Formally published in hard copy under the titles > "How To Write A Great Commercial Song" and "The Lyricist's Assistant"

Chapters One, Two, Three and Four of this eBook deal with writing lyrics that are MUSIC Friendly. Even though your lyrics may look and read absolutely wonderful on paper, does not mean they will necessarily sound good when interpreted by a vocalist as a song composition in melody form. Find out what you can do to make them Music Friendly.

Chapters Five and Six deal with composing an appropriate and ear pleasing melody and chord structure to your lyrics, quickly and easily, without having had years of formal training in Music Theory and/or Composition.

The remaining Chapters, Appendixes and Excerpts deal with General Songwriting Information, and Useful Facts pertaining to the Business of Music and Songwriting.

You have to start somewhere, and this is a great place to begin.

Yes, the hook is everything, well almost everything.

It's totally meant to bend the ear, but a hook is something that should not be feared.

It's easier than you think

The rest of the lyrics

Creativity, Play on Words, Tricks of the Trade

To rhyme or not to rhyme, Should you or Shouldn't you,

Cheerful earful, catchy tune, agreeable sound, pleasing melody, cordial composition, delightful ditty, raunchy number, cool tones.

Chord Progressions, the meat and potatoes

The Nashville Number System > Wow, is this ever easy.

Music is just a bundle of numbers which translate into a cluster of sound.

Playing, Composing and Recording Your OWN Music, With Your Personal Computer.

Copyrighting your material is much easier than most people tend to think.

IN SUMMARY

The 10 MOST Important things you need to know.

Translation > working together in Harmony

Most of them are FREE to join, and packed full of useful information and invaluable contacts. We've got the big national ones and scores of local organizations listed. If there's a Songwriting organization in your neighborhood you can find it here.

You need these guys to get paid for your songs, and > Best Of All <

Most are FREE (or charge very little) to join.

Address’s, Phone Numbers, E-mail address’s, and Web Sites of:

PUBLISHERS, PRODUCERS, RECORD COMPANYS, MANAGER/AGENTS etc.

Address's, phone numbers, and most include e-mail address's and links to their websites.

There are some proven methods for writing marketable songs, and with a little bit of effort almost everyone with some creative juices flowing between their ears can come up with some great song ideas and turn those ideas into some pretty good songs.

Obviously a good song is made up of 2 basic ingredients.

Some writers will write the words first and then compose a suitable chord progression and melody to compliment their lyrical ideas.  Lyricists will often write a song lyric and then hand it over to a musical composer to compose some appropriate music to it, and turn it into a song.　 Other writers (especially seasoned musicians) will compose the music first, and then either write the words to the already composed melody, or make an Audio-File of their (music only composition) and give it to a lyricist to find the right words to go with their musical ideas.

A commercial song is a song that has wide appeal to the masses. Pop Music, Country, and Rock and Roll are styles of music that are very popular to huge numbers of the population.　

Although there are exceptions to the rules in songwriting, most popular songs are very simple in structure.　

Most radio programmers do not want to play songs longer than about 3, or 3 and a half minutes in length. The song MacCarther Park also has a very complex chord progression and melody, not to mention lyrical content that is definitely out of the norm.　

I think you get the picture, although there are certain formulas that work very well in writing popular songs, that doesn't mean you can't break the rules if you choose to.　

A while back I saw one of Country and Pop Music's great songwriters (Kris Kristoferson) on a talk interview show. The host asked Kris what his song (Help Me Make It Through The Night) means to him now, several years after he wrote it and was recorded by a few different artists. Kris scratched his head and paused for a moment and then said, (Oh, about a hundred thousand dollars a year). 

Just a simple song (4 chords) and a simple message (Help Me Make It Through The Night) years after it was written and recorded, still earns the writer a hundred thousand dollars a year.

Chapter One:

LET'S START WITH THE SONG'S STRUCTURE

You have to start somewhere, and this is a great place to begin,

A song's structure (also know as the song's form) is very important in maintaining continuity in the song and in keeping the listeners attention.

A song with no continuity that jumps all over the place will leave the listener confused and inattentive to your material.

The most popular song structures in commercial music are:

AABA ------- (verse, verse, chorus, verse)

ABAB ------- (verse, chorus, verse, chorus)

ABAC ------- (verse, chorus, verse, bridge)

ABABCB --- (verse, chorus, verse, chorus, bridge, chorus)

BABABB --- (chorus, verse, chorus, verse, chorus, chorus)

There are many examples of each of these popular song structures in the hit songs of yesterday and today.

Listen to some of your favorite songs and see if you can hear the structures that are being used.

Analyze some of your favorite songs and see what structures are being used more than others.

Certain factors certainly come into play when deciding on which song structure to use. The most obvious factor is of course THE LYRICS and mood of the song.

Ballads and slower type material will quite often use an AABA structure, (verse, verse, chorus, verse).

 The AABA song structure is a very popular form and is also used in almost all styles of music.

One of my favorite song forms is the BABABB, (chorus, verse, chorus, verse, chorus).

The reason I like this structure is that starting with the chorus you can really hit the listener with a strong lyrical HOOK right off the bat, and then repeat it again after every verse and ending with a double chorus, again emphasizing the lyrical HOOK.

The lyrical hook in a song is of utmost importance in holding the listeners attention, as well as pleasantly entertaining them. A good example of a lyrical hook, that is also the title of the song is:

(IF I SAID YOU HAD A BEAUTIFUL BODY, WOULD YOU HOLD IT AGAINST ME?)

The title and hook line in the song,

IF I SAID YOU HAD A BEAUTIFUL BODY, WOULD YOU HOLD IT AGAINST ME?

Is a wonderful play on words.

The song starts out with the chorus, which starts out with the hook line, which also just happens to be the title of the song. (VERY CLEVER).

One other thing I’d just like to mention that is part of a song’s structure (or form) is that of the INTRO. There are few songs (if any) that start right out from bar 1 with a verse or chorus. An intro is needed to grab the listener’s attention, while at the same time easing the listener into the mood of the song, and allowing the ears to gently usher in the song’s lyrical message.

I am a firm believer that (although intro’s are an important factor in grabbing the listeners attention), it is not a good idea to have an intro that is too long. (Especially if the song is just a demo and you are trying to pitch it to a publisher and/or artist). The reason for this is that the person critiquing your material will most likely just want to get right to the song, without wasting precious time listening to 30 seconds or a minute of "purposeless" musical wizardry. Keep your intros between 2 and 4 bars depending on the tempo. Faster songs can have an intro with more bars as they will go by much quicker. Make your intro a hook in itself. A good idea is to take the last line of your verse or chorus (or any other line in the song that may be a hook) and revise it a little so it can work as a musical intro hook. I am going to give you a very simple example of an intro for the song (Tiny Bubbles). The reason I am using this particular song is that most people know the song, and almost everyone alive on Planet Earth is able to hum it’s melody by memory. It’s lyric is:

Tiny Bubbles in the wine, Tiny Bubbles make me feel fine, Tiny Bubbles make me warm all over, with a feeling that I’m gonna love you till the end of time. (or something like that)

Can you hear the last line in your mind? With a feeling that I’m gonna love you till the end of time Play Audio Clip When it's over close the Audio Window (or Music Player) by clicking the X in it's Window TAB

The last line is sung over the 5 chord (which is the dominant chord) which modulates back to the 1 chord (The root chord). More on the musical stuff later in the course.

The point is that it is a short hooky intro that you recognize right off the top, which takes you right into the song > smoothly, effortlessly, and with a sense of anticipation.

HOOK LINE AND SINKER

"The Hook, The Hook"

Yes, the hook is everything,

Well almost everything

It's totally meant to bend the ear, but a hook is something that should not be feared.

All the really great songs recorded throughout history have had a great line in the song that has been repeated throughout the song that the listeners can grab onto and remember easily.

That is what a hook is.

That line just keeps playing over and over in your mind. The harder you try to get it out of your mind the more it keeps playing in your brain.

Boy, I'll tell you that can really be annoying when a jingle's hook line keeps rambling around in your brain.

But, that's exactly what they want to happen, so you'll never forget that product or service. Chances are when your ready for that particular product or service you'll choose theirs, cause it's already implanted in your brain cells.

It is a good idea to bring the hook line into your song as soon as possible and repeat it as much as possible. Chorus's are normally very hook orientated. A chorus will very often start with the hook line and also end with the hook line. You can also end your verses with the hook line. That way the listener is given a double dose of HOOK. AND, if your song's title is also the hook, then you will leave your listener with a triple whammy hook.

Once you have thought of a great hook line, it is then possible to write an entire song around that one line.

Finding a great hook is not all that difficult. We'll get into that a little bit later in lesson 3

Here is an example of one of my own songs with a triple whammy hook. This song is a BABABB structure:  Which translates into > Chorus Verse Chorus Verse Chorus Chorus

As I said before choruses are very hook orientated and starting with a chorus can quite often grab the listeners attention immediately, especially if your chorus starts and ends with the hook.

