It’s All In The Approach (Or Is It?)

What kind of a songwriter are you?

Are you one who: 

A. Sits around, waiting to be gobsmacked by a great song idea, then rushing to write it down before the idea gets away from you?

B. Starts a song…  stops writing… tables it… pulls it out a couple of times a year and edits… edits… edits… ?

C. Churns out a song a day, or a song a week, or a song every couple of weeks at a break-neck pace, not really caring if they are any good or not?

D. ALWAYS writes the lyrics first?

E. ALWAYS writes the melody first?

F. Writes the lyrics and melody together?

G. Starts a song by noodling on a instrument?

You probably can identify with at least one of these songwriting approaches. So, readers, which of these is the best way to write a song?

The answer: All of the above.

You’re probably not surprised. I recently heard the legendary Tom Paxton advise a class of songwriters that “anything to get the song started” is the right approach. Of course! The goal, after all, is to write a song.

Truth is, I know folks - all successful songwriters (and I have a low bar for the definition of “success” in this context; writing any song is a “success”!) - who use one, some or all of these techniques. I personally am a combo of approaches C, F and G (which, coincidentally, are the I, IV and V chords in the key of C major. Tee hee.)

I applaud any and all song creators who give every song their best shot. I know champion songwriters who tour and put out records and who sometimes write only a handful of well-crafted songs a year. Hats off to you, I say!

As I alluded to before, I am one of those “throw-everything-at-the-wall-and-see-what-sticks” songwriters. And it goes like this: most of the time, I am writing at a pretty furious pace; ideally, a song a week. Sometimes - OK, most times - that song I compose in a week is OK but not worthy of either performing in public or recording. Nonetheless, I give myself a giant pat on the back for completing a song (come on, that’s something!), and I put it in a notebook with a bunch of other “coulda-beens”. And then I move on to the next song. 

And when I write songs at this pace and with little concern about whether or not they will be any good, quite by accident, a recording/performance-worthy song emerges! Yes, it might be a rough little gem that needs some polishing (i.e., editing - I hear you, Ellis Paul!) but the song has legs. My ratio is roughly one “worthy” song for every 10 - 15 “not worthy” songs I write. 

You know what? I’m pretty happy with those odds.