Lyrist 101 - Songwriting Tips To Help You Write A Song

One of Anna & Kate McGarrigle's Best Songs

noreply@blogger.com (L.A. Schaible) — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 21:49:00 +0000

Great songwriters, this is one I've always loved. It was later covered by Sarah McLachlan, and as a duet by her son, Rufus Wainwright and Dido.

Lyrics:

I Eat Dinner

I eat dinner at the kitchen table
By the light that switches on
I eat leftovers with mashed potatoes
No more candlelight, no more romance, no more small talk
When the hunger's gone

I eat dinner at the kitchen table
And I wash it down with pop
I eat leftovers with mashed potatoes
No more candlelight, no more romance, no more small talk
When the hunger stops

Never thought that I'd end up this way
I who loved the sparks
Never thought my hair'd be turning to gray
It used to be so dark, so dark

No more candlelight, no more romance, no more small talk
When the hunger's gone
No more candlelight, no more romance, no more small talk
When the hunger's gone
When the hunger's gone

Never thought that I'd end up like this
I who loved the night
Never thought I'd be without a kiss
No one to turn off the light
Turn off the light

I eat dinner at the kitchen table
By the light of the TV screen
I eat leftovers with mashed potatoes
No more candlelight, no more romance, no more small talk
When the plate is clean
When the hunger's gone, when the hunger's gone

Obituaries:
The Guardian
Legacy.com
KBSRadio

Kate McGarrigle dead at 63

noreply@blogger.com (L.A. Schaible) — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 20:52:00 +0000

A video retrospective of songs:

RIP%20Kate%20McGarrigle%2C%20dead%20at%2063

Top 100 Country Albums of the Decade

noreply@blogger.com (L.A. Schaible) — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 18:13:00 +0000

The list according to The9513.com Country Music web site. Granted, one opinion, but a great list to contemplate.

Some highlights and differing opinions:

I don't agree with Fireflies being so low. Faith Hill sounds great, and the Lori McKenna, who penned three songs, is a fantastic songwriter as are the other contributors (Rivers Rutherford, John Rich and Darrell Scott). "Stealing Kisses" is one of McKenna's best songs, and she has quite a few.

The Womak attack did represent, with two albums. If you haven't heard Call Me Crazy, you've missed something this decade!

I know my buddy Spike will have a concern that Taylor Swift is on the list twice, and so is Miranda Lambert, but Allison Krauss and Union Station only show up once.

Where's New Favorite? Definitely would show in my top 10 and Taylor and Miranda would have to take a back seat on at least one album each until the next decade.

He will be pleased that Gary Allen shows up in the top 10, but, I'm not sure I'd put his album Tough All Over much higher than the top 30 myself.

I'd also include Viktor Krauss's (Allison's brother) Far from Enough in the top 50, just to add a little outside the box factor, and Jason Aldean's Wide Open would hold a place in the top 20, because the songwriting on his albums is always good - this one especially - and is too often overlooked by the industry.

The big surprise, Keith Urban is nowhere!

And, the #1 album? I like him, and he's a very strong songwriter, but #1 for the decade? Not sure it would be my pick.

What do you think?

Think someone's been overlooked?

Who should go and what's missing?

#100 - #91 | #90 - #81 | #80 - #71 | #70 - #61 | #60 - #51 |

#50 - #41 | #40 - #31 | #30 - #21 | #20 - #11 | #10 - #1

Bad Simile in Reba's "Consider Me Gone"? (Pt. 2)

noreply@blogger.com (L.A. Schaible) — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 18:17:00 +0000

Don't get me wrong. I think Reba McEntire is one of the best. My issue is with the song. While it's OK, i.e., not too bad, it falls short of good. The biggest problem - the simile is an unrelenting stinker that ends up permeating the last half of the song.

Why so down on it? Let's take a closer look at the lyrics (simile is in bold type at the beginning of verse 2):

Consider Me Gone
Songwriters: Steve Diamond, Marv Green

[Verse 1]
Every time I turn the conversation
to somethin' deeper than the weather
I can feel you all but shuttin' down.
And when I need an explanation
for the silence, You just tell me
"you don't wanna talk about it now."
What you're not sayin' is comin' in loud n clear.
We're at a crossroads here.

[Chorus]
If I'm not the one thing, you can't stand to lose,
If I'm not that arrow to the heart of you,
If you don't get drunk, on my kiss,
If you think you can do better than this,
Then I guess we're done.
Let's not drag this on.
Consider me gone.

[Verse 2]
With you I've always been wide open
Like a window or an ocean.
There is nothin' I've ever tried to hide.
So when you leave me, not knowin' where you're goin'
I start thinkin' that we're lookin'
We're lookin' at goodbye
How 'bout a strong shot of honesty?
Don't you owe that to me?

