Songwriters: When The Muse Goes Missing

iDoCoach.com

iDoCoach.com

 

My article was first published in Songwriter Magazine UK Winter issue 2017

Reprinted with their kind permission

 

When The Muse Goes Missing

It sucks, you sit down to write, you have the time, you have the will, you have the tools and…nothing. Nothing for hours, nothing for days. You beat yourself up and the critic takes center stage. “How did you ever come up with anything in the first place?” “What makes you think someone will actually want to record your song?” “You call yourself a songwriter…really?”

Lots of names for this, probably the most familiar is writer's block. You’ve  also heard writers refer to their “muse” usually talking about it as if it were a woman who provides inspiration. Great when you’re in a relationship with your muse and ideas are flowing but what do you do when the muse goes missing?

Be Prepared

First of all I would say if you’re depending on inspiration in the form of a muse you’re already in trouble. You may be inspired sometimes and come up with something that feels almost like you were guided but the truth is if you plan to do this as a career you can’t depend on the muse being around  24/7. 

So what do you do? You prepare. You prepare for the times that you want to write but don’t feel that divine inspiration. Great when inspiration shows up but you can get old and poor waiting!

Take Note

Over the years I picked up lots of tips from writers and artists I’ve worked with about this subject and ways to deal with it. For instance, deciding to be intentional in your search for lines and titles. Things that could make their way into your writing at a later date. Wandering down book store aisles, watching tv and movies with a pad a pen waiting for that one great line. Taping the smallest of ideas, snippets of melodies, conversations, anything that might take the place of the muse for a day and get you writing.

Keeping a running list of lines, titles and ideas and keeping it nearby can get you unstuck and the truth is, if you like something enough to write it down or record it in the first place there might just be some magic there that you can tap into later. Thinking of your path as a writer's life instead of a day at a time, more like a marathon than a sprint, can begin to ease the pressure of a bad writing day. It’s hard enough looking at a blank piece of paper but if you’re waiting on your muse to show up to get you going it can be a loooooong day.

Tool Up

Try using some tools to get you unstuck. Switch instruments, try creating your melody away from your instrument, deconstruct songs you love, spend a day just listening, immersing your self in one artist. Once you decide this stuff is every bit as valuable as the days in front of your computer, keyboard or guitar it actually starts to be freeing. Less pressure. I might not be telling you anything you don’t already know but putting these things into practice and perspective is the deal. It’s a revelation to find that the muse is just one of the tools available to you as a songwriter. 

I promise if you focus on learning more and more tools, the next time the muse goes missing you might not even miss her!

 

Mark Cawley

Nashville, Tennessee

Image: Shutterstock

I was pleased to be voted the #4 Songwriting blog worldwide recently. Check it out here.

if you'd like to stay up with iDoCoach including receiving the latest blogs and my favorite 7 Toolbox tips here ya go!

http://idocoach.com/email-newsletter

I'm currently coaching writers worldwide, online, one on one and taking new clients for 2018. Visit my website for more info www.idocoach.com or write to me at mark@idocoach.com

Check out this interview in this edition of M Music and Musicians Magazine for stories behind a few of my songs!

About Mark Cawley

Mark Cawley iDoCoach

Mark Cawley iDoCoach

 

Mark Cawley is a hit U.S. songwriter and musician who coaches other writers and artists to reach their creative and professional goals through iDoCoach.com. During his decades in the music business he has procured a long list of cuts with legendary artists ranging from Tina Turner, Joe Cocker, Chaka Khan and Diana Ross to Wynonna Judd, Kathy Mattea, Russ Taff, Paul Carrack, Will Downing, Tom Scott, Billie Piper, Pop Idol winners and The Spice Girls. To date his songs have been on more than 16 million records. . He is also a judge for Nashville Rising Star, a contributing author to  USA Songwriting Competition, Songwriter Magazine, sponsor for the Australian Songwriting Association, judge for Belmont University's Commercial Music program and West Coast Songwriter events , Mentor for The Songwriting Academy UK, a popular blogger and, from time to time, conducts his own workshops including ASCAP, BMI and Sweetwater Sound. Born and raised in Syracuse, NY, Mark has also lived in Boston, L.A., Indianapolis, London, and the last 20 years in Nashville, TN.

 

 

How To Be A Songwriter With A Mission

iDoCoach Blog

iDoCoach Blog

 

2018 and you’re getting tired of reading articles about resolutions, new leaf turning and goal setting. Probably even goes against some of your creative, spontaneous makeup. 

I’m gonna suggest 2 different versions of these practices. A mission statement and attainable goal-setting.

On A Mission

Big companies have them, small businesses have them. Here are a couple examples.

Life is Good: "To spread the power of optimism”

Warby Parker: "To offer designer eyewear at a revolutionary price, while leading the way for socially-conscious businesses.”

