Rumski Forum - Songwriting tips...

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Songwriting tips...

Evo i moj mali doprinos forumu,nije otkrivanje tople vode,al ne moz da skodi...neke osnovne stvari koje se ispostave da ljudi vremenom zaborave

SONGWRITING TIPS

<link rel="File-List" href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5CIva%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtm l1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml"><style>  </style> One of the most overlooked secrets to writing strong songs is so simple
you'll think it's stupid. And yet it's so important that I don't know why
songwriting authors and "teachers" have not made more of a big deal of it.
Here it is: ALWAYS start your songs strong.

<link rel="File-List" href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5CIva%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtm l1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml"><style>  </style> It sounds too simple to even be called it a "tip." I can hear you saying it,
"Everybody knows that!"
But do they? Out of 100 songs I hear at writer's events, 97 of them will have weak first lines (actually weak first and second lines). Just think of how crazy this is.

<link rel="File-List" href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5CIva%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtm l1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml"><style>  </style> It's finally your turn! They announce your song title and your name, and press
"play." ALL EARS ARE ON YOUR SONG! AND...because you didn't
start strong, all that rapt attention just bleeds out into the carpet while your first
two lines dribble out of the speakers like warm mayonnaise.
No (or low) impact. By the time your lyric gets up to speed it's too late.
The audience has quietly slipped you into the "just another wanna-be"
category along with many other people.This can also apply to writing melodies.
ALWAYS START STRONG.
<link rel="File-List" href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5CIva%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtm l1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml"><style>  </style>

Re: Songwriting tips...

WHAT ARE YOU SHOOTING FOR?

Your goal is not to make every song's first line into an epic event. Sometimes a song calls for an understated beginning. However, understated is not the same thing as boring or un-engaging.
Here's what I believe you should shoot for in EVERY first line you allow out of the house: Your first line should entice, dare, tease, or otherwise promise the listener that if they will listen to the next 3 lines, they will be happy they did.
Remember that a song is a two-way communication. A listener must literally
give your song the time of day to even experience it. If you don't make (and
keep) a worthwhile promise right up front, a split-second decision will be made to bypass your song. So keep this simple thought in your mind: Make the promise in the first few seconds, then keep the promise with the rest of
the song.

Re: Songwriting tips...

KEEP THE MESSAGE SIMPLE
------------------------

Write words that connect with other people!

What is the point of having the most clever, thought-out, deep and
poetic lyrics if nobody can relate to them?

Well, there isn't much point.

If you want a song that people can 'connect' with, then keep the
lyrics simple. Even the most experienced songwriters will come back
to this point over and over again - keep the lyrics simple.

This doesn't mean that you have to write the obvious 'catch
phrases', what it DOES mean, it that DON'T LET YOUR LYRICS GET TOO
COMPLICATED so that nobody can understand what you're trying to say!

While I certainly wouldn't disagree with using metaphors and
similes, I wouldn't use them exclusively. So just there's no need
to get too fancy,they're like jewelery,and too much bling looks tacky right?

Remember, you're not writing songs for English literature professors.
You're writing songs for the world to hear and relate to.

Re: Songwriting tips...

WRITE WITH YOURSELF
-------------------

Of course technically speaking, you can't be a songwriting team
'with yourself' (unless you really do have a split personality) but
there IS a way to actually write 'with yourself'.

It's a technique most of us use without even realizing.

Have you ever started to write lyrics and didn't finish them? Have
you ever started to write a tune and then you just 'left it'? Have
you ever written a few chords only to not know where to go next?

Of course you have. I have too, on many occasions.

So often these unfinished idea's are left in a notebook or recorded
somewhere and then never to be seen again. This is where 'self
collaboration' comes in.

Usually, we barely remember what we were working on back then and
this is why you should go BACK to these idea's. So much time would
have elapsed and you will feel like you're writing with someone
else's idea.

You will have the advantage on gaining a perspective that you
didn't have the first time around.

Funny enough, with the gap of time, we can almost always tell why
we couldn't finish the song in the first place. But now we see the
flaws and all the cracks that we completely missed first time
around - and it now seems so obvious and apparent.

So, learn to write with yourself. Make it your secret weapon.

Re: Songwriting tips...

