I've had several conversations on this topic recently. I'm writing this from the perspective of singing lessons, but you can apply it to many other things as well. More than one student has told me their stories of beating themselves up because they are struggling to find space & time & willingness to practice. They tell me what they are telling themselves. As we've had these conversations... these thoughts have come up...
- make your goal to 'simply start'. Don't set a time limit ('it has to be 30 minutes'), just start, no matter how much you don't want to do anything.
- with 'simply start' - don't insist it has to be scales, just focus on breath & sighs, or even sing a song you like on "boh boh boh"
- one way to support 'starting' is to marry it with an activity... 'every time I plug in the kettle for tea, I'll do something with my voice... while it's cooking'
- one way to support 'practice' to find a daily activity that would work with it... like wearing your walkman and singing while you tidy the house, or doing your tape in the kitchen while you're cooking dinner, some folks do their tape in the car on the way to and from work
- when you practice - put a tick on the calendar - P 'tick' so when the voices in your head start... you have visual confirmation of how many starts you did in a day and in a week, visual evidence to show that judge in your head
- if life gets away from you, and you don't practice... don't cancel your lesson... come to your lesson and let that be your practice
- recognize that reluctance to practice could very well be coming from that thing inside you that has a vested interest in you not changing. Julia Cameron talks about 'blocked creatives'... even as we work to become unblocked, there are still blocks within us. See the reluctance as part of that old programming... and follow the 'simply start' philosophy. That thing within us knows that when we DO the activity, we change. So it actively & strongly resists starting.
Our job is to simply start.
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Monday, May 19, 2008
rhyming + writing a chorus
Q: I'm new to writing and have a couple of questions.
#1: Can you rhyme every line in a verse like a four line verse that ends in words like pain, rain, vain, train.
#2: Writing choruses. I write my verses and then struggle to find a chorus.
A: If you are new to songwriting, there is a great book I'd recommend you read, by Jason Blume, called "6 Steps to Songwriting Success". I think you will find it very helpful.
Question one - should you rhyme every line of a verse? Well, IMO, it would be better not to. Further than that, I would recommend thinking outside the 4 line box. I see many many lyrics by new writers that have 4-line verses with a 4-line chorus and a 4-line bridge. Experiment. (e.g. Have a 5-line verse that rhymes lines 3 and 5, married to a 4-line or 6-line chorus, and a 2-line bridge that rhymes both lines.) You could, have a chorus that rhymed every line - if the rhymes absolutely work for the song.
The reason I suggest you read Jason's book is you will learn about imperfect rhyme, alliteration, internal rhymes, etc. You need to know these things, otherwise you will find your writing hemmed in by the need to make perfect rhymes.
In addition, I suggested, say, a 5-line verse and a 6-line chorus because CONTRAST is extremely important in songwriting. I try to write the contrast into my lyrics so that they support the need for the music to have contrast.
Question two - how to write a chorus. Some people will tell you to write from a title. So if your title is "I lost you today" everything in the song needs to point to that title. The verses tell the story, and lead to the punchline of "I lost you today".
The KEY is to make sure that your chorus is the "conclusion" or the "payoff" or the "punchline" of the verses. Remember too, that a chorus can be simple and punchy. Sometimes they even repeat the same lines.
let's do an example, just off the top of my head... trying to be unique with your idea of the rhymes
V
pain, hammers my head
rain, soakin my hair
vain, that's what you are
train, goin' nowhere
C
you stopped me in my tracks
I didn't cop to that
til too late
you stopped me in my tracks
I couldn't walk away
til too late-
ev'ry time I took you back
you stopped me in my tracks
Might not be a hit song, but hope that example helps you to see what I mean by 'think outside the box' with structure and rhyme.
#1: Can you rhyme every line in a verse like a four line verse that ends in words like pain, rain, vain, train.
#2: Writing choruses. I write my verses and then struggle to find a chorus.
