Indie Music Marketer .com

For a musician, your songs are your art. They are the physical embodiment of your creative gifts. Every bit of anger, happiness, angst, joy, pain, elation, knowledge or humor goes into the story known as your song. You write and re-write it, scouring over each note and wordÖperfecting it for recording and live performance. 

But when you play it for others, youíre not getting the reaction you expected. Your friends, fans and family seem less than enthusiastic as they dully respond, ìYeah. That wasÖumÖgood.î How could this be? You poured your soul into this piece. This was your ìStairway To Heavenî! This was your ìSmells Like Team Spiritî! Itís a lyrically amazing ode about the persecution of pagan midwives in grass hut tribes! It flows, it breathes, and itís seven and a half minutes of pure musical perfection! 

Whoa. Stop right there, Mozart. You wrote a seven and a half minute song about the persecution of pagan midwives in grass hut tribes and youíre wondering why youíre thirteen year-old cousin fell asleep in the middle of the fourth verse? You wrote a seven and a half minute song about the persecution of pagan midwives in grass hut tribes and youíre confused as to why your drummerís girlfriend began calling her friends on her cell phone before the song had reached its bridge? 

It may be hard to believe when youíre penning an opus such as this, but the normal human brain is wired a little differently than an accomplished musicianís, like yourself. And although music is art, itís also popular culture and the goal should be for others to enjoy your creative efforts as much as you do. 

So, how can you make sure that your writing experience is as positive as your audienceís listening experience? What can you, as musicians do, to eliminate aspects of your songs that may alienate, confuse or just plain bore your fans? 

The following are a few tips that may add success to your songwriting experience: 

1.) After Four Minutes, It Becomes Background Music---Music aficionadoís aside, the average person has roughly the attention span of a young adult hummingbird. As a songwriter, you need to grab your audienceís attention and hold it until the end of the song before they flit off to something else more interesting to them. Although four minutes (or less) may seem like the blink of an eye when a songwriter is storytelling, itís a very long time to expect your run-of-the-mill club-goer or web-surfer to stay fixated on your music. 

2.) Tell Your Story As Directly As Possible---We all love allusions, allegories, vague references, and subtle metaphors but use them sparingly or become a beat poet. A little abstractness goes a long way when writing a popular song. Song lyrics fly into peopleís minds as quickly as the bassist plucks out quarter notes. If you make your lyrics too complicated, then your audience may still be trying to figure out the verse when youíre already playing the chorus. This could prompt the average listener to tune out your masterpiece, order another beer and switch on their Ipod. 

3.) If English Is Your First Language, Use It In Your Song---Itís great that youíre an educated, cultured, artistic intellectual sponge. But remember that most people who hear your music are not book worms or art whores. Big, involved words make for memorable song lyrics but use them occasionaly. Itís good for your fans to ponder the meaning of a particular lyric but give them too many to ponder and theyíll get so caught up in the words that they may forget your song. 

4.) Obscure Musicality Can Be Confusing Too---Lyrics arenít the only way to confuse the average listener. Obscure time signatures, discordant instrumentation and avant guard drum lines may seem like genius to your fellow musicians, but if your listeners canít tap and/or hum along, you may find yourself only invited to perform in underground opium bars where the audience members have all had one too many hash brownie. 

If youíre not sure where to begin, start simple. Write a short, but sweet, song that packs an emotional punch in a universal way. Write about something everyone is familiar with: love, politics, lifestyle issues or the sociology of being a human being on the planet. Once people have fallen in love with your music, it will be easier to get them to give the extra listen to your more complicated, artistic pieces. 

Remember that just because a song is popular or easily understood, doesnít mean that itís not good creativity. Art is subjective, and truly in the eye of the beholder. Your least favorite song could be someone elseís favorite. You never have to stop being creative or artistic, just acknowledge that thereís an audience out there that wants to hear what you have to sayÖbut theyíll need to be able to comprehend it first.