IN TRAINING

Becoming a Wonderful Songwriter
By Pamela Phillips Oland

   Admitting to yourself that you have a lot to learn about songwriting will take you a long way if you want to be successful at this craft. There is no "magic bullet" that will open up your eyes and grant you perfect knowledge and wisdom. Songwriting is an art as well as a craft, and it takes patience, time, and an open heart and mind.

   While innate talent is a gift from the universe that each of us manifests in our own unique way, the nuts and bolts of songwriting are acquired skills. There are several good books that teach aspiring songwriters how to craft songs, and how to tap into that wonderful reservoir of inspiration that dwells inside each of us.

   Before you submit your work to anyone -- whether it be for an evaluation or critique from a friend or the opportunity to be pitched and recorded by a major record label, the first person's scrutiny your song must undergo is your own. You must be innately satisfied with what you've written before you show it around.

   You'll find that everybody else will express an opinion of your work based on their own worldview, formed by their personal life experiences. But don't be discouraged by those who don't share your opinions of what you've written. After all, we are each formed by our unique experiences in love and pain, happiness and sadness, as well as by how we have coped with them. It is rare that love is perfect first time out of the box or that two people discover perfect harmony on the first date and keep it going forever. The only couple I've ever known to do that were my parents. For the rest of us, learning the rules of living a successful life and discovering the dynamics of how love works both require us to go through processes of trial and error. We make endless discoveries along the way and correct our perceptions constantly as we go and grow.

   The process of trial and error applies to songwriting also. We try styles and techniques-some of them work, others fall flat; we re-think our processes and methods, each developing our own unique modus operandi. We find our shortcuts and our easy answers, learning what we have a natural flair for doing. And at the same time, we discover - much to our chagrin and disappointment -- what our shortcomings are. That's where the phrase "It takes 10 percent inspiration and 90 percent perspiration" comes from.

   Nobody is good at everything, but everybody is good at something. In learning what aspect of the arts you are particularly good at, and what comes to you easily and effortlessly, you are concurrently learning what you'll need to work harder at to achieve excellence. It doesn't mean you can't achieve success at a thing just because it is hard to do. It means you must practice, get reliable feedback from people whose opinions you trust, and keep at it until you get it right.

   I sometimes joke that the first thousand songs are the hardest.


Developing strong skills

   To develop strong songwriting skills and successfully submit your work, you must develop strong work habits and master the ability to be self-critical-not to fall in love with everything you write! If you have written a marvelous line, always recognize it and rejoice in it. If the line that follows it is less wonderful, then that one needs some sweat and effort to get it right.

In doing just that,


• Don't be afraid of hard work;
• Don't be afraid to write a little bit every day;
• Don't be afraid to put your draft aside and look at it later with fresh eyes, and
• don't ever be afraid to re-think, re-craft, and re-write.

   If you can write a first draft, then you can surely write something else just as good but different.

• Don't get stuck in a rut of writing only about yourself; learn to fudge the truth and create imaginary characters;
• Don't fall into using boring adjectives and lines you've heard in songs a million times before, and
• don't copy; be an original.

Submitting Work

   When it comes to actually submitting your work, there are fewer major record companies than there once were. As a result, you must have excellent material for it to be heard. Remember that you are competing for that spot on an album with all the songwriters who write in the style you're attempting. Here are some rules of thumb:

• Send CD's and never cassettes;
• Don't forget to label your submissions with name, phone number and/or an e-mail contact (you'd be amazed how many people forget that!);
• Include a typed lyrics sheet;
• Don't send a cappella vocals with no musical accompaniment;
• Singing into a cassette is unacceptable. Record in a studio, even a small demo studio with a simple piano-voice rendition of your song;
• Get someone to sing on your demo who has experience in a studio, not an amateur - someone familiar with this type of music;
• Make sure the vocal is in tune;
• Send a self-addressed stamped envelope if you want it back;
• Don't send the only copy you have of anything, as it may get lost;
• Call first if possible, and get the name of someone specific to send the CD to rather than just a blind mailing;
• Make sure the song you're sending is in the right style for the artist you're pitch it to.

