songwriter

a composer of words or music for popular songs

A songwriter is someone who writes, in part or in full, the lyrics to songs, the musical composition or melody to songs, or both. That is to say, a songwriter is a lyricist, a composer, or both. The word 'songwriter' is however more commonly used to describe one who writes popular songs than to describe a writer of art songs.

History and background of songwriters - Songwriters may perform the songs they write themselves, or may write for somebody else to perform. People who sing their own songs are nowadays typically called ''singer-songwriters'', although the tradition of doing this dates back hundreds of years. It is often speculated that pre-historic man must have made up and sung songs. More recently, the troubadours of the middle ages sang their own work, as did the German minnesangMinnesingers.Most art songwriting is written for somebody other than the composer to perform, although it is known that Schubert often sang his own songs at private parties, and there have been a number of composers who were also singers and wrote for themselves, Carl Loewe being one example.Many modern rock and roll bands have one or two songwriters, often members of the band. In many cases, the lead singer is one of the songwriters.There have been quite a few popular songwriting teams such as the Tamla Motown team of Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier and Eddie Holland and the teams of Townshend and Entwistle, Lennon-McCartneyLennon and McCartney, Lerner and Loewe, George and Ira Gershwin, Mick JaggerJagger and Richards and Rodgers and Hart.Many songwriters also serve as their own music publishermusic publishers, while others have outside publishers. Legally, songs are considered intellectual property, and song copyrights can be bought, sold, or otherwise exchanged. Songwriting and publishing royalties can be a substantial source of income, particularly if a song becomes a hit record.

Parameters a songwriter has to keep in mind when writing a new song -

Song Genre and instrumentation - One of the basic things a songwriter has to decide is the !::Category:Musical_genresgenre of the song that he is writing. This will decide the Orchestrationinstruments that will be used while composing the melody of the song and also the style in which these instruments will be played. For example, if it's a rock (music)rock song, it will have to feature an electric guitar, a bass guitar and drums and percussion as the main instruments. If it's a pop (music)pop song, it could have all the rock instruments but also pianos, synthesizers, saxophones etc. A rock song in contrast, would never have its music played by pianos and banjos.

Vocal range and key - When a songwriter writes a song for a specific singer, he has to keep in mind the vocal range and the key (music)key of the singer. This is because all singers have a certain vocal range and would be unable to sing a song which was outside of that range. In addition, every singer usually has a key (music)key in which his voice sounds the best or he finds the key the easiest and most comfortable to sing in. Therefore, if a song was written in this key it would be much easier for him to perform it. A singer may find it physically impossible to sing a song whose melody was outside his vocal range. And he might find a song very difficult to sing whose key was not one in which his voice is the strongest.

Length of the song - Most songs destined for radio play have to be kept to a time limit of between 3 to 4 minutes. Any song longer than that may not be played by a radio station at all. One of the reasons for this is that if a listener did not like the song a radio station was playing and the song did not end quickly, the listener can easily change the station. By keeping down the song lengths to around 3 to 3.5 minutes, a radio station minimizes the chance of this happening.

Useful technique for writing music for musical instruments or singers - In the past, classical music eraclassical musicians writing music for large musical ensembleensembles, used to write the music for many different instruments using only one instrument as a compositional tool: ''the piano''. However, today it is common practice to write the music for a certain musical instrument by playing music on that instrument itself. While in the process of composing a melody, the musical strengths and weaknesses of instruments are best revealed and understood, especially as they relate to the song being composed, by simply playing the music using that very instrument.For example, a certain chord (music)chord (three or more notes played concurrently) may be really easy to play on the keyboard instrumentkeyboard but extremely difficult to play on the guitar. Or a certain melody line, that sounds really great on the guitar, might lose its spark when played on a keyboard. As an additional example, a certain vocal melody written on a musical instrument but ultimately meant to be sung by a singer, may not sound at all when it is finally sung, like when it was composed on the musical instrument. Therefore, the song may fail completely to work. To solve these problems and to take out the guess work, songwriters usually write the music for specific musical instruments (including the human voice), using that very instrument. For example, a guitar part is written using a guitar, a keyboard part is written using a keyboard and a human voice part is written by singing the human part (thus treating the human voice as if it was just another musical instrument).This highlights the fact that a good songwriter is either a highly skilled individual who can play multiple instruments, especially those which are to be used in the composition, or he is a good collaborater who can work on composing the song with other musicians who have the talent and skill to be able to play those other instruments.Wealthy songwriters may simply hire skilled musicians to help them compose a new song. For example, a pop singer may hire a virtuoso guitarist to play a guitar solo on one of his songs. Or a gifted vocalist may be asked by an artist to sing on his upcoming albim. Such colloborations are extremely common in the music business.

