“Writing songs is cheaper than going to therapy.” WritingSongMusicianTherapySongwritingCheaperWriting SongsRock MusicRockers Author:Brent Smith
“To begin with, the key principle of American indie rock wasn't a circumscribed musical style; it was the punk ethos of DIY, or do-it-yourself. The equation was simple: If punk was rebellious and DIY was rebellious, then doing it yourself was punk. 'Punk was about more than just starting a band,' former Minutemen bassist Mike Watt once said, 'it was about starting a label, it was about touring, it was about taking control. It was like songwriting; you just do it. You want a record, you pay the pressing plant. That's what it was all about.'” IfsWantSaidSimplePayPrinciplesRecordsRocksStyleKeysBandPlantMusicalStartingFormerLabelsSongwritingPunkEquationsMikeRebelliousTouringJust Do ItDo It YourselfEthosDiyIndie RockBassistsMusical StyleMinutemen Author:Michael Azerrad
“Martin Swinger is one of those rare singer-songwriters who excels at everything: singing, songwriting, guitar-playing, and being so present with his humor, tenderness, and wild mind that his performances are also deep conversations, soul to soul and heart to heart, about the quirks, surprises, and love that brings us most alive. His songs, ranging from the little plastic parts that hold the world together, to what enlightenment comes from Buddha and Betty Boop falling in love, are whimsically and wisely original and enduring.” WorldMindHeartLittlesSoulTogetherSongFallAliveConversationSingingEnlightenmentPerformancesAnd LoveOriginalsSurpriseFalling In LoveEndureGuitarSingersSongwritingPlasticTendernessSongwritersSinger SongwritersQuirksHeart To HeartGuitar Playing Author:Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg
“I think Bruno Mars is a great example of a great voice and classic songwriting with a twist that makes it contemporary. I think he's done a great job of it. I think Katy Perry has undeniable songs for what she does, for that pop market. And, if we're talking in the truly pop market, I would say those two.” IfsThinkingDoeTwoDoneJobsSongVoiceTalkingExamplePopsContemporaryClassicSongwritingMarsTwistsGreat JobGreat Voice Author:Kara DioGuardi
“I love music, so if I wasn't singing, I would probably still be working in the music industry. I love songwriting, so I'd probably be a songwriter.” IfsStillsIndustrySingingSongwritingSongwritersMusic IndustryMusic LoveI Love Music Author:Trey Songz
“Songwriting is a very frustrating art form. You have to get on tape exactly what's playing inside your head” ArtFormSongwritingTapeFrustrating Author:Michael Jackson
“Songwriting is hard - it's so easy to fall into the same traps. It's not like I wake up and songs flow out of me.” HardSongFallEasyFlowWake UpSongwritingTraps Author:Julian Casablancas
“Songwriting is actually a really great outlet. I kind of recommend it. You get to sum up whatever is going on in your life in a song, then perform it really passionately.” KindSongSongwritingReally GreatOutlets Author:Bridgit Mendler
“Before I went on stage at Kyle Hutton's Real Life Real Music Festival, I heard one of his songwriting students, Abbey Hirvela, sing; she was in the poet's saddle and riding that horse like she owned it. She was good! I probably ruined her by showing her how to make an E chord without the 3rd though.” RealHeardStageStudentsPoetHorseReal LifeSongwritingRidingRuinedFestivalsChordsSaddlesAbbeyReal MusicMusic Festival Author:Ray Wylie Hubbard
“I enjoy songwriting. It's slow-motion improvising.” EnjoySongwritingImprovisingSlow Motion Author:Julian Casablancas
“I feel some kind of duty to be really, really honest as a writer. The same is true of my songwriting.” FeelsKindHonestDutySongwriting Author:Juliana Hatfield
“Songwriting is like editing. You write down all this stuff - all this bad, stupid stuff - and then you have to get rid of everything except the very best.” WritingStuffStupidSongwritingEditing Author:Juliana Hatfield
“Songwriting is like going to church. I'm connecting to something, and it's rewarding in really important ways. I don't need to share it with anyone to feel good about it.” WayNeedsFeelsImportantChurchShareFeel GoodSongwritingConnectingGoing To Church Author:Juliana Hatfield
