Originally Posted by: Music_MuncherOk, I've been in the band scene for a long time and one of the most under-rated things is song-writing. Truth be told, its one of the hardest things to do. Shredding and strutting you guitar SKEELLZZ is easy coz you just have to practice and practice to master it. Song-writing is something else. Its HOLY **** stuff that demand time and attention. YOu can just be writing some back-street boys track and expect to make it big as a band. It takes creativity and artistry - and finese. SO OK. Pretty intimidating but also challenge that can inspire musicians to take it UP A NOTCH.
My say basically is when your sick and tired of hearing the same thing and covering the same song OVER AND OVER AGAIN. go pick up your guitar and ready a pad of paper and a pen. write something original. it'll seem like crap compared to the stuff Maynard writes (Tool and A Perfect Circle). or do you even dare to equal Thom Yorke (Radiohead)?? NO YOU DONT HAVE TO EQUAL any of them. thats the point of song-writing. you dont have to follow anybody else and that gives you all the freedom to do your OWN thing.
yeah. just do it. and if your starting to feel pressured, give it a rest and give your fav bands a good listen and try to figure out how they became as great as they are now. yeah. then go back to writing.
lol.
hope that helps other fellow song-writers out there.. lemme know your thoughts on this.. i'm always open. ;)
Kat
------------
http://www.a-musical-link.com
Muncher,
Just a quick response. You said, "Shredding and strutting you guitar SKEELLZZ is easy coz you just have to practice and practice to master it."
Just what makes you think writing (poetry, lyrics, short stories, novels, anything) doesn't take just as much practice, time, effort and talent as playing a musical instrument? Personally, I'm a poet who learned to play guitar to put my words to music. Same as Leonard Cohen. Did I come in the backdoor or something? Have you read any poetry books lately? Try some by Leonard Cohen. Spicebox of Earth is good. Or get his novel Beautiful Losers. That's one novel I would have to call poetry. Have you sat down and practiced writing without a musical instrument?
You have to take writing as seriously as you do music. "You just have to practice and practice to master it."
Neil