A: If you are new to songwriting, there is a great book I'd recommend you read, by Jason Blume, called "6 Steps to Songwriting Success". I think you will find it very helpful.
Question one - should you rhyme every line of a verse? Well, IMO, it would be better not to. Further than that, I would recommend thinking outside the 4 line box. I see many many lyrics by new writers that have 4-line verses with a 4-line chorus and a 4-line bridge. Experiment. (e.g. Have a 5-line verse that rhymes lines 3 and 5, married to a 4-line or 6-line chorus, and a 2-line bridge that rhymes both lines.) You could, have a chorus that rhymed every line - if the rhymes absolutely work for the song.
The reason I suggest you read Jason's book is you will learn about imperfect rhyme, alliteration, internal rhymes, etc. You need to know these things, otherwise you will find your writing hemmed in by the need to make perfect rhymes.
In addition, I suggested, say, a 5-line verse and a 6-line chorus because CONTRAST is extremely important in songwriting. I try to write the contrast into my lyrics so that they support the need for the music to have contrast.
Question two - how to write a chorus. Some people will tell you to write from a title. So if your title is "I lost you today" everything in the song needs to point to that title. The verses tell the story, and lead to the punchline of "I lost you today".
The KEY is to make sure that your chorus is the "conclusion" or the "payoff" or the "punchline" of the verses. Remember too, that a chorus can be simple and punchy. Sometimes they even repeat the same lines.
let's do an example, just off the top of my head... trying to be unique with your idea of the rhymes
V
pain, hammers my head
rain, soakin my hair
vain, that's what you are
train, goin' nowhere
C
you stopped me in my tracks
I didn't cop to that
til too late
you stopped me in my tracks
I couldn't walk away
til too late-
ev'ry time I took you back
you stopped me in my tracks
Might not be a hit song, but hope that example helps you to see what I mean by 'think outside the box' with structure and rhyme.
Monday, March 03, 2008
Stage Fright
Q: I taught myself to play guitar a little, and my friends say I sing okay. I've performed a couple of times but the stage fright was so bad I never did it again. But I'd like to.
A: You are not alone, suffering with stage fright. Everyone does. Even those who look really comfortable up there. Take some lessons to be more secure with your instrument(s), including voice; practice every day, and get experience by going to small friendly open mics or seniors homes where the audiences are very appreciative of every effort. There’s also a great book called “Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway”, I recommend it.
A: You are not alone, suffering with stage fright. Everyone does. Even those who look really comfortable up there. Take some lessons to be more secure with your instrument(s), including voice; practice every day, and get experience by going to small friendly open mics or seniors homes where the audiences are very appreciative of every effort. There’s also a great book called “Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway”, I recommend it.
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Q: When paying for a demo, should you pay for live music only? How much does it cost? I've heard $600 a song or even more. What do I look for?
A: Yes, it costs that much or more. You have to really know that your songs have a shot before spending this kind of money. And you have to really know that the place you are going to creates demos that are acceptable to the ears of the industry.
I spent between $600 and $900 per song, demoing 7 songs 3 or 4 years ago. What's that, about $4000? None of those songs have ever got a deal.
I thought they were good, my producer thought they were good, etc etc. But I didn't know, I didn't understand, what 'commercial' meant. If I'd spent $100 someone like John Braheny or Jason Blume could have critiqued my songs. It would have been hard to take, to hear that what I thought was good was poor. And it would have been even harder to understand that even anything good isn't good enough. Nothing less than great will even get a look.
Secondly, those costly demos... were a mix of live and midi. Nothing wrong with midi... if it's worked with so it is indistinguishable from the real thing. Nothing wrong with EZdrummer if it's worked with properly. But the midi on my demos is obvious to the experienced ear, and the virtual instruments used to give sound to that midi are not of good quality. I hear that now, but then I was so excited about my songs coming alive... and I didn't even know that would be an issue.
