SONG WRITING by Pradnya Mangoendipoero

SONGWRITING TIPS



Before we were given the topic of songwriting, I have just about 20%
interest on it. The idea of actually creating a song from scratch—not
just to cover or to arrange—does not come across my bucket list,
although I have actually tried to create a couple of songs which were
total garbage. I know that as a musician I have to at least know the
basic rules of songwriting, because the chance of getting the holy
task of composing an original own song is inevitable. But somehow the
idea of coming up with my own dough of notes and chords is just not
the stuff that I ever fidget over.

So these songwriting tips are just the ones I came up with after
surfing the net. I've never actually tried any of them, but they make
a lot of sense.



SONGWRITING TIPS FOR BEGINNERS FROM www.ultimatesongwriting.com



We should focus on love—letting the idea to flow through our hearts.
This one is pretty cliché, but I think it's kind of true. Most of the
greatest hits of all time have been written on this theme. Not that I
actually like them, though. Love songs find the easiest way to a lot
of people's heart.
Stop thinking too much about the money. It's true…but thinking about
the money is necessary. Unless you're a president in some country with
too much leisure time to spend. If we're going to live by creating
music, we definitely have to worry about the future profits.
Listen to music. Duh…
You should write songs everyday. Well yes, I think that might work for
some people with lots of bursting ideas.
Keep a recorder close by. This cannot get any truer. Sometimes when
we're at the car driving alone, or doing our business in the
toilet—mostly in the toilet, I think—the greatest ideas drop by but we
tend to forget them because we're just humans with limited memory
capacity. So let's exchange the toilet reads with plastic-wrapped
recorders, in case your hand slip and…splash.
Carry a notebook everywhere. This has a similar concept to the
previous tip, but more of the lyrics instead of the melody line.
Read. YES. Having unlimited access to the world of vocabulary is going
to give us a LOT of advantage. The best songs I know are the ones with
the most poetic lyrics. For me, at least. But you'd rather listen to
the words of The Beatles' 'I Wanna Hold Your Hand' instead of Akon's
'I Just Had Sex', right?
Make the best impression on the chorus and the first line. I think
this makes a lot of sense. When I listen to a song on the radio for
the first time, I don't really care much about the essence of the song
unless it contains some life-changing elements (excellent vocals,
amazing rhythm section, sick chord progressions)…or has a catchy
chorus line.
Be honest through your music.


That's all. I haven't exactly planned to follow those tips right now,
but it's going to come in handy someday. I hope these tips can get
through you!





PRADNYA