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• The GOLD STANDARD SONG TEST was developed by Wayne Chase from studies of the musical and lyrical characteristics common to the best songs from the Gold Standard Song List, a unique database of the world’s greatest popular songs in all genres. These are successful songs, both commercially and artistically, songs that have stood the test of time—unlike the current songs on Billboard and other such music charts that come and go from day to day.
    

• The results you get from the GOLD STANDARD SONG TEST will give you invaluable insight on how your songwriting skills measure up against the skills of the world’s greatest songwriters.
    

• Once you have completed the GOLD STANDARD SONG TEST, you will be able to identify the exact areas that you can focus on to dramatically improve your skills—both musically and lyrically.

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PART 1 — How to Test Your Original Song’s MUSIC

           How to Dramatically Improve Your Music-writing Skills
   

PART 2 — How to Test Your Original Song’s LYRICS

           How to Dramatically Improve Your Lyric-writing Skills

  
PART 1
HOW TO TEST YOUR ORIGINAL SONG’S MUSIC

1. Select ONE of your original songs for testing—only one.

2. Print out this page.

3. Part 1 of this test consists of 32 statements about your song’s MUSIC. (Part 2 tests your song’s LYRICS.) Each statement has a “point” value, some positive, some negative. Each statement may or may not be true about your song’s music. Read each statement and check the box to the left of the statement ONLY if the statement is true for your song. If you do not understand the statement, check the small box immediately below the statement.

4. When you’ve finished all 32 statements, add up the points only for the statements you have checked—those that are true for your song’s music.

The first 20 statements are each associated with a “positive” point value because they represent highly effective music-writing technique. The last 12 statements are each associated with a negative point value because they represent music-writing blunders. In writing the music for a song, it’s not good enough to know what to do; you also need to know what NOT to do. A few serious technical blunders will usually spell the difference between great music and second-rate music.

IMPORTANT: Do not delude yourself. You have to be perfectly honest when considering each statement, or this test will not help you improve your skills.

If you do not understand exactly what a statement means, check the box marked “Check here if you don’t really understand the above statement.” Then move on to the next statement.

NOTE: Each statement has “Chapter” and “Section” references where the topic is covered in How Music REALLY Works!, The Essential Handbook for Songwriters, Performers, and Music Students, 2nd Edition.
  

YOUR FINAL SCORE (MUSIC)

To get your final score for the musical component of your song, combine your “green” total (for statements #1 - #20) with your “red” total (for statements #21 - #32).

For example:

• Suppose your “green” total is + 23 (plus 23).

• Suppose your “red” total is      - 35 (minus 35)

• Then your final score is               - 12 (minus 12)

  
If your FINAL SCORE is ...

+ 51 to +100

Congratulations. You have probably crafted a memorable piece of music.

 
+ 25 to +49

You probably wrote the music with at least some knowledge of effective musical technique, but it is not likely the music is outstanding. You probably need to sharpen your skills.

  
+ 24 or lower
       OR
8 or more (red + green) “Check here if you don’t really understand the above statement”:

• If the song you just tested is typical of your songs, you probably do not have the technical know-how to write great music consistently (at least not yet). Not even if some of your songs have charted on Billboard. Not even if you’ve won a Grammy or an Oscar for songwriting.

• However, you can learn how to write truly brilliant songs—songs that will stand the test of time.

• The truth is, nearly all of today’s amateur and “professional” songwriters would flunk the GOLD STANDARD SONG TEST because they simply do not have the technical skills to write great songs. The overwhelming majority of Billboard charted songs (as well as most Grammy- and Oscar-winning songs of the past 30 to 40 years) are mediocre, inferior songs—not good enough to become classics. Songs that make the charts become popular for a few weeks or months, thanks to performer popularity, slick record production, competent performing, artificially-generated buzz and hype, and costly multi-faceted marketing campaigns—not song quality. Then, charted songs, even million-selling hits, nearly always fade into oblivion.

• Never confuse hit songs with great songs!

• You can succeed as a songwriter, both commercially and artistically. The key is to become technically skilled. It does not matter whether you read or write music. That has nothing to do with the skills you need to learn.

• Never forget that Lennon and McCartney wrote more than 200 brilliant songs without knowing how to read or write music. An average of 2 or 3 great songs a month for 8 years. They had excellent technical songwriting skills (both music and words)—not just a lucky knack for writing great songs. The same applies to other consistently great songwriters.

HOW TO DRAMATICALLY IMPROVE YOUR
MUSIC-WRITING SKILLS

Now that you have put the music to one of your songs through the GOLD STANDARD SONG TEST, here’s what you can do to dramatically improve your music-writing skills:

• Focus on the “green” items (#1 to #20) that you DID NOT check. These are important skills you do not have, but need to have. By learning and applying these skills, you can improve your songwriting enormously.

• Focus on the “red” items (#21 to #32) that you DID check. These are things you are doing that seriously weaken your music. Do not make the same mistakes over and over.

• Consult Chapters 4 through 9 of How Music REALLY Works!, 2nd Edition, where you will find the complete information and direction you need to:
  
        - Acquire all the “green” skills
        - Avoid making the “red” blunders
        - Learn about the skills (and blunders) you don’t really understand.