“If I don't have an outlet in which to express myself...throug h songwriting or other mediums...I get a bit jittery.” IfsBitsMediumsSongwritingOutlets Author:Laura Marling
“I wanted to play rock and roll when I started playing. Nobody at that time ever thought about songwriting. You sang songs, that's all. You sang other people's songs. That's all there were.” PeoplePlayWantedSongRocksSongwritingRock And Roll Author:Bruce Cockburn
“I was in Jacques Brel Off-Broadway for many years, so I've always been a singing actress, but the songwriting was a complete surprise. I had never written a song in my life. We were on the road with Jacques Brel doing the national tour, and I picked up a guitar one day and I wrote a song.” YearsSongWrittenOne DaySingingSurpriseGuitarActressesSongwritingBroadway Author:Amanda McBroom
“Experience is definitely the high road once driven. It actually enhances the songwriting and song sourcing process.” SongProcessDrivenSongwritingHigh Road Author:Billy Gibbons
“Well, everything about singing, I learned from busking. Everything I learned about songwriting, I learned from busking.” WellsSingingSongwritingBusking Author:Glen Hansard
“I don't think you can ever regain your ignorance.” ThinkingIgnoranceSongwritingSo Boring Author:Carla Bley
“Songwriting is like a therapy, it's a connection that you have with another person, and I'm not scared of it at all for some reason.” PersonsReasonConnectionsScaredTherapySongwriting Author:Colbie Caillat
“When I get all focused on songwriting, I get into all the marketing and promotion that we do to make it happen. Then the right song comes along and blows it all out of the water. The right song will do it for you every time.” HappensSongWaterMarketingBlowFocusedSongwritingPromotionMake It Happen Author:Ronnie Dunn
“The joy of songwriting only gets messed up if you are trying to follow up a big success, or you are trying to create a hit single, or if you have conscious thoughts of a particular outcome for the music.” IfsTryingBigsJoyParticularConsciousOutcomesSongwritingMessed UpFollow Up Author:Tim Finn
“The songwriting of Hall & Oates is deceptively complex. There are a number of key changes that pass you by as you're listening to the song because they're so seamless and clever.” SongNumbersKeysListeningComplexesCleverHallsSongwritingSeamless Author:Ben Gibbard
“I think that songwriting changed when groups started spending more time in the studio.” ThinkingGroupsChangedStudiosSpendingSongwritingMore Time Author:Ray Davies
“I wasn't born with a natural talent for songwriting.” BornNaturalTalentSongwritingNatural Talent Author:Natalie Imbruglia
“To me, the guitar is a tool for songwriting, and it's fun, too. The day that it's not fun, that's when I'm not gonna play guitar anymore.” PlayFunToolsGuitarSongwriting Author:Scott Ian
“Songwriting is something I really need to work on. I don't have very many songs but I really love it. I would love to be a great song writer some day.” NeedsSongSongwriting Author:Norah Jones
“I think there are a lot of artists that are very traditional. I think someone can be a fan of someone like Josh Turner and then turn around and be a big fan of someone like Taylor Swift because, at the end of the day, it's all about those songs. I feel like country music has the best songwriting and the best songs of any genre.” ThinkingFeelsEndsCountryBigsArtistSongTurnsFansTraditionalGenreThe End Of The DaySongwritingJoshTurner Author:Charles Kelley
“The best songwriting comes from being as creative as you can and editing it down to the good bits, essentially.” BitsCreativeSongwritingEditing Author:Alex Kapranos
“Songwriting helps me sort out my personal problems. With acting, you're just a tool for someone's ideas.” IdeasHelpingProblemActingToolsHelp MeSongwritingPersonal Problems Author:Gary Kemp
“I never sit down to write. When I'm moved, I do it. I just wait for it to come. You just hear it. I can't really describe writing. It's in my head.” WritingI CanWaitingMovedSongwritingSongwritersWriting Songs Author:Lenny Kravitz
“I don't really know that there's any real rules for songwriting.” KnowsRealSongwriting Author:Amos Lee
“Songwriting isn't always something that's directly proportionate to the experience.” Songwriting Author:Amos Lee