>What it essentially boils down to is that a good song should
>be able to work even if it's performed at a piano or with an
>acoustic guitar and nothing else. Basically:the information
>contained within the basic sheet-music (chords and melody)
>should be enough for the song to stand strong and work. It's
>natural that people feel like that since that is how songs
>were (and still are) written in most cases. It's also a bit
>backwards and conservative though.

true, but i think the basics of songwriting will never really fade. that format has stayed around for a reason.

>What if the composer(s) has no intention of wanting his/her
>song to work in that arrangement? Should that be held against
>him/her? Should it be considered just arranging or jamming?
>Neither terms are too good for this IMO; arranging and
>arrangements is something you do with/add to an already
>existing song, not the song itself and as for jamming:is there
>REALLY any principal difference between two guys brainstorming
>ideas at a piano and a bunch of guys getting their ideas for a
>song by jamming?

its not really the process i think thats the issue, more the end result. you can jam and jam and piece it together in a way that resembles the basic standard structure, or you can just improvise, put it to tape and release it as is. how you write doesnt matter, its the end result that emerges from that. you can write on a laptop staring at sequences (which often makes for even more rigid songs which i dont like either) or you can make it all up as you go along.


>I just don't think it's fair to dismiss the importance of
>songwriting in all styles where it's less conventional (and
>it's not just funk BTW-it could be techno or metal or Hip-Hop
>or whatever), I think it's better to redefine the term in a
>genre-specific context...

yep. which is why i think GC is prob the best funk songwriter. of course hes a writer, but i dont think funk really cares about the standard notion of songwriting you have in other genres, so what GC did within that context was def pretty brilliant. but its not pop songwriting in the way sly stone was. funk bands of course didnt only do funk songs, but funk as a genre/style overall threw out the normal songwriting rulebook.