No, but it would mean that you re-arranged it and it would grant you a songwriting credit.
It's not rocket science.
re-arranging =/= songwriting/composing
All great artists who approach a song already written try to put their own spin on it, always making their own vocal and melodic arrangements. You can take every famous cover out there like Jimi Hendrixs version of All Along The Watchtower or John Cales version of Hallelujah (his arrangements were further developped and changed by Jeff Buckley) and you will see that they reworked the songs (completely re-arranged the melody, vocals, pacing etc.) and made it their own, and its their versions that became recognised WW and inspired so many musicians who further try to cover it (using their versions to put their own spin on it). Yet they never were so bold to take a credit for writing it, and the people who were inspired by their versions dont give them a songwriting credit either. Why? Because those are nothing more than different arrangements/versions of the same song that was already written by someone else, and its actually a requirement when it goes to all good, acclaimed cover versions to somewhat re-arrange the song and make a unique version of it. Re-arranging already written song, its melody and vocals is certainly not songwriting. The same in classical music, a lot of virtuosos make their own arrangements of famous classical compositions yet you will never see their names written next to Mozart or Bach or Paganini ffs.
Beyonce is the only artist I know of who regularly and shamelessly takes songwriting credits for vocal arrangements. Thats despicable.
Yes. The "she doesn't sing with emotion" bit kills me everytime I hear it
It's true though. Her voice isn't very capable of conveying vulnerability or softer emotions.
I mean. She usually works around that by playing to her strengths and singing songs that don't require her to reach for tenderness, but dear lord when she does sing songs like that (1+1 and Halo come to mind) she falls completely flat. She falls back too much on bluster in lieu of genuine emotion.
All great artists who approach a song already written try to make their own spin on it, always making their own vocal and melodic arrangements. You can take every famous cover out there like Jimi Hendrixs version of All Along The Watchtower or John Cales version of Hallelujah (his arrangements were further developped and changed by Jeff Buckley) and you will see that they reworked the songs (completely re-arranged the melody, vocals, pacing etc.) and made it their own, and its their versions that became recognised WW and inspired so many musicians who further try to cover it (using their versions to make their own spin on it). Yet they never were so bold to take a credit for writing it, and the people who were inspired by their versions dont give them a songwriting credit either. Why? Because those are nothing more than different arrangements/versions of the same song that was already written by someone else, and its actually a requirement when it goes to all good, acclaimed cover versions to somewhat re-arrange the song and make a unique version of it. Re-arranging already written song, its melody and vocals is certainly not songwriting. The same in classical music, a lot of virtuosos make their own arrangements of famous classical compositions yet you will never see their names written next to Mozart or Bach or Paganini ffs.
Beyonce is the only artist I know of who regularly and shamelessly takes songwriting credits for vocal arrangements. Thats despicable.
These are already published, and especially well known, songs though. You can't just do some re-arranging to an already published song and get a credit. However, if the song still isn't finished, still a demo, etc., adding different arrangements and creating the melody, or even just changing two or three words, DOES warrant a credit because the artist helped CREATE and COMPOSE that OFFICAL track. Beyoncé has never simply covered a song and gotten writing credit for it. She composed lyrics for Resentment and Still In Love (Kissing You), so she deserved credit for those. She did re-arranging for her covers for Fever, So Amazing, and Wishing on A Star and didn't get any writing credit. Stop trying to act like Beyoncé is this horrible thief just so you can justify your dislike for her.
A vast majority don't even know that songwriting does not=writing lyrics its much more than that.
Composing and arranging is where Beyoncé's MUSICAL WRITING TALENTS lye and artists who do this ARE credited as a songwriters.
You don't have to write a single lyric to be the main writer of a song.
I just think its funny that the most important part of music is always ignored on this site.
If she can't even write lyrics I highly doubt she can write music, Beyonce is NOT a composer just stop.
So basically you're confirming this is how Beyoncé finds her way to her albums writing/producing credits? So answering again the OP: no, Beyoncé is not musically underrated.
It's weird how the OP is talking about her technical singing ability yet unloved **** like you still run in to spout some OFF TOPIC verbal ********* when the topic of this thread has nothing to do with her artistic input (which other people have responded to your dumb as **** criticisms of so I'll refrain), the only women in your sig are girls who cant sing for ****, none of them receive any praise for their vocals at all but you come in here acting like you know a thing or two, I'm certain Taylor Lorde and Grimy are all cool on the album side of things but that's not at all part of the discussion and you just came in here looking to have your ass handed to you by the hive. None of those girls posses half of the complex technical proficiency with the instrument of their voice that Beyoncé does, none of them have the ability to sing, on key with amazing pitch, an imimtation of another instrument, they can't follow complex chord progressions with only their voice, be it guitar solos or horn solos, none of them can hit half the notes Beyoncé can and can't hit the ones that they share either while performing complex choreography. Taylor Swift has lip sync'd every performance of her pop choruses this era during live shows because she can't keep up with the dancing, so get the **** outta here with your offtopic ass when none of your faves can deliver a 2015 Bey Grammy performance, or Stevie Wonder tribute, your faves can't even pull off **** Bey did on her debut solo album, or in her harmonies with Destiny's Child
I wonder why Beyonce is the only person in the industry who gets writing credit for "arranging". It's strange this seems to apply to no one else.
