Songwriter

The Real Deal – Songwriting Websites I Recommend

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I spend a lot of time surfing the web in search of websites for songwriters, usually because I’m looking for something to write about in my monthly column at the Muse’s Muse 🙂 (For anyone interested, the newsletters along with my articles are archived here).

Occasionally, people will ask to use my articles on their songwriting-related websites, or to link up with me. In the beginning, I would readily allow anyone who wanted to to use my tips or link to my page. But these days, I’m a little pickier! Now I check out these websites as thoroughly as I can before associating myself with them. I have noticed that there are a growing number of websites that offer lots of promises, but they really don’t deliver. I hate to say it, but anyone who wants to charge you for something, should cause you to send up a red flag, with a few exceptions.

Let’s first talk about the “free” websites, good places to start with when you are just beginning your search, and some of these you will return to again and again. The Muses’ Muse is simply one of the best songwriting websites out there, if not THE best. Jodi Krangle, the proprietor, makes little or no money from her website, and yet it always manages to be fresh, up-to-date and an extremely thorough collection of links, articles, advice and services for the beginner to the advanced songwriter. It is a HUGE site, so be prepared to spend a lot of time there! I have known Jodi since I first came online in 1996, and I’ve never met a nicer person! We have continued to help each other to promote and support the idea of songwriting on the web, and The Muse’s Muse continues to exist because of a person who is truly committed to the art and craft of songwriting.



Another really huge, and wonderful website is Just Plain Folks. Again, Brian Austin Whitney has created a wonderful community for songwriters that is almost too much to explain in one small paragraph! You have to see it to believe it. Brian has extended his JPFolks community out into the “real” world, with events all over the US and Canada, and branches of his organization in just about every major city! Again, this website is so full of stuff, it’ll take you literally weeks to go through all of it.

Even if a membership in an online organization is NOT free, ask yourself if you are in a place to truly benefit from their services. For instance, a lot of songwriters ask about TAXI and whether or not they are legitimate. In my opinion, they are. But many songwriters are simply not ready or at a level yet in which to really make use of what they have to offer! You wouldn’t buy a car before you even knew how to drive it. The same rule applies here. If you don’t yet ‘know’ how to write a song, why spend mega bucks on a service where you will be competing with a zillion others who DO know how to write? That sounds very practical, but I have met many, many songwriters who are ready long before their songs really are. So TAXI is a part of my list because I believe they offer a legitimate service for a fee.

Another legitimate service is SongU.com . I will say right up front that I am associated with them, because I’ve written two courses for their website. Danny Arena and Sara Light are IN the business of songwriting, they teach it and they live it. SongU.com will eventually become a collection of online courses which the songwriter will pay to use. Many of the gurus I’ve already mentioned are contributing courses to this website and it will become quite a full and fascinating resource for songwriters at all levels. SongU.com hasn’t fully launched as of the writing of this article, but in the meantime, you can also check out Danny & Sara’s other website, Craft Of Songwriting.

These are only a few of the major websites that I can personally recommend, but it doesn’t mean there aren’t more that are equally as good…there seems to be another songwriting website popping up every month or so. But the ones I’ve mentioned here have built up over time and have become as successful as they are because of all of the hard-working people behind them. Give them all a visit and tell ’em Irene sent you!

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The Muse – Some Personal Experiences

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High School Sucks
Image by beX out loud via Flickr

© I.Woloshen

A “muse” as a noun in the dictionary, is defined as “A guiding spirit. A source of inspiration.” You’ve likely heard many songwriters say, when discussing their writing, that they often don’t know where their inspiration comes from. Well, sometimes we know EXACTLY where it comes from 🙂

The fact is that most of your inspiration comes from the people and events in your life. A new lover can be a “muse” (as can an old lover remembered :-). This is probably the most common…why do you think there are so many love songs out there?? But your muse can also come from emotional events, whether these are personal events that leave you deliriously happy or totally grief-stricken, or world events which can have the same impact. The events of Sept.11, 2001, for example, inspired thousands and thousands of people in creative ways. When good or bad things happen, we all get the muse at some point or another.

