What I Wish I Knew About Songwriting From The Start
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- čas přidán 27. 10. 2016
- In this weeks episode, I talk about the one thing I wish I had known about this business before I got into it.
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▶▶ Craft your image and reveal it through your music! Learn to create music that makes bodies move, touches hearts and captures minds. Music that only you could write. That's what we teach at Holistic Songwriting Academy.
Find out more here: holistic-songwriting.com/hsaw... - Hudba
Eh I don't think this answers the question. You can be masterful at production, but if your song sucks, production isn't going to fix it. In my eyes, you need to be able to construct a song and a powerful melody and programs like logic pro are your canvas to paint on. This isn't really a tip to help someone become a better songwriter. Love your channel, this is just my opinion of course.
Totally agree, if your songwriting is great, a big pianist would make you a star in one day...
Good point. 👍🏾
So true. This is like a claim I saw someone make where they said today's music is way better than previous decades...and they based this on better production, regardless if the song won't be remembered in a year, how strong the melody is, the feeling, lyrics...plus too much production sucks the life out of a song. Just my take on it
Great songwriting AND great production creates songs that stand the test of time. If your songs suck, no amount of production will help. Great video!
IMO do not start learning production before you are decent on your instrument and competence on theory and ear training. MIDI and DAWs can be traps that people tend to fall into as it allows anyone to write anything without actually being able to play and understanding it. This is the reason why most electronic music these days are boring to me. A good production is certainly important but for beginning musicians or songwriters there are just too many distractions (too many 'amazing' things to mess around with) so that they often overlooked the most important part of music. For example, with reverb and delay you can instantly make your music sound hollower or spacier or simply fuller depending on what you what so that you are not brothered to instead experiment with chord substitution and chord voicing to achieve those effects. Production should the supplement not the backbone of songwriting.
Very well said. I wish I did this more than I did in the past... I had to take a break from the rabbit hole of learning production techniques and get back to the fundamentals of musicianship. PEOPLE, TAKE THIS POST TO HEART!!!
Yes, this video is bad advice for song writers. There is a triangle to what makes a great song and many people have it backwards. 1. Root/base of triangle: good song, arrangement 2.) good performance of song 3.) good production of song 4.) good mixing of song, and finally (least important) 5. good mastering. If you do not have a good song to begin with, a good performance will not fix it, good production gear will not improve it, and good mixing and mastering cannot tame it. In short, you cannot polish a turd.
I think now days you need to be good at everything. I personally don't want to buy music that bores me but I struggled to get convincing recording and it took me a while to get a feeling about my mixing. I think people can't help but compare what your mix sound like in comparison to others. I feel like one should start recording and mixing as soon as they learn how to play a chord or start singing. Records don't lie. You can listen to your records and find where you suck. It's really coming down to time management. I realized production skills take as long as learning an instrument. I feel like life is not about one thing or the other but always a combination of things. I remember in the past a song writer did a song and than they went to studio and someone got paid to do the rest but now people have DAW and do a lot of the work alone. The models change and honestly now days there seams to be less financial incentives to be making good music. There is people making pop hits by the ton and they are not even musicians. And than some will say music is not what used to be and than I ask "how much music have you bought lately." It's not about the money it's about the MONEY.
Can you teach yourself keyboards by learning chords and composing your own music?
Agree.
My thing is, I don't want it to become so distracting where it interferes with my songwriting, which is already HUGE work.
Seriously this channel is gonna blow. This stuff is amazing please keep it coming!
Thanks at Zalo2kray :) Will do!
This was great, thanks, I've been looking for "easy steps to make a song" for a while now, and I think this has helped. Have you heard people talk about - Honora Xenndrew Magic - (should be on google have a look ) ? Ive heard some extraordinary things about it and my mate got excellent success with it.
Excellent video! All true.
THANKS FOR YOUR KNOWLEDGE
Haha, thanks Coarine, I agree - more people should know how amazing I am ;) Hope you enjoy the other videos as well!
Just found your content mate! Absolutely impeccable! Thank-You heaps! :)
Great Stuff. Your videos are inspirational. After a long day they give me the motivation, inspiration and uplift to get back to it!
This gave me a lot of hope. Been learning logic for 5 years for the sole purpose of singing. Shall soon come out with my first song on CZcams.
I’ve listened to your book a few times so stoked finding this channel
I think you talk about getting out of limitations and working hard, Thank you so much for this, keep up bro.
glad I found you thanks for you work dude I like your style and fluency
Love this channel!!!
Fantastic and true advice! Learned this fact 10 years ago when a local studio ripped me off. Decided then to learn it all and have no regrets.
This one lesson is immensely helpful!!