And…Starbucks: “Our mission: to inspire and nurture the human spirit – one person, one cup and one neighborhood at a time.”

All great but what I’m suggesting is coming up with your own personal one that relates to your songwriting. It should be simple, short and clarify your passion and philosophy.

Not easy to write but the more you can define and distill just who you are as a writer the better choices you tend to make. Can’t be everything to everyone so..who are you? 

Having your own mission statement to reference along the way is a terrific tool for any artist or songwriter.

You’re in the business of you and you need to know your business!

Small Bites

I like to ask songwriters about their goals before I start coaching them. The main reason is a hard one to hear because they may be unrealistic. I don’t mean they will never reach them, only that they need to accomplish smaller goals to have the best shot.

“My goal is to be a staff writer in Nashville making 100K minimum.”

“I see myself writing for major artists”

“I want to travel the world and write”

And an often heard one, “I just want to be able to quit my day job.”

These are great goals but without smaller, more attainable ones the frustration may kill ya first! I urge writers to set goals that are attainable in the very near future, celebrate them and re-aim. We all need affirmation in this business and creating a few goals that you can make is one good way of measuring your progress.

A Few Ideas

Set a goal of creating a simple webpage for your songs so people can find you. Decide to attend one major workshop this year and…gulp…network! Decide to seek out 5 classes this year, maybe not even all to do with songwriting but stretch your creative muscle.

5 Thoughts AS You Start The New Year

Ask yourself these from time to time, especially starting out this new year.

1. What do I want?

2. Why do I want it?

3. How will I get there?

4. What tools will I need?

5. Where am I now?

 

OK, maybe 1 more thought for 2018

An old Irish New Year’s wish.

“May you get all your wishes but one, so that you always have something to strive for!”

 

Mark Cawley

Nashville, Tennessee

Image: Shutterstock

I was pleased to be voted the #4 Songwriting blog worldwide recently. Check it out here.

if you'd like to stay up with iDoCoach including receiving the latest blogs and my favorite 7 Toolbox tips here ya go!

http://idocoach.com/email-newsletter

I'm currently coaching writers worldwide, online, one on one and taking new clients for 2018. Visit my website for more info www.idocoach.com or write to me at mark@idocoach.com

Check out this interview in the recent edition of M Music and Musicians Magazine for stories behind a few of my songs!

About Mark Cawley

 

Mark Cawley iDoCoach

Mark Cawley iDoCoach

 

IDOCOACH.COM

Mark Cawley is a hit U.S. songwriter and musician who coaches other writers and artists to reach their creative and professional goals through iDoCoach.com. During his decades in the music business he has procured a long list of cuts with legendary artists ranging from Tina Turner, Joe Cocker, Chaka Khan and Diana Ross to Wynonna Judd, Kathy Mattea, Russ Taff, Paul Carrack, Will Downing, Tom Scott, Billie Piper, Pop Idol winners and The Spice Girls. To date his songs have been on more than 16 million records. . He is also a judge for Nashville Rising Star, a contributing author to  USA Songwriting Competition, Songwriter Magazine, sponsor for the Australian Songwriting Association, judge for Belmont University's Commercial Music program and West Coast Songwriter events , Mentor for The Songwriting Academy UK, a popular blogger and, from time to time, conducts his own workshops including ASCAP, BMI and Sweetwater Sound. Born and raised in Syracuse, NY, Mark has also lived in Boston, L.A., Indianapolis, London, and the last 20 years in Nashville, TN.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Importance Of Being You

iDoCoach Blog

iDoCoach Blog

This is reprinted with permission from Songwriter Magazine UK. My article appeared in the Fall 2017 issue.

In the Beginning

When we all start out as songwriters we imitate to the best of our ability. You know the old adage “theres nothing new under the sun” well, in a way I buy it but…I also believe it’s what you do with those clone songs over time that makes all the difference .

I coach writers from all over the world and one of the common traits I find in the beginning is they tend to write the next Ed Sheeran song, the logical followup to Beyonce's last single or   a song that brings to mind Elton John or The Beatles. Again, we all do it, we are our influences and we should embrace and celebrate them…and then put ourselves into the creation.

No Clones!

Years ago I remember a song of mine being critiqued by my then publisher who said “ this is great but we already have a Joe Cocker”. I admit it set me back a bit. My song was every bit as good as some of Joe’s classic’s in my mind but here’s the rub. He was right. Great artists aren't looking to repeat themselves. Sometime labels or managers are wishing they would and in fact, will even ask for that in song searches but in the end a great artist is constantly moving forward. a Clone just won’t cut it.