The first verse is actually a pretty good scene. Even if you're not watching the video, you can picture what's going on. The second line helps establish that the speaker wants a more meaningful relationship with the "you" in the song, and is frustrated. Afterall, we all know who we have "weather" conversations with: strangers and those we don't know very well to fill awkward silences. Nice line.

The verse also does an economical job of getting to the crux of the song - "we're at a crossroads here." The open question then becomes, so what is the speaker going to do about it. Enter the chorus. Which fulfills it's job. Pretty text book to this point.

Then the devastation begins. Insert Jaws impending death music here. The first three lines of verse two are approaching!

"With you I've always been wide open, like a window or an ocean" - so . . . if you're being honest with someone (wide open) that's similar to the perspective into a home an open window provides; or the vast, emptiness of the ocean? Doesn't really make much sense.

I suspect the songwriters were going for a non-cliche use of something offering "a window to the soul." In this case, perhaps being honest is like offering a perspective into one's soul? I could buy that, but the person the speaker is having the conversation was already identified as not caring about anything remotely close to introspection. The question then becomes - is this new information, or repetition of what we already know? My vote's with repetition.

And let's not forget the "ocean" - how does that fit with "a window to the soul"? It is "wide-open," but unfortunately, the simile isn't trying to create imagery around vastness as a concept.

The worst part of all this confusion is the impact on the remainder of the song. Because the simile is so poorly written, the next line is needed to explain the simile: "There is nothin' I've ever tried to hide." Got that - wide open - we're already there.

The next three lines make almost no sense when you consider the speaker's been saying "Consider me gone." Sounds pretty definitive. But these lines suggest the speaker is now wondering if there might be a problem. We've transitioned from Verse 1 - I'm gone to Verse 2 - I think he may be disinterested . . . maybe . . . not sure.

What? I don't want Reba singing about floundering - she was serious when she said she was gone!

The pre-chorus then goes on-and-on about honesty and the shallow boyfriend owing the speaker some introspection. Again, we already know from the first verse the "I'm not here for a relationship" boyfriend is never going to do that, which begs the question: what's the purpose of the verse except to explain the simile at it's beginning? Result - the song ends up down some rabbit hole instigated by the words "window" and "ocean." What saves it? Reba's vocals and interpretation.

A bad simile can kill your song. Make sure the concepts you're connecting deliver the right message and give the overall imagery a larger meaning. Part 3: examples of well-written similes and why they work.

Bad Simile in Reba's "Consider Me Gone"? (Pt. 1)

noreply@blogger.com (L.A. Schaible) — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 16:25:00 +0000

To clarify - this isn't really Reba's poor simile. Because she's a great vocalist and song interpreter, she's able to make the simile sound reasonable, so as a listener, we give it a pass. But that doesn't mean it's a well written simile. In this post and the next we'll discuss what makes a simile work, and how you'll know if you've written a strong one.

I know, you're asking - are you sure it's a simile and not a metaphor? Yep, and here's an easy way to distinguish the two:

A simile uses the words "like" or "as" to make a direct comparison.
A metaphor, unlike a simile, isn't a direct comparison. It's an implied connection between two thing. The two are usually very different, with the first being necessary to give meaning to the thing being defined. In other words, complex and hard to maintain during an entire song, unless your song is a metaphor.

But, how do you know when a simile is bad?

It all comes down to the primary reasons you're using a simile. One of the reasons people are drawn to any kind of writing (songs, poems, short stories, novels) is the imagery, or figurative language, used to create a context and texture. Figurative language like similes or metaphors help us create detail without sounding flat and uninteresting by simply reporting the facts.

The line, "I see a butterfly on a tree trunk, it's wings moving as the wind blows" is very different from -

"Over my head, I see the bronze butterfly, asleep on the black trunk, blowing like a leaf in green shadow." (from James Wright's Lying in a Hammock at William Duffy's Farm in Pine Island, Minnesota)

The simile "like a leaf in green shadow" adds texture to the poem, and provides an additional image to help define the butterfly's appearance - and the mood. Because you can visualize the butterfly as being similar to a leaf, it works. "Green shadow" adds an additional dimension to the visual, while "shadow" helps add a layer of somberness to the line. He accomplished it in three words. As a result, the entire poem is made richer for the reader/listener.

Ultimately, using figurative language (in this case a simile), should add something to the song that gives the thing being mentioned a deeper meaning. By making a direct comparison, elements of the the item after "like" or ''as" should be additive to what we already know about the item before "like" or "as" vs. simply an image.

