It seems almost crazy that I have never written much of anything about actually writing a song, as writing and performing songs is not only a part of my soul, it is also a way I make a good part of my living--and maybe even what I am best at writing. I do know that I love the immediacy of a song. I love (and sometimes hate) the way that a song's feedback is almost instantaneous, honest, and real. A song soars or crashes soon after takeoff, and you, as the writer/performer, are humbled either way. A songwriter, more than any other writer, must know his or her audience and respect that needs of that audience, their wants, and their wishes; however, a good songwriter has to push the envelope and not be seen as a hack beating on someone else's drum. People want songs that are new and refreshing, not remakes of cold dish fish served on dirty plates. People need to feel that that they are in touch with larger community who "feels" what they feel and lives with a similar set of values and tastes. It doesn't matter if you are drawn to folk, hip hop, country, heavy metal, dubstep, or gangham style--all that matters is what matters to you, what speaks to you, and what brings you to that (hopefully) higher place where music has lived in its many iterations since words, rhythm, inflection, and sound first took shape. But you can't be there alone. Music has to be shared. Or it dies in a vacuum.
Regrettably, music is more than well-crafted words telling a compelling story (otherwise, I might be be a few rungs further up the ladder of folksinger stardom:) But I have made peace with my choice in music. It is what I love, and it is what had brought me amazing joy (and amazingly little money). I do, however, love songs that tell a story, and I have sung these types of ballads many thousands of times in my life, and, in that sense, I am as much a bard as...what's his name, (Phemius?) in The Odyssey. I've always been drawn to songs that weave and play and flirt with words, and so my life as a songwriter was born out of a record player and tape deck full of Bob Dylan, Woody Guthrie, John Prine, Neil Young, and Leonard Cohen--plus the several hundred years of ballad-singers and ballads that preceded them. By hook or crook and time and fate, I have developed a bit of cache in the folk music world, if only because the world of folksingers is something I know a lot about, and I have been in the trenches for a damn long time--and I have been paying attention since day one to the folksingers whose inner voice resonated with my own. And shortly afterward, I started copying them--them being the people I wanted to be like because they have a greatness worth imitating, and as the old saw goes, "Imitation is the greets form of flattery." Every songwriter writes for a specific audience, and for you, right now, your audience is the guys in your class. They are your friends and peers, tormentors and mentors and, for now at least, your audience. Any song you write wants to find that alleyway that leads to the heart of their lives. You may go down a lot of wrong alleys, and your first guess is usually wrong, but don't give up. Figure it out. Figure out why you like the music you like. Copy that style. Copy that tone. Copy everything if you need to, but somehow make it your own, and then give it to your audience. Comment Form is loading comments...
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A Word Slinging, Song Singing, Story Swapping, Poet, Raconteur, Teacher, & Craftsman
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