Invest in Yourself

If you want to fish, you have to go to the water. To catch the really big fish, you must go to the ocean.

Invest in yourself and your dream. If you don’t live near a music city, visit one. It will not only inspire you, but also help your understand the reality of your dream. It will give it a face and a name.

If you can’t afford a trip, invest in a book about the music business, songwriting or performing. Sign up for a workshop on creativity or songwriting, or attend a panel discussion on a creative topic that interests you. If those are out of your reach, at least buy yourself a new pen, pencil or writing tablet that makes you feel like a writer, or a new instrument that inspires a new musical direction. Inspiration, wherever you find it, is essential to the creative soul. Learn what inspires you and make room for it in your life.

It’s hard to deep sea fish from Kansas. You MUST go where the action is for whatever your dreams are…at least for a visit: to smell, taste, see and feel your dream up close.

Join The Club

Every new songwriter is looking for the “secret handshake” that will take them behind the curtain to the inner sanctum of the music community. My usual response for this is to explain that it is a people business and takes time to build your network and to gain the respect and trust of those who hold the keys to your success.

While I stand by this advice, it occurs to me that I have been here long enough to expand on it. In my twenty something years in Nashville, I have seen many aspiring artists and writers come and go with varying degrees of success. Those that rise the fastest and/or last the longest have a few common attributes:

1. They pay attention and they care. (Perhaps this one should read, “They pay attention because they care.”) They listen more than they talk, until they have amassed enough understanding about the way things work to contribute something constructive to a conversation. They have a desire to better conditions for everyone, not only themselves.

2. They prepare. When they get a chance to “join the club,” (attend an important function; meet someone influential; take advantage of an unexpected performance or pitching opportunity, etc.) they are prepared. What appears to be a lucky break by those standing on the outside looking in, is actually a very natural next step.

3. The ask to be accepted. They make the effort to show up in the right places; to study the right material; to practice the social graces expected of whom they hope to become.

4. They show up. They don’t wait for a guarantee that an opportunity will be worth their time and energy and money before committing to it. They look at the possibilities, not the obstacles. It is very hard to reach the other shore if you are afraid to let go of the one you are standing on.

I am intrigued by the songwriters I meet through my production services. I try very hard to promote an opportunity for growth and advancement through it. Some jump at the opportunity to surround themselves with Owen Hale, Eddie Bayers, Danny Parks, Jeff King, Joe Spivey, Buddy Hyatt, Bobby Terry and other amazing musicians, and myself in a top Music Row studio and immerse themselves in the creative energy. (If you don’t know these players, look them up!) They see an opportunity that they can’t afford to pass up; a chance to “join the club,” while others look only at the bottom line, unable to see the opportunity.

I am a firm believer that you find what you look for and can only see what you are ready to see. When you are ready, these teachers are here for you. What a blessing to have so much enlightenment, warmth and creativity at our fingertips here in Nashville!

Songwriting As a Hobby

I was talking with a production client recently who told me that her husband wanted her to continue with her “hobby” of songwriting even though it may never show any monetary rewards. For years I, myself, apologized for the money and time I spent on songwriting with no return. I justified it because I wasn’t playing golf, hunting, fishing, scuba diving or pursuing any other costly hobbies.
I am a firm advocate for putting your all into anything that you expect great returns from. You must be willing to invest your time, energy, and money into something that you expect a big return on. It is unfair and naive to expect those results from something that you only put part time energy into. But there is also validity in doing something that you love for the shear sake of the pleasure; for the emotional payoff without the guilt and angst of a monetary payoff.
So, today’s message from me is that you should give yourself permission to pursue your passion for songwriting with no qualifications or apologies. Until you find another hobby that satisfies your creative soul as deeply and has the potential for returns that songwriting does, allow yourself to pursue it with gusto and guilt-free.
If you enjoy songwriting as a hobby; then write and record your songs, to the extent that you can afford to, for the fulfillment of it. If you want to pursue it professionally, these are steps you must take anyway, so take the pressure off of the process. You may find that it frees you up to write better, more heartfelt songs when you get back to writing for all of the right reasons.
The next time it begins to feel like a guilty pleasure, put it along side your significant other’s golf games, fishing trips, bowling league or other optional recreational spending and it may give you a new perspective. Write on!

I Can’t Get There From Here

I recently finished writing a song with Rachel Williams with the hook of “I can see where I want to go, but I can’t get there from here”. Although we wrote it from the “love” viewpoint (as all good songwriters do whenever possible, in order to reach the largest audience), its message is equally applicable to life in general.

