What It Takes to Be a Great Songwriter
We all love the art of music, and before you get to appreciate it, somebody has to write and sing it. The person or artist who can do the job in writing a song is called the songwriter. Take note that the main job of a songwriter is writing the song, not necessarily singing it, nor promoting or selling it.
A songwriter has the skill in writing a song, and this means from picking the right notes, to getting the right chords to go with the right words, and giving the right title.
Songwriters write songs for the purpose of having people listen to it. End listeners would get to hear and buy the song through means of a record, CD, or live performance of the song.
Next entity that a songwriter would write for is the record company, who has the facility to turn his or her song into a product like record or CD, and deliver it to the retail or radio stores for end users to buy.
Next, a songwriter writes songs for radio programmers, whose daily job is to guide their listeners on what they should listen.
A songwriter also writes a song for a performer who is now in hot pursuit of record companies and radio stations who would want to play the performer’s songs.
A songwriter has many qualities in order to be able to write a song. A songwriter must have these skills in order to finalize a song, and this is from writing the lyrics, to writing the chords, and writing the song into a lead sheet. A songwriter, as the owner and seller of the song, must also have the skill in demo selection and in recording a compelling demo.
Therefore, to be considered a songwriter, you must become these four personas, a lyric writer, a melody writer, a chord writer and an lead sheet writer. You can actually be a solo songwriter who writes and do the four things mentioned. Depending on the song, some songwriters would have another talent to do the lyrics or music roles of their songs.
The main skill of a songwriter is not throwing words or rhymes together but to be able to tell a story through his or her song.
There are people who are naturally gifted to become a great songwriter, while others have to master the skill before becoming a great songwriter. There is an advice, that if you want to become a great songwriter, you need to take a few hours every day and study famous songs of a successful artist.
It takes more than writing the lyrics in order to produce a great song. Mastering all the components in the song writing process is a necessity, and you have to see to it that your song connects people to each other.