About

Songs write themselves, but sometimes they need our help

Despite never having written a song, in my first band I assumed I would be a songwriter. Turns out I was.

The early days were easy – pick up a guitar, and chords would appear. Eventually I started to repeat myself, which was when the journey began, and I started to learn something like craft. I became fascinated hearing how great songwriters wrote great songs.

I decided that I’d write about my own experiences with individual songs. I can’t claim to rival Lennon/McCartney, but I can share what I’ve learned, and, as this blog develops, my own approaches to overcoming typical hurdles, and developing songs. Sometimes this will be mere thinking aloud, and perhaps you’ll enjoy watching me bang my head on the desk, and, eventually, reason my way around the dilemmas.

By the way, I don’t write lyrics, so you might take exception to my description of these pieces as songs. That’s your choice.

All the songs referred to (and more) can be found on my SoundCloud site.