Whenever we hear a song or, a classical piece of music, our emotions are stirred and, memories awoken. Musical sounds span and feed many differing feelings. There are times when we like silence too. Silence is the canvas upon which we ‘paint’ musical sounds and so, without silence, we can’t fully appreciate beautiful music, wonderful sounds or, even irritating noises!

Listener of Creator?
Well, I suppose we are all ‘creators’ to a certain extent. Even tapping the keys on this keyboard makes for an untimely beat! Trying to sing a song from memory but, replacing lost words with ones’ own, is a creative process! Breaking silence with a foot tapping rhythm or, whistling some bird song, is our need to hear something.
We have ears for good reason, other than evolutionary traits of survival. They channel communicative sounds that have been deliberately created by other people or, animals. Whether soft spoken words of romance, a love ballad song or, screams of defiance, to shrills of animal behaviour, deliverance of created sounds form our perception of activity and, communicative messages.

Right Or Left Side Of The Brain?
The interactive processes that take place within the brain at deciphering sounds or, music, is quite fascinating. Ongoing studies update information to an ever growing data-base of interesting knowledge. This article for example, explains how one part of the brain is used for learning new musical sequences, while the other side recalls it after it’s learned! :
http://www.georgetown.edu/news/music-brain-research-2012.html

Learn As We Go?
There are many ways of learning to understand music, create music or, appreciate music but, the plethora of variety is fraught with dead ends and, poor foundational teachings. There’s no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ way. But, we are fortunate enough that many ‘time tested’ quality teachings have been collated and, are freely available to help the learning curve.
Whether someone plays ‘by ear’ or, uses a foundation of theoretical knowledge to express their creativity, the end result and, the experiences along the way, influence whether a person is willing to repeat that journey.
I’ve personally experienced the long, tough, self teaching route and, I can vouch for its pitfalls and, frustrations. That said, it certainly made me determined to answer questions that fed my insatiable appetite for understanding aspects of how guitar playing and, chord understanding, takes place.
I’d recommend that, people ‘learn as they go’, so long as they’re able to form part of a team. A team that shares knowledge, gives feedback, inspiration and, promotes creativity, while instiling motivation.

Motivation & Staying Power?
A true test of determination is, sticking through something when the going gets tough. Well, call me a sceptic but, I also think that when the going gets tough, perhaps it’s time to get out and change direction! I’ve flogged many ‘dead Horses’ (metaphorically speaking!), while trying to be a ‘one man music Guru’! I learned the hard way to realise and accept ‘when to let go’.
This is where team-work plays a key roll. ‘Many Hands Make Light Work’, reads true to the creative process, especially when people of similar minds collaborate on missions and accomplish works. Working with other people on a project is priceless and, the feedback/clarifications on decisions can inspire or, make for a quick change. As with all group working, egos and, a ‘pecking order’ can strain relations so, be aware of it!

How Do I Start Creating A Song?
A good question and, one that has many answers! No one owns dominion over a specific learning direction. We have variety. Many ways to lay foundations for music creation. But, what we don’t want is, something that’s long winded, de-motivating and lonely.
Before we start, we have to ask ‘What are we trying to achieve and why’? Time spent giving honest answers to that question can save much wasted time, frustration and costs.
Examples: Do I want to perform as a solo Artist, in a Band, just entertain friends/relatives, write/sell lyrics/melody, etc. And, could you cope with attention that fame may bring? Be prepared and, be wise.
There are many good, free music theory and, practical lessons on the internet. Youtube videos are a good start but, beware, some are very poor. If a person just wants to do cover songs, then, that’s well catered for. But, for the serious Musician, we need quality foundations.
Here are my Youtube & Internet channel recommendations to get started. Before you do, remember, to have your own longer term goal/mission for personal song creations as your priority:

Justin Sandercoe’s website is good quality site. His teachings cover many aspects but, take only what you need (Do consider a donations to the site) then, move out to other sites in order to fulfil your own direction and goals:
http://www.justinguitar.com/en/AA-000-LessonIndex.php

Marty Swartz is very popular on the web and, he teaches cover songs really well. Again, don’t get bogged down spending too much time replicating other peoples work. Take what you need then, move along your own journey:
http://www.guitarjamz.com/members/
http://www.youtube.com/user/martyzsongs

JamStudio
Jamstudio is a good site to use once you are familiar with your chord progressions, song structures like Intro, Verse, Chorus, etc. like this link example: http://mos.musicradar.com//images/Product%20News/Tech/april12/structure.jpg
Jamstudio is a paid for subscription site, where you use loops and samples seamlessly connected together, that’s then emailed to yourself as a complete Mp3. You can then import into a DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) like Mixcraft, ProTools, Cubase, etc. for further additions/modifications:
http://www.jamstudio.com/Studio/index.htm

Song Writing Guide
This website is a very useful guide to songwriting. It’s in-depth and thorough. Again, take what you need then, move forward on your own journey:
http://www.songwriting-guide.com/writing-lyrics.html

Lastly, for now, here’s an interesting web link about formats
Audio Formats?
Talking of Mp3s and musical formats, here is a good web link that gives a low-down explanation about different formats. Information that is very useful and, can help decipher misunderstandings in this seemingly complex area.
http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/40465/htg-explains-what-are-the-differences-between-all-those-audio-formats/

My own Youtube channel of course! (The Music Theory Playlist is at bottom of the page):
http://www.youtube.com/user/Topdoginuk/videos?flow=grid&view=1

From the links above, you could spend years learning many aspects of music. But, we need to stay focused on the ‘mission’….Your goal to creating songs! Once we are satisfied with our theoretical acquisitions, Where do we go? What next? &, How do we ‘make a song’?

To be continued…!
In the next part, I’ll continue to share suggestions. In the meantime, please feel free to add your thoughts, opinions, suggestions, experiences, critique and, appreciations!

I best not forget to mention the ultimate goal! The aim to get your polished sounds, lyrics, etc. on Songbay! http://www.songbay.co/