I see the way some musicians
wrote songs.
Some songwriters would write
the lyrics first and then they’ll
write the chords above certain
lyrics.
Songwriters will even go as far
as writing down guitar tab for
riff ideas or guitar solos.

Stop, right there!!! Time out!
If you write songs in that way,
then you are not a songwriter.

The way I always wrote guitar parts
for music is that I never wrote
stuff down on paper.
The only thing I would ever write
down on paper are the lyrics,
of course.

The beauty of music is being able
to play from the heart and your
mind.
Being able to play what you hear
in your head.
That’s a true songwriter.

When making music, I never plan
ahead.
Music should be unpredictable.
I never say, “Oh, I have a plan of what
I want my song to sound like”.
You just play whatever comes out of you.
It’s just as simple as that.

I’m not knocking the way you write songs.
Not trying to tell you how to write them.
If you want to be respected as a musician,
this is the way to go.

Learn to have a good ear. Learn to improvise
more. If you do that, you’ll be surprised of how
much better of a songwriter you can be.

Kev