The Songwriter's Cafe

6 Things To Look For In A Co-Writer

Wisdom Moon — Tue, 07 May 2013 22:00:00 -0500

Co-writing appears to be the current preferred method of writing in the Christian music industry. Rarely are songs being released anymore just with a single writer’s name on it. On some songs I’ve seen 5-7 people listed as writers! The benefits of co-writing are immense as iron sharpens iron through the process. This article, however, isn’t intending to convince you to co-write, but rather teach you what to look for when you finally agree with the vast majority of folks that co-writing is the way to go.

Generally speaking you will write with many different people over the course of your co-writing career and eventually come to learn what you do and don’t like in co-writers. I have done a decent amount of co-writing with a large variety of folks and learned a lot of things…most of those things the hard way. So I feel I can share with you this shortlist of things that I feel are the basic ingredients for a fruitful co-writing relationship. I tried to be concise with this but it’s a little lengthy…hang with me.

1. Friendship

What the heck does friendship have to do with songwriting? To me, this is the genesis of developing a long-term, healthy co-writing relationship with someone. In my relatively short experience writing songs I have seen it time and time again that genuine friendships lead to better songs. Writing with virtual strangers can lead to good songs, but in most cases it does not. I would argue that throwing two songwriters in a room together to duke it out without knowing each other in hopes of creating inspiration is not the best method.

For me personally, I don’t want to even talk about trying to song write until we are friends. Genuine songs come out of genuine relationship…genuine relationship with Christ first, and then genuine relationship with one another.

2. Honesty

This is a difficult thing to establish in a new co-writer relationship, and almost hinges on the establishment of some sort of friendship first. Being honest with one another is almost as important as the song ideas themselves. Honesty with any person, regardless of songwriting, is challenging to navigate. It must be done with grace and love, especially in the beginning.

Oftentimes in songwriting we are spilling our guts out to each other and in turn become vulnerable. How do you let someone share his or her heart with you and then turn around and say that you aren’t on board with the idea? It’s near impossible! Trust me…I do it all the time and it never gets easier. The difference is when you know you are writing with someone who is open to receive your honesty and give you his or hers in return. When you find that…hold on to it…because it’s rare. Without honesty neither of you will come to the completion of the song in love with it. Complete honesty is a necessity…no way around it.

3. Openness

For you and your co-writing partners to write heart-felt songs, you must get down to matters of the heart. That requires that you and your co-writer be open enough to dive into issues that “hit home”. Maybe that means revealing struggles with each other. Maybe that means sharing where you are in an area in your walk with God. Openness will shine through in the end. Authenticity is attractive to everyone. People will connect with the intrinsic nature of what you are writing. Co-writers have a responsibility to the song and each other to be open and authentic if they have any hopes of creating a piece of art that has those characteristics.

4. Respect

So maybe I’m from The South and this is “southern”, but mutual respect goes a long way! You must absolutely respect the person you are writing with, from a talent level to a spiritual level.

If you feel like they are beneath you or above you, the power dynamic of the relationship will be off-kilter. You will feel that your opinions either weigh less or more than the other person, which is not a good recipe for a solid co-writing relationship. You must feel that the ground is level so that the “fight” can be fair.

Respect also boils down to little things like being engaged throughout the co-write, bringing fresh ideas to the table, having input and feedback, etc. Those “nuts and bolts” type things show that you respect the song you’ve started and that you respect your co-writer and their time involved. It’s safe to say that people like to feel respected, especially in the creative arts world…when you find mutual respect, hang on to it.

Side note on respect as it pertains to approaching writers to write with: Do not reach for writers that you don’t know. Relationship comes first. For example, I’m not going to walk up to Chris Tomlin (who I don’t know), put him on the spot, and ask him to write with me. We aren’t in relationship and he would have no idea if I could even play a G chord or not. To me, that is disrespectful…and tacky. Even if I did have a chance to write with him to begin with, in all likelihood I just ruined it out of disrespect. Make sense? Some people need to read that again. I tell you out of love! God will guide you into the right relationships…do not try to run ahead of His plan for your life.

5. Style

It is paramount to seek out people who are SIMILAR to you stylistically, but not necessarily a CLONE.

You want to push back and forth on things to sharpen the song, but you don’t want to write with someone who is exactly “you”. To me it’s actually a red flag if someone never pushes back because they either are too similar to me, or we haven’t established a truly honest and open relationship. On the flipside, you don’t want to write with people who are complete opposites either because you will likely have great struggles settling in on things. I’ve been on both extremes and rarely do they yield good results. Finding a group of co-writers who are similar, not an opposite, nor a clone, will serve you and your songwriting career very well.

6. Results

This seems to go without saying but when you look back on the first couple of songs you’ve written with a new co-writer, ask yourself “are they solid”? Do you like what the relationship has brought out of your writing? Do you genuinely like the songs? Should I continue pursuing this songwriting relationship?

I talked with a buddy of mine who is getting into co-writing and he was saying he was enjoying co-writing with another person. I asked him to show me the songs he’s been working on. He came back “well, they’re alright, not some of my best songs.” What the heck? Then the co-writing isn’t good! Don’t confuse enjoying the process with good results.

At the end of the day good co-writing relationships aren’t a magical formula of things to do, and say (or not say), it’s about connecting with people and loving people as God commands. It boils down to trusting God’s timing to give you the right relationships. While you are “waiting”, God is working on your behalf, and shaping things in you necessary for the next step. Keep your head down and stay focused on what’s right in front of you…stop reaching for things that you aren’t ready for yet. Just keep writing and loving on the people that God has placed in your life!

Thanks for hanging in there!

Sean is a full-time producer and songwriter in Lawrenceville, GA.
www.uphillstudiosonline.com

A Special Songwriting Challenge for May 2013

Wisdom Moon — Sun, 05 May 2013 11:20:46 -0500

If you are a songwriter who wants to grow, you know the importance of practicing the craft regularly. It is a discipline. With everything we learned during our Somgwriters Webinar Series last month (you can listen to the recordings here), we wanted to give a special challenge to the participants and anyone else who is up for it!

Here is the songwriting challenge: Write 7 songs in 14 days!

Are you up for the challenge? It will start this Wednesday (5/8) and end on Tuesday (5/21).

The songs can be on any topic. You can write songs from scratch or finish songs you started in the past. At the end of the challenge we encourage you to come back to this post and share YOUR BEST song in the comments. You can do this by uploading the song on a site like YouTube or SoundCloud and posting the link to it here.

If you're going to participate in this songwriting challenge, let us know by leaving a comment below!

Also, stay tuned for our Songwriting Contest we'll be launching on May 22nd! We will have some great prizes!

Win A Free Registration to Worship Leader's Songwriting Conference

Wisdom Moon — Fri, 03 May 2013 20:33:52 -0500

We had a great time hosting 4 songwriting webinars last month (April 2013) with our friends Daniel Bashta, Chris McClarney, Dustin Smith, and James Tealy!

As a way to encourage those of you who are songwriters (or want to be), we are giving away 2 free registrations to the Worship Leader Songwriting Conference in San Juan Capistrano, CA! The event takes place on June 7, 2013.

The conference will cover:
• The Theology of Worship Songwriting
• Lyric writing: Poets of Prayer & Prophecy
• Writing the Heart of Your Congregation
• Business of Songwriting (copyrights, royalties etc.)
• Group-setting Songwriting Class
• Writing for the Church at Large

PLEASE NOTE: We ask that you enter only if you know for sure that you are able to attend. Giveaway includes a free registration with lunch and dinner provided. Travel and lodging are NOT included. You must be at least 18 year of age and a US resident to qualify.

Use the widget below to enter. We will pick 2 random winners once the giveaway ends.

Crafting The Invisible - Dustin Smith (training video)

Wisdom Moon — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 16:50:35 -0500

Last week we hosted a training webinar for songwriters: Crafting The Invisible by Dustin Smith. We are making it available here for just $15 to view (not available for download). You can preview the first 5 minutes by pressing the play button below.

Our job as worship songwriters goes far beyond having the ability to put melody and lyrics together. We have been called to take the invisible Kingdom and make it known to the world. For too long we have written songs so people could sing them, instead of writing songs with the intent of causing people to see.

This session will focus on a number of things:
-Writing songs based on something we can't see
-Not being limited by what you know
-Differences between writing for the corporate body vs the individual
-The power of the co-write

ABOUT DUSTIN
Dustin has been positioned as a leader of today’s worship revolution. Along with being in revival, traveling, songwriting, & leading worship, Dustin's influence is showing up on the international scene as an authority in worship, reaching many nations: Japan, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, England, Canada and more, as thousands are experiencing the presence of God through his music.

In 2013 Dustin signed as a staff songwriter with Integrity Music. He has written songs with Jennie Lee Riddle, Michael Farren, Mia Fieldes, Jon Egan, and many others.