I learned this the hard way for sure. Once I had a publishing deal I finally has access to someone who could actually get my song heard by the powers that be. I was ready. When I got the call to write something for someones next record I did my homework. Studied the kind of language they used in past hit’s, the tempo and production style, the key the artist favored and on and on. And I got soooo close time after time. The happy part of the story is these songs sometimes got cut by another artist . Not the name I was shooting for but the fact that the song was good was good enough to appeal to another artist, usually in the same vein as my target artist. 

Epiphany

The epiphany for me was one day , in Nashville getting together with my two favorite co-writers Kye Fleming and Brenda Russell to write for a few days. All of us had had some form of success but we also had war stories of getting songs on hold for some of our favorites only to have them fall through at the 11th hour. We sat down that first day and said “let’s just write for ourselves, forget what a publisher is asking for or what we think an artist will love, let’s just write something we love. So for those two days in Nashville we just wrote. We brought elements of each of us into the room without a thought other than to see if we could get each other excited. We did. To the point of hugs and tears and running ti the nearest studio two do our little demo. To spare you all the minor details it made it’s way to the very artist we had all been shooting for for a few years, Tina Turner. At the time a mega star. This song sounded nothing like anything we had ever heard her do much less like one of her recent hits. At the end of the day we saw her interviewed on Oprah talking about how she found the song to build her next album around and what it meant to her. The song was called “Dancing In My Dreams” and the album was called “Wildest Dreams, going on to sell over 6 million.

And In The End...

The lesson? All those songs we learned to imitate and deconstruct years ago went into our DNA as writers and we trusted those influences to come out AND and it’s a big AND…we put ourselves into it and trusted that if it moved us the chances were better of it moving someone else. I know for me that was a huge moment and changed the way I wrote. Many of the cuts I got after that came about from the same philosophy , I had to love it first. A side note, same thing happened with Joe Cocker for me a few years later. he cut a song that I would never have written if I’d been trying to write for him.

Information Into Inspiration

One of my favorite talks I’ve heard was one that John Mayer did at Berklee a few years back. he talked about the importance of studying the greats as well as the craft of songwriting but not stopping there. he called this part “Information”. He went on to say that “information without inspiration falls flat”. When it gets good is when you put yourself in it and in truth thats your best shot, to be a product of your information but to also be original, be you!

Mark Cawley

Nashville, Tennessee

Image: Shutterstock

I was pleased to be voted the #4 Songwriting blog worldwide recently. Check it out here.

if you'd like to stay up with iDoCoach including receiving the latest blogs and my favorite 7 Toolbox tips here ya go!

http://idocoach.com/email-newsletter

I'm currently coaching writers worldwide, online, one on one and taking new clients for Fall 2017. Visit my website for more info www.idocoach.com or write to me at mark@idocoach.com

Check out this interview in the recent edition of M Music and Musicians Magazine for stories behind a few of my songs!

About Mark Cawley

MSC.jpg

 

IDOCOACH.COM

Mark Cawley is a hit U.S. songwriter and musician who coaches other writers and artists to reach their creative and professional goals through iDoCoach.com. During his decades in the music business he has procured a long list of cuts with legendary artists ranging from Tina Turner, Joe Cocker, Chaka Khan and Diana Ross to Wynonna Judd, Kathy Mattea, Russ Taff, Paul Carrack, Will Downing, Tom Scott, Billie Piper, Pop Idol winners and The Spice Girls. To date his songs have been on more than 16 million records. . He is also a judge for Nashville Rising Star, a contributing author to  USA Songwriting Competition, Songwriter Magazine, sponsor for the Australian Songwriting Association, judge for Belmont University's Commercial Music program and West Coast Songwriter events , Mentor for The Songwriting Academy UK, a popular blogger and, from time to time, conducts his own workshops including ASCAP, BMI and Sweetwater Sound. Born and raised in Syracuse, NY, Mark has also lived in Boston, L.A., Indianapolis, London, and the last 20 years in Nashville, TN.

 

Songwriting Contender or Pretender?

iDoCoach Blog

iDoCoach Blog

Are You A Songwriting Contender...or Pretender?

In my coaching, this is one of the first things I try to figure out before taking on a songwriting client.

Before anyone can take offense let me say that not everyone writes to win. Some writers write for the pure love of it! They want to get better at it by acquiring more tools. I love working with that kind of writer just as much as the kind who want the awards. They aren’t pretending.

Where it can get a bit sticky is if the writer is fooling themselves. Maybe they want the perception of being a songwriter; or adulation, or money…whatever the notion, they’re focused more on the 10,000 dollars then the 10,000 hours. This is what I mean here by pretending.

Be Honest

If you’ve been thinking about pursuing songwriting, be honest with yourself. Do you want to make it a career with everything it takes to commit? These days you are contending for an ever-shrinking piece of the pie, and for every ASCAP, BMI, and SESAC award winner there are thousands who will never get close. But…if you’re in it 1,000%, committed to finding every way to improve, to be heard above the noise? Sooner or later you might not only be in the game but you actually might win a few.