©1986/2023 Richard Brown, Words and Music by: Richard Brown

(CHORUS) She's over on the leavin' side of good-bye,

She's over on the brand new side of her life

She planned her final getaway, then she made her escape,

She's over on the leavin' side of good-bye

(VERSE I guess I never treated her as good as I should

I guess I never gave her all the lovin' that I could

but Lord I never thought she would,

As you can see the song starts with the chorus, which also starts with the hook line. The verse's also end with the hook line and the title of the song is again, you guessed it: THE HOOK LINE

Chapter Three:

FINDING YOUR HOOK

It's easier than you think, Life is full of hooks

A hook line can be something as simple as (I LOVE YOU) obviously already overused, and not very original, but you get the picture.

A good hook line is quite often a (play on words) as in

IF I SAID YOU HAD A BEAUTIFUL BODY, WOULD YOU HOLD IT AGAINST ME?

You could take this stupid little line that everyone nowadays seems to be saying constantly, and twist it around a bit.

You Don't Know What I'm Sayin', Do You ?

It might sound a little weird to hear all by itself, but just thing about it.

** You don't know what I'm sayin, do you,

everytime I try to talk to you it just goes in one ear and out the other,

I'm tryin' my best, and doing all I can,

but the more I talk, the more I end up cryin',

babe I'm tryin' I'm really tryin' but you don't know what I'm sayin' do you ?. **

Play Audio Clip When it's over close the Audio Window (or Music Player) by clicking the X in it's Window TAB

Now I know that it's a dumb little example that I just made up off the top of my head. But that just proves my point.

After I have come up with a hook line and have written a couple of verse's and a chorus, I always go back and start re-writing them and try to make them better. Sometimes what you come up with the first time works just fine, but more often than not you will have to revise, re-write, re-write and re-write some more. Believe me, it pays off in the long run.

Watching talk shows and listening to radio talk shows can be a wonderful source of interesting material.

Ordinary people come up with the most interesting material to work with.

Soap operas, TV dramas, and educational television are also good sources for ideas.

Don't let any stone unturned,

LISTEN, LISTEN, LISTEN.

Listen to everything you hear, and try to remember the good lines.

Everybody has one.

Chapter Four:

FINDING YOUR SINKER

The rest of the lyrics

Creativity, Play on Words, Tricks of the Trade

To rhyme or not to rhyme, Should you or Shouldn't you,

Depends on the flow from deep inside your pen

A word about continuity

An example of continuity

An example of NO continuity

Speaking of titles

Did you know that most people can communicate their feelings much easier in written form, than speaking one on one?

I find that once I have a good hook line I can usually come up with a good lyrical storyline to weave around that Hook, very easily. I say usually because it doesn't always happen.

When it doesn't happen it is most likely that my hook line isn't as good as I thought it was. So then I'm back to square one,

The Hook Line.

I can't emphasize enough how important that hook line is. But, assuming you have come up with a pretty good hook line, let's now concentrate on finding the right words to compliment your hook.

Two very important factors in completing your lyrical statement are:

EMOTIONS and SIMPLICITY.

Emotions are all the feelings we human being's feel every day of our life.

Love, Hate, Happiness, Sadness etc.

Of course LOVE is a great source of material for songwriters. Everybody needs to be loved and everybody loves music.

Well, almost everyone. I knew a military man once who only liked Military Marches. He thought every other kind of music was just noise. I guess it takes all kinds of people to make up the world.

But > for the rest of us (Normal Music Lovers), make sure your lyrics have an emotional impact on the listener, and also make sure they are simple enough for everyone to understand.

Don't assume that everyone listening to your song will have the same IQ as you do.

Personally, I have been turned off with lyrics that I didn't understand, even though the song might have been very good in every other aspect. Big, hard to understand words don't cut it in commercial songwriting. I have actually received lyrics from well-meaning (and in every other sense) quite good lyricists, with words that I didn't understand. And I've been writing songs for many years. If I don't understand the word, do you think there will be many that do. Not Likely!

Make your lyrics sound good too.

By that I mean, certain words sound better than others. Words with a lot of consonants do not sound good and are very hard to sing.

On the other hand vowel sounds are very pleasing to the ear, and are the easiest sounds to sing.

Did you notice the first four words of that last sentence (On The Other Hand)

Seems to me some bright and enthusiastic songwriter took those words, turned them into a hook and created a great song out of that commonly used phrase.

The song (On The Other Hand) is another great example of a play on words that was weaved into a wonderful story in music.

A Word About Continuity

One problem I have found with lyricists who are not musicians is that they quite often do not have continuity in their story lines.

By this I mean the number of words and/or syllables in the lines of their verses do not match up. I cannot count the number of times I have received lyrics from someone and after I have written a pretty good melody line for the first verse and chorus I have discovered that their second and/or third verses do not match up at all in continuity. Sometimes they have even written a whole extra line in another verse, or sometimes the lines just don't match up in syllables or number of words in the line.

My point is > make sure you have the same continuity and flow in the lines of your verses. Choruses are usually not a problem as there is typically only one chorus in a song or the same chorus repeated one or more times.

One lyricist friend I sometimes work with has told me that sometimes he will think of a well-known melody of some hit song. Then he plays this melody in his head and writes original lyrics around it. He is not stealing the melody, as the composer who puts the music to his lyrics doesn't even know what he was thinking of and always comes up with something entirely different.

Another way for lyricists to have continuity in their lines is after you have written one verse just sit down and count the number of words and syllables in that verse and try to match your other verses with the same flow.

An example of continuity:

　Play Audio Clip When it's over close the Audio Window (or Music Player) by clicking the X in it's Window TAB

1st line, 1st Verse: It's bare-ly been an hour since she’s been gone

1st line, last Verse: I guess I never thought to read between the lines

An example of NO continuity:

1st line,1st verse: It's bare'-ly been an hour since you've been gone  11 syllables

1st line,2nd verse: I nev-er real-ly thought she would ev-er think of leav-in’ me 15 syllables

It is actually do-able musically but the rhythm and flow would not sound the same, and what we're striving for is a sound of sameness throughout all the verses.　

Titles, Hooks and First Lines

Titles and first lines are very important in catching your listeners ear.

As has been said earlier I am a great fan of the title being the hook, and the hook being the title.

If you have a good hook line to your song then it should be a natural choice for the title of the song.

Sometimes hook lines are not the best choice for first lines depending on the lyrical content of the song, and when the best time in the song that the hook should be incorporated.

If this is the case, then hit your audience with a strong first line, that creates an emotional impact right off the bat.

A strong first line will leave the listener craving for more.

In my original song (I Just Might Be Missing Her) I end all the Verses and Chorus's with the title line, I Just Might Be Missing Her and the chorus also starts with that line in it.

and I've barely had a chance to make it on my own

I've never been one to cry, must be something in my eye

Verse Two: Not in my wildest dreams could I perceive her change of plan

there was no warnin' sign or subtle goodbye glance

and I don't want to complain, but I'm startin' to feel the pain

I’m not real sure but I Just Might Be Missing Her　

Verse 1 (first line) It’s barely been an hour since she’s been gone

Verse 2 (first line)  Not in my wildest dreams could I perceive her change of plan

Verse 1 (second line)  And I’ve bare-ly had a chance to make it on my own

Verse 2 (second line)  There was no warn-ing sign or sub-tle good-bye glance

Verse 1 (third line)  I’ve nev-er been one to cry must be some-thing in my eye

Do you get the picture?

Also the title of a new song I am writing.

Remember me saying that you could find hooks everywhere.

There have been many different songs with the same titles written and recorded over the years, but I don't think it would be too cool to take the title of a very well known hit song and write new lyrics around it.

To Rhyme Or Not To Rhyme ? That is the question.

The subject of Rhyme in song is a widely discussed issue among veteran songwriters these days. More and more songs nowadays do not use a lot of rhyme. Some songs can get away with not using much rhyme, depending on where the melody line and chord progression is going.

Generally speaking, the more complicated a melody line and chord progression is, the easier it is to not have to use a lot of rhyme.

I personally think that the use of Rhyme and so-called False Rhyme in a song give an added continuity to the song, especially when your chord progression is made up of only a few chords, of which many hit songs are.

An example of a false rhyme would be (CHANCE and BAND), same vowel sound

whereas a true rhyme to the word CHANCE would be DANCE.  same vowel sound

False rhymes are very common and quite acceptable in today's song hits, as long as they have the same vowel sounds in them.

Rhyming Dictionaries and Thesauruses are a great way to find just the right rhyme you are looking for, and they can also give you a multitude of ideas for other great lines.

While looking for a rhyme to a particular word, you may come across other words or phrases that you had not thought of, that could quite easily inspire you on to write a chorus or other verse that you were still searching for.

Your mind is a wonderful tool for connecting things together.

When you see a particular word in a rhyming dictionary or thesaurus your mind can work like a computer, and conjure up all kinds of places you can go with that word.

The human mind is definitely the world's greatest and most advanced computer.

When writing your lyrical content around your hook line, try to use words that have a powerful impact, and emotional feeling.

Use visual words. Words you can see in your mind, as well as hear.

With visual words you can take your listener on a colorful trip in their mind's eye.

A thesaurus can be an extremely powerful tool to use for this.

For example take the word GLAD,

When I go to my thesaurus, I come up with these alternative words, just to mention a few.

Happy, Pleased, Delighted, Contented

There are many more in there, and every one of the alternative words has it's own list of alternative words.