In 2005 Dustin accepted the role of worship pastor at World Revival Church in Kansas City. Dustin has taken great lengths to reveal what biblical worship actually is and restoring the honor of God by removing the focus of individual worship to a corporate setting. Dustin offers his insight and wisdom as a leader that demonstrates his heart-felt worship. He believes that a new attitude towards God is being birthed for this generation.

Mastering: What It Is and What It Isn't

Wisdom Moon — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 06:00:00 -0500

Mastering may be the single most misunderstood and underutilized tool in the world of audio production. Even many producers themselves don't understand mastering. I know I didn't understand what mastering was for the longest time. Now, I can't say that I am an expert at mastering, far from it, but I have learned a lot about mastering over the years that I think can be helpful information for many of you out there.

First off, not mastering your project is not an option. Trying to save money by skipping mastering is like a bride getting the most beautiful dress money could buy, but then walking down the aisle and having no make-up on. Skipping the mastering process to save some money cannot be a viable option for you during your music career. Okay? Okay.

WHAT MASTERING IS

Mastering is a technical process (which we aren't really trying to get into the specifics here) of squeezing out dbs, sweetening certain frequencies, and giving music the sonic space it deserves. Mastering also makes quiet parts of the mix louder, and gives the track an overall smoothness and volume boost. Mastering also gives the mix depth and warmth that just cannot be achieved through mixing alone.

No matter how well a project is mixed, it still needs to be mastered to give it the polish and shine that people are so used to hearing on the radio and on their favorite CDs. Look inside the cover of your favorite CDs...I promise you they were all mastered by someone or some studio.

WHAT MASTERING ISN’T

So mastering is a process of sweetening audio that exists in the mix already. Mastering is not a continuation of the MIX stage. When you reach the mastering stage, you no longer have control over individual aspects of the mix. Mastering is not a chance to fix a bad mix. It's just not possible. I can't turn down an acoustic guitar or the kick drum when the mix is finalized. Mastering cannot correct a bad EQ job where the snare drum has too much ringing. If I were to cut the mid range ring out of the snare in the mastering process, I will effect the entire mix, losing the guitars, keys, bass, and most of the vocals with it.

I received a track a few weeks ago that had distorted vocals in several areas and the artist asked me what I could do about it. I said that I could make the distortion on the vocal track sound thicker and louder, but that was about it. I suppose he wasn’t happy with my response. I guess he was looking for me to say that I could go back in time and tell the engineer recording the project to re-track the parts where the vocals were overloading, clipping, and distorting. Unfortunately, the government hasn't approved my time machine designs, or that's exactly what I would have done.

WRAP UP

I understand that you want your songs to sound fantastic. I get it...I really do. I wish there was a magical plugin that I could activate that was titled "big budget sound". But unfortunately I'm still developing that plugin. So again, when you reach the mastering stage, you are stuck with the sounds you have! Mastering is not a process that will turn sub-par mixes into big arena sounding mixes. I wish it could, because then I could spend a lot less time mixing so meticulously. Mastering is simply making what is already in the mix really shine.

Sean is a full-time producer and songwriter in Lawrenceville, GA.
www.uphillstudiosonline.com

Songwriters Webinar with Dustin Smith

Wisdom Moon — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 22:45:14 -0500

We're excited to to host 4 training webinars this month for worship songwriting! They will be taught by Daniel Bashta (writer of "Like A Lion"), Chris McClarney ("Your Love Never Fails"), James Tealy (writer of "We Are" - Kari Jobe), and our very own Dustin Smith!

The first of these series takes place this Tuesday (4/9):

Crafting The Invisible by Dustin Smith (just $30)
April 9th, 8pm - 9:30pm CST

Dustin has been positioned as a leader of today’s worship revolution. Along with being in revival, traveling, songwriting, & leading worship, Dustin's influence is showing up on the international scene as an authority in worship, reaching many nations: Japan, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, England, Canada and more, as thousands are experiencing the presence of God through his music.

In 2013 Dustin signed as a staff songwriter with Integrity Music. He has written songs with Jennie Lee Riddle, Michael Farren, Mia Fieldes, Jon Egan, and many others.

Click Here to Register

If you would like to register for all 4 webinars, you can save $45 and purchase the All Access Pass at just $75

Exclusive Interview with Mars Hill rock band - Citizens

Wisdom Moon — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 22:15:00 -0500

Our team member, Mathew Reames, recently had the opportunity to interview Zach Bolen, leader of Citizens - a high energy indie rock band from Mars Hill U-District. (Mars Hill Church is led by Pastor Mark Driscoll.)

Mathew: Thank you for taking the time to speak with us. I have heard your album and really enjoy it. I love that it is different and has a sound that is uniquely your own. How did you find this sound and decide it was how you wanted to define your band?

Zach: It kind of just happened. Everyone in the band came in with a ton of different influences and thankfully they knew what sounded good. So really the challenge was saying no to a lot of the guys’ ideas. From the beginning I wanted to write and arrange songs that were like war anthems. As soon as the band had that vision it was pretty easy for them to help craft a sound that supported that idea.

Mathew: Since you lead worship actively in your church, how does that affect your songwriting process?

Zach: Tremendously. I constantly have the congregation in mind when writing for two reasons. The first, I want to write songs that are true to what the word declares. Music is one of the most common things that people would say they use to connect with God. That’s not to say that’s it’s the only way, but music is so accessible and when you combine that with great theology it becomes a really solid way to instill gospel truths into the hearts of your congregation.

The second one is the melody. A lot of times I’m thinking, ‘Would men be able to sing this?’ Not, would they be willing, but able. A lot of men in the church don’t sing, and this is a huge issue of leadership. The Word is clear in its command (Psalm 47) for ALL people to shout loud songs of joy. When I write I want the song to involve the whole body, not just people who “love” to sing.

Mathew: One of the songs that I really liked off of the new album was “Hail the King.” It really has a great anthem-like feel to the chorus. What is the story behind the song?

Zach: “Hail the King” went through the ringer before we got to where it is. From the beginning I knew I wanted it to be based out of Romans 5, but I really struggled with what direction musically to take it in. You see in Romans 5 everything from justification, to suffering and how that produces hope and just flat out rejoicing over the glory of God.

As much as I could, I really wanted this song to tie as closely to the passage as possible. As soon as we landed on the hook, “we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God,” (Romans 5:2) it became super easy to know which direction to take the song. From there we chose to really focus on justification and being made right with God and how, through the work of Jesus, we receive a hope that is everlasting...one that we can find great joy in; even sing about.

Mathew: I know you lead worship at Mars Hill’s U-District Campus. However, several of the songs on the album are not what would traditionally be considered congregational. As a team that regularly leads worship, how did you balance the desire to write worship that engages the community, and worship that engages individually?

Zach: You know, when the entire record was finished I viewed the album in a very similar way. But as we started leading the congregation with the songs I was blown away by how much they connected with them immediately. Each song on the album certainly wouldn’t fit every context but depending on where you are located, it wouldn’t be out of the question for a worship leader to find a purpose for any one of the songs. This album was written to serve the local church, not just a subculture that likes a particular style of music.

Before we started working on the record we prayed that the Holy Spirit would do things in us that we had never done before. So what I boast in is not our work, but what God has done. “Oh God” would be an example of a song that I never really intended to be congregational, but some people heard it and really connected with it, and so we started using the song in our rotation and God really used that to minister to people. Even the songs that seem very focused on the individual can have a place in the congregational setting I suppose.

Mathew: Mars Hill is a large church with many campuses and different staff involved at each campus. As leaders at the U-District campus, are you actively connected and involved with other campuses, or is your worship ministry specifically targeted only on U-District?

Zach: Most of our churches have a variety bands, who specifically focus on the local church where God has called them to be on mission. With that being said, there is a great community amongst all the churches. It is not uncommon for bands to swap churches for a weekend and lead a different congregation.

Because each church is uniquely located in its own region, everyone’s context varies. So that’s why you hear a lot of different styles of music coming from Mars Hill, that’s not because we all want to be different, but because we are all on mission in different parts of the city or West Coast, and each context may call for something a little different, or a variety of different styles for that matter. All that being said, what we know is that the only way we can successfully lead our churches, is if we are committed to the local mission.

Mathew: With so many campuses, worship teams, and creative people, how has the collective community of Mars Hill helped to shape your music, ministry, and more importantly, your walk with Christ.

Zach: Daily I am blown away by the talent that God has brought to Mars Hill. In comparison to a lot of the other worship leaders at Mars Hill, I’m really one of the new guys. So I’m constantly learning from the guys who have been around a lot longer on how to best lead the congregation. All of the guys I serve with love Jesus, and are committed to making the worship of Jesus the main thing, not creativity. I think because that is the focus, it’s the reason so many great originals and arrangements have come out of the other worship leaders at Mars Hill.

When we put our ego to the side and realize that we can’t make Gospel Truth better than it already is, we have a better understanding of our place as heralds of the Gospel. This has been a huge area of growth for me over the past few years. I’m really thankful for the community of leaders that we have that are willing to ask hard questions because they want the same done for them. This allows us to sharpen one another and continually grow not only in our walk with Jesus but our faithfulness as leaders in the church.

