Secrets of Songwriting Principle

One of the secrets of songwriting is to know the difference between songwriting technique and a principle. Learn this critical song writing idea for song composition.

It’s important to think about the distinction between a technique and a principle. A technique is something like a tool we use in a song that’s designed to work in a particular situation.

However a principle is something we live our songwriting life. It’s universally effective in every song we write. Songs often fail because we ignore principles and try to rely only on techniques.

Think of techniques as simple formulas that are often easy to apply and learn. Most songwriters crave a new technique to help them and will happily try to learn it. It’s like an instant fix that might suddenly bring a number one hit.

Writing a hit is good right? If we do manage to write a hit things will open up for us. But if the hit was written by chance, how are we going to write another one? As songwriters we’re only as good as our next song.

There’s a saying in songwriting circles that goes like this. There are no rules in songwriting that we can’t break but we have to know the rules before we break them. I think this is absolutely true but it’s talking about techniques not principles.

The problem with techniques is they're not universal. What works in one hit song may totally fail in another. Using great technique where the situation is wrong could make our listeners tune out.

We need principles we can depend on if we work them properly. I ask myself this question: are there principles behind songwriting that work for men and women equally?

I think one of the simple answers for the secrets of songwriting is: Keep the listener engaged. In country music it’s often expressed as "be conversational".