Back to the point about being honest with yourself. Might be in the beginning or somewhere along your road, but look in the mirror and ask yourself if you’re pretending or contending? Based on your answer,  you can decide how to move forward.

The Contender

I always think of the Tony Arata story about coming to Nashville with high hopes, parking his car in the drive and not even unpacking the U-Haul before heading to the Bluebird Cafe late show. After hearing some of the best he decided he was a pretender and would head back the next day. Overnight he changed his mind and, over time, dug in. He wrote The Dance and many more hits.

If you think you’re a contender, go for it. If you’re pretending…just don't!. " Fake it 'til you make it" doesn't apply.

P.S. Check out this video of Tony Arata, years later back at the Bluebird :-)

Mark Cawley

Nashville, Tennessee

Image: Shutterstock

if you'd like to stay up with iDoCoach including receiving the latest blogs and my favorite 7 Toolbox tips here ya go!

http://idocoach.com/email-newsletter

I'm currently coaching writers worldwide, online, one on one and taking new clients for Fall 2017. Visit my website for more info www.idocoach.com or write to me at mark@idocoach.com

Check out this interview in the recent edition of M Music and Musicians Magazine for stories behind a few of my songs!

About Mark Cawley

iDoCoach.com

iDoCoach.com

Mark Cawley is a hit U.S. songwriter and musician who coaches other writers and artists to reach their creative and professional goals through iDoCoach.com. During his decades in the music business he has procured a long list of cuts with legendary artists ranging from Tina Turner, Joe Cocker, Chaka Khan and Diana Ross to Wynonna Judd, Kathy Mattea, Russ Taff, Paul Carrack, Will Downing, Tom Scott, Billie Piper, Pop Idol winners and The Spice Girls. To date his songs have been on more than 16 million records. . He is also a judge for Nashville Rising Star, a contributing author to  USA Songwriting Competition, Songwriter Magazine, sponsor for the Australian Songwriting Association, judge for Belmont University's Commercial Music program and West Coast Songwriter events , Mentor for The Songwriting Academy UK, a popular blogger and, from time to time, conducts his own workshops including ASCAP, BMI and Sweetwater Sound. Born and raised in Syracuse, NY, Mark has also lived in Boston, L.A., Indianapolis, London, and the last 20 years in Nashville, TN.

 

What Are The Best Things About Being A Songwriter?

iDoCoach Blog

iDoCoach Blog

I coach songwriters all over the world and one of the ways I like to see what they’re talking about is through joining songwriting groups on Facebook. If you haven’t already, I would recommend doing a search through Facebook and joining them all. Some good insights, lively conversations and you may even connect with a co-writer.

You’ll run into some of the same problems you find on any social media, occasional  negativity and a term I just heard on Nashville sports radio this week…”keyboard courage”. All in all, still worth checking out.

Some of these conversations have given me good food for thought and there was a post this last week asking “what are the advantages of being a songwriter”? I decided to change it slightly to “what are the best things about being a songwriter”? So, here goes.

My Background

A little bit of background first. I didn’t choose to be a songwriter, it chose me! Started out in garage bands  in upstate new York, finally record deals and touring and once other people started recording my songs there was no turning back. I’ve had hits, misses (lots of misses!) great times, hard times, got to travel the world and work with lots of my idols along the way. I’ve raised a family, lived in Boston, Indianapolis, Los Angeles, London and for the past 22 years, Nashville, Tennessee. Songwriting was behind all of these moves.

So, my top 5 favorite things about being a songwriter:

  1. Freedom. Freedom to express yourself, write what you sometimes can’t say, freedom to travel, freedom from 9-5. This is one you have to earn through hard work and determination but you know that already. No one pays you in the beginning! 
  2. Relationships. Most every great friendship in my life has been a direct or indirect result of my pursuit of a songwriting career. 
  3. Travel. I’ve mentioned it a few times already but worth saying again. Music can open you up to the world. Co-writing with artists and other writers has taken me to places I never could have imagined growing up in Syracuse. I’ve written in castles in France, hotels in New York, studios in Los Angeles, music row in Nashville, Stockholm, and more far off places than I can remember.
  4. The buzz. I hope you’ve felt this from your own writing but for me, it never gets better than that moment you feel like you’re doing exactly what God put you on the earth to do. You don’t know how you got from that bit of inspiration to hearing something you’re a part of and if it gets out into the world from there and maybe inspires someone else …that’s perfection. 
  5. Character. I struggled to find a way to explain this but here are a few thoughts. Facing a blank page, trying to conjure  up some magic, dealing with an enormous rejection, trying to stay afloat, stay current and relevant, keep friendships, marriages and a roof over your head while you try to focus and even keep your head on straight after some success and do it again and again, you better believe this will build some character over time.