Mathew: One final question, many of our readers are worship leaders and songwriters themselves. Do you have any specific things you would like to share with them?

Zach: I’ll leave you with something I tell our worship leaders at the U-District all the time and it’s something I would challenge you to share with even the musicians on your worship teams.

It’s this: We are in a war, with an advantage that no one in battle has ever had. We know the outcome, and it’s total victory. Imagine if you were a soldier in a war that had been lasting for years. Many times you thought it would never end and even began to lose hope. Until one day the General comes up to you and says, “You see that city over there? I want you to go tell all of them that the WAR IS OVER! We’ve WON and I, (the General) have just defeated the enemy!”

Your next move would certainly not be to casually walk through streets and tell people, “No!” You would be running up to everyone you could find, banging on doors, and telling people the war is over and we have victory, all the while, calling people to join you in the celebration!

Every Sunday is a rallying of the troops (Psalm 47). Your job as a worship leader is to remind people of the incredible hope that we have in Christ Jesus and it’s a hope that we can cling to for our entire lives. That’s the gospel, and the gospel is the only thing that can truly motivate anyone for good, and it’s something we as God’s people need to be reminded of constantly.

Every gathering should be a celebration of Jesus, no matter the pain, suffering, loss or devastation, our call to declare the riches of the grace of God does not change. In fact, it increases.

Mathew: Once again thanks so much for joining us. It is an honor to get this chance to hear your heart and your vision.

You can find Citizens music on iTunes or at your local Christian book store or Walmart. Be sure to follow them on Facebook and Twitter. You can also check out their page on Mars Hill’s website.

Exclusive Interview with Samuel Lane

Wisdom Moon — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 07:15:00 -0500

Samuel Lane is one of Vineyard UK’s most prolific songwriters of the past few years. With songs such as “Beautiful” (used by Jesus Culture on their Your Love Never Fails release); and “Adore Him” (from Vineyard UK’s My Soul Yearns); Samuel’s songs really capture the heart of what Vineyard worship is all about: simple love songs to our Saviour. Samuel’s first studio album The Fire was released at the end of January and our guest interviewer, Ed Rotheram, had the opportunity to chat with him regarding the release, songwriting, and Vineyard worship.

Ed: Samuel, thank you for sharing with us. First up - the album was released at a Vineyard National Leaders’ Conference with a theme of Vision - with that in mind, could you explain some of the vision behind The Fire?

Samuel: Sure... I really just wanted The Fire to be a vehicle for people to connect with God. Whether that’s in the church, or at home listening to it on their own. It’s a collection of songs that have come from the overflow of my heart over the last couple of years. And I didn’t look to write with a particular vision in mind but for me the core themes are God’s presence, our response to Him, and our dependence on Him. And also the reality of a life walking in relationship with God.

Ed: There is a definite feeling of “togetherness” in this album, it flows well and is really easy to connect with. Did most of the songs start the way they ended up, or did some of this feel come out in the production?

Samuel: It was a really great experience in the studio with Bobby Hartry. One of our first conversations was just about the music we love and what my vision was for the overall sound of the project. And right away it was evident that we were pretty much right there on the same page.

There weren’t many surprises in the studio and generally it just felt like the vision was ‘coming into being’ as it were. I think that’s also one of Bobby’s strengths as a producer; the ability to make you sound like you… just better! He was very deliberate about making sure that I was happy with the way things were turning out. It really was an amazing experience and one I’m still so thankful to God for. God was all over it! A real blessing!

Ed: The album was recorded at your brother-in-law Darren Clarke’s studio in California (Darren & Samuel’s sister Jessie wrote “I Love Your Presence”, among others). Did this make it an easier process, given the underlying strength in the relationship?

Samuel: Actually, it wasn’t their studio. The week before, I tracked a vocal there, but The Fire was recorded in Bobby’s Cat Beach Studio in LA 4 hours south. As soon as I knew I was recording in LA I wanted to get them both involved. That’s when I asked them whether I could put their song ‘Your Love Endures’ on it also. It’s a really simple and beautiful little song. I interned under Darren for 3 months back when I was a teenager and they’ve always been a real encouragement to me. And it just felt so right to have family on it.

I went out a week early to see them, finish off lyrics and get over the jet lag, etc. And they came down for a couple days and tracked a few parts for me. It was a real blessing. The whole recording felt like a family experience, it was a bit surreal. Bobby and Jen are great people and they really just shared their lives with us for those few weeks we had.

Ed: Many of the lyrics on The Fire reveal a deep intimacy with Jesus, with many gospel truths coming to the fore. Were there any specific places or themes in scripture that were speaking to you as you were writing the lyrics?

Samuel: Well, Psalm 23 was a big one, God’s presence and rest. A bit of that came out in ‘The Father’, another song called ‘Merciful’ has it all over it, but we ended up cutting that song in favour of Jeremy Riddles’s ‘Fall Afresh’ (I’m gonna have to record ‘Merciful’ sometime, it’s one of my favourites). There’s a lot of Bible in this album.

One of my songwriting disciplines once I know the vision or the direction of the song is to research that theme in the Bible and try to truly understand and get my head around it. I want to find the truths in it and get it right. You’ll find lots of little lines you recognize here and there.

Ed: The Vineyard church, as a whole, has been known for a long time for it’s passion and heart for worship. Could you describe how the values of Vineyard worship have shaped you, both as a leader and as a songwriter?

Samuel: Well, the three values are Intimacy, Integrity, and Accessibility. For me intimacy has been a life changer. The knowledge that God has made himself available to us, that we can know him truly as a friend, a father, a brother. That has shaped my life. I’ve always wanted to know Jesus as the disciples did, just in the every day. Yes, He is the almighty creator God… But He can also be our friend. You can’t tag intimacy as a ‘Jesus is my girlfriend’ thing. It’s not about that at all.

It’s been a real privilege to grow up within the Vineyard since I was 7, and integrity is just something that becomes part of you. For me you can’t have passion, without integrity. You can’t have relationship without integrity. You can’t have intimacy without integrity and you sure can’t have great songs without integrity. It’s such a key element. For me I have to keep myself honest in my songs otherwise you are singing a lie. And if you can’t sing it, you just can’t sing it.

For me integrity is not just about lyrics but also about music, and trying to find that balance between integrity and accessibility in the songs is sometimes a real challenge. So I’ve never really sort out to write congregational songs but I love to worship, and lead people into the presence of God and so a lot of my songs come out of that heart. Let the song be the song, don’t try and change it to be something it isn’t.

Ed: Finally, on a light-hearted note, I’ve got to ask: Bobby Hartry is credited in the sleeve notes as having played (among a ton of other instruments), an iPhone on this release. This is the first time I’ve seen this listed. Where does it appear and what is it doing?

Samuel: Yeah, there’s loads of great little touches. Jimmy [Cooke (Executive Producer)] and I had a lot of fun watching him in action. Bobby breaks out of the box all over the place. One particular part I saw was a Brian Eno app he had on his iPhone. He put an electric guitar humbucker into the soundhole of an old vintage acoustic and turned up the gain really high and then would use the sound of the iPhone which would vibrate the strings and then get picked up by the pickup and fed through various reverbs and delays into the guitar amp. Lots of little tricks like that.

He used an Ebow to bring the strings of his acoustic to the point of rattling against the guitar and recorded that, put a little keyboard through all his pedals, used an old wind-up toy monkey thing. A lot of that stuff found it’s way onto ‘the road’ but you can hear little touches of it all over the place, one example being the high pitched squeals on ‘Fiery Love’. There’s loads of depth, and a lot of interesting little layers in the tracks. It’s well worth listening to the CD on a decent pair of headphones to really get the full picture of what’s going on.

Ed: Samuel, thank you for your time and insights, it’s been a real pleasure and a load of fun talking with you!

You can pick up a copy of The Fire here. This album was released on Vineyard UK’s national record label - you can find out more about them here.

Exclusive Interview with Lance Herring

Wisdom Moon — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 07:05:00 -0600

I recently had a chance to catch up with independent singer/songwriter, Lance Herring, to discuss songwriting and music.

Wisdom: When and how did you first start writing songs?

Lance: I first started writing songs when I was about 17 years old. I had just been asked to lead worship for our high school youth group (you know, that thing they call “student ministry” now), and I thought it would be fun to write some songs to sing together. They were awful, though. The kind of songs inspired in the wee hours of the morning; the kind of songs you think are automatic platinum hits; the kind of songs you wake up the next morning and say to yourself, “What on earth was I thinking?!”

Wisdom: What styles of music do you typically write?

Lance: I seem to write mostly contemporary worship/rock, with a teeny tiny amount of folk thrown in for kicks and grins. I’d love to write some stuff with some more soul! But alas, “soul” still eludes me.

Wisdom: What instruments do you like to write with?

