Let's take a look at my first request to pick out a favorite song.
Understanding why any piece of art resonates with us is a lifelong journey that bears repeated introspection.
I never set out to compose a song that was considered a “favorite” but in the eyes of some, I wrote a few of those.
Don’t diminish the possibility that you might eventually write someone else’s favorite song. – and you better start thinking about what makes a song a “favorite”.
What makes a song a favorite song?
The words? The melody? The harmony? Some combination of all those three? The emotional content that makes it stand out from other songs you know?
Whatever it is, it's important to know what we like and what resonates with us.
Understanding that simple concept will give an idea of how we want our songs to come across.
It's vital to remember that for musicians, the technical aspects of melody, lyrics, and chords might hold the key to a song's specialness.
To the general public, it always boils down to an emotional response to the sum of a song’s parts.
There are many musicians who say that when they hear a song, the words mean very little to them. A note of caution here: to the average listener, lyrics mean a hell of a lot and if you want your songs to resonate with them, you better come to grips that most people I have a real love relationship with the words to their favorite songs.
Let's take a moment to look at the reflective and expressive elements of a favorite song.
Do you like the song because the way it sounds when you listen to it or how it feels when you perform it?
Any level of performance is going to engage your ego so you've got to be mindful about that. Just because you feel really great about yourself when you perform a song it's not enough to make it a great song but it does make for a powerful vehicle to enhance your self-image, which is not an entirely bad thing.
Onward to nuts and bolts.
If knowing all the intricacies about the harmonies and melodies of a song pushes it into a favorite category for you, good for you.
Sadly, though, that complexity means nothing to the average listener.
Lyrics are another matter. Case in point: Dylan's “Tangled Up In Blue” which contains fairly pedestrian harmonies but absurdly complex lyrical ideas.
All this talk about favorites is to eliminate the idea that our own work will often be derivative of our favorites.
If you like songs with complex lyrics, you'll be drawn to creating that type of work.
If your standard I-IV-V harmonic progression is all you need in a favorite song, that might just work for you too.
The question next is have you perform this song before? Do you sing it? Do you play it? Do you do both? When you perform it, if you are primarily a singer, do you care about the harmonies or are you totally focused on the melody?
If melody is your thing, that will probably be a component that you'll want to focus on at the beginning of your song writing journey.
It's a good idea to remember to focus on our strengths and build on them while we are constantly trying to improve our weaknesses.
Final words: Never lose sight that the emotional power of a song didn’t just happen; it was created by the songwriter – and that’s you.
Understanding why any piece of art resonates with us is a lifelong journey that bears repeated introspection.
I never set out to compose a song that was considered a “favorite” but in the eyes of some, I wrote a few of those.
Don’t diminish the possibility that you might eventually write someone else’s favorite song. – and you better start thinking about what makes a song a “favorite”.
What makes a song a favorite song?
The words? The melody? The harmony? Some combination of all those three? The emotional content that makes it stand out from other songs you know?
Whatever it is, it's important to know what we like and what resonates with us.
Understanding that simple concept will give an idea of how we want our songs to come across.
It's vital to remember that for musicians, the technical aspects of melody, lyrics, and chords might hold the key to a song's specialness.
To the general public, it always boils down to an emotional response to the sum of a song’s parts.
There are many musicians who say that when they hear a song, the words mean very little to them. A note of caution here: to the average listener, lyrics mean a hell of a lot and if you want your songs to resonate with them, you better come to grips that most people I have a real love relationship with the words to their favorite songs.
Let's take a moment to look at the reflective and expressive elements of a favorite song.
Do you like the song because the way it sounds when you listen to it or how it feels when you perform it?
Any level of performance is going to engage your ego so you've got to be mindful about that. Just because you feel really great about yourself when you perform a song it's not enough to make it a great song but it does make for a powerful vehicle to enhance your self-image, which is not an entirely bad thing.
Onward to nuts and bolts.
If knowing all the intricacies about the harmonies and melodies of a song pushes it into a favorite category for you, good for you.
Sadly, though, that complexity means nothing to the average listener.
Lyrics are another matter. Case in point: Dylan's “Tangled Up In Blue” which contains fairly pedestrian harmonies but absurdly complex lyrical ideas.
All this talk about favorites is to eliminate the idea that our own work will often be derivative of our favorites.
If you like songs with complex lyrics, you'll be drawn to creating that type of work.
If your standard I-IV-V harmonic progression is all you need in a favorite song, that might just work for you too.
The question next is have you perform this song before? Do you sing it? Do you play it? Do you do both? When you perform it, if you are primarily a singer, do you care about the harmonies or are you totally focused on the melody?
If melody is your thing, that will probably be a component that you'll want to focus on at the beginning of your song writing journey.
It's a good idea to remember to focus on our strengths and build on them while we are constantly trying to improve our weaknesses.
Final words: Never lose sight that the emotional power of a song didn’t just happen; it was created by the songwriter – and that’s you.
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