All excellent points Belladonna.

Essentially, as a writer, you want to say pretty much the same thing that's already been said a thousand times before.... BUT.... you want to say it in a new, refreshing, and unique way.

A few additional production/writing comments.

According to some in the biz, regarding country music especially...and this also applies to pop....

1. Keep intros as short as possible. No more than 13 seconds. Having no intro is considered totally acceptable. Just jump right in and go.

2. Be into the chorus before the clock hits 60 seconds.

3. Chorus should contain the hook which in many cases is the title. The listener for the first time, should be able to tell you the title of the song without being told the title of the song.

4. Use a bridge only if it is totally different from the verses and chorus AND.... it adds something new to the song that is critical to understanding the song. Often, a well written bridge will suddenly "flip" the person's point of view or understanding of what the song is about, or add a totally new perspective and depth of understanding.

5. Keep total run time between 3:00 minutes to 3:30 minutes. Get in, pull the listener in with you, tell the story, and get out. My co-writer on a number of the songs on my website has a "drop dead" time limit of 4:00 minutes. At that length or longer, it's considered too long. Now, mind you, we do have a few that push the by a few seconds, but it's our stated goal to be well under 4:00

hope this helps a bit


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.