Lance: I primarily write on my acoustic guitar. Everything on Until the Sun Goes Out (my freshmen EP) was written on acoustic. I’d like to branch out a bit, though, to piano, ukulele, jaw harp, etc. I’m trying to find something to get the creative juices flowing differently.

Wisdom: What is your songwriting process like? Where and how do you find inspiration for songs?

Lance: Each song was written differently. Some, out of necessity, I write in a single day. Some have taken over a year, and one in particular took five minutes. It’s my mom’s favorite song off my EP, called “Overtake this Place.”

I was in Africa doing some mission work with a group of college students. Each morning, we’d wake up and spend time together in prayer and devotion. One morning, they asked me to sing some worship songs over them as they read. I began to sing some older songs and felt the Lord whisper, “Sing your own song.” And so I did. From start to finish, inspired by what I had experienced in Africa, the entire song was written all at once. Afterward, one guy said, “Hey, man, I really like that one song you did, “Overtake this Place. Who wrote that?” I said I did, and he asked how long ago I had written it. I replied, “Just now!” It was one of the most amazing songwriting experiences of my life.

Wisdom: How often do you face writer’s block and how do you typically deal with it?

Lance: It’s the worst! I usually give up and go play disk golf or surf. Sometimes I’ll try switching instruments. It seems every instrument has its own song inside of itself. So whether it’s an old instrument I have lying around the house or a weird instrument at an antique shop, I’ll take a minute and explore that instrument to see what it has to say. (Surfing is sometimes beneficial, because it’s peaceful. Usually disc golf sends my writer’s block frustration into a downward spiral…I’m not very good at disc golf.)

Sometimes I’ll try using a key I don’t usually write in, something with a lot of sharps or flats (thank God for the capo!). Or sometimes I’ll read a book, some poetry, or a hymnal I “borrowed” from an old Presbyterian church I used to live by. Other times I look at inspiring photographs or paintings—anything to get my mind out of “ordinary” mode.

Wisdom: What’s something you wish a more seasoned songwriter would’ve told you when you were first starting out, that you could share with beginner writers that might be reading this?

Lance: Not every song you write is meant to be heard. Write some songs for special relationships in your life, especially some songs meant only to be shared between you and God.

It takes 10 bad songs to get to one good song. Write often and don’t get overly attached to your songs.

Wisdom: What is God speaking to you about right now, in general or in your songwriting?

Lance: It’s always something new. Right now, He’s encouraging me to step outside of my comfort zone relationally, to be more intentional about the people who are in my life and even the people who aren’t. I think that relates to songwriting a lot, actually. Especially when writing songs for congregational worship and getting outside of our comfort zone.

I have a relationship with the songs I write. Each song is written as a friendship. It starts out new and exciting, and as it progresses, I can either press in deep and really learn and explore all the dark spaces of my new friend and bring them to light and restoration or I can be apathetic toward it, leave it behind, and move on. I’d like to choose to lean into my relationships/songs.

Wisdom: Thanks so much for taking the time to share with us! Readers, you can find Lance’s EP, Until the Sun Goes Out, on iTunes, Spotify, and BandCamp

You can also connect with him on facebook.com/lanceherringmusic, and twitter.com/lance_herring

Ear vs. Gear

Wisdom Moon — Wed, 06 Feb 2013 23:10:42 -0600

When you listen to music, what do you use? Your ears. Think about it...your two ears are the only tool you have on your body to understand music. Your ears will cause your body to do other things like dance, play a guitar solo on air guitar, or air drum, but your ears are interpreting the sound that causes those reactions. Sure you can somewhat "feel" low-end frequencies, but your ears are still the devices that interpret those frequencies into music. You obviously can't see, taste, touch, or smell the music coming out of the speakers in the car, from your iPod, or in a movie theater.

When you go into a studio, what do you expect to see? Watching any amount of music television will lead anyone to expect to see a big mixing board with 50 faders, flashing lights, isolation booths, acoustical treatments all over the walls, 4 different sounding pairs of "true" speakers (which is ironic in itself), and so on and so forth. Why do we expect to see anything at all? Shouldn't our ears tell us everything we need to know about a studio?

This expectation from an artist to "see" something when they visit a studio WILL lead them to pick the wrong studio for their album. The single most important thing an artist should be looking at is the portfolio of past projects of the studio. If you, as the artist, like what you hear in the portfolio, odds are that you are going to like the way your project turns out.

Many years ago I personally knew a young artist who chose a studio because of the amount of preamps, microphones, and facilities they had over my own studio at the time. Was I disappointed? Sure. I felt like I could have produced an excellent record with the artist, but how could I compete with a studio that has me beat in almost every category in gear?

Fast forward three months and I get a copy of the EP. I popped the CD in with full expectation to hear an amazingly polished sounding recording. I, like most of us, figured that with all that gear, all those mics, it should sound incredible. When I say the production was awful, the mix was more than bad, and vocals were ear piercing...that's being nice.

After listening to the EP I went to the studio's website and listened to some of their portfolio. All the mixes were comparable to my disappointed friend's mix. She admits her mistake now as she was also concerned about the other mixes she had heard on their website, but you can't time travel back and get your money back and change the mix once it's printed!!! Watching my friend go through that experience taught me something very invaluable that I'm trying to impart here...only use your ears!

The fact is that a studio can "out-gear" another studio by tens-of-thousands of dollars means absolutely nothing if they don't have the people in place to properly capture the sound, mix it, and master it with excellence.

Always remember that anyone can press record. It's true. All I have to do is press space bar. What you are "looking" for when you choose a studio has nothing to do with what your eyes can see as physical reality, it has to do with aural reality. You shouldn't even be looking for a studio...you should be listening for one.

You'd almost be better off to visit studios in a blindfold because your eyes will lie to you. They will tell you that all those flashing lights must do something unexplainable, out of all those microphones there must be one that's going to capture my voice, out of all the software and plug-ins on their computers that there must be one that will make my album sound great. I wish it were true, because I would just go to the bank, take out a fat loan and just buy a massive ton of gear.

Close your eyes and trust your ears.

Sean is a full-time producer and songwriter in Lawrenceville, GA.
www.uphillstudiosonline.com

Thoughts on Songwriting from Jonathan David and Melissa Helser (video)

Wisdom Moon — Mon, 04 Feb 2013 23:17:09 -0600

Worship leaders/songwriters, Jonathan David and Melissa Helser, share thoughts on songwriting, spontaneous worship, and more.

Exclusive Interview with James Tealy (Songwriter / Artist / Worship Leader / Teacher)

Wisdom Moon — Mon, 28 Jan 2013 23:08:26 -0600

This week I had the opportunity to interview Centricity Music staff songwriter, James Tealy. He co-wrote the single "We Are" off of Kari Jobe's album. But, he is much more than just a staff writer. You will know what I mean when you read this interview...

Wisdom: Most of our readers probably have not heard of you before. I got a chance to meet you last year when I hosted the Hymnish songwriting retreat in Nashville with Michael Farren. I quickly learned from Michael that you are a prolific writer.

As a songwriter, your songs have been recorded by Kari Jobe, Chris August, Matt Papa, Abandon, and more than 40 others. Your songs have also been featured in both film and TV including networks NBC, CBS, ABC Family, UPN and more.

Your Twitter bio (@JamesTealy) simply says: Songwriter / Artist / Worship Leader / Traveling CD Salesman. Could you start off by briefly describing how each of those roles play out in your life?

James: I've been signed as a staff writer for 9 years now (6 years at Universal Music Publishing and 3 years at Centricity Music). In 2005 Universal added an artist development deal to my contract. We made an EP and a full length album they never released and I've continued to record my own songs periodically since then.

About 150 days a year I'm on the road with a crew of great friends leading worship (mostly at student events, camps, and conferences) selling the music we make along the way. I actually wear a few more hats than I decided to put on the twitter bio. I teach songwriting now at a small Christian college, have been on staff at several church plants and travel internationally a few times a year teaching, preaching, and leading worship as well.

Honestly, I've become addicted to the chaos and would have a difficult time readjusting to just one steady job. My wife and I are both self-employed and this journey has taught us reliance and a desperate dependance on God's provision and guidance.

Wisdom: "We Are" is a song that you co-wrote (with Chuck Butler and Hillary McBride), which is on Kari Jobe's Where I Find You album. Love the song! Could you share what the co-writing process for a song like this looks like?

James: That song has had such a fun life. I was leading worship at our church in Nashville and our college pastor was preaching from the sermon on the mount in Matthew 5. As he read those famous words from Jesus he turned to me and said, "James, we need a song that helps us declare that truth to one another. We need to shout this fundamental attribute to one another to remind ourselves who we are and how to live. We are the light of the world!" I responded, "by the end of the sermon?" Thankfully he said no.

The next morning I woke up early thinking about the writing appointment I had in a few hours. Hillary McBride was preparing to record an album and Chuck Butler and I were going to help her find something to sing. Still in bed, I started searching for a way to approach Matthew 5:14. And of course the place my brain naturally went was "We Will Rock You" by Queen. I could hear a stadium full of believers stomping out that iconic beat and I instinctively began singing the chorus of "We Are" over the top of it. I shook the bed just enough to wake up my wife and she pushed me out of the covers and said "go record it already!"

