Who Is Your Favorite Songwriter? Do You Know?

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Who Is Your Favorite Songwriter? Do You Know?

Posted On : May-24-2009 | seen (1339) times | Article Word Count : 809 |

I’m sure you have had several favorite songs in your life. You probably have a favorite artist and a favorite album. So, who is your favorite songwriter? What? You don’t have one? If I were to ask you to name 5 pop songwriters, could you? I don’t know if I could. I’ve heard of Diane Warren, though I couldn’t tell you most of the songs she’s written. I also know that Caedmon’s Call (and others) writes their own music (you go guys!). So, why is it that so few songwriters are known?

You Mean You Didn’t Write That?
I’ve been involved with music for a very long time. Whether it was piano lessons as a child, music classes in school, church choir, the community orchestra, playing in a band, or composing music for one reason or another, music has been a part of my life one way or another pretty much my entire life. I remember when I was growing up finding out that a lot of the pop musicians I heard on the radio hadn’t actually written the song they were singing. Whaaaattt!! Why didn’t I know that? The talking heads on the radio didn’t feel the need to mention who wrote the song, only who was performing the song. So, I had just assumed that the artist I heard on the radio was the one who wrote the song.

Small Guy Standing In The Dark
This kinda bugged me for a while. Sure I think it’s great that the performing artist is known, but why is the songwriter so underappreciated? I had this image of a poor schmuck sitting in a small room somewhere with their blank sheet music and a piano writing song after song and getting little more than a private thanks and a small check while the performing artist appears in front of hundreds of thousands of fans, is more famous that the president, gets enough money to fill their pools with Champagne and own every musical instruments they’ve ever wanted. I’ve done a good bit of songwriting and composing, so this hit me on a personal level.

Well, Maybe Not So Underappreciated
Later I learned that the paycheck the songwriter received wasn’t necessarily so small, especially if the performing artist was performing in front of hundreds of thousands, etc. So, I wasn’t feeling quite as bad for them, but still, the only recognition they get is their name listed on the inside of the CD insert in text so small I have to use a magnifying glass to read it. Now, we don’t even usually have the CD covers since everything is downloaded.

What About Classical Music
So, here I am in my righteous indignation about performing artists not writing their own music and I was attending a college musical performance when it struck me that (of course) these performers didn’t write this music either. Now don’t get me wrong. I’m not an idiot (well maybe). I did know that before, but I had the thought in the context of my annoyance that pop performers didn’t write their own music. I had never had the same irritation at classical music performers not writing their own music and I was even one of those classical music performers. My world was turned on its head. Why would I be so irritated at the pop musicians and not at the classical musicians? Was I just a classical music snob? That didn’t make sense because I enjoyed listing to various pop artists as much as a good Beethoven Symphony. So, why then?

It All Comes Down To Credit
I thought about it for a while and then it hit me. When I buy a pop music CD, the performing artists name is on the cover and I have to look for the tiny print on the inside to see who wrote the music. If I go to a pop concert, I’ll never know who wrote the music. But…If I buy a classical music CD, the composer’s name is usually right there on the cover of the CD with the performer’s name. When you go to a classical music concert, you are told who wrote every piece that is performed. The composer’s name is prominently displayed in classical music, sometimes even more prominently than the performing artists.

So, let’s give these songwriters credit. Sure, a great performer can make a good song great, but the performer would have nothing to sing if the songwriter hadn’t written a good song. I know you songwriters don’t get too much public praise, so here you go. Thanks songwriters.

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<h1>Who Is Your Favorite Songwriter? Do You Know?</h1> Author: <a href='http://www.articleseen.com/profile_Francis Beaudry.aspx'>Francis Beaudry</a> I’m sure you have had several favorite songs in your life. You probably have a favorite artist and a favorite album. So, who is your favorite songwriter? What? You don’t have one? If I were to ask you to name 5 pop songwriters, could you? I don’t know if I could. I’ve heard of Diane Warren, though I couldn’t tell you most of the songs she’s written. I also know that Caedmon’s Call (and others) writes their own music (you go guys!). So, why is it that so few songwriters are known?

