Tell a story…
Here’s a nice article that should get your songwriting juices flowing:
I can break this discussion of song writing down into the simplest of ideas or facts. The fact is, that the best of songs, the ones that got recorded, and that we remember, were written about the personal experiences of the composer. And yes it is possible for anyone to write a song on any subject or idea, there are probably billions of them in notebooks stuffed into boxes and drawers going back forever and they lack that spark of human emotion only personal experience allows one to impart to another through song.
Words are one thing, and they can be most powerful, but it is when the sounds of music are added that real emotion comes through. Just words are subject to the internal sounds of an individuals mind, we all have our own music running inside …if you go for a long walk and let yourself whistle or hum, it’ll come out eventually.
Good songs tell a story, and we all have lots of stories to tell. But if you have one that everyone else has, like a love lost or a first experience in something we all eventually have or go through, and you tell your personal version of it, it then gives others the ability to nod in sympathy if nothing else.
Try this. Pick one of your own stories, write it down, compress it into a few paragraphs, and then try to sing it.
In that trying you will find words that don’t work and replace them with what does. It may roll out right, or it may not, but if it’s a good story you’ll find the right set of words to tell it in a song, and hopefully you’ll find that one key line that says it all. the ‘key line’ that people will remember most of all, will probably also end up being the title.
And if you don’t think you have any great stories, put down the pencil and get out into the world, let ‘it’ interact with you, when it does, grab that pencil and begin writing whatever comes to your mind.
Have you ever noticed that most bands/writers write their best stuff on the way up, while they were struggling just to get by, living on the edge far down the ladder, when never seems to be enough of anything.
A place where you see and notice everything, and where sometimes the smallest thing can seem a huge event. And then as soon as they get a big hit, many just fade away with no second round. I think it’s the good living that kills off the creative part …the mind just gets to lazy having been living the good fat life of luxury, living one day like the next, with an excess of everything. Now, how much can you write about that?
Or it’s because the success allows them to build a bubble to live in, and so they cut off all contact with what was? This is too bad, because that’s where the stories were.
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The above article comes from Jon.
Thank you Jon! 
Shamir
June 10th, 2009 at 10:34 am
omg love that story great………………
June 10th, 2009 at 10:35 am
Excellent blog and much appreciated. Very encouraging today as I sit down to write.
June 10th, 2009 at 11:05 am
Yep! I feel the same as I sit here writing about a dear friend’s passing. Feel compelled to write and your words have encouraged me also to keep writing.
June 10th, 2009 at 11:37 am
While it’s true that a personal story will be the most powerful, you don’t have to tell a literal stoy. You can use metaphors, in which case, the song could be about a thing on the surface, the thing representing an event, such as a broken mirror representing a break up. The songs that reach the most people, however, aren’t the ones that make them think in order to feel, but the ones that just make them feel.
June 10th, 2009 at 12:04 pm
Hey, bud. Good ideas about the writing thing. Fiction is good, based in fact. Also, try putting a passion you have inside about something into a song. Bury it if you have to. Do what you have to do to release it. Once you’ve done that a few times, it becomes easier to do. And keep the hunger.
June 10th, 2009 at 12:08 pm
Staying close to your own emotions and experiences is a good thing to work from, because you write from the soul.
But in general I have to disagree with you. Diane Warren the greatest songwriter of our time, (with I think about 1000 top 100 songs in her portfolio) does not write from het experience. Her songs are almost all love songs, but she is not married , has no relationship and doesn’t like dating. But she writes damn good songs… by imagining situations, or from stoeries from her friends.. but it’s not her experience whatsoever.
So, write from your imagination also.. it is powerfull
check this Diane Warren interview:
http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/aug08/articles/warren.htm
June 10th, 2009 at 12:12 pm
Thanx This Was An Eye Opening Session! Thanx Again! Jay In Tampa
June 10th, 2009 at 12:22 pm
…the mind just gets to lazy having been living the good fat life of luxury, living one day like the next, with an excess of everything.
Amen, thanks for this, l thought it was great, definitely got my juices flowing, thanks again :]
June 10th, 2009 at 12:25 pm
There ain’t no cure
there ain’t no cure
there ain’t no cure for love
–Leonard Cohen
June 10th, 2009 at 12:44 pm
when you are writing songs make shure they are good ones that each on every one can understand, song is like education if you teach me wrong then i will do wrong do you understand teach me right on i will do right
June 10th, 2009 at 12:56 pm
I ts all good you all get me started thanks
June 10th, 2009 at 1:55 pm
it very intresting blog very challenging
June 10th, 2009 at 2:25 pm
Good post. I see a lot of truth in this.
