Songwriting is a career that is often pursued by those who are really poets at heart. They feel in their hearts the words that need to come out through creative expression. Sometimes a song is developed along with a musical melody. The best songwriters are those who infuse their compositions with true life experiences, feelings and moods. Songs written from these components are songs that ring true with many listeners.
The best advice from writers like Don Burns and many others is to stay true to the principles and ideals that created the desire to write a song in the first place. Whether the song is about a true experience, or the experience of someone close to the writer, when it’s written in a realistic, honest way it can touch hearts. When people feel an overpowering reaction to a song, a songwriter has been successful.
Country Music Is Famous For Songwriting Excellence
One genre of music that is very well-known for having excellent songwriters is country music. Songwriting within country music has sometimes been called poetry of the people. Songwriters can often express things that others might find difficult to put into words. These touching sentiments can be picked up by successful singers who work along with the songwriter to make a song the best that it can be. Singers inflect true emotion into the words and can help make a song into a classic.
Professional songwriters find the most success pitching their song to singers who are well matched with the lyrics. Sometimes the singer who chooses a song is more mainstream, or they can be the type of singer who clings to the edge of a similar genre that is sometimes called outlaw country. Singers like Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson and Johnny Paycheck are often placed into this group.
Respect Earned From Other Songwriters Is The Highest Compliment
Once a songwriter becomes known in circles for having an amazing, brutally honest way with words and for writing high quality songs, they can have a long and successful career. Often times, songwriters say that the highest compliment they get comes from their peers, those who are also songwriters.
Some songwriters have shorter careers by writing just a single song or a couple songs that get noticed. It’s the ones who consistently produce high quality songs that will have the longest lasting careers and experience the most success. The most successful songwriters write lyrics that connect to people emotionally and get a response from the audience. Knowing how to do this is a skill that is usually picked up and developed over time.
Songwriting Is Not An Easy Profession But It Is Always Worthwhile
If you talk to almost any songwriter, chances are they’ll say that their seemingly overnight success took them years to achieve. The actual writing is just a part of it. They also need to network with other songwriters and singers and people within the music business to achieve success.
