What Makes A Well-written Song?

So I'm back, and a lot sooner than even I expected. I was tooling around in GarageBand after hearing a friend of mine got a synth, just to see what I could do / come up with, and this was the result. It was all played using a MIDI controller; the goal was to create a mash-up of sorts between more "electronic," style music and, "classical," music. I can't say the results were stellar...but the song did allow me to experiment in a few ways, and to bring a few questions into the front of my mind.

The most obvious experiment was the combination of sounds. I feel my results were somewhat limited by the types of sounds available in GarageBand, as well as my lack of experimentation. I'd be willing to bet many more sounds could be produced with a little tinkering...but I'll save that for later. Another experiment was using instruments that played in different ranges: oboe in the highest range, harpsichord in the middle range, and tuba in the lowest range, plus a smattering of electronic sounds. This produced some satisfying interplay, and I look forward to further testing the water in future songs. The last little experiment was my implementation of a few chromatic runs, and my key shift in the middle of the song. While the chromatic runs seem a little on the long side, they were fun to play. I would consider the middle section to be akin to the "bridge," section in popular music. All of this experimentation would have been for naught if I hadn't come up with a few questions and new ideas to pursue.

If the song taught me one thing about harmonies, its that I still don't really understand them. It also showed me I'm not really very good at writing a, "normal," pop song. My mind just doesn't seem to bend that way (though, to be fair, I didn't really have my heart set on composing a pop song with this one). Maybe, "normal," alone is a better way to describe what I cannot write - if nothing else, the song doesn't sound like anything I've heard on the radio. This brings my to my big question of this post: "what makes a well-written song?"

I find this question very difficult to answer, for several reasons. First, is that there is no explicit formula or rules that guarantee success. For example, it would be silly to suggest that all well-written songs must contain a G7 chord, or some other arbitrary figure, form, or riff. Secondly, it seems the question can be roundly answered by one word: musicianship. Shouldn't any song, regardless of style / statement / etc. be judged based on the craft that is put into it; the time, thought, and consideration put into the piece? I feel the answer to this question is, "yes." This, however, does not always guarantee commercial success. That point raises a different question, "what must a song contain to be commercially viable?"

I will not seek to answer that question, as it seems to have too many variable and factors to consider. Should the song be up-beat? Down-tempo? Should it have a conscious? What if the lyrics are, "political?" Perhaps, instead of thinking about hypothetical situations I will instead consider what I want to do in writing music. Since my goal is not to make money, to write a hit, or to, "make it," in the music industry, I think it would be worthwhile to make a list of things I would like to do with my musical ventures.

1) Hone my craft / musicianship / ability, whether it be through lyrics or any particular musical instrument.
2) Express a message - whether it be political, social, or just my own hopes, dreams and fears. I feel like music should always have a point, even if it is as simple as, "let's dance!"
3) Invoke emotions - This one is a little trickier. It's something that cannot be parsed out, made into a formula, or otherwise homogenized. It's not something technique alone can produce, in my opinion. It's something I've struggled with...but more and more I'm finding that listening back, I mean really listening in to the music is a good way to see what sort of feeling is being established.

It's all just a journey, I guess. I dunno where it'll lead, but I'm not really worried. The following song is really little more than me tooling around on a keyboard and producing some bleeps and bloops by ear. It's not great, but it was a fun way to spend an afternoon. The way I see it, this will only help me improve, and produce better songs in the future. With that said, I think I've said quite enough. It's time to get to the song!



PS - The song is called, "Synth Disaster." It seems worthy of that title.