An alternate word (that has the same basic meaning) may give you the musical continuity (flow) you may need in matching up verse lines

And also > using a thesaurus can be a great way to find a more emotional, powerful, and visual word, but a word meaning the same thing as the word you already have. It can also give you many more ideas from which to go with your lyrics.

Keep your lyrical lines fairly short, with roughly the same length and rhythmical pattern.

Don't be afraid to repeat words and lines in your songs.

Repetition is a very powerful force in most of today’s hit songs, and I would say almost a necessity.

People thrive on repetition and also remember your songs much easier through repetition.

And, the name of the game is for people to remember your song from the first time they hear it.

Sounds Familiar  It's not necessarily a bad thing

There is a school of thought in songwriting that believes people like to hear that which they are familiar with.

It simply means people like hearing something that has already been registered in their brain cells.

That's why so many songs have almost-identical or very close chord progressions.

They are what they call (tried and true) They've worked for so many other songs why not keep using them.

Keep it simple (and familiar) but not so simple and familiar as to sound exactly like a bunch of other songs.

A lot of blues music sounds almost identical with only the lyrics being a bit different. (To the average listener that is) Don't tell that to a blues musician, they might get quite upset.

Remember the song "Achy Breaky Heart", I bet the first time you heard that song it reminded you of some other song but you just couldn't put your finger on it. Well "Achy Breaky Heart" is a very simple song musically with only 2 chords and I'm sure there have been many other songs over the years that have sounded quite similar. Don't get me wrong, I do like the song, it is very catchy with a little different kind of a hook, and obviously did very well for the writer.

Try to be as original as you can without losing that familiar sound.

Just remember to keep your melody line a little different and OF COURSE your lyrics.

You have to walk a fine line.

When it comes right down to it, pretty well everything has been done before, and said before.

(Been there, Done that) I even wrote a song once called (It's All Been Said Before).

Chapter Five: MUSIC

Cheerful earful, catchy tune, agreeable sound, pleasing melody, cordial composition, delightful ditty,

Chord Progressions > the meat and potatoes

The Nashville Number System > Wow, is this ever easy, Music is just a bundle of numbers which translate into a cluster of sound.

Variations on a Theme, and more easy ways to compose

A Note To Lyricists: This section is written especially for you, but PLEASE do not get discouraged thinking that it's all too complicated. Even if you have to re-read Chapters 5 through 7 a few times, I guarantee it will all start to make perfect sense to you, and you will soon be composing your own melodies and chord progressions quickly and easily. AND > Even if you have no desire to learn anything about music theory, and how it relates to songwriting, you may learn some things in this music section that will help you understand what your composer collaborators are dealing with when composing music to your lyrics, and will probably even help you to write better, and more (Music Friendly) lyrics.

Isn’t Music Marvelous, We Just Can’t Live Without It

You now have a great Hook-Line and some wonderful lyrics that just seem to bring your hook to life, tell a story, and capture your listeners' attention.

        BUT WAIT

Something's missing. Oh Yeah, Just a minor little detail.

The reason for this is twofold.

First of all, those of you who are accomplished musicians and/or composers I would assume already know the IN's and Out's of composing music to lyrics.

And secondly, I firmly believe that the best way to start (to write songs) is to keep it simple. I'm sure even the more advanced music writers will probably learn something from simplicity. I have to admit that I break (The Simplicity Rule) quite a bit myself when composing music to lyrics. However, please remember that I am an Accomplished Musician who is also well-educated in Composition and Arranging. For those of you who are not schooled in Musical Composition I would highly recommend keeping it SIMPLE. AND remember, a great majority of the HIT songs from past AND the present are very simple musically speaking. Made up of simple melodies over just 3 or 4 (and sometimes even) 2 Simple Chords.

EXAMPLE > BIG HIT > Achy Breaky Heart > 2 chords only.

One of my first big mistakes when I first started writing songs was to complicate things way too much.

Back when I was starting out (many years ago) I had the great pleasure of playing in a band with, and sharing an apartment with my old buddy and musician friend David Foster. As you all probably aware of, David Foster has gone on to be a world class (Grammy Award Winning) record producer and songwriter, producing albums for Whitney Houston, Michael Bolton, Barbra Streisand, Chicago, Celine Dion, Michael Buble, Josh Groban and many others (The list goes on and on).

Anyway, to make a long story short, after finishing one of my early songs, I played it for David, and he said, ya know Rick, this is not bad, BUT, Have you thought of the fact that some singer has to sing this. Gee, it never occurred to me that not too many singers have 3 and a half octave ranges. Yes, you guessed it, my songs melody line covered 3 and a half octaves, and not only that, the melody intervals I had composed were going all over the place, changing from key to key and then back to the original key. I thought it was quite neat. BUT, he was right, not too many singers would be able to sing my song.

If that wasn't bad enough, he then pointed out that not all musicians were as schooled as I was, and that there would be plenty of musicians out there that probably would not know what a F#maj13/b5/#9 was, and probably could not play a lot of the other 2 dozen (or so) chord changes in my song, which included all kinds of weird altered chords.

It was then I started analyzing some of the current hit songs from the pop and country charts.

YES, you guessed it again, 3 and 4 chord songs were the norm. Some songs even had 5 or 6. I really loved those ones, but I quickly came to realize that the simpler the song was the more popular the song was.

Now that's not to say there aren't exceptions to the rule. As I said earlier there are always exceptions to the rule, and there have been some great, great songs that were musically very complicated.

But, with the fact being that a large majority of popular songs are quite simple, I'm now going to educate you on how to put some great music to your great lyrics.

Chord Progressions The Meat and Potatoes

Let's start with a chord progression that is widely used in popular music.

The 1 > 4 > 5 progression.

In the key of C the 1 > 4 > 5 progression is C, F, and G7

This is called the 1 > 4 > 5 progression simply because C is the 1st note of the scale

F is the 4th note of the scale and

G is the 5th note of the major scale.

Using the numbers 1 > 4 > 5, instead of the chord letters of C, F, and G is known as the Nashville Number System. We'll explain the Nashville Number System in greater detail a little bit later.

Now lets divide our chord progression into bars. The 12 bar chord progression is a very popular one for this particular set of chords, and many, many songs have been recorded using this very progression.

In this progression we are going to play the C chord for 4 bars,

then go to the F chord for 2 bars

and then back to the C chord for 2 bars,

then to the G7 chord for 1 bar,

then to the F chord for 1 bar

and back to the C chord for 2 bars.

Now let's see, 4 + 2 + 2 + 1 + 1 + 2 = 12 bars (how about that, I can count)

/ indicates number of beats to a bar. Example //// 4 beats.

Bar 1 > C chord//// Bar 2 > C chord//// Bar 3 > C chord//// Bar 4 > C chord////

Bar 5 > F chord//// Bar 6 > F chord//// Bar 7 > C chord//// Bar 8 > C chord////

Bar 9 > G7 chord//// Bar 10 > F chord////

Bar 11 > C chord//// Bar 12 > C chord////

If you have a metronome, let's set your Beats Per Minute to 120 BPM.

That is a very common beat rate for many songs.

If you have an electronic or digital drum machine it is even better. You can set your BPM and also program the style of beat you would prefer.

The most common beats in popular music are 4/4 time (4 beats to the bar), and 3/4 time (3 beats to the bar). By far the most common is 4/4 time.

With 4/4 time you can play in what they call straight 8ths, or in a shuffle groove that has a triplet feel to it. An example of a straight 8ths groove would be the song ACHY BEAKY HEART and an example of a shuffle groove would be THAT'LL BE THE DAY, WHEN I DIE.

Now, of course, this 12 bar, 3-chord progression might not be suitable for the lyrics you have written, but we are using this as an example just to get started, for those of you who are not familiar with music writing.

I will explain later how to put just the right chord progression to your new lyrics.

As you play this chord progression, just hum along with it, creating your own melody line as you go. See how easy it is, and how familiar the chord progression sounds. That's because it's been used in hundreds of songs already.

The melody line you create will naturally depend on your lyrical content, how many words will fit into each bar, how many syllables there are in certain words, and the tempo of your song etc.

Lets go on to creating some original music to some original lyrics.

I'm gonna take the same original song I showed you earlier

She's over on the leavin' side of good-bye

She's over on the brand new side of her life

She planned her final getaway,

then she made her escape

She's over on the leavin' side of good-bye

I guess I never treated her as good as I should

I guess I never gave her all the lovin' that I could

but Lord I never thought she would,

but now she's really got me good

She's over on the leavin' side of good-bye

As you can see each line of the song (Chorus and Verse) have a certain length and rhythm to them. It is always best to keep your lyrical lines as rhythmical as possible. Remember continuity.

I've chosen to start the song with the chorus (which is also the hook line) and I've also chosen to start the song on the 5 chord with a straight 8ths feel. Although I am starting the actual singing on the 5 chord, I will start the intro of the song on the 1 chord. In the key of C this of course will be the C chord.

After 4 bars of intro on the C chord I go to the 5-chord (G7) and start singing

(she's over on the leavin' side of good-bye). That one line will last a mere

4 bars with the 1-chord (C) coming in on bar 3 right on the word (bye),

(last syllable of good-bye) . In other words the lyrical line will

resolve from the 5-chord (G7) to the 1 chord (C) at its conclusion.

