With so much of the music we hear on a daily basis being chock full of heavy instrumentation and sleek production elements, it can be hard to understand and hear what the true bones of a song are. Dig deep beneath track automation, instrumental layers, and effects like EQs and reverbs, and you’ll discover the foundational elements of a song.
A firm grasp of music theory is one of the most powerful assets you can have as a songwriter. Music theory gives you a broad understanding of the music you hear and helps you apply what you observe to your music. It also places an array of musical options right at your fingertips. However, what if this isn’t always a good thing? This is not an argument against learning the ins and outs of music theory and applying that knowledge to your music. Instead, it’s a reminder that music theory alone cannot substitute your creative intuition as a songwriter. You can create incredible music with only your creativity, but not if you’re purely relying on music theory.
If you have been creating music for a while, you may feel like you’ve hit a brick wall with your writing. This could be the case for writers in all stages of their careers. Embracing risk and curiosity in your process can help shift your mindset when it comes to creation. Here are three new approaches to help get you in a groove and out of your creative rut!
If you’re a songwriter trying to improve your craft, consistently making music is just one part of the equation. Listening closely to the music you hear is one of the most powerful ways to write better music. This means that every time you listen to music, you’ll have the opportunity to learn something that can apply to your work. Here are three ways to make better music through critical music listening:
If you’re having trouble finding your musical identity as an artist, it could be because your taste in music hasn’t been defined yet. Alongside musical intuition, writing music as often as you can, and letting life experiences shape your songs, your musical taste is incredibly important for your work as a songwriter. When you’re in touch with your musical taste, creating music that’s meaningful and authentic to you gets much easier. Here are five tips for defining your unique musical taste as a songwriter.
For most of us, falling into predictable songwriting habits is more and more an inevitability the longer we make music. It’s natural to favor certain ways of doing things, whether it’s a specific genre, DAW, or instrument. But even if cohesion is one of your top priorities as a creator, your fans probably don’t want to hear you make the same songs over and over again.
Songwriting is arguably one of the most compelling art forms. It is humanity looking back at itself – giving us the ability to reflect in profound ways. A song about heartbreak has the power to bring a person to their knees by ways of evoking memories that are universal. One of our most important missions as songwriters is to present universal experiences to listeners in human and accessible ways.
Making human experiences come off as interesting in music demands a delicate balance. By simply saying “I’m in love and am very happy in this moment,” you may be missing out on an opportunity for greater creative license. However, that same idea presented as “Since I found you, I don’t feel like eating spiders anymore,” rings cryptic and obscure past the point of comprehension.
The non-musical world often thinks that making and performing music is always fun, easy, and instantly gratifying. But serious musicians know that this is only one part of their story. Loading your equipment out of a venue you just played after a show that no one attended isn’t fulfilling. Pitching your new album to a long list of email contacts and never hearing back isn’t fun. And yet both these examples are things independent musicians have to do to find audiences for their music. You can think of it as “paying your dues,” but the kicker is that some artists never manage to move past the stage of trying to get the world to notice their music, even if their songs are great. That’s a hard truth about pursuing music.
Blog
