Why Musicianship Matters

The following is a quote from the founder and president of a very well-known music industry company:

"Have you spent years working on your song craft, or on musicianship? Practicing guitar doesn't count toward songwriting all that much, unless of course you're learning the chords you'll need to write the songs."

In fairness, I'm taking this statement out of context. But it was part of a longer essay about long-term commitment to songwriting, and if I'm reading him right he's suggesting that song craft and musicianship are mutually exclusive areas. The following sentence does seem to reinforce that impression, the "unless of course" notwithstanding.

Odd that the founder of a company that helps writers place songs with producers, film supervisors, artists, and more - in a wide variety of genres - would suggest that musicianship is not a part of songcraft. Musicianship is much more than how many scales you know or how fast you can play - it's an understanding of how to speak the language, and developing fluency in a variety of dialects (styles). Yet some in the music business seem to take the attitude that this fluency in the language of music isn't important to the process of songwriting.

We can all think of those simple, perfect songs - like the old cliché goes, "three chords and the truth". This is the foundation of pop music, it's true. But the Beatles wrote great pop music using a lot more than three chords. So did Elton John, Burt Bacharach, Billy Joel, Donald Fagen & Walter Becker, Jimmy Webb, Carole King - throw Cole Porter and Jerome Kern in there too, while you're at it. The pantheon of popular music is filled with great musicians. Many very successful hit writers are tremendously accomplished instrumentalists. (Ever seen Jeffrey Steele play guitar? Brad Paisley?) Simplicity is a beautiful aspect of pop music, but simplicity doesn't mean you shouldn't have many options to choose from as you craft your simple song.

Now, of course being a great musician does NOT make you a great songwriter. But if music is your chosen means of expression, why minimize the importance of understanding it? I'm amazed when I hear very prominent people in the MUSIC industry talk about music as if it were an afterthought. Yes, you can't deny the importance of a well-crafted, conversational lyric. But it's a mistake to diminish the importance of a great melody, instrumental hook, or killer groove. You increase your ability to create each of those things when you develop your level of musicianship.

I see it as my mission as an educator to make this point over and over again. To reinforce that striving for simplicity is not the same as choosing to be limited. That knowledge and skill increase creative freedom....and most of all that developing musicianship - both in skill on an instrument and aural sophistication as a listener and creator - is absolutely a part of improving your songwriting.

Perhaps the person I quoted above didn't mean what I took him to mean, but the point still stands. Never stop learning, never stop improving - in EVERY aspect of your creative and musical life.