Hey All, I'm looking to do some songwriting as a hobby. I don't really care about the money to be honest, as like I say, it is just something to do in my spare time. I'd prefer it if I could get to know people in the industry who are actually going to produce a good cover, rather than just sing it in their room though! I've written poems and from what I can gather, they are pretty good! Any help or advice would be appreciated Thanks
Move to Hollywood or Nashville. Network like crazy. Pay attention to what is selling in your niche/genre. It's all pretty formulaic. PRO TIP: Lots of country songs are actually written by gay guys living in west hollywood.
Take a look at some musicians wanted forums. People are always looking for songwriters and collaborators to work with. This will help you build on your song writing skills, get some experience and find some contacts in the industry. I hope this helps. Kat
Well, songwriting is a difficult process. A tip to keep in mind is don't write music around lyrics, but rather lyrics around music. Now, depending on the type of music you want to write, listen to the arrangements popular bands today use. For example, my band is more metal/hardcore, so we listened to our influences and write like so (but obviously do not copycat, you should make it your own). Other projects I have done by myself include big band and mainstream rock. Big band and orchestra composing vs. mainstream - both have ups and downs. Big band/orchestra composing give you more flexibility to be more complex because of the large instrumentation, but generally takes more time to get just right. Mainstream, on the other hand, is a little more difficult to get your idea out there because the limited amount of instruments you have, but usually takes less time to figure out what each instrument must do. If you plan on doing it all yourself to start, make sure you have a thorough understanding of the purpose of each instrument. Whether you can play it or not is not AS important (it definitely helps) as really understanding its purpose so you can use it to its full potential. Hope this helps! Good luck! Regards, Dennis M.
It is good that you are interested in song writing. You can approach some of the music companies if you have written a few songs. Give it a try and who knows if you can break into the music industry and be a song writer.
How about songquarters...did you check in there? You could even enter some song writing contests online. As you are clear your intent is not to make money instantly, it doesn't hurt to go this route. You could even join some songwriter forums online to get acquainted with composers and fellow song writers. I hope it helps! Regds Aram
Collaberate on Youtube. There is some really cool collaboration going on there. Yes, you'd need to live in a place with an active music industry. A small city can kill many dreams! But in a place like Nashville, you might be overwhelmed by the herd of talent and get discouraged too soon! You can do it! Write what you like and chances are others will like it too.
That's something we don't find everyday here on DP. It's awesome that you like song writing! Show us one of your songs, it would be great!
Back in the 80's, I was a songwriter. Never sold a song, but I had some songs performed by local musicians. Almost every song I wrote began with the music; you probably don't have that luxury. There were some, however, where I took someone else's lyrics and built a song behind it. If the musician can feel a real beat or rhythm in the lyrics, there's a chance to put something together. Something you'll want to think about is which singers seem to sing in a style that fits your lyrics. Once you do that, look up the songwriters for some of the songs that fit, then check out other things they've written; you can probably find a bunch of their lyrics online somewhere. That's always the most important thing in trying to break into the music biz; who your song might fit, and if the lyrics will equate to a hit. It's not easy, though. Good luck.
You can try to make your own demo of some of your work or create some youtube videos of you singing. If people like your voice and your videos start getting traffic, you never know who you might impress
Hey Ducati, I want to write songs and i'm a fairly good poet. I doubt i'd be on the X Factor or American Idol though - my singing is terrible!