Tips on Songwriting Step #6 - PRODUCTION

1. THE THEME
2. THE TITLE
3. THE LYRICS
4. THE VOCAL MELODY
5. THE ARRANGEMENT
6. THE PRODUCTION

In some R&B and Pop songs the production has in some cases taken over in importance to the vocal melody. This is not surprising if you have been in a night club and experienced certain songs and the power of the production.

Times have changed, especially in R&B and Hip Hop. It is no good to send a demo to a label saying, "please imagine this with proper production", because the production is 50% of the song.

That is almost like saying "here's a great piece of music, please imagine it with a good chorus"!

The production is more than putting the right effects on the instruments and balancing them out, it is the overall mood of the track and determines how professional it ends up sounding.

Odd sounds that seem irrelevant to many people like for example, a vocal breath, can transform a song if used in the right context. A song that would go unnoticed can suddenly inspire interest if the right sound is used correctly ... Quincy Jones commented that non tonal sounds, like hitting a table or ashtray can add a great deal to a song.

Most people will hear a song and make a judgment as to whether they like it within seconds based on the overall sound. They may get to love the song but unless the production is inviting they may never listen to it twice.

The biggest mistake people make is to present a song with a list of excuses. The plain truth is that a song is a combination of sounds and the listener will hear them all as one and no excuse will change their first experience of the song or how they emotionally respond. Get the production right!