Songs...

Songs!

Songs. What makes them great?

First of all, don't overdo it! The thing that alot of songwriters tend to do is make their songs overly complex and containing a bunch of odd chords and odd scales that really only a music teacher would ever say "That actually fits". I won't mention any names, but Toto is a brilliant example of this. Their songs frequently contain complicated harmonies and the musical equivalent of masturbation. It may be impressive, but so is a monkey dipping his head in cocoa-powder, and I wouldn't want the sound of that coming out of my speakers!

Second of all...well...don't overdo it, again! This one is instead aimed at the singers; keep it simple! Mariah Carey frequently falls into the rather deep pit of wailing and showing off her fabulous voice too much. Again, it's impressive, but it gets bloody dull to listen to for any extended amount of time.

Thirdly; write abstract lyrics. If you're going to use names in the song, make sure it's in a fashion that doesn't give the impression that the song is a detailed description of that person. People want to be able to identify with songs, and they can't do that if the lover you're singing about is called Lois and is 6ft5, has red hair and lives on 35 Spooner St.

Fourthly; never tell anyone what the song is about. Same reason as above.

Fifthly; if you can't get any good ideas of what chord progression to use, do what everyone else does; rip off Canon in D Major by Pachelbel. It ALWAYS sounds good!