Everything about Songwriter totally explained
A
songwriter is someone who writes the
lyrics to songs, the
musical composition (chords) or
melody to songs, or both. That is to say, a songwriter is a
lyricist, a
composer, or both. The word "songwriter" is however more commonly used to describe one who writes
popular songs than to describe a writer of
art songs.
History and background of songwriters
Songwriters may perform the songs they write themselves, or they may write for somebody else to perform. People who sing their own songs are nowadays typically called
singer-songwriters, although the tradition of doing this dates back hundreds of years. More recently, the
troubadours of the
Middle Ages sang their own works, as did the German
Minnesingers. In the contemporary era, the
songwriting competition has become a valuable venue for aspiring songwriters.
Most art songwriting is written for somebody other than the composer to perform, although it's known that
Franz Schubert often sang his own songs at private parties. In fact most popular songwriters of today enjoy having their work recorded by a variety of artists and hearing different renditions.
Many modern
rock and roll bands have one or two songwriters, usually members of the band. Then there are songwriters like
Bob Dylan,
Bruce Springsteen,
Billy Joel, Sir
Paul McCartney,
Prince and others that write songs then record them playing their own instruments or all the instruments using a process called overdubbing (see
multi-track recording). The advantage to being able to play many instruments and operate a studio is one can write the music first then weave the words into the tune, experimenting on the way. Still, many songs or foundations of songs are written with simply the songwriter and one instrument. The
guitar and
piano are the most popular instruments to use for songwriting because they've
chordal as well as
melodic capabilities. There are no rules although commercial writers speak of hooks and such required to fit into radio formats but in the 60s and 70s writers broke new ground and forced the radio to make room for them. To become a songwriter it's strongly recommended that one study
music theory and
poetry, as the craft is one of merging music and words. However, many talented songwriters have attained success without formal training.
A few popular songwriters/songwriting teams in no particular order are listed below.
Many songwriters also serve as their own
music publishers, while others have outside publishers. Songs in
country music are often written by
staff writers; songwriters directly employed by music publishers.
Legally, songs may only be copied or performed publicly by permission of the authors. The legal power to grant these permissions may be bought, sold or otherwise transferred. This is governed by
copyright law. Songwriting and publishing
royalties can be a substantial source of income, particularly if a song becomes a
hit record.
Songwriters in the popular music genre often also work as
record producers, commonly using the professional title Producer-songwriter.
The old apprenticeship approach to learning how to write songs is being supplemented by some universities. It is possible to learn how to write songs. For instance,
Bangor University has a degree course, English with Songwriting, which teaches the composition of songs by showing how the metaphorical and rhythmical structures of language are combined with music, in history, theory, and practice. A knowledge of modern music technology and business skills are necessary to make a career in songwriting.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Songwriter'.
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