| Song Writing Tutorial | ||||
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What goes into writing a number one Hit? How do I become a songwriter? What does it take to write a great hook? Well let me begin with the following quote: "Music expresses that which cannot be said, and on which it is impossible to be silent." Victor Hugo It has been said that an image is worth a thousand words. Some might argue that a song is worth a thousand images. Whatever value you may place on music, throughout history, music has been an integral part of the human experience. All right, enough with the philosophy" you say, fair enough. This article will strive to share some song writing tips on the "how to's" of song writing. Okay, a little more philosophy. Most of us realize that music is essentially a representation of the heart condition. Any DJ spinning discs (Okay, more like playing his two ipods) at a wedding knows how to change the mood simply by song selection. This is where you begin. Don't worry about the CD, don't think about the band myspace; just worry about the song. A few practical tips: 1. ALWAYS BE READY - You need some sort of portable recorder. You can purchase a small portable recorder at Musiciansfriend for $300.00. Buy a few notepads and pens and put one in your car, on your piano, at work, wherever you spend large amounts of time. You never know when a great hook or idea will strike. I have even had ideas come to me in the middle of a church service. 2. CATCH PHRASE - There is something about a particular sequence of words that makes a song great. Typically you will find this in the Chorus of a song. There are three integral components to this. They are meaning, phoneme, and cadence. Meaning is of course self explanatory, although it seems that how you arrive at that meaning is what makes a phrase interesting. Don't always state the obvious, use imagery, allegory, or turn the sentences backwards. Hey if Shakespeare did it, you can too. Phoneme is defined as the smallest unit of speech. In other words, the sounds that comprise each particular word. If you're writing something that's aggressive, angry, or passionate, you may find words with harsher consonants help you achieve that feel. If you are writing something softer, contemplative, you may find that softer consonants and vowel heavy words help you achieve that particular feel. These are just two of the many shades and moods that word sounds can convey. Lastly, cadence is the rhythm, the meter of words. For example, you have Cold play with longer drawn out phrases as compared to a musician like Jason Mratz who has a very quick, complex cadence. They both achieve very different moods just by the cadence of the lyrics. So find that catch phrase balancing meaning, phoneme choice, and cadence and write yourself a killer song. 3. USE A RHYMING DICTIONARY- All songwriters recognize the importance of rhyme in lyric writing. There is a great rhyme search engine at Rhymezone. 4. BE HONEST - There is nothing more obvious than a disingenuous song. The airwaves are filled with them these days. You have to be willing to exercise an uncommon level of transparency in order for the song to resonate with your audience. Also, be honest with yourself, honest enough to shelve a song or throw it away if it doesn't cut the mustard. 5. THE ONE VOICE ONE INSTRUMENT RULE - You know you have a great song when it sounds great with just you and your instrument. 6. GET CHORD THEORY SKILLS - The choice of chords and the progression can give you a great foundation on which to develop a melody. After all, you need to know where you're headed in order to get there. Though I have nothing against the 1 4 5 progression, many great songs use it, learn as many other progressions as you can. They are all canvases for your melodies. 7. DROP YOUR INSTRUMENT - After all that talk about knowing your chords, I find it sometimes can be helpful to just sing. Not having to think about playing your instrument will let you focus all your attention on the melody. If you want, record the chord progression and then play it back as you sing. It will give you the freedom to really develop your melody, unless you are Sting, in which case you can play the bass, the lute, the drums, and sing at the same time. 8. SONG WRITING IS NOT SONG PRODUCING - Don't even think about wasting the time and money producing a song unless you are sure it is a really great song, and when you are ready to produce your song, make sure you do it right. CLICK HERE for tips on SONG PRODUCTION Examples of Chris Del Aguila song writing can be found at www.myspace.com/godspeedu www.myspace.com/wiserforthewear www.mysoundfx.com         |
| Last Updated ( Tuesday, 10 March 2009 03:45 ) |
