If you’re a new songwriter, welcome to a fascinating world!
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As you know, I devote this blog to helping songwriters get better. But every once in a while I remind myself that today, a whole new set of people are going to try their hand at songwriting. Around the world, hundreds or more are going to try writing their first song, and that’s exciting. But it can also be intimidating for them. For many people, musical abilities were not honed when they were children, or even worse, discouraged. And that can hamper your spirit. So if you’re wondering if you’ve got it in you to be a successful songwriter, the answer is “yes”, and please read on.
How do you know if you have the ability to be a songwriter? Or know that you have the ability to do anything musical, for that matter? You may have tinkered about with a guitar or had a few piano lessons when you were a kid. But if you’re like most people, you would never describe yourself as a “musical person.” But that’s not really true, of course. To one extent or another, everyone has musical abilities, and that’s a scientific fact. Musicality comes with being a member of the human race.
So it shouldn’t be a surprise to know that, to a similar extent, everyone is capable of writing a song. What keeps people from actually doing it is a combination of three things:
- DISCOURAGEMENT. You weren’t encouraged to develop your musical skills when you were young.
- INTIMIDATION. You feel a sense of embarrassment and/or fear at the thought of composing music, or doing anything musical.
- LACK OF KNOWLEDGE. You’ve never been shown how to write music.
It is truly amazing how many of us were told at a young age that we didn’t have musical abilities. In fact, not many years ago, it was common for music educators to try to identify the young students in their classes who were potential musicians, and to separate them from the ones who weren’t. They had all sorts of “nice words” for this: children who sang beautifully in tune were often called “bluebirds” or “canaries,” while children who hadn’t found their singing voice yet were called “blackbirds” or “crows”. Blackbirds and crows were told to only mouth the words at the school concerts. I may have just described you.
Once you tell a child that they are unable to do something, it instantly becomes a stigma that’s almost impossible to overcome. That leads us from point one – discouragement – to point two: intimidation. The thought of doing anything musical seems – well, downright embarrassing. Singing becomes something that only happens in the shower. And writing a song? Practically impossible.
But I want to keep coming back to the scientific truth that everyone alive has musical ability. If you’ve never been shown how to hone that skill, it will remain in its undeveloped state. And that is point three: lack of knowledge. You’ve never been shown how to write music. You’ve never realized that good music is not rocket science; it’s actually a rather basic skill. And it’s a skill that you can learn. The astounding part is that you probably already possess the musical abilities required to write a song that really works.
When I wrote the first version of “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” back in 2005, I did so because I had several music students at the time who were writing songs that were – well, let’s just say the songs weren’t working. But I was struck by something, as I listened to song after song, each of which had some issue or problem. And that “something” became the basis for a whole new way of looking at songwriting.
That “something” I discovered wasn’t the “secrets” I eventually named my book after. No, it wasn’t a secret or a philosophy or a method. It was a simple realization. And that something was this:
The difference between a song that works and song that fails is usually very, very small.
Songs that fail aren’t often burdened with problems. Songs that are filled with problem after problem don’t usually ever see the light of day, because they usually never get finished. No, songs that fail are usually suffering from one, or possibly two, small, solvable issues.
So if you’re a newcomer to the world of songwriting, and you’re wondering if you have it in you to succeed, you do! Creating music is something that’s natural to humans. Writing good music… that’s the thing that takes a bit of study and practice.
Occasionally I remind people that if you’d like to send me something to listen to, and offer my comments, please feel free. Send me an email (gary [at] pantomimemusic.com) and I’d be happy to give you constructive criticism that I hope you would find helpful.
And don’t get discouraged. Creating music is one of the most interesting things the human race can do! And you’re just at the start of an amazing adventure!
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