Since 15 I've written songs prolifically, most all forgotten. I am 67, retired, and it still is in me. You just saved my behind because I was about to get the songwriters handbook and get lost in the maze. I do not need fame, yet would like to share my gifts for others to sing/ play. Long as I get the credit, all is well.
I subbed so I can soak up your lessons..
So appreciated ..
Namaste ☮️
Thank for this. I started as a music producer and now want to start song writing as well and knowing that the skills i already have will play a big part in my songwriting is reassuring.
No, your producing skill will downplay your songwriting, you'd always try to cover up drawbacks with effects
Keep up the good work mate. Good channel.
Simplifying before jumping on the computer works as well. Start with words into a melody, hum a beat into a good melody or music type/an instrument into a melody. The other layers simply stack on nicely.
Have written massive loads & never go anywhere as when it's more of treating it like a passionate hobby, it works so well and gems are produced.
And yes. Like the commentator said, did the whole send things in but noticed it didn't pay as similar melodies arrived on the music scene not long after, so just do it for myself/yourself and regularly repeat the best to yourself. P. S. Takes thousands of attempts to get some good ones, when do it by yourself.
If you achieve that type of happiness, it's just as good as a Grammy or whatever those awards are. Music cuts through emotions you don't want or need.
Hum a beat into a melody. Yes that is how I do it. I start by Humming and then I try to see whether I can play it on the piano. And then write it down. This way I get more variety. And better melody.
Bruh! Y not mention Fl Studio, U hurt my feelings lol
same
Friedemann, deine Videos sind der Hammer! Vielen Dank für den unglaublich wertvollen Input den du uns hier gibst : ) P.s. Dein Buch ist ebenfalls super ; D
I started with Pro Tools (The Autocad of the audio world) but hated it mainly because of the absurd hoops I had to go through with the copy protection scheme. I shelved it and bought Reaper and could not be more pleased. I'm actually getting somewhere now.
Danke für deine echt hilfreichen Tipps. Ich finde du bringst einen auf den richtigen Weg in Sache Musik! Keep it up!
Danke dir :)
Very Honest opinion my friend! I loved your thoughts. This video really gave me a wake-up call.
I'm loving the comments section :)
Reaper is a way underrated DAW.
For "Studio / Live Band" Recording, Presonus Studio 1 Pro v3.x is pretty much one of the best DAWs I've ever used, and it's much cheaper than all Avid products.
Exactly why I produce myself now and will most likely continue to!
After seeing the newest holistic songwriting videos, I am sure you will grow really fast here on YT. Keep up the good work!
Thanks Simen :)
Thank you for sharing your experience and expertise.
Regards,
songwriter
John Pucilla
Great channel! Thank you. Would love to see some more instruction based videos on music production, specifically Logic Pro X.
Will come :) Thank you!
I just discovered your channel and I hope to learn a lot from it. I don't use a DAW to record, I use a Tascam 244 that I purchased in 1985. I do not have any delusions about becoming a successful song writer in the commercial sense. I will consider myself a success when I write and produce music that pleases me. It is my hope that your knowledge will help to bring me that success.
you are awesome . thanks for the tips
Watched 3 videoes, subbed! Great videos!
Great advice. Thank you.
I agree, Nothing gets you shot down faster than a shitty recording except a shitty recording with a shitty song! LOLI think you should do a program on Recording, Mixing and Mastering your own Music since, it is extremely important.Love your programs and products!
Hey Donald! Thanks so much for the über-nice comment! No great production saves a bad song, but many great songs have been ruined by bad productions. And I agree, I'll have to tackle production, absolutely. There's not many courses out there approaching the subject from a songwriter's perspective. But first I wanna finish two other courses on music theory and lyrics. Then production is definitely very high on my list!
Count me in and my son Jeff, who has emailed you a few times and gives your products Great Endorsements. Can't wait for the 2 new products and "Production" when you get it complete. Please, let us know if there is an early buyer discount. Either way, love your products.
Oh, Jeff's your son is he? That's so cool, father & son! Thank you so much for the kind words. It's people like you that keep me trying to improve myself with every product - thank you!
the way you talk and dress and the colors you use..
you're giving off the idea you're a holistic craftsman.
I've always produced my own music. Having a good recording is part of sounding good. Having a bad mix is unprofessional, and Hurt's the song. A good mix/recording will take a song to new heights. A good demo that is well produced does help. I wish I knew how to play an instrument when I first started writing. I couldn't afford one at age eight.
I’ve been writing and producing my own stuff for a while. But I wish I would’ve learned instruments before my DAW
Thanks, helps alot.
I am now producing my own songs now. Thanks to you
What is the best production software to start out learning? YOu gave three options... could you recommend one in particular?
