Songwriting Techniques: Write, Cut, List And Play!

I haven’t done a blog to date based purely on tips but reading a recent one by Michael Hyatt made me think about the value of a ” list” post. So.. for this week I’ll spare you the  voices in my head and just pass on some things that have worked for me in the past. These are  4 ideas that have become a foundation for my coaching over the last two years and I hope some of them will be helpful for you as a writer . Happy Holidays!

1) Write down what you’re actually planning to write about . No rhyming or editing stuff, just a simple paragraph that you can go back to from time to time to see if you’re  still on course. Really useful when you write alone. Easy to get carried away with a clever line and lose the plot. I heard a great interview with Jeffery Steele a few years back about writing “clever”. He was writing good songs but not getting cuts and Al Anderson set him straight during a co-writing session telling him to write more real and ditch the clever. Wish I could find the interview but  it turned out to be sound advice . Both of these guys know how to write a great song!

2) Cutting and pasting. This sure got easier years ago with word processing programs. Try taking your 3rd verse and moving it to the top sometime. See if you can beat it from there. Chances are you have a better handle on what you’re writing about by the time you’ve gotten there and starting with it can really challenge you. Sometimes telling a story from back to front can be more interesting or the chorus you started with ends up being the first verse and you go from there. Mix it up.

3) Keep all your favorite lines and possible titles in one place and leave it out where you can see it anytime you sit down to write. Doesn’t matter that they’re not connected to each other, one might pop out at you on a particular day. Really helps to jump start you when inspiration is hard to find.

4) Play like a kid. I didn’t invent this one. Artists need the ability to be fearless and create like kids do. No editor, start by having fun.

Any tips, techniques or tricks that work for you?

Image: Ishac Bertran
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Social Media And The Modern Songwriter…. Sharing Or Self Promoting?

First of all, Happy Thanksgiving!

As a songwriter or an artist these days you no doubt know the value of social media. I coach both and this is a huge part of my focus. Everyone bemoans the changes in the business but most agree it’s a great time to  be able to get yourself out there, get your music heard or talent seen. It’s free and it’s easy. Make a rough demo, smartphone  video…post it and wait for the world to notice.

Easy to post a link everywhere and start counting your new fans. Etiquette? Na… It’s the Wild West of self promotion. Perseverance is rewarded, just get in people’s faces and you’ll be impossible to ignore. Everybody’s welcome!

I don’t think so.

What if you’re on the other end of the do it yourself media blitz? You’re part of a Facebook songwriter’s group page trying to find kindred spirits, support and information. Suppose you’re on LinkedIn looking for answers to gear questions, music business questions, places to play, how to, how not to..the answers are free. But are they right? Good? Valuable? Are you even being heard? Are you looking for direction or reaction?

All I’m saying is we should consider the community part of online community. I’m counting myself among the people who, from time to time, abuse the freedom and platform. Sure it’s a great way to build a fan base or to build a client base for your business but I’m going to try harder to participate in the conversation, not just drop by when it suits my mission. More and more these days my coaching clients find me through online searches or my blogging than workshops so I’m grateful and hopefully, respectful of  the platform.I consider myself a teacher in this new environment but I’m still trying to balance opportunity and community.   None of us want to wear out our welcome.

Thanks to Nan Cassidy for writing a post that inspired my blog, she’s a great champion of songwriters in Nashville and beyond!

What are your expectations when you join an online group or post your music? Do you feel you have a responsibility ?

Creativity In The Eye Of The Storm

Couldn’t resist a pun at my own expense. Here’s the deal.

A little more than a month ago I was carrying on when something popped up in my left eye. I mean something really weird. I’ll spare you the timeline and gory details but it was a detached retina. Now don’t go Googling this… It will only freak you out .   The point is that it’s a real scary deal. Song writing, music business, coaching…all take a backseat pretty quickly.

Jumping ahead, it’s been a month and still waiting to find out more about the outcome. I don’t have any big observations, indisputable truths or, no pun this time, visions. I just thought it might be relevant and interesting to you guys as it pertains to passion. You have it or you wouldn’t be here working on your writer/artist path.