Stories about other people can inspire songs. I once wrote a song called “Calling” after watching a news magazine show on television telling the true story of a traveling salesman who died in his car on a mountain pass in the middle of winter simply because he got stuck in the snow. That may not seem very inspiring…but what HAUNTED me about the story was that this guy kept waiting for someone to drive by and help him out, and didn’t realize that JUST after he drove through the gates leading to the mountain pass, they were closed for the winter. So no one knew he was there. He sat in his truck and waited for someone to come along, and while he waited he started writing in this journal, a kind of long love-letter to his girlfriend. There’s much more to the story, but he was essentially stuck there for months trapped by heavy snow, and finally succumbed.



For a long time, I had that story at the back of my head. I began to write one song about it, but it just wasn’t working, so I left it again for awhile. One day, I was watching a special on television about another Canadian songwriter, and something about the way he played inspired me to sit down with my guitar and try some folkier chord progressions. I didn’t think of it right away, but once the music and melody were finished, I realized it would work perfectly for the story I’d been carrying around so long. The lyrics took me about six months to get right, but it finally came together.

One thing I’ve learned is to be patient. If you try to force your muse, it just doesn’t work. Your muse also pops up at the most unusual times, so be prepared! My muse often comes in the form of people; people who’ve inspired me or said things that resonated for me, and people I’ve fallen in love with, of course 🙂 But I can also find inspiration in IDEAS. I fall in love with ideas! The things I’m most interested in (besides music) often put me in a very heightened state of awareness. Books I’m reading will begin a flow of thought, and sometimes a line will come out of that, or an entire idea for a song. Science interests me, as well as philosophy, psychology and spiritual thinking. In one song I wrote years ago, “Fusion & Fire”, I used astronomical properties, like fire, the planets, and the universe, as metaphors for long lasting love. Sometimes I still stick astronomical references in my lyrics.

I am fascinated by eagles, and once wrote a song based on the fact that eagles always die with their faces turned toward the last light they see. I heard a preacher once talk about that fact in spiritual terms, so I used the the light as a metaphor for life after death. The result was a song called “Eagles Eyes”.

But really personal experiences often creep into my writing too. Like many hormone-crazed teens, I had a mad crush on a math teacher in high school. Many years later when I saw him again that same ol’ feeling hit me, and the result was a song called “Good For Me”. I used a few math references in it, enjoying the idea of playing with these terms in a different way. Not that long ago, a good friend moved away, and I wrote a song called “Miles Away”…but the song ended up being about the distance we feel in relationships sometimes. So your personal experiences don’t have to come out exactly as you experienced them, they can be used in many other ways.

The latest song I’m working on came from one line…this often happens to me. One line will come and I have to fill in the rest of the story. Where did that line come from? It just sort of popped out when I was fooling around with some chord progressions and a melody. Sometimes I wonder… 🙂

Lovers, stories, world events, personal events, your own interests, the past, old friends…they can all be sources for your muse. I’ll bet you can even think of a few on your own 🙂

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Song Contests – One Opinion

Posted on by IJ
Tin Pan Alley Festival 2005
Image by michaelpickard via Flickr

© I.Woloshen

I’ve entered a few contests in my time, the most recent one being the USA Songwriting Competition a few years back. I’ve heard different opinions about them both from other songwriters and from people in the business. There is absolutely nothing wrong with entering a songwriting contest, so don’t expect me to completely blast them! However, I do think you have to take a few things into consideration.

First of all, if you are expecting something from a contest, well, it’s a little bit like buying a lottery ticket, in that all you really find out is that you haven’t won 🙂 Very few songwriting competitions offer anything more than a chance to win. There is rarely any feedback from your songs, or calls from “interested” parties as is sometimes implied when they say “industry professionals will be listening to your song” or something in that vein.

Most of the time, contests are judged by a group of people who are listening to piles and piles of tapes and who can’t possibly have any objectivity left after such a long haul! So the good news is that losing doesn’t necessarily mean your song sucks 🙂



This is something else I’ve heard from a couple of publishers, first hand. They tend not to pay any attention at all to a songwriter who claims to have won a contest! In fact, it often deters them! Why? Because winning a contest really doesn’t mean anything to people who are in the business. A “win” is a very relative thing and left to the discretion of the people choosing the songs. Another point is that some songwriters believe that winning a contest means they’ve got a hit on their hands, and it often goes to their heads. Publishers don’t want to work with a songwriter who believes he/she is already THERE in terms of their songwriting ability…they want to work with someone who can be flexible and open to their suggestions.

