Songwriting 101 Feat. dee maria
How I started in music, tips, and other tomfoolery
Step One: Get your heart stomped on.
Kidding! Mostly. Well…
I picked up my first guitar last February. I wrote my first song a few days before Christmas Eve. I’m about to release my first single, Blue on May 1st. AHHHHHH.
Ok, let’s rewind:
I picked up a guitar last year for an audition for a role I really wanted but did not get. (But it’s for the best!) I just wanted to be prepared for the audition so I borrowed my cousin’s guitar and learned my first song, "Stand By Me” by Ben E. King.
It was brutal.
I was so slow. I couldn’t remember the chord names or configurations. The strings were biting into my fingers so deep they left marks. You know when Bryan Adams sang, “Played it til my fingers bled?” That was me. Literally. But I kept at it. I wanted to be prepared for a possible callback, which never came, but I found that I was picking up a guitar every spare second I got. Before work. After work. I was hearing a song, and adding it to my “NEED TO LEARN” list on my phone. I brought my guitar on trips. I bought one in ANOTHER COUNTRY. It was insane. It was this light that never went out. A warm beacon nearby, always calling. And I always answered.
I wrote my first song in December. I was doing last minute Christmas shopping with my best friend and they needed to go into a store. I was hesitant because I knew someone who used to work there. An old best friend I had a tough falling out with. But I thought, “it’s been years, they can’t possibly still work here.”
And then the universe laughed at me.
Because we walked in, and who was the first person I saw? Yup. Behind the register.
That night I wrote my first song.
A few days later, my brother, Sean, heard it when I was just messing around and went “Wait, play that again?” He was in a band called The Novelas, but I had never played music with him or even asked to. I never saw music as an avenue for me. I always loved singing, but as a kid I was so shy, I’d sit behind the couch and sing, thinking if my parents couldn’t see me, they couldn’t hear me. LOL. I came out of my shell in elementary school, but when I left that safety net, I immediately receded into myself. For years. I did one semester of music in college and dropped out of the program to work full-time.
This is why the next part is so crazy.
Sean told me to make a demo and then he sent it to a producer. (THANK YOU, SEAN.) And to my incredible luck, this producer decided to take a chance on me. (THANK YOU, JACOB.)
I was in the studio less than two weeks later. I still can’t believe that.
Quick tips from someone who’s still learning:
(Knowledge is powerful. So while I’m still pretty green, I’m sharing some things I learned pretty quickly in case it helps anyone else.)
Do NOT write if you feel stuck. You’re just going to get frustrated and angry and beat yourself up about it. Do anything else. Go outside!
Get used to looking up rhymes for specific words, using an online or a real life dictionary, and thesaurus.
READ. A LOT.
If you really like your song and you show it to other people and they don’t love it, it is NOT a personal attack. I care about everything. All. The. Time. And this was a tough early lesson to learn, but I’m so much happier now that I’ve realized it. If I love the song, I’m going to record it. End of story.
This is supposed to be fun, enjoyable, cathartic! KEEP THE JOY. KEEP THE WHIMSY, THE MAGIC OF MAKING MUSIC. I’ve seen artists who definitely give the vibe, “if you wouldn’t die for this, it’s not right for you”. To them I say, WHOA THERE. But seriously, art is deeply personal and has the power to inspire people, however, we should not be working ourselves to exhaustion or pulling our hair out for this. Balance is key. (Listen to Alysa Liu, she’s very wise.)
BE KIND. (Enough said.)
No AI. (Enough said.)
As I’m writing this, I’m listening to the latest mix of my single and I want to cry. People might love this song. People might hate it. But it doesn’t matter. Because I love it so much. So that’s what will make everything okay. That’s what I hope people take away from this for any kind of art they do. As long as you love it, that will make it shine. So be brave. Be vulnerable. You never know where you might end up.
If you’d like to stick with me, I’m on instagram @deemariamusic and bluesky @deemariamusic.bsky.social !!
My very first song, Blue, comes out May 1st on all music platforms, but it’s available for pre-save on Spotify and Apple Music now!!
And as a thank you for reading, here’s a sneak peek of the lyrics!!!! :
Saw your ghost today
Up at the counter
You turned your face away
So I left
Circled the parking lot, my engine’s hot, oh boy
You turned your location off
Can it feel this raw?
THANKS AGAIN!! :)