June 10th, 2009 at 2:37 pm
Thanks Shamir also a jazz musician said that writing a song was very much like writing a good well rounded informative letter.Here is an interesting link to a brief talk of jazz and sport and its similarities.Ie the beautiful game.Enjoy
http://video.nytimes.com/video/2009/05/27/sports/basketball/1194840532828/rhythms-of-basketball-and-music.html?scp=4&sq=jazz&st=cse
June 10th, 2009 at 3:08 pm
Thats a really good story adn great help with songwrtiing ! Thanks so much !
June 10th, 2009 at 3:21 pm
Thanks so much. That was very encouraging; I am going to put that into practice immediately. That was very helpful.
June 10th, 2009 at 3:53 pm
Man this is a good blog dude
I’m hook’d
now than ever,
thanks again.
June 10th, 2009 at 4:00 pm
I love this blog. It is the truth. Its been shown time and time again that a good song contains a story. Ex. Temptations-Imagination, Mary J Blige-Not gona cry, and many more.
June 10th, 2009 at 4:10 pm
samir its great. helpd a lot. thanks
June 10th, 2009 at 4:47 pm
Am very excited samir, your article looks awesome, in fact all your messages via email to me has really change my way of writing songs, I have nothing superior to say done to say you are appreciated.
God bless you and continue to empower you with wisdom.
Am a male 18 years, and I think I have a message to give to the world.
Thank you.
June 10th, 2009 at 5:17 pm
this post is the truth…very,very good
June 10th, 2009 at 5:50 pm
great blog but then again we can write songs that may not be of your own personal experiences like dianne warren always does (never been in a reletionship in her entire life, but composes great and timeless love songs)… what’s important is, write a chorus that can be universally understable by any person and take into mind what the listeners wants to hear and feel from a song.
June 10th, 2009 at 9:01 pm
this is a great blog. tells ya that there are different ways to write a song and the main ways we do.
June 10th, 2009 at 9:17 pm
i do agree with this message, becuase everytime i try and write a song i think to myself “what am i trying to say to the world” and i listen to other peoples experiance in life and i have something to write about.
June 10th, 2009 at 11:01 pm
thank you jon for this help on how to write a song….
June 10th, 2009 at 11:01 pm
Thank u so very much Shamir! I have always wondered how songs come about.I just really didn’t know and 2 tell u the truth I have always wanted 2 write. I think I can now, thanks 2 u.This information is very help4 and I am going 2 try and put it 2 work. Wish me luck!! Thank u, thank u, and thank u. keep us posted on new updates, would u? ‘GOD BLESS!’
June 11th, 2009 at 2:45 am
I thought a lot of it was useful, “and sometimes small thangs can seem as a huge event.”
June 11th, 2009 at 3:28 am
thank you
June 11th, 2009 at 4:36 am
thanks my struggles are useful after all
June 11th, 2009 at 9:54 am
Most writers don’t find their experiences interesting enough to share. Besides listeners are getting bored of hearing your experiences especially ones that make them sober and depressed.
In a chaotic world it’ll be ideal to share words that’ll lift up moods, encourage failures & give them hope again (like telling of God’s love and His promises) rather than sharin experiences that’ll please a listener so we can make a quick buck. Here, our motive play the vital role. So the question is “do you what to make a difference, change lives, be a motivator or do you just want to get rich thru your music?”
June 11th, 2009 at 2:27 pm
omg! maybe this will help me after all…i totally suck at writing lyrics and putting music to it…it just doesn’t cum to me. i can play the piano, the guitar, the drums, i can sing…all pretty nicely but when it comes to songwriting it just doesn’t click. hopefully writing a story in song form will bring the writing outta me! thanks..
June 11th, 2009 at 2:57 pm
i alredy learing new things fromyou. thanks shamir
June 11th, 2009 at 3:02 pm
am happy reading from you guys, i need more personal help from u guy to enable me write more good song. am just new tochyke_romeo@yahoo.co.uk
June 11th, 2009 at 3:25 pm
I think this really opened up my mind, I appreciate that.