I have many friends who have dealt with all different forms of adversity, some way worse then what I’m going through. Many of us have friends on the East coast working through actual storm damage and I know your thoughts and prayers go out to them. I believe that your reality is your reality and you have to do whatever you do to dig deep , find strength, patience and faith. Music can play a big part in healing, no secret  there and I’ve been finding more comfort in just playing during this time. I’m not so much looking for that undeniable hook as I am the calmness music can bring. I watched the fundraiser for Sandy the other night and was reminded once again of the power of music but even more the healing process. Can’t make it go away but when all those guys did “Under The Boadwalk” there was a sweetness that made it more real and less horrific for us all. I think at it’s best and brightest music reminds us we’re not alone.

I coach lots of writers and artists and one of the easy bits to pass on is to remind them to write what you know including what’s going on in your life. This is especially true of the ones who depend on building an audience through making their music available. Using social media and blogging on a regular basis is huge. For these folks I always stress the need to “put yourself out there” and “let people in”. Taking my wife Kathys advice here and talking about whats going on in my own life right now.

My main purpose for this blog is to start a discussion that might encourage or maybe just allow you to vent! Writing and the music business is hard enough and you need all the focus you can muster. What do you do, who do you lean on and where do you find the inner tough guy to block out whatever is discouraging you from being creative?

I not only would like to know but I’d appreciate your encouragement and stories!

Photo by my buddy Shelly Horton…love ya MORE!!

Songwriters And Artists, Polish And Perfection Or Rough And Ready?

Last month I was on a judges panel for two very good but very different events. One was The Belmont Commercial Music Showcase where they had  whittled it down to the top 10 students to represent Belmont University here in Nashville. They could be any style and didn’t have to write the song they performed.

The other was Pucketts in Franklin for the semi-finals of their Rising Star program. This was all about the song. In each case the goal was to pick the top 4 with slightly different things to look out for. In both cases, by the time they’ve gotten this far you know they’re gonna be good and they were.

What I loved was that in past years of judging at Belmont you were more likely to see a few clones of the most recent American Idol winner or whoever ruled the charts at the time. This year I didn’t see anything like that, much more originality and I went away inspired by these students. Same with Pucketts, fantastic to see mostly young writers who might be wearing their influences on their sleeve but forging something of their own. If not right now, you could imagine it coming.

Here’s the dilemma that came up especially in the instance of the ones currently in a commercial music program. Are they too polished? Are they paying so much attention to  perfection that it’s hard to hear their own voice come through? Again, all of the students were flawless in their performance and that was one of the goals, I get it. Then..One girl came out full of attitude, originality ( played her own song) and quirkiness. I voted for her hands down…she didn’t make the cut. Not even in the top 4. Not near as polished as the other 9 but just had …something .

Similar experience with Pucketts but more to do with songwriting than performance. A few of the writers had everything in the right place, sounded perfect but in some cases it was hard to feel ” them ” in their song. Happy to say there were also some real diamonds in the mix.

I’ve written about this same debate from a personal point of view in the past regarding my own experience writing for specific artists and I’m still of the same mind. I can appreciate the hours of practice and hard work that artists and writers put in but if we’re talking about the next level ….gimme  a mix of 10,000 hours AND rough, warts, imperfection , attitude and promise over  pure perfection!

What do you guys think? Can you have both? Can you be too studied or too raw and still succeed?

Songwriter: Put Me In Coach..I’m Ready To Play!

Get up, give in, go long, go short, go it alone, go with your gut, your guru, heart, head,  friends. Go with family, the facts, the figures. Get a coach, get a conscience, get a life, get a new device .

Pay attention to the charts,  common sense, dollars and cents. Sell out, buy in, can’t be taught, it’s a gift, it’s a curse. I’m better than what’s on the radio, radio is dead, labels are obsolete, internet is the shortcut. I wanna be word of mouth, worldwide, boutique, burn bright, burn out, be smart, hip, obscure, Americana. Be a sure bet, long shot, a dark horse. Commercial, confessional, true to myself  and selfless. Work hard but don’t let the work show. Honor  the new and embrace the old…traction and tradition.