The next line of the song is exactly the same musically. On bar 5,

I go back to the 5-chord (G7) and sing the line

(she's over on the brand new side of her life) .

On bar 7 the line finishes on the word (Life)

which again resolves back to the 1 chord (C) and continues thru bar 8.

So far we are still only 2 lines and 8 bars into the song.

At this point I decided to take the lyrical line in another direction musically.

On bar 9 we go to the 6 chord (A minor) for (She planned her final)

and on bar 10 we go to the 4 chord (F) for (Getaway)

on bar 11 we go to the 2 chord (D minor) for (Then she made her)

and on bar 12 we go the 4 chord (F) for (Escape)

back to the 1 chord (C) on bar 13 for (She's over on the)

and to the 5 chord (G7) on bar 14 for (Leavin' side of good)

SHE'S OVER ON THE LEAVIN' SIDE OF GOOD-BYE 4 bar intro (C chord) in key of C

CHORUS

           Bar 1             Bar 2                          Bar 3                 Bar 4

　G7                                                        C

planned her final getaway then she made her es--cape,      She's

over on the leavin' side of good---bye>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> I

C                                                               D minor

Bar 1                                  Bar 2              Bar 3                  Bar 4

guess I never treated her as good as I should >>>>>>>>>>>> I

________________________________________________________ 

C                             C7                      F                     D

Bar 9                       Bar 10               Bar 11             Bar 12

never thought she would but she really got me good>>>now she's

________________________________________________________ 

G7                                                     C

Bar 13          Bar 14                          Bar 15                    Bar 16

over on the leavin' side of good---bye >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

________________________________________________________ 

SHE'S OVER ON THE LEAVIN' SIDE OF GOOD-BYE

has only 5 chords >> C, D minor, F, G7, and A minor

which in "The Nashville Number System" translates to: 1, 2, 4, 5, and 6

The C7 (dominant 7th) chord in the verse is only a variation of the C chord.

Adding the dominant 7th, Bb note (also known as the flat 7), to the (1) C chord results in the Transition to the (4) F chord to be much more pleasing to the ear.

The dominant 7th Bb note in the (C7) chord gives the listener the expectation of resolving to the (4) chord, which in the key of C is F.

Notice also when the G7 chord is used in this song it is resolving back to the C chord which is (technically speaking) its (4) chord.

Don't let this confuse you. Just remember that whenever you resolve to a chord that is a Major 4th above, adding the dominant 7th note (or flat 7) to the chord you are in, gives the transition to the chord a major 4th above, a more ear-pleasing entrance.

The D minor and A minor in this song would be considered by some to be OFF chords.

They are only considered to be OFF Chords to some, because they are

outside the commonly used 3 chord pattern of C, F, and G7.

OFF chords (as they are often called in popular music) give the song a different flavor, mood, and/or color and direction. But as you will see later they are simply variations and substitutions of the 3 basic chords, 1, 4, and 5.

If you know your major scale you will be able to compose some very interesting chord progressions and melody's.

Next is a little lesson on the Nashville Number System and putting chord progressions together.

THE NASHVILLE NUMBER SYSTEM

Oh yes, those wonderful studio musicians in Music City U.S.A., who play all the wonderful licks on all those great country music recordings we listen to. Those talented bunch of pickers have come up with a system of reading and writing chord changes that is now put to use in almost every recording session these days.

Here is what these guys have come up with.

Instead of using the names of the chords (like C, F or G) they have substituted numbers for the chords. So instead of writing (C, F, or G) they would write (1, 4 and 5). The beauty of this method is that if you know your major scale then you can transpose a song into any key (instantly).

Simply because: (1, 4, and 5) are the same in every key.

The actual letter names of the chords are different, but the relationship of those chords within the structure of the musical scale is identical.

EXAMPLE:

C,F,G = 1, 4, 5

D,G,A = 1, 4, 5

G,C,D = 1, 4, 5

Here is the basic Nashville Number System: (with variations to follow)

There are seven notes in a major scale.

Eight, if you count the octave,

But in the Nashville Number System only the seven scale positions are used

Numbers:-----1-----2---------3--------4------5-----6--------7

Key of C:-----------C-------D minor---E Minor---F--------G7-----A minor---B diminished

Key of Db:----(C#)-Db----Eb minor --F minor---Gb-------Ab7---Bb minor---C diminished

Key of D:------------D-----E minor ---F# minor--G-------A7------B minor--C# diminished

Key of Eb:----(D#)--Eb----F minor----G minor---Ab------Bb7----C minor----D dim

Key of E:------------E-----F# minor---G# minor---A-------B7-----C# minor---D# dim

Key of F:-------------F-----G minor----A minor---Bb------C7-----D minor----E dim

Key of F#:----(Gb)-F#---G# minor---A# minor----B------C#7-----D# minor---F dim

Key of G:------------G-----A minor----B minor----C-------D7-----E minor----F# dim

Key of Ab-----(G#)-Ab----Bb minor---C minor-----Db-----Eb7------F minor----G dim

Key of A:------------A----B minor----C# minor----D------E7------F# minor---G# dim

Key of Bb-----(A#)-Bb----C minor-----D minor-----Eb------F7-----G minor----A dim

Example: In the key of C, It's as simple as: 1=C, 2=D, 3=E, 4=F, 5=G, 6=A, 7=B.

The 1 is a major >>>>>>> scale notes in chord, key of C >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> C, E, G

The 2 is a minor >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>D, F, A

The 3 is a minor >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> E, G, B

The 4 is a major >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> F, A, C

The 5 is the dominant chord (flat 7 note of G scale is added to chord)>>>>>>>>>> G, B, D, F

The 6 is a minor >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> A, C, E

The 7 is a diminished chord (the 3rd and 5th in the chord are flattened)>>>>>> B, D, F

You will notice that all these Chords use notes from the Major Scale of C

By using variations on these 7 simple chord changes, you will be capable of writing a multitude of great songs,.

And like I said before: > many great songs have only used 3 or 4 chords in their chord progression.

Some very popular hit songs only have 2 chord changes.

Two hit songs that come to mind with only 2 chord changes are "Jambalia" and "Achy Breaky Heart".

These 2 songs use only the 1 and 5 chords in their chord progressions.

The 1 chord is the ROOT chord of the song, and the 5 chord is the DOMINANT chord, which (usually always) resolves back to the 1 chord, which I explained earlier is actually a major 4th above.

Just remember that a major 4th above and a major 5th below are the same thing.

G is the 5 chord to C, and C is the 4 chord to G.

These 2 chords are very important in popular music.

Example > in the key of C. > 1 is C and 5 is G

Next to the 1 and 5 chords, the (4 chord > F) is very important.

All other chord changes are simply variations on these 3 main chords.

The 1, 4, and 5.        C, F and G if you are in the key of C.

If you were to analyze the notes within each of your 7 basic chords, you would find many similarities in certain chords:

EXAMPLE: A minor is the relative minor of the C Major chord

The notes in A minor are: A, C, E ---- add G and you have A minor 7

The notes in C major are: C, E, G ---- add A and you have C (six)

A minor 7 and C (six) > exact same notes but different chord

If you were to add the note A (from the A minor chord) to the C chord, you would have a C(six) chord, and if you were to add the note G (from the C chord) to the A minor chord you would have an A minor7.

Both the C6 chord and the A minor7 chords would have the exact same notes in them (C, E, G, A).

But the BASS note (Also known as the ROOT note) of the chord would determine the chords actual name, and it would also give the chord it's major or minor sound.

The same principal applies to the G chord and the E minor chord, as E minor is the relation minor of G. And YES, the same thing again applies to the F chord and the D minor, as the D minor is the relative minor of the F chord.

What about that crazy old diminished chord in there you say:

Very good point, but again very simple to explain.

The B diminished chord (The 7 chord in the key of C) is simply a substitution for the 5 chord.

The B diminished chord has a flat 3 and a flat 5, so it would be made up of the notes B, D, and F.

Now let's take another look at the 5 chord (G7) It's note's are G, B, D and F. Look what happens if you were to take the G note out of the G7 (5 chord)

GUESS WHAT ?

It suddenly becomes a B diminished. It’s notes are B, D and F

If you add a G Bass to the B diminished chord it suddenly becomes a G7 chord

The 7 (diminished) chord is mostly used as a passing chord, and a substitution chord for the 5 chord, and you do not see it used very often at all in most popular songs.

So for most practical purposes you can get by very well with only 6 basic chord changes, C, Dm, Em, F, G7 and Am. Or using the number system whatever other key you wish to choose.

For those of you with limited musical training, you are probably wondering why I usually always refer to the 5 chord with the dominant 7th added.

Example: G7 as opposed to just a straight G major chord.

Let me just say that you CAN use the 5 chord without the dominant 7th added , but if you are resolving back to the 1 chord from the 5 chord it is always best to add the dominant 7th note.

In a G7 chord the dominate 7th note (or flat 7) is F natural, so the notes to that chord would be:

G, B, D and F

It is that dominate 7th (F note) that gives the 5 chord it's resolving sound, back to the 1 (Root) chord.

Play the chords C and then G7 and back to C on your guitar or piano, and you'll quickly hear what I mean.