Some contests offer the winner(s) a chance at a publishing deal. Big deal! All that means is that your song gets signed with a publisher, it does not guarantee that the publisher will be able to place that song with an artist, or even want to. A single song deal means nothing unless somebody actually cuts your song.

On the other hand, there are some contests in conjunction with festivals that I would consider a benefit in terms of boosting your career. These involve the winner having an opportunity to perform their songs in front of an audience, especially at a songwriting camp or event, and would be an excellent way for you to introduce yourself to an audience and an industry. There are well-established events that hold these contests annually and that have a very positive reputation in terms of what they do for songwriters.

If you approach the idea of entering a contest for fun, rather than for furthering your career, you’ll have a healthier outcome. Consider an online poll conducted by Music Dish Industry e-Journal in the Spring of 2001. Songwriters were asked “How would you rate your experience with songwriting contests in furthering your songwriting career?” These are the results:

23% had no experience with contests
9% were very satisfied
11% were satisfied
17% thought it was adequate
18% were dissatisfied
22% were very dissatisfied

Before you enter a songwriting contest, considering putting that entry fee towards joining an organization that really CAN help you, such as NSAI (Nashville Songwriters Assoc. International). These people will listen to your song and give you real feedback, which is what you should really be focusing on!

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The “Hit” Song Checklist

Posted on by IJ
NASHVILLE, TN - NOVEMBER 07: Songwriter Bill ...
Image by Getty Images via Daylife

© I.Woloshen
***All of Irene’s songwriting tips are provided for FREE…beware of those giving advice for money!***

Okay, folks, you think you’ve just written a “hit”…your heart is pumping, your palms are sweaty, you’re suddenly seeing dollar signs and imagining yourself winning the Songwriter of the Year award 🙂

Could it be possible? Could you have just written yourself a hit song? Isn’t it a great feeling? Enjoy it, crack open the champagne…and then consider the following checklist. These are some thoughts and ideas on what kind of process you should put your song through before you put that imaginary award statue on your desk 🙂

1. Has anyone else heard it yet? Who should listen to it? Not your best friend (unless your best friend already has a hit under his/her belt!), not your family, not your dog. If you really want some honest feedback, consider presenting it to a songwriter‘s circle if you have or can find one. Make sure at least 10 other people who have no bias towards you, have a listen. Why 10? That’s just a number I pulled out of a hat 🙂 However, the more who listen, the better you’ll be able to discern if there are any problems with the song.

2. Did you work on re-writing it? There are very few songs that come out “perfectly” the first time. Most need to be polished at least a little so they’ll really shine. I can’t tell you how many songwriters I’ve come across who swear that touching up a song after it has been written will “ruin” it. Arrgghh…

3. If you are writing for yourself as a performing artist, you can skip this one. Can anyone else sing your song? If you know somebody who sings, try and teach them the song and see what happens. Do they trip over certain parts? Is it really “singable”? Remember, if you’re trying to market your songs, then they have to work for other voices and other vocal styles.

4. Here’s a really good idea which will give you some objectivity. Record the song, even if only on a little digital recorder. Then walk away from it for a week. Don’t let yourself even THINK of it, block it from your thoughts entirely. When a week is up, go back and have another listen. Does it strike you the same way? Or is it just a turd? 🙂 Giving it a week is a very small investment in time, especially if you’re considering spending a whole whack of cash to demo it.