Can you “see where you want to be”? Do you have a clear vision for your goals in songwriting? The big picture, the big payoff is usually easy to envision. It’s the steps between where you are now and where you want to be that are so hard to see.
Can you “get there from here”? Are you on the path that could take you where you want to be? If not, try looking at others who are where you want to be and aligning yourself with them. If you can get on the trail behind them it will make your path easier to see.

If you don’t have others to lead you, then try drawing a line between your current position and your dream location. Instead of biting off the entire journey, can you envision just the next step that is necessary to get you closer to your end goal?
All you have to see is the next step, not the whole journey. If even that is too hard to focus on, seek out a mentor for that one step. When you have taken it, set your sights on the next one.

Remember that you have to know where you are going in order to get there. And you have to keep moving, even if it means adjusting your course as you go.

Creating Inspiration

I have spent the last several days assimilating our TAXI Road Rally experience. As I recount all of the wonderful people we met, the great songs we heard, the amazing array of songwriting products represented, it occurs to me that the most valuable thing I gained from my four days of interaction with 1500 participants from all over the world was inspiration.

I had several people approach me after the talk Susan and I gave on “Professional Songwriting: Getting in the game, Staying in the game, Winning the game” to tell me that they couldn’t wait to write their next song! There is no better compliment to me than to hear that my words inspired someone to write! That’s what it’s all about.

Maybe it’s the afterglow of the Road Rally (or maybe it’s the impending holidays), but I find myself today thinking about inspiration. For some, inspiration is the first, and most important, step to creativity. Some songwriters only write when they’re inspired. Most of us feel that our best songs come from inspired writing. It seems to me then, that inspiration shouldn’t be something we wait for, but something we learn to access, or create, at will.

Those of you who know me know that I believe strongly in the power of shared creative energy. One of the best ways to find inspiration and nurture creativity is to surround yourself with like-minded people.

I know that the songwriters who attended our talk were inspired not only by the tools and techniques that we shared with them, but also by the words of the hit writers that Susan shared with them from her new book The Secrets of Songwriting, and by the other songwriters in the room during the lively discussions that the Q&A presented.

Being in the middle of fifteen hundred songwriters is a wonderful thing, but so is finding inspiration when you are the only writer in the room. Sometimes inspiration hits like a bolt of lightening. Other times it takes a little prompting.

One of the best ways of creating inspiration is to use a tool called clustering. The premise of clustering is to free-flow until you hit upon a new idea or find an interesting approach to an existing one. There are many forms of clustering. Three different forms are explained in our workbook Creative Funneling: Three steps to stronger lyrics. These exercises will help you find an idea that inspires you to write it! They also provide you with a tool for creating inspiration, rather than waiting for it to strike.

I hope all of the TAXI participants maintained their inspiration until they got back to their writing rooms and were able to put it to good use. For those of you who did not get to experience the power surge of the Road Rally, I hope you learn to find your inspiration from new sources, and create it with new tools, so that all of your future writing can be inspired writing.

Happy Thanksgiving! You will all be included in my Thanksgiving Day wishes.

Condense It!

One of my production and critique clients recently had an epiphany regarding song structure in today’s market that I’d like to share with you here, as it reaffirms some of my most frequently dispensed songwriting advice…less is more!

Approximately ninety percent of the songs currently airing on CMT have four lines of lyric before they hit the chorus. Of the remaining ten percent, I’d say that nine have a four line verse and a two line channel, and only one percent have eight lines of verse preceding the chorus.

If you are using lengthy verses to explain your story to the listener, you may be losing them before you get to the punch line (chorus). Try evaluating some of your eight line verses to see if they can be condensed into four lines. Determine which information contained there is truly relevant to the listener’s understanding of the story. Be sure to give only the important factual and emotional information without any superfluous words or lines that may confuse your audience or lose their attention.

It is very important to learn what is selling in the market you are competing in, if you want to succeed. The old adage, “Don’t bore us, get to the chorus” still rings true in today’s song market. With this one tool of learning to say more with fewer words you can take your songwriting to a new, more commercial level.

Building Better Songs
(Add-on’s are nice, but built-in’s are better!)

Many songwriters go into the studio with incomplete song ideas expecting to “sell it with Shine” (i.e. have the studio musicians finish their songs for them). There is nothing terribly wrong with this, as long as it is a step on the songwriter’s path to becoming a complete songwriter; not the final destination. Many of us begin our songwriting journeys without a vast working knowledge of instrumentation, and musical structure. These are tools of the trade that can be learned through experience by surrounding yourself with creative musicians and paying attention.