All this and more has come up in my 2 years of coaching writers and artists. I’ve also heard why writing and being a recording artist is not something that can be coached or taught. I disagree.

Coaching at its best can be everything from what to look for to what to look out for. I’ve worked with writers and artists  from all over the world about subjects beyond words and music ranging from taking a meeting, making the best and most economical demo, when to seek legal help, co-writing etiquette and even how to balance artist vision with marriage and relationships. This is what makes the whole coaching idea fun for me. It’s a way to take all the years of ups and downs, successes and mistakes and hopefully turn them into usable, real life lessons. Sometimes it’s about information, sometimes about affirmation.

I’ve also heard the argument that no one should charge for coaching or teaching music but I think that’s ridiculous. If you’ve earned it and paid for the experience yourself and you feel you have the skill and expertise to pass it on, of course you should be paid fairly for it. Similar argument to the question should music should be free? I also believe in being fair, honest and setting realistic goals. If someone promises commercial success – run as fast as you can. If someone promises to use all of their past experiences and connections to help you on your way, make you a better writer or artist and give you more tools to compete, whatever that looks like to you, make sure they’ve actually done what you want to do and then decide to invest or not.

Coaching, mentoring or teaching is only as good as the one offering it and the work you’re willing to put into it. I’ve been having a great time watching some of my clients get cuts but more often than not it’s about hearing the next song, seeing the next lyric come to life, seeing them get a web presence , fans and being able to encourage.

Bob Lefsetz’s blog is one that I really like and the subject of paying for a music education was a fun one to watch for the responses. One of the most interesting ones was from a parent who actually decided, after hearing all a music school could offer for a 200K education, to pay for a mentor to give his son actual on-the-job, practical training for a semester and see how it goes. I’ll be interested to hear.

Have you had someone mentor you , inspire you or just give you encourgement or honest feedback when you needed it? Organizations like NSAI, West Coast Songwriters, BMI and ASCAP can be great places to meet co-writers and plug into some good programs in addition to writers, producers and publishers like myself.

When Is Your Song “Done”?

How do you know when to push away from the table? When do you say no mas, enough is enough, reach the finish line… when is your song …”done”? This is a tough one especially if you write on your own. You can endlessly tinker or just trust your instinct and stop. Unless you’re  writing with an artist or for a deadline, the world isn’t waiting for your song, so common sense should tell you to slow down, make it the best it can be before you let other people hear it.

No listener will know how hard you worked and truthfully, if it shows, the song usually suffers.

Some of the songs written by committee just “sound ” like work to me .

I love being able to feel like something’s completed but it’s tough to get that workmanlike sense of ” job done” with songwriting . You usually can’t see it, touch it or feel it not to mention get affirmation.

Affirmation for  me has to come from inside, the kind of song experience that just feels right, you keep playing it over and over but you don’t feel the need to re-write it. Some writers feel it’s a gift and once you get the idea down you need to just let it go while others feel hard work will reveal diamonds in the dirt. I think you just know and IF.. you’ve captured whatever it is, done all the editing , used all the combined knowledge you’ve built up and trust your gut….you’re done!

I’d love to hear from other songwriters, how do you decide you’re done?

Songwriters, Time To Change Time?

Miles Copelands writers retreat in the south of France 1992. I'm 3rd from the left, bottom row. 

I was talking with a songwriter friend who had asked me to listen to a few songs he had been working on, more starts than fleshed out ideas , but some good stuff in there. He writes a lot, not too precious about every nugget but was at a stage where his ideas were boring him. Listening to the songs as a group it was easy for me to suggest one big change in the writing process.Tempo.

This is an age old problem from songwriters in the basement to Music Row. Pick up an acoustic guitar to write and we get all melancholy . Can’t help it! You can start off trying to rock and end up sensitive . It happens. In my friends case he writes alone, acoustic only, and every song tends to end up in the same ballad to mid-tempo mode.

