Songwriting Tip of the Day #13

Tip #13: Don't be scared to pull from your dark memories

So something unique about songwriting is, no one has to know if your songs are true or not, all they have to know is that they believe what you are singing.  You can easily hide your secrets in your songwriting.  You can hide them layered in metaphors, or you can put them right on the surface in your lyrics.  But the beauty is, no one but you has to know what is true and what is fiction. So don't be scared to pull for your darkest memories, deepest fears, or most heart wrenching regrets! 

(Also just on a human to human note, holding your secrets in isn't good for you! Songwriting can be an excellent way to just spit them out, even if you never show anyone the song!)

Songwriting Tip of the Day #12

Tip #12: Be aware of current events

Being aware of current events will make your writing more relatable to a mass audience.  By writing about a world issue or world news, you allow your song to reach people everywhere who are also being affected by this event.  Here are a few pieces of songs I love that were written about what was happening in the world at that time!

The Times They Are A-Changin’
Bob Dylan

 Come writers and critics
 Who prophesize with your pen
 And keep your eyes wide
 The chance won’t come again
 And don’t speak too soon
 For the wheel’s still in spin
 And there’s no tellin’ who that it’s namin’
 For the loser now will be later to win
 For the times they are a-changin’

 Come senators, congressmen
 Please heed the call
 Don’t stand in the doorway
 Don’t block up the hall
 For he that gets hurt
 Will be he who has stalled
 There’s a battle outside and it is ragin’
 It’ll soon shake your windows and rattle your walls
 For the times they are a-changin’

For What It's Worth
Buffalo Springfield

There's battle lines being drawn
Nobody's right if everybody's wrong
Young people speaking their minds
Getting so much resistance from behind

Paranoia strikes deep
Into your life it will creep
It starts when you're always afraid
You step out of line, the man come and take you away

Songwriting Tip of the Day #11

Tip #11: Share your world view in your songs

People often say that if you're trying to reach mass numbers with your songs, then you have to write things that the masses agree with.  There is truth to this, but the listener can almost always tell when a writer meant what he/she wrote.

Sometimes it is worth it to give up the mass audience to gain a smaller audience who appreciates what you have to say; who understands your world view.  Write about what you know; write about what you believe.

Songwriting Tip of the Day #10

Tip #10: Write a Title Only Chorus

One way to create an extremely catchy and memorable song is to repeat the same line in the chorus over and over again.  This gives the listener less to remember, and it makes them more likely to be able to remember the title of the song since they've heard it multiple times by the end of the song!

See examples below!

The Beatles: 

"I Want To Hold Your Hand"

Oh yeah, I'll tell you something

I think you'll understand

When I'll say that something

I wanna hold your hand

I wanna hold your hand

I wanna hold your hand

John Mayer: 

"Say"

Say what you need to say 

Say what you need to say 

Say what you need to say 

Say what you need to say 

Say what you need to say 

Say what you need to say 

Say what you need to say 

Say what you need to say 

Daft Punk:

"Around the World" (The entire song is one line repeated!)

Around the world, around the world

Around the world, around the world

Around the world, around the world

Around the world, around the world

Songwriting Tip of the Day #6

Tip #6: Use dominant 7 chords 

While moving from your 5 chord back to your 1 (i.e. D back to G in the key of G) try using a D7 instead of just a D major.  When you make your 5 chord a dominant 7 it makes the listeners ear really REALLY want to hear the resolve back to the 1! Trust me, try it!

How to play a dominant 7 chord:

The chord is made of the 1, 3, 5 and b7

Below are examples of movable dominant 7 chords starting with the root note (shown in red) on the E, A and D strings of a guitar.

The Children of the Forest

Just rewatched last week's Game of Thrones episode. I love that we're finally learning so much about the children of the forest! So I wanted to share a poem/song I wrote about the children!

The Children of the Forest 

So beautiful 

So dark 

The ones that came before us 

'fore Lannister 

And Stark 

The Children of the Forest 

Though not children at all 

Where did we make them run to 

When we make the weirwoods fall 

Where did we make them run to 

When we made the weirwoods fall 

The Children of the Forest 

They fought with dragon glass 

What we now called obsidian 

Could save us from long past 

A thousand years beneath the ice 

That's now begun to thaw 

Where did we make them run to 

When we made the weirwoods fall 

Where did we make them run to 

When we made the weirwoods fall

Songwriting Tip of the Day #3

Tip #3: Try these new rhymes for "love"

When writing songs we often want to use very universal topics to reach a large audience.  It just so happens that one of the most universal topics is love.  However, songwriters often struggle to find good rhymes with love without sounding cheesy. i.e. He is the one that I love, he was sent from above!

Here are a few "love" rhyme substitutes!

because
of
above
loved
glove
luff
fluff
clough
dove
foxglove
shove
blush
flush
lush
lust
nonplussed
plus
plush
slush
guv
above
yugoslav
does
duff
enough
gruff
nuzzle
rough
ruff
ruffed
scruff
snuff
bluff
chuff
coz
cuff
fuzz
huff
puff
scuff
abuzz
buff
buffe
buzz
guff
muff
rebuff
stuff
tough
tuff
tuft
turtledove
applause
clause
collage
plage
plages
dusk
doth
dost
distrust
crust
crush
crus
brusque
brushed
brush
antitrust
dust
encrust
trust
trussed
truss
thrust
thrush
rust
russ
rusk
rush
mistrust
entrust
overplus
surplus
wanderlust
cusp
cusped
cuss
discuss
fuss
hush
pus
shush
fluster
muss
must
readjust
robust
thus
tusk
unjust
yuh
musk

Rediscovering the Magic of Songwriting

Today I was blessed with a wonderful cowrite.  I wrote with a girl who has one of the sweetest spirits I've ever met and a beautiful voice!  This was her first songwriting experience ever and I felt so excited to introduce her to the world of songwriting.

Experiencing writing with a first time writer, was such a blessing because I felt like I got to rediscover the magic in songwriting.  I do it so often that I think I forget that when you write a song, (or when you create anything) you are literally creating something that did not previously exist. Earlier today there was one less song in the world than there is right now, and that does feel magical to be able to breathe life into a song!

Creating is magic. You can make anything you want in this world. Open your mouth and sing a song. Grab a pen and bleed your soul. Grab some clay and make a mold.

 All you have to do is open your mind, and let your imagination do the rest.

Songwriting Tip of the Day #1

Tip #1: Don't be scared to break the rules

“Know the rules well, so you can break them effectively.”

― Dalai Lama XIV

This comes in very handy with songwriting! Be sure to study general songwriting rules, and then once you'er familiar with the rules you'll know how you can stretch and break them to suit your song!