Scale Notes (Major Scale) > C, D, E, F, G, A, B

1 Chord is C major > notes in chord are > C, E, G add B note for C major7

2 Chord is D minor > notes in chord are > D, F, A add C note for D minor7

3 Chord is E minor > notes in chord are > E, G, B add D note for E minor7

4 Chord is F major > notes in chord are > F, A, C add E note for F major7

5 Chord is G major > notes in chord are > G, B, D add F note for G dominant7

6 Chord is A minor > notes in chord are > A, C, E add G note for A minor7

The major scale (used in most popular music) consists of 7 notes within the 12 tone tempered scale.

12 tone tempered scale > A - Bb - B - C - C# - D - Eb - E - F - F# - G - G#

A major scale  The 7 notes below underlined in BOLD inside the 12 semi-tone Tempered Scale is the Major Scale in the key of A

A - Bb - B - C - C# - D - Eb - E - F - F# - G - G#  

A - B - C# - D - E - F# - G#

A - B - C# - D - E - F# - G - G#

A - B - C# - D - E -F# - G#

A - B -C# - D - E - F# - G#

A - B - C# - D - E - F# - G#

A - B -C# - D - E - F# - G#

A - B -C# - D - E - F# - G#

Try to figure out the 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 "Nashville Number Chords" in all the other keys.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 

Key of Bb(A#) > Bb C D Eb F G A

Key of B > B C# D# E F# G# A#

Key of C > C D E F G A B

Key of C#(Db) > C# D# E# F# G# A# C

Key of D > D E F# G A B C#

Key of Eb(D#) > Eb F G Ab Bb C D

Key of E > E F# G# A B C# D#

Key of F > F G A Bb C D E

Key of F#(Gb) > F# G# A# B C# D# E#

Key of G > G A B C D E F#

Remember: The 7 notes of a major scale go like this

1. Root note (or) first note of scale

2. Second note is 2 semitones or 1 whole tone above root note

3. Third note is 2 semitones or 1 whole tone above second note

4. Fourth note is 1 semitone above third note

5. Fifth note is 2 semitones or 1 whole tone above fourth note

6. Sixth note is 2 semitones or 1 whole tone above fifth note

7. Seventh note is 2 semitones or one whole tone above sixth note

All you have to remember is that the fourth note is 1 semitone above the third note. All others are 2 semitones apart.

Optional Exercise for the musically curious:

Try to figure out the Notes for all 12 Major Chords, and all 12 Minor chords

Now for those variations on the basic NASHVILLE NUMBER SYSTEM.

Don't worry, it's not that difficult, and you won't have to use anything else except the basic C, Dm, Em, F, G7 and Am chords, unless you really get brave and want to try experimenting with some of these other options.

But as I said before there have been a multitude of great hit songs written within the basic 7 chords (major scale system).

VARIATIONS ON A THEME: Sounds like the title to a jazz tune.

Variations on the basic 7 chords is very easy indeed. Simply use minor's instead of major's, and major's instead of minor's, and add 7th's and 9th's or any other altered note's as add-ons to your basic chords. These (Altered or Substitution chords) are simply a way of adding a different sound and/or color to your composition.

For Example: When going to the 2 chord from the 1 chord in the key of C, you would normally go to the D minor. Why not go to the D7 chord. The D7 is actually the 5 dominant chord in the key of G, but we're going to use it as the 2 chord in the key of C. It obviously has a different sound to it than D minor, but it is still a 2 chord in the key of C, because it's root (D) is still the second note of the C scale. When writing this chord on a chord chart you would have to write it as 2(7), indicating it is a D7 chord and not a D minor.

If for some reason your song was in the key of C but you want your 5 chord to be a minor instead of the usual G dominant 7th, you would simply write it as 5m, or (5 minor) which is G minor. And in the key of C, a G minor 7th would be written as 5m7, (or 5 minor 7) and a G major 7th would be written as 5M7, or (5 major 7). It's all very simple, but as I said most hit songs are very simple anyway and don't vary much away from the basics, and you don't want to get too complicated in any case.

Practice playing your own chord progressions that you have made up. Listen to some hit songs and try to figure out where the chords are going. I bet you'll be pleasantly surprised that in very little time you will be able to hear the chord changes as they are going by.

Remember what I said > most popular music is very simple and uses very simple chord progressions.

And I think you'll also be surprised to see how many popular songs stay within the 7 basic chord changes, and even use only 3 or 4 chords in the whole song.

Another very popular chord progression used in a lot of early rock and roll and country music is the 1, 6, 4, 5 progression.

In the key of C this is (as I'm sure you already know by now) C, A minor, F and G7. Some songs do a variation of this progression and substitute the 2 chord for the 4, which as you've already learned is the relative minor of the 4 chord. It would then be 1, 6, 2, 5 or C, A minor, D minor and G7.

Play the 1, 6, 4, 5 progression on your guitar or piano and I'll bet you that several songs from the past will suddenly pop into your mind, that have all used this chord progression. The possibilities are endless with the 7 basic chords, in the Nashville Number System. Actually only 6 chords, as we've already mentioned the 7 chord (B dim. in the key of C) is seldom used in Pop Music.

Chapter Six:

AREN'T COMPUTERS WONDERFUL

Playing, Composing and Recording Your OWN Music, With Your Personal Computer

The personal computer has brought a whole new dimension to the craft of songwriting. With some of the computer music programs available today, you don't even have to know very much about music to be a composer. Although this can be fun to sit back and let your computer do all the work, it is strongly recommended that you use your own creativity and talent to write the music, or in the case of lyricists, hand it over to a qualified composer to write and record the music to your lyrics.

How to play, compose and record music on your personal Computer or Laptop

For those of you with some computer knowledge and a little musical know-how you will need a Windows (or Mac) Computer, a midi keyboard, a soundcard (or Audio Interface), and a MIDI or Midi/AUDIO software program such as Power Tracks or Cakewalk.

For the musically advanced among you there are programs such as Pro Tools > which is very sophisticated professional recording software, and (of course) a bit more expensive.

More on Computer Music Programs later, there's lots of them and some very cheap and some even free, Of course like everything else you get what you pay for in terms of quality.

You will also need some sort of MIDI or AUDIO/Midi Interface. Please Note that an AUDIO/Midi Interface is a Professional quality soundcard with a Midi connection and/or USB-Midi built-in. They are much better to use for Pro Audio than your computers own in soundcard, and (like I've already mentioned) they also have the Midi connectors, Line ins and outs, and Mic connectors built right in to them.

The AUDIO/Midi interface I use is a Presonus Firebox. It's a bit OLD and discontinued now but I love it. There are many other Interfaces on the market today. The Interface connects your Midi keyboard.to one of your computer USB ports or in the case of the Presonus Firebox through a Firewire connection.

I prefer Firewire because they have a very fast data transfer rate. However the new USB 3.0 ports are also very fast. A lot of musicians prefer using USB as most computers come equipped with USB ports and only very high-end computers come equipped with Firewire ports. However you can add an (optional) Firewire card to most computers that have room to add an extra card. The picture at the right is the Firebox Software Mixer that automatically installs on your computer when your Firebox is attached to your computer through a Firewire connection.

With a MIDI keyboard and a Sequencer (either a stand alone hardware sequencer) or a software computer sequencer program installed in your computer, you will be able to play and record sounds from your keyboard into your sequencer and play them back later. The advantage of having a sequencer program installed on your computer's hard drive is the fact that you can use your computer for your music and of course for many other things as well.

Please Note: You can only use a stand alone hardware sequencer or DAW   for recording music tracks, playing them back, and nothing else. DAW stands for "Digital Audio Workstation" Let me say though that they are very handy for musicians playing with bands who want to record live, but do not want to haul around their expensive computers to gigs. The picture at the right is the 16 track (discontinued) Yamaha AW1600. It is a popular DAW used by many musicians, but there are many other DAWs on the market (at various price ranges) that are comparable. Do a google search if you're in the market for one.

Now back to MIDI: A Midi sequencer program is much like a multi-track digital recording system, only what you are recording is digital information from your keyboard into your computer or sequencer. When you strike a note on your MIDI keyboard, a sensor located below that particular key relays a message to your computer as a note/pitch/touch message etc.

Now, to play back the sounds you have recorded into your sequencer you will need a sound card or (Audio Interface) in your computer and a MIDI keyboard or sound module capable of recreating sounds (or voices) as in > Piano, Bass, Guitars, Drums, Strings etc..

There are normally 16 MIDI channels to work with (some programs have more but we won't get into that now).

So, for example you can start your composition with (let's say) a drum track. Find your drum patch on your keyboard or sound module then set your MIDI out/thru on your sound source to channel 10 for the drums, and click on channel 10 in the channel box of your sequencer program to channel 10. and press or click record on your sequencer. After a 4 beat (1 bar) lead in you will be able to start recording at bar 1. Your sequencer program will give you a click track to hear the timing of your song.

Of course you will need to tell it what BPM's you want (beats per minute). There will be a tempo box for you to adjust the speed and time signature that you wish to use. You may have to experiment with it for a while to get it exactly at the right tempo you require. You can also adjust the Timing (beats per minute) and the Pitch (you can change the key of your song) after you have recorded if you are not satisfied with the results. That is another of the great advantages to recording with MIDI. Traditional analog recorders cannot do this. With them once you have recorded something to tape, what you hear is what you get.

