If you want to be good at songwriting, it is important to gather enough tools. With proper tool, we should be able to improve the quality of our songs. One of the primary tools needed to write song is books. There are different types of books that we can use to create a good song. As an example, we may need a book on proper song structure, spelling diction, thesaurus and rhyming dictionary. These books are quite affordable and we may also online platforms that provide similar information. In general, we should go for simplicity and use something that’s easy to use. As an example, we could use smartphone to quickly records snippets of lyrics and music instruments. There are some mobile apps that offer advanced options and features for recording purposes. These recordings are not intended as the primary products, but can be used to create the song in the actual recording room.
We also need tab paper or manuscript paper to write our music and lyric down. We may need to have a good supply of both, because we may need to do a lot of revisions and changes. When using both types of paper, having the ability to write and read music is definitely and asset. The manuscript paper should be large enough to accommodate as much as the song. It is also a good idea to write with pencil, so any small mistakes can be erased and fixed quickly. There are different systems of tablature that we can when we write a song. Sometimes we may need to print special tablature sheet and we could use copier to save cost. Another tool that we should have is musical instrument and it is essential when we want to compose the basic music for our song. It’s certainly a plus if songwriters have musical skills.
With musical instruments, songwriters are able to work out their chord progressions and melodies. There are different musical instruments that can be used to write a song. Some songwriters prefer to use keyboards, because it’s flat and they can switch between the keyboard and paper more easily. They may fiddle with the keyboard with one hand and write on the tablature sheet with another. On the other hand, guitar can be more intuitive and is more flexible. However, with guitar we will need to frequently put it down and pick it up frequently. Many songwriters find that it’s not practical to write songs without adequate skill in musical instruments. However, some songwriters are still able to do that using virtual musical instruments in computers. Although people who lack musical skill shouldn’t be discouraged to write their own song, musical instrument skill is obviously an important asset. Another alternative is to work with a musician to put the song together, before it’s recorded with the professional singer. However, it will mean higher costs in the production and it can also be a slower process. It doesn’t take an excellent instrument playing skill to write a song.