At some point in your writing career though, you must take full responsibility for building your own songs, which are, after all, supposed to be an honest expression of your creative voice.

I work with a lot of up and coming songwriters helping them arrange and demo their songs. My goal in these sessions is to not only give them a great representation of their song that will compete in the pitching market; but also to help them understand the process so that they come to the next demo session with even stronger songs and better production ideas of their own.

Because I produce a lot of demo sessions, I also know and work with a lot of talented session players. Most love what they do, and will give you all of the creativity and experience they can muster during any given session.

They are however, limited by time and by your musical structure, or lack thereof. (Remember that most of the musicians on your session will hear your song once or twice and then record it). They will do their best to interpret the attitude you intended, and to give it a pleasing presentation that makes your song sound bigger than it did on your work tape.

But, alas, they are human. Like the rest of us, they are conglomerates of everything they have heard, played and written before. Here is the question: Do you want your song to represent the best of what the session player can recreate from his experience in 15 minutes, or the best of your creative imagination? These guys are so good that if you can give them something to go on, they can easily be inspired to expand and enhance your ideas, rather than inserting their own.

Before your next demo session, take a good look at the songs you are taking in. Do your lyrics clearly dictate the attitude of the song? If you are capable, have you built in a signature musical line (a musical hook)? If you don’t play an instrument, you can hum or sing an idea to the musicians. Put some thought into it. What instrument would best sell that line? Don’t just settle for some stock intro that may work, but isn’t unique.

Have you explored rhythms; either with a rhythm machine or just by tapping them out on your leg while you sing your melody. If not, can you find three songs that have comparable rhythmic attitudes to offer as examples? What mood do you want the music to express? What instrument could best deliver that mood? Don’t settle for electric guitar if you really hear a string quartet in your head…. this is your session!

Don’t be afraid to explore, (but do as much of your exploring as possible before the studio clock starts running). Remember that there is no right or wrong, only different interpretations. Yours is the most important one when it comes to your songs! When people (publishers, for example) listen to your songs, they should hear you in them.

While it is absolutely honest and often necessary to hire great players and singers to bring your ideas fully to life, it is your responsibility to include all of the ‘built-ins’ needed to make it a complete song before you get to the studio. Until you can do that, use musicians, or whoever can help, to grow your ideas. But use them as a learning tool, not a permanent part of your writing toolbox.

I have talked in other articles about the various types of hooks and the importance of including as many of them in each song as possible. The hook is that part of the song that a listener walks away humming after one listen, or can’t get out of his head for a week. A clever lyrical hook is great. A clever lyrical hook set to a very memorable melody is even better. But a clever lyrical hook with a memorable melody, which also happens over an infectious rhythm supported by creative instrumentation, is hard to ignore.

Your ultimate goal should be to write complete songs, which include as many hooks as possible. As long as you are writing only catchy lyrics or melodies and expecting others to finish them with ‘add-ons’, you will never be a complete songwriter and your songs will never be an honest representation of who you are as a writer. The more you participate in the entire writing process (from inspiration to presentation), the more the real you will shine through in your songs.

A great demo can greatly enhance a good song, (you know how strongly I feel about presentation!), and you should use it as one of your most reliable songwriting tools. But remember, if the basis of a good, complete song isn’t there, you can’t build it with a band, polish it with percussion, hide it with harmony, or fix it in the mix.

Happy (and complete) writing!

Three Important Points About Opening Lines

Aside from the actual hook line, this is probably the most important line of your song. Think about everything that opening line can accomplish for you.

1) It helps to set the mood of the song. Is it moody and dark, funny and silly, full of love and romance?

2) It let's us know who is singing to who. The sooner you establish this bit of information, the quicker you can get to the meat of your story. Try to pack a lot of info by "implying" some important points. If we hear a male vocal and the lyric is, "Baby, won't you take my ring," we know a guy is singing to a girl in whom he probably has a romantic interest.

3) Use it to involve the listener. If you have something visual that draws them in right away, then you most likely have them "hooked" to the end. Or maybe it's just a really unique statement of love. Something we haven't heard a million times before. It makes them eager to hear what follows.

A line as important as this deserves a second look before you call your lyric finished.

A New Approach

The chorus is what carries most songs. It is what the listener is supposed to be able to sing along with after only a few times hearing the song. Therefore the rule used to be to never change the lyrics of the chorus. It was assumed that listeners needed to hear the same section repeated verbatim several times to lock it into their heads and begin to remember it. However, today’s world of snippet information and instant gratification has trained the listener to expect (even demand) a constant flow of new information. In today’s market, it is commonplace to have new lyrics (all or partial) in each chorus of a song. But this doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to write twice as many words for your songs and your predecessors did.