 

Some Final Thoughts

 

If you’re focused on security, money or stardom you’re in for a rough ride. There will be more people telling you you're crazy, self centered and maybe irresponsible in the beginning. People can be cruel and sometimes jealous along the way. Truth is you don’t need those people. There are plenty of like minded souls to help you on your path, seek them out at every turn. 

Lastly, songwriting doesn’t have to be life and death, doesn’t even have to be a career choice. If it makes you feel good, do it. If you want it to be your life then treat it with respect and work at it every day. It will will reward you beyond measure.

 

Mark Cawley

Nashville, Tennessee

Oct 26, 2017

 

if you'd like to stay up with iDoCoach including receiving the latest blogs and my favorite 7 Toolbox tips here ya go!

http://idocoach.com/email-newsletter

I'm currently coaching writers worldwide, online, one on one and taking new clients for Fall 2017. Visit my website for more info www.idocoach.com or write to me at mark@idocoach.com

 

Check out this interview in the recent edition of M Music and Musicians Magazine for stories behind a few of my songs!

About Mark Cawley

Mark Cawley iDoCoach.com

Mark Cawley iDoCoach.com

 

MARK CAWLEY IDOCOACH

Mark Cawley is a hit U.S. songwriter and musician who coaches other writers and artists to reach their creative and professional goals through iDoCoach.com. During his decades in the music business he has procured a long list of cuts with legendary artists ranging from Tina Turner, Joe Cocker, Chaka Khan and Diana Ross to Wynonna Judd, Kathy Mattea, Russ Taff, Paul Carrack, Will Downing, Tom Scott, Billie Piper, Pop Idol winners and The Spice Girls. To date his songs have been on more than 16 million records. . He is also a judge for Nashville Rising Star, a contributing author to  USA Songwriting Competition, Songwriter Magazine, sponsor for the Australian Songwriting Association, judge for Belmont University's Commercial Music program and West Coast Songwriter events , Mentor for The Songwriting Academy UK, a popular blogger and, from time to time, conducts his own workshops including ASCAP, BMI and Sweetwater Sound. Born and raised in Syracuse, NY, Mark has also lived in Boston, L.A., Indianapolis, London, and the last 20 years in Nashville, TN.

Songwriting for Broadway, Movies and Superstars, Meet Eliot Kennedy!

Eliot kennedy l, with Bryan Adams

Eliot kennedy l, with Bryan Adams

Eliot is one of my best friends in this business  as well as one of my favorite co-writers. We've written some great songs together including the #1 hit "Day And Night" for Billie Piper. Eliot is an award winner, Uk based, writer and producer with credits ranging from writing the songs for "Finding Neverland" on Broadway, Grammy and Ivor Novello winner and more. Check out this link to his full bio, pretty impressive!

Awhile back I was getting ready to do some workshops in the US and UK ( including Sweetwater Music's Gearfest) and asked some of my favorite songwriting  friends if they would answer a couple of questions for the attendees. Wanted to share them with you here so...meet Eliot Kennedy.

Eliot Kenney Interview for iDoCoach

Check out Eliots full bio here

if you'd like to stay up with iDoCoach including receiving the latest blogs and my favorite 7 Toolbox tips here ya go!

http://idocoach.com/email-newsletter

I'm currently coaching writers worldwide, online, one on one and taking new clients for Fall 2017. Visit my website for more info www.idocoach.com or write to me at mark@idocoach.com

Check out this interview in the recent edition of M Music and Musicians Magazine for stories behind a few of my songs!

About Mark Cawley

Mark Cawley iDoCoach

Mark Cawley iDoCoach

Mark Cawley is a hit U.S. songwriter and musician who coaches other writers and artists to reach their creative and professional goals through iDoCoach.com. During his decades in the music business he has procured a long list of cuts with legendary artists ranging from Tina Turner, Joe Cocker, Chaka Khan and Diana Ross to Wynonna Judd, Kathy Mattea, Russ Taff, Paul Carrack, Will Downing, Tom Scott, Billie Piper, Pop Idol winners and The Spice Girls. To date his songs have been on more than 16 million records. . He is also a judge for Nashville Rising Star, a contributing author to  USA Songwriting Competition, Songwriter Magazine, sponsor for the Australian Songwriting Association, judge for Belmont University's Commercial Music program and West Coast Songwriter events , Mentor for The Songwriting Academy UK, a popular blogger and, from time to time, conducts his own workshops including ASCAP, BMI and Sweetwater Sound. Born and raised in Syracuse, NY, Mark has also lived in Boston, L.A., Indianapolis, London, and the last 20 years in Nashville, TN.

