I didn't read all the comments.... so with that in mind.
This is the very advice that Jeff Steele gave to the folks in attendance at a songwriter's seminar that I had attended several years ago in LA. Write a song every day..... monday thru friday. At the end of a year you have approx 250 songs. At the end of 10 years you have 2500 songs. Somewhere in the middle, you're starting to get pretty good at writing.
He defined what it meant to write a song a day. It means a complete song. Music and lyrics and record it in some fashion so you don't forget it next week. It does not have to be a "swing for the bleachers" type of song. You need to sift through a lot of rocks to find the gems. Just complete the song from start to finish and with lyrics and music. When you write like this, you will absolutely become better.
In dog training, we say that a dog has to repeat something successfully 800 to 1000 times for it to grasp and master that something. It can be a sit or a search for a given odor in 10 acres of woodland. The same thing applies to us. We have to successfully repeat things to become good at them. It takes 10,000 hrs of practicing correctly to master something. Do the math.... that means 4 to 5 years of doing.
As a side, Steele said that after having done this (writing hit songs) for his whole life, he still has a rate of 1 in 10 songs that he writes is decent enough to consider demoing. Out of those, again maybe 1 in 10 of the demos get cut, and a small number of them hit the top 10 in the charts. At the time of the seminar, Steele had had 24 hit songs that were in the top 10 including #1.
Not many folks, including myself have the time to set and write a complete song, or anything for that matter, everyday. But that doesn't mean we can't write as much as we can and learn more about the process and the skills needed to improve.
No matter what your circumstances, try to improve. You owe it to yourself and that epitomizes the reason we take up a hobby or a pursuit in the first place.
You can find my music at: www.herbhartley.com Add nothing that adds nothing to the music. You can make excuses or you can make progress but not both.
The magic you are looking for is in the work you are avoiding.
A song a day – how to improve your songwriting skills You may not copy Jonathan Mann and his commitment to the plan, but everyone needs to slow down some time. The first principle of one song per day is to do my essay as a short story on your song’s topic in order to minimize the basic word cluster, focus your lyrics and That helps a lot.
On the one hand, it helps with motivation I guess, but on the other hand - I'm not sure if it's the best method for everyone. Some songwriters prefer long pauses in writing after each song (that's totally about me).
The result of one song per day 120 days in a row in one video: 120 Days of Music - One Hundred and Twenty - Samuel Orson:
To those who say they prefer to avoid quantity and focus on quality, you have made an error in thought process and that is that you think these two words are mutually exclusive. That is not the case. Ask any person involved in learning any instrument or sport. Practice, and lots of it, results in improvement. There are very few home run hitters who take just one pitch per day, hoping for a home run from that one pitch
Hi Scott.
I've been pondering your comments since I first read them a couple of days ago.
While there's some truth in what you say, I'm not sure that songwriting is as straightforward as you make it sound.
For example, if I define a "song" as melody + chords + arrangement, then I could comfortably write a song a day. However, if I define a "song" as melody + chords + arrangement + lyrics, I would be unable to consistently write songs on a daily basis.
Lyrics for me are my slow point.
I can create a first draft of complete lyrics usually within a hour. That draft, though, is just a starting place. I then use dictionaries, rhyming dictionaries and thesauruses to modify words and dress-up phrases so that I have: (a) the best prosody possible; (b) the best syllable strength alignment with a note's rhythmical stress; (c) the most sonorous linking of words through rhymes, inner rhymes, assonance and consonance; (d) the best possible metaphors, similes and connotations. This all takes time. And with every change that I make, I need to let the words rest for a day or two so that I can come back to them with fresh ears and hear how they fit together.
In this regard, lyrics are like mixing for me. Aural fatigue sets in after a couple of hours and it's difficult to appreciate how well or not the lyrics flow.
Right now, I've been working on a single line of lyrics for three days. While I've certainly had a few 'adequate' lines that more-or-less work in those days, they have not grabbed me. This morning, my brain finally put a phrase together that says everything I want to say and the words flow with elegance. For me, lyric writing is more like the fermenting of beer. There's no way to hurry the process. The best I can do is to mix everything together, give it a good stir and then wait for the magic to happen as my brain works through various permutations and possibilities.
Just my two cents worth!
