Ande:

Wow,you really know your stuff!

This is perhaps the most concise, complete and accurate list of songwriting tips I've ever seen. It took me more than 250 pages to say what you've summed up here. Of course, I included a bunch of song examples and more than a dozen stories of serendipity, self-destruction, recounting decades of close calls on my road to eventual victory (an experience, BTW, I wish on every creatively compulsive soul who applies him or herself to achieving songwriting success).

Anyway, I'd add only a couple of comments to your brilliant treatise.

First, songs (as copyrights) actually have only two essential components - music and lyrics. Music comprises the melody, the chordal context of the melody and the rhythm (including the relative length and dynamics of each note and the spaces in between).

Secondly, every song needs a "concept." That might be what you're getting at with your reference to "themes" and/or "ideas." By concept, I mean the characters, the story, the message, the point of view. A title is usually meaningless in and of itself. After all, what does "Yesterday" mean without that forlorn, heartbroken man longing for it?

So, as we keep our radar up and collect new song ideas and titles, we will need to paint them into a landscape that captures or re-captures a moment in time, or a period of time, or projects a wish upon the future, AND demonstrates a point of view. And, you are so right. Songs are, first and foremost, emotional things. That's how they communicate.

All in all, you have provided great wisdom in this post. As a pro in this biz for nearly 40 yrs, I take my hat off to the blogger from Texas.

Thank you for sharing this with the JPL family.

Rand Bishop
songwriter/producer/author - Makin' Stuff Up, secrets of song-craft and survival in the music-biz
www.makinstuffup.net

Rand Bishop
Songwriter/producer/author