• As you learn better skills and find out how to avoid blunders, put each new song you write through the GOLD STANDARD SONG TEST to monitor your progress.

A NOTE ABOUT MUSIC SCHOOLS AND SONGWRITING

• If you want to eventually teach music, learn to read music, or improve your instrumental or vocal skills, then by all means, take lessons or study at a music school.

• However, you will not learn to write brilliant songs at a music school. Instructors at such schools, even at the university level, even instructors who have had a hit song or two, even instructors who play an instrument expertly, tend to be pretty clueless about effective songwriting technique.

  
PART 2
HOW TO TEST YOUR ORIGINAL SONG’S LYRICS

1. Select ONE of your original songs for testing—only one.

2. Print out this page.

3. Part 2 of this test consists of 22 statements about your song’s LYRICS. (Part 1 tests your song’s MUSIC.) Each statement has a “point” value, some positive, some negative. Each statement may or may not be true about your song’s lyrics. Read each statement and check the box to the left of the statement ONLY if the statement is true for your song. If you do not understand the statement, check the small box immediately below the statement.

4. When you’ve finished all 22 statements, add up the points only for the statements you have checked—those that are true for your song’s lyrics.

The first 11 statements are each associated with a "positive" point value because they represent highly effective lyric-writing technique. The last 11 statements are each associated with a negative point value because they represent lyric-writing blunders. In writing the lyrics for a song, it’s not good enough to know what to do; you also need to know what NOT to do. A few serious technical blunders will usually spell the difference between great lyrics and second-rate lyrics.

IMPORTANT: Do not delude yourself. You have to be perfectly honest when considering each statement, or this test will not help you improve your skills.

If you do not understand exactly what a statement means, check the box marked “Check here if you don’t really understand the above statement.” Then move on to the next statement.

NOTE: Each statement has “Chapter” and “Section” references where the topic is covered in How Music REALLY Works!, The Essential Handbook for Songwriters, Performers, and Music Students, 2nd Edition.
  

YOUR FINAL SCORE (LYRICS)

To get your final score for the lyrical component of your song, combine your "green" total (for statements #1 - #11) with your "red" total (for statements #12 - #22).

For example:

• Suppose your “green” total is + 30 (plus 30).

• Suppose your “red” total is      - 40 (minus 40)

• Then your final score is               - 10 (minus 10)

  
If your FINAL SCORE is ...

+ 51 to +100

Congratulations. You have probably crafted a memorable lyrics for your song.

 
+ 25 to +49

You probably wrote the lyrics with at least some knowledge of effective lyrical technique, but the lyrics are likely not outstanding. You probably need to sharpen your skills.

  
+ 24 or lower
       OR
8 or more (red + green) “Check here if you don’t really understand the above statement”:

• If the song you just tested is typical of your songs, you probably do not have the technical know-how to write great lyrics consistently (at least not yet). Not even if some of your songs have charted on Billboard. Not even if you’ve won a Grammy or an Oscar for songwriting.

• However, you can learn how to write truly brilliant songs—songs that will stand the test of time.

• The truth is, nearly all of today’s amateur and “professional” songwriters would flunk the GOLD STANDARD SONG TEST because they simply do not have the technical skills to write great songs. The overwhelming majority of Billboard charted songs (as well as most Grammy- and Oscar-winning songs of the past 30 to 40 years) are mediocre, inferior songs—not good enough to become classics. Songs that make the charts become popular for a few weeks or months, thanks to performer popularity, slick record production, competent performing, artificially-generated buzz and hype, and costly multi-faceted marketing campaigns—not song quality. Then, charted songs, even million-selling hits, nearly always fade into oblivion.

• Never confuse hit songs with great songs!

• You can succeed as a songwriter, both commercially and artistically. The key is to become technically skilled. It does not matter whether you read or write music. That has nothing to do with the skills you need to learn.

• Never forget that Lennon and McCartney wrote more than 200 brilliant songs without knowing how to read or write music. An average of 2 or 3 great songs a month for 8 years. They had excellent technical songwriting skills (both music and words)—not just a lucky knack for writing great songs. The same applies to other consistently great songwriters.

HOW TO DRAMATICALLY IMPROVE YOUR
LYRIC-WRITING SKILLS

Now that you have put the lyrics to one of your songs through the GOLD STANDARD SONG TEST, here’s what you can do to dramatically improve your lyric-writing skills:

• Focus on the "green" items (#1 to #11) that you DID NOT check. These are important skills you do not have, but need to have. By learning and applying these skills, you can improve your lyric-writing enormously.

• Focus on the "red" items (#12 to #22) that you DID check. These are things you are doing that seriously weaken your lyrics. Do not make the same mistakes over and over.

• Consult Chapters 7, 8, and especially Chapter 10 of How Music REALLY Works!, 2nd Edition, where you will find the complete information and direction you need to:
  
        - Acquire all the “green” skills
        - Avoid making the “red” blunders
        - Learn about the skills (and blunders) you don’t really understand.

• As you learn better skills and find out how to avoid blunders, put each new lyric you write through the GOLD STANDARD SONG TEST to monitor your progress.

~ • ~ • ~ • ~

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