How much does a songwriter need to know about music?

It's a reasonable question, especially for a writer that doesn't have aspirations to be a performer. If you've got a basic level of skill on your instrument and you're writing your songs, haven't you got what you need? After all, you don't have to be a great singer to write a great melody....so do you have to be a great musician to write a great song?

The short answer is, no, you don't. But I think the real answer lies in how we choose to define "great"....and in my opinion, the qualities that make a great musician can absolutely help you be a better songwriter.

We can probably all agree that the ability to play blazing fast scales doesn't necessarily help your songwriting. But more thorough knowledge of your instrument and its possibilities absolutely does, because it gives you more options to choose from. So when we talk about technique.and skill, we're talking about the ability to conceive and execute a wider variety of musical ideas.

On the guitar, this might mean knowing six or seven ways to play a C chord instead of just one. Or knowing how drop-D tuning changes the way you finger your basic open chords. (A topic for an entire article in itself, of course, but you get the point). If you're a pianist, maybe it means learning some new left-hand patterns that "drive" your songs more. Or learning a classical etude (literally "study") that develops finger dexterity and therefore allows you to reach chord voicings that you couldn't reach before. On any instrument, it could mean knowing the difference between a blues shuffle and a Western swing feel (hint....listen to the drummer!), or what a band does to make a power ballad lift at the chorus (it's all about dynamics and texture). Any time you can increase your musical vocabulary you give yourself more creative options for songwriting, and having more options will probably make you a better (or at least, more versatile) songwriter.

There's a lot to be said for the classic country song model, and part of what makes the classic old-school writers so great is their ability to make moving, memorable music with a limited number of musical options. But modern pop, rock, and country music has room for a wider vocabulary, and the modern listener has come to expect more different sounds. I look at the variety of music my average teenage student has on their I-Pod, and I see everything from Timbaland to Sugarland, the Beatles to Bocephus. They aren't confining themselves, so why should we? This is a major slice of the audience we want to reach, and a writer with a wide musical vocabulary probably has a better ability to reach them.

So how much should a songwriter know about music? In my opinion the answer is, as much as possible...that is, if you want to be a professional writer with the ability to reach a wide and diverse audience. So that means learning to listen for new sounds. Learning to know your chosen instrument better, whether you take lessons or just open your ears and explore. Learning to identify what makes a song compelling, whether it's a dramatic chord change, a driving rhythm, or fluid melodic phrasing. One of the amazing things about music is that there's always something else to learn, no matter how much you know. And that also keeps us engaged, challenged, and stimulated as writers and artists....and that's as worthwhile a goal as that number one hit.