After you have recorded your drum track you can add Bass guitar. Go to your sound module or soundcard and find a good bass patch, and set it's MIDI channel to say channel 3 (or what ever channel you prefer). You then click on another channel box on your sequencer and set it to channel 3. When you click on record you will hear your previously recorded drum track while you are recording your new bass track.

You now just have to go thru the same procedure for all your other tracks, for example you could add piano, strings, horns, acoustic guitar tracks or whatever, providing of course that your synthesizer, sampler, sound card or sound module has these sounds available. Now this is starting to be real fun. A whole orchestra at your fingertips.

Now you are probably saying > How can I put my vocal on top of all these neat background tracks. Well, this is where it starts to get a little tricky. To record a vocal track or any other acoustic sound such as a live fiddle player or other live instrumentalist's you will need to sync up your sequencer with an analog or digital recorder. This can be done on an "analog reel to reel", "cassette", or in "digital audio" format.

If you're still using one of the old recording methods and you are Laying your vocals down on (reel to reel) or (cassette) tape you will need at least 2 tracks as you will need to use one track for your sync tone. With the new Hard Disk Recorders, Digital Audio Workstations and Music Software Programs the Sync Sources are built right in.

I was going to emit this bit on ANALOG from this new updated edition of this book but decided to keep it in just in case there's a few (old school purists) that would benefit from this info.

For those of you using Analog Tape > If you are still using old fashioned tape, the more tape tracks you have the better, as one track will be taken up with the sync track and if you only have 2 tracks then you will only have one track left to work with. . A Sync tone is a tone that you record on one tape track to synchronize your tape recorder with your MIDI (computer) sequencer. Some sequencer programs come equipped with there own time-codes such as (SMPTE). The one I used when I was still using analog tape was a stand alone unit called SMPTE CITY. With it I could record a sync tone onto tape and then the sequencer program would read the code and play back the sequence in perfect time with the tape. Again you must tell the time-code generator what BPM's (beats per minute) that you require.

If this all sounds very complicated to you let me say that it really isn't once you get the hang of it. And like I said before, the newer Digital Recording programs come with the Sync Source built right in which makes things much easier.

Once you become used to recording with MIDI it is extremely simple.

Most sequencer programs have extensive HELP files to help you learn the in's and out's of their operations.

If you do not want be bothered with synching up your sequenced tracks to a tape machine you can always record your lead vocal part as a synthesized lead instrument, (Such as flute or Sax or whatever). Of course you won't be able to hear the lyrics, but it will still give you a pretty good idea of how the song should sound. 

And > you can always take your sequenced tracks to a professional studio and for a few bucks they can sync it up to their pro equipment and put a vocal (and anything else you might want) on it for you.

Computer sequencing is also a very good tool for composing.

Please Note: These "Computer Music Programs" usually lack the "real feel" needed for producing good quality recordings, and certainly do not take the place of professional musicians, composers and State of the Art Recording Studios, but they are definitely fun to play with, and to get ideas from.

This chapter is not meant to be a complete source of information on recording with MIDI, but is included simply to get you acquainted with it's potential as a powerful aid to composing music. As I said before once you get the hang of it, it is very easy to understand and to use.

The Computer Sequencing programs I personally use are Cakewalk, Power Tracks, Real Band and Band In A Box.

　Power Tracks, Real Band and Band In A Box are all very affordable programs from > http://.pgmusic.com

You will probably not find these programs in your friendly neighborhood computer store, but you will find them in most music stores, and shops that cater to musicians, and Online sites that cater to Musicians..

Check your local music store, there are usually very knowledgeable staff to help you with all your questions, and to demonstrate all the latest musical techno toys.

Still completely confused with all the technical stuff. Don't Give Up Yet! Songsculptor can help you turn your "Way With Words" into a GREAT Song, while you maintain your lyrical creativity.

Chapter Seven:

This protection lasts for your lifetime (or the lifetime of the last surviving author, if you co-wrote the song) plus 70 years. When you prepare demos, (OR lyric sheets, in the case of lyrics only) place "notification of copyright" on all copies of your song or lyrics-the lyrics sheets, music lead sheets and C.D. and/or Cassette labels. The copyright notice is a small c with a circle around it, © followed by the year 2023, and your name       example > © 2023 YOUR NAME.
The Poor Mans Copyright is explained a little later !

When Is A Song Protected?

The Copyright Law of the United States (and of most other Countries) provides a variety of legal rights and protection to the creator of an original work of authorship. For your songs, then, it is important to understand the meaning of originality and what constitutes a work of authorship.

As long as you have not substantially copied lyrics or music from a protected song, it is not really difficult to meet the originality criteria for copyright. Be aware, however, that if you create a distinctive melody line with lyrics that include nothing more than a repetition of the same two words throughout the song (for example, "Let's Dance! Let's Dance!"), those lyrics will not be protected by the copyright law unless someone uses them with the same melodic notes and rhythm contained in your song.

For your creation to be considered a work of authorship, there must be an expression of your original musical or lyrical creation that has been fixed in tangible form. This simply means that a mere idea for a song (such as one about two next-door neighbors who fall in love) will not be protected until actually expressed with specific lyrics and music embodied in some medium of recorded expression (for example, written down on paper and/or recorded on Tape, CD or Digital Medium). Even when expressed in tangible form, however, titles, phases, and other short expressions are not protected by copyright, so don't attempt to register and protect two lines of lyrics or a few bars of music as a separate work of authorship.

Remember that your song is protected under the copyright laws immediately upon its fixation in tangible form (for example, written down on paper and/or recorded on Tape, CD or Digital Medium). Formal registration in Washington D.C. only provides additional evidence of your claim and makes available to you certain other legal procedural advantages if you sue someone for copying (infringing) your work. You can read about "The Poor Man's Copyright" below.

The term (duration) of copyright protection is for the life of the author plus seventy years (in the case of songs created by two or more songwriters, this is marked from the death of the last surviving writer).

IN SUMMARY

Chapter Eight:

MORE IMPORTANT THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW

IN SUMMARY

Don't make the mistakes of the Un-informed.

* Keep up to date:

* A reminder on protection (Safe Songwriting)

* Did You Know?

* Is Anyone Listening?

Keep up to date:

Research and keep current on the music industry through publications such as:

* Billboard

* Country Music News

* The CCM Update (Contemporary Christian) The Gavin Report

* Songwriter's Around The World (newsletter)

* Radio & Records The Gospel Voice (Traditional/Southern Gospel)

Next, understand that the traditional "song chain" works like this: songwriters go to music publishers; music publishers go to producers, artists and record companies, and SOMETIMES the song gets recorded.

Therefore, focus on the first level: Music Publishers. Once you sign a song to a publisher, he or she co-owns the copyright and is entitled to a share of the royalties -- usually 50 percent. In exchange, the publisher takes care of all the paperwork, demos the song and uses his or her reputation and contacts to try to get the song recorded. Because most publishers have professional songwriters on staff who write songs for them full time, getting in to see someone may be difficult.

To see a music publisher, we suggest:

1. Follow up on any industry contacts you have.

2. Visit Nashville or Los Angeles and "hang out" in local clubs to make additional contacts.

3. Try to contact a music publisher in Nashville or Los Angeles by calling or writing each one individually to see if they are willing to listen to your song. If you are professional and courteous in your approach, they may listen.

A Reminder on Protection > Safe Songwriting

Once you finish writing your words on paper or computer file, and/or singing and playing your song into a tape recorder, you automatically own the copyright.

Always place the copyright symbol ©, plus the year and your name on any of your cassette labels and on any of your lyric sheets. For example: © 2023 Your Name.

Your best proof of ownership is to register your copyright (song) with the Copyright Office of the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. Because the registration fee is somewhere around $55 per song (at the time of this writing) Many songwriters register compilations of their songs; This can be a songbook of several of your compositions.

For example, "The Love Songs of (Your Name), 2023".

As discussed earlier  To register your copyright, call the Federal Information Office at 1-800-688-9889 to request Copyright form PA. To ask questions about the actual registration process, call the Copyright Office at 202-707-5959.

You can't copyright an idea or a title.

Everybody can write a song about love, they just can't write the SAME lyric and melody (or ones too similar to them).

Beware of the Song Sharks:

Don't ever pay anyone money to listen to, or publish your songs. A reputable professional who truly believes in your work will be willing to invest in it at no cost to you.

To best protect your songs AFTER you've affixed the copyright notice and/or registered them:

1. Keep extensive records (a file for each song is ideal) of what, when, where, who and how your song was created, plus any related correspondence. Computer files are great for this.

2. Don't respond to any ads, solicitations by mail or contests looking for material. Remember, if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

If you mail material to someone who hasn't asked for it, you could very well get your package back unopened and marked "UNSOLICITED: RETURN TO SENDER" or else thrown away altogether. Therefore, before you start sending material out haphazardly, do yourself a favor:

If someone says no, then you've saved envelopes, postage, CDs and valuable time.

Nowadays anyone interested in hearing your material may just ask you to email them a link to where they can listen and/or download your song(s). This obviously saves the songwriter a ton of money.

is a great place to upload your songs to > and is FREE to use.

