Re: Songwriters

[Richard Hunter <turtlehill@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

There are lots of things one can say about writing music -- of which
writing songs is a part.  The first thing one can say is that it's a
demanding craft as well as a matter of talent and inspiration, and the
great composers write every day (just as the great players play every
day).

The second thing one can say is that no one writes a great song every
time they write.  The more you write, and the more you think about what
you're writing and learn from your mistakes as well as your successes,
the better the chance that some of the songs you write will turn out to
be great songs. 

The third thing one can say is that it's important both to capture
inspiration and to make the time to work the best inspirations into
great pieces of music.  The two are not the same.  Great pieces of music
sometimes spring full-blown into the mind of the creator, but more often
they have to be worked into greatness from a germ of an idea --
sometimes an idea that occurred months or years before the music takes
final form.  

So: great songs come from talent, inspiration, and lots of hard work;
did I forget anything?  Oh yeah; it's a good idea to hang out with
songwriters, and work with other songwriters, and listen to what other
songwriters have to say about your songs, and read what great
songwriters have to say about writing their own songs.  All of those
things can help you develop your own art.

Thanks, Richard Hunter