There are a lot of great musician’s out there but not all of them are good at writing music. The truth Is that most people in most cases only have either of one skill.
Writing music is hard work and requires deep imagination and a firm grasp on creativity.
So, are songwriters naturally inclined?
Well, keep reading on because this is exactly what I’m going to discuss in this post. If you ever wondered whether writing is natural talent or not then this is the right post for you.
With that said, is songwriting a natural talent?
Songwriting is not always a natural talent. Sometimes its simply learnt. There are so many things that involve songwriting and most of these things have to be learnt whether a person is naturally gifted as a writer or not.
With that said let’s look at some things that influence songwriting.
Natural talent
What is usually considered “natural talent” stems from two things that I’ll discuss here.
These two things are background and Influence.
Background
A natural edge towards writing music usually stems from a background of music writing or composing.
Of course there are many exceptions but this is usually the case.
Such people with their natural inclination as songwriters usually display a certain advantage over others when it comes to writing.
This is usually because of the exposure to music and songwriting at an early age.
But even with that said, there are many brilliant songwriters out there that are not “naturally” talented as songwriters but have simply learnt and developed their skill in other ways.
Influence
Influence is another thing when it comes to songwriting. Perharps this is one of the overall big contributors to people’s abilities as songwriters.
Exposure usually drives Influence that shapes people a certain kind of way. That is why people usually say, writers give birth to writer children or similar statements to that.
Natural inclination may of course be something to do with DNA but sometimes it has to do with just Influence that has surrounded a person through out their lives.
Therefore, its important to understand both background and Influence because they form a big part of what may be considered “natural talent” in songwriting.
Common traits of songwriters
Let’s get into some of the common traits exhibited some of the best songwriters out there.
Most did/do Poetry
Most people that generally do well as songwriters are people that have some sort of poetry background that kind of pushes their abilities as writers.
Of course this is not always the case but this is a common theme among most of the best songwriters out there.
Self expression
Another trait that I’ve mostly come across among songwriters is their ability to express themselves well.
Some of the greatest songwriting that you’ve come across is a result of good self expression from the artist.
I’ve therefore come up with the conclusion that to able to communicate musically well, one has to have or develop the ability to be fully and deeply expressive.
This is why you relate to most well written songs.
Deeper appreciation for music
Of course you don’t choose a career like music if you don’t possess the natural passion or appreciation for it.
With that said, one of the more common things I’ve noticed in many singer songwriters is their deep appreciation for music.
If you hang around people that can generally write music well, it won’t be long before you start to tell the difference between good, average and bad songwriting.
Great songwriters generally have a deep seated appreciation for music as an expressive artform.
How writers are made
Let’s get into how songwriters are made or how most of them develop their skills.
Influence
The right use of Influence as well as the ability to be inspired by it is usually how most songwriters are born or develop a genuine interest in music as a whole.
This is what you’ll mostly come across in people that are judged or perceived to be “naturally gifted songwriters”.
Imitating others
Imitation applied well usually bears fruit.
When it comes to music and art in general, imitation is something that has been going on for years.
People know how to copy others and use their own unique abilities to create something completely different.
Imitating and trying to sound as good as the great musicians is one of the ways in which songwriters generally nurture their skill and develop it.
If you’re therefore one that has a genuine love for music then Imitating others can be a great way for you to take a deep look into how other songwriters do their work.
This is important in your growth and I don’t necessarily mean you have to copy people to a complete degree. You just need to be inspired enough to find your own unique powers as a writer.
Studying music
Studying music is another great way to not only learn how others write music but also how instrumentation accompanies writing.
This is important because If one intends to write songs, these songs more than 95% of the time have to be performed.
With that said, writing songs has its nuance because of its ability to work with instrumentation.
Studying songwriting
Songwriting is an artform and most of the people that are renowned songwriters today are people that took the time to study songwriting.
It may have been in formal settings like may be schools or it may have been in more informal settings like maybe through a writing coach or through feverent practice.
From writer to songwriter
Many songwriters are just people that made the shift from authoring books to authoring music.
The basic understanding of writing provides a good benchmark for them to write great songs.
