Well, Dec

Taking into consideration all you have said and I have learned, can you give me straight and honest reply:

Do you recommend pursuing a songwriter's career to someone who hasn't too much natural talent for writing strong melodies? My personal feeling is no matter how this person tries, he knows he will never be equal to A league. Is this a good starting point for career or for endless frustration?

thanks

D**

My Reply:

D******

This IS a straight and honest reply [as all mine are]

I have said before to you that there are precious few people who do it on their own ... I could tell you stories that would make your hair curl about 'so called songwriters' who have huge names and have the power to 'purloin' [a posh word for 'steal'] other guys material - Presley was the most famous one ... if you wanted a song recorded by Presley, Col. Parker demanded that Elvis was a co-writer.

It goes much further than that.  The magic is in the 'start point'.  As regards KLF [who made millions and wrote a book about burning £Mill on a beach] ... they never wrote or devised one note of music!  And they admit it.  But their brilliant start point was walking into a studio and saying to the engineer [a frustrated producer] "we're going to make a £Mill hit today" ... then they walked out pretending to be busy ...... they relied on the engineer's sense of frustration .... came back three hours later and the engineer has the guts of a hit product .... they then flannelled and pretended .. the engineer fleshed it out [put the bones on the skeleton] and the rest is history.

So, I repeat, the most important way forward for you is 'start points'.  A phrase, a title, an idea, a hook, something that gets the juices flowing ... and I don't mean deep meaning crap that doesn't mean a light to anyone but yourself ... observe the rules .... boy to girl lyrics.... simplicity, repetition .... hooks .... more repetition .... more hooks ... listen to the X Factor winning song ... hook after hook after hook .... plus the Gospel choir and the key change .... is this stuff easy?

Get together with like minded people ... they all need start points .... 500 per year is what you need [that is correct, despite what you read in other unsuccessful music places] .... 30 will get worked on seriously ... as I have said .... and 3 will make money ... if you are lucky, ONE will make serious dosh.  And I do mean SERIOUS dosh.

By the way, I haven't mentioned 'fairy dust' ... the stuff that makes classic, everlasting immortal hits ... where does it come from?  Even I don't know.

And, by the way, again, once you have three or four hits under your belt, then you can write the most meaningful, deep and self indulgent stuff you want - and it will probably be world class hit material .... and earn you immortality ... but it all starts by observing the rules ..... SIMPLICITY .... and giving the public what they want.

Regards

DEC [Cluskey]
mailto:dec@makehits.com

You don't know whether you music is getting better unless you have a demo consultation with Dec - the one the Pro's use: UK 01323.728005 [+44.1323.728005] www.makehits.co.uk/demo.htm

Regards

Dec 

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The gags: .....   THE MIRACLE OF TOILET PAPER
  
   Fresh from my shower, I stand in front of the mirror complaining
   to my husband that my b reasts are too small. Instead of
   characteristically telling me it's not so, he uncharacteristically comes up with a
   suggestion. 
 
   "If you want your b reasts to grow, then every day take a piece of
toilet paper and rub it between them for a few seconds".
 
   Willing to try anything, I fetch a piece of toilet paper and stand
   in front of the mirror, rubbing it between my b reasts. "How long will this
take?" I asked.
 
   "They will grow l arger over a period of years," my husband replies.
 
   I stopped. "Do you really think rubbing a piece of toilet paper
between my b reasts every day will make my b reasts l arger over the years?"
 
   Without missing a beat he says "Worked for your a*s, didn't it?"
 
   He's still alive, and with a great deal of therapy, he may even
   walk again although he will probably continue to take his meals through a straw.