Q11 Songwriting tips for lyricists, poets and songwriters
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? 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 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 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 …
Author: TheSongsculptor
Duration: 171
Published: 2011-03-19 21:01:31
Q11 Songwriting tips for lyricists, poets and songwriters
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