One excuse was that he felt he didn’t have the chops to play fast and fluid. He would tend to get frustrated and slow the whole thing down until James Hetfield morphed into Sweet Baby James.…. every time. I completely  get this and over the years went to great lengths to avoid it. Working from home studios or even traveling to co-write for projects, the solution for me was to gear up for the session. As soon as Macs became portable I was one excited writer. Even in the very beginning you could bring a few loops with you to the writing session, start uptempo and stay there for the duration. You could actually be forced to keep it up!

The first experience I had with this was at one of Miles Copelands ( Sting, IRS Records) writer retreats in the South Of France around ‘ 92.  The artists and writers invited were encouraged to just show up and see what developed. Most brought a favorite guitar but it was basically acoustic and organic. It was amazing but….. hard to summon the groove. The next one I went to I was paired with a great writer and now producer ( Eric Clapton) named Simon Climie. Simon brought a brand new Mac with all of his favorite loops and patches . Whole new game and everyone wanted to hang with Simon! The next time I went I brought a state of the art Kurzweil keyboard with everything pre- loaded and a PowerBook , primitive by today’s standard but the party was on! Up tempo , groove songs, new energy and a great vibe. Everyone was hanging in my part of this old castle .

Glenn Tilbrook, Kye Fleming and myself at the very first Castle retreat.

A side note, I attended the first 3 of these events with guests ranging from Cher ( mind boggling to come down to breakfast and see her every morning) to some of my favorite off the wall writers like Glenn Tilbrook  ( photo with Glenn and Kye Fleming) and everything in between. I know that after the first  4 or 5 events they installed a portable studio to demo ASAP as well as inviting some well known producers. Probably a good idea but might have brought a professionalism to the event that was at odds with the original plan, I dunno.

Eventually I started bringing the same set up to every writing appointment and on every writing trip. Carting the Kurzweil from Franklin Tennessee to London, Paris and Stockholm created some long conversations at customs but..it made a huge difference in the session by allowing us to feel almost like we were in a band and that small sound just got bigger!

Of course now it’s even easier, I use IPad 3 with GarageBand to bring some vibe to the room and stay uptempo .I know not everything has to be written with a groove or ” uptempo positive” (an overused pitch plea) but it can keep a writer from turning into “coffeehouse guy.”

You can still be sensitive while you’re bringin the funk :-) What I advised my friend was from time to time, use an uptempo loop ( GarageBand is well stocked) and just lock into it … all day. Doesn’t matter if you can’t execute the idea you have on guitar at that tempo, it’s all about the energy . Oh… and publishers love, love, LOVE uptempo … I’m positive!

What works for you as a writer to get you out of the same old groove?

Home Schooled Songwriter

If you don’t already read the Lefsetz blog I want to recommend it. Bob has been a must read for industry folks for years and has the distinction of being a voice of reason for the old and new school of artists and writers. He’s a fan of classic rock but also a harsh critic of those who are stuck in the old ways of doing  business.

This week an old friend , Bonnie Hayes wrote to Bob to voice her views on the changes she  saw during her recent summer guest teaching slot at  the Berklee School Of Music in Boston. I’m including a link so you can follow the dialogue between Bob, Bonnie, pro and amateur songwriters and musicians . Obviously a hot button, pay for a music education these days or follow the  Malcolm Gladwell, Beatles /Hamburg 10,000 hours of work example.

It was especially interesting to me because I attended Berklee briefly, but would have to credit any success to my 10,000 hours. Hard earned  (dropping the needle and playing along with every record I could find and gigging for years) and more along the lines of paying my dues than paying tuition. Home schooled I guess.

I’ve also written songs with Bonnie and a  few of the artists who have weighed in here and can see both sides of the argument . I lean toward the experience side but still look back and wish I’d been more patient and stayed at a place like Berklee a little longer . Not for the piece of paper but for the expertise that was available to any kid who wanted to learn. I left at the first opportunity because I thought fame was calling and I had no time to spare ..ahh..youth!

What I do agree with after reading the responses  is that we are in a different time and as musicians , writers and artists we need to adapt. We can bitch about it all we want or we can take advantage of the things available . I’ve had to. And I’m happy to be coaching writers and artists around the US and Europe.

