How to Write a Hit Song - A New Approach

I want to try something new and, if you're interested, you need to let me know right now.

I recently met this guy, I'll call him Mr. X, whom is an expert on the subject of creativity.  His background is in visual art (painting, drawing, etc) and the majority of what he does focuses on these mediums, but he is highly sought-after by artists of all types when it comes to them enhancing their ability to be creative.

A few days ago, he was explaining to me some things about the mind and how it works when coming up with new ideas.  As he was doing this, I was thinking, "This would work great for songwriters."

After 100+ episodes of Music Business Radio, many with top songwriters, this is what I know about songwriting...

1. Writers block happens...sometimes a lot.
2. There are only a few subjects people want to hear about.  The big one is love.
3. The real skill in coming up with a hit song is saying something which has already been said and is familiar to people, but doing it in a new way.
4. A small group of very talented songwriters gets the majority of the album cuts and singles, so you have to be exceptionally good at expressing yourself and "painting the picture" with your lyrics, if you want to compete with them and have any success.

As a visual artist, "painting the picture" is what this guy does...literally.  But he's in the same situation any songwriter is...he has to tell a heartfelt, emotional story with very limited space.  Every stoke of the brush matters for him, just like every word and note matters for you.

Ask yourself this...  Wouldn't it be great if you could:

• Eliminate "Blocks" in Your Writing - No More Staring at a Blank Piece of Paper!
• Instantly Come Up with New and Unique Ways of Expressing a Familiar Theme?
• Finish Entire Songs in Just Minutes...Not Hours, Days, or Weeks

These techniques have worked for painters, illustrators, and other visual artists and I'm convinced they'll work for you and apply to your songwriting.

Here's the deal...

Normally, these "Creativity Workshops" are about $500 to attend.  This version of it will be brand new though, with all new curriculum created just for songwriters.  In short, it will be a "beta test" and we'll be working out a few kinks. 

Right now, we're expecting this event to last about 8-10 hours, but I've been known to deliver seminars that go for 15 hours in a single day, so it might go a little longer, depending on if the audience wants to keep going.

Normally, I focus on marketing and "music business" things, so this is new for me.  Mr. X is the expert at the "creativity" stuff, so he'll be the one delivering the info here.  However, I'll likely add some content on the music business aspects of songwriting, just to give you an action plan you can use on all the great songs you're going to create with his method.

The admission cost: FREE

Seriously -- this is something new and we're testing the material, so we're not going to charge admission.  The only thing you'll pay is a "seat reservation fee" (probably about $20) just to make sure you're serious about showing up and we don't end up with a bunch of empty seats from people who say they'll be there, but flake out on us...and keep somebody else from being in that seat.

Date will be sometime in January, so it will be a great way to start off the new year.  Location will be Nashville, which will give us access to a ton of great songwriters and make it a great networking event.

My question for you...

Would you be interested in attending?

Reply below with you thoughts.  Let me know the specifics you'd like to cover, any questions that you have, and more about yourself.

Looking forward to seeing you in January!

Comments

[Karol Thor]

Depending on when in January it was set up for, I would be really interested... Airfare from Winnipeg to Nashville isn't cheap!

I'd love to know of easier ways to come up with cross-genre songs that don't have to be changed for the different genres ie: Country-RnB, Pop-Country, etc.

Great idea!

[art dickerson]

Please send more information on this workshop at artist@paris.com. It sounds interesting. Thanks.

Art Dickerson

[www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=37701895]

I'd love to. Let me know...ian3xA@hotmail.com

[Patrick Noonan]

Are you at all familiar with UStream? I am way up in Boston but would still love to catch the workshop, and I'd be willing to bet there's others like me that would definitely attend but are too far away for it to be practical. So, since it's free anyway, it would be awesome to open it up to the online music community and just stream the event online, I'd be willing to help if possible, my e-mail is patrick.noonan@yahoo.com

[Phil Johnson]

Ditto that Dave. Sounds like a really cool thing. I'm already pretty booked up for Jan and none of my runs are taking me near Nashville. I would love to catch it online somewhere though. Even if it's a recording after the fact.

[Derek Sanders]

I'm definitely interested. I write music all day and it's difficult to find r&b lyric writers here. I'm a novice when it comes to lyric writing. This would be a huge help in my development. dknows2@aol.com

[J.R. Journey]

I'd be very interested in attending this seminar myself. Have been listening to the podcasts of Music Business Radio for about a year now, though I've missed some of the most recent ones due to being very busy. I'll keep checking back as the date becomes closer and more details are available.

The main thing I would like to learn more about, in the songwriting medium, would be creating melodies for the lyrics. With the few songs I've written, the lyrics come first and I need a collaborator to clean up the melody.

Thank you for offering this learning experience. I am looking forward to it.

[Chris]

Yes, I'd be interested.

[Todd]

I would be interested. This sounds like an interesting concept.

[Jan Seides]

I really like this idea, and the streaming idea too. I probably can't go to Nashville in January, but I could be glued to my laptop (especially on a weekend) if the seminar was streamed. Let me know: pandaproductions@yahoo.com

[Danielle Ibsen]

I'm interested in hit song writing & getting it to people who care about good songs :-) Really, how do you define a hit song-there are so many horrible songs that become hits. I think it may boil down to who you can get your song to...

[Mary Jennings]

Hey David! I would love to do this! Depending on when it is in January, I am all over it! Let me know if I can help at all. mary.jennings@gmail.com
Love, Mary Jennings

[Ronnie Lowe]

I would love to come. please keep me informed. Writing is something that takes time talent and creativity. I love learning new techniques and putting them to use.

