You could write a song about some kind of emotional problem you are having, but it would not be a good song, in my eyes, until it went through a period of sensitivity to a moment of clarity. Without that moment of clarity to contribute to the song, it’s just complaining.
My advice to first-time songwriters would be you know the person you are writing the songs about. First know that. Then write a letter to them, what you would say if you could. That’s why I listen to music. It says how I feel better than I could. And it says what I wished I had said when that moment was there. So I would say be as direct as you possibly can. If you need to dial it back later, then, I guess, do that — but for me, the more details the better.
Amazing Mayer
In this video, John Mayer describes one way of approaching song writing. At random, he takes snippets of well known songs, places said snippets into the same key, and then improvises with that melody by changing the lyrical content. It is really impressive to see on the fly.
He’s the man! *rock*
I’m still not that great of a writer or anything, but man do I love it. Even if we don’t write a smash hit, it’s great to be able to get the experience, and feel more comfortable writing. You always learn something new with each song you do. So I’m really looking forward to it.
Because the best love song is writing with a broken heart
From Archie’s twitter. I feel you, man! I experience that a lot of times whenever I’m “inventing” (for a lack of a better word? haha) a tune for my songs. The really good ones can slip away sometimes. But I always recall what I’ve learned from Michelle Branch. When you remember the songs you wrote, that means people are going to remember it too. Weee. That’s what I keep in mind. :D But I’m really proud that Archie is doing some songwriting. I really have a high regard for singers who are also songwriters. *bow down*