There are two ways to make your hook new and interesting to the listener each time it comes by. The first is to change the lyric. You could keep the melody and the hook line of the chorus, but change all of the other lyrics to it. Or you could change only one line to “freshen it up” a bit.

The second option is to find a new approach to your hook each time you use it; giving it a new meaning or new emotional intensity. Look for ways to put a twist in the bridge to make the hook line mean something different than it did the fist time the listener heard it. Experiment with having the hook spoken by a different character the second time it comes around.

Sometimes it is the cleverness or profoundness of a hook that makes it shine. Sometimes it is the approach to it that makes it remarkable.

A Rose By Any Other Name

It isn’t enough that songwriters must learn the acronyms for all of the conjoined record labels, songwriter organizations, pro’s, unions and publishing conglomerates. There is also song structure vernacular that is confusing, but necessary. Having just spent a wonderful weekend with the Orlando NSAI group (Nashville Songwriter’s Association International), I was reminded of just how confusing it all can be, so I will attempt to shed some light on a few of the questions that were raised at that workshop.

Climb: (also known as lift, pre-chorus, channel) A section of the song which connects (or climbs) the verse to the chorus. It is not as big musically and melodically as the chorus, but does feel bigger (higher energy) than the verse. It is a good place to introduce a chord that has not yet been heard in the verse section; typically a 2 minor, 6 minor or flat 7, but it could be a major 3 or any other chord that serves the purpose of building energy and intensity into the chorus.

5th Form song structure: (Also called AAA or triple A). Rather than a verse/chorus structure, where the title or hook appears in a prominent spot in the chorus, this song form has several verses which each begin or end with the hook or title of the song. Typically there are two or three verses, then a bridge section (which does not include the hook), then another verse section.

Bridge: A section of a song that is musically, melodically and lyrically distinctive from the rest of the song. This is a good place to back off the camera lens and give a more philosophical overview of the situation at hand, or a “life message”, or another outlook on the subject. It typically introduces a new chord not used elsewhere in the song and is less intimate with information than the verses and chorus.

I’m sure there are others, but these will give you something to think about and, hopefully clarify a few twists on your path to songwriting success.

A Song is a Song…

We’ve just returned from a wonderful workshop with the Oklahoma Songwriters and Composers Assoc. in Oklahoma City. I was very impressed with the quality of songs we heard, both demos and live performances, but what I was most impressed with was the diversity in this group. They include composers, (who write and perform instrumental music), poets, songwriters from several genres, artists and even engineers, producers and aspiring record label executives. They have the potential to be a complete music entity if they combine their energy and work together to help each other achieve their goals. Because we had different genres represented, we were able to discuss song structure and content on a more generic level as well as specifics relating to different markets. What we discovered (or, more accurately, remembered) was that:
a) music is an emotional art form, a way of expressing and sharing emotion;
b) though different genres have different “selling” elements, (i.e. the rhythm and alliteration in hip-hop, the melody in pop, the story in country, the power chords in rock, etc) all songs have to accomplish the same goals to reach a mass audience (make the listener understand the emotion and make them believe the emotion);
c) This is best accomplished using at least two different musical themes which give the song shape.

The bottom line is the same for all songs, no matter what the message or whom the audience:
Do I understand?
Do I believe?
Do I care?

A View From The Other Side: How A Pitch Becomes A Cut

Imagine that there is a huge funnel into which hundreds of songs are poured at the beginning of each recording project. As the producer, my first order of business is to meet with the artist to determine the goal for this project. Will there be an overall message or theme? What image does he/she want to send to their audience? Which of their personal beliefs, likes and dislikes would influence their choice of songs? What are their vocal abilities, limitations, style, range, etc.?

Secondly, we would decide the logistics of the project. How many songs are needed? How many (if any) will the artist write? Have they filled some of the slots with songs that they have already found?

Once all of these questions have been answered and the criteria set, a song search begins. I may put a listing on RowFax or other pitch sheets specifying the artist, producer, recording date, and style of song we are looking for. This brings us back to the funnel.

As hundreds of songs pour into my office, my job is to listen to them searching for those that fall within the boundaries we have established for this project. Some producers listen to every song that comes in. Others have assistants who screen them to eliminate those that obviously don’t meet the criteria (i.e. we asked for only power ballads and the first four bars of your song sound like Shania Twain on a caffeine high).