If you'd like to take a listen, head over to CMT and watch Reba perform the song. See if you can find the simile, and come up with a few reasons why it may not be the best one to use. We'll discuss in part two of the post.

What's For Songwriters On twitter?

noreply@blogger.com (L.A. Schaible) — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 17:14:00 +0000

I'm not sure if you're following musicians, friends, music magazines, or gear companies on twitter, but there are some folks out there worth tagging along with for some inside scoop and fun.

-- Music Fog is a blog that covers the Americana genre and has a nice variety of posts. The posts usually highlight smaller bands. No profanity - but watch out for some of the less-than-talented posting their videos!

Their last post: "Scott Miller 'Claire Marie': When the Music Fog crew went to Arlington VA for the Scott Miller taping it was a warm ...http://bit.ly/1R1xsR."

I knew Scott back in Knoxville TN when he was playing at Hawkeye's every Friday night and working for the city court delivering summons' to Knoxville's more colourful residents . He's a great songwriter and very entertaining to see perform. If he comes by your area, you should definitely give him a listen. You can find his schedule on his web site.

-- Robin Frederick is a songwriter with a new book. She tends to post small pieces of her book, which is beneficial in giving you a sense of what to expect. The book, "Shortcuts to Hit Songwriting: 126 Proven Techniques for Writing Songs that Sell" is a Taxi Music Book. While some of it is very basic, you will run into several gems. So, regardless of whether you're a beginner or been doing this awhile, the fact there are 126 tips combined with some great exercises make it worth the $34.95.

Her last post: "Lyrics: Give listeners an intimate look inside ur situation. They want to feel they are watching & hearing it as it happens."

-- AmerSongwriter is the twitter account for American Songwriter Magazine. With the addition of the new American Songspace area on their site, they've begun to push out postings from the songwriters who have joined. I signed up - it's a pretty nifty interface and promotional tool, but that's for another day.

An example of a post from the "Need" messages on American Songspace: "New Song Placement Opportunity! Jennette McCurdy Capitol Nashville http://bit.ly/2Kxpoi"

-- WeFollow is a twitter directory you can search by category, for example, songwriter (which you can also search on twitter using the hash tag, i.e., placing "#songwriter" in the search box on your twitter main page.

See below for some of my favorite tweets, and you can always follow me! @Lyrist101

Writing Lyrics: Using Objects Around You

noreply@blogger.com (L.A. Schaible) — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 22:02:00 +0000

Inspiration is sometimes a hard thing to come by. To help move things along, try challenging yourself with an unconventional source - your photo album and a dictionary.

A great exercise is to randomly choose an image from your photo album and a couple of words from the dictionary. I keep a list of words handy that just sound interesting, then rummage through them from time to time.

I've included some photos and words in the post to help get you going:

transcend
quill
neck tie
malaise
flatter
hoi polloi
brisling
gesso
mumble
orange

MySpace's music Feed

noreply@blogger.com (L.A. Schaible) — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 16:13:00 +0000

Artist interviews, including Say Anything, Converge and Tim McGraw MySpace music Feed

Song Key Conversion Site

noreply@blogger.com (L.A. Schaible) — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 15:06:00 +0000

Chordie.com has a pretty nice repository of songs, with lyrics, guitar tab, and neat little sidebar item that lets you change the key of a song by semitone. The user interface is clunky, but overall, it's very handy if you're trying to transpose a song or just understand how the chord structure works with the lyrics.

A Mega Plus: you'll find all kinds of music here, even one of my favorite songwriters, Nanci Griffith.

A Caution: these are user-uploaded songs, so the tab and lyrics could be incorrect in places, so careful if it says "monkey," but "funky" would actually make more sense.

Project Song: Chris Walla & J. Robbins

noreply@blogger.com (L.A. Schaible) — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 10:33:00 +0000

Chris Walla, founder of Death Cab for Cutie, and J. Robbins of Jawbox create "Mercury," a song inspired by the word "cerebral" and the photo Black Dog's Retreat by Tom Chambers (2002).

Watch the song being created.

Free Music: Kerouac Set To Music?

noreply@blogger.com (L.A. Schaible) — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 10:21:00 +0000

Based on Kerouac's novel Big Sur, Jay Farrar (Sun Volt) and Benjamin Gibbard (Death Cab for Cutie) wrote 12 songs out of a mutual admiration for the writer. You can hear the entire album, One Fast Move Or I'm Gone: Kerouac's Big Sur, on NPR's site. The album will be released on October 20th.