See also -

List of songwriters

Songwriters Hall of Fame

External links -

songwritersguild.com - Songwriters Guild of America

hodgson-law.com - Music industry Reference Center for Songwriters This site provides plain english explanations of terms and concepts related to the needs of songwriters.

hodgson-law.com - Hodgson Law Group legal advice for the recording artist We provide plain english advice of the terms and concepts related to the needs of songwriters and publishing agreements.

copyright.gov - Searching song copyright holder information on US Copyright office websiteCategory:Music !occupationsde:Liedermachernb:L åtskrivernn:Låtskrivarfi:Lau luntekijä

http://www.larryburnett.com
Singer/songwriter Larry Burnett, former and founding member of the 70's recording artists FIREFALL re-emerges with new music and new live perfomances
http://www.larryburnett.com/

Official Home page of Saxophonist and recording artist Noah Peter
Saxophonist and band leader Noah Peterson offers a clear, true voice and a new vision. The consummate professional in every sense, his group reflects his vision at the center of their improvisation. Turning pop tunes into jazz classics; polishing jazz standards into bright new gems. His talented musicians offer the perfect balance to Noah's fine horn playing; they are light to Noah's shadow, as they groove to the mystic depths of his untamed saxohpone. Like the best high wire act these gentlemen perform without a net.
http://www.noahpeterson.com/

Eric Ode, Music and Poetry for Kids
Singer, songwriter, poet, Eric Ode provides fun music experiences for children and their families. It's a time of songs, skits, puppets, props, poems and much more!
http://www.ericode.com/

Mary Barry
award winning bilingual jazz artist from Newfoundland, 2004 MIANL Female Artist of the Year 2005 ECMA nominations for Jazz Recording of the Year
http://www.marybarry.net/

Official Sascha Dupont Website
Official Sascha Dupont Website for Danish singer/songwriter Sascha Dupont.
http://www.saschadupont.com/

Kevin Kline Online
Washington DC Born singer/ songwriter/pianist.
http://www.kevinklineonline.com/

Entertainment
Cannings online store of Reggae, Ska, Calypso, World Music, Jazz Music, mp3 downloads, CDs, DVDs, VHS, Cassettes, T Shirts. An International Musician, Businessman offering original music. Cannings also offers Performance Lectures. Performance Rights Org., and runs his own companies
http://www.jamescannings.com/

The Telltales
This acoustic pop act from Sydney Australia have released two albums of superb acoustic pop songs, likened to the Finn Brothers, Travis and Coldplay.
http://www.thetelltales.com/

The Official 'Lenore' Music Website
Website of Canadian singer/songwriter Lenore has mp3's, CD info, tour schedule, etc.
http://www.lenore.com

Rob Crawford
UK based pop rock songwriter
http://www.robcrawford.com/

Sue Merchant - Indie Singer-Songwriter
Official website of Sue Merchant, offers her biography, news, photos, and free music. Listen to songs & purchase Sue's new CD, Songs from the Edge.
http://www.suemerchant.net

http://tropicalcaribbeanjazz.com/
n this site you will gain an insight to this multi talented person.
http://www.tropicalcaribbeanjazz.com/

MusicMaximum.com
Great Canadian Music. Great Canadian Musicians.
http://www.musicmaximum.com/

RAY COLLINS
Irish Folk Singer-Songwriter, Songwriter, Guitarist,Actor
http://www.raycollinsmusic.com/

Jenny Leigh Pianist, Composer, Vocalist
The official website for performing singer songwriter, Jenny Leigh, including lyrics, poetry, bio, photos, calendar, mailing list, notes, band, sound samples from her new cd and new songs.
http://www.jennyleighmusic.com

Joe Johnston
musician, songwriter, music producer,artist, illustrator, designer, writer and author
http://www.joejohnstonarts.com/

Serious Kidding: Creative Consultant, Political Humor, Songwriter
Grant William Brad Gerver writes Shot Off The Press. He is a longtime published political humorist and acoustic blues singer - songwriter. Grant specializes in humorous one-liners and all-around terse verse writing.
http://www.seriouskidding.com

Aaron Flinn - Musicsmith Singer Songwriter Multi-Instrumentalist
A prolific songsmith and multi-instrumentalist who has been performing and recording material to rave reviews internationally for nearing a dozen years. He has released four full-length albums and won the 1996 2nd Annual Acoustic Guitar Search. Flinn has opened for Don McLean at a 1400 seat theater and graduated magna cum laude from Berklee College of Music. He has been named one of the best songwriters at Berklee and the best folk artist in the state of Vermont for 1997. Flinn's new songs don't stop coming and there's no end in sight.
http://www.aaronflinn.com/

cynette
music, R&B, soul, neo-soul
http://www.cynette.com/

Coen Wolters band web site
Web site of Blues/rock guitarist Coen Wolters
http://www.coenwolters.com/

Singer and Songwriter Directory
Links to official sites and fan pages. Includes popular and lesser known musicians.
http://singer-songwriter.com

American Songwriter Magazine
Covering all styles of music and the craft and business of songwriting since 1984. Interviews, songwriting tips, news, reviews and lyric contest.
http://www.americansongwriter.com

Jeff Mallett's Songwriter Site
Includes a list of songwriters on the web and other resources.
http://www.lyricist.com/