What's the answer?
Yes AND no.
Confused?
Let me explain. For the sake of simplicity,
here I'll talk about the 'music' aspect of
songwriting.
First up, I'll tell you that I'm a musician,
songwriter and a vocal coach. And I have
worked with both songwriters
who play
instruments and songwriters who don't. Which
group are a better bunch to work with?
It goes like this. Those who play an
instrument (to a certain degree) are more
prone to understand timing,
tempo and perhaps
some syncopation. Sometimes, musicians will
also understand the creation of melody a
little
more than non-musicians. They'll
understand the structure of harmony and some
music theory that goes along with it.
Because of the various 'pieces' or 'songs'
they have played with their instruments,
these musical and rhythmic
elements are more
or less naturally embedded in their brain -
in practice and in theory.
Of course, this is GOOD thing. It's an
advantage. Now yes - there are non-musicians
who are gifted with these
elements also, but
I'm just talking in general terms here. For
the most of it, more musicians will have
these
elements than non-musicians.
Now here's the twist. It's because of this
very same reason that many musicians find it
hard to write great
songs. How? Well, because
there are musicians that are pre-programmed
into thinking that perhaps a melody should
flow
a certain way, or maybe a chord sequence
shouldn't fall in that pattern, etc, BECAUSE
they get caught up in the theory
that
indirectly tells them "this isn't right".
You see, songwriters who don't know anything
about music theory or playing an instrument
will write freely.
Meaning they won't think
about whether something is 'musically right'
or not. Of course, you can't write a song of
pure non-musicality and expect to get a
welcoming reception. You'd be mad to.
But it's nice when you don't think too much
about something sitting right musically in
the song. Why care?
It's a song. If the
second verse has 10 bars and the first verse
has 8 - so what? No big deal.
On the flip side, there are non-musical
songwriters who just need that little push to
learn some very basic
chords on a piano or
guitar....just to give them that edge and
sometimes to even super-charge their
creativity.
So....
....here's my conclusion. If you play an
instrument and you wish to be a songwriter,
then don't think too
much about what's
musically correct. Let the chords and melody
take you away. Don't think about it too much.
Yes,
stick within the rules of music, but
don't get caught up in it.
If you are a non-musician and you write
songs, then a great idea would be to learn
some basic chords on the
keyboard. This isn't
completely mandatory, but it will definitely
give your songwriting a boast. Just the basic
chords
will do. You'll be amazed the kind of
music you can make with learning the basic
stuff.
And why did I say the keyboard and not the
guitar? Well, I believe the keyboard to be
fundamentally easier
to learn than the
guitar, as you can blatantly see the notes
for the intervals you are playing face-front.
But please, don't let me deter you from
learning the guitar if that's in you to do
so. It's a wonderful, natural
songwriting
accompanying instrument.
If and when you do decide to learn an
instrument, I wouldn't get too caught up in
the theory, unless it's
your desire to really
learn about it....
......and if you wish to do so, then try to
draw a firm line between your musical ego and
your songwriting
craft. As much as they may
fight against each other, they *can* work
together, if you consciously try to find a
balance.
Calvin Rele is a songwriting coach who
teaches how to write songs and provides
songwriting techniques in
a 'no-nonsense'
styled approach to get your skills to the
next level.
I post a bunch of other great stuff in my
"Drum Smart" Newsletter. Most of which
will
never be posted here on my drum blog,
so make sure you sign up!
