How to Improve Your Songwriting Skills

Here is the process that helps you produce your best music all the time.

Difficulty: Moderately challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Electronic Keyboards
• Guitars
• Pianos
• Sheet Music
• Blank Cassette Tapes
• Cassette Tape Recorders
• Stereos
• Pencils
• Pencils
• Pencils

1. Compose something every day. It doesn't need to be extravagant or even complete.

2. Put your first thoughts down on paper, tape, disc or whatever. Not everything you do will be good, but the exercise will yield some bits and pieces that you can later turn into something special.

3. Listen to music every day. Listen carefully and then apply what you learn to your own work.

4. Imitate other composers by writing in their style. Imitation is critical to improving your composition skills.

5. Pick artists you admire, and compose in their style. To imitate without directly copying is harder than it sounds.

6. Try other styles and forms of composition that you usually ignore. Just because you don't like or aren't comfortable in a particular musical genre doesn't mean you shouldn't give it a whirl.

7. Choose a simple tune like "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" and try to write multiple versions in various styles like hip-hop, jazz, orchestral, New Age and so on. Without having to worry about the melody, you're free to experiment with structure, chords, countermelodies and so forth.

8. Record and play your pieces for friends and associates and ask for criticism. Find someone whose opinion you trust, and play your music all the way through. Then ask open-ended, leading questions.

9. Play the track again and analyze it in detail. Once you get opinions and advice, go back to the drawing board and put all you've learned to work.

10. Evaluate your past work. Don't let your old music fade away. Dust it off and give it a critical listen. When you let music sit for some time, the warts really stick out. Use this distance from your work to improve your past, present and future music.

Tips & Warnings

• Make composing part of your daily routine.
• Take that oh-so-important music bath - listening to music - every single day.

[russmediagroup]

on 3/26/2009 nice article, Yes, compose everyday or you lose itJoe

[aardito]

on 11/20/2008 Take a look at http://songwritingguide.blogspot.com
It just started, but it's updated very regularly. It starts with basic music theory, but will eventually cover advanced songwriting topics.

[TheNEWBobDylan]

on 10/6/2008 Use your digital camera to record guitar parts you come up with...then you can see and hear what went down...saves working stuff out or writing it down.

[nix22]

on 7/19/2007 Be carefull not to change your song once it is completed just because you are bored of it. Remind yourself how happy you were with the song when you first finished it. No-one could listen to Sargent Peppers everyday without getting sick of it. Test it on fresh ears first and if the new ideas for the song arn't needed, use those ideas for perhaps a new song. I have written songs before that i thought were average yet they really touched other listeners. So i didnt change it.

[Song-Writer]

on 6/10/2007 Okay this may seem silly but it works. Sing the alphabet in many ways. You can come up with many "catchy" tunes that you can then fill with your own words.
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CRC