Songwriting collaboration is responsible for some of the greatest songs ever written in the history of popular music: Rogers & Hammerstein, Lennon & McCartney, Elton John & Bernie Taupin and Gamble & Huff to name a few.
The one thing they all had in common was that they knew their strengths and weaknesses.
Elton John would take Bernie Taupin's lyric and bring it to life with chords and melody.
They never wrote a song in the same room.
Amazing! Lennon & McCartney knew each other so well they could take two separate songs and make one, as was "A Day In The Life.
" The beauty of co writing is that it is not always so cut and dry.
There are partners who can enhance a bit of the lyric, add to the melody or contribute musical ideas, but the key is to look for partners who are stronger in the areas you have not yet developed.
The first step in knowing how to find the best writing partners is to know you as a writer.
You must be brutally honest and able to say you do something really well, but are not the best in every area.
Secondly, take your personal attachment to the song out of the process and consider what is best for the song.
The third and hardest step is to find the co writers that compliment you.
You must always be co writing with different people until you find the chemistry that works.
The elements are always the same.
You need great melody; a universal lyric, musical hooks and chords to create a hit song.
Which one of these areas are you best at? Recently, I read that (back in the 1970's) Eagles guitarist Don Felder was playing a bunch of guitar pieces for Don Henley.
Henley listened and listened and stopped the cassette after the guitar piece that eventually became the opening to Hotel California.
Felder is a guitarist and brought his strength.
Sometimes a great musical hook can be as recognizable as the chorus.
I am sure we can recall the guitar line in "Satisfaction" by Keith Richards more than we remember the lyric to the second verse.
Never take the writer who comes up with musical hooks for granted.
They could give you the most memorable parts of your song.
Two more examples of this are Lindsay Buckingham of Fleetwood Mac and Neal Schon of Journey.
You can sing their guitar parts.
They are not random solos.
If you're one of those writers who start out strumming a guitar or playing piano chords until you're humming a melody, don't change anything.
That's your process and how you give birth to your idea.
Usually you can look at the idea a day later and know, which part of it you like and which part of it you love.
Chances are you're using the same chords over and over again.
That's fine as every writer has his or her unique style.
The trick is to find someone who can alter those chords to make it a bit more interesting and take it somewhere you would not go.
There are so many subtle changes that we don't hear in great songs.
Movements and chords that seamlessly go by unnoticed, but subconsciously keep our interest as the song plays.
It's your job as a songwriter to study it and when you realize what is happening- you will better know how to select the co writer that can bring what you need to the song.
You will find writers who write great verses and ones that can give you a great bridge and together you may both create the big pay off chorus.
One way to find the right co-writer is to know the direction of the song you are writing.
If you're creating a band, make sure there is a core foundation of music that you all understand and love like the Eagles did.
If you're writing a country song, you must have a lyricist who understands that genre.
Songwriting is about being honest.
Go with what you know.
Work on your strengths until you are an expert and artists and filmmakers will come looking for what you do.
Find collaborators that bring their expertise to every part of the song.
All songwriters are given certain gifts.
Use your gifts and they will make a place for you.
The one thing they all had in common was that they knew their strengths and weaknesses.
Elton John would take Bernie Taupin's lyric and bring it to life with chords and melody.
They never wrote a song in the same room.
Amazing! Lennon & McCartney knew each other so well they could take two separate songs and make one, as was "A Day In The Life.
" The beauty of co writing is that it is not always so cut and dry.
There are partners who can enhance a bit of the lyric, add to the melody or contribute musical ideas, but the key is to look for partners who are stronger in the areas you have not yet developed.
The first step in knowing how to find the best writing partners is to know you as a writer.
You must be brutally honest and able to say you do something really well, but are not the best in every area.
Secondly, take your personal attachment to the song out of the process and consider what is best for the song.
The third and hardest step is to find the co writers that compliment you.
You must always be co writing with different people until you find the chemistry that works.
The elements are always the same.
You need great melody; a universal lyric, musical hooks and chords to create a hit song.
Which one of these areas are you best at? Recently, I read that (back in the 1970's) Eagles guitarist Don Felder was playing a bunch of guitar pieces for Don Henley.
Henley listened and listened and stopped the cassette after the guitar piece that eventually became the opening to Hotel California.
Felder is a guitarist and brought his strength.
Sometimes a great musical hook can be as recognizable as the chorus.
I am sure we can recall the guitar line in "Satisfaction" by Keith Richards more than we remember the lyric to the second verse.
Never take the writer who comes up with musical hooks for granted.
They could give you the most memorable parts of your song.
Two more examples of this are Lindsay Buckingham of Fleetwood Mac and Neal Schon of Journey.
You can sing their guitar parts.
They are not random solos.
If you're one of those writers who start out strumming a guitar or playing piano chords until you're humming a melody, don't change anything.
That's your process and how you give birth to your idea.
Usually you can look at the idea a day later and know, which part of it you like and which part of it you love.
Chances are you're using the same chords over and over again.
That's fine as every writer has his or her unique style.
The trick is to find someone who can alter those chords to make it a bit more interesting and take it somewhere you would not go.
There are so many subtle changes that we don't hear in great songs.
Movements and chords that seamlessly go by unnoticed, but subconsciously keep our interest as the song plays.
It's your job as a songwriter to study it and when you realize what is happening- you will better know how to select the co writer that can bring what you need to the song.
You will find writers who write great verses and ones that can give you a great bridge and together you may both create the big pay off chorus.
One way to find the right co-writer is to know the direction of the song you are writing.
If you're creating a band, make sure there is a core foundation of music that you all understand and love like the Eagles did.
If you're writing a country song, you must have a lyricist who understands that genre.
Songwriting is about being honest.
Go with what you know.
Work on your strengths until you are an expert and artists and filmmakers will come looking for what you do.
Find collaborators that bring their expertise to every part of the song.
All songwriters are given certain gifts.
Use your gifts and they will make a place for you.