If your aim is to write something that sounds like all the other songs that are already out there, then it’s probably a good thing to ask for the general public’s opinions and take those opinions as advice.īut if you want to make waves, and stand out from the rest of the pack, and you need advice or instruction to help you, you need to purposely look for other excellent musicians who can listen to your songs and help you shape and craft what you’ve written, based on what they see as your vision, not their opinions. And if you really think of your own songwriting as representative of art, following most people’s advice is only going to give you something similar to music that’s already been written.Īnd maybe that’s fine for you. Most people that you find online can only tell you what they happen to already like. Most people offering an opinion on your new song have only their own personal past experience with music to rely on, and I stress the word ‘past’. Probably: “ John, what were you thinking…? “Walrus? Come on…!”Īnd then what? Lennon sits down to change one of the most unique, innovatives songs of the pop-rock era based on the opinions of people who still have “Twist and Shout” ringing in their ears? If John Lennon lived in the social media age, what do you think most people’s reaction would have been to him streaming his newest song, “I Am the Walrus?”

The reason that random advice may stunt your artistic development is that the average person will give advice by comparing your song to all the other songs that they happen to know. It is entirely possible that following whatever advice you may get from random strangers will stunt your artistic development, even if that advice leads to what you think is a better song. That may seem like the ideal way to get your song sounding its best, but as a songwriter, it’s important to keep online opinions in perspective.

How to write lyrics