This is something I briefly touched on in a previous newsletter
- ...over and over I get asked "will I write better songs if I'm
a musician"?

What's the answer?

Yes AND no.

Confused?

Let me explain. For the sake of simplicity, here I'll talk
about the 'music' aspect of songwriting.

First up, I'll tell you that I'm a musician, songwriter and a
vocal coach. And I have worked with both songwriters who play
instruments and songwriters who don't. Which group are a better
bunch to work with?

It goes like this. Those who play an instrument (to a certain
degree) are more prone to understand timing, tempo and perhaps
some syncopation. Sometimes, musicians will also understand the
creation of melody a little more than non-musicians. They'll
understand the structure of harmony and some music theory that
goes along with it.

Because of the various 'pieces' or 'songs' they have played
with their instruments, these musical and rhythmic elements are
more or less naturally embedded in their brain - in practice and
in theory.

Of course, this is GOOD thing. It's an advantage. Now yes -
there are non-musicians who are gifted with these elements also,
but I'm just talking in general terms here. For the most of it,
more musicians will have these elements than non-musicians.

Now here's the twist. It's because of this very same reason
that many musicians find it hard to write great songs. How?
Well, because there are musicians that are pre-programmed into
believing that perhaps a melody should flow a certain way, or
maybe a chord sequence shouldn't fall in that pattern, etc,
BECAUSE they get caught up in the theory that indirectly tells
them "this isn't right".

You see, songwriters who don't know anything about music theory
or playing an instrument will write freely. Meaning they won't
think about whether something is 'musically right' or not. Of
course, you can't write a song of pure non-musicality and expect
to get a welcoming reception. You'd be mad to.

But it's nice when you don't think too much about something
'sitting right' musically in the song. Why care? It's a song. If
the second verse has 10 bars and the first verse has 8 - so
what? No big deal.

On the flip side, there are non-musical songwriters who just
need that little push to learn some very basic chords on a piano
or guitar....just to give them that edge and sometimes to even
super-charge their creativity. So....

....here's my conclusion. If you play an instrument and you
wish to be a songwriter, then don't think too much about what's
musically correct. Let the chords and melody take you away.
Don't think about it too much. Yes, stick within the rules of
music, but don't get caught up in it.

If you are a non-musician and you write songs, then a great
idea would be to learn some very basic chords on the keyboard.
This isn't completely mandatory, but it will definitely give
your songwriting a boast. Just the basic chords will do. You'll
be amazed the kind of music you can make with learning the basic
stuff.

And why did I say the keyboard and not the guitar? Well, I
believe the keyboard to be fundamentally easier to learn than
the guitar, as you can blatantly see the notes for the intervals
you are playing face-front.

But please, don't let me deter you from learning the guitar if
that's in you to do so. It's a wonderful, natural songwriting
accompanying instrument.

If and when you do decide to learn an instrument, I wouldn't
get too caught up in the theory, unless it's your desire to
really learn about it....

......and if you wish to do so, then try to draw a firm line
between your musical ego and your songwriting craft. This is the
key here. As much as they may fight against each other, they
*can* work together, if you consciously try to find a balance.