Regards, Noel
Interesting thread. I am like you Noel, I struggle with lyrics and it takes me a long time to craft a reasonable set of lyrics.
However, my time on FAWM has exposed me to ordinary people who are able to produce literally hundreds of sets of beautiful lyrics in the short month of February. It is amazing.
In turn they are amazed that I can put the lyrics to music and record the song (with the help of BIAB) in a couple of hours.
I believe Bob Dylan wrote Blowing in the Wind in a few minutes while Leonard Cohen took ages to write a song.
Maybe possible but why?? I have 50+ songs of my own....and have times when the muse (and time) come on and write several IDEAS....(later SONGS or not)...and perhaps if something pay for it....maybe think abouth it. Quality over quantity.....its important to me.
I think you can write a song a day if you want to end up with 365 crappy songs LOL I understand this may work for some but for me it's just a no-go. I'd rather spend my time trying to write from the quality perspective than the "quantity" perspective. To write a "complete" song to include music, lyrics, arrangement, background vocals, bridge, breaks, etc... is just too hard for me to complete in a day. I've heard these songwriter challenges songs before and 90% of the songs sound the same. No variety. Just 300 boring songs written as a ballad. A single soloist accompanied by a simple arrangement. If that's the goal then it's cool but I think it's because the songwriter gets stuck in a comfortable pattern and continues down that path not really experimenting or doing anything new. I actually do a lot of songwriting away from any instrument singing the melody into my Samsung then going back and figuring out how the music should sound or how the hook resonates. I will admit that there's no "right" answer. This is just my opinion.
Lyrics are always a pain in the neck and even though I've been writing poems the last 40 years or so - putting meaningful lyrics into songwriting is a totally different ball game.
You need to take rhythm and flow, also what words sounds good and stay away from the ones that make your vocal sound like you just swallowed a hot potato....and similar issues.
I use rhymezone.com a lot since my english vocabulary has it's limitation. Also I find quite a lot of inspiration just by observing human behavior - it tends to get my lyrics going. I also learned, that I regularly will change or rewrite 30-50% during the process from composing to recording.
When it comes to composing - I have a rule of thumb. I set the song up in BIAB or ScalerAudio2 -and then I leave it without writing down lyrics or creating a "humming" track. This to see if I still remember the song after 7-14 days - if I forgot it, well it wasn't good enough anyhow.
MacMini M1 - BIAB2021 - Logic Pro X - iZotope Music Production Suite - Scaler 2 - far too many Waves plugins and Line 6 Guitars and boards + a fantastic Yamaha THR10ll mini Amp - Avid MBOX Studio
Peters' Garage is available on all major streaming services
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Introducing XPro Styles PAK 10 – Now Available for Mac Band-in-a-Box 2025 and Higher!
We've just released XPro Styles PAK 10 for Mac & Windows Band-in-a-Box version 2025 (and higher) with 100 brand new RealStyles, plus 28 RealTracks and RealDrums!
Few things are certain in life: death, taxes, and a brand spankin’ new XPro Styles PAK! In this, the 10th edition of our XPro Styles PAK series, we’ve got 100 styles coming your way! We have the classic 25 styles each from the rock & pop, jazz, and country genres, and rounding out this volume's wildcard slot is 25 styles in the Praise & Worship genre! A wide spanning genre, you can find everything from rock, folk, country, and more underneath its umbrella. The included 28 RealTracks and RealDrums can be used with any Band-in-a-Box® 2026 (and higher) package.
Here’s just a small sampling of what you can look forward to in XPro Styles PAK 10: Soft indie folk worship songs, bumpin’ country boogies, gospel praise breaks, hard rockin’ pop, funky disco grooves, smooth Latin jazz pop, bossa nova fusion, western swing, alternative hip-hop, cool country funk, and much more!
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Rejoice, one and all, for Xtra Styles PAK 21 for Band-in-a-Box® is here! We’re serving up 200 brand spankin’ new styles to delight your musical taste buds! The first three courses are the classics you’ve come to know and love, including offerings from the rock & pop, jazz, and country genres, but, not to be outdone, this year’s fourth course is bro country! A wide ranging genre, you can find everything from hip-hop, uptempo outlaw country, hard hitting rock, funk, and even electronica, all with that familiar bro country flair. The dinner bell has been rung, pickup up Xtra Styles PAK 21 today!
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