Handy Old Blog for Songwriters

noreply@blogger.com (L.A. Schaible) — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 16:19:00 +0000

The Songwriter Toolbox is a nice blog for independent music groups and songwriters to pillage for some abandoned content. While the posts are more than a year old, Nick Daugherty did a nice job of choosing subjects with long-term appeal from a songwriter/performer perspective. He did a nice job of outlining the steps to success, like getting traffic to your band's web site or social pages, or finding software for easier songwriting.

Some interesting posts include:

You have to like the fact that most things on the web stay around awhile, even when people move on (barring any strange posts you've made of facebook lately, of course).

Nick Daugherty has seen success by practicing a lot of what he preached.

He can now be found at NickDaugherty.com - where you'll discover a songwriting journey that's taken almost two years. Go to "Music" and enjoy his songs while you're there, and sign up for four free music downloads.

Dolly Parton: Celebrating 42 Years of Songwriting

noreply@blogger.com (L.A. Schaible) — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 15:31:00 +0000

A new box set is out with over 100 tracks spanning the years between 1967, and her first hit "Dumb Blonde" to her 26th number one single in 1991 "Rockin' Years."

Check out American Songwriter for a more detailed description.

Digital Music Royalties for Songwriters Left Unchanged

noreply@blogger.com (L.A. Schaible) — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 14:59:00 +0000

Digital music royalties for songwriters left unchanged

from LATimes.com

Lyrics Web Sites: Stinkers and Stars

noreply@blogger.com (L.A. Schaible) — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 14:12:00 +0000

You've got quite a few choices, so let's break it down to some general sites, then move on to niche in another post. As you use these sites, be prepared to be bombarded with ads (McDonalds is on a tear), from ringtone offers popping up every time you click, to "predictAds" appearing when you start typing search terms, to blinking and flashing ads inundating the pages.

Good news is, if you use the sites enough, you'll just tune all of it out!

MetroLyrics.com [ A ]

This site is my favorite for general lyrics. If you register, you get some additional perks like saving your lyrics, creating scroller widgets for your blog, and access to LyricSeeker download which will look for lyrics as you play music on iTunes and other players.

They've also added nice features like the ability to search by Artist + Title, Artist only, Title only, or Song Words. This flexibility makes a huge difference when trying to find something with a general title like "Last Call."

The site has expanded a lot over the past year, becoming more of a lyrics and music news destination by adding items like upcoming albums, awards, and artist bios to the site.

They use Gracenote's authorized lyrics service, so songwriters are sited on every lyric, and writers, publishers and artists are properly compensated for use of their copyrighted lyrics - the number one reason to use them if you're involved in songwriting.

They have about 4.6MM U.S. visitors a month.

Lyrics.com [ B - ]

The site offers a nice selection across multiple genres. You'll find the most popular current artists/songs, as well as songs from back-in-the-day like Steely Dan's "Gaucho."

Like most lyrics sites, they use YouTube to let you hear the song, and obtain lyrics via submissions from site users. As a result, you'll find multiple copies, to the point where you wonder if there's more than one song by an artist, so be prepared to do some wading.

Search functionality is not very helpful, with browsing focused on artists and search having no filtering capabilities.

They rarely list the songwriter(s) properly, and at times you wonder if they know whether or not any exist, with artist names often in the "by" line just under the song title.

They get about 2.2MM U.S. visitors a month.

LyricsMania.com [ C - ]

Again, has a lot of popular song lyrics, however, the search functionality defaulting to "Artist" causes a problem.

If you're looking for a specific song, and the inability to filter for Artist + Title results in a laundry list of choices, which proves a poor investment of your time.

Unless the song you're looking for is in the top five on the list, it's best to just goto another site.

Site traffic is 2.9MM U.S. visitors a month.

SongLyrics.com [ C - ]

This site uses the "Lyrics provided on SongLyrics.com are for educational use only" line to get around paying digital rights.

They rely on submissions, meaning a majority of the lyrics are old or just wrong - "Monkey with a hatchet . . . vs . . . Does she have it"

(props to Ellen Degeneres for the timeless example).

Total U.S. visitors per month about 900K.

The [ D ] Group

The first two pages of a Google search using "song lyrics" will return

the following sites with bare bones lists of artists and/or song titles.

Their poor search, lack of content depth and in-human usability structure earned them all a D

The fact that you can sometimes find something and they acknowledge you're a person using

the site vs. a robot kept them off the F list.

Sing365.com [ F ]

This site was built by programmers as a "non-profit" to display the power of their database technology, with the ad proceeds going to support their server farm for the benefit of all.

They are aware of the Digital Copyright Act, and make sure they spell out in detail on their "About Us" page all the steps you should follow if you think they're using your copywritten material inappropriately.

