Song Genre

Writers have a duty to their intended audience.  There are genres of songs, just like there are book and movie genres.  Decide your genre before you write a song.  Does it contain adult content or swearing?  Then don’t gear it to a young audience.  Is it about green cats?  It’s probably for kiddies. 

This is a very important aspect of songwriting that most writers don’t think about.  While the public is lax these days with letting children listen to music not necessarily appropriate for them, as a songwriter you have a liability to target your work to the right audience.

If, for instance, you send a song to a publisher who records pre-teen music, you might get away with some adult behavior if it’s alluded to and not blatant.  But you probably won’t be able to include swearing and sex.  You’ll get a rejection letter saying it’s not appropriate for their targeted age group.

For a while in the seventies and eighties there were a lot of songs written about drinking.  In the nineties that changed and song publishers were turning down (especially from women writers) songs about bar hopping, etc.  Now that rule has reverted once again and all topics seem to be acceptable.  Do your research before you write and submit.

There’s a fine line between writing good music and fad music.  While the one will last forever, the second is definitely short-term.  Decide which kind of writer you want to be.

Pick a subject, a genre, and pen your words.  Re-write over and over until the words and music move you and create the feeling you want.  Have people in your target zone listen to the song before you try shopping it around.  See what kind of feedback you get.  Ask for the truth – false reviews will bring you nothing.

Songwriting can be a full-time job or a hobby.  You owe it to your listeners to write the best words and music, you can.  It will definitely be the difference between a poorly written and a good song.  It may be the difference between a bottom-out and a number one hit! 

The choice is yours – choose wisely.  It’s a lot of hard work and research, but the person who will gain the most in the end will be you.  What kind of music do you want your name attached to?  Think about it!

Song or Poetry?

Poetry and songwriting are not always the same.  Although verse is loosely defined in the same way, they can differ greatly. 

When you write song lyrics you should always keep in mind the music that drives the words.  Even though you may not write the notes yourself and may, in fact, send the words to someone else to create the tune, the words have to flow.  That means that there should be no break in thought so that the meaning is made clear to the listener.

Poetry can be structured or unstructured.  Songs can have the same similarities, but they are always structured so that the words and music paint a picture.  While poetry can leave unfinished business in the reader’s mind, music lovers want a beginning, middle and an end.

When you have decided the thought or idea for your song, try it in a couple of different writing styles to see which works best.  You can write in rhyming verse or non-rhyming.  The choice is up to you and depends on your thought processes and writing style. 

Let’s say you want to write about love, for instance.  Your first two lines could read like this:

I had a true love

A sign from above

See how the rhyme sets the cadence for the entire song?  You could also write the same thought in these words:

Once I had a love

He beckoned from afar

With the second type of writing you could rhyme in this way:

I never knew he’d be

A bright and shining star

These words are silly, but you get the idea.  Also, there are songs that follow a different pattern, and although they don’t necessarily rhyme, they do tie up the thought.  For example”

The moon was bright the sky was dark

When he rode into town

He tied his horse at the hitching post

Entered the bar alone

You will tie the thought up as you continue to write, but right now this paints the beginning of a scene in the listener’s mind.

Whatever your style of verse, poetry can be turned into song with a little tweaking.  All poets are not good songwriters and vice versa.  They are different animals.  Although a poet may create beautiful scenery and pictures in the mind of the reader, a songwriter makes the listener feel the words in a different way.  Both can be masters of the written word.  Just be sure as a songwriter your intended audience is feeling the vibe.