Writing for Yourself

   If you're not aspiring to write of other artists but are a singer yourself and want to write your own songs, you need a set of rules to guide you.

• First, know what your style is, and stick to it so that you can make a coherent impression on your listeners;
• Understand that when you write a song, you must appeal to the people listening to it. Your audience must relate to what you're singing about. Thus, a good song idea must be universally interesting.
• Don't write lyrics that are too deeply personal for others to relate to. Save that for your poetry.
• Be observant, notice what's around you, and write songs about that.
• Don't settle for your first ideas; reach for the most interesting ideas you can find musically and lyrically.
• Endeavor to become an original.
• To become a better writer, become a better listener - listen to all of the great artists in your genre who came before you. Figure out for yourself what made them great, what makes their music immortal, why people continue to look up to them and play their music many years after it was recorded. For instance:
  • If you're a jazz singer, you would do well to know the work of such artists as Sarah Vaughn, Billie Holiday, Alberta Hunter, Blossom Dearie, Ella Fitzgerald, Fats Waller, Mel Torme, Nat "King" Cole, Nancy Wilson and a host of others.
  • If you sing R&B you'd do well to know the work of Jackie Wilson, Fats Domino, Smokey Robinson, Gladys Knight, Big Mama Thornton, Stevie Wonder, Little Richard, the Ink Spots, The Coasters, anything Motown, and so on.
  • If you sing rock, study Janis Joplin, The Doors, Blondie, Fleetwood Mac, The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, the Beatles, Cream, Crosby Stills & Nash, the Grateful Dead, Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, David Bowie, etc.
  • If you sing pop, study early Barbra Streisand, Neil Sedaka, Paul Anka, Neil Diamond, Frank Sinatra, Roy Orbison, Brenda Lee, Ricky Nelson, The Drifters, The Four Seasons, Dion & The Belmonts, Sammy Davis, Jr., Tony Bennett, and too many others to name here.
  • If you sing country, listen to the wonderful vocals and songs of Patsy Cline, Loretta Lynn, George Jones, Faron Young, Hank Williams, Dolly Parton, The Carter Family, Jim Reeves, Lefty Frizzell, and Merle Haggard.
  • If you sing folk music, be sure to listen to Judy Collins, Joan Baez, Laura Nyro, Bob Dylan, Dave Van Ronk, Woody Guthrie, Arlo Guthrie, Richard & Mimi Farina, Donovan, Pete Seeger, Peter Paul & Mary, and the Kingston Trio.

   In listening to those who have come before you, you will discover the desire to reach for the greatness within you, not to just sing any-old-thing that comes into your mind.

   Practice writing songs and performing them to see which songs get the best response. Weed out the songs that nobody seems to "get," even if they are personal favorites. Discipline yourself to re-write and re-think your ideas, honing them until they are the best you can possibly write.

   If you do all of these things I've suggested; if you faithfully consult a dictionary, rhyming dictionary and thesaurus when you write; if you seek the counsel of those who know what they're talking about, and whose opinions count; and if you apply yourself to becoming not just an adequate songwriter but a truly remarkable one, then you will have the most amazing sense of accomplishment.

   Finally, don't write songs because you want to be rich and famous, write songs because you want to write them and it gives you pleasure to do so. Although we all aspire to become successful with our endeavors, remember this: Enjoying the process of the doing is ultimately more rewarding than achieving any end result. Trust me on that!


© 2004 By Pamela Phillips Oland
Pamela Phillips Oland is a professional songwriter and the author of "The Art of Writing Great Lyrics" and "The Art of Writing Love Songs." Both books, published by Allworth Press, are available at bookstores everywhere and online at barnesandnoble.com and amazon.com. Pamela's website is www.pamoland.com