With all the ads taking precedence, the poor search and the lack of usability if you're not a programmer dazzled by the technology they've employed - this one gets an F from me.

While they have optimized the site well for SEO, you'll likely be disappointed when you get there. I imagine most of the 3.9MM visitors never last more than a minute-thirty out of frustration.

NPR's Tiny Desk Series

noreply@blogger.com (L.A. Schaible) — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 18:14:00 +0000

Bob Boilen's done it again. He's put together a series of concerts in a very intimate setting - behind his desk in the NPR offices. They all seem to be just after lunch, so I'm guessing those are half-day Mondays. He can keep the set budget to a minimum though!

This is just fun to watch. New artists as well as some greats, like Tom Jones. Enjoy!

Share Your Original Songs!

noreply@blogger.com (L.A. Schaible) — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 15:00:00 +0000

Get your online music creation hook up through several cool sites.

If you're a songwriter, and are looking for some collaboration, here are a few options:

Kompoz.com - one of my favorites, there's a place for everyone. If you're a songwriter, join the "songwriter exspress" group. Once a member you can also join projects or begin your own.
SoundCloud - this site is pretty slick. You can exchange music with others via personal drop boxes (not the widget on this blog), and you can comment on a track within the wave form. You can also use it to post to social networks.
TuneRooms - if you're looking for a collaboration space, this is it. You'll find tracks from several different genres, and most are in public tune rooms for easy feedback.
WritingForums.org - for writing in general, but they do have a song lyrics discussion group. Very non-threatening way to put some things out there and get feedback.

If you're into mixing/production and recording, you might find these interesting:

YourSpins - this site let's you take a song, like Alif Tree's "Aurevoir," and remix it for a chance to win a signed copy of their latest album. You'll find them in the jazz category by the way. If you're a promoter, this is a great way to get your group's tunes/name out there via a contest promotion.
WeMix - a hip-hop remix site founded by Chris "Ludacris" Bridges and Matt Apfel, a reality TV producer. Users upload original songs, beats, vocals, riffs, etc. for collaboration, feedback, and voting for a chance to turn their demos into real records.
Jamglue - similar to WeMix, Jamglue allows you to upload mixes and others to partake in adding their own creative tid bits. they also have remix contests on a pretty regular basis.
Rifflet - have an old song scrap you're not using? Place it here and let others use your work to complete their projects.

IPod Microphone: iVoiceIII

noreply@blogger.com (L.A. Schaible) — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 17:57:00 +0000

As part of my "on the go" kit, I decided to try adding a microphone to my iPod (5th generation) since it has 30GB vs. my first generation iPhone's 8GB. I opted for the macally iVoiceIII.

Pretty nifty. It plugs into the bottom of the iPod, and has a 3.5mm stereo link-in jack for recording out to an external audio device like another iPod, an iPhone, or your nano. Speaking of nano, the macally will work with the 2nd generation iPod nano.

The mics mono, and it works pretty well for recording scratch tracks - sounds just as good as the iPhone iTalk Recorder app. As soon as you plug it in, it switches the iPod over to Voice Memo.

You can record, pause and then restart. You'll find the recorded files under Playlists - Voice Memos.

Downside - you can't name the file, so everything is by date and time, so if you're doing multiple songs, you'll end up having to preview to find what you're looking for.

Drinking Songs (Part 2)

noreply@blogger.com (L.A. Schaible) — Sun, 31 May 2009 14:13:00 +0000

In this post, we'll look at two songs with similar themes, but very different executions: "I Drink" written and recorded by Mary Gautier (Blake Shelton also recorded this song, but I prefer her version), and "Nobody Drinks Alone," written by written by Matraca Berg and Jim Collins (recorded by Keith Urban).

There are two songwriting tools used by both groups of songwriters which help give the songs their ability to deliver the message well: point of view and rhyme pattern.

Point of View

One of the first things you'll notice is the difference in point of view. If either song had chosen a different perspective, and tried to write the song around their original idea, both would have been a disaster.

"Nobody Drinks Alone" is written in second person with the singer/speaker addressing someone else - the "you" in the song. This can often be dangerous, especially with this kind of topic, because the speaker/singer can come off as sounding judgmental, never an appealing trait for someone who's attempting to convey an idea. If the listener disagrees with the speaker, or the speaker seems unwilling to see things from any perspective other than their own, they lose credibility with the listener, and the listener's out before the first chorus.

Matraca Berg and Jim Collins do a nice job of creating a speaker who comes from a very firm, but ultimately, caring position. You know the speaker is a close friend or family member, and the conversation is probably uncomfortable for the "you," but not out of line.