To locate music publishers, try these sources:

1. The Nashville Yellow Pages - The most comprehensive source. Check your local library or telephone.

2. The Nashville Redbook - (615)256-5456. .

3. The Los Angeles Yellow Pages

4. Songwriter's Market - Available at your local library or bookstore.

5. The Billboard Sourcebook - Available from Billboard Publications (615)321-4240.

Chapter Nine:

THE TOP TEN Final Words Of Wisdom

The 10 MOST Important things you need to know.

Happy Songwriting

2. Be prepared to experience a long and challenging road. The process of learning how to craft commercial songs usually takes years of hard work, not to mention a lot of rejection along the way.

3. Get involved with your local or regional music community to establish a network of support. Surfing the internet is another great source of valuable information and resources.

4. Don't attempt to contact recording artists, record companies or music publishers until you know how to do it properly. You'll save yourself a lot of wasted time, wasted energy and thrown away money.

6. Organize an effective record-keeping system to document your song titles, dates of creation, co-writers, and pitches - specifically what songs you submitted, to whom and on what date. Computer files are great for this.

7. Never pay any money to have someone listen to, or publish your songs.

8. Get permission from a specific person at a company before sending any material. If no one has requested your package, it most likely will be returned to you un-opened and marked

"Unsolicited - Return to Sender."

9. Be polite and professional when following up on submissions. Remain open to constructive criticism of your material. (BUT) Remember it's only his or her opinion, and everybody has one. I once had a song turned down by several publishers, and they all had their reasons why they thought the song had no potential. Then (Guess What?) one finally said, Yeah > this is a good song, I know just the artist for it. It was then recorded, released, and became the title song on the album and received considerable airplay across the country. I made money, my co-writer made money, and the publisher who finally heard something in the song, and published it, ALSO made money. That publisher has since published and placed a couple of my other songs. It can be a long hard road so don't give up just because you get a few rejections along the way. The satisfaction of creating words and music is well worth the few disappointments you may encounter. I know for myself that SONGWRITING has been my biggest pleasure in life, Except of course for my wife and family (who, by the way) support me 100% in what I do. They know that I wouldn't be happy if I wasn't involved in some sort of creative process.

Unless (of course) it is an instrumental, and then it would be more suitably called (Tune), Melody), (Riff), (Motif), OR > (Instrumental) or as some intellectuals might even say (Song Sans Story)

So what do you thinks comes first, The Words or the Music? I never could figure out what came first with "The Chicken and the Egg", but in the phenomenon of Words and Music.

IT DOESN'T REALLY MATTER

In a perfect world every songwriter would be a fabulously talented musician, and an unbelievably gifted lyricist. Although there are a few individuals on this planet that fit into that category, the rest of us (unfortunately) don't live in a quite so perfect world.

Consequently, Lyricists (whose musical skills amount to playing the radio, and not the piano) will quite often write a song lyric and then hand it over to a musical composer to compose some appropriate music to it.

AND > Musicians (whose literary skills amount to reading the sports section in the newspaper, will quite often compose the music first, and then present it to a lyricist to find the right words to go with their musical ideas.

INTERNET COLLABORATION

Music publishers in the commercial market place look for complete songs Words AND Music --. Therefore, if you write ONLY words or ONLY music, you need to find a collaborator. Here is an example of a collaboration over the Internet that resulted in a songwriting award for the two writers (who had never even met each other in person). I found this (songwriting) news item on one of the Internet's Music Forums E-Mail Relationship Leads to Song Award

This is a rather old news piece (from back when The Internet was in it's infancy) but it's worth reading as there's been many more successful Internet Songwriting Collaborations since then

"We knew we had a good song," Walter said, "and I guess the award affirms that. Now we'd just like to see somebody record it and take it to Number One."　

The two writers struck up a friendship about a year ago through an on-line music discussion group and began working on songs together soon after. "Considering the success we've had through the Internet, we're really looking forward to actually getting together and writing in the same room," Walter said.　

That chance should come soon, as Murrell plans to move to Nashville in the next year, and Walter is already splitting his time between Nashville and Lexington.　

"Already people are saying that we must be the fathers of daughters," Murrell said after accepting the award. "They are surprised to find out that neither of us has a daughter. We both have sons."　

Both writers expressed gratitude for the work of Nashville's Dusty Drake, who provided the vocals for their demo recording, and Galen Breen, who produced it and played all the instruments.　

The Austin contest is one of the largest annual songwriting competitions, drawing entries from professional and amateur writers across the country. Because it is headquartered in America's "Live Music Capital," it is also considered one of the most prestigious. The country category alone drew more than 200 entries this year.　

The first two rounds of judging took place in Austin, using local music professionals who are not members of the Austin Songwriters' Group and could not enter the contest.　

Songs that made it past those two rounds were judged by a panel of music industry professionals from Nashville and Los Angeles.　　

Seek and you shall find.

There have been an innumerable number of hit songs that have been written by (Songwriting Teams). Just a few that come to mind are (John Lennon and Paul McCartney), (Burt Bacharach and Hal David), (Elton John and Bernie Taupin) Just to mention a few.

There is also nothing written in stone that your collaboration be restricted to only one collaborator. Many great songs have had in their credits > 3, 4, or even more names listed as the writers.

Have fun fellow songwriters.

23 Frequently Asked Questions

Question 1: What do you mean when you say it has to have a hook? What's a hook?

Question 2: I can't think of anything to say, where do I find some ideas?

Question 3: When I find something to write about, how do I get started?

Question 4: I have a way with words but I'm not a very good musician, should I try to write my own music or ask a professional musician to collaborate?

Question 5: I'm not very good with words but I'm pretty good at writing music, should I try to come up with some lyrics myself or find a good lyricist to collaborate with?

Question 6: How much money will I earn if I sell my song to an artist?

Question 7: What is a performance rights organization?

Question 8: Why do I need to join a performing rights organization?

Question 9: I just wrote a song that I think would be perfect for Kenny Rogers, and I'm sure if he recorded it, it would become a big hit, but I get the feeling that when I play it for friends they do not share my enthusiasm.

Question 10: After I finish writing a song and play it for someone, shouldn't I be worried that they might steal it?

Question 11: The melody of my new song sounds kind of familiar but I can't think of what it reminds me of, should I be worried that I may be stealing somebody else's melody?

Question 12: I've heard that using Rhyming Dictionaries and Thesauruses is cheating, and that you're not being true to your own creative juices, Is this true?

Question 13: Should I be worried about what key I write my song in, I've heard that using so called open

guitar chords is better, such as in the key of E or A, is this true?

Question 14: Should I write a song with a specific artist in mind and try to write the song in the style that would suit them best, or just write what comes natural?

Question 15: I've got 250 original songs, how many should I send out on a tape to a publisher who may be looking for material? I've heard that you shouldn't send more than 3 the first time and if they like what they hear they will ask you for more, is this true?

Question 16: Should I try and send my material directly to big name artists or is this just a waste of time and money?

Question 17: I've written a pretty good song but the title of the song is the same as another song that was recorded back in the 50's. The melody line and words in my new song are completely different, so is it all right to use an already used title?

Question 18: I read in a magazine ad that they would publish my song and help get it recorded, but I would have to pay them a fee. Is this an accepted way of getting your material recorded?

Question 19: A top music publisher in Nashville is interested in publishing one of my songs, but I'm not sure of all the legalities they are talking about. Should I consult a lawyer who is familiar with the music business before I sign anything?

Question 20: I'm a lyricist and I've been in contact with a musician on the Internet who wants to write some music to my lyrics. Should I be concerned that he will take my lyrics and write music to them and then just take credit for writing the whole song? (Words and Music)

Question 21: I've got what I think is a very good song and I went to a nearby recording studio and played it for them. They agreed it was good and said I should record a complete (fully orchestrated) C.D. quality demo with a professional singer that would cost $500. and it would give me a far better chance of getting it recorded by a major artist when pitching it to publishers. I can't really afford $500 for a one-song demo, but I really do believe in the song. What should I do?

Question 22: Should I send my material to publishers unsolicited or should I call or write them first and ask their permission to send them a tape?

PLEASE NOTE: Some of the answers to these "Frequently Asked Questions" have already been covered throughout the book. However, it's worth reading them again to refresh your memory.

Question 1:

Question 2:

Ideas can come from anywhere and everywhere. Just look around and listen, listen, and then listen some more. Watching talk shows and listening to radio talk shows can be a wonderful source of interesting material. Ordinary people come up with the most interesting material to work with. Soap operas, TV dramas, and educational television are also good sources for ideas. And don't forget magazines, newspaper stories and The Tabloids. Don't let any stone unturned, >> LISTEN, LISTEN, LISTEN. Listen to everything you hear, and try to remember the good lines. Everybody has one. Another good idea is to keep a notebook with you at all times and jot down all the interesting little things you hear. Ordinary people come up with the most bizarre sayings (And Potential Hook Lines).

Question 3:

Question 4:

Question 6:

Question 7:

It is a company that represents songwriters, and music publishers. A Performance Rights Organization collects money from people who use music in the course of their business (such as radio stations, TV stations, night clubs, record labels, etc., etc., etc.) and then pays that money to the writers and publishers of the songs they use. They are usually (Not For Profit) organizations who pay out all of the money (except for operating expenses) to their members.

