# New Songwriter - got advice?



## MelodyMaker (Aug 2, 2012)

Hello everyone! 
Just wanted to introduce myself, thought this would be a great place to do that! I'm actually learning to become a better songwriter, working on my techniques, lyrical structure, etc...been playing guitar for a while. Actually, I'm wondering if anyone would know any great books out there that covers everything I might need to know. Ya know, get me on the fast track to writing hit songs! That's the goal at least...Let me know what you find, and as I do my research I'll be sure to post up my findings as well! 

Thank you for your recommendations - Looking forward to hearing from all of you!


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## herestolove (Aug 2, 2012)

What sort of music are you interested in playing? Indie? Rock? Country? That would definitely be a help in pointing you in a good direction. 

Welcome to the forum, by the way!


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## Segrotlo (Aug 2, 2012)

Hello and welcome, MelodyMaker.


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## Olly Buckle (Aug 2, 2012)

Hi, and welcome. My tip would be make it immediate and obvious. The written word can be as subtle as you like, the reader can go back over it an extract every bit of meaning, in speeches and other oral presentations people get away with the ungrammatical and logic is often fuzzy, they use lots of references to get a general feeling across rather than a specific meaning. In a song the words are come and gone so quickly and there is so much else going on that the most memorable ones, in terms of 'hit' or 'pop' songs anyway, are those that use cliché, or near cliché.


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## Nickie (Aug 3, 2012)

Hello there MelodyMaker, and welcome to the forums. I don't anything about songwriting, but I figure words can be very important here.


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## Nemesis (Aug 3, 2012)

Hello and welcome, I write lyrics as well, but am less concerned with producing hit songs than I am with getting the meaning of the song across and making you feel something. So I'm not sure I can help you there ^^'


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## MelodyMaker (Aug 8, 2012)

Hey guys,
Wow! Thank you for all the great responses! Nice to see that people out there are actually trying to help each other. haha! I'm really into pop and country, so that's more or less what I'm going for. Over the weekend I actually went to a couple book stores and ended up getting "How to Write a Hit Song" by Molly-Ann Leikin. It seems to grasp exactly what I was looking for. I'm going to continue to read this one and if it has some great advice that I MUST share then I'll be sure to do so.  

Still would love to see other posts and keep the discussion going. Has anyone also read this book I'm reading?

Thanks!
-Melody


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## DW Keech (Aug 8, 2012)

Hello MelodyMaker...welcome to the forum!
  There are quite a few books on the subject. Many are sold on Amazon.   Shortcuts to Hit Songwriting:  126 Proven Techniques for Writing Songs That Sell  By Robin A. Frederick looks like a good one.   

 Have fun letting the songs write you!


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## Bloggsworth (Aug 8, 2012)

If you want a masterclass in writing your kind of music, just immerse yourself in Willie Nelson's back catalogue - Just don't fall out with the IRS...


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## Potty (Aug 8, 2012)

I'm reading "Basic Guitar Chords for Beginners"... 

Welcome!


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