Being a great musician takes thousands of hours of building your craft. Not being nostalgic. Being current. Not being afraid to see music as a business as well as an art. And, one more thing…

WRITING A HIT SONG:
Writing a hit leads you to landing gigs - good gigs. And, if your song becomes big enough, it will lead to signing a record deal. But, before learning rhyme-scheme techniques, harmony and theory, alliteration, arranging, composing or imagery, you need something else.

That "something else" is to simply understand the idea that you’re capable of becoming the artist on the radio, on TV, or in the headphones of that person walking by. But, it will require a hit song to carry you there.

It doesn’t take "knowing someone" or “being discovered,” but what it does take is effort, patience, time, and tons of high quality practice.Plus, a little luck. But, doors will open if you have a great sound and great music.



A hit song must come first...
Write a song that people want to share. A song that changes a person’s state. Without a song, you have none of anything that surrounds it. And, without it, you have nothing that will draw people to want to come to your world.

Before you have a live show. Before you have T-shirts. Before you have a manager. Before you have a record label. Before you have a promotional staff. Before you have a publishing deal. Before you have any of that, you need a really great song.

We don’t look at Metallica and celebrate them because they're on a t-shirt. We don’t reflect on Bob Marley because he was featured on an iPhone case. All of our views of an artist start with his or her music. Generally this all begins with just one song.

If you want to make it big, then your song has to have certain timeless elements:

- Clear structure
- Common chord progressions
- Consistent numbers of bars in the verse, chorus, intro, and bridge
- A conversational lyric

You can learn how to master those musical elements by practicing a variety of techniques.Over time your skills will continue to grow, and so will your musical success.

However, there's still one other element... Are you actually destine to be a musician?



IS MUSIC YOUR DESTINY... (a short story)
There once was a guitar player who a producer /studio owner liked using for recordings a lot, a young kid. The kid came in one day, (and by day, I mean 3:00 a.m. or 4:00 a.m. because these were after-hours types of projects).

He played great and he put out some great tunes, was well paid for his services, and he went home. After a few months went by, this guitarists parents spoke with the studio owner one day. They were concerned about the direction that their son was heading. Concerned over a future that involved music, "what can you do to talk him out of being a musician?" they asked.

The answer from the producer to the parents was very honest and very clear: "If I can talk him out of doing music for a living, then he wasn’t supposed to do it in the first place."

The producer even talked to this guitarist on behalf of his parents. The producer tried to persuade him out of his craft. But the kid had a different idea.

The kid didn’t quit music. Instead, he eventually became a touring guitarist for many successful bands and is a fixture of music you hear regularly on the radio.

It was his idea. Not the producers, nor anyone else.

Making the decision to perfect your craft day in and day out is not up to anyone other than you. And, once you decide that music is your life, things will start to fall into place - if it is meant to be. And, if you have the natural talent and you can gain all of the musical experience success will come your way.