Question 8:

Question 9:

Question 12:

Question 13:

If you are going to be the singer on your demo, write your song in a comfortable key for you to sing in. Chances are if your song becomes recorded by a major artist they will be doing it a different key anyway, One that is suited to their vocal range. The best key to write in is the one that suits the singer the best. If the singer doesn't sound good singing it, chances are it will be passed over. The two most important things in a song are:

1. The song itself and

2. The singer singing it.

It's not necessarily what key your song is in that is important, as how it is presented. The average person doesn't know what key your song is in when listening to it. In fact, unless you are one of the very few people on this planet that is blessed with perfect pitch, (Also known as Absolute Pitch > the ability to know what note or "group of notes" are being played just by hearing them, then every key sounds pretty much the same as any other key. In my many years in the Music Business I've known a few people with Perfect Pitch including my old friend David Foster, but trust me when I say those gifted individuals are few and far between.

Question 14:

Should I write a song with a specific artist in mind and try to write the song in the style that would suit them best, or just write what comes natural?

Question 15:

If you mail material to someone who hasn't asked for it, you could very well get your package back unopened and marked

"UNSOLICITED: RETURN TO SENDER" or else thrown away altogether.

Question 16:

Because most publishers have professional songwriters on staff who write songs for them full time, getting in to see someone may be difficult.

To see a music publisher,

We suggest:

1. Follow up on any industry contacts you have.

2. Visit Nashville or Los Angeles and "hang out" in local clubs to make additional contacts.

Question 17:

Question 18:

Question 19:

Question 20:

Question 21:

Question 22:

Question 23:

How much money can I make if my song becomes a hit?

So is there really a SECRET to writing a GREAT song?

Actually there are a few, but they're not really secrets at all. They're just common sense.

MUSIC FRIENDLY: Continuity, Continuity, Continuity. I can't stress this enough.

Please refer to Chapter 4 for information on Continuity in Songwriting.

Over 75 SONGWRITING ORGANIZATIONS

Most of them are FREE to join and packed full of useful information and invaluable contacts. We've got the big national ones and scores of local organizations listed. If there's a Songwriting organization in your neighborhood you can find it here.

DISCLAIMER: Please Note: Organizations come and Organizations go and Songwriting Organizations are no different. Because of that we cannot guarantee that all of these Organizations listed are still in business at the time of your reading this.

American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP)

1 Lincoln Plaza,

New York, NY 10023

(212) 621-6000 - or the following branch offices:

Suite 300, 7920 Sunset Blvd.,

Los Angeles, CA 90046

OR > American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP)

2nd Floor, 3500 W. Hubbard St.,

Chicago, IL 60610

OR > American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP)

2 Music Square W.,

Nashville, TN 37203

OR > American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP)

52 Haymarket, London, SW1Y 4RP ENGLAND

Arts Midwest

528 Hennepin Ave., Suite 310,

Minneapolis, MN 55403, (612) 341-0755

American Songwriters Network (ASN)

Dept. A95, Box 15312

Boston, MA 02215

Contact: Eddie Phoon - e-mail: asn@tiac.net

This service provides a monthly tip-sheet newsletter for Songwriters to pitch songs to producers,

A&R Managers, record labels and publishing companies. (12 issues/year)

Write to the above address or e-mail for more information.

Austin Songwriters Group

P.O. Box 2578,

Austin, TX 78768

(512) 442-TUNE, Fax: (512) 288-0793

The Black Rock Coalition

P.O. Box 1054, Cooper Station, New York, NY 10276 (212) 713-5097

E-mail: brc/ny@aol.com OR blackrock@nyo.com

Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI)

320 W. 57th St.,

New York, NY 10019, (212) 586-2000

Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI), 8730 Sunset Blvd.,

Los Angeles, CA 90069

(310) 659-9109

OR

Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI), 10 Music Square East,

Nashville, TN 37203, phone 615) 291-6700

Canada Council/Conseil Des Arts Du Canada

350 Albert St., P.O. Box 1047,

Ottawa, Ontario

K1P 5V8 CANADA

(613) 566-5365

Canadian Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences (CARAS)

124 Merton St., 3rd Floor,

Toronto, Ontario

M4S 2Z2 CANADA, ph (416) 485-3135 - Fax: (416) 485-4978

Canadian Amateur Musicians/Musiciens Amateurs Du Canada (CAMMAC)

1751 Richardson, #8224,

Montreal, Quebec

H3K 1G6 CANADA

(514) 932-8755 - Fax: (514) 932-9811

Casements Songwriters Workshop

Location: Ormond Beach , Florida

President: Scott Berry

Contact Donna Fant, Vice President/Secretary at (904) 252-8714 Monday

through Friday 9-5

Meetings: Third Thursday of every month at the Pilgrims Rest Church in

Ormod Beach Florida

Central Oregon Songwriters Association

68978 Graham Ct.,

Sisters, OR 97759-3107

(503) 549-2053

Chicago Music Alliance

410 S. Michigan Ave., Suite 819

Chicago, IL 60647 phone: (312) 987-9296 - Fax: (312) 987-1127

Connecticut Songwriters Association

Box 1292, Glastonbury, CT 06033 (203) 659-8992

Dallas Songwriters Association

7139 Azalea,

Dallas, TX 75230

(214) 750-0916

Fort Bend Songwriters Association

P.O. Box 1273,

Richmond, TX 77406

(713) 665-4676 - Fax:(713) 665-5576

Contact: Membership Director

The Good Road Network

1201 First Ave. S., #304

Seattle, WA 98134

(206) 583-0838 - Fax:(206) 583-0842

The Guild of International Songwriters & Composers

Sovereign House, 12 Trewartha Rd.,

Praa Sands, Penzance, Cornwall, TR20 9ST ENGLAND, (01736) 762826 - Fax: (01736) 763328

Independent Composers Association

Box 45134,

Los Angeles, CA 90045-5134

(310) 828-3004 - Fax: (310) 829-5923

Independent Music Association

P.O. Box 609,

Ringwood, NJ 07456

(201) 831-1317 - Fax:(201) 831-8762

The Indianapolis Songwriters Association, Inc.

P.O. Box 44724,

Indianapolis, IN 46244-0724

(317) 257-9200

International Alliance For Women in Music

Abilene Christian University, ACU Box 8274

Abilene, TX 79699

(915) 674-2044 - Fax: (915) 674-2232

E-mail: request@acuvax.acu.edu

International Alliance of Women in Music

The George Washington University, Department of Music, B-144

The Academic Center, Washington, DC 20052

(202) 994-6338 or (202) 994-9038 E-mail: sasha@gwis2.circ.gwu.edu - Contact: Sasha Kennison

International Songwriters Association Ltd.

37b New Cavendish St.,

London, WI ENGLAND

(071) 486-5353

Kerrville Music Foundation Inc.

P.O. Box 1466,

Kerrville, TX 78029-1466

(210) 257-3600

Knoxville Songwriters Association

P.O. Box 603,

Knoxville, TN 37901

(615) 687-0186

The Las Vegas Songwriters Association

P.O. Box 42683, Las Vegas, NV 89116-0683, (702) 459-9107

The Los Angeles Songwriters Showcase (LASS)

Box 93759, Hollywood, CA 90093, (213) 467-7823 - Fax:(213) 467-0531

Louisiana Songwriters Association

P.O. Box 80425, Baton Rouge, LA 70898-0425, (504) 924-0804

Louisville Area Songwriters' Cooperative

P.O. Box 16, Pewee Valley, KY 40056

Memphis Songwriters' Association

1494 Prescott St., Memphis, TN 38111, (901) 744-4121

Michigan Songwriters Association

28935 Flanders Dr., Warren, MI 48093, (810) 771-8145 - Contact: Terri Senecal

Midwestern Songwriters Association

238 Eldon Ave., Columbus, OH 43204, phone 614) 279-1892

Minnesota Composers Forum,

332 Minnesota St., #E145, St. Paul, MN 55101

(612) 228-1407 - Fax:(612) 223-8619

Missouri Songwriters Association, Inc.

693 Green Forest Dr., Fenton, MO 63026, (314) 343-6661

The Music Network

516 E. Front St., Traverse City, MI 49686, (616) 941-7868 - Fax:(616) 941-9577

Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI) THIS IS A GOOD ONE

15 Music Square W., Nashville, TN 37203, (615) 256-3354

National Academy of Songwriters (NAS)

6381 Hollywood Blvd., Suite 780, Hollywood, CA 90028

(213) 463-7178 or (800) 826-7287

New Jersey and Pennsylvania Songwriters Assoc.

226 E., Lawnside Ave., Westmont, NJ 08108, (609) 858-3849

Northern California Songwriters Association

855 Oak Grove Av., Suite 211, Menlo Park, CA 94025

(415) 327-8296 - Fax(416) 327-0301

Oklahoma Songwriters & Composers Association

c/o Humanities Division, Rose State College, 6420 SE 15th St., Midwest City, OK 73110

Pacific Music Industry Association

400-177 W. Seventh Av., Vancouver, BC., V5Y 1L8 CANADA

(604) 873-1914 - Fax:(604) 873-9686 E-mail: pmia@ship.net

Pacific Northwest Songwriters Association

Box 98564, Seattle, WA 98198 (206) 824-1568