Later that morning I brought the idea to Hillary and Chuck and we fleshed out the rest of the song that day in Chuck's studio. Then the song sat for a year while Hillary's project came and went. Finally my publisher set the song free and sent it over to Kari's team. Since then it has been recorded a least 4 times now plus my own version for MALE worship leaders that just released this week.

Wisdom: You've been a staff writer with Centricity Music since 2009. We have many songwriters visit our site and I know they would love to hear about your "success". How did you get to where you are?

James: I was on staff at a church in New Orleans and was writing songs for our context there fairly regularly. One year my wife bought my registration to a Christian songwriting conference as a Christmas gift. The first day I signed up for a song critique session with a veteran writer. He dug the lyric. (It was a bizarre song but had some imagery he dug and hooky chorus.) We had lunch.

Later he called to set up a meeting for me with his publisher in Nashville. I happened to be in town mastering a choral project for my church and we met for lunch that day. The two of them set up some co-writing opportunities for me in Nashville. Two years and 12 trips to Nashville later I had signed my first songwriting deal with Universal. The song from that first critique session was never recorded (and never will be! Too bizarre.)

That is an EXTREMELY rare path into the music industry but it was my story.

Wisdom: You have a brand new EP that just released, called Hallelujah Always, which you alluded to. I've been listening to it over and over, every chance I get! I love the way you recorded the project. It has a "live" feel, but at the same time has a "studio" feel. What was your vision for this project and who all were involved with it?

James: Thank you so much! I get a little needy and insecure whenever something new comes out so a little encouragement goes a long way. I really wanted worship leaders to hear these songs and say "I can hear how this would sound in my church." We kept arrangements fairly straight ahead and tried to range the songs so they would be more singable. Every song is led either on acoustic or piano with a basic rhythm section, two electric guitars, a synth pad, and maybe a rhythmic loop (I'm still trying to figure out the best way to make these tracks available to worship leaders).

We had a crew of college students worship with us at the beginning of the recording process. We recorded them first with just my acoustic guitar and then added the rest of the instrumentation later and that really shaped the vibe of the whole record.

I co-produced the album with my great friend and prolific co-writer Brian Hitt. His musicianship and attention to detail wow'ed me every day. The guys who travel with me all the time played bass and drums and sang some harmonies. Beyond the feel of it all, I recorded these five songs because their lyrics matter so deeply to me. Every one of these songs fills out a special place in my own personal worship.

Wisdom: You've written a ton of songs so far, probably more than most of us could dream to write in our lifetime. Why did you decide to do an EP verses a full-length album?

James: You're describing an excruciating, heart-breaking part of my job. The truth is, I turn in an average of 60 songs a year and only 12-15 of those ever make it out of my publisher's office and into the light. I don't believe it's because those 15 were necessarily better than the others, it's just the way it goes.

I started this process in August of 2012 with a playlist of 21 potential songs. I knew I wanted the album to be focused on the corporate worship of the church and so I gave myself some criteria (singability, theological/theme consistency, crowd response) and started ranking the songs. I sought feedback from the team at Centricity and from my circle of confidants.

Eventually, the list began focusing in on the five we would include. It is deeply painful to let go of some songs because I fear no one will ever hear them and every song has some special piece of my heart woven through it. So, we landed where we landed and at the end of the day I'm EXTREMELY proud of these five songs and the theological ground that they cover.

Wisdom: Wow! That is very eye-opening! The songs on the EP definitely are filled with great theological truths and depth. Lastly, could you share some encouragement for those of us who may be discouraged as songwriters?

James: I would be honored to. You don't work as a songwriter for this long without tasting your own share of discouragement. Whenever a writer tells me they are struggling to finish their songs I get super-stoked. It means that you haven't been willing to SETTLE for trite lyrics and easy, cliche themes. Sometimes being stuck means you're holding tight to a standard of excellence that I think can be God-honoring.

Now, at the same time, I remember a wise co-writer reminding me, "a writer's got to write!" Sometimes forcing yourself to write mediocre lyrics is the bridge you have to walk across to get to the good lyrics. And doing the disciplined work of crafting a Good song is the door you have to walk through to get to the Great songs. Forward movement is the key!

An amateur writer might tell me that the best song they've ever written is that last one. But a GREAT writer knows their best song is always that NEXT one. Keep writing. We've already hit our quota of good songs or "just as good as" songs. The Church is in desperate need of Great songs that will lift her eyes and challenge her to look more like her Lord. Keep writing!

Wisdom: That is very encouraging and inspiring! Thank you so much for taking the time to visit with us! This has been really good!

Be sure to check out James' new EP and find out more about him at JamesTealy.com You can also find him on Twitter and Facebook.

The Indie Image (Part 2)

Wisdom Moon — Wed, 23 Jan 2013 18:51:20 -0600

As we continue the journey to clean up the independent artist’s image, there are a couple more topics that must be addressed.

I am an indie artist junkie! I spend many hours looking through profiles, listening to new music, and just being baptized in the indie music scene. Through that passion I have come to learn some things that helps separate a “good” profile from a “bad” one. If you haven’t had a chance read the first article in this series, you can view it here where we looked at profile pictures and the music itself. There are more items, however, to be addressed!

THE BIOGRAPHY
If you have both grabbed someone with your profile picture, and moved them with your music, then they may begin to look at other parts of your page. My first reaction as I browse for music is to move on to reading the Biography of the artist.

I highly suggest you write your Bio in third person if possible. Ask for help writing it. Get an outsider's opinion on grammar, sentence structure, and how the bio should flow. A bio should also flow like a song and take you somewhere. It should have a clear message about who you are and what you are about.

Things that I commonly see that I suggest you NOT include: band break ups (or a trite story about how the band formed), bands/artists you’ve played with previously or recently shared the stage with, years you’ve been doing music, how old you are, your musical accolades (unless they are professional awards), and other insignificant facts that aren’t appealing to a casual reader.

Focus your bio on what you are about musically. Sell who you are and what you care about. Also, the first sentence should be attention grabbing, and not this…which I read yesterday…“We are up and coming in Christian music and we are going to be signed soon…” I only read the rest for entertainment. And don’t use the words “up-and-coming” because that’s in every Bio out there. Keep your bio generally short, well focused, and well crafted. A polished Bio can go a long way to impress a potential life-long fan!

STATUS UPDATES
We live in a status update world. This is how artists/bands connect on a daily basis with fans. So as I sift through pages and see all sorts of updates I have come to learn a few things from seeing professional artist status updates and indie artist status updates.

Try to limit your updates to one or two per day. Unless you have something major going on, you should be able to capture anything necessary in one update. Try to limit the amount of status updates that ask people to do something for you, whether it be, “buy our new CD”, or “listen to our new song”, or “click on this link”. People follow your band on Twitter and Facebook because they want a behind the scenes look, not to be bossed around into increasing your play counts or YouTube views.

Maybe tweet a photo of the band in the studio, or a quick video of the artist setting up for a concert, or a picture of you guys/gals at lunch. People aren’t following you for a continual advertisement about yourself. If they follow you, they already like you, they want to get to know you better.

Try to keep the updates professional, no picture is better than a bad picture, no questionable language or comments, no inside jokes, and try to avoid negativity…people get enough negative from the news already.

Set up a different account for your band page that is different from your personal. If you go by your name…call it “John Smith Music”. This will free you up to have a personal account to joke around on and have fun, while having a more of a “professional” account, since your music is your profession, right?

Lastly, be personable. People follow you to find out who you are as an artist/band, not the monotony of what everyday life on the road feels like. Try to answer the question “Who is this artists?” and each update shows followers a new aspect of your personality, and/or interests.

WRAP UP
A clear and simple Bio and professional yet personable status updates can begin changing your image from indie to professional for free. We can all strive to clean up our image somewhat. I believe that the level of the image you portray will directly influence the level of followers/fans you have.

Sean is a full-time producer and songwriter in Lawrenceville, GA.
www.uphillstudiosonline.com

The Indie Image (Part 1)

Wisdom Moon — Thu, 27 Dec 2012 09:08:07 -0600

The music industry can seem like a massive competition for people’s attention. Image is probably the single most important tool an independent level artist can use to grab a passer-by’s attention. I think we can all agree that image nowadays plays a major role in any artist’s career.

With things like YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and the like, people expect to “see” something, and see something good. As an indie artist without financial backing for photo shoots, video shoots, and website design, image can be the single largest disparity between an indie and a bigger name artist.

Even I, an indie music enthusiast, still find myself most attracted to indie artists that put forth a polished image. After looking through thousands of band profiles (professional and indie), on many different websites, I have begun to notice a distinct recipe for a polished image. So here begins a two-part series that takes a look at that recipe for success that will improve your image, your appeal, and ultimately your fan base without dropping thousands upon thousands of dollars for an overhaul!