Although I agree with @Pet Sounds comment, I would fully endorse the message in this video - provided one has learned at least the equivalent of a grade 3 in piano in addition to the same for what other instrument they are into. . I was lucky enough to have had 20 years on various instruments/vocal plus a couple of years in a pretty good music program at a certain college in my area before I decided to learn Ableton Live, so I can't necessarily recommend doing what I did if you cannot play an instrument yet, because you need to be able to bring a knowledge of musical theory to the table when beginning at DAW music production. I fully realize that my own music education was indispensable once I dove into the Ableton rabbit hole. Today, two years into the DAW rabbit hole, and yes, I am still in it, but I am loving it, and killing it because I have the sturdiness of theoretical knowledge to apply to anything and everything that I discover. And there is really so so so much to discover when learning the art of production. Today, I can happily say that exploring Ableton has morphed my whole creative process into something far and wide ranging, as compared to what it was before when it was just me, my voice, my guitar and my keys. I am seriously wowed by how things have opened up creatively for me in the digital world. There are so many new possibilities to create that you can easily find yourself noodling away at something that has literally never been heard before in this universe, and I find that so inspiring. That plus just about everything said in the video, I have experienced personally as well. You have full control to create every little aspect of what you envision musically. Thats awesome power, and agency that we would not have if we were to continue to rely on sending our stuff to producers to fuck with. Great message in this video. Thanks for the upload.
I am glad you mentioned Music Theory since it has helped me to 'see' what I am doing. Many people [I am included] fall for the sample route. I am not bashing samples but people stay at this stage for ever and do not produce anything beyond their potential. In my opinion a little music theory goes a long way towards good composition.
Such good advice. I write and produce simultaneously. Write some lyrics, write a bass line, pick a drum loop, write a bridge... jump around constantly. Sitting with a guitar and a notepad is sooo uninspiring these days (for me).
I still write songs on guitar or piano sometimes but I agree, it's just so much quicker and more inspiring to have the full sound palette at your fingertips :)
In the time I'm waiting for co-productions I try to learn from everything a bit. A good strategy?(me-no music career planed)
is fl studio also a good production tool or is it just limited to those you said in the video
Thank you Man..!
I can already tell that I'm going to spend a lot of time on this channel ! I've started making music and I try to do everything on my own, including production (mostly because I don't really have the choice ahah)
That's good though :) The more you can do the less you have to rely on others :)
I agree, and it's a lot of fun !
Wonderful channel. Very helpful! Just subbed ❤
Thank you very much Marga :)
Yes, I agree. The Beatles started this with the concept of the studio techniques being like another member of the band.
thanks for sharing man
If someone writes good lyrics/poetry but can’t read/sing or play/compose music is it a dead end? Do you need to send in ready sung samples and how to get started?
Yesss im on track
What if i only use guitar for songwriting.should i start with DAW????
Good tips 👌
@Holistic Songwriting - So, I’m writing a lot of songs that I want to record for an album. But, so far I don’t know how to use Pro Tools, multi track recordings, or anything. Basically, it’s all just written songs. How do I go from the notebook to an actual song and who teaches this?
By the way I get playing and singing but, I can’t play instruments and don’t have a real confidence in my singing abilities. I just write.
Ok, but if you are still just starting off, song craft ( melody, rhythm and harmony on your main instrument and vocals ) is more important right?
Hi, thank you for your content.
I don't have much experience with these recording softwares you mentioned besides cubase.
I recently installed the abelton 30 day trial but didn't understand anything in it.
do you know and what do you think about the recording software - "Mixcraft" by "Acoustica" company.
would you recommend of buying it?
Never heard of it to be honest :) So far, I only have experience with (in order from most exp to least): Logic Pro, Pro Tools, Cubase, Studio One, Audacity, Fruity Loops and Ableton Live. I can recommend the first 4 to anyone, and Ableton to electronic writers. Also, Pro Tools is very audio-oriented, MIDI and electronic stuff is not as fun, so if you want to do some programming stay away from that one as well.
I started out on mixcraft actually- its dope.
Its essentially garageband for windows
Hi, thanks for your answer and recommendations.
Well, I don't have mac so, logic is out of the question for me.
i found it really comfortable to record and edit with Mixcraft...
and it's one of the cheapest softwares out there.
I know many people haven't heard of it...
but the thing that gave me red light about it though is that the software doesn't weight much., i mean it doesn't require more than about 500 mb space...
does it even matter?
I did try the free trial,
and it has ended and I think of buying it...
but in the meantime, I'm gonna try some of the programes you mentioned.
Another amazing video agree with almost everything but i think that one amazing song can be still amazing even just with a rhytmic piano or guitar progression and lead vocal not necessarely with a grammy award production
True, but it's near impossible for it to ever climb the charts. There are some mediocre productions in the charts from time to time but no really bad ones that I'm aware of :)
Nailed it.
if you're just starting out and don't want to spend money on Cubase-type programs, Audacity is a great free alternative! Has less functions and doesn't work _exactly_ the same but with it you can learn/teach yourself how the basics like panning or compression work
That's how I got started as well.
