Songwriting – Garden State Songwriters

Become the greatest songwriter?

How do you become the greatest songwriter ever, period? That question, asked by one Quoran, is almost unanswerable. I don’t think it’s really all that hard to answer. And soon I’m going to tell you how to become the greatest songwriter ever. But it is incredibly hard, if not impossible, to do. McCartney, Lennon, Dylan, Elton, and Prince are great songwriters… but that’s just rock. What about Andrew Lloyd Weber? Or Johnny Cash? Jimmy Webb? Woody Guthrie? George Gershwin? Duke Ellington? Cole Porter? Rogers and Hart? Great songwriters all, but completely different genres. Now, I think Dylan’s an amazing lyricist, […]

13 Keys to Music Business Success

The music business has two main parts – music and business. Both are important, and you won’t get very far if you neglect either one. It isn’t enough to simply be a talented singer or musician. It isn’t enough to ‘have a head for business’. To be truly successful in the music business, you need to have both artistic talent and business acumen. In this article, we’ll dive into 13 Keys to Music Business Success (for Singer-Songwriters and other Indie Musicians). In his book, The 7 Habits of Highly Successful People, Steve Covey identified seven key principles for success in life. […]

8 Reasons the Piano is the Best Instrument for Songwriting

“I’m a lyricist.” “I’m a singer.” “I work with great players, so I don’t need to learn an instrument.” “I’m too old to learn an instrument.” “I don’t have enough time to learn an instrument.” These are just a few of the reasons singer-songwriters and lyricists give for not playing an instrument. If you’re a songwriter who doesn’t play an instrument to accompany yourself, read on. My goal in this article is to convince you to learn an instrument, and give you eight reasons the piano is the best instrument for songwriting. To be sure, there have been some great […]

How to Overcome Songwriter’s Block – Part 2

In part 1, we explored various causes of writer’s block and outlined a strategic seven-step process to address it. In this post, we’ll look at tactical approaches to help you conquer the primary causes of writer’s block. Follow just a few, and you will overcome your songwriter’s block. As we discussed in part 1, songwriters block starts in your head. Fears, anxieties, negative beliefs, lack of know-how and experience and environmental realities can all cause creative problems. Unfortunately, when we get stuck, we tend to do more – or less – of the same thing, with predictable results. (Or, more […]

How to Overcome Songwriter’s Block – Part 1

A songwriter friend once told me that he hadn’t written a song in years due to ‘writer’s block’. That was a surprise to me because he’s an intelligent man, a talented musician and a fine songwriter. I see songs as puzzles to be solved. I might not come up with the most elegant solution in the moment, but I never feel ‘blocked’. After a little research, I learned what causes songwriters block. I also found a simple seven-step approach to help overcome songwriters block. But you don’t have to be as prolific as Pablo Picasso (who produced approximately 13,500 paintings and […]

The #1 Reason to Stop Writing Good Songs

The number one reason to stop writing good songs is this: ‘Good’ is the enemy of GREAT! If you settle for ‘good’ songs, you’ll probably never do the hard work of rewriting until your song is the best it can be. How can you tell the difference? Good songs will get a polite (but lukewarm) reception. Your mom will like them. Other performers will applaud when you play them at the coffee-house open mic. Punters might even rave over them when they’re drunk at your pub gig. But nobody – and I mean nobody – will remember them the next […]

Start Your Own Songwriting Group

I’ve been writing songs I was 14 but I didn’t know I could join a songwriting group until I was in my late 30’s. I joined a “Producers and Songwriters Guild” songwriting group formed by two local gigging musicians and songwriters, Ruth Wyand and Tony Deluca. Although the group folded after a year of on-again, off-again meetings, I was hooked. A year later, Ruth, Tony and I co-founded the Garden State Songwriters and it’s been active ever since. In this article, I’m going to tell you what you have to do to start your own successful songwriting group. Songwriting groups come in many forms, […]