[Terry Trice]

I would really love to make it to Nashville for such an event but I will not be able to plan for it at the moment.

However, I will have my ears and eyes open on learning and being enlightened when it comes to honing the craft of songrwriting or performing in the meantime. I won't loose my focus on what I have for new material in the studio for the future!

[Patricio]

I would be very interested in attending this event David.Patricio

[jhony keys]

very much so...but I need the exact date so I can plan accordingly.

Thanks.

[Ronnie Lowe]

Id love to come.

["AK" Hip Hop's Role Model]

I'm right here in Atlanta So give me a date I'm there "Ak" Hip Hop's Role Model my main focus is writers block, structuring songs to sound very different.. www.myspace.com/hiphopsrolemodel Holla Dolla!

[David Penn]

Sounds great, I would like to take part in this. One question, though - is this just geared toward lyrical content or will it involve melody as well? As you know, if you don't wrap someone in with a catchy melody, the lyrics won't matter at all, and goodbye hit song :)

David Penn
dave@davidpennmusic.com
www.davidpennmusic.com

[Leol Williams]

Sure! I will be up to it, but I am all the way in New York. How about taking it on the road, so when ever you get to NYC, you can rest asure I'll be there.

[Chris]

I would be interested.

[Tom Jones]

I'm down. I will check with them, but I have 2 others, an artist and a fellow songwriter, that may want to attend as well. This sounds like a perfect event to attend for me because I can never finish any of my songs, whether it's lyrics or just instrumentals. I can't complete my ideas. If I do "finish" the song, I always feel like the end result could be much better, though I don't know where to go from where I left off.

Also, another problem I know I have is what I'll call "creative insecurity". I back myself into a corner of doubt, which shuts down my creativity process because I'll worry about if what I'm writing is valid. Examples of internal conversations would be: WIll anyone like this? The words I'm saying are too simple. The words I'm saying are too complicated. I have too many rhymes. I have too little rhymes. You get the idea. It's like I keep asking myself if what I'm doing is valid because I'm so worried about if anyone will like what I do. The end result is total meltdown after writing a line or 2, and the session is over.

I took Music History 3 in college just last year, and was amazed at the 20th century composers such as John Cage. Not so much because of the music itself, but more so because they stood behind what they did until the very end.

Sorry for the rant, but maybe you guys could help myself and others who may have some of these problems. I think this event would be totally invaluable. See you in January!

[Sam]

This would be a great seminar to have on a monthly basis! :-) Since I won't be comin' to February :-)

[David Hooper]

These techniques will work for anything, but are probably best for lyrics, in my opinion. Keep in mind that this guy is an expert on creativity, not songwriting. The work he does focuses on you being able to get your message/story out.

More details soon...

[David Hooper]

It's doubtful we'll be streaming it as we're still working out the kinks and this is really just a "test" of everything in a seminar setting. We may stream it in the future, but only when it's more polished.

Hope you'll be able to make it down.

[E W Cerise]

I would definately be interested to attend the beta test.

[George Sladek]

I'D BE THERE.

[William Rieske]

I say yes.

[Brandon]

As long as there's not an important prior engagment, and my car will take me there I'm coming!

I'd like to know more on how to get those awesome new songs heard by people way to busy to hear them.

Thanks Dave!

[Joe]

This sounds like a sweet ideal. Anything to write songs better and faster.

[Jared@myersbrothersband.com]

The Myers Brothers Band would be interested.. Let us know if you make it happen.
Thanks man,
Jared

[demetriuskdominick@yahoo.com]

David
Thanks for your constant focus on the music, it's refreshing to see such zeal.
Demetrius

[Uncle Indie]

iTunes blows anyway, thanks for the info.

I had this weird thing I was doing that seemed to fit in with our drive-by society when it comes to music.

For the longest time I kept writing songs where the hook was right up front instead of in the chorus, or at least the music part of the hook was the lead off on the song. Then I thought about the business I am in, selling music, and how people listen to 15 secs of the song and jump to another, then it hit me... I was creating a song writing method for the 21st Century! If you hook 'em right away instead of the customary V. V. Chorus, you might get them to listen to whole song.

It's an idea anyway.

[Paige Presley]

I'm in!

[Paula B]

David I think this is a great idea. If its going to be several events I could plan to come. I now live in Florida and the trip would be long. I have friends in Atlanta, so I could plan.

Just send me an e-mail.

Paula

[Josh Bonano]

I would love to be part of this, David! Let me know about any information when it becomes available.

[Dee Worley]

I'm interested, if I can--depending on the day/time.
Sounds great!

[mike@musicmike.et]

Mike said:
keep me up on the time & date- I'm in town-
Mike@musicmike.net

[Norval Henderson]

I am most interested in this program but am more interested in the pitching side of this business.

Of course I'd like to improve my writing skills by improving all of the areas you mentioned in the email sent to me but, getting my stuff heard is a grand part of my problem.

I am not an entertainer, a singer or a musician of any sort. I am a songwriter and without any published works, I am not being taken serious as even that.

I'd like to know how even I could be taken serious as a songwriter. Just something I would like to have addressed at the seminar.

Norval

[Karol Thor]

So, is this going to happen???

[David Hooper]

Yes! We have had to push the schedule back a bit though, since I'll be in Las Vegas next week.

I will keep you posted!