@prvi post:

what about:

marlena shaw: woman of gheto?

:)

treba puci na emociju/ritam odmah.

BUM - "HA, sto soma zvanica, red se razvlachi od mamuta do kalisha"

jako.

i ne zajebavam se sad..

Re: Songwriting tips...

CREATING MELODIES

The moment that people create a melody which they feel is great, many think it already sounds like another song.
This is common, and I suffered from this many times. What you've got
to understand is that ALL SONGS are RECYCLED MELODIES.

Every song has a 'portion' of the tune which will be the same as
another. So don't worry if you feel your song sounds like another.
It's perfectly normal to feel this way.

What's important to know here is that if your melody is a familiar
one, then that's a GOOD THING. I'm NOT talking about a 'rip off'
here, I'm talking about a part(s) of your melody that sounds like
another song(s).

Why is it a good thing? Because it means PEOPLE RELATE TO THE
MELODY even more. They will want to listen to your song because of
the familiarity.

Remember, most people aren't songwriters. So chances are, most
people won't even realize where it may or may not have been
inspired from.

And what if they do? Well... ultimately, as a whole, it will be
your own words, your own tune and eventually with your own music.
So it will be YOUR SONG. So don't fret.

Again, I just want to stress the point -- this ISN'T about ripping
off other melodies. This is about creating your own melodies that
sound like a familiar tune to the world out there. It's two
very different things.

Re: Songwriting tips...

Nisi sacekao ni da zavrsim thread uh..

what about
intro od 40 sek za until then :) hahah
btw citaj ovo sve...nije za bacanje

Quote:

Originally Posted by HeatMan (Post 220762)

@prvi post:

what about:

marlena shaw: woman of gheto?

:)

treba puci na emociju/ritam odmah.

BUM - "HA, sto soma zvanica, red se razvlachi od mamuta do kalisha"

jako.

i ne zajebavam se sad..

Re: Songwriting tips...

LOGICAL GAPS CAN KILL YOUR SONG

Unlike poems, (which can be read and re-read until you understand them), songs come at you--line by line. And if listeners come upon any big logical gaps in a song or confusing bits, they will often stop listening and start solving the mystery.
Meanwhile, the song just keeps coming out of the speakers like a line of freight cars. Once they pile up...the listener gets frustrated and gives up. Then he's fiddling for another button on the radio.
In my experience, these gaps often happen because YOU as writer know the story in your head already. But listeners only know what you tell them in the song's lines. Inexperienced writers will often leave things out without realizing it. Sometimes the gap is right at the beginning...the song starts and the listeners are immediately lost. If you don't let them have their bearings, they'll just turn you off.

I've had new writers argue that they don't want to give too much away...they want to hold some important details back for mystery's sake. As we learned in the last tip, music listeners do LOVE surprises. But they don't love being lost.

Re: Songwriting tips...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eeva_r&b (Post 220765)

Nisi sacekao ni da zavrsim thread uh..

what about
intro od 40 sek za until then :) hahah
btw citaj ovo sve...nije za bacanje

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jbt.. mislio sam da radimo dobru ziku, a ne glupu komercijalu.. mislim ovo "ne pametujte".. zashto? ako je dobro, onda zashto ne?

ma ajte molimte..

nisam znao da cesh nastaviti da pishesh jbg..

Re: Songwriting tips...

Quote:

Originally Posted by HeatMan (Post 220768)

jbt.. mislio sam da radimo dobru ziku, a ne glupu komercijalu.. mislim ovo "ne pametujte".. zashto? ako je dobro, onda zashto ne?

ma ajte molimte..

nisam znao da cesh nastaviti da pishesh jbg..

Nigde ne pise da je u pitanju bilo kakva komercijala,niti da se 'ne pametuje' (ne znam sta pod tim podrazumevas uopste??),vec da treba imati mere u svemu i obzira na to koliko su slusaoci nestrpljivi...
drugo,ne razumem zasto mi uporno ne verujes...jesam li uradila do sad nesto sto je 'glupa komercijala' ?(reklama za pink up se ne racuna,to je REKLAMA Bogom dana da bude komercijalna,i morao je onakav text)
To sto zelim da nam muzika privlaci paznju ne znaci da je to nesto fuj odvratno i ponizno...i ko zna sta...