Songwriting is a skill and an expressive art form. A song usually comes from inspiration, however, if we intend to expand our command of the skill set, we need to at least minimally, be aware of the elements that make up a song, and then learn to control those elements as a part of our self-expression. I won’t go into ridiculous dictionary definitions of the words song or songwriting, but will defer to the determinations of The Library Of Congress with regards to what constitutes a song, and for our purposes, we will be talking about vocal music as opposed to instrumental music.
The first element is the lyrics. They are the essential element of communications in the song, telling the story or presenting a philosophical position. The Library Of Congress will assign a copyright to lyrics alone, so if you have some great lyrics that you have yet to have set to music, they are a candidate for copyright submission. If you are an amazing lyricist, don’t let anyone tell you that you are not a songwriter. It’s just that in order to have a completed song, you will need to learn the other elements, or team up with a writer who is more dominant on those other elements. more…