Are You Fluent In Song Speak?

iDoCoach Blog

iDoCoach Blog

 

How important is it for you as a songwriter to be able to speak a few different languages? I’m not talking about the need to speak French although it would have come in handy for me trying to ask directions in the Paris Metro a time or two. I’m talking about learning at least conversational “melody speak” if you’re a lyricist or enough color and detail terms to tell your co-writer what their story needs if you’re the one coming up with the killer chord changes.

Be in the conversation

In the age we live in it’s easy to Google anything we’re interested in to be able to  get a few of the basics. Helps to know a few terms before taking your car in for repair, a bit about the stock market if you hope to hang onto those future royalties or even to know what your colon does before you go in for that… oscopy thing. Knowledge is power, even a little bit can help you be heard and be in the conversation .

For instance. If you’re a songwriter and you’re headed into the studio to work with a producer or engineer you stand a better chance of being happy with the outcome if you can talk at least a bit of tech talk. If you’re strictly a lyricist and you’re writing with a melody person it’s great if you can talk in their terms about what you like or don’t like. Maybe as simple as 7th chords, major vs minor changes, inversions, lifts. It may not be your thing but it’s theirs and helping them help you helps the song in the end.

I can't tell you why

If you write on guitar and don’t have a talent for writing lyrics you can still help steer the direction by being able to use some terminology familiar to the lyricist in the room. Sometimes just being able to point out what’s not working for you, rhyme scheme, not enough detail, anything is better than saying “I don’t like it but I can’t begin to tell you why”!

I’ve directed some of my songwriting clients to things like “piano for songwriters” or “guitar for songwriters” even vocal lessons for a lyric writer.  The point is just to be able to contribute to the creation even if it’s not your main strength as a writer.

I’ve worked with a lot of artists over the years and many times they would start by telling you they weren’t really songwriters but…they could tell you about the songs that move them and why. Maybe not in the most technical terms but by talking about another artist's song and why the chorus was so great, or the groove worked for them . The more they could explain, the bigger their role would be in creating the song.

Last note on the subject. Years ago I was asked to be a part of the first Castle Songwriting retreat run by Miles Copeland in the south of France. I had the bright idea that I would at least learn a little French. On a break Miles drove me around after lunch pointing out the sights and we stopped at a small grocery. Here was my chance. I used what little bit of French I could summon to say something to the owner. No idea how I did because as soon as it was out of my mouth he answered me… in French. A bunch of French! A bunch of fast French. Not a word of which I understood. Miles witnessed this exchange and when I got back in the car he said “That’s the trouble with knowing just a bit of French, you use it and then they actually talk back”!

Quelle direction dois-je prendre pour aller à…?

Again, you don’t have to be fluent in these other songwriting languages, just be able to contribute. Or maybe just enough to keep from getting lost in the Metro.

Mark Cawley

Nashville, Tennessee

Image: Shutterstock

if you'd like to stay up with iDoCoach including receiving the latest blogs and my favorite 7 Toolbox tips here ya go!

http://idocoach.com/email-newsletter

I'm currently coaching writers worldwide, online, one on one and taking new clients for the fall. Visit my website for more info www.idocoach.com or write to me at mark@idocoach.com

Mark Cawley Of iDoCoach

Mark Cawley Of iDoCoach

Check out this interview in the recent edition of M Music and Musicians Magazine for stories behind a few of my songs!

About Mark Cawley

Mark Cawley is a hit U.S. songwriter and musician who coaches other writers and artists to reach their creative and professional goals through iDoCoach.com. During his decades in the music business he has procured a long list of cuts with legendary artists ranging from Tina Turner, Joe Cocker, Chaka Khan and Diana Ross to Wynonna Judd, Kathy Mattea, Russ Taff, Paul Carrack, Will Downing, Tom Scott, Billie Piper, Pop Idol winners and The Spice Girls. To date his songs have been on more than 16 million records. . He is also a judge for Nashville Rising Star, a contributing author to  USA Songwriting Competition, Songwriter Magazine, sponsor for the Australian Songwriting Association, judge for Belmont University's Commercial Music program and West Coast Songwriter events , Mentor for The Songwriting Academy UK, a popular blogger and, from time to time, conducts his own workshops including ASCAP, BMI and Sweetwater Sound. Born and raised in Syracuse, NY, Mark has also lived in Boston, L.A., Indianapolis, London, and the last 20 years in Nashville, TN.

Good Is The Enemy Of Great

shutterstock_629681300.jpg

iDoCoach Blog

I watched a movie this morning called “Hired Gun”. It’s the story of some of the best session players (and live performers) whose names you might not know. Among them, an old friend Kenny Aronoff. Highly recommend the movie but it’s not the focus of my blog today.