They do this by avoiding name calling (judgmental), recognizing the family background in verse 2 (indicates compassion for the situation), and by not having the speaker/singer tell the "you" what to do - i.e., there's no preaching at the "you" during the entire song.

It's contemplative and merely outlines the facts without placing judgment on any of them. Very hard to do, since most of the time we all have opinions, and nicely done here.

"I Drink" is a very different song because of the point of view - first person. Equally as difficult to write, for some of the opposite reasons to the Berg/Collins song, but primarily becausse it's hard to justify being a drunk. The song is able to do so because it is tied so closely with the speaker's personal history and use the first person to convey the information.

The speaker isn't trying to justify drinking, but telling the listener about their life. They also acknowledge their own role in how their life has evolved in the bridge. The speaker never asks for forgiveness or expects the listener to give them a pass - they're simply saying it's one of life's inevitable situations, like fish swimming, or birds flying. In other words, it's they're history, and so - who they are.

Even though country artists are very reluctant to tie themselves to songs with a negative theme, this song is so well written Blake Shelton had no issues with recording it and putting it on an album. A compliment to Mary Gautier's songwriting skills no doubt about it.

Rhyme Pattern

If you ever want to see how rhyme patterns can give subtle structure to a song that helps move it through the melody, build emotion and focus on key power positions, these two songs are great examples. To understand the rhyme pattern graphing below, please visit the post "Rhyme Patterns."

"Nobody Drinks Alone" rhymes:

Verse: A/B/A/B
Lift: C/D
Chorus: E/E/E/E/E

The verse rhyme pattern moves you to the lift, which uses internal vowel sounds to move through the two lines (4 bars) - pretty neat trick since it's the vowels driving pace rather than the actual end rhymes. This results in the listener not being hung up at the end of the lines, so the lift flows very naturally into the chorus.

The chorus uses the long O vowel sound throughout. Always a great choice because it gives you so many rhyme options. Alone however, is a tough word to rhyme with a perfect rhyme, because you end up with options like atone, bone, blown, cone, own, moan, scone, stone, all nasals in terms of the rhyme family, and they don't really go with the song since it's trying to sound supportive and most of the words have a hard connotation.

So, the songwriters used the long O for the first line (know) and spread it across 2 bars of the chorus. This immediately indicates a change, and is clearly an address to the "you" - by extending over two bars, the listener is given the time to figure all that out. As the lyrical pace slows, the drum pattern shifts to a 1&2 pattern to create the momentum, so the song seems to pick up, but in terms of the lyric, no one's rushed.

They then pick up with "alone" in the second line, moving the nasal rhyme to a less prominent position; use a fricative (ghost) for the 3rd line; find a near rhyme in the nasal family for the 4th line (home), then frame the chorus with the word "alone" to create a box that clearly, through sounds, compartmentalizes what the idea of "nobody drinks alone" means. Now that's some songwriting chops!

"I Drink" rhymes:

Verse 1: A/A/B/B
Chorus: C/C/D/D
Verse 2: C/C/B/B
Chorus: C/C/D/D
Bridge: E/E
Chorus: C/C/D/D

The first thing you'll notice is the linking of the C rhyme (fly/cry/high/side) from the chorus to the second verse. Then, the second verse links the B rhyme (flame/veins/same/change) back to the first verse. This song uses the techniques of a terza rima, with its interlocking rhyme pattern, and a stave - which uses repetition as a refrain. Staves are a form used most often for hymns and drinking songs! The irony alone is worth using the form, but in this case, a perfect choice.

The refrain "I drink" loses some of the stigma associated with the line because of the repetition, but the linking of the lines across verse and chorus create a connectivity to the story. This connectivity gives the story a balance, which gives the speaker/singer credibility. An example of how rhyme can help deliver your song in the most flattering way for everyone.

Recording Your Songs

noreply@blogger.com (L.A. Schaible) — Mon, 25 May 2009 13:06:00 +0000

Once you start writing, you'll want to share what you've done with others. You may not be ready for a full length CD, but you can always share your songs on Facebook, Myspace, and other social networking sites.

Because a song is something you should get feedback on before cutting the final version, I'm a big fan of a stepped approach. While it may seem like you're spending more, it actually will give you a better overall experience, and in most cases, end up costing you less.