You Mean You Didn’t Write That?
I’ve been involved with music for a very long time. Whether it was piano lessons as a child, music classes in school, church choir, the community orchestra, playing in a band, or composing music for one reason or another, music has been a part of my life one way or another pretty much my entire life. I remember when I was growing up finding out that a lot of the pop musicians I heard on the radio hadn’t actually written the song they were singing. Whaaaattt!! Why didn’t I know that? The talking heads on the radio didn’t feel the need to mention who wrote the song, only who was performing the song. So, I had just assumed that the artist I heard on the radio was the one who wrote the song.

Small Guy Standing In The Dark
This kinda bugged me for a while. Sure I think it’s great that the performing artist is known, but why is the songwriter so underappreciated? I had this image of a poor schmuck sitting in a small room somewhere with their blank sheet music and a piano writing song after song and getting little more than a private thanks and a small check while the performing artist appears in front of hundreds of thousands of fans, is more famous that the president, gets enough money to fill their pools with Champagne and own every musical instruments they’ve ever wanted. I’ve done a good bit of songwriting and composing, so this hit me on a personal level.

Well, Maybe Not So Underappreciated
Later I learned that the paycheck the songwriter received wasn’t necessarily so small, especially if the performing artist was performing in front of hundreds of thousands, etc. So, I wasn’t feeling quite as bad for them, but still, the only recognition they get is their name listed on the inside of the CD insert in text so small I have to use a magnifying glass to read it. Now, we don’t even usually have the CD covers since everything is downloaded.

What About Classical Music
So, here I am in my righteous indignation about performing artists not writing their own music and I was attending a college musical performance when it struck me that (of course) these performers didn’t write this music either. Now don’t get me wrong. I’m not an idiot (well maybe). I did know that before, but I had the thought in the context of my annoyance that pop performers didn’t write their own music. I had never had the same irritation at classical music performers not writing their own music and I was even one of those classical music performers. My world was turned on its head. Why would I be so irritated at the pop musicians and not at the classical musicians? Was I just a classical music snob? That didn’t make sense because I enjoyed listing to various pop artists as much as a good Beethoven Symphony. So, why then?

It All Comes Down To Credit
I thought about it for a while and then it hit me. When I buy a pop music CD, the performing artists name is on the cover and I have to look for the tiny print on the inside to see who wrote the music. If I go to a pop concert, I’ll never know who wrote the music. But…If I buy a classical music CD, the composer’s name is usually right there on the cover of the CD with the performer’s name. When you go to a classical music concert, you are told who wrote every piece that is performed. The composer’s name is prominently displayed in classical music, sometimes even more prominently than the performing artists.

So, let’s give these songwriters credit. Sure, a great performer can make a good song great, but the performer would have nothing to sing if the songwriter hadn’t written a good song. I know you songwriters don’t get too much public praise, so here you go. Thanks songwriters.About the Author: Francis Beaudry is currently the conductor of two orchestras. He is a writer and arranger and has published musical works for choir and orchestra. In addition he is the president of TheMaxZone.net, an <a rel="nofollow" href=http://www.themaxzone.net>online musical accessories superstore</a> offering <a rel="nofollow" href=http://themaxzone.net/shop/categories/Fretted-Instruments/>instrument accessories</a>, <a rel="nofollow" href=http://www.themaxzone.net>musical accessories</a>, and more. Article Source: <a href='http://www.articleseen.com/Article_Who-Is-Your-Favorite-SongwriterDo-You-Know_807.aspx'> http://www.articleseen.com/Article_Who Is Your Favorite Songwriter? Do You Know?_807.aspx</a>

Article Source : http://www.articleseen.com/Article_Who Is Your Favorite Songwriter? Do You Know?_807.aspx

Author Resource :
Francis Beaudry is currently the conductor of two orchestras. He is a writer and arranger and has published musical works for choir and orchestra. In addition he is the president of TheMaxZone.net, an online musical accessories superstore offering instrument accessories, musical accessories, and more.

Keywords : music, musicians,

Category : Arts and Entertainment : Music

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