What things have made you a better songwriter/composer?

[larry_emder]

Trying to get some ideas as to how to improve my writing.
So what has improved yours?

Getting critical analysis from fellow members?
Read a good book?
Listened to a certain album?
Some major event in your life?

Any input appreciated

I suppose this thread also branches into the question 'what inspires you?' So you can answer that if you want, too

[32-20-Blues]

Whiskey .

[TelePaul]

Girls I Like/Dislike, Bruce Springsteen, my nice Martin guitar, confidence and praise from my peees.

[Cyrokk]

Immersing myself in various artists to the point where those things I like most about their music becomes a natural part of my style of writing.

[32-20-Blues]

What has made me a better writer?

Studying literature has been a big help.

Familiarising myself with the work of songwriters I admire, and tracing their influences back to see where they get ideas from.

Folksong has had a big impact on me, as has blues, because it gives an idea of themes that are likely to endure, or it provides material to be reworked.

[mikeh]

What I do to improve as a writer (it works for me)

1. Writing everyday. If the muse is not present, write anyway.

2. Critical honest assessment of what I do write. Accept when something sucks and try to learn from it. Recognize when something has potential and try to improve it

3. Re-write, re-write, re-write

4. Study well written songs (in any and all genres). Try to understand what makes them well written

5. Read books on songwriting (or about songwriters/musicians). Each book has something to offer.

6. Learn new instruments. Each instrument allows a different way to approach writing and provides renewed musical inspiration

7. Try to learn the accepted song structures and work with those structures. Accept that certain writing rules and/or formulas are not a bad thing

8. When and if it serves the song, ignore all rules and formulas

9. Commit. More than anything, I am very committed and highly motivated to be the best writer I can be. It is one of a select few true passions in my life (Actually I'm rather one dimensional - being a good musician and trying to be a good writing are about the only things that really motivate me )

As far as what inspires me, writing something that is good inspies me to write something better - and - writing something that is weak, inspires me to write something better.

I think any person has certain things that they are are driven to do well (inspired). It may be playing basketball, fixing cars, building furnuture - or writing - but inspiration must come from inside, a true desire to do the best we possibly can.

[up-fiddler]

Writing daily is #1 in my book. (No pun intended.) I also keep a file of written images. If I see a phrase or think of one line or a clever couple of words I write it down and drop it into a folder. Over the years the folder has grown into a good sized Rubbermaid box. When I am desperate for an idea then I rummage through the phrases and bits of paper in there. I always seem to come up with something I can use as an idea or on a rewrite. In addition I keep a box of microcassettes that I can listen to that have the same types of phrases and ideas on tape that I recorded in the car. I keep a cheap recorder in each vehicle and in both levels of the house. I am NEVER more than a few feet from one. They can be picked up at Radio Shcak, etc. for about $25 each. Over the years I have learned to never lose an idea or catchy phrase no matter how small. When I look back at them in months/years to come I can always get an inspiration of some sort. Keep your brain grinding away and don't be afraid to work at it. Mikeh has the right mindset in his post. I have written lots of trite that I have thrown back into the idea box. Every now and then though, I get something I truly like and send off to the copyright guys and end up recording it. In short, it's both a process (writing) AND a destination (song). You should enjoy both. Good luck.

[cello_pudding]

i don't know. i've made lots of guitar riffs and some lyrics when i didn't feel like it...everything comes out like crap. some lame guitar picking with screwy chords with dorky lyrics.



what helps is to listen to songwriters that you enjoy and listen to things they do. don't copy them...just notice their use of transition or texture change or rhythmic change.

and...listen to other people's music and critique it...what is it missing....what's too much, why is it bad? have you "heard the song before"?

[Freddy]

All of the above I think.

And practice.

And age.

And sometimes I am not sure I am getting better at all

[junplugged]

constant analysis and for lyrics, studying the heck out of those 3 famous Davis books. Sheila Davis...you know them.

[chazba]

If you want to become a great writer, you must write A LOT. Practice makes perfect. And not just songs. Write short stories. Write short descriptive pieces. Describe a sunrise (if you get up that early) Describe traffic at an intersection, anything to get yourself going. Start thinking of yourself as a writer. When people ask what you do, say "I'm a writer" Then write some more. Then re-write and re-write again. Take out all the adverbs and adjectives. Find out what adverbs and adjectives are. Become an expert typist. Learn the rules of grammer so that you can break them . Browse the Dictionary. What if you had the worlds largest private collection of guitars and could play any one of them, any time you wanted??? Thats what having a large vocabulary is like.

I am ranting....sorry....


writeonnnnnn
chazba

[32-20-Blues]

Originally Posted by chazba

When people ask what you do, say "I'm a writer" Then write some more.

I have a friend who introduces himself to women as "a poet". Invariably, he is laughed at.

That aside, your advice is very good.

[nukeitout]

Originally Posted by chazba

If you want to become a great writer, you must write A LOT. Practice makes perfect. And not just songs. Write short stories. Write short descriptive pieces. Describe a sunrise (if you get up that early) Describe traffic at an intersection, anything to get yourself going. Start thinking of yourself as a writer. When people ask what you do, say "I'm a writer" Then write some more. Then re-write and re-write again. Take out all the adverbs and adjectives. Find out what adverbs and adjectives are. Become an expert typist. Learn the rules of grammer so that you can break them . Browse the Dictionary. What if you had the worlds largest private collection of guitars and could play any one of them, any time you wanted??? Thats what having a large vocabulary is like.

I am ranting....sorry....


writeonnnnnn
chazba

That is excellent advice. If only the pop musicians of the century thought like you did .