STEP 1: Get down a working version!
If you don't play an instrument, do a simple cut of your song singing a capella. If you play guitar, piano, mandolin, ukulele or anything else, do a simple version of the song using the iPhone app iTalk or FourTrack. You can also use a simple hand-held digital voice recorder USB connectivity. (Total investment for hand-held recorder: $100)

STEP 2: Get feedback!
I've mentioned song critique services in a previous post, but want to highlight one I use consistently - Kim Copeland's easy online form. Kim's great at giving you insight into your song with a very fast turn-around time. There's nothing worse than laboring over a song for 6 weeks only to have the critique service take just as long to get back to you. Kim's great about giving feedback like alternative lines, possible structure changes musically and lyrically. Of all the services I've used, hers is the best. (Total investment: $35 per song)

STEP 3: Join a group to inspire you & provide services beyond writing.
There is probably an NSAI group/workshop in your area. Go to a few meetings, take a song, and get some input. If you find it useful, join and become a regular. A group will also reinforce the writing discipline, so it's well worth the money. Most groups will let you show up a few times without being a member. With an NSAI membership you'll get access to online tutorials, song critiques, and a pitching service, so it's worth the money if you're serious. (Total investment: NSAI membership: $150)

STEP 4: Record your song as a demo.
This is when you'll have to make a decision about spending some pretty significant dollars on your song. You should consider this an investment, so making the right choice based on your long-term goals is critical. Below are a few services and their subsequent costs/song.
1. Kim Copeland Productions: Kim's services are slightly different from most straight recording studios. Kim's actually a producer, so her production services are included in the demo costs. What does a producer do? Well: they focus on your song, not just the sliders on the main board! I've used Kim for song demos before as part of a group session.
  
  If you're in a songwriting group, she's currently running a summer special that will give you a whole day in the studio for $3,295 (record 6 songs & bring up to 12 people to be there for the process). If you split the cost six ways, that's $550 per song. Pretty good price for production and a demo with a full band. Offer runs through August 2009. Here's a link for some additional info: Song demo special.
2. Beaird Music Group: their Standard Demo Package ($535/song) includes one lead vocal, acoustic guitar, electric guitar,drums, and one CD copy (3 hrs of studio time). They do not provide production services, so your demo will come out how it goes in. Additional help, such as arranging, are an extra charge ($90/hr). One of my NSAI cohorts has used this service for years, and the quality is very good. They also have a basic package that runs $285 per song for an acoustic guitar and lead vocal (3 hrs of studio time).
3. Affordable Recording: their Standard Demo Package ($229/song) includes a lead vocalist, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, drums, bass, piano, keyboards and an MP3 file. Again, no production services. On their home page you'll notice Toby Water as the featured songwriter. He's a member of the Orlando NSAI group, and swears by Affordable Recording. They do a nice job for him.
  
  As part of research for this blog, I contacted them about producing a demo, and while I received an initial email, have heard nothing from them for almost 2 weeks. Not the best customer service in my book.
4. Left Hand Audio: for pop you may want to try something affordable that has a pretty good reputation. They record a lot of bands from Philly, which has a very strong music scene. They're running a special right now of $395 per song. That price gets you a vocal, keyboard, guitar, base and drums.

While there may be others out there, I'm familiar with those listed above. If you've got a recording studio you think is perfect for a songwriter who may or may not be a singer, please drop their info into the comment area.

Other Tools:

Need to convert to MP3? Download the free Switch Audio Converter software from NCH. (Total investment: FREE)
Get an iPhone app to record from your iTouch or iPhone. iTalk works great and you can always connect an additional microphone if you need it. (Total investment: FREE)
Microphone reviews just in case you're in the market.

Melody And The Lyric

noreply@blogger.com (L.A. Schaible) — Mon, 25 May 2009 12:47:00 +0000

A songwriting pal in Orlando, Sheryl Olguin, passed along a link to several Pat Pattison tutorials on melodic rhythm and lyric rhythm.

The videos give you an idea of how a song critique focused on these elements might change not only how the song is delivered, but the choice of lyric.

Keep in mind the link may only work until June 29th or so - the promotion looks like it's time sensitive.

Enjoy!

NPR Project Song: Stephin Merritt

noreply@blogger.com (L.A. Schaible) — Sun, 24 May 2009 19:50:00 +0000

This was NPR's first project song. Stephin Merritt is amazing to watch. His song creation process begins with a photograph of a man in a full body suit covered with baby dolls. The line "a man of a million faces" is his immediate response. How he chooses to incorporate the word "1974" is a nice imaginative leap. The genesis is amazing to watch.

Enjoy:

Free Worksheet: Major Scales/Numbers

noreply@blogger.com (L.A. Schaible) — Sun, 24 May 2009 15:13:00 +0000

If you've recorded in Nashville, you've run into the Nashville Number system. While I could explain it here, it's probably best to just jump you out to Wikipedia - so here you go: Nashville Number System.

For those sending songs to Nashville, you should probably include a number chart, but that's another topic.

Here's a link to a cheat sheet for songwriting - major scales with the corresponding Nashville numbers. I use this sheet when I'm composing the music for songs, and need some sense of which chords are in the key I've chosen. While you may already have a chord chart, this will get you used to how Nashville will interpret your song's structure and arrangement using their system.

Need a reference book for the Nashville Number System?
Need a reference book for chord progressions?

Drinking Songs (Part 1)

noreply@blogger.com (L.A. Schaible) — Sun, 24 May 2009 14:31:00 +0000

A great exercise is to pick a topic, find some examples, and look at not only the similarities, but the differences created using songwriting techniques.

At a recent NSAI meeting in Orlando, the topic was "Songs Using Communication Devices." The array of items used to send a message to someone were extensive, and included telephone, postcard, letter, answering machine, cell phone and email/text.

The exercise is to find as many songs as possible that fall within your chosen category or theme, and explore how several different people went about crafting their song. Odds are the songs will have the same general theme, but the messages of each will be very different.

Be sure to look at things like point of view, rhyme patterns, metaphors and imagery.

As an exercise, this is a great way to look at how another songwriter crafts a song around something often very common. You can find some great tricks this way too.

Around "Drinking Songs" I have several favorites, but one I think really goes beyond the hey, let's talk about beer and partying factor is "Last Call" written by Shane McAnally and Erin Enderline; recorded by Lee Ann Womack.

Written in first person, the song uses the common "last call" closing up announcement from the bartender as a metaphor for the singer/speaker's relationship with the person drinking at the bar. The "last call" in the song takes on a double meaning and comes to represent the end of the somewhat dysfunctional relationship of the two characters.

The writers do a nice job within the chorus of using Johnny Walker Red to indicate the passage of time during the night, and the song selection on the jukebox to set the tone for the verses. This is a very slick device, and never interferes with the chorus. Why?

The chorus is framed with the line "I bet you're in a bar" - which also serves as a great way to indicate the singer/speaker's disappointment or disillusionment with her current, soon-to-be, ex-boyfriend.

Another clever technique is the move to the bridge from the chorus, notice the phrasing:

CHORUS
I bet you're in a bar (a)
listening to a cheatin' song (b)
Glass of Johnny Walker red (c)
with no one to take you home (b)
They're probably closing down, (b)
saying, "No more alcohol" (d)
I bet you're in bar (a)
'Cause I'm always your last . . . (d rhyme w/pick up of Call in next line)

BRIDGE
Call me crazy but
I think maybe
We've had our last call

The rhyme pattern is very unique in this song (indicated in parentheses above). While it doesn't use perfect rhyme, it uses the rhyme pattern to encapsulate the the chorus using the frame of "I bet you're in a bar" - this results in isolation of the hook " 'cause I'm always your last call." Nice.

If you're looking for how to uses very clever songwriting techniques without being obvious, this song is one of the best examples you'll run across.

Lee Ann Womack More CMT Music More CMT Music Videos

In Part 2, look for a comparison of "I Drink" (written by Mary Gautier; recorded by Blake Shelton) and "Nobody Drinks Alone" (written by Matraca Berg and Jim Collins; recorded by Keith Urban).

Notebooks For Songwriters

noreply@blogger.com (L.A. Schaible) — Sat, 23 May 2009 14:56:00 +0000

As a songwriter, you end up scribbling down lines, ideas, images, etc. on whatever you can find. Unfortunately, you sometimes misplace the scrap of paper, or worse, don't write it down at all because it's so brilliant - I mean, how could you ever forget it!

Well - I always forget the brilliant lines. So - I keep a notebook, and since I purchased a couple of new ones this morning, I thought I'd share the options.

I've used several of the past few years, and they're always great for referring back to if you have a day when the muse doesn't show up. Below are some of my favorites.

Moleskin - they make a variety of different types and sizes. If you like a grid, lines, blank, or a music staff, they've got you covered. The elastic strap is handy for keeping the pages from ripping if you tend to stuff things into a bag without much care, and the pocket version gives you a bit of storage.

Rhodia - has a very versatile selection, from staple bound to spiral, hard cover to soft, this company should have something that fits with your songwriting lifestyle. One of the best features is the protective coated cover, which is very durable.

Semi Kolon - if you need something large with some flexibility, the A5 notebook has 60 lined, 60 graph & 60 blank sheets. It also has 2 dividers, 2 pockets & an elastic band closure - all in a 6 X 8 1/2" size.

If you want a broad selection, and prefer some pizzazz to the look of your notebook, check out TheDailyPlanner.com - this is a great web site for variety and finding items beyond the book, like pen refills, planners. etc.