PROFILE PIC
The first thing a potential new fan will see, and will be judging you on, is your profile/website picture. Your artist picture should be something that not only grabs attention and is interesting in and of itself, but also says something about yourself and your music. Standing in the trees, or leaning up against a brick wall with your acoustic guitar, however, does not say anything to anyone… and trust me, it’s been done before.

Put yourself in the mindset of a casual internet browser searching for new music…are you more likely to click on artist’s profile with a cool, interesting photograph, or on an artist’s profile with a picture obviously taken with a point-and-shoot that could easily be a profile picture on facebook? Your picture should be professional...period.

I rarely will urge artists to spend money they don’t have, but it's different this time. Your picture is your pick-up line in the dating world of music, so it has to be as close to perfect as possible. If it's not on a high level of excellence, you may never see that person again. So, hire someone with a portfolio that you love that can take high quality photos. Maybe you have to spend $200-300, but more people will visit your artist page, and ultimately more people will listen to your music.

And, just some friendly advice after seeing profile after profile...avoid band “logos”, and/or "cool" graphics, and/or words in general unless it is an official album cover of yours. Just a simple polished picture of you, or the band, is all you need.

THE MUSIC
The second item someone will look at on your page will be your music. Your music will be what people are most interested in. A new visitor especially will spend the most time investigating your songs while they briefly visit your page. Demos, scratch songs, and/or rough mixes should never appear anywhere on a profile/website. Why? They are unprofessional and unpolished. I see all too often artists pushing songs, especially "new songs", that are not enjoyable because of the lack of production.

I get an update..."hey, we have a new song posted, come check it out"...I click through. I arrive at the page to find out that the new songs are just demos/scratch. Not only does that disappoint me as a band/artist follower, but a “new song” isn’t any more new than your “old songs” to a first time visitor. Leave your new songs off your page until they are professionally produced.

Remember you, as the artist, are up against the entire industry of great sounding music. A casual passer-by won’t make an exception for your sound quality, because they have “standards” that they enjoy. Think about going to see a movie…when you go see a summer blockbuster, you have an expectation of the quality of the special effects and acting. The same applies here. People have expectations.

Use restraint and save your new stuff for when it is properly produced. You don’t hear the voice memos of Jesus Culture’s new song on their website. They wait to release the song, because they know the power of the first impression. You only get to impress someone with your song once! Don’t use that first impression up with a home demo. Put your best sounding songs up for listening, and leave off all the “demos”, “scratch tracks”, or anything that doesn’t sound polished, even if it is new. I personally would rather listen to something old and good sounding than something new and rough. People like to see positive progress.

WRAP UP
In my personal opinion, as an artist, your image will make or break you. Cleaning up your image is the first step to putting yourself a step above the countless profiles out there. The time for sub-par pictures and bad sounding music is over! You don’t gain a following by being okay with mediocre. Hear me when I say, there is a big difference between vanities and being into image in a bad way, and a healthy clean up of your image. We can all take good steps in a healthy direction to better represent ourselves.

Sean is a full-time producer and songwriter in Lawrenceville, GA.
www.uphillstudiosonline.com

Exclusive Interview with Anthony Skinner

Wisdom Moon — Fri, 21 Dec 2012 15:31:29 -0600

We recently had the opportunity to interview songwriter/producer/author/worship leader, Anthony Skinner. Here is the interview that Mathew Reames, one of our contributors, conducted with Anthony.

AAW: Anthony, I want to begin by thanking you for taking the time to talk with us. I am a long time fan. As a fan, the first thing I want to know is, when will you be releasing another album?

Anthony: Thanks Mat, I appreciate that. Right now, we’re looking to release a new live video/song every other week. You can see the latest video on www.immersion.tv, or www.youtube.com/immersiondottv, & www.youtube.com/anthonyskinner, and find the new songs on iTunes under Anthony Skinner & the Immersion Family Band. We have so many new songs that we are really excited about, and I can’t wait for people to hear them.

AAW: I know you do a lot of co-writing and your songs have been featured on many different albums. How does the co-writing work for you? What is the process?

Anthony: It’s really a person-by-person situation. Sometimes, you are co-writing with a worship leader or recording artist, and sometimes you are writing with another songwriter for a worship leader or recording artist. The process is very relational. Sometimes it can look like catching up, or maybe praying, and talking through an issue. All the relational stuff and the trust it brings, makes its way into the song eventually. At times, the job is to help a less experienced songwriter, worship leader, artist. Then, the process may have some mentoring… in terms of helping that writer or artist find their voice. That can be an exciting process to be a part of as well. What never changes is you are there to serve the song and the artist/worship leader.

AAW: What is the difference when you are writing alone versus co-writing?

Anthony: Well, I love doing both. Again, so much of co-writing is about relationship. I’d say 95% of the time, co-writing is a delight and you either catch up with an old friend or make a new one in the process. When co-writing you get to bat ideas back and forth, there’s a window of time and you have to “turn it on”, so to speak. God has been gracious to give me ideas in those windows. When writing on your own, there’s probably a little less pressure, and if need be, you can lean a little more on the muse and wait for the inspiration. I love and enjoy doing both!

AAW: Recently I had the chance to read your book - The Worship Smartbook. I loved it. What was it like writing a book on worship?

Anthony: The impetus for writing the book came out of traveling with my band and holding clinics in churches with worship leaders and their teams. I have a real passion to equip leaders and their teams. I love giving people what I call “real-world” tools that can help them excel. Over all it was probably about a 2 year process to write. I cataloged things along the way, brainstormed with my wife based on the needs we had seen, and the teachings we had done in churches, and then I just slowly knocked out the answers as time allowed.

My favorite part was finding a way to make the information user-friendly so that the ideas and tools are easily accessible for experts and novices alike.

AAW: Are you working on more instructional books?

Anthony: Yes, I have a few in the wings covering different topics that I’m really excited about.

AAW: What advice do you have for songwriters and aspiring authors?

Anthony: For songwriters: Co-write! I think co-writing is the best way to grow. Write every day. Aside from that, get out and play your songs for others (friends and strangers). Getting honest feedback via peoples’ responses can be really helpful. For authors, I think you just have to keep a slow and steady pace. It is a much longer process, and all the edits drove me a little crazy... but at the end, the product is done...just like a well crafted song. And it can be enjoyed forever. Very cool, I think.

AAW: Tell us about Anthony the producer.

Anthony: The process of producing came out of producing my own records, but I quickly saw it as an extension of the mentoring process. I really value the opportunity and process of producing another artist or worship leader, and I see it as an opportunity to champion someone else’s dreams, and see those dreams come to life. It is a dance of love, humility, patience, confidence, respect, timing, etc. You’re a little bit mentor, little bit psychologist, chef, listener…the list goes on. It’s a journey to figure out what the song and the artist are trying to become.

AAW: As a worship leader, songwriter, producer, and author, you probably have a lot of inspirations. What are the three things that have most influenced your work?

Anthony: Easily the most influential thing to influence my work, is having surrendered to the reality that God loves me. That changed everything. Secondly, I’m so grateful for the gift of music. Out of the four things you mentioned above, I would say I’m firstly a songwriter. It’s something I do, whether anyone would ever hear the song or not. So, I’d have to say early on I was influenced by great recordings, of great songs, sung by people who have/had a real gift for interpreting/phrasing a lyric and melody (all genres). Thirdly, it would be the people in my life (my wife and kids, friends, co-writers, etc).

AAW: I just want to thank you again for taking the time to talk to us. It is an honor and privilege to hear your heart. I thank God for your faithfulness and passion. Is there any final thoughts you want to share with our readers?

Anthony: Love God, and yourself and it will spill over to others. Be kind to strangers, and equally as kind to friends and family.

Interview with Jonathan Lee

Wisdom Moon — Thu, 20 Dec 2012 16:30:18 -0600

Here is an excellent interview with Jonathan Lee on songwriting, publishing, worship leading, what it means to be a staff writer, and more. If you are a songwriter, this is a must-listen! It may change your life! Seriously!

Jonathan co-wrote the song “When the Star Burn Down,” a radio single from Philips, Craig and Dean. “When the Stars Burn Down” has also been recorded and released by Rebecca St. James and Travis Cottrell. He is also a writer on the single from the Word Records group For King and Country – “The Proof of Your Love.”

As a writer, Jonathan has had cuts with the following artists: The Newsboys, Laura Story, Philips, Craig and Dean, Travis Cottrell, Rebecca St. James, Aaron Shust, and Tricia Brock.

Jonathan has been leading worship in some fashion since his early teens.

Lead sheets, chord charts, and teaching video for many of Jonathan’s song can be found at the website GreatWorshipSongs.com.

Download the interview or stream it:

The Producer's Ear

Wisdom Moon — Mon, 03 Dec 2012 23:50:41 -0600

When you listen to a song what do you hear? Do you hear lyrics and a melody? Do you mainly pay attention to the lead singer and how they sound? Or do you listen to the band? Or maybe you like to hear the shakers, tambourines, and background vocals that give the song texture?

