We will explore stuff like song form, hooks, the creative process, writer's block and many other elements of the craft. These articles are the offspring of a series of seminars I conduct for aspiring songwriters and they will cover the gamut of information you will need to know to get started or to keep going as a writer. This article will focus on the first E - Emotions and Songwriting . When my oldest daughter was just over 2 years old, we would be riding along in the car having a perfectly wonderful time listening to a cassette or to the radio, when suddenly, without warning, she would burst into tears. It wasn't like we had been listening to Favorite Funeral Hits or something equally gut-wrenching.
Songs are first and foremost an emotional commodity .
Whether we are a music lover who simply enjoys listening to songs or whether we are the songwriter who writes them, we must realize that songs are emotional dynamite. Songs can make us want to dance or to make love or to march into battle. Songs can bring a smile to our faces or bring us to tears in a moment of time. Songwriters who know their craft recognize that effective songs both come from our emotions and speak to our emotions. Great songwriters, therefore, MUST be in touch with their own emotions and not be afraid to feel them - and then they must communicate those emotions in songs that listeners can identify with and embrace.