Just wanted to share some thoughts about songwriting I was having over coffee this morning. I tend to be wordy so I apologize in advance. Disclaimer: I am writing this to provoke thinking, not debate. To encourage. Anything that even smells like a put down is purely accidental and not intentional.

You can go to Youtube or Google and type “songwriting”. There are a gazillion people out there all claiming to have special knowledge of how to write a song. Some will concentrate on the chorus. Others concentrate on the hook line. Some will tell you there’s a special way to formulate chord patterns. Some claim having a good grasp of music theory is absolutely essential. I don’t know about all that they claim. I only know my own experience.

I have written literally hundreds of songs. I know I haven’t made the big time so what do I know? I am sure that I know how to write songs. There is an aspect that is to me, the most important of all the “keys”. That is we need to be able to tell a story. Ever watch a singer sing a song and you find yourself caught up? Ever find yourself wiping a tear? It wasn’t the music theory behind the song. It wasn’t the clever chord changes. It wasn’t the way the Ab sounded over the Amaj. That singer told you a story and he either meant it or he knew of the feelings involved and expressed them. Rhonda Larson is one of those musicians that seems to have a direct connection to my tear ducts. There are others. Those are the musicians that I study and the ones I try to learn from.

Music theory is a tool. Being able to play an instrument is using a tool. A hammer is just a hammer. It cannot join two boards. A hammer and saw can’t build a house. It is the carpenter that builds the house. Music theory is much like blueprints, but more like a manual. It doesn’t provide exact instruction for building the house but it might explain why you need certain bracing. It is the carpenters experience from past efforts that enables him to build a house. I can guarantee you his first house was a massive effort. Every one of us starts out wondering what to do with this piece of wood with holes in it. It is a tool. Without you and your creativity, it is just a piece of wood with holes in it. We have to go through the learning phase and become familiar with what this tool does and how to coax some of those sounds out of it.

Theory can explain what a musician did, but it cannot explain where the melody came from. I suppose you could dink around with a scale and find a part that you like and use that melody. Even then, it is the song writer that recognized the beauty or appeal in that piece of the scale. I could go on and on. It is the artist that writes the song. Theory is one of the tools and it is not a requirement to writing a song. I wrote for years without it. Sound was all I needed. I knew how to make chords on the guitar and that helped a lot, but which chord was up to me, not a rule, not the guitar and not music theory.

So what is the answer? What is the secret? What is my “key”? Music invokes emotion. It invokes feelings. It can set a mood. It can agitate you or calm you down. Words can do the same thing. In my opinion you need to tell a story when you write a song. In the case of the flute, you’re not using words. So, if the song is one about sorrow, dwell on what sorrow feels like. Think about people you’ve known that were sad. Think about times you were sad. Why were you sad? What caused it? Make up a story about sadness and then try to express those feelings. Playing 16 notes per bar likely will not invoke the feelings of sadness. Sadness is more of a slow moving sound/feel. If in doubt, find some sad songs and see how other artits “paint” that picture or “tell that story”. Minor keys work well for sad songs. Doesn’t mean major can’t.

I wrote a song called He Shall Not Return. I imagined a Native American Warrior that went on hunt. An angry man killed him without just cause. The fellow hunters were returning home without him. How did they feel? How did his wife feel? That is what I thought about as I begin to play. I had my DAW armed and recording. After a minute or two of “fumbling” a melody and a theme began to emerge. Is it a great song? I like to think so. Have millions clamored to download it? No. But that doesn’t mean it isn’t a good song?

One more thought. I am a painter. I paint landscapes mostly. I have friends that paint and none of them have asked me what their painting should look like. None have asked me what colors to use. When I paint a picture, I paint what I’m envisioning the finished painting will look like. If I ask a friend what I should paint and how it should look, then I’m effectively trying to paint his picture instead of mine. That’s pretty hard to do. Songs are the same, if you worry about whether or not others will like it, then you are effectively asking them what your song should sound like. You are indeed trying to write their song. Write your song from what you “hear” and give no thought as to whether or not others will like it. Some will and some won’t. If you disagree, then I ask you to pick a successful artist and then research or ask around. I think you’ll find that not everybody likes the artist. Some will and some won’t. If you like your song then that is all that is needed. If others like it, that’s even better. Art comes from the artist. Any other source is a mistake, in my opinion.

Our society suffers from a problem. Everything is either good or bad. It is a very subjective thing when judging art. Just because a movie got bad reviews, doesn’t mean I won’t like it. We become intimidated by the idea that we might get a critical review. Think about a critic for a moment. Don’t they tell you whether a piece of art, a movie or song is good are bad? Isn’t that the same thing as telling you what you should like or will like? Last time I checked I could figure out if I liked something or not. I can decide that for myself. In fact I have seen many movies that had bad review, but I thought they were great. I would have missed them had I let someone else tell me what I should like. I have never understood how a critic can make a living. To put it in a single question: Why should someone’s opinion (that hasn’t even been given yet) stop you from the joy of creating a work of art?

I’m sure there are those out there that would disagree with my assessment. And that is OK. It is my thoughts that shape my world and it is my thoughts and feelings that fashion the audio clay into a song. If I try to write a song that I think others will enjoy, guess what? I usually wind up discarding it. I’m not and expert. I am able to write songs though. If I have one piece of “advice” to give, it would be to write songs you FEEL. Songs that resonate with your spirit or inner man – whatever term you want to use. Formula songs sound just like what they are. Formula songs. If you want to sell songs or get signed by a record label. You can try to write what you think they want or you can stay true to your art and hope they will discover it and sign you up. I sort of think that either path is as difficult.

Just putting this out there for consideration on your music journey. My intent is not to generate debate, but to try and remove some chains from others that held me in bondage for nearly 10 years in my early life as a musician.