Category: FASTER & BETTER

Which Genre Is the Right One?

Q & A

I got a question recently from a songwriter who is torn between two very different song genres —Pop and Contemporary Folk. He loves both and sees the strengths in both. But because he can’t decide which to focus on, he’s having trouble getting started and working on a song. Which style is it going to be?

Which genre am I writing in?

The whole question of choosing a song genre can be frustrating, especially if you’re drawn to a couple of the big ones – like Pop and Folk. Every style—from Pop, Country, and Rock to R&B, Folk, and Blues—has a different approach to melody, lyrics, and production. Veering between two styles within a single song can be a disaster. And working on a Pop song while wondering if maybe it should be a Folk song can distract you from the things you should be focusing on.

Targeting a song genre helps you build an audience and gives you an edge when it comes time to market your song to the music industry. It’s an important issue and one that every serious songwriter has to confront sooner or later. So, what do you do? How do you choose? Here are some ideas that might help.

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No More Writer’s Block

At one point in my career, I had to write three to four songs a week for a television series. Writer’s block was simply not an option. If I failed to turn in my songs on time, the show came to a swift and expensive stop! Early on, I learned an important lesson: Writer’s block is not about a lack of creativity; it’s about identifying and solving a problem so you can get on with things.

Problem 1: TROUBLE GETTING STARTED

There are few things more intimidating than starting a song. Maybe all you have is an idea or a theme. Every time you think about getting to work on it, you feel overwhelmed. next thing you know, you’ve got writer’s block. Solution : Break down the initial process into a series of steps and do them one at a time.

1. Begin by finding a title you’re interested in.

Look for short phrases that resonate emotionally for you. You don’t have to make it up out of thin air. Watch TV shows and films, listen to people talking, take down phrases from news shows or the Internet. (Try the “Title Generator” in the links section at the end of this newsletter!) A short one-to-five-word phrase that grabs your attention should do it for you.

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What Are You Really Writing About?

You’re Inspired! You woke up in the middle of the night with a killer first verse running through your head. You actually sat up in bed and said: “Man, that’s killer!”

You managed to write it down before you forgot it. Maybe you even got up and plunked a few chords on the piano. Suddenly you felt like Sting writing “Every Breath You Take.” You even recorded your inspiration onto the Voice Memo on your Smartphone before going back to sleep.

Now, in the cold light of morning, you listen back to it. Amazingly, it still sounds good!

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How to Learn From Hit Songs

How to learn from hit songs. (Photo by Anita Peeples.)

You can learn how to write songs by studying hit songs to see how they’re put together then trying those techniques in songs of your own.

I’ve been enjoying a wonderful little book called Steal Like An Artist by Austin Kleon.  In the book, Kleon points out that all creative works of  art are built on something that has come before. As I was reading, every page made me think about my own songwriting process. My next thought was: I really want to share this with YOU.

Suggesting that someone “steal” sounds pretty awful. But no one here is suggesting that you actually crib someone else’s test answers or intellectual property. And no one is suggesting that you be anything less than your creative, authentic, wonderful Self. David Bowie used to refer to himself as a “a tasteful thief” and in an interview with Cameron Crowe he boasted, “The only art I’ll ever study is stuff that I can steal from.”  I don’t think anyone could call David Bowie unoriginal.

It’s not stealing

So, let’s call what Bowie was doing “being inspired by”—using your knowledge, experience, intuition and, yes, really good taste to choose which techniques and ideas in someone else’s song you want to use as a foundation or inspiration for something new and different in songs of your own.

It doesn’t necessarily make creative work any easier. But you can use it to point the way forward or show you a goal to reach for. Youa re probably already doing it.

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Faster & Better: Pick Up Your Songwriting Speed

We all want to be more creative, have more songs in the catalog, and feel satisfied that we’re getting things accomplished. It’s just that reality doesn’t always work out that way. More often than not…

  • We don’t have any good ideas for new songs.
  • We’re not sure what kinds of songs we should be writing and for what market.
  • We get stuck working on one song that’s in trouble.
  • We’re scared our songs aren’t good enough so we don’t finish them.

We all know that good quality has to be maintained, but I bet you could write more songs and keep the quality at the level you want or even improve it. Here are a whole bunch of ideas for writing FASTER and BETTER.

STUDY SUCCESSFUL SONGS

The quickest way to get started.


This is the quickest way to solve a lot of the problems I just listed. Spend at least one to two hours per week listening to the top songs in your genre on your favorite stream-on-demand site (Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube Music, etc.). If you’re interested in writing songs for film and TV check out TuneFind.com. Of course, you won’t like everything you hear. You may have to dig a while before you uncover a song you want to learn from. But it’s worth it and it’s an essential part of the job of songwriting.

Too often we think of our songwriting career as only the act of songwriting, but there’s so much more. Laying the groundwork for new songs, learning how others creatively use song craft, getting inspired, feeling like you could beat those songs – all of these are ways you can up your game. Get your ears used to hearing what’s successful out there and your songwriting will improve.

TIP: Here’s an article on my website with a list of resources where you can find successful artists and bands in a range of styles to listen to.

Embed current songs to give yourself an instant feel for the style. When you find a song you like, get a copy of the lyrics. (you can find them online or take them down by ear.) Practice singing along with the track until it’s comfortable for you. This may not be as easy as it sounds. Many current singer-songwriter songs have complex melodies and phrasing. Just learn it one section at a time. If the song isn’t in your vocal range, talk-sing along with it until you get a feel for the rhythm of the melody. These days, the rhythm of the notes is as important as note pitches. 

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