|
|
||||||
|
Anne asks: “Every song I ever tried composing
turned out crap. I tried to write a
song with meaning but I can’t. What is
my problem?” Answer: |
|
|
|
|
|
This
is a common problem for beginning composers.
Ultimately, putting meaning into your songs does not happen by one
direct path—rather, it is a result of many different ideas you have learned
or developed, and of experience.
Probably the best way to approach your feeling of not having meaning
to your songs is to practice writing more.
Write a dozen songs in the next week, and perhaps in one of them, or
even just in a couple bars in one of them, you will find something you do
find meaningful. Take that and learn
from it, or develop it into something more.
Then you may have to write a dozen more songs and find most of them “meaningless,”
before you write another one that you like.
But as you go through this process, eventually you will start finding
your own style, you will find the patterns and ideas that give your works
meaning, and you will be able to elaborate on them and shape them more
easily. So
in short, probably the best answer to finding meaning in songwriting is to
practice and gain experience, and try to learn as much as you can along the
way by listening to other composers, finding musical ideas that you like, and
studying musical theory or composition. Does this answer your
question? Let us know how we are doing
at liftoffcm@yahoo.com. |
||
|
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
All articles (c) 1999-2006 by LIFTOFF! |