I tend to agree with most of what Dae is saying here although I am a bit different in my song writing than she is. I try to write more comercially friendly material to get to more people in an easier way .. air play. The radio is what you are reaching for when you write a song so that people can hear what you have to say. Therein lies the hard part .. telling a story, a movie if you will, in 4 to 5 minutes.

It's hard to do, and not everyone is cut out for it. Some people cant write a tune to save their ass, then there are songwriters like Paul McCartney and John Lennon. Some people have it and some don't. Which are you? Here's how to find out .. in my opinion ..

Write your song and after you play it for you boyfriend/girlfriend and all your relatives that are gonna tell you how wonderful you are, grab your guitar and go out to a venue and play it for people that really don't care about you at all. I don't mean to sound mean here .. I am being honest. Strangers are who you are hitting to buy your material in the first place. If they boo you off the stage, then guess what .. you might not be as good as you think you are. If they give you some applause there might be hope. You grabbed their attention and they listened to you while you where performing. If they go freakin' out of their minds for you then you are the next John Lennon. Here's how this breaks down ...

Most of us aren't getting booed off a stage once we put our heads above the crowd. People arent that rude .. usually. They will pay some sort of attention to you, even if you suck. Once you have gotten their attention the trick is keeping it. Here's where you find out if you have what it takes. If they are watching you from the first note to the last then you might have something. As long as they aren't snickering while you are playing, there's hope for you. After you are done singing your song, and hopefully you can sing, or you better be good at writing it out note for note. Otherwise, there's no way to get the melody across to another person. I know one person that has been lied to her whole life and thinks that she is a great songwriter, when in actual realaty, she isn't. Anyhow .. the response of the audience is what determends how good a song is. It all depends on what other people think of it. If you get a good response, then keep up the good work and write your little hear out. If people are laughing at you then you might want to consider working at Wal-Mart.

I am by no means saying I am a great songwriter. I am not. But, I do have my songs being played on World Wide Internet Radio and have gotten good response from playing them. People understand what I am trying to convey in the 4 to 5 minbutes that the song may last.

Get the attention, keep the attention, and tell the story as quickly and as efficiently as possible. There's my advice. Good luck .. and write on!!