How To Be A Famous Songwriter

Steve Eaton, one of the Do Good Music Masters, wrote a song that sold in the millions of copies years ago and is still selling today. It made him a famous songwriter, and if you can duplicate what he did you can be a famous songwriter too. Here is how it happened.

Steve had been in a long relationship that went south and had written a song expressing how he felt about the whole thing. A few weeks later he was playing guitar or piano in a recording session and during a break he played this song for one of the other musicians. The guy really liked the song and asked for a tape of it, because he was going to be in a recording session in a few days with a big time producer and he wanted him to hear it.

Of course Steve gave him the tape and within a few weeks forgot all about it, but it did get delivered. A couple of months later the producer was finishing a project with a major label duet, and the three of them were discussing the idea of adding one more song to their new album. They'd already been through dozens of songs, though, and they didn't have much hope of finding one that worked.Just then the cleaning lady came into the room holding a dusty tape in her hand and asking where it should go. It was in the way and had been sitting there collecting dust for too long.

Of course it was the tape my friend had made, of course the producer played it for Richard and Karen Carpenter, and of course it went onto the album. It also went onto eight more of their albums, was recorded by several other artists, and it helped make Steve Eaton a famous songwriter.

I don't know if Steve ever thanked that cleaning lady, but he thanked God for the perfect timing of those events. "All it took," he says, "was a good song, one of the greatest singers ever, a cleaning lady, and God's perfect timing." We can't help you much with the cleaning lady, and God's timing is still perfect so you're OK there, but what we can help you with is writing a good song. And it all starts with the song. Just ask any famous songwriter, or even any famous singer.

Songwriting packages that are available:

• Basic songwriting: $295
  You get three hours of work with Lewis Greer and/or Gary Dugan (Steve Eaton says they're awesome) on concepts, lyrics, melodies, song structure and process; a workbook with information to help your understanding, ideas to stimulate your creativity, and insights about both the art and craft of writing good songs. You'll come out of this course with a solid foundation and maybe even a finished song!

• Advanced songwriting: $750
  You get five hours of work with the DGM Professionals and/or one of the songwriting Do Good Music Masters. To take this package, you need to have written either the music or lyrics for at least six songs which are complete and recorded, because we begin with where you are as a writer, evaluating your work, assessing your current skill level, your songwriting knowledge, and your goals as a writer. From that base we will help you move closer to those goals while we raise your skill level, help instill the writer's habits, and give you the tools you need to succeed.

To sign up for either of these packages or to get more information about them, call us at 650-858-1324.