Newbie here from the Philippines

[mmanguiran]

Hi. My name is Matt. Well, I love music so much, for sure, and after reading a lot of things in the Internet about songwriting, I was redirected here.

I worked once as a broadcast DJ in one of the local radio stations here, and I knew the drive then was music, and always is. And I want to put it into a whole new level--songwriting.

I have no background--can play a few guitar chords, can sing but not in public (I have stage fright), can write some poems. I don't know how to put it all together, but I know, in my heart, I want to write songs.

Early next year, I will enroll myself to some serious piano lessons for this investment. I am hopeful to making it big, but I got to practice first.

I hope to meet friends here from the Philippines, who share the same dream, or anywhere in the world, who will be my support system as I go through this big step in my life.

By the way, I am 27, male, gay, and I categorize songs on Spotify according to whoever wrote them (I just wanna study some patterns of those songwriters, like say, Dianne Warren).

Thank you for letting me say my piece here.

[mojobone]

Welcome to the forum!

[Russell Landwehr]

Hi, Matt
Welcome to the TAXI Forums. This is a great place to hang out with since of the best up and coming (and already there) folks in the business. Jump right in and participate. And make music too. That's the best way to do things.

Regards
Russell Landwehr

[Paulie]

Welcome to the forums! This is a fun community where you can learn A LOT about the music business and music itself. Be sure to read through as much of the FAQ section as you can, it will answer lots of your questions. Then start asking questions!

Paulie

[ComposerLDG]

Hey Matt, welcome! Great bunch of people here, make yourself at home!

[HowlingUlf]

+1

[TimWalter]

Yes Welcome!! Come here often.. its rejuvenating for the soul and you'll learn a lot! At least I do.
Best regards,
Tim

[TimWalter]

Matt
One more thing... there are a lot of books out on songwriting, and all of them have great pluses, but for me one book is changing my life. I was trained as an mechanical engineer in college, and Ive been told I think very logically, so maybe thats why this book is impactful for me.. Your Mileage May Vary, but all I can do is suggest what is really really helping me... Writing Better Lyrics by Pat Pattison. He teaches at Berklee, and at this years road rally I went to both of his classes. he also has a free on line on Coursera, and other resources you can use.

As I said there are a number of other great song writing experts who do courses, books and seminars, but Pat's way of attacking it just resonates for me because its so, well, logical (again back to my engineering). Its very nerdy, and technical (not in a musical theory way, but in how he digs down on how different linguistic parts affect the music.)
For example, he says there are 5 tools to use in lyric writing to affect whether or not the end result is stable or unstable (stable= happy, bright, in a good place, secure, etc, unstable:unhappy, greiving, nervous, worried, etc). the goal is to make the linguistic structural choices match with the MEANING of the words and song

1) rhyme scheme
2) rhyme type
3) # of lines
4) line length
5) line rhythm

This is all before you introduce any melody or accompanying chords!

I find trying to understand these techniques INCREDIBLY useful for my logical-bent. now when I listen to a song on Spotify, I subconsciously am anylizing the structure used "oh, they used a consance rhyme there, oh their rhyme scheme was ABXAB" or whatever.. .lol

Just my 1/2 cent. It might be helpful for you. If so get the book etc, if not, disregard.

All the best,
Tim