Songwriting to Studio

When I first started songwriting, it honestly was just a challenge. For years, my husband had told me that I had it in me to write a song, and for years I told him that there was no way that I could write a song. All it took was that seed being planted. Someone saying that maybe I could, and inevitably a hook came to me.

Eye-level view of a vintage guitar resting against a colorful wall

Hit by a Hook

Hooks always hit you in the most random places and during the most random life events. That's why it always good to have something called a hook book for when inspiration hits. Once you have decided to open your ear to the possibility of songwriting, hooks will slowly start to unveil themselves to you. For me, my first hook hit at an elementary school dance. I was exhausted from a long day of teaching, and the kids at this dance were running away with energy. One little girl was spinning in a circle for about ten minutes, and my first thought was man I wish I had that much energy. That's when I was hit with the hook Spinning like a little girl.

Once the sing is written what do you do?

For me, I wasn't sure where to go with my songs. I started with finding places like open mics and songwriter sets to play my originals. From there, I would be approached by "studio engineers" ready to record my songs. Many times, these turned into closets that were sound proofed, and after the money was paid, no song was shared in return.

I wised up and started asking the other songwriters in my round what they did for their songs. That was when I found a legitimate studio that could meet my needs and in my price range. My advice here, don't try to reinvent the wheel. Use other artist as resources to glean out those that just want to take your money and run.

John Pinero Perfect Imaging Studio

Playing to a Click and Knowing when to Hire

My studio that I record with is Perfect Imaging Studio. My producer, John, knew right away that though my live renditions of my songs were great, I played by heart and not by metronome. I learned day one that some artist can play to a click, but I am not one of them. Playing to a click means to simply play to the same beat throughout the whole fruition of the song. In your ear, you will hear a constant click as he records the guitar playing.

From there, John knew what musicians to send my way so that I could hire out what I needed to get the sound to play exactly how I needed it to. Don't be afraid to hire musicians. There are many that are working themselves from the ground up just like you, and though it might take a little bit of money, it also is worth it to pay for masters of their craft.

I have a song now what

Once you have a song, it is all about distribution and promotion. I am still learning in this area, but for my experience owning the copyright to a song hasn't mattered. Once I hit publish onto music platforms I can no longer promote through paid promotions on any platform. I do a waterfall release strategy. A month of promotion. A release month.

When you release, you are going to want to use a distribution platform like CD Baby or DistroKid. I use DistroKid, but there is not much of a difference. Once you set that release date it is all ready, and you have officially gone from songwriting in your bedroom to a studio released song.

he magic that is Birdie Morgan.