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Are musicians better composers?

This is something I briefly touched on in a previous newsletter: … over and over I get asked “will I write better songs if I’m a musician?”.

Which is the answer?

Yes and no.

Confused?

Let me explain. For the sake of simplicity, I’ll talk about the ‘musical’ aspect of songwriting here.

First of all, I will tell you that I am a musician, composer and vocal coach. And I’ve worked with both composers who play instruments and composers who don’t. Which group is better to work with?

Says so. Those who play an instrument (to some degree) are more likely to understand timing, tempo, and perhaps some syncopation. Sometimes musicians will also understand melody creation a bit more than non-musicians. They will understand the structure of harmony and some accompanying music theory.

Due to the various ‘pieces’ or ‘songs’ they have played on their instruments, these musical and rhythmic elements are more or less naturally embedded in their brain, in practice and theory.

Of course, this is a GOOD thing. it’s an advantage. Now yes, there are non-musicians who are also gifted with these elements, but I’m just speaking in general terms here. For the most part, more musicians will have these items than non-musicians.

Now here’s the twist. It is for this very reason that many musicians find it difficult to write great songs. As? Well, because there are musicians who are preprogrammed to think that maybe a melody should flow a certain way, or maybe a chord sequence shouldn’t fall into that pattern, etc., BECAUSE they get caught up in the theory that indirectly tells them “this not well”.

You see, composers who don’t know anything about music theory or playing an instrument will write freely. Which means they won’t think if something is ‘musically correct’ or not. Of course, you can’t write a song of pure non-musicality and expect to get a welcome reception. you would be crazy

But it’s good when you don’t think too much about something that feels good musically in the song. Why care? Is a song. If the second verse has 10 bars and the first has 8, so what? It is not a big thing.

On the other hand, there are non-musical songwriters who just need that little push to learn some very basic chords on a piano or guitar… just to give them that edge and sometimes even boost their creativity. So….

….here is my conclusion. If you play an instrument and want to be a composer, then don’t think too much about what is musically correct. Let yourself be carried away by the chords and the melody. Don’t overthink it. Yes, stick to the music rules, but don’t get caught up in them.

If you’re not a musician and write songs, a great idea would be to learn some basic chords on the keyboard. This is not completely required, but it will definitely give your composition a flaunt. Just the basic chords will do. You’ll be amazed at the kind of music you can make by learning the basics.

And why did I say the keyboard and not the guitar? Well, I think the keyboard is fundamentally easier to learn than the guitar, since you can clearly see the notes of the intervals you’re playing from the front.

But please don’t let it stop you from learning guitar if that’s into you. It is a wonderful and natural accompaniment instrument for songwriting.

If and when you decide to learn to play an instrument, I wouldn’t get too caught up in theory, unless it’s your desire to really learn about it…

……and if you want to, try to draw a firm line between your musical ego and your songwriting art. As much as they fight each other, they *can* work together, if you consciously try to find a balance.