Ok...so I have an aunt who has been writing songs for a long time, to no avail. In this article we'll use her example and see what we can learn from it.
At the beginning of my production career, my aunt would bring song lyrics to me and request that I record songs with them. The lyrics were not formatted in any particular way, and they really seemed more like poems.
At that time I really only was producing hip hop and trying to learn how to do R&B. I was actually willing to make her songs, so I would ask her, "ok, how does it go?" Initially, she would say "I don't know...I didn't have a melody in mind yet" since I didn't know how to sing and she couldn't sing, those songs had to basically sit, until me or her found a singer to come up with some good melodies.
Note: Most executives that are interested in buying your songs are not interested in just buying your lyrics....so it is better to submit full songs instead of only lyrics.
After some time passed, my aunt started formatting her lyrics a little better, and she began to come up with some melodies.
In regards to formats, you have multiple song formats to choose from, or you can just wing it...there doesn't have to be any rules....but if you want to learn about song formats just google (song formats).
Ok...so we have melodies and lyrics, but we still had a problem. She had melodies but she really couldn't sing them well, and they all were similar to country western melodies. In addition, they eventually began to sound out-dated lyrically.
What happened from there is that we could not make a song that sounded like she envisioned. So, she began to recruit people who said they could sing, but most of them had never even recorded before, and even if they could sing, just because a person can sing does not mean that they can write melodies. These experiences made my aunt irritated at me and they made her have a bad taste in her mouth regarding music as a whole....so what can you do to avoid this feeling?
First, let me say that you do not have to be a singer in order to be a writer, you just need to have a relatively clear idea about what you want your song to sound like, then you can find all the right people or pieces to make it sound that way.
There are different types of writing styles. Some write without music and some hear music while they write. Writers who have some type of idea what they want their music to sound like should find beat makers who can duplicate what that writer hears. Writers who don't have an idea of what they want their music to sound like should just choose an instrumental that suits their lyrics.
Other writers find an instrumental before they start to write. There are many places to find instrumentals (www.freshoffabreakup.com). Once these type of writers have their music, then they need to write. I, personally don't write lyrics down. I record them onto a personal recorder to make sure that I remember the timing of my words.
Next in order, is finding someone to record your song. You need a good or professional singer that is familiar with the genre of music you are seeking to make. What I like to do is ask potential demo singers to sing my song over the instrumental that I have chosen. That way I can determine how well they are at writing melodies. This is important to me because without a good, fast melody writer, the session will be long and there will be a good possibility that it won't turn out the way I want.
When the recording session is over and done with, the record needs to be mixed. It is very possible that the same person who engineered your demo session could also mix your song for an additional fee. When I was a less experienced engineer and I needed sessions mixed, I would take songs that I heard on the radio or in my cd collection to the mixing engineer so that he would know exactly how I wanted my mix to sound. I found that when I didn't do this, i never got the mix that I wanted and my song did not sound like I wanted it to sound.
Lastly, you need to get your song mastered. You can find a mastering engineer, which is kind of expensive, or you can most likely get the mixing engineer to do pretty much the same thing cheaper.
Once that is done then your song is ready to be presented to anyone or any song contest or any opportunity. Keep in mind that often, people want the lyric sheet, the full song, and the instrumental when you submit, so keep those in handy. But before you submit, you're going to want to copyright it, and register it with you writing society (ascap, bmi, sesac, etc...)
Good luck! and I look forward to providing you with more tips in the future!
At the beginning of my production career, my aunt would bring song lyrics to me and request that I record songs with them. The lyrics were not formatted in any particular way, and they really seemed more like poems.
At that time I really only was producing hip hop and trying to learn how to do R&B. I was actually willing to make her songs, so I would ask her, "ok, how does it go?" Initially, she would say "I don't know...I didn't have a melody in mind yet" since I didn't know how to sing and she couldn't sing, those songs had to basically sit, until me or her found a singer to come up with some good melodies.
Note: Most executives that are interested in buying your songs are not interested in just buying your lyrics....so it is better to submit full songs instead of only lyrics.
After some time passed, my aunt started formatting her lyrics a little better, and she began to come up with some melodies.
In regards to formats, you have multiple song formats to choose from, or you can just wing it...there doesn't have to be any rules....but if you want to learn about song formats just google (song formats).
Ok...so we have melodies and lyrics, but we still had a problem. She had melodies but she really couldn't sing them well, and they all were similar to country western melodies. In addition, they eventually began to sound out-dated lyrically.
What happened from there is that we could not make a song that sounded like she envisioned. So, she began to recruit people who said they could sing, but most of them had never even recorded before, and even if they could sing, just because a person can sing does not mean that they can write melodies. These experiences made my aunt irritated at me and they made her have a bad taste in her mouth regarding music as a whole....so what can you do to avoid this feeling?
First, let me say that you do not have to be a singer in order to be a writer, you just need to have a relatively clear idea about what you want your song to sound like, then you can find all the right people or pieces to make it sound that way.
There are different types of writing styles. Some write without music and some hear music while they write. Writers who have some type of idea what they want their music to sound like should find beat makers who can duplicate what that writer hears. Writers who don't have an idea of what they want their music to sound like should just choose an instrumental that suits their lyrics.
Other writers find an instrumental before they start to write. There are many places to find instrumentals (www.freshoffabreakup.com). Once these type of writers have their music, then they need to write. I, personally don't write lyrics down. I record them onto a personal recorder to make sure that I remember the timing of my words.
Next in order, is finding someone to record your song. You need a good or professional singer that is familiar with the genre of music you are seeking to make. What I like to do is ask potential demo singers to sing my song over the instrumental that I have chosen. That way I can determine how well they are at writing melodies. This is important to me because without a good, fast melody writer, the session will be long and there will be a good possibility that it won't turn out the way I want.
When the recording session is over and done with, the record needs to be mixed. It is very possible that the same person who engineered your demo session could also mix your song for an additional fee. When I was a less experienced engineer and I needed sessions mixed, I would take songs that I heard on the radio or in my cd collection to the mixing engineer so that he would know exactly how I wanted my mix to sound. I found that when I didn't do this, i never got the mix that I wanted and my song did not sound like I wanted it to sound.
Lastly, you need to get your song mastered. You can find a mastering engineer, which is kind of expensive, or you can most likely get the mixing engineer to do pretty much the same thing cheaper.
Once that is done then your song is ready to be presented to anyone or any song contest or any opportunity. Keep in mind that often, people want the lyric sheet, the full song, and the instrumental when you submit, so keep those in handy. But before you submit, you're going to want to copyright it, and register it with you writing society (ascap, bmi, sesac, etc...)
Good luck! and I look forward to providing you with more tips in the future!
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