There is a lot of truth in this too. My problem really has been the time and sometimes these words lie all over the place in my mind and it takes a ot to bring them together. I believe this post will be really helpful.
June 11th, 2009 at 4:01 pm
this is so true. I just starteto write but it’s mostly about life stories, things I’ve seen, done, or been through. check out my song rain a three part story about things that happened in my life.
June 11th, 2009 at 4:02 pm
http://www.myspace.com/epicdatdude
June 11th, 2009 at 11:17 pm
hi i have been writing for a long time and i haven’t been able to get a song that even my family as in my sister my mom and my dad likes i have been trying my hardest and writing from life experiences i think will help in my writing so everyone just keep on writing about things that you have experienced or maybe even things you want to happen but hasn’t happened yet
June 12th, 2009 at 1:05 am
Good article!
A couple of thoughts -
-Writing a song is the hardest thing I ever tried to do. I have a lot partial songs but can’t seem to finish any of them - They always sound like other songs. It seems to me that all the good melodies have already been taken: what’s the point in writing if you can’t find a unique melody when you’re finished?!?
-I wished that the patent office would only offer 10-year copyright protection (on melodies only) so I can put new lyrics to old melodies.
-One of the songs that I started to write was actually called - “All the good melodies are gone now”
But all seriousness aside, I think you either have it or you don’t - But I could be wrong.
Knarf
June 12th, 2009 at 7:01 am
(excuse my poor english)
this strategy is one of the best cause it is simple and natural. I agree all the advices of jon and shamir.
Good guys!
very good!
Ludwig
June 12th, 2009 at 5:07 pm
That is very true. The thing is, my life is somewhat boring, so there are not many tales to tell.
June 13th, 2009 at 3:55 am
One of the distinguishing characteristics of great writing, in song lyrics, is using the small details that give atmosphere which the listener then makes a mental image with. The interesting thing is that these can be every-day things, small things, that show us a place, a time, a personality. Cole Porter is the model, The Beatles were good at it, and Johnny Mercer a king.
Even if our lives are dull, we can chose to make stories from the ear-cathcing lives of others, by using very carefully chosen details. We only have a few minutes after all. An example to study is A Good Year For The Roses. Objects show us emotions and circumstances.
June 13th, 2009 at 6:24 am
Thanks for sharing this with me. I have written many songs and it took quite a few years to get the recipe down to a repeatable set of steps.
What you say here may save others a good many years trying to get a foot hold. Thanks again.
Also Shamir, thank you.
June 13th, 2009 at 2:19 pm
thanks for finding time and making it your business to educate us more on song writing technics and the way to go about it , its been very insightful and educating . thanks
from africa
June 14th, 2009 at 7:37 pm
thank you so much for this, i wrote one of my best songs so far after reading it.
June 16th, 2009 at 12:43 am
really does help when ur a beginner songwritter
June 16th, 2009 at 1:47 pm
inspirational… i do feel like picking up the pencil
June 16th, 2009 at 4:39 pm
Thanks Shamir for this piece of advice on song writing.
I know that to some people it comes through inspiration while to some others they just have to put down words on paper before getting into any musical rythm. In all in all, all that exists can make songs. We need just to use our creativity from time to time as much as possible. Bye for now Shamir.
June 22nd, 2009 at 3:09 am
Really helps out and makes completly clear how are lives are many songs in different form.
June 22nd, 2009 at 9:51 pm
This I so true. I guess that since the person is being so succesfull he doesn’t realize that he is forgeting the method he used that will send him straight to the top once again…
June 27th, 2009 at 7:36 pm
Thanks,
now im writing about my moms battle against cancer.
the title is called simple things
July 7th, 2009 at 12:59 am
That’s so true and that’s what’s up!
August 10th, 2009 at 2:21 am
indeed a wonderful package when considering writing a song that tells a story although it all depends on how captivating the story is written. i have a piece of song that actually narrated the sociopolitical state of my county of birth.
September 1st, 2009 at 5:36 am
Very inspirational. I have plenty of stories to tell. The best part about your blog was to write down the story, and then go back and replace certain words to make it flow better….Thanks Shamir
March 21st, 2010 at 8:00 pm
i dont know much about writing song others item.but i have interest on it. i will tryto share my idea here regularly i promise
September 11th, 2011 at 1:12 pm
tampa music…
The method used to arrive at that conclusion does not seem to be scientifically sound. I would like to see more research on tampa music….