It seems strange that idiots ignore other artists credits in that field despite it being obvious. Do you think Mariah Carey got a song writing credit on Silent Night because she wrote a complex new god praising verse? NO she got a credit because she, like Beyoncé, is a vocal goddess and rearranged the song and added new vocal elements to it
It's true though. Her voice isn't very capable of conveying vulnerability or softer emotions.
I mean. She usually works around that by playing to her strengths and singing songs that don't require her to reach for tenderness, but dear lord when she does sing songs like that (1+1 and Halo come to mind) she falls completely flat. She falls back too much on bluster in lieu of genuine emotion.
It's true though. Her voice isn't very capable of conveying vulnerability or softer emotions.
I mean. She usually works around that by playing to her strengths and singing songs that don't require her to reach for tenderness, but dear lord when she does sing songs like that (1+1 and Halo come to mind) she falls completely flat. She falls back too much on bluster in lieu of genuine emotion.
You're really in here with a Carlie Ray Jepsin avi saying that Beyoncé doesn't sing with emotion and falls flat.
Ahhh, yes and still NO OTHER ARTIST IN HISTORY has been accused of stealing as much as Beyoncé and by as many high profile people (like Rob Fusari who co-produced Gaga's entire Fame album and said Beyoncé stole credit from him). Let's not forget that Destiny's Child settled out of court many times (more than once) because of claims that Beyoncé stole songwriting credit (like on 'Cater 2 U') and we won't even talk about songs like 'Smash Into You' which she has a songwriting credit for when only one word is different from the original (and Linda Perry commented specifically on this) . There have been many many many famous artists and musicians just as successful, if not moreso than Beyoncé and NONE OF THEM have been accused of stealing or sued as often or by as many people (again a lot of them high profile people) as Beyoncé.
In 2010, Frank Ocean tweeted: “It’s a bad trend that artists try to muscle for credits on songs they had no part in writing. Writers just say no UNLESS it’s Beyonce lol.” That tweet has, unsurprisingly, since been taken down.
SOUNDZ who produced Beyoncé on Love In the Club Pt. II with Usher also said he know she has no little to no input on her songs but she promotes the record to the highest level. She’s the best in the game at promoting a record and when she does one of your records you’ll get a single, radio, commercials and movies. There are so many different types of money that comes with Beyonce when you do a record for her so it’s kind of like the price of admission – the price to get all the other aspects is that you have to pay a little bit. She’ll want a little publishing and that’s guaranteed; she’s going to ask for it and you’re going to give it to her; no ifs, ands or buts. She’s going to make that record the biggest hit in the world so give her that publishing. She’ll take about 20%.
Bangladesh said: "People from the outside looking in want to know whether or not she writes her own songs, she's on a level where things are handed to her. People wanna be a part of what she's doing. She can put her name on it. It doesn't matter because that's the boss she is."
Christette Michelle wrote Ego, has said she wrote all of the lyrics, harmony and melody and received no credit for it but Beyoncé did.
Rico Love said time and time again that the only writers on Scared of Lonely were himself, Solange, Lashawn Daniels and Crystile but she somehow got credit.
Whatever. This is a tired debate. It's clear that everybody in the industry knows what she does and accepts it because she has money and power (or they occasionally call her out for it like Linda Perry, Diane Warren, etc.) so shrugs. I respect her less for it, if you applaud her for doing it or getting away with it that's on you. Or if you believe that she actually writes (LMAO) then that's your prerogative too.
@Raava, you don't have to play any instruments to be able to compose music. I don't play any instruments; I just sing. But I took two years of music theory in high school, so I can read and compose lol.
You're really in here with a Carlie Ray Jepsin avi saying that Beyoncé doesn't sing with emotion and falls flat.
Erm. I am. And I find that when people have to resort to such tacky, off-topic ""drags"" they're hardly worth discussing these things with.
I'm not denying Beyoncé's abilities as a vocalist. She's just not good at emoting. That's an ability that goes beyond sheer power. It is something that many pop singers including, say, "Carlie Ray Jepsin" (lol XD) is way better at than Beyoncé.
Vocal arrangements are more crucial to a song than you all are willing to admit. A song ain't nothing without vocal arrangements. Composing melodies and creating harmonies requires technical knowledge, and improvising them (LIKE SHE ALWAYS FREAKIN DOES LOL (AND FLAWLESSLY LOLOL)) requires creativity and accuracy.
