5 Tips to Improve Your Songwriting Skills

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how to improve songwriting

To be successful in a competition, athletes train hard over months and years to make sure they develop skills they can use to win.

That same approach and dedication can be applied to songwriting to take one to the top. While most people think songwriters have to be inherently born with that talent, the truth is there are very few people who are born as talented songwriters. Most successful songwriters practice and hone their craft over years and most times, they’ll tell you writing a song is not an easy task.

While they might be right, this does not necessarily mean there are no ways to make songwriting easier. Here are some songwriting tips that’ll make writing a song easier for you:

Imitate and Innovate

First, you have to understand that a songwriter is not an essay writer. Songwriters depend more on inspiration and creativity. And the best way to write a good song is to listen to a great song. Not just listen to it, learn it. Perform it( privately or otherwise at your discretion) and feel it. When you do this you’ll understand the little things about the song, the wordplay, the rhythm, the lyrical alliteration, etc. When you understand the song and its composition, you’ll have a glimpse of the genius that made it a great song. Then, apply what you’ve learned to your song. You could start by changing the lyrics of the song you’re listening to. From there, you can push the idea on until it blossoms into a song you know will be a great hit.

Learn Your Craft

It’s essential that you be intentional about songwriting. If you think you’re talented and gifted because you wrote a verse and as such, don’t need to work really hard on learning how to write a song, you’ll end up disappointed and frustrated. Successful songwriters don’t fall out of the moon. They read songwriting books, attend songwriting seminars, and even go for songwriting contests. Some even take songwriting courses on platforms like udemy. They follow the lives of great songwriters, and they compulsively write down ideas for songs and discuss them with colleagues. The point here is: you have to work hard at learning songwriting to be successful at it.

Co-write with Better Writers

While learning your craft, you will undoubtedly come across people who you’ll admit are better writers than you. Rather than letting this make you feel bad, or developing a competitive attitude, work with them and learn from them. Try and work together on a project, and pick their brains on their writing process and how to be a better writer yourself. Incorporate their idea into your workflow, and watch yourself grow in leaps and bounds. You can find out how to meet and source co-songwriters here.

Explore Other Genres

Versatility is an asset to every artist, and the same applies to a songwriter. Listen to other genres of music according to musictechhub.com and try your hand out at writing a song in that genre. Sometimes, try to write like someone else. This will expand your experiences, and by internalizing someone else’s style, you learn a bit about how that person writes and that’s always a plus when honing your craft.

Accept Criticism

Songs are like children to songwriters. As such, they’re very protective of it, and most times see no wrong in it. Sometimes, it takes an outside perspective to point out the flaws in a song you think is good, and learning to accept good criticism gracefully will help you hone your craft and develop yourself further.

If you have a songwriting mentor, it’s wise to pass your songs to them and see what they think, and then, learn to apply this criticism to your craft. This is incredibly important, because in most songwriting organizations, when a songwriter brings a song to the publisher, the publisher might have a few things to say about the song. If you’ve not learned to accept criticism and apply it, you might run into some problems here. Learning to accept criticism also helps improve your relationship with people in the industry.

Conclusion

Songwriting is an art but it’s also a skill that can be cultivated and honed to near perfection. Because while there might be people more talented and gifted than you, you can make up for this through sheer hard work and self-discipline. Talent is useless without hard work, and this is evident in all industries, especially in the songwriting industry.

Words by James Baxter

James Baxter is a professional ghostwriter, editor at write my essay and blogger, who loves sharing his experience and knowledge with readers. He is especially interested in marketing, blogging and IT. James is always happy to visit different places and meet new people there.

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