I’ve gone from artist deals (didn’t go all that great) to publishing deals (went much , much better) to the last few years of dealing with the decline of music as a business. Luckily for me I was at a point where I was hoping to  find a new creative outlet, give back and basically find a new model of teaching. I could still be involved with creative people but in a supportive role. Point is, I think we all need to have a few things to offer and our chosen path is not so different from other jobs in that there will be ups and downs, layoffs and setbacks but if you really want to do what you do, you have no choice but to find a way.

Old school, real school or home school ?  I’d like to hear what you have to say here. Opinions? Stories?

Seamless Songwriting

I’m talking more lyric pruning than auto-tuning. In coaching writers these days one of the most common topics is , once you’ve found the idea, writing a lyric that keeps the thread and stays consistent with meter, rhyme scheme and structure.

Some of the best publishers I’ve known over the years, Mary Del Scobey, Kye Fleming and Chris Ogelsby come to mind, are able to point out to a writer things that we just don’t see. Places where the seam is torn.Usually because we’re too close. Especially if you write on your own. It’s so easy to work on a lyric and depend on a title, great first verse, chorus or a clever rhyme here and there. Much harder to stand back and “scan” a lyric to see if we’ve lost it in the third verse or bridge.

I know I have been guilty of sitting with a publisher or producer over the years and going..”hey just get through this part and wait until you hear the chorus!!”

The songs we all love don’t do that. Even if the writers weren’t thinking about it at the time, they were probably so damn good they couldn’t lie. No fluff, top to bottom! It’s been one of the best lessons over the years of writing with and hanging out with great music people. They’re fans just like the listener in the car and they’re thinking.. “I’m wanting to love this..don’t let me down! “

One of the best tools for checking yourself is talking the lyric out. I mean “out loud”…and often. I’ve written in the past about the value of just letting someone else read a lyric or hear your song and be able to tell you what it’s about . If they can’t, you’ve probably lost the plot.

Think Seamless.

You may agree or have a totally different view on this, love to hear from you!

STRONGwriters

 STRONGwriters

Do you know your strength  as a writer or artist and can you identify your weakness? I mean honestly … Can you?

Over a bunch of years writing for artists and working with publishers in the US and UK it got easier for me to get real with myself and answer this question. A great publisher will answer it for you, so will a really good co-writer but deciding for yourself is huge especially if you’re writing without a net. You’re competing with the best there is trying to get a piece  of an ever shrinking  pie. A song on a record.

Your best chance is to play off your strength. What makes you unique?

Focusing on your strength doesn’t mean you can’t hone your other skills, it just means being honest with yourself when  it comes to putting yourself out there. I always felt one of my strongest attributes was being versatile. I could switch genres and write a country song, pop song, R&B song, just the track, just the music/ melody and this is still what does it for me. I’ve had songs cut in all these styles but… and  it’s a big but..   what do I really bring to the table as a songwriter that one hundred other writers can’t?

I’ll give you a good example. I live in Nashville and for years was signed to publishing deals that were either based , or had offices in the UK. Lot’s of pop music. I would still work with the Nashville office and write for country artists and had a great publisher in Steve Markland at Windswept Pacific in those days. He would set up some wonderful co-writes with people like Marcus Hummon, Neil Thrasher, Craig Wiseman and more. Some worked, some didn’t ,but the common denominator was being comfortable enough to try and bring whatever was different about my writing to complement their strengths.

Just because I had some ideas for a country song didn’t mean I could write it as well as they could. Hell… I couldn’t come close because they live it and breathe it. They KNOW it! What I COULD bring was the stuff I was raised on , Motown and the British invasion style of pop music. When I gave up trying to complete and just add my thing to the mix it  stood the best chance of being unique and in the end, being unique is always your best shot. The guys and girls writing songs about trucks, high school and drinking parties are living it. No way I can talk about  it as well as they can. It will always come up second best or worse, phoney. I talk with 40 something writers who are trying to write about Taylor Swifts world because they think that’s current.

It’s like a ticket on the Titanic.

Sorry if I’ve gone on here but it’s such a huge point and one that took a long time for me to learn. To be able to say I can do a lot of things but THIS is what I do best, THIS is my strength was a real turning point.

What is your strength? Weakness?