This video covers 5 of the most fundamentally important guidelines I follow as a songwriter. These have been learned from my study of the songwriting practices of many of the great master songsmiths of the past including Paul McCartney, John Lennon, Eric Clapton, Jack Bruce, Noel Gallagher, Freddie Mercury, Jeff Buckley, Paul Weller, and many more.
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28 Replies to “5 SONGWRITING FUNDAMENTALS I Learned From The Rock & Pop Songwriting Masters”
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The first song I wrote with my friend a few years ago was the cringiest thing ever and then now I’m writing some of my favourite songs (but I’m probably just being cocky)
James, do you have any advice for someone with schizophrenia trying to write songs? I feel like I never have a stable thought and my own songs feel like a stranger’s and I don’t know who I am. And I get a constant barrage of weird bad feelings and hallucinations while playing guitar especially trying to record. Like my face will feel like it’s turned to stone, my eyes are caving in, my jaw has broke, my teeth have shattered, I’ve swallowed glass, I’m choking, I can’t breathe, my heart has stopped, I can sit up straight, and also hear people yelling at me shouting insults and sexual slurs and telling me I suck horrible etc telling me to shut up and stop and also get bad memories flooding in causing me a guilty shameful feeling that makes me want to give up and die. I’m really having a hard time getting through all this stuff.
I just want to write something that resembles a song.
Do you think if you here the song playing in your head the next day or two without intentionally thinking about it means it’s worth pursuing?
I picked up a guitar about twenty years ago and taught myself how to play – albeit very badly.
But as soon as I could manage two chords I was writing songs.
Hundreds of songs came out of my brain in those first few years.
My comedy songs were very popular, spreading nationally and even internationally without any effort at all from myself.
I remain anonymous to this day where that material is concerned. Those who have acquired hundreds of thousands of views on you tube with my material are welcome to it.
Anyway, I got more serious and wrote many political songs.
But whether serious or comedic, I always wrote with Oasis in mind.
Oasis changed my life when I was young and shaped my musical tastes for life.
I saw the band play twelve times between 1994 and 2004, and even met Liam and Bonehead (the former in ‘96 and the latter in ‘94).
I also have my name in the credits of ‘Supersonic’.
But anyway, getting back to songwriting. I slowed down many years ago and haven’t really been inspired at all of late.
Though I did get some press attention when I wrote a song about Jeremy Corbyn in 2015, and I was even invited on The Last Leg.
But since then I’ve had a very dry patch.
Now I think I’m getting the bug again – thanks to you, James.
I can feel the urge creeping up on me.
Loving the channel, mate. Keep up the great work.
“Fucking shit”????
I write songs but then became confused in what to do with them. I play them at open mics but apart from that I don’t know. I become a bit down with this because I think I have some good tunes
Hi James.
I am from Brazil. I really like your videos. I would like to ask, if it wasn't too much, that you put the subtitles in English, because even though I know a little, it's hard to understand certain words.
Also, congratulations for the videos. Always bringing something interesting about Oasis and other bands.
Great video. Number 3 is spot on and Number 5 I've used quite a few times.
ps: Wasting Away is a banger James ?
Don’t forget to ignore the friends and family fan club unless you have been immunised against Dunning Krueger syndrome!
Great advice James and Loved your two chord song??
Thank you James. That was nice.
Although there is a phenomenon where great songs appear suddenly and fully formed
Never new that about lock all the doors no wonder why its my favourite hfb song I always thought it sounded so oasisy
I’m a songwriter and I love these points. Point 5 especially is something I’m going to do.
I'm not a songwriter but a poet. I've cannibalized old projects of mine, entirely rewritten poems that I'd grown unsatisfied with, and refined poems over time to make them as good as they can be. Probably the most important point, though, is one you mentioned briefly: having a safe space to share your work in for honest feedback from a place of mutual support.
Not having support as an emerging artist—or worse, being put down by other artists—is incredibly demoralizing. That's not to say you should dismiss all criticism, nor that you shouldn't criticize the work of other artists, but it means that you should build mutual support networks and be prepared to leave toxic situations. Don't blame yourself if you find yourself in a toxic situation, but try to find people you can count on to lift you up and help you do the best you can.
Excellent advice buddy
Lyrically, I started off with poetry inspired by the music of the Beatles as a child. John Lennon was a great artist when it came to words, and I loved how he experimented with words. For most of my life, I have loved coming up with lyrics as thought provoking triggers. Today I speak Jinglish as a result. When someone speaks I immediately start to lyricize a person's words in my head. Thank you for this video, another thought provoking beauty. All really great points. Excellent advice.
bravo!
I've find this weird but on the things that we put in to help our music…
So whenever I write after playing or listening to the beatles then I write my best songs even though it sounds nothing like the beatles and it doesn't work with other bands that inspire me
When I was around 7, I started writing songs. One of which had the lyrics "Loving of the alien, is coming down to earth. Now it's going dark again, it's better than all this dirt"…. No idea ?
The point about songwriter's euphoria is very true. Don't count how many times I showed a song of mine to someone thinking they'd be blown away and it never happens ahah
Number 2 is so important. You don’t even have to learn the songs, listening to lots of different music allows you to come up with ideas you wouldn’t have come up with just by listening to one band.
The point about song writers euphoria is so true man I didn't realise until you said it.
Thanks. Found this really helpful. 🙂
This was very helpful! Great video! 🙂
holy shit man songwriters euphoria is brutal.
i remember writing a tune and saying “this is the greatest chorus i have ever written”
looking back a few years later it’s one of the most boring songs i’ve ever written
thankyou soo much for this video, I've always wanted to write songs but I never knew where to start but knowing that I need write dribble and shit for a bit has motivated to give it a go again.