Nashville-based Krissy Nordhoff is a professional songwriter and author.
Krissy is the creator of The Writing Worship Course and the Worship Songwriter Mentorship. Her songs have been recorded by a variety of artists including Natalie Grant, Jenn Johnson (Bethel Music), Darlene Zschech and many more! Passionate about training and encouraging the next generation of songwriters, Krissy now mentors, teaches and creates resources, including informative podcasts and her popular 'Songwriter Personality Test'. She has also penned a new book, Writing Worship: How To Craft Heartfelt Songs for the Church that offers spiritual and practical insights for aspiring songwriters and worship teams that want to write original songs for their congregations.
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Songwriter Personality Test
Did you know that there are different types of songwriters? I noticed after several times co-writing songs, that there are different types of people that operate in different ways in the room. And over time, I began to sort of identify which ones I was working with as quickly as I could so that we made the best use of everyone's time. Over time, I created the songwriter personality test and you can take it too - it's free!
The Seven Types of Songwriter
1. The Content Writer
Content writers are gatherers of lyric. They are very conversational both in and out of the writers room. If there is a melodic space that needs filled, they can hear the lyric to match. They are great at getting things started and keeping things going in a write.
2. The Hearing/Prophetic Writer
These writers don't necessarily focus on either lyrics of melody, although they may lean one way or the other. They focus on listening. They love trust. They feel responsible for delivering an accurate message. They are less concerned about following rules that following the Spirit and are always willing to write something difference or new. They love spontaneity.
3. The Concept Writer
These are the storytellers. They are savvy at mapping out the big picture of where the songs needs to go and keeping it cohesive. They help make sure all the details that come out during the writing session fit into the overall theme of the song. They are goal focussed. They are the guardrails
4. The Structure Writer
Structure writers are logical writers. They believe that order, rhyme and syllable count, and are important in crafting song. They like creativity, but it is more important to them that the lyric makes sense and progresses and that the transitions and sections feel natural. They love patterns and thrive on completing them.
5. The Melody Writer
These writers light up most when they hear a fresh, compelling melody. In the Melody writer's mind, the strength to the lyrics depends on the musical line they ride on. Sometimes Melody writers may not be able to tell you the lyrics to some of their favourite songs because their focus is melody. In a cowriting session, the melodic hook is the North Star that guides them. Their songs are always memorable because of them.
6. The Producer/Track Writer
Producer/Track writers hear the entire landscape of a song. When writing a song, they love to work on a track at the same time so they don't forget all the layers of sounds they are hearing in their heads. They have been known to get "in the zone" as they ficus. Many times their ideas inspire greater melodies and lyrics from the others in the room.
7. The Chords/Arranging Writer
Chords/Arranging writers are always experimenting with new chords and chord progressions. While writing a song, their minds zero in on which chords would be best to support the melody in a fresh way. To them what really makes a song stand out - and what makes the melody unique - is a fresh placement of chords. They use the element of surprise as a way to keep interest throughout the song.
What's Your Songwriter Personality?
Why is it important to know what kind of song writer you are? First of all, it gives you confidence when you walk in the writing room, whether you're working on your own, honestly, or in a co-writing situation, to know what your strengths are. When you know what your strengths are when you walk in a room, you also don't have to be all the other strengths.
I remember used to feeling like I had to carry everything and I had to be good at everything when I walked in the room and that's simply not true. God made us to fit together. So when you know what your strength is, it gives you confidence, and then it also helps you to know how to work with others that have different strengths than you, so that you have the best, best experience in the co-writing room not only just dynamically, but also you get to create the best songs that way.
Bringing in strengths that are opposites, they bring together a beautiful song.
You can share any song you've written by uploading it to SongShare to share with your church, with your city and with your world.
If you don't know where to start with writing songs, or if you're an old hand in need of some fresh new tips then Krissy has some amazing resources on her site writingworship.co.