Each morning at the station, we have an editorial meeting to discuss news we plan to cover. It also serves as a venue for us to discuss what's happening in the world today, in general, and what happened the night before.

Even though Idol isn't an ABC show, it always comes up on Wednesday and Thursday mornings.

This week, our assistant news director pointed out that his trouble with the show was that as far as talents go, singing is pretty overrated. Heck, he noted, you can go to just about every town in America and find a few really excellent singers.

The real talent, he noted, was in songwriting.

I don't think he knows that I've spent the better part of the past 20 years cultivating songwriting abilities. I've probably written 400 to 500 songs during that time, of which maybe 30 or 40 are real keepers in my book.

And, I sing every day, although my standards in that arena are definitely low. Anybody who's heard my tracks knows this! Anybody who's seen and heard me at a karaoke bar after seven scotch and waters knows this! With that said, over the years, I've really mastered the science of recording a line or two at a time in hopes that I can record demos that are at least on key.

Self-deprecation aside, his comment got me to thinking.

What does require more talent: singing or songwriting?

There is no wrong answer to this question. Whether you have an ounce of music experience or 30 years under your belt, there can be valid but personal reasons for your preference. For example, perhaps you listen to music for nothing other than big choruses and pretty melodies. A great singer is probably a top criterion for your level of musical enjoyment.

On the other hand, many music fans really appreciate the content of songs. The stories. The lyrical craftsmanship. The meaning and social importance, or perhaps just the visceral great hook. A great songwriter is probably the top criterion for your level of musical happiness.

Well, here's my take. Take it for what you will.

First, almost anybody on the planet can sing with the exception of people who can't speak, and even some mutes can put together combinations of tones that resemble singing. I'm guessing that the dudes who have to wear the voice boxes because of cancer or a tracheaotomy probably can't muster anything resembling an attempt at singing.

However, almost anybody on Mother Earth can also write songs with the exception of people who don't know any words. I thought about this, and even people who can't read or write, so long as their memories are in tact, can technically write songs, just to the same extent that mutes can sing.

All one needs to sing is a voice, and all one needs to write songs is a voice and a memory. Those are the minimum requirements.

Let me break down what I've learned about songwriting over the years in a way that, I hope, anybody can understand. First, while it's not imperative that a songwriter be able to play an instrument, it sure does make things a bit easier, particularly if recording any of these original tunes is in your plans.

I've played piano since I was 3, which means I've played for 33 years. Technically, I am a professional musician. I absolutely could make it a career if I wanted to and could afford to. I mention this because there are tons of people who brag about how long they've played an instrument but really can't play at a level that reflects how long they have known how to play.

And, I have made money in songwriting, although I can't say I've come out even on the deal. Composition, for me, is a labor of 100 percent love. I use a Korg Triton to sequence music, and I play a Yamaha S90 when I'm just looking for a singer-songwriter piano vibe. I record into a Korg D1200 digital recorder, and at times will play my cheap-o $300 Guitar Center guitar.

I should note emphatically that I can't play the guitar at a professional level. Heck, I really kinda suck at it; however, again, it's a labor of love. Learning to play a new instrument is like learning a foreign language. The beauty of trying to learn guitar after playing the piano for so long is that it's like trying to learn Italian after mastering Spanish -- it's really a pretty easy transition -- although the linguistic comparison I'd make between piano and guitar is more like Spanish and French. The piano is to the organ as Spanish is to Italian. That's the better comparison there.

When I was 16, one of my best friends and I would just sit down at a piano and write whatever came to our heads. At the time, I was just a kid, and lyrical content was completely unimportant to me. Write catchy tunes, which we were both pretty good at for beginners. Compose some big ballads, and hope the girls notice.

They did, well, while I was in high school.

Long story short, after a period of four years or so in which publishers basically laughed at my submissions because of lyrics, I decided I had to get serious about learning the craft of songwriting. And, that's what songwriting is: a craft. Just like painting. Sculpting. Novel writing. Knitting.

What does one need to know or do to become a good songwriter?

1. Understand different types of song form. This can be achieved by listening to a wide variety of music all the time. I literally spend upwards of 20 to 30 hours per week listening to music, mostly for fun. Like great writers spend time reading great writing, aspiring songwriters must listen to great writing. I'd argue that aspiring songwriters should listen to all writing, good and horrific, particularly considering that songs are only 3:00 to 4:00 apiece. Learn to recognize what you love as well as what makes you cringe.
   
   What a writer needs to understand about song form includes things like how to develop verses as opposed to choruses. How to build bridges and where to build them. Understanding the value of simplicity and repetition. How to rhyme skillfully, and how to create lines that tell stories or evoke feelings in such a way that avoids cliche.



2. Master the metaphor. Songs are not like procedural crime dramas. They are not built literally to be chronological stories, although progressing the storyline is particularly important in writing for country radio. However, many of the greatest songs of all time are built on metaphors: Looking Through the Eyes of Love, Total Eclipse of the Heart, Smells Like Teen Spirit.
   
   When I was 20, my buddy and I put together a song called, "Heaven's Just A Heartbeat Away." The spirit of the song centered on a young woman who was so special that she figuratively takes the guy to "heaven." However, the reality of the tune sounded like the man intended to kill her. The use of metaphor was terrible.



3. Learn how to write a melody line. I'll give you the best piece of advice I ever got about writing melody lines. It came from the father of my writing buddy. Chelsea told us one day: The greatest choruses on Earth go up.
   
   He meant that, from a verse or a bridge to a chorus, the writer would be best served to write a melody whose notes moved up the scale. While, technically, great choruses can be written going downscale ("I Don't Have the Heart," from James Ingram is a good example.), beginners should focus on moving up the scale melodically. It's fail-safe.



4. Master the chorus. Simply put, great verses will win you awards, accolades and critical acclaim. But, great choruses sell records. Personally, if there is a subject or storyline I have in mind for a new song, the first thing I always do is write the title. It's the first thing a publisher or record producer will see, and something like "I Love You, Baby" had better be a damned great song for it to overcome such a trite title.
   
   My favorite titles among the songs I've written the past few years are "Even Rebels Get The Blues" and "Cool Like Kelsey." The latter is an instrumental, so it doesn't quite fit into this discussion. However, the former puts a vision into your imagination as to what the song is about.

On its own, a great song will be at its greatest with just a piano or guitar and vocal. Seriously, the David Fosters of the world will know whether your song is great with nothing more than one instrument and a vocal. However, the way the *real* music world works is that one must arrange tunes in a certain style to evoke a certain sound to evoke ideas as to who would be best to record a song. That process can lead to overproduction; however, production is beyond the scope of this discussion.

It's about singing and songwriting.

It helps to have a good singer singing your original music. Truth be told, almost anybody can be taught to write songs. However, to do it well requires a ton of commitment. Sure, there are people just born with the talent; however, the rest of us work and work to cultivate our abilities in hopes that one day we might be pretty good. There is truly nothing more creatively satisfying than writing an original piece of music. It lives forever.

However, put a suck vocal on top of your great song, and you've just ruined the piece. Many of my demos over the years have had sucky vocals on them. I am not a great singer; however, I have pretty good tone from time to time. Likewise, I do know how to sing on-key, and fortunately, I know how to produce enough so that I can make that happen on a consistent basis most of the time.

Yet, I'd never get a golden ticket to Hollywood. Heck, based on what I know of American Idol, I wouldn't even get a chance to see the three judges. I'm in that gray area between decent singer and terrible singer, just a bland, who-cares, everybody-in-the-church-choir-can-sing-as-good-as-you sort of area.

On the other hand, I've been fortunate enough over the years to know some great singers, the best of whom is one of my bestest buddies from the Ft. Worth area. She has great technique, great tone and a bucketful of soul, and you know what?

She worked her butt off to achieve it and to maintain it.

Vocal exercises in the car to and from work. Practices. Lessons (even after many years of singing). Tea. Honey. Steam. Whiskey.

Truth is, I'm probably diminishing what she does and has done to master her instrument. While a singing voice is something almost everyone has, many Idol critics don't understand what comprises a great one. They vastly underestimate the level of talent required to develop and keep a great vocal sound.

She won't go to karaoke bars because, as she has noted, it's just a bunch of bad-singing drunks. To a serious vocalist, karaoke is damn near an insult because it can lead to this perception that good singing is ubiquitous.

So, to my colleague who said that one could probably find four or five great singers in every American town, I would disagree wholeheartedly. My estimate is that, at least within the realm of modern music (discounting opera or chorales), there might only be 5,000 great voices in the entire United States.

If you asked me, Idol has only produced seven great singers in five seasons. I don't mean good. I mean great:

• Kelly Clarkson


• Clay Aiken


• Kimberly Locke


• Fantasia Barrino


• Jennifer Hudson


• Carrie Underwood


• Elliot Yamin

For a show that is supposed to be about singing, only seven great vocalists, even for my standards, is pretty low, no? Truth is, a show like Idol, like the music industry itself is about way more than technical ability. It's about substance and style, image and connections.

For example, Taylor Hicks isn't the best vocalist on Earth by any means, but he had a boatload of charisma and a ton of soul. Chris Daughtry had ability and image. Bo Bice had ability and charisma. Diana DeGarmo had mega spunk. Tamyra Gray, too.

In my estimation, it is impossible to take just anyone and turn them into a good singer. Although one Idol hopeful this week begged the judges to turn her tone-deafness into something worthy of a great vocalist, her case was hopeless.

That is most often physically impossible. You either have some semblance of singing ability or you do not. Whether you can turn that semblance of ability into something resembling a great voice depends on many, many factors.

On the other hand, developing a good songwriter is much easier if that person is willing to work. In the end, I think one could surmise that to become a great songwriter is to emulate other good songwriters while making it seem as if you're original.

The emulation is easy; the latter is talent.

Perhaps that's where folks like my colleague agree to disagree. In the end, Christina Aguilera's voice might be considered to be great by most fans of pop music and the entire industry. However, whoever wrote "Smells Like Teen Spirit" or "Cats in the Cradle" or "Fire and Rain," etc., is truly carrying with him or her a giant bag of genius.

However, in this world, people opt to be out front, to try to be the star, to be famous, and therefore, an opinion is developed making it seem as if great vocalists are a dime a dozen.

So, to answer the original question, "What takes the most talent, singing or songwriting?" I suppose the answer would lie in how much you value vocals or even in how much you understand what comprises a great singer. On the face of it, the talent is in the singing, I'd say.

However, by far, the artistic achievement is in the songwriting.

A great singer will eventually die. A great song never will.