What's the best work station for producing music with both electronic and live instruments?
Nuendo, it does video sync for sound design very well.
Does anybody knows the brand of that flannel shirt Friedemann is wearing?
Awesome I just subbed
Do a review of Chris Cornell's Scream album...please!
where can i listen to his musiic
is Logic very hard to use?? i know nothing about production, where should i start?? T.T
FerrJiménez Working on a course on that right now :) And no its not hard to use.
Thank you
if you listen to noel gallagher for instance, the genius in the music is just as recognizable in the demos consisting of just a guitar, a tambourine and the singing as it is in the finished product on the album.
I recommend FL Studio 😃
I realize this too, and I make everithing in my musics...
FL Studio gets no mention?
How do you rate garage band ?
so pro tools is mostly for live band recording?
That's what it's best at - it CAN to electronic, but it's more of a pain.
What are some colleges song for singer-songwriters?
Basically you repeted the same thing, but still helpful
Facts. Studio One 3 is pretty great too
Bought it on a Black Friday sale but have never used it I'm afraid. But I hear it's fantastic (and similar in its use to Cubase or Logic).
Your words are wize for me
any advice on where I could start learning about all of this? I'm in love with music and I would love to make it my life and I wanna learn all about producing and songwriting but I don't know where to start. is there anyone who can help me find that out?
TheWildCrue I would start with buing an instrument and learning how to build scales and chords. I would start with learning C major and A minor and play this scales everywhere on the instrment and play songs with this scales unil get familiar with them and than learn other scales. Trying to learn too much at the same time will only slow you down. I would start with C major and A minor. Toy pianos are useful. They have programmed songs and scales in them. Casio has some good toys starting with $50 new. Ibanez have some decent guitars for $250. This is where I would start.
Aspirative Music Production thanks for the advice, yeah actually I studied piano a little bit when I was younger so I know like the basics but I should start practicing again because I think I forgot a lot of things
Aspirative Music Production also I'm used to the Italian names of the notes and I struggle a little bit to associate the notes with the letters
thankx
Hey, what is the best program to produce rock music on a windows?
Pro tools is industry standard but if you want to do electronic as well it is a pain. Ableton is a great one to learn imo
Devin Belanger thanks
I write songs to type beats is that not allowed
Cakewalk makes a great DAW and it's free. 30 years ago I bought an old version of Cakewalk for $100 and it didn't have 1/10 of what this free modern version has. If you don't have a DAW you should at least check it out. What have you got to lose?
cool staff i want to learn more
Also fl studio is a great daw too
sir i subscribed but cant get access
The song has to stand by itself before the production dude, facts
I have a garage band on my iPad. not sure if it's sufficient enough
Marianne Vergara If you are not sure you haven't reached it's potential. It means it's sufficient for you for now. But you need to figure out what kind of things you want to do on it before you ask the question.
your accent is brilliant
I try ;)
Could I have the lyric writing one and the hook/melody one please
And I love this account, Thankyou for doing what you do and please keep it up
You forgot FL studio !!! The best !!!
bro what about FL STUDIO
I cant sing but i have agree i have other people sing songs i wrote were a mix of grung and nu metal and listening to other people sing it they arnt singing in the right notes at right time cuz we hear the song in our heads we wright it down ask other opions get songs stolen so make sure u copy right ur songs guys
what if i don't want to be "in the game"?
I strongly recommend a Mac over PC and use logic with the " ONE" from apogee, the set up is clean and mobile sound is shockingly professional.
do you use licensed software? Can you recommend nice free ones?
I mostly use commercial software. But one tool I do use sometimes is Paulstretch :) It's really old but still used by people like Hans Zimmer for its unique sound.
Holistic Songwriting ahh thanks mate !
HMQ got a Mac?
christian bernal PC
I tried to listen to Timberlake's 2020. I thought it was a cruel joke to play on the record buying public. At the risk of sounding like my father, I didn't really think singing ooh baby on top of a drum track was real music.
Become a good song writer don't worry about how the production is at the begining just GET. YOUR . MUSIC . OUT that's the first recommended thing then when you get a good enough fan following amd producers then just get your production to sound right when played on speakers and stuff
True
Hi sir, any thoughts on Audacity?
Used it myself for a couple of years when I started, never really got good at it, but I have a friend who managed to pull off some pretty ok sounding productions. Still, it's really no match for any of the "biggies". It's like bringing a toothpick to a gunfight... and everyone else also has trained alligators.
Holistic Songwriting Ohh okay. Thank you so much sir. :)
No problem :)
Don‘t forget the power of coincidence during music production.
truth!