This first process of elimination is to weed out songs based on: a) song quality (songs with unfocused messages, overused hooks, trite lyrics, boring melodies, poor musical structure, etc); and b) demo quality (With hundreds of songs on my desk, I don’t have time to imagine what it could be if what it is hurts to listen to. The demo doesn’t necessarily have to blow me away with great production, but it should not scare me away either. It should represent your song in a way that spotlights the positive elements of it and makes it pleasing to listen to.)

As the funnel narrows, the songs that make it from the wide top into the narrow shaft will be given a second, more serious listen. Here, songs are filtered out that don’t fit this particular artist. They may be well written, well presented songs, but they don’t meet the criteria for what he/she wants to say, or don’t match where they are in life at that moment.

Many will be eliminated simply because the artist and producer are not equally moved by the song. Others will fall to the wayside because the artist doesn’t feel he can sell the song, or because his mood or view on life has changed since the initial guidelines were set.

Finally, the songs that make it out the mouth of the funnel are those that are deemed a close enough fit for this artist to warrant trying them on. The artist may take them home and work them up just to see how they sound in their voice, and whether they enjoy singing them. They may ride around in their car listening to them for a few weeks to see how they wear. We may even take them into the studio and do a preliminary recording of them.

There may be fifteen or twenty songs left in the hunt at this stage of the game. It will be pared down to ten by deciding which songs best fulfill the needs of the project.

This is where luck really kicks in for the songwriter. There are so many pieces of the puzzle that are so totally out of your control that luck often seems to be the determining factor between commercial success and obscurity.

Songs could be dropped at this point because there are three great waltzes in the final batch of songs, but only one designated waltz slot. Or, the artist may have written one, since the song search began, that they want to use. One song may be deemed more “radio friendly” or marketable than another based on the current market climate.

Oftentimes, there is no clear cut explanation for the song choices made during this stage, except for instinct. Your song may be recorded or not based on who is producing the project, who is in the A&R or marketing departments of the label the artist is signed to, which (or how many) publisher’s and songwriters are involved, etc, etc, etc.

Now that you understand a little more about how the selection process works, the best way for you to increase your chances of having your songs cut is to help as many of them as possible reach the final stage of that process. Remember that someone is going to be left standing in the final ten. If you do everything to control the elements that you can control; writing, producing and pitching competitive songs at the right time, to the right people, someday it will be you. Eventually, the odds will fall in your favor.

So then, should you aim for quantity or quality? The answer is both.

If you put all of your hopes on one or two songs, produce great demos of them, and then shotgun them to every producer in town, it may seem like you are increasing your chances of a cut. And you might be, in the short run. But, eventually, you will run out of pitching opportunities for those songs. Then you run the risk of losing respectability. You may no longer be taken seriously, or listened to, once people realize that you are pitching the same song for every project.

You need a catalog of quality songs to draw from so that you or your representative (publisher or independent song plugger) can pitch based on what they want, rather than what you have.

If I like your song but, for whichever of the aforementioned reasons, it does not make it on the project, I may ask to hear more from you, and/or will eagerly listen to the next song that crosses my desk with your name on it. However, if that next song is not as powerful as the last, you’ve lost my attention.

The pursuit of cuts is a long, winding journey through a maze of intricacies. You should do your best to try to see the picture from every angle, and then eliminate as many of the obstacles as you can between you and your goal.

Write great songs (learn your trade). Dress them for success (great demos). Give them great representation (someone who believes in them enough to sell others on them; you, your publisher, or an independent song plugger). And, lastly, position them for success. Put them in the right hands at the right time.

There is no denying that luck is a factor in getting songs cut, as it is in life. But I believe that those who take the initiative to understand the game, and have both the ambition to succeed and the courage to fail create their own luck.

Ain’t We Got Fun!

Doesn’t it just chap you to hear a song on the radio that you KNOW is not as strong as one of yours? Aside from nepotism, how do seemingly bad songs get on the radio, much less climb to number one on the charts? The answer is that even a weak lyric, a used chord progression, a bland melody can be overcome by a strong emotion. There isn’t one universal formula that applies to every hit song. A listener can be moved by the cheesiest lyric or simplest music if the combination makes them feel something.

I am not saying that you shouldn’t angst over creating a unique and powerful song. But sometimes it is good to step back, get a little perspective and just have a good time with your songwriting again. Look for fun rhymes, catchy language, infectious rhythms. Risk sounding stupid. Dare to be simple. Sometimes simplicity leads to depