer wise--a good beat--think about the Tom Hanks movie "That Thing You Do" and the 60's songs it emulates--what makes those songs instantly danceable (I think this was in the initial post) is that danceable beat...IMO, of course.

Kudos to you guys for chatting about the process:)

A

Terry Miller · Post by **Terry Miller** » 19 Feb 2007 6:56 am

Here is a link to my sons profile on SongRamp. He has 65 songs in his collection. Brad plays everything else...I do all the steel and most of the dobro work on his songs.

http://www.songramp.com/homepage.php?Who=Brad_Miller

Here is a link to his latest work. We cut the steel tracks yesterday. Used my Derby, Sho~Bud amp, MXL991 condensor mic, presonus tube pre-amp, and a Lexicon MX200 for reverb and delay.

http://www.songramp.com/mod/mps/viewtra ... ckid=53811

Take care guys and thanks for taking the time to listen!

Rick Johnson · Post by **Rick Johnson** » 20 Feb 2007 5:06 am

I'm hearing some good stuff

I have been writing songs for a long time too.
Click on the MUSIC link on my website.

Rick

www.rickjohnsoncabs.com

Charlie McDonald · Post by **Charlie McDonald** » 20 Feb 2007 5:47 am

I try, but I find it hard to write a melody that is not hackneyed.
Melody is a real art, unlike my coming up with a progression and trying to get a melody out of it.
I find it easier to get a song with a good melody and write lyrics over it.

Steve Stallings · Post by **Steve Stallings** » 20 Feb 2007 11:58 am

I really enjoy writing. I've had some success with it and a lot of fun.

Matt Dawson · Post by **Matt Dawson** » 21 Feb 2007 4:32 am

I'm a song writer - had publishing deals with BMG and Universal Music...currently deal-less though - more time for practicing steel.

My 2 cents would be this: fit the music to the lyrics rather than the other way round. This way you get blocks of 6 or 10 bars, or 1 bar of 2/4 in a 4/4 song. Very simple chord changes sound much more interesting in an unexpected place. Most songs are in blocks of 8 which is pretty predictable. An example would be Ring of Fire, (or lots of John Hyatt songs).
Matt

Ernest Cawby · Post by **Ernest Cawby** » 21 Feb 2007 9:29 am

The girls and I , Becky and Belinda have written and have been published in Gospel books Hard Cover, about 10 songs praising the Lord.
I have written 1 song about steel guitar missing in country, was received well in Bluntstown, could that be John Hughy was playing steel also Roy Rosseta on keyboard in the band we had a standing ovation.

ernie

Donny Hinson · Post by **Donny Hinson** » 23 Feb 2007 8:38 am

I've written quite a few songs, some of which I thought were pretty good, and when I wrote them I always had a specific singer in mind. For instance, I've written songs in the style of Brenda Lee, Barbara Mandrell, George Jones, Ernest Tubb, and other great singers. But of course, they never heard them. The problem is that writing songs is fairly easy, but breaking into that end of the business isn't. Every good singer, I believe, has more than enough writers assualting them daily with original material. A nobody (like me) would have a very difficult time getting anyone "on the inside" to listen to their songs.

Nowadays, the emphasis seems to be more on the singer and their image than it is on the song anyhow, so I'd imagine that there's a lot of writers out there with some really great stuff, most of which will never see the light of day.

Ben Jones · Post by **Ben Jones** » 23 Feb 2007 12:41 pm

thanks for the responses and ideas everyone. Im not looking to break into the business, write for anyone else, not looking to get published, or have a "hit", dont have any expectations or aspirations to make a single cent from it (no offense meant to any who are, more power to you and best of luck). I write and sing songs because its in me to do so, and because i enjoy it. Someday I intend to perform my songs in front of an audience. Thats about it.

Im new to country music so dont have much experience writing in this genre. From an outsiders perspective country music is fairly regimented and my initial querry was to try and gain some insight into how one writes within what I perceive as i somewhat narrow framework. I was kinda hoping you would tell me its not so narrow..hehe. Im talking about the standard I, IV, V that makes up the bulk of most of my favorite country songs.
Several of you said dont force yourself into a box..in my heart I know you're right. And the less than stellar results of my efforts to fit into that box prove you right. Its just that that box has some amazingly beautiful songs in it.

David L. Donald · Post by **David L. Donald** » 23 Feb 2007 8:19 pm

The one real form is tell a story that touch peoples centers,
gets to the heart of something most anyone can understand.

A song that lets them know the're not the only one feeling like this.

Or makes them laugh, feel happy, or less sad.
Light at the end of the tunnel,
or the absurdities of life, etc.

Also setting a time and place in the past,
but able to trancend time and place also works.
'16 Tons' for example.

Alan Rudd · Post by **Alan Rudd** » 24 Feb 2007 11:09 am

Yep! That's what I came to Nashville for in the first place, as many others have. I got one in the Dotty West Story and thought that it was time to move. Nothing since, but still plugging. You can hear a few of them on myspace/okwind. CD is available if you like itl Mike Smith is the steel player on it.

The Steel Guitar Forum

How many of you are also songwriters?

Count me in as well.

Original Tunes Here - I play steel, my son Brad writes them!

Song Writing

Song writing...