Here is a sample of the type of critique you will receive when you submit a song to GMA's Songwriting Critique Services

TITLE: "Hold On"

SONGWRITER:

DATE: March 15, 2005

ORIGINALITY

I like the energy of this song and the fact that it gets right to the point. It makes good use of the hook, and the meaning is clear and straightforward. However, it doesn’t really say anything I haven’t heard many many times in just this same way. Part of our challenge as songwriters is to find something new to say, or even more challenging, to find a fresh way to say something that has been said thousands of times before.

Sometimes this boils down to a new thought on the Christian life or on God’s Word. But most of the time, it means expressing an old idea with a new perspective that will make a compelling connection with the listener. If I were co-writing this song with you, I would want to spend a long, long time talking about and thinking about what “Hold On, the answer’s on its way” means to me personally. I don’t think you can just talk in generalities and expect to be successful.

Sometimes, it means having a “device” for the song that sets up the idea in a more interesting way. For example, “Three Wooden Crosses” uses the device of narrative. “Untitled Hymn” by Chris Rice, uses a device of imagery combined with repetition. ”Less Like Scars” by Sara Groves uses the device of contrasting ideas. “Every Season” by Nichole Nordeman uses a device of chronological order. If you listen to many, many songs, you’ll begin to see lots of different devices songwriters come up with to make their songs about a familiar idea seem fresh and different.

MUSIC/MELODY

Just on a practical level, I think changing keys so many times doesn’t work well. If you are the only person who ever intends to sing this, ok, you can do what you want. But if you want to pitch it to other artists or especially if you want congregations to sing it, I think it will be a hard sell. I think it makes it difficult for the singer and even for the listener to settle into a key and live there for a while. I realize that many CCM artists make use of key changes, but they rarely do it in the middle of a verse, then again at the chorus, and then again going into the second verse. Especially with the chorus being so brief, I think this becomes a weakness of this song.

LYRIC

I’ve talked at length about the idea of having a device to get your message across. That said, I think you’ve done a nice job here of marrying the lyric to the music. It feels natural and easy to sing. I do love the line “Hasn’t He delivered, And always seen you through?” The rest of the lyric feels pretty predictable though.

MARKETABILITY

I don’t see a lot of commercial viability for this particular song. It has energy, but not enough freshness or uniqueness to set it apart and make it memorable enough for an artist to choose it above others for a project, or for a dj to put it into a rotation before the many other songs there are to choose from.

OVERALL CONCEPT

My best advice is to just keep listening and really analyzing the songs of the artists you love most. What makes them work? How are they structured? What device is being used to make a connection with you? Why do you feel compelled to listen again and again? What makes you want to sing the song? I know many songwriters who actively make this kind of analysis on current songs week by week. It is a great way to learn and then to improve your own writing.