What Songwriting Is, What It Isn't, and What It Should Be (According to Me)

Hi again,

Twelve hours later and I'm back to write some more. I started a brainstorming list of ideas for post topics and it's growing fairly well, so I should have at least 10 posts coming in the next couple of weeks. Lets get started on what I wanted to talk about today.

Before we can really talk about how to write a song, or the techniques involved, we have to define the process of "songwriting." Defining this can be tricky because songwriting is an intensely personal and subjective experience. With this in mind, be aware that the "definition" I will be exploring is just my own idea of what songwriting is. Furthermore, when we get into the discussion of what songwriting isn't, also keep in mind that these are my opinions, not hard and steady facts. If you disagree with me, then comment. I love different viewpoints and a good argument. Enough with the disclaimers, lets get into some actual content.

Songwriting encompasses a vast array of skills and modes of expression. First of all, songwriting is musical. It requires some form of skill in any mode of musical expression. Singing, clapping, playing an instrument, "drawing" music in composition software are all vehicles that can be used to create songs. Without the musical aspect of songwriting, you're no longer writing songs. You may be creating something, but I can almost guarantee you it isn't a song.

This leads to the second part of what songwriting is. It is creation. Songwriting is creating something intangible, but very real, and being able to reproduce that. To be able to produce something where there was nothing before is the essence of creation, and without this component of creation, you're just reproducing (aka, playing covers).

There is a third component to songwriting which I feel is the most important part of it all, but is not a necessity to the songwriting process. This component is expression. It is possible to write a song using only musical skill and creating something original. However, if it is not expressive, then it is lacking in something that is unique to all artistic endeavors. Without expression, songs cease to become art, and become a collection of sounds that exist within a certain key, tempo, time signature, etc. There are many ways to define expression, and we can all argue about which songs are expressive and which others are not until we're blue in the face. I think the simplest way to determine whether or not a song is expressive is to ask oneself if the song you've created means anything to you. This doesn't necessarily have to mean it has sentimental value, but some kind of value at all. For instance, a friend of mine is in a rock and roll band called the Sunshine Bumpers. I would argue that this band is very expressive, but not necessarily always sentimental. The value they place on their music is more about fun and having a good time in general. The meaning we assign to our music is entirely personal  and for this reason there are a wide variety of genres that are all expressive without all having the same exact tone and mood. If you're going to be a song writer, please express yourself. Even if you play one chord the entire song, just be sure that it's expressive and actually means something to you.

Lets talk about what songwriting isn't. I think that most people have a general concept of what a song is and what writing is, but I feel that there are some important points to make here. First of all, songwriting is not reproduction. Playing another band's song is not songwriting. Yes it's musical, and yes it can be expressive, but it's not original creation. This isn't to say that you can't make another band's song your own through rewriting, but their original work and personality will still show through in your performance. The song will never be entirely yours, it will always end up being a joint effort. This creates an interesting question about originality and borrowing ideas, but I will save all of that for an extended discussion later on.

The other thing that songwriting actually is, but shouldn't be, is writing music for the sake of others. I've been guilty of this when I was younger. I wanted to write music so that others would think I was cool. I wanted to write music that fit this schema I had set up for my life. The result ended up being music that wasn't expressive and felt contrived. I would urge you to avoid this if you can. If you can't, then you might want to reevaluate why you're writing music and if perhaps you should pursue another avenue.

Finally we come to the last section of this post, what writing music should be. I've already talked about expression, but I think it's important to reiterate this point. Songwriting should always be expressive. You should always have some kind of meaning attached to your music. This ensures that even if your music isn't accepted by the outside world, you haven't wasted any time in its creation. Akin to this notion of expression, songwriting should be intensely personal. You should be writing music entirely for yourself. Lastly, songwriting shouldn't be aggravating (although sometimes it really is). While this is a "what it shouldn't be," you can take the converse and assume what it should be. Songwriting should be something you do because you like to do it. I would hope you're writing songs because it gives you an outlet, is fun, etc.

I think this post has run on long enough. I have a feeling there will be a lot of content vomit over the next week or so as I try to get this thing up and going.

Thanks for reading