Understanding how all of the elements of a song work independently from each other is the start of the long journey to understanding how a song is ultimately put together. The number one reason I feel that home production is lacking is because the person wearing the "producer hat" doesn't have a firm understanding of what should and what shouldn't be in a particular production. This article will briefly explore a very simple three step method to developing a better "producer's ear".

1. Step One: Honest assessment.

Take your favorite record and listen to it. Without changing EQs, volume knobs or any other settings, place your own production in the same listening environment. What changed? What is yours lacking? And again, we are after honest assessment here. Your production IS NOT on the same level of the Grammy Award winning productions that we all love. Why?

You have to begin to understand the shortfalls in your own production before you can begin to close the gap to make your production sound like an award winning production. Without understanding the differences between your production and a more professional production, your chances of closing the gap dramatically reduce.

I personally spend hours doing A-B tests with my productions versus a hugely budgeted Ed Cash production, for example. I literally sit and reflect on what I hear. Comparing the quality of your work to others is a dangerous game and it requires humility and an open mind. Comparing can be poisonous if you enter into A-B comparisons with the mind frame: "how is mine better?" The right attitude is, "What about their production is done better than mine?" When you can truly look at your production for what it is, and not what it almost is, you truly understand step one.

2. Step Two: Listen and learn.

So you have identified some things that your home recordings are lacking. Maybe you have been lacking good background vocal production, which by the way is true almost across the board for most inexperienced producers.

Just because you have identified that as an issue doesn't automatically make you good at producing backgrounds vocals. Now you must become a student. Continue to listen to records you love.

When is there harmony? Or maybe more importantly, when is there not harmony? Are there three part harmonies? Is it a high harmony on the chorus or a low harmony? In music, there are many harmonies to any given line. Choosing the right one is what you are training your ear to want to hear, so that way when you are producing your project your ear will literally want to hear a harmony in a particular place because you have trained yourself to want it!

There is a major difference between listening to music and dissecting it. I can remember growing up listening to a 20 second part of a song over and over and over and say, "How did they do that?" Truly becoming a student and being open to learn will propel your productions further and further.

3. Step Three: Trial and error.

Yes, there is no escaping the error part of trial and error. You will be forced to try things out that you can't properly execute. You will miss the mark. You will drop the ball. The key is, are you learning from it?

Does that shaker make sense there? Does the tambourine truly add energy in the bridge? Does the high harmony steal away "glory" from the lead vocal? Is the guitar tone the right one? Have I created a solid track?

The best way to learn and develop is to DO. No one can learn how to "produce" from reading articles and studying recording engineering. Although reading articles and studying the technical aspects of recording engineering can definitely help you along the way, nothing can replace hands on experience.

Get in your studio and make better recordings. Capture more inspired performances. Pursue excellence with the gear you have. And maybe most importantly, fall on your face, and learn.

Wrap up

Training your ear is a lifelong process. I unknowingly began training my ear for production when I seriously began digesting music just growing up and being fascinated by it.

Training never goes away. Music constantly changes and grows. What is fresh now will be "dated" in five years. That to me is the fun part! This simple three step process to developing your producer's ear will always apply no matter what level of success you achieve or how many awards sit on your shelf. Being honest about where you are, learning where you want to go, and trying your best to get there is a tried and true formula for improvement.

We can all make better recordings for the Kingdom of God. Don't you think God deserves our best? I think we can all take the extra steps, do our due diligence, and producer bigger and better music!

Sean Hill is a full-time producer and songwriter. Visit him online at uphillstudiosonline.com and follow him on Twitter.

A Songwriting Competition Worth Your While

Wisdom Moon — Tue, 27 Nov 2012 23:01:51 -0600

Kingdom Songs, a free source of songwriting tips and encouragement, introduces its first annual songwriting competition!

With judges like...
-Jennie Lee Riddle (Integrity Songwriter, “Revelation Song”, “When The Stars Burn Down”)
-Shelly E. Johnson (Lifeway Songwriter, “Power of the Cross”)
-Wisdom Moon (Founder of AllAboutWorship.com)
-Sean Carter (GMA’s Songwriter of the Year)
-Matthew Reed (Independent Songwriter)
-Sean Hill (Producer/New Nation Music Songwriter)
...this competition is sure to be incredible.

Up for grabs is over $2,500 in production prizes, personalized feedback on every entry, and future production discounts at Uphill Studios (www.uphillstudiosonline.com) for every entry received. The deadline for entry is January 5^th, 2013.

For more details, visit www.kingdom-songs.com

Songwriting: A Messy Business (Matt Redman)

Wisdom Moon — Sun, 11 Nov 2012 23:15:22 -0600

Check out this video on songwriting by well-respected worship songwriter, Matt Redman.

Interview with The Museum

Wisdom Moon — Sun, 11 Nov 2012 01:23:16 -0600

Here is an interview we did with lead singer of The Museum in February 2011 for The Songwriter's Cafe.

Download the mp3 or stream:

Interview with Kathryn Scott

Wisdom Moon — Sun, 11 Nov 2012 01:07:43 -0600

Here is an interview we did with Kathryn Scott in January 2011 for The Songwriter's Cafe. Enjoy!

Exclusive Interview with Chris Clayton

Wisdom Moon — Tue, 06 Nov 2012 02:03:13 -0600

We recently had the opportunity to interview worship leader and songwriter, Chris Clayton.

AAW: When and how did you first start writing songs?

Chris: I started writing songs in high school. I was in the typical "first band" and we needed songs. I remember sitting in church grabbing the offering envelopes in the pew and writing down lyric ideas during sermons. Sometimes it was something that the pastor said or something that just came to mind. I was young and they were probably not the most deep songs in the world but it was my outlet for getting started.

AAW: What style(s) of music do you typically write?

Chris: I would say 95% of what I write are worship songs for the Church to sing. That is my heart. I really desire for the Church to have great songs to sing back to their Creator. Nothing like it. I do write a small share of songs for the CCM artist pool as well.

AAW: What instrument(s) do you like to write with?

Chris: I mainly write with guitar. It's my first instrument when playing and leading. On occasion I will sit down at the piano and write. One of the song's off my latest CD was written by me sitting down at my Rhodes and just playing through chords and scatting out some lyrics. It was a sweet moment I will never forget. There is something about going about writing from a fresh perspective musically that is inspiring.

AAW: What is your songwriting process like? Where and how do you find inspiration for songs?

Chris: A lot of times it starts with a melody and a chorus idea. For me thats the meat of the song.` However, it is different for every song. I love the tension of sitting in a room with absolutely nothing and in a few hours an amazing song of worship is birthed. I am a strong believer that the inspiration for writing worship songs comes from an overflow of our relationship with Christ. As we grow and journey through life with Christ we should have an over abundance of material to write about.

AAW: How often do you face writer’s block and how do you typically deal with it?

Chris: I face it in phases. A lot of times I find myself just wanting to engage in conversation with people...hear their stories of victory and pain. That usually help me as a writer get back to the perspective that songs need to be about life. the struggles, wins and the in-between.

AAW: What’s something you wish a more seasoned songwriter would’ve told you when you were first starting out, that you could share with beginner writers that might be reading this?

Chris: Don't try and write a song. Live the song first and then put it down on paper.

AAW: What is God speaking to you about right now, in general or in your songwriting?

Chris: For me it is a constant reminder to trust Him. To rest in His sovereignty. He holds all things in order. As simple as that is to say its a constant battle of surrender.

AAW: How can people connect with you online and where can they find your music?

Chris: We are online at www.chrisclayton.org along with Facebook and Twitter. You can find our music on iTunes including the latest single, "My Soul Rests".

10 Steps to Becoming A Better Writer

Wisdom Moon — Tue, 30 Oct 2012 23:18:51 -0500

This infographic was originally intended for writers, but definitely applies to songwriters as well!

Like this infographic? Get more content marketing tips from Copyblogger.

Exclusive Interview with Bebo Norman

Wisdom Moon — Sun, 28 Oct 2012 17:07:38 -0500

We recently had the opportunity to interview songwriter/artist, Bebo Norman, about songwriting, his new album release, and more.

Joe: Congratulations on the imminent arrival of your latest release, Lights of Distant Cities. This is a captivating collection of songs that feels very personal. How did this project begin and how does the result compare to that initial seed?

Bebo: First of all, thank you for the kind words...I’m not certain what the “commercial viability” of this record will be, but I think this is my favorite record that I’ve made in a long, long time.

I started writing most all of these songs very much in the middle of a sort of desert season in my life, spiritually, but finished them after a sort of recovery process had happened. Honestly, in the beginning I was struggling to find a way to write about anything hopeful at all, but I really wanted to be true to the season that I was in in life, so I simply started to write about the hopelessness I was experiencing.

