Pulled off the highway at a regular stop the other day and got to talking with a 77-year old grandma.
Turns out she just got back from Costa Rica where she went zip-lining for the first time ever in her life. It was something she always wanted to do. Not too many of those types around, are there?
As she went on with her story about the many planned stops along the zip-line to bird watch and sight-see, I thought…
“Wow. No one in my family would dream of zip lining at 77-years old.” She’s zipping my mind right now.
I asked her if she liked it. Her reply?
“Yes I did. But I wished it had deeper ravines and greener bluffs.”
This gal wanted to be even more different than she already was, compared to her peers of same vintage.
Oh, I forgot to tell you, she’s a few months past having a heart valve replaced.
Prob’ly wondering what the devil this has to do with songwriting again, uh?
Very simple my tunie.
Recently, I gave a writer an open forum critique on their song.
Lots of songwriters and pros aboard, and I noticed something.
Many of those writers… not all, but many, were just like your garden variety 77-year old.
Didn’t take much chances. Their feedback was very safe and predictable. And, gave feedback as if they pressed to hard, they’d break a hip or something.
Well, you know me, I can’t stand back and order off the senior menu when I’m a hungry junior.
Look, there’s no point in letting very obvious songwriting mistakes pass as if there’s not a problem when someone is looking to better their writing.
To me, that is an injustice to them, and to my own principles.
So, I gave some honest, yet kind, feedback. Very obvious, at least to me, areas of re-write. Stuff TuneBooster readers would know about in one second, or certainly will in future issues.
There’s one point to make here today.
You can’t look at what other writers are doing and follow suit expecting it to be right.
Why? Based off the feedback not given to this person by others, one can only assume they too did not write using the obvious powerful techniques I outlined for this person. If you were to follow the writing of these folks, you well could go wrong. You’d be just like every other 77-year old grandma. Afraid to chance a hip going to check the mail.
I’ve been around this songwriting game for a while and it never ceases to amaze me. There are some writers who nibble around the fringes, and some who really don’t want to learn. They feel their work is inspired and any change is sinful to their muse.
Fine, let them continue to write what they write, we don’t want them around influencing the likes of Tunies here.
In their defense, I guess they are trying to be honest, but they can’t be if they aren’t equipped with successful techniques in the first place.
Just what we’re zapping here at Tunesmith Tips.
So, take care in the feedback you receive.
If you write a song which sounds like, and is written like, a poem… I’m going to tell you so. I’m not going to say you have nice rhymes and leave it at that.
If you use 1970s language in a 21st Century song, I’m going to tell you.
If you write with a monotone rhyme scheme from stem to stern? Someone best tell you … I certainly will.
The point is to be simply honest, or you won’t learn.
Nuttin’ to do with May’s issue, but dah tru’t and nuttin’ but dah tru’t.
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