Here's an additional idea:

Write your thoughts, then expand/improve the words with a THESAURUS and varied sentence structure.


As for me personally, I've been through a lot of shit. I think that and the amount of reading I do have significantly contributed to my songwriting skills. That and studying songwriting theory.

[songwritten]

Originally Posted by mikeh

What I do to improve as a writer (it works for me)

1. Writing everyday. If the muse is not present, write anyway.

2. Critical honest assessment of what I do write. Accept when something sucks and try to learn from it. Recognize when something has potential and try to improve it

3. Re-write, re-write, re-write

4. Study well written songs (in any and all genres). Try to understand what makes them well written

5. Read books on songwriting (or about songwriters/musicians). Each book has something to offer.

6. Learn new instruments. Each instrument allows a different way to approach writing and provides renewed musical inspiration

7. Try to learn the accepted song structures and work with those structures. Accept that certain writing rules and/or formulas are not a bad thing

8. When and if it serves the song, ignore all rules and formulas

9. Commit. More than anything, I am very committed and highly motivated to be the best writer I can be. It is one of a select few true passions in my life (Actually I'm rather one dimensional - being a good musician and trying to be a good writing are about the only things that really motivate me )

As far as what inspires me, writing something that is good inspies me to write something better - and - writing something that is weak, inspires me to write something better.

I think any person has certain things that they are are driven to do well (inspired). It may be playing basketball, fixing cars, building furnuture - or writing - but inspiration must come from inside, a true desire to do the best we possibly can.

I really like what I'm reading hear. Honestly, the thing that helped me learn to write the most was working who a producer who was NEVER satisfied until he thought the song was perfect. I learned to re-write, re-write, and re-write again until I FINALLY understood what it was to craft a "song."

[32-20-Blues]

Originally Posted by nukeitout

I think that and the amount of reading I do have significantly contributed to my songwriting skills.

Have you ever read any Gunter Grass? I once wrote a song that was heavily influenced by 'The Tin Drum.'

[scrubs]

Pain...lots and lots of pain...and drugs.

[Mindset]

Moments in life....

Thinking outside the box... Thats' the main one.

[Nick_Black]

reading up on legends helps me for topic idia's, listening to a wide range of music, from rap to opera, to get diffrent rhiming stiles, listening to jack white gets me in the mood, and I ALWAY's write the music first, I have never been able to pull of a lyrics first, which is a shame, I had to trow out (well, store in a place I never look) some decent lyrics becouse of that.

[junplugged]

a small digital recorder helps, but i often forget i have it and then i turn it on record, and then i forget what the song was about. then i keep it handy, and then i never get inspired b/c i see it there, taunting me like a big empty blank page.

[chazba]

Originally Posted by 32-20-Blues

I have a friend who introduces himself to women as "a poet". Invariably, he is laughed at.

That aside, your advice is very good.

Think of it as a "bitch filter". It will screen out all the trailer trash. If they can't make it past the poet part, you're better off without them.

lol


chazba

[steve.h]

I write the music, not the lyrics personally. (My lyrics always turn out stupid haha). For me, what really improved my writing was getting good enough at guitar to the point that I can make it do whatever I want: meaning, it's no longer figuring out how to make the sounds I hear in my head, it's just making the sounds in my head.

Once that happened, I started listening to some of my favorite bands/writers, and trying to write a song in their style. Like, actually try to write another (insert band here) song. Inevitably, you'll put your own style into it, and after doing this with a few different bands, you can start combining styles into your own unique style! It's best to admit to yourself that your style will inevitably be a combination of several already-created styles. Why fight it?

[JohnMoxey]

Hey

If I was to name the most influential, it would be critique of both my own and others work.

Many writers neglect critiquing others work, as an inconvenience, or as something you do when you want others to look at your work. the thing is, when you critique your own work, your judgement is colored by the natural attachment a writer has for his own work. The only way to really develop your critique skills without that, is to critique others work.

I don't mean "I like that", or "it's good". I mean an indepth analysis and opinion/advice.

Cheers

John

[Grishrak]

Things that made me a better lyric writer is looking at the bands lyrics that play the same music as I do and seeing how they write lyrics.

[TheBargains]

Epilepsy made me a better writer. Heartbreak helped too

[moptop]

I find being open to critisim, and not the bullsh*t put down kind, but the honest, constructive kind, you know, that maybe comes from a fellow writer who shares your passion, can sometimes spark a new perspective or idea which can turn a dull uninteresting collection into a well organized masterpiece....(well, as much of masterpiece you could make out of one of my sonic trainwrecks )

Over the last few days I've been reading past threads here to try to gain a little insight to help me out. There is a LOT of very helpful suggestions that one can use to hone their songwriting skills. And even though following someone's suggestion word for word may not work for another, there may be some small part of that can be very helpful. Creating a writing style that works for you is very much like writng the song itself. Picking & choosing & experimenting to come up with the best combination. The process applied is not as important as the end product.

I read in one of the threads about Elvis Costello not writng anything down because he felt if it was a good enough idea he would remember it. Now that might work for him, and obviously it does looking at the wonderful music he has written, but for someone like me who has less than stellar memory skills, a pad and paper is my best friend. I've kicked myself many times for not being able to remember something I thought, at the time, was and excellent idea or a great addition to a project in the works. I look at it this way, it must not have been too bad if I was, at least, trying to remember what it was in the first place! My job puts me behind the wheel for the better part of the day so I have been using a pocket recorder that I picked up at a garage sale for a buck or two. Yep, it sounds corny, but not only can I make a note of words but also melody ideas as well. For me it's a wonderful tool.