Songwriters

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220 Comments

Comment by Edward Sparks on November 6, 2009 at 3:55am

You will write a lot, be satisfied with some, but the few gems that come out of it will be worth it!!! Edward

Comment by Martin Vincent aka Marvin Player on November 5, 2009 at 10:50pm

Songwriters, thanks for having me aboard. I look forward to networking and hearing all of your material. Best Regards, Martin Vincent aka Marvin Player. My Comment to Mark about writing songs. Mark, I think your correct songwriting is (at least to me) a lot less mechanical than playing an instrument. I think every song you hear is a lesson in songwriting. My approach is an effort to tell a story in short format to music. In doing so, hopefully elicit an emotion from the listener. Whether it be a smile , laugh, sadness, tear, toe tapping or dance. Hopefully sometimes to have your audience think & ponder (yes songs can be serious). Often they can be a commentary. Perhaps technique can be taught. I do think the burning desire to write will assist you in your journey as well as daily application. You will find your formula for the presentation. Write on my friend and don't worry about it. Write them and they will listen. Ok, I stole that sentence For laughs. Most of all be sincere and believe in your work and you will do well.

Comment by Downtown Freddy Brown on October 15, 2009 at 6:49am

I've written mostly solo. I would like to try collaborating particularly with a female partner in the Toronto area. Any takers? Possibly interested in forming a duo.

Comment by Downtown Freddy Brown on October 15, 2009 at 5:54am

Hi. Just checking in. I'm new to the site and group. I'm 57. I've been playing since I was 12 and writing songs almost as long. I have well over 100 songs registered with SOCAN and probably many more still unregistered. I try to vary my style using Blues, Jazz, Folk and R&R. I also got into Filk several years ago at a sci-fi convention. I also perform and write Gospel tunes too. I studied voice at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto and got my grade 8 and my 3 harmony in 1976.

Comment by Walt Pilcher on October 6, 2009 at 6:58am

Jack,
If you want to invite someone to be your Friend, go to his or her page and click on "Add as friend" under their picture.
Walt

Comment by Kirk Mathew Gatzka on September 30, 2009 at 12:46pm

Mark, I am pretty much self taught, with a few lessons from a couple of friends. I write songs as often as I can muster up a good chord progression and lyric and melody (from singing.)

I have Rooksby's book on writing with guitar and have found it useful. But my approach to using it was to jump to where I found it useful for me and not from beginning to end.

Experimentation is great fun. Select a chord progression you like, sing to it any melody that fits the chords, select a tile theme or idea and flesh out some poetry that rhymes complete with chorus. Try them out all together.

A simple approach may be a good start. Don't be afraid to make some mistakes along the way. But set aside music scales and theory for a time and just have some fun! Make it your own! Then you can always return to the structured way and examine what you have created and see whether you have matched some of the ideas there.

I have been playing since I was 13 and making up songs (writing) since I had a few chords under my belt. I couldn't help but just "play and sing."

Now I have a catalog of about 50+ songs I think are pretty good and have had compliments on them from friends and family.

My basic problem is I don't score songs with notation so I have none of mine registered or officially copyrighted. So I only share with those who I know will not steal my ideas or songs. I am basically writing in a vacuum without much input from other songwriters. Other than here where I read some posts. I have dial up on my internet connection so it is hard to download songs from this site.

But I don't let that stop me from having my fun in creating songs using my 12-string and my imagination. "I play therefore I write."

My hope for you is you begin to have fun making up songs, silly ones, serious ones, easy ones, hard ones. Go ahead and just do it! Play and sing your heart out! Have some fun first, you won't regret it!

Kirk

Comment by Ken Rogers on September 30, 2009 at 12:37pm

Hey, Mark, and welcome to the group! You ask a good question that could spark a lot of comments, so I suggest you open a discussion for this one. Just click the "Start Discussion" link to add it. That way, you can keep all the comments for this discussion together.

Comment by Mark D Hiatt on September 30, 2009 at 12:14pm

Hello, FunSeekers!

I hope I'm not stepping on any toes here, I have only been here about an hour.

I want to know: Can Songwriting really be taught? I bought the Rooksby book, but haven't had much time to read beyond the introduction, yet. But I am kind of skeptical. I had to learn the chords. I had to play Red River Valley and suffer the indignity of Not Impressing My Friends. I had to learn Every Good Boy Does Fine and FACE and all of the rest of it, but that all seems more... I dunno, mechanical? Songwriting seems more of an Art. And I just wonder if I have anything in me.

I can't imagine a better evening than playing a song I wrote in front of a crowd that appreciated it, though, so that's what's keeping me interested.

So, can you really learn this stuff? Or do you have to be born with it, to some degree?

Comment by Jim Scanlan on September 29, 2009 at 8:32pm

Welcome to the Song writers group John..bunch of really nice folks here..always helpful..and critiques are almost always positive and useful. Looking forward to getting to know you better, and hear some of your music.
Jim

Comment by Edward Sparks on September 29, 2009 at 7:51pm

Welcome John,
Thanks for joining us here...we'll be looking forward to hearing your "stuff!" Also, I see you own a Gibson archtop, you should consider joining us int he Gibson Owners Group here in the AG Communtiy at this link:
http://acousticguitarclub.ning.com/group/gibsonacousticowners

I am also interested in your Koontz guitar...very unique! Tell us more and post some pics!
Edward
http://mysite.verizon.net/emsparks/index.htm

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