The Quote

There was a quote from David Foster, originally a session guy, turned producer and one of the most successful from the 80’s on. He was talking about the fact that these players are the best of the best and that there are a million good ones out there but only a handful tick all the boxes. His quote was “good is the enemy of great”.

I’m coaching writers all over the world and this is one of the hardest things I have to share with most somewhere along the line.  There are writers whose only goal is to be the best writer they can be and I love coaching them but by and large, most writers I work with are looking to be compared with the best of the best. Most are willing to put in the work to strive for this but there are the ones who have been told their songs are “nice” or “good” and don’t understand why they aren’t successful . . . right now. 

A Kiss On The Cheek

In years of writing songs and playing them for artists, producers and publishers it was a hard pill to swallow to hear one of those words as my song faded out. “Nice”. Nice may be the worst. Nice was a kiss on the cheek, A for effort, well done, nice try. Same for “good”. Good was good enough starting out. It was a measure of progress but it soon became only that. Good never seemed to cut it. Pretty soon it joined nice as one of the words I never wanted to hear.

What I think David Foster meant was that if you settle for good you’ll never be great. You hear good often enough and you may never hear that word you really need to hear.

Great. 

Again, it all depends on your expectation. If you’re the writer simply trying to write better than you do at this point in time, good ain’t bad!  If you want this as a career you won’t settle for good, you want… great.  If you’re writing great songs you will get noticed and wouldn't that be nice?

Mark Cawley

Nashville, Tennessee

Image: Shutterstock

if you'd like to stay up with iDoCoach including receiving the latest blogs and my favorite 7 Toolbox tips here ya go!

http://idocoach.com/email-newsletter

I'm currently coaching writers worldwide, online, one on one and taking new clients for the Fall. Visit my website for more info www.idocoach.com or write to me at mark@idocoach.com

About Mark Cawley

mark Cawley iDoCoach

mark Cawley iDoCoach

Mark Cawley is a hit U.S. songwriter and musician who coaches other writers and artists to reach their creative and professional goals through iDoCoach.com. During his decades in the music business he has procured a long list of cuts with legendary artists ranging from Tina Turner, Joe Cocker, Chaka Khan and Diana Ross to Wynonna Judd, Kathy Mattea, Russ Taff, Paul Carrack, Will Downing, Tom Scott, Billie Piper, Pop Idol winners and The Spice Girls. To date his songs have been on more than 16 million records. . He is also a judge for Nashville Rising Star, a contributing author to  USA Songwriting Competition, Songwriter Magazine, sponsor for the Australian Songwriting Association, judge for Belmont University's Commercial Music program and West Coast Songwriter events , Mentor for The Songwriting Academy UK, a popular blogger and, from time to time, conducts his own workshops including ASCAP, BMI and Sweetwater Sound. Born and raised in Syracuse, NY, Mark has also lived in Boston, L.A., Indianapolis, London, and the last 20 years in Nashville, TN.

So How Do You Build A Hit Song? Deconstruct!

 

I had just come to the end of a coaching session with a really talented young songwriter I've been working with for more than a year. She knows her way around classic songwriting and is as big a fan of Elton John and Carole King as she is Taylor Swift and Sam Smith. I love working with her and writers like her because there's nothing jaded about their approach to writing. Everything they can pick up is a revelation. 

The Big Question

Our time was up when she said, "One more thing...how do I write a hit?"  

We'd spent lots of hours and sessions on everything from the basics to the intangibles; finding ideas, co-writing etiquette, creating unique melodies and structures, how money is made, how money should be spent...all leading to her simple question.

I told her we would dig in next session and focus just on her question. But before we ended for the day I asked her to do some homework: to deconstruct.

Not just to look at how classic songs are put together, but to intentionally pick a couple of hitsongs a week, tear them apart, and put 'em back together. 

Waaaay Back In The Day

I know for me growing up in the 60's this meant picking up the needle and dropping it down over and over to learn a lick. Balancing a guitar on my lap and trying to figure out how Paul McCartney played "I Saw Her Standing There", how Lennon wrote the lyric for "All You Need Is Love", the chords behind Dylan songs and the language of Motown. Over and over until it got into my being. Just in the hope that I could do it like them someday. 

I don't think I was smart enough to know I was deconstructing in order to learn to build; but looking back, that was the process. I've written a few hits since those days but it's hard to define how I got there.

Back to now. Classic songwriting is still classic songwriting, but so much of the structure and process is different in pop and even country these days. Some people bemoan the short attention span theory that dictates multiple sections that act like choruses, dumping the bridge, post choruses, fewer verses and on and on. I think it's just the same challenges songwriters have always faced as listeners' tastes and habits change. Still have to make something memorable in under 4 minutes. 