+ the way you interpret a song is so important yall gotta shut up
What proof is there that Beyonce has bought writing credits?
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I swear to God y'all just be pulling **** out of your asses.
The only instance I can think of where she was even taken to court over something like this is when she covered Des'ree's "Kissing You," and the judge was basically like "Whatever, girl..."
The problem is that a lot of you all are ignorant and think "songwriting," is limited to physically writing lyrics with a pen and paper. It's not. Beyonce rarely writes her own lyrics, but she is still heavily involved in the process of arranging her songs. In fact, many people who study music and/or voice have praised her for her idiosyncratic vocal arrangements.
The American Federation of Musicians defines arranging as, "the art of preparing and adapting an already written composition for presentation in other than its original form. An arrangement may include reharmonization, paraphrasing, and/or development of a composition, so that it fully represents the melodic, harmonic, and rhythmic structure."
"Arranging Music for the Real World: Classical and Commercial Aspects," Vince Corozine, 2002, p. 3
Do you know what that means? That means when Beyonce takes a song already written by someone and changes it by adding in harmonies or adlibs or even changing one word of the chorus, she gets credited as a songwriter, which makes perfect sense considering her contributions have a clear, audibly observable effect on the way the listener hears the song.
People like to undermine her musicality just because she doesn't play the xylophone or the didgeridoo. That's not a legitimate way to judge a musician's artistic merit. The recording industry was founded on singers who recorded songs that were already written by people like Johnny Mercer, Ira Gershwin and Irving Berlin, without playing every single instrument heard in the song or even arranging the orchestra. It's certainly exceptional and worthy of praise if someone is able to play multiple instruments and writes their own songs, but that in itself is not the deciding factor in whether or not they are a good artist, nor does it take any credit away from people who only use their voice as an instrument, and that's what Beyonce does.
She literally uses her voice as a musical instrument.
Similar to the way Ella Fitzgerald did. She was notorious for scatting and improvising, but what many people don't understand is that what she was doing was using her voice to imitate the way a horn produces notes.
For instance, listen to the beginning of these two videos.
In the first one, you can hear a horn starting it off.
In the second, you can hear Ella using her voice as a horn (also at 1:12).
Beyonce has this same kind of natural musicality.
I'm not a very musically educated person myself, but this kind of thing has always been very interesting to me,
and it's what draws me to artists like Beyonce and Ella.
Don't try to minimize her artistry just because she doesn't write melodramatic lyrics with the same basic guitar chords on every song, and stop subscribing to the idea that musical excellence is reserved for people who write their own lyrics and music. That point of view is so ignorant and antiquated. Anyone who actually has a love for music would know better.
1. Rob Fusari didn’t mainly write or produce Bootylicious. He simply found the Stevie Nicks sample and Beyoncé heard it and built on it with Falonte Moore to create “Bootylicious”. The issue he had with Beyoncé was that he misheard what she said about Bootylicious. He thought she said she came up with the idea of using the Stevie Nicks sample, but she never said that. She said that she HEARD the Stevie Nicks guitar riff and loved it and decided to use it. Rob was just salty that she didn’t say he was the one who played it for her. He still for the credit and royalties so there shouldn’t be a problem.
2. Frank Ocean hadn’t worked with Beyoncé when he tweeted this. I’m sure he had just read some of the rumors about her stealing credits and that’s why he put her name there. Doesn’t mean he was well-informed or had insider information.
3. SOUNDZ never worked with Beyoncé. He simply produced a remix that she contributed vocals to. Beyoncé doesn’t have a writing credit for Love In The Club Part II because she didn’t write on it. The only major artist SOUNDZ worked with prior to this song is PITBULL. I’d take his comment with a grain of salt.
4. Bangladesh also never worked with Beyoncé and didn’t even write Diva. He just wrote the “Imma Diva” part and Sean Garrett wrote most of the rest. I’m sure once Beyoncé got it, she also contributed some lyrics and different arrangements. Obviously things are handed to Beyoncé, but that doesn’t mean she takes everything without putting any work in.
5. NO, Chrisette Michele didn’t write Ego. The song was written by Elvis Williams and offered to Chrisette, who turned it down.
6. Rico Love isn’t even the main writer of Scared of Lonely, it’s actually Darkchild. Rico Love, LaShawn and Cry$tile were co-writers. and he never said Beyoncé didn't contribute to it.
7. The change from "Smack Into You" to "Smash Into You" is a SIGNIFICANT change in the song. It wasn't a random word she changed, it's the damn title and chorus to the song. She has the smallest credit on the track and I commend her for making sure she got it.
Until I'm shown receipts that Beyoncé has actually taken a writing credit without contributing anything to the song (copying the demo), like many other Pop artists, then all these "accusations" just make yall seem like pressed haters.