In addition, I did not have the experience to even know what to ask for. I should have, for example, taken in a couple of recordings of hit songs in the genre I was shooting for, and talked to the producer about having that kind of arrangement/setting for my song. And finding the right singer. Someone who sounds something like the "a la" artists I intended to pitch the song for.
IMO I foolishly hired someone who didn't have the necessary experience to take my songs from worktape to effective, pitchable demo. I don't blame them, I blame me. I didn't know what I was doing. Buyer beware. In the end it didn't really matter because the songs themselves were not worthy of the money spent upon them. An expensive lesson.
I recommend that you take what you feel are your top 3 best, killer songs - and have them critiqued by professionals. NSIA, SongU, John or Jason, Harriet Schock, Pat & Pete Luboff. In all cases the feedback is the opinion of the person writing the critique, but this will give you a fairly good idea if what you think is great, is commercially viable. If the results of this exercise are good, then start shopping for a producer who produces songs that sound as close as you can get to the hit songs in the genre you are going to be pitching in. Make sure the singer used on the demo is excellent. The singer sells the song.
A: Yes, it costs that much or more. You have to really know that your songs have a shot before spending this kind of money. And you have to really know that the place you are going to creates demos that are acceptable to the ears of the industry.
I spent between $600 and $900 per song, demoing 7 songs 3 or 4 years ago. What's that, about $4000? None of those songs have ever got a deal.
I thought they were good, my producer thought they were good, etc etc. But I didn't know, I didn't understand, what 'commercial' meant. If I'd spent $100 someone like John Braheny or Jason Blume could have critiqued my songs. It would have been hard to take, to hear that what I thought was good was poor. And it would have been even harder to understand that even anything good isn't good enough. Nothing less than great will even get a look.
Secondly, those costly demos... were a mix of live and midi. Nothing wrong with midi... if it's worked with so it is indistinguishable from the real thing. Nothing wrong with EZdrummer if it's worked with properly. But the midi on my demos is obvious to the experienced ear, and the virtual instruments used to give sound to that midi are not of good quality. I hear that now, but then I was so excited about my songs coming alive... and I didn't even know that would be an issue.
In addition, I did not have the experience to even know what to ask for. I should have, for example, taken in a couple of recordings of hit songs in the genre I was shooting for, and talked to the producer about having that kind of arrangement/setting for my song. And finding the right singer. Someone who sounds something like the "a la" artists I intended to pitch the song for.
IMO I foolishly hired someone who didn't have the necessary experience to take my songs from worktape to effective, pitchable demo. I don't blame them, I blame me. I didn't know what I was doing. Buyer beware. In the end it didn't really matter because the songs themselves were not worthy of the money spent upon them. An expensive lesson.
I recommend that you take what you feel are your top 3 best, killer songs - and have them critiqued by professionals. NSIA, SongU, John or Jason, Harriet Schock, Pat & Pete Luboff. In all cases the feedback is the opinion of the person writing the critique, but this will give you a fairly good idea if what you think is great, is commercially viable. If the results of this exercise are good, then start shopping for a producer who produces songs that sound as close as you can get to the hit songs in the genre you are going to be pitching in. Make sure the singer used on the demo is excellent. The singer sells the song.
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
my voice cracks when I sing
Q: I try so hard to get my voice back the way it used to be, when it really worked. But it cracks and it hurts when I sing, and sometimes I cough. What am I doing wrong?
A: The most important thing you need to do is to stop trying to make your voice be something else. People try to imitate the stars they love, or they try to make their voice do something they imagine is good. And all they do is strangle their voices. You see this on American Idol auditions all the time.
Your voice is like a dog you are trying to get to jump through the hoop. You can't make the dog jump through the hoop, it has to jump on its own. Even if you lift up the dog, you can't make it jump. You simply hold out the hoop and invite the dog to jump through it. You have to invite your voice to be with you.
Your voice is cracked and strained because you are trying to make it 'be' something. You need to accept it for exactly what it is. Even if you plan to work or train, you must always work with what you have, and trust that it will progress.