Thankfully, the writing process for me is a very slow one, and the timing was such that I finished nearly all of these songs after having come through that hopeless season. So I think what I ended up with were songs that speak whole heartedly to the desperation that comes with an almost emotion-less desert season, but also speaks to the hope that always seems to come out of those seasons.

So you have these individual songs where that whole process of desperation and recovery, of darkness and light, is represented within the same song. It’s as if two years of this spiritual journey are contained in 3 or 4 minutes of most every song. Rarely have I ever had songs that really represent a process in motion like that, songs written in real time, rather than reflection…where the whole story can be represented in one song. So there are songs like “Sing of Your Glory” that read like this:

When all I thought was sacred
Was shattered in the fallout
And my feet of clay the weight can no longer carry

When love is not a feeling
And hope feels like copout
The ground beneath my feet a sudden shift and I’m buried

But I’ll sing of your glory now
I’ll sing of your glory now
I’ll sing of your glory now and forever

Sonically this record is indeed quite a bit different for me. But I can say in all honesty that we didn’t set out to make it sound more like one genre or another. Gabe Scott and Ben Shive joined me in producing this record, the first we’ve all done together, and both of them have an intense ability to build these critical musical beds under songs that speak volumes into how the songs communicate. Since I wrote more than half of the record with Gabe [Scott], we had a vision from the very beginning to craft these songs as genuine classic songwriter songs (honest, personal, relatable concepts) and then treat them in a way musically and sonically that could capture some deep and vivid emotion.

What does joy sound like? Or serenity, ache, uncertainty, hope etc...what do all these emotions actually sound like? So that’s where we started on every song. We tried to answer those questions in the writing AND recording process. And wherever that led us musically, that’s where we went. So in the end, we just created music that we felt best voiced the emotion of each song, regardless of what direction or “genre” that music landed in.

Joe: You’ve mentioned that, in writing songs for this album, you’ve returned to a “place of freedom again creatively”. Have you felt creatively constrained in the past? If so, by what?

Bebo: I think in some ways things have sort of come full circle for me. In the beginning, as a young songwriter, I wasn’t thinking about “career”…I was just writing songs. There was so much freedom and beauty in that. But when people begin to hear your songs, and it does end up becoming your career, whether you admit it or not, you begin to be consciously or subconsciously influenced by what you think people want or need to hear.

I think having come through these last 17 years and having seen my career pass it’s “commercial peak” in many ways, and to realize that I’m still standing as a musician, I’ve sort of landed back in that place of freedom again now - where I don’t pretend to know what people want to hear anymore…because I genuinely don’t know. So now instead, I can write from that place of freedom and rawness again to just say what is true, where both beauty and ugliness have a voice. In that sense, this record might be more honest than any I’ve ever written.

Joe: You noted this album was written as if there was no such thing as radio. What does that mean and how does that change the resulting song?

Bebo: Yeah, we definitely decided that we would truly write and record every song as if there was no such thing as radio or “commercial viability.” Not AT ALL because I think radio or commercial success is bad, but because I genuinely wanted to make a record that was true to the spirit of creativity and not the spirit of "what do people want to hear."

Besides, I can say with all honesty that I have absolutely no clue what works and what doesn't work on Christian radio anymore. I think it's confirmation that I'm officially an old man in this business. In the end, I can’t think of a more fulfilling process of making a record…genuinely one of the most creative experiences of my life from start to finish.

Joe: Many of the songs are co-written with Gabe Scott, a multi-instrumentalist and long-time live collaborator. How did your relationship as performers translate into a songwriting partnership?

Bebo: It’s hard to make sense out of the fact that, after more than 10 years of working together on the road, Gabe and I had never written a single song together. In ways I think it’s because Gabe is really just now coming into his own as a songwriter and producer - hard as that is to believe considering how incredibly gifted he is as a musician, I think it’s just been in the past few years that Gabe has realized how much he has to offer to the actual “song creation” process.

And, I think also that Gabe and I have had a genuine friendship all these years that wasn’t really based on music. So when we weren’t “working” together on the road, we just spent time together as friends, with our families, not thinking or talking about music, but thinking and talking about life. I think in a way, we both worried that if we tried to write together and it failed, it would be hard on our friendship, so we just spent our energy pouring into each other as brothers, rather than as co-workers.

In the long run, I think that’s what made this process of writing and recording together come so natural. As my friend, Gabe knew nearly every detail of this desert season that I was in before we ever even attempted to write a song, just because we’ve always shared the details of life with each other. So when we did stumble upon writing our first song together (and I still don’t know exactly how that happened), we could almost complete each others sentences instantly. And musically, so much the same thing: after 10 years of touring together, Gabe knew the ins and outs of my songs more intensely than anyone else, so we instantly spoke the same language on a musical level as well.

Joe: This is your eighth studio album in a 17-year recording career. Compare Bebo Norman the songwriter today to Bebo Norman 17 years ago.

Bebo: Such an interesting question to try to answer. This is actually my 11th studio project (so hard to believe) dating back to my 1996 Independent record The Fabric of Verse, a 1997 Independent Christmas record called Joy, and Christmas: from the Realms of Glory from 2007.

The truth is, I still really consider myself an “accidental musician” in so many ways…sort of an experimental year after college to see what would happen with music; and that year has now turned into 17. I do feel like, as I stated earlier, that songwriting has sort of come full circle for me, so in terms of really writing from an honest, no commercial pre-tense space, I hope I’m more like the songwriter that I was 17 years ago than ever.

Joe: In that same period of time, what changes have you seen in the landscape of Christian music? What changes do you embrace and which do you wish you could pack up and send away?

Bebo: Definitely a lot of changes over these last 17 years. In so many ways, I feel like the mid 90’s were sort of the “salad days” of independent Christian music. There really weren’t too many independent Christian songwriters/bands out there, so if you were willing to stay on the road, you could sort of create your own career map. There was sort of a revival going on of songwriter-based music that sort of became the sound dujour, even for Christian radio at the time.

So with bands/songwriters like Jars of Clay, Caedmon’s Call, Chris Rice, etc there was this real freedom to sort of establish yourself without a real “commercial” or pop sound. There definitely seems to be more conformity these days, but there are still some really unique and creative musicians out there (indy and signed alike) that manage to stand out and make their mark - songwiters like John Mark McMillan, David Crowder, Michael Gungor, and Derek Webb.

Joe: Do you face writer’s block often? What ways have you been able to successfully deal with writer’s block?

Bebo: I think the main way I’ve dealt with writer’s block over the years is to get into a room with other songwriters. I don’t usually have too much trouble with the sort of initial inspiration for a song, but finishing songs tends to be where I struggle. I think mostly because I have a fear of just saying the same things over and over again. All songwriters fall into certain “patterns” both musically and lyrically. I think sussing ideas out with other songwriters pulls us out of those patterns and helps us grow creatively.

Joe: For the next generation of burgeoning Christian songwriters, what is the key piece of wisdom that you would like to impart?

Bebo: I would tell young songwriters to, as best you can, not look for what you think people want to hear, but to just write your story. Honest. No holds barred. The ugly and the beautiful. Don’t hold back the things that make you look bad...those are the things that ultimately glorify a grace-full God. And play your songs wherever you have the chance, but don’t be afraid to uproot and travel when you’re young, if you have that luxury. My two cents : )

Joe: Lastly, what’s coming up for you in the next 12 months?

Bebo: Fall is the busy season, always, but particularly this year with the new record releasing. Even still, when I’m gone on weekends, the weekdays are a similar struggle to everyone else’s. How best to balance the demands of profession and family and community. My wife has a successful career and I self-manage my music stuff, so I’m a busy stay-at-home Dad most weekdays while still trying to write, record, and keep up with artist and management demands. It’s a crazy life these days, but the time at home with my wife and two boys (Ages 5 & 3) has been far more rich than I could have imagined.

====

Huge thanks to Bebo for taking the time to encourage and inspire us by sharing his story. Be sure to check out his music at BeboNorman.com

Looking for Songs for All About Worship Collective Volume 4

Wisdom Moon — Wed, 11 Jul 2012 15:03:58 -0500

We are excited to announce our plans to release the All About Worship Collective, Volume 4 in late August. We were overwhelmed by the response the first three volumes received, with over 7,000-8,000 downloads each, during their 3 months of release! We would like to thank all of you for your support by helping spread the word and donating.

We've had many of you ask how you could submit a song for consideration on these collectives. Since we do not have the manpower to receive song submissions from the general public, but also want to give our community here a chance to get involved with the Collective, we're thrilled to announce the launch of a new site: WorshipWritersNetwork.com

Worship Writers Network is specifically for worship songwriters who would like to get their songs in more people's hands and promoted online, especially to our community of worship leaders and pastors. You can read more about the many benefits to being a part of this network here, but one benefit we would like to highlight in this post is possible inclusion on the upcoming Collectives.

So, if you'd like to be considered for this next Collective, visit WorshipWritersNetwork.com/join to find out all the details and to submit an application to join. Time is running out, so do it today!