The “best” songs don’t necessarily become hits. It’s a LOT more complicated than that. However, you have a much better chance of peaking a publisher, record label or artists’ curiosity if you have a really well-written, well-produced song to present them. Can you judge if you’ve written a hit? You might have a really good feeling about a song…but none of that matters if no one ELSE has a really good feeling about it. So give it time, don’t get ahead of yourself, go through some steps to see if it stands up. And call me when your first royalty cheque comes in 🙂

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The Pain of Separation – Separating Your SELF from Your Work

Posted on by IJ
Separation Anxiety
Image by Brenda Anderson via Flickr

© I.Woloshen

When someone asked me recently “of all of the songs you’ve written, which is your favourite?”, it got me to thinking about that age old idea “well they’re ALL my babies” and it’s hard to choose just one. I have different reasons for liking different songs…some of them are more fun to perform, some of them I enjoy to listen to in terms of how they were recorded. In spite of this, sometimes your “best” work just doesn’t cut it for others. I recently saw an interview with an author who had had some criticism of one of his novels. When he went back to read it again, he thought to himself “No, this is exactly the book I wanted to write.” It wasn’t a case of disagreeing with his critique so much as it was deciding that he had accomplished what he set out to do, and beyond that, he had no control of what others thought of his work.

When you begin the process of writing a song, very often your immediate reaction to it is “this is the greatest song I’ve ever written!!” Of course, you’re SUPPOSED to be enthused and fired up about what you are doing, otherwise, why bother? But sometimes you’ll notice that the day after, it just doesn’t seem to be as good a song as you thought 🙂 This is something called “objectivity”. In the opposite state, subjectivity, you are unable to separate yourself from your work. This is a necessary state in order for you to accomplish your task. Songwriting, in its purest form, is your expression. It can often be a very personal expression, right from your gut. In a sense, your song is “you”.

But there comes a time when you have to separate yourself from your songs in order to fully accomplish the task of polishing them and putting them in front of others to scrutinize. This is a step that is only successful when you have also managed to let go of their personal connection to you, which is not so easy to do.

We all have our favourites of our own songs, the ones we love to play and hear, as I was describing above. So I’m not suggesting that you lose touch with your songs entirely! However, I find that a lot of songwriters become defensive and thin-skinned when their songs are critiqued or reviewed by people who are listening from a very objective viewpoint. This is because the songwriters haven’t managed to create that separation yet. So how exactly do you accomplish this? It is not at all easy to put in a nutshell! Every one of your songs has your name attached to it, and it’s impossible to completely disconnect from that fact. But there are some things that you can do to help this process.



Time – this is a very important factor when learning to be more objective about your work. Just as when you wake up the day after writing something and suddenly hear it with new “ears”, the idea of giving your song a little time and distance can help you to disconnect from the personal aspects of it. I’m very aware of the the fact that songs I’ve written at one point in my life that meant something then, don’t necessarily hit me the same way anymore. That’s because my life has moved on, but the song is in a time capsule and only represents that little point in my life. Which brings me to the next point…

Emotional Distance – you are not “static”…as a human being, you are always changing and (hopefully!) growing. Think of your songs as a snapshot. When you look at a picture of yourself taken yesterday, you are likely much more attached to it than you are a picture that was taken a couple of years ago. This is because “you” were a different person a couple of years ago! Your songs are exactly the same.

The Percentage Factor – do yourself a big favour and learn to embellish the “truths” in your songs with some “fiction”. Don’t make your songs 100% ABOUT YOU. For the songs you can’t help doing that with, put them in your closet and work on writing something else. Why? Because you wouldn’t let anyone else read your diary, would you? This is a kind of emotional maturity you can develop over time in your writing. There are the ones you will write for you, and the ones you will write for the public to consume. Recognizing which is which will help you in many ways!

Talk To Yourself – I don’t mean out loud (unless you are alone, of course!). We all have that little “voice” inside us that reasons everything out, and the one that is childish and emotional. Choose to listen to the reasoning voice. If you are hearing or reading someone’s response to your song and it is negative, tell yourself that they are not criticizing you, but your song. Tell yourself that you’ll learn from this experience. Listen for INFORMATION that might be helpful to you in order to make the song better. If the criticism is totally unreasonable (like “this song sucks!”), be like the author who decided for himself that he had written exactly what he wanted to, and that he has no control over others opinions.

The longer you write, the more capable you will be of accomplishing just the right degree of separation. Your songs will ALWAYS be yours, but they will also be able to hold their own without you 🙂

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