3 truths you NEED to know about songwriting

In a row of self-help books at a post office, sat one titled: The Secret to Originality. On the first page of the book it said this:

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o·rig·i·nal·i·ty

[əˌrijəˈnalədē]

NOUN

1. Undetected plagiarism.

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Wow.

While I don't quite agree with that proclamation, I think it reveals a few truths about songwriting that we have to realize in order to write better songs.

1. There are no original melodies

Songwriters only have 8 notes to work with, so it's impossible to write a completely original melody. Every melody that you or I could come up with, someone will go "Hey! That sounds like..." So don't even worry about it. Forget about writing original melodies and just write melodies that you like.

2. There are no original lyrics

Now, there are a lot more words than there are notes, but nearly every combination of words that sound nice together have already been used in a song. So again, don't even make it a concern to write original lyrics. Use words that are meaningful to you and convey the message you want to send.

3. Your originality comes from your style

It's impossible to be completely original because everything's already been made. Except for you. You will probably be the only original thing about your songs, but that's enough!

Everyone can rhyme "about you" with "without you" but no one can do it the way that you can. Everybody has used all the chord progressions and all the melodies - but not the way you will! So next time you worry whether you song is original or not, just remember Duke Ellington, "if it sounds good, it is good."

#songwriting #songstructure #arrangement