1 (edited by polyal 10-09-10 21:23:56)

Topic: millions of brilliant songwriters

if everybody on the planet could write a brilliant song...what would happen
to music ?and how would it affect you...would it all become pointless??

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Re: millions of brilliant songwriters

last I heard there were about  (over) 100,000 struggling songwriters in America and most of them were in Nashville, LA and New York  and one stranded in the rice fields of asia  default/wink

my lyrics, my guitar and my imagination

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Re: millions of brilliant songwriters

wm ..what is a struggling songwriter?

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Re: millions of brilliant songwriters

polyal wrote:

wm ..what is a struggling songwriter?


one who is making (according to an article I read)  $700 a year on their songwriting skills

my lyrics, my guitar and my imagination

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5 (edited by polyal 11-09-10 08:08:44)

Re: millions of brilliant songwriters

i think £350 a year is a lot more than the average song writer in the UK gets( £350 more ) so as long as its a side line and hobby thats not to bad...but if its fulltime i'd recommend jacking and getting a job in that rice field in asia

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Re: millions of brilliant songwriters

polyal wrote:

i think £350 a year is a lot more than the average song writer in the UK gets( £350 more )

If a song becomes a commercial success ie used by some famous artist or gets into the charts then I assume the money comes flowing from this?

What about if your songs gets used on a TV series or in a film -  I assume that you would get decent rewards from this?

I guess if your song does not make it into the above categories then you would be lucky to make anything at all from it.

Polyal - you seem to know your stuff about music production, would you think this is correct?

And in answer to your question, I don't think there are enough brilliant songs to be written!

Re: millions of brilliant songwriters

the aim of every songwriter (99.99%)is to get commercial success..the rewards can be
life changing...a mate of mine wrote ' sad sweet dreamer ' in the 70's ( which i had the luck to ' demo ' )
in a project studio..he's been living off the royalties ever since..i get the odd royalty cheque which buys me a drink about every 10 years ( pubished songs covered by unknown artists on yet to be discovered continents ) The best thing about songwriting is...its a fantastic hobby..and if you can come up with a
' monster ' you'll surely get rewarded for it ( no doubt about it )..and songs can also be ' sleepers ' ie be lying around for years
then suddenly be recognised by some influential nob ed  that can shoot it to fame..so keep writing and get it on youtube and generally heard.........and... thankfully... there aren't millions of fantastic songwriters
[youtube]/watch?v=788BOtx_-Nw[/youtube]

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Re: millions of brilliant songwriters

Wow that is pretty impressive. So your mate, did he write a lot and struggle to get any success then along came this hit? Did you know it was going to be a hit once it was written or did it just take off?

Really interesting stuff there - thanks for sharing!

Personally I would like commercial success with my songwriting (if I ever write anything) but more importantly for me I would really like an album to make my stamp on the world, commercially successful or not!

9 (edited by polyal 13-09-10 16:35:29)

Re: millions of brilliant songwriters

he wrote this for his band but tony hatch had other ideas.my co partner recognised this as a hit straight away but this guy has wrote loads of good tunes ( with nowhere near the same success )..he also had a No.1 with isnt she lovely ( steve wonder cover)...he plays the sax on it..he never struggled(s) because he took (takes) his songwriting as a secondary profession ( hobby )
if you,re going to write a song try and write a  no.1 it will probably finish up as an album track anyway
[youtube]/watch?v=Yn9dwAh_CDw&feature=related[/youtube]

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Re: millions of brilliant songwriters

I think that is the coolest thing I have heard in a while.

Just to be able to enjoy writing as a hobby and get a couple of your tunes out there to the extent that most people will have heard them! And on top of all that, keep getting royalties!

I guess that his other material is as good as if not better than these songs but along with a good song, you need a lot of luck to get the music out there and be commercially successful?

I must get started with writing! I'll aim for number one as you suggest though I will be happy enough that my first song has been created and won't be too disappointed if it doesn't make an album on this occasion!  default/lol

11 (edited by polyal 13-09-10 19:31:35)

Re: millions of brilliant songwriters

the better the song the less luck you need...but it has a l lot to do with it
try writing with a singer ( as mentioned on another thread )or at least a second musical person
to get started think of a song you like and start to emulate it (record say the chords first into cubase and then drop a bass line on to it and keep adding bits ) ...as you get into it you will start to get
different ideas and start to diverse until it starts to sound completely original..loads of songs are started this
way....so if you cant started use another song as inspiration
paul mccartney wrote blackbird after he tried to play some classical piece he had heard..he couldn't play
that but look what a fantastic song came out of it

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12

Re: millions of brilliant songwriters

Thanks Polyal - I do intend to do this though I kind of don't plan when I am able to play, usually it is when the children have gone to bed and the mrs is happy on facebook I get to sneak away and start jamming!

Tonight I have got my midi keyboard out - I have never used midi before and it seems like there is a whole world of possibility with this - especially when it comes to laying down drums and bass.

Do you have much experience with using MIDI?

13 (edited by polyal 13-09-10 22:52:55)

Re: millions of brilliant songwriters

midi is a great tool ( via keyboards esp ) for writing bass lines ,drum tracks,orchestrations etc...i  always use midi when songwriting and laying tracks ( or covers )...its very flexible as things can be changed ( sounds / notes etc ) after they have been recorded..and if you cant play keyboard..no problem ..correct your mistakes after...get everything right ..sort your sounds...and render to audio
remember your guitar is the main instrument waiting.. ready to augment any tracks you have already laid using midi
cubase is the keystone of midi seq..and you've got it so use it....anything you want to know about
midi..esp with cubase fire away

ps trying to upload midi example but cant get it to work

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Re: millions of brilliant songwriters

Thanks a lot!

When I was younger I used to take piano lessons, even with the guitar I always visualise the piano. A few years ago I got a keyboard and got back into playing it. It has midi - it is a little too big to sit on my desk so will be looking to get something more compact but it feels almost natural laying down drums and bass lines on the keyboard so really good stuff!

At the moment the forum will only allow mp3 uploads. I will work on midi files also being allowed though as I am keen to see what you were attempting to upload!