Archive for November 2nd, 2008

I wrote a new song yesterday. 

Songwriting is a very intense, very personal experience. It requires at least a basic proficiency in a couple of disciplines – first, you have to understand music theory – chords, scales, harmony – that sort of thing. As a lyricist, you also have to be able to both rhyme, and express yourself as a poet does – either telling a story or using a verse form to advance an idea. Do that, and you can probably cobble together some kind of workable song. 

But real songwriting goes way deeper than that. When you get past the ‘learning your craft’ stage, you get into the area where you are exposing your soul through the combination of lyric and melody. As a result, I don’t think it’s possible to compose a real song without revealing yourself. Lyrics come from the heart, and demand 100% honesty. You can’t fake that – at least I can’t. Read the rest of this entry »