TIP#7 - Top tips on how to write a song

TIP#7 Sounding board

This is really important part of the song-writing process: everyone should have a sounding board.

A sounding board is someone you can play your song to, who will give you honest and kind feed back.

Do not ask someone who just gives criticism. Equally, if you only hear nice things, you’re not going to get better.

The ‘wow’ test

I play my songs to my wife, Tanya. What’s great is that she will tell me if its bad ‘no, just no’; mediocre ‘meh’, or if she loves it, ‘wow’. Generally, she’s enthusiastic about my songs, which is what you need, but she will also give honest feedback. Unless I really believe in a song’s potential, I might drop it unless I get a ‘wow’.

There are plenty of song-writing groups you can join, in the flesh or on the web.

Another tip is to play it to someone who is not a muso, because chances are they are gonna tell you if it works (i.e. they like it) or not. Musos tend to approach things a bit more technically and that’s not necessarily the feedback you need.

If you’re hoping to get your music in front of an A&R person, publisher, or even potential band members, you need to have passed the ‘wow’ test with your sounding board.

N.B. Your mum may not give you objective feedback. Just saying.