Part nine of our monthly series of exerpts from Brian's forthcoming book.

What Makes a Hit?       Part two

Co-writing is one of the best ways to exponentially expand your creative skills. Much like many writers, my first songs were written in solitude. And like the child in grade school, I did not want anyone to see what I was making until it was finished.

We struck a very easy rapport as people first before he suggested we write together. We wrote 3 songs in a one-week period. One of them was eventually recorded by a very popular band, made Top 10 in charts worldwide and helped them sell over 8 million copies of the itinerant album. What did I learn? I learned that my immature fear of losing something of myself through collaborating was totally unfounded. Quite the opposite - the experience was both mind expanding and profitable. I learned that we are mostly creatures of habit - even in our creative modes. We tend to take familiar paths and repeat favourite patterns if left to our own devices, which can lead to writing similar songs over and over. Take some time, examine your list of songs and make note of the tempo and key for each. Unless you are one of the rare exceptions, your "comfort zone" will jump off the page at you. As another negative bonus from the private process, the dreaded writer's block can often be deeper with those who rely solely on themselves for inspiration. By working with others, one is exposed to the other writer's habits, revealing methods that may not have been explored while working solo. I most definitely feel that I open doors in my creative psyche that I might otherwise have left closed when I collaborate. If we examine the writing credits under some of the most well-crafted country hits, we often see as many as three writers involved… wait a minute… isn't Nashville one of the most prolific songwriting communities in the world? Is it possible they actually might know what they're doing?

We have all hit speed bumps in the writing process - you know, the one line you can't seem to find the right words for. With two or even three participants, there's a much better chance you won't all hit dead air together - when one writer deflates, there are still two others to pick up the ball. Even if the song you are co-writing does not achieve what any of you had hoped, open-minded individuals will always take away something of value from the experience. At the very least, I can testify that most of the writers I have discussed this with have also noted that when they did choose to write alone, they felt that the collaboration experiences had enhanced their internal resources, giving them more creative options. Even if today's venture is a dismal failure, one of the beautiful things about the music business is that no one will hear it! What have you got to lose?

So, if you haven't discovered the joys of co-writing yet, get out of your skin and give it a shot. Pay heed to the old saying: "If you keep doing things the way you've always done them, you can expect the same results."

Brian Allen has a wealth of experience in the industry as a songwriter, guitar player, producer, as well as enjoying 15 years heading up the A&R department at Attic Records. He knows what it takes to be a winner in this industry, in mind, spirit and in talent. He has over 10 million in career sales notched on his belt and will be offering up his insight once a month, as a feature contributor to Songbridge, with excerpts from his forthcoming book.
For more info on AMPLUS Productions, contact Brian at brianallen@rogers.com