Voice is a funny thing. the harder you try to make it 'be', the further away you push it.
Sing music that suits your voice in keys that fit your range. Don't imitate other people. In addition - this is very important - always look for quality, not quantity. Sing songs you like, but sing them as yourself. That's all we really have anyway.
A: The most important thing you need to do is to stop trying to make your voice be something else. People try to imitate the stars they love, or they try to make their voice do something they imagine is good. And all they do is strangle their voices. You see this on American Idol auditions all the time.
Your voice is like a dog you are trying to get to jump through the hoop. You can't make the dog jump through the hoop, it has to jump on its own. Even if you lift up the dog, you can't make it jump. You simply hold out the hoop and invite the dog to jump through it. You have to invite your voice to be with you.
Your voice is cracked and strained because you are trying to make it 'be' something. You need to accept it for exactly what it is. Even if you plan to work or train, you must always work with what you have, and trust that it will progress.
Voice is a funny thing. the harder you try to make it 'be', the further away you push it.
Sing music that suits your voice in keys that fit your range. Don't imitate other people. In addition - this is very important - always look for quality, not quantity. Sing songs you like, but sing them as yourself. That's all we really have anyway.
Monday, February 25, 2008
offering lyrics "for free"
Q: You can use my lyrics for free as long as you give me credit on your CD. You will not own the lyrics and can't say you wrote them.
A: Unfortunately it’s not true that someone setting your words to music can do so “freely” and then not own the result.
The truth is that both of you would own the resulting song, meaning that it is a co-written piece of music. They could do very little with the song without your input. In other words, they couldn’t pitch it to an artist, they couldn’t pitch it to film/tv.
So using your lyrics would preclude them doing anything but recording it themselves on their CD. And in that case, you can, in writing, waive your share of the mechanical licencing fee for that song, however, you will still be owed your share of the songwriting royalties if the song is played on radio or in PRO registered venues. And I have had some legal advice on the subject of co-writing, and it is recommended that you always get a co-writing agreement signed.
If there is clear separation between the contributions, you can agree on a reversion clause so that if the song is not published or placed within a certain period that property reverts back to you. In the absence of a co-writing agreement the law considers the song to belong to both of you equally, regardless of who contributed what.
If it were me, I would also expect my co-writer to at least participate in the process of the music development & give feedback on melody and setting. I would also expect them to share in the cost of demoing the song, if any.
One additional note - avoid any situation where the same lyrics may be used by different people for different songs. The legal entanglements get too complicated. One lyric, one song - at least until the revision clause clicks in.
Disclaimer - I am not a lawyer & the above should not be misconstrued as legal advice.
A: Unfortunately it’s not true that someone setting your words to music can do so “freely” and then not own the result.
The truth is that both of you would own the resulting song, meaning that it is a co-written piece of music. They could do very little with the song without your input. In other words, they couldn’t pitch it to an artist, they couldn’t pitch it to film/tv.
So using your lyrics would preclude them doing anything but recording it themselves on their CD. And in that case, you can, in writing, waive your share of the mechanical licencing fee for that song, however, you will still be owed your share of the songwriting royalties if the song is played on radio or in PRO registered venues. And I have had some legal advice on the subject of co-writing, and it is recommended that you always get a co-writing agreement signed.
If there is clear separation between the contributions, you can agree on a reversion clause so that if the song is not published or placed within a certain period that property reverts back to you. In the absence of a co-writing agreement the law considers the song to belong to both of you equally, regardless of who contributed what.
If it were me, I would also expect my co-writer to at least participate in the process of the music development & give feedback on melody and setting. I would also expect them to share in the cost of demoing the song, if any.
One additional note - avoid any situation where the same lyrics may be used by different people for different songs. The legal entanglements get too complicated. One lyric, one song - at least until the revision clause clicks in.
Disclaimer - I am not a lawyer & the above should not be misconstrued as legal advice.
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