Polish Your Songwriting Like a Pro
Posted by Jessica Brandon on Wed, Mar 18, 2009 @ 06:27 PM
POLISHING YOUR SONGS LIKE A PRO By Molly-Ann Leikin
www.songmd.com
I've never experienced anything as exhilarating as being engulfed by a creative tsunami that thunders through my heart, exploding with ideas and riffs and titles and melody lines that absolutely will not let me go until I show them major respect and write them down. Usually in the middle of the night.
Sometimes I "get" what I think at the time is a whole melody, a complete lyric, with the bridge. I hear the drums and strings, too. And I think to myself, self, Mozart has nothin' on me, baby. I am truly the genius' genius. And I'm guesting on CNN tonight to tell Larry King. He really ought to know.
But after coming back to my inspiration draft a few hours or days later, I usually find that what I've actually got is a good beginning, not a Grammy contender. Not yet.
That's when I start baking corn muffins, vacuuming the carpet and taking long walks up steep hills to find the rest of my new song.
It usually arrives in pieces.
So will yours.
The biggest mistake developing songwriters make is confusing a first draft, no matter how dramatic its arrival, with a finished one. It's your job as a tunesmith to combine the craft of songwriting with your natural gifts. Then, and only then, will you create work that is realistically competitive with all the very best songs out there.
Chapters 1-11 of my book, "How To Be a Hit Songwriter," are bursting with quick, easy solutions for strengthening your lyrics and music. Same with chapters 1-4 of "How To Write A Hit Song". Both books are available in paperback at www.songmd.com.
© 2009 Molly-Ann Leikin
Molly-Ann Leikin (rhymes with bacon) is a songwriting consultant in L.A. with a house full of gold and platinum records plus an Emmy nomination. She is also a Eurovision finalist (American Idol in Europe). Three of her clients have Grammy nominations, another won an Emmy and so far, 5041 others have placed their work, with Molly's help, in movies, TV, on CD's and in commercials.The author of "How To Write A Hit Song" and "How To Be A Hit Songwriter",
Molly's website is www.songmd.com and her toll-free number for the USA and Canada is 800-851-6588. You can also reach her at songmd@songmd.com