What do you get a songwriter for the holidays?

You can’t buy them songs, but you can buy them some tools that inspire.

For the same price it would cost to buy a coffee mug with musical notes, or a music-related t-shirt, or any of the other typical “musician gifts”, you can buy (a) a subscription to a music-related magazine, (b) a small audio interface, (c) an inspirational songwriting book, or (d) a super cool notebook - Moleskines for instance - in which they can write their musical ideas.

Chances are a non-songwriter isn’t reading this article. So this is the article you send to your friends and family when they complain they “have no idea what to get for you”.

Most of these gifts listed below are under $30. In general we tried to keep the ideas under $100, so there is a wide array of possible gift ideas from which to choose.

Ready? Here we go!

Musician Gifts

Books and Magazines
Songwriting books and magazines are always great. A magazine subscription is the gift that gives all year. Find out if your musician friend has any subscriptions or if they want a subscription to a particular magazine. In the songwriting world there are two main publications:

• Performing Songwriter Magazine - under $20
  This one has been a personal favorite of mine for years. As the title suggests the focus of articles are on original songwriting and live performance.
  Where to buy: Amazon.com
• American Songwriter Magazine - under $20
  This magazine has gone from good to great in the last couple of years. It seriously focuses on what’s new and cutting edge in the songwriter world as well as brilliant insight into the business of music.
  Where to buy: AmericanSongwriter.com

In the book world, several great books have come out recently:

• Jimmy Webb’s Tunesmith: Inside the Art of Songwriting has been getting great reviews on the songwriting forums lately.
  Where to buy: Amazon.com
• Two books by Rikky Rooksby have garnered great reviews on this site. One is Lyrics - Writing Better Words For Your Songs, and How to Write Songs on Guitar: A Guitar-Playing and Songwriting Course. Each of those links will take you to their book review.
  Where to buy: Amazon.com

Songwriters LOVE to work with “ideas”. Help them
One of the greatest gifts you can give a songwriter is a tool to help them capture ideas. Whether it is a digital voice recorder, cool notebook, or some other method, each songwriter has their method. Here’s a few ideas

• Digital Voice Recorder - $100 or less
  This is one of the slickest ways to capture songwriting ideas. Songwriters swear by the digital voice recorder method. I personally use the Olympus WS-311M (shown right) and would recommend it in a second as a gift for other songwriters. For an example of how songwriters use digital voice recorders, check out the article “Capture Song Ideas With a Digital Voice Recorder“.
  Where to buy: OlympusVoiceRecorders.com (used and new), Amazon.com (new)
• Moleskine Notebooks - $20 or less
  Let’s face it: songwriters love notebooks. And what is there to say about moleskines that hasn’t already been said. Rumored to be the creative notebook behind many literary and artistic giants, including Hemingway, the notebooks just ooze good creative vibes. I guarantee you if you want to make a songwriter happy, a pack of moleskine notebooks is a definite win.
  Where to buy: Amazon.com
• Audio Interface - $29.00 or less
  “Audio whatta?” you say? Don’t worry. It’s not that complicated. While some songwriters like myself geek out big time with technology and gadgets, a surprising number of songwriters prefer not to touch the stuff. An audio interface is simply a device that allows a person to record directly to their computer. Some of the most expensive interfaces are several hundred to thousands of dollars, but a personal favorite of mine is the Behringer U-Control (shown right) for under $30.
  It’s USB (translation: common connection on every computer) and super easy to install. Even a caveman can do it!
  Where to buy: Musician’s Friend, Gearasaurus

Gifts for musicians

New and funky instruments inspire songwriters.
We’ve mentioned this before in our Songwriting Tips archive. Sometimes moving from the regular old six string guitar or the usual keyboard to a different instrument will help a songwriter come up with something new and exciting and help spur on creativity. If a songwriter’s primary instrument is a guitar or piano, chances are they fall into ruts. Their fingers move to the same places and same chords after awhile. It’s nice to break out of that with a different instrument - but it’s not always in every struggling musician’s budget.

Here are some cheap instruments that a songwriter might enjoy having around the house to help the creative juices flow:

• Ukulele - $50 or less
  There’s no better way to shake off old guitar playing habits than by picking up a ukulele and learning some basic chords. Some songwriters claim that picking up a ukulele forces them to lighten up a bit and not be so serious with their songwriting or songwriting lyrics. Pick one up for a songwriting friend and let them have fun.
  Where to buy: Gearasaurus, Musician’s Friend
• Melodica - From $35 - $100
  These things are just plain cool. A wind powered keyboard instrument you can walk around with and even keep in your bag (unlike the unwieldy accordion!)?
  You might not realize it but the melodica has been used in some of the most popular songs of the last 15-20 years. Damon Albairn from Blur, Noel Gallagher from Oasis, Counting Crows, Peter Tosh, Depeche Mode, Crowded House, Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder have all used the melodica on their recordings.
  Where to buy: Musicians Friend, Gearasaurus (lowest prices, free shipping)
• Cheap microphones - under $70
  In an age of digital music and sound “modeling”, inexpensive doesn’t always mean cheap. Several manufacturers are modeling less expensive microphones after their more luxurious counterparts. A good example is the MXL V63M Studio Condenser Microphone. It is a large cardoid mic, which is great for recording and general use. It comes in an attractive metallic case, with shockmount.
  Where to buy: Musician’s Friend
• Lap steel - $75
  Lap steels have the benefits of having six strings like a guitar, but it sits on your lap flat, instead of a typical guitar. The best thing is they are very inexpensive. There are lap steels that get great reviews under $100, and you can find them for even cheaper - brand new even - on eBay (used and new lap steel at eBay). The steel bar that lap steel players run across the strings give lap steels a distinctive “cry” that to many sounds more like a human voice than anything that can be created on a standard six string guitar.
  Where to buy: Musicians Friend, eBay

Hopefully these ideas will get your mind racing. I know too many musicians and songwriters end up with a bevy of coffee mugs with musical notes on them, or t-shirts with guitars on them. While I am sure the sincerity is appreciated, the variety in the items above should more than help you or someone you love find that special gift for their favorite songwriter relative or acquaintance.

Happy holidays!

Feeling festive and creative? Check out “How To Write A Holiday Song“.

Musician Gifts