Take It Apart

 How do you deconstruct?  Not just by learning to play along, but also by writing down notes in a simple AABABC format and even print out the lyric and study everything about it. The language, the rhyme schemes, cadence. Get it in your head. I would start to hold one of these current hits next to whatever you're writing and see how yours fares.  

Song Sandwich

I even came across an idea that I used to do of sandwiching your song between two current hits. Pick two songs and make a playlist with one of your own in the middle. Be objective. How does yours hold up? The hope is that over time, these forms seep into your subconscious and become tools. Not talking about cloning, but more absorbing and creating new, current influences to go along with your knowledge of the classics.

I love reading about how songs were written. I just finished a book on a flight today called "Hound Dog" by Leiber and Stoller full of great stories about classic hits. Like most of the quotes you come across from hit writers, they learned from what they loved and wrote songs they hoped other people would love just as much. They would also tell you there's no surefire way to write a hit, but deconstructing to construct is a great way to start.

Check out this video by David Penn where he takes you through deconstructing a few hits .

 

Mark Cawley

Nashville Tennessee

August 27, 2015

 

Image: Shudderstock

 

if you'd like to stay up with iDoCoach including receiving the latest blogs and my favorite 7 Toolbox tips here ya go!
http://idocoach.com/email-newsletter

About Mark Cawley

About Mark Cawley

Mark Cawley is a hit U.S. songwriter and musician who coaches other writers and artists to reach their creative and professional goals. During his decades in the music business he has procured a long list of cuts with legendary artists ranging from Tina Turner, Joe Cocker, Chaka Khan and Diana Ross to Wynonna Judd, Kathy Mattea, Russ Taff, Paul Carrack, Will Downing, Tom Scott, Billie Piper, Pop Idol winners and The Spice Girls. To date his songs have been on more than 16 million records. Mark’s resume includes hits on the Pop, Country, R&B, Jazz, and Rock charts and several publishing deals with the likes of Virgin, Windswept Pacific, and Steelworks/Universal. Mark calls on his decades of experience in the publishing world, as an artist on major labels, co-writer with everyone from Eliot Kennedy and Burt Bacharach to Simon Climie and Kye Fleming, composing, and recording to mentor clients around the globe with iDoCoach. He is also a judge for the UK Songwriting Contest, Nashville Rising Star, a contributing author to  USA Songwriting, Songwriter Magazine,  Mentor for The Songwriting Academy, sponsor for the ASA, judge for Belmont University's Commercial Music program and West Coast Songwriter events , a popular blogger and, from time to time, conducts his own workshops.Born and raised in Syracuse, NY, Mark has also lived in Boston, L.A., Indianapolis, London, and the last 20 years in Nashville, TN. 

4 Questions For Hit Songwriter And Author Shelly Peiken

Shelly Peiken  iDoCoach guest Blog

Shelly Peiken  iDoCoach guest Blog

Awhile back I asked 4 of my favorite music friends and co-writers to answer 4 specific questions for me. I used these for a few workshops in the US and UK and attendees loved hearing from these amazing folk!

I've known Shelly Peiken for more than 25 years , written some great songs with her and been a fan as she had some enormous success with Christina Aquilera, Maredith Brooks, Disney projects and tons of cuts including my favorite, "Human" for Chrissie Hynde of The Prentenders, and now...an author. Follow the link to read more about her as well as how to pick up her book " Confessions Of A Serial Songwriter".

if you'd like to stay up with iDoCoach including receiving the latest blogs and my favorite 7 Toolbox tips here ya go!

http://idocoach.com/email-newsletter

I'm currently coaching writers worldwide, online, one on one and taking new clients for 2018. Visit my website for more info www.idocoach.com or write to me at mark@idocoach.com

Check out this interview in the recent edition of M Music and Musicians Magazine for stories behind a few of my songs!

About Mark Cawley

Mark Cawley is a hit U.S. songwriter and musician who coaches other writers and artists to reach their creative and professional goals through iDoCoach.com. During his decades in the music business he has procured a long list of cuts with legendary artists ranging from Tina Turner, Joe Cocker, Chaka Khan and Diana Ross to Wynonna Judd, Kathy Mattea, Russ Taff, Paul Carrack, Will Downing, Tom Scott, Billie Piper, Pop Idol winners and The Spice Girls. To date his songs have been on more than 16 million records. . He is also a judge for Nashville Rising Star, a contributing author to  USA Songwriting Competition, Songwriter Magazine, sponsor for the Australian Songwriting Association, judge for Belmont University's Commercial Music program and West Coast Songwriter events , Mentor for The Songwriting Academy UK, a popular blogger and, from time to time, conducts his own workshops including ASCAP, BMI and Sweetwater Sound. Born and raised in Syracuse, NY, Mark has also lived in Boston, L.A., Indianapolis, London, and the last 20 years in Nashville, TN.