Your Songwriting Ingredients, Part One Of Four

• 1 cup flour

• 2 eggs

-Wait, wrong recipe. I'm here today to talk to you about the ingredients that you will need to begin successfully writing songs.

I'd like to focus on one ingredient in particular. What is it? Well, let's first look at some of the things used to make a song.

• Chords
• Melody
• Rhythm
• Lyrics
• Guitar
• Bass
• Drums
• Keyboards
• etc.

(Note: Some of you will say that lyrics are unnecessary for a song. Yes, I am aware that instrumental songs exist. But when was the last time that you saw an instrumental song crack the Billboard top 100? It is very rare. So for the sake of the argument, let's assume you are going to write lyrics.)

Now, all of these ingredients are necessary for a hit song, but something is missing. What is it?

Consider this: Does a piano write the melody of a song? Does a pen and piece of paper create the lyrics? Of course not. You do all of that!

The missing ingredient in writing a hit is you. No guitar will ever write a song on its own No turntable will ever be a DJ by itself. Play a strat? You are playing it. Your keyboard? Same thing.

All of your instruments, software, and other songwriting tool are just tools. You are the missing ingredient.

All the great writers of history had access to the same tools that you have access to. In many cases, they had far less than you do now.

Except for their final album, the Beatles recorded on a 4-track. That's it. Today, professional studios have access to hundreds of tracks. They have hundreds of guitars, effects, and tools at their disposal. Does that mean that these studios are making better music than the Beatles did? Most people would say no. So what is it that makes a great song?

I'll give you a hint: It is the same thing that has achieved every great accomplishment throughout human history. It is the human mind. The human mind has written, and will write, every great song in existence.

That is good news! You don't have to be able to afford a multi-million dollar studio to write great songs. You just need your mind. If you can get online and read this, then you obviously have a mind.

"But I don't have a mind like Mozart or Bob Dylan!"

Wrong. Your brain is the same size as any other timeless songwriter. Songwriting is a skill. It can be learned. You see, a large part of songwriting depends on your mental attitude, or mindset. Your songwriting mindset is what will separate you from the thousands of musicians who suck because they have the wrong mindset.

Tomorrow I will post Your Songwriting Ingredients, Part Two. I will get into specifics, and I will explain just what kind of mindset you will need in order to make a hit.