Stephanie G. Mathis Songwriting is a strange dilemma. It’s not necessary to be a musician to write great music, but bad songs often result from poor musicianship. Even talented musicians can write some really bad songs.
1. Bob Dylan: The Nobel Prize-winning lyricist DGAF’d the vocals and instruments in “Queen Jane Approximately” from Highway 61 Revisited but wrote like a God.
2. Sex Pistols: Sid Vicious, the bass player of this influential punk band, had no clue how to play before he joined. This group changed rock history forever.
Songwriting is a different skill than musicianship. It’s important to know how to combine words and music in songs that have a unique magic. Many of us crave songs with authentic, emotionally reverberating ideas.
No recipe book can tell you how to do it. It varies from artist to artist. No single path is laid out before us.
Even if you feel your musical abilities are “weak,” you can still find a way to express the feelings and thoughts you have in your mind. Here are five ways you can write songs even if you don’t have the money to play.
Your voice
This is both literal and figurative. The voice of a song’s songwriter is at its core. It can be broken down into the following categories:
What is your story, message, or theme?
What are some of the coolest, most commonplace, and contemporary phrases you use?
What emotions do you wish to evoke in us?
What are you saying, and to whom are you speaking?
Please show us your artistic style and your taste.
Second, it doesn’t matter if you are the singer, your bandmate, or someone else is delivering the lyrics. The song itself is what matters. Don’t forget to keep it in the forefront. Do what the song says, even if you have a flat voice or can’t hit that high A.
Record your melodies on your phone wherever you are, at any time. Listen to the recordings and identify which fragments you enjoy. Then, develop these into phrases, verses, or choruses. Start by capturing as much information as possible and then connecting the dots.
Vocables & Body percussion
No band, no drama! Try to learn the art of songwriting and create tracks using body parts. Let me explain.
Vocables are the oos, aas, and na na nas that you hear in contemporary pop music around the world. They are often created without the need for a single written word. It’s more than likely studio magic.
These vocalizations without text can be used to make a hook or add energy and movement to dull song sections. Guess what? You don’t need to make any arrangements like Quincy Jones. Just shout and vocalize in rhythm, and you will be on your way.
Your body is also an instrument. From finger clicks and slaps to handclaps, whistles, and pops. There is an app to do this if you are really out of your comfort zone.
Some people are a href=” “ttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJ_T_ASYyZU” seriously good/a> at this — of course, you do need to be a highly-skilled expert yourself to pull off a decent non-percussive beat. Some people excel at this. Of course, you do not need to be an expert to create a non-percussive rhythm. Here is a website where you can learn in just one minute.
“If you can play more than two chords, you are showing off.”Over the past 70 years, the vast majority of songs have used just a few simple chords constructed from (mostly the) major scale. These chords are not copyrighted, and they’re worth learning.
The majority of listeners won’t care if you use two chords or”three chords with the truth “as long as they can maintain their attention. Many songs only use four chords. Woody Guthrie and I are trying to say that your lack of musical ability shouldn’t limit your creativity when writing songs.
You can still plug in chord progressions even if you’re not a musician. Use MIDI or apps such as Autochords and Suggester, or generate your own!
Digital Audio Workstation (DAW)
It is the equivalent of a recording studio on your computer. You can create and edit music with preset banks (or plug-ins) of virtual instruments, all using MIDI.
AApple’spreinstalled DAW, Garageband is a good place to begin. PC users should download FL Studio, formerly Fruity Loops. Reaper and Audacity are both free. From there, they become more expensive but offer more options for creative expression.
You can record your song ideas in the privacy of your home with an audio interface and condenser microphone. It is not a bad idea to play around with digital audio software or even set a goal of finishing a song or an EP worth of material.
Hire Guns
You didn’t need to be Jimi Hendrix and Questlove rolled up into one musician. You can hire someone to play your instrument. You must be aware of this.
Plus, during the COVID-19 epidemic, there were more web platforms and mobile apps than ever before to connect remote session musicians with songwriters, musicians, producers, etc. You don’t need to be with these people in the same room! One project that I am working on has me singing and playing electric guitar in New Zealand, along with a trumpeter in Los Angeles and a bassist in New York.
You don’t need to be a creative genius anymore. You can find websites offering complete, professional Music Production Services. One example is Tunedly. Here, you can hand over your song for recording and engineering by pro musicians.
Sites like Drums On Demand also offer royalty-free pre-recorded tracks as bundles of drum loops and more to songwriters and producers who want to write top-line (melody/lyrics/vocals) and harmonic content. Band-in-aBox is PG MMusic’s auto-accompaniment package that lets you manipulate audio samples such as piano, bass drums, and guitars in your DAW.
These sites are getting more intuitive and versatile. Platforms such as Jamstudio.com and Splice offer thousands of open-source loops and beats that can be purchased at any price level.
Ingredients Songwriters, other players, computer with internet, DAW.
Optional extras: Audio interface, condenser mic, headphones, MIDI controller, online resources, collaborators.
Songwriting is no exception. Play to your strengths, whether you’re playing with jug bands, electric guitars, or making beats with your iPhone. It’s time to get started.
