Ten Foolproof Ways to Critique Your Own Songs Written by: Cliff Goldmacher www!"ducatedSongwriter!

com# $ntroduction "arly on in my songwriting career% $ considered it a minor miracle that $ could create a song in the first place! &owe'er% once $ got a little more used to performing that particular magic tric(% it became necessary to start to refine my process a bit further! $n other words% it was no longer enough )ust to ha'e created a song! *ow $ had to go bac( and twea(% edit% fi+ and otherwise polish my songs until $ was confident $,d e+hausted e'ery option to impro'e them! With the help of -.$,s *ina /acent% $,'e put together a list of ten things for you to e+amine when critiquing your songs in order to ma(e them both lyrically and melodically stronger! The 0yric 1! 2o you ha'e a strong opening line3 The opening line of your song is the first and best chance to engage your listener in the story you,re about to tell! Strong opening lines e+plain the where% what and who of your story and will e'entually lead to the 4why5 the story is being told! .a(e sure your opening line is designed to start your listener down the road to getting in'ol'ed in the story you,re telling! 6! 7re you using concrete imagery3 One of the best ways to put a listener immediately into the middle of your song,s story is to use strong imagery! $,'e also heard this imagery called 4furniture!5 These images are the details in a lyric that gi'e your listener things to remember and connect with! Generally spea(ing% imagery is reser'ed for the 'erses where the meat of your story is being told! Choruses are designed to state the main point or theme of your song! 7nother way to thin( about imagery is to 4show 8em% not tell 8em!5 What that means is that it,s less effecti'e to say% for e+ample% she was a seducti'e woman but she was bad news than it is to describe her as 4a blac( heart in a green dress!5 9! 7re your lyrics singable3 -y the way% it,s not enough to tell a good story with your lyric! $t,s equally important to ma(e sure that the words you use are easy to sing and phrase naturally! $,'e also heard this put as ma(ing sure your lyric is 4con'ersational!5 0yrics that are aw(ward or emphasi:e the wrong syllables pull a listener,s ear in a bad way! There,s a reason the word 4baby5 is in almost e'ery song e'er written!!!those long 4a5 and 4e5 sounds are great and easy to sing! 7nother way to put this is that you won,t find the word 4*icaragua5 popping up in a lot of hit songs! ;! &ow effecti'e is your hoo(3 -y way of e+planation% the main point and identifier of your song can be referred to as the hoo(! $n other words% the part of the lyric that reaches out and grabs the listener! .a(e sure that along with the story you,re telling% the hoo( is clear and doing its )ob! Often the lyrical hoo( of the song is also its title! $t,s that important! <! 2oes your chorus ha'e a strong last line3 There are 'ery few places in a song,s lyric more important than the last line of the chorus! This is the place where e'erything you,'e been leading up to in your 'erses and the first lines of your chorus pays off! $t,s often the place there the hoo( is and usually lea'es the listener satisfied that

Ten Foolproof Ways to Critique Your Own Songs they understand your message! One important way to ma(e the last line of your chorus count is to set it up with some (ind of rhyme in one of the earlier chorus lines! That way% not only are the words important but they complete a rhyme which adds e+tra emphasis! =! 2oes the o'erall idea of your song wor(3 Often when we,'e wor(ed on a lyric for a long time% it,s easy to lose the forest for the trees! $n other words% we get so wrapped up in ma(ing things rhyme and using imagery that the o'erall concept of the song loses some of its focus! .a(e sure after you,'e finished your lyric that the o'erall message of the song is de'eloped and supported in e'ery line! While you% as the songwriter% already (now your song,s story% you need to ma(e doubly sure that a listener who is hearing your song for the first time will (now what you,re tal(ing about! The .elody >! $s your 'erse melody interesting3 Gi'en that the melody of your song is one of the first things people hear and pay attention to sorry lyricists but the words come waaaay later#% you,ll want to be sure that your 'erse melody is catchy and unique! This doesn,t mean your melody should be bi:arre or uncomfortable but% rather% that it should be distincti'e and memorable! ?! 2oes your chorus melody differ from your 'erse melody3 So much of what we do as songwriters is about gi'ing the listener clues as to what the most important parts of our songs are! -y ma(ing sure that your chorus melody is not only strong but differentiates itself from the 'erse melody% you,ll cue the listener in to the fact that you,'e arri'ed at the main musical @ and lyrical @ moment in the song! A! 2oes your bridge add to the song3 7 bridge is really designed as a moment in the song where you step away from the 'erses and choruses to ma(e an additional lyrical obser'ation or melodic contribution! $f your bridge melody sounds too much li(e your 'erse or chorus% e'en if the lyric is doing something new% the ris( is that you,ll miss an opportunity to add something of 'alue to an already strong song! 7ll this to say% be sure that if you ha'e a bridge% it,s musically apart from what you,'e been doing in your song,s other sections! 1B! 2oes your melody flow naturally throughout the song3 *ot only should the melody in each section of your song distinguish itself but your o'erall melody should flow naturally from section to section! -e careful not to ha'e a melody that is too repetiti'e! 7 little repetition is a good thing as it adds to the 4hoo(y5 nature of your song but too much repetition becomes distracting and a bit unpleasant from the listener,s standpoint! -e sure that your melody sits comfortably o'er the chords you,'e chosen as well! The harmonic @ chordal @ decisions you ma(e can ser'e to either accentuate or hinder your melodic wor(! Conclusion Critiquing your own songs is ne'er fun and is often a time@consuming and somewhat frustrating e+perience! That being said% it,s essential that you hold your songs up to the highest standard if you,re hoping to ha'e a better chance at commercial success! $ do want to remind you% howe'er%

Ten Foolproof Ways to Critique Your Own Songs that your first @ and most important @ )ob is to write the song! Focusing on critiquing your song too early in the process might pre'ent you from writing something heartfelt and spontaneous! $n my e+perience% it,s always easier to get it all out first and in'ite your 4editor5 to the party once you,re done! Good luc(C -io Cliff Goldmacher is a songwriter% producer% session musician% engineer% author and owner of recording studios in *ash'ille% T* and Sonoma% C7! Cliff,s site% http:DDwww!"ducatedSongwriter!com% is full of resources for the aspiring songwriter including monthly online webinars! Go to http:DDwww!educatedsongwriter!comDwebinarD for the latest schedule! Cliff,s company% http:DDwww!*ash'illeStudio0i'e!com% pro'ides songwriters outside of *ash'ille with 'irtual access to *ash'ille,s best session musicians and singers for their songwriting demos! You can download a FE"" sample of Cliff,s e-oo( 4The Songwriter,s Guide To Eecording /rofessional 2emos5 by going to http:DDwww!"ducatedSongwriter!comDeboo(! Faceboo(: www!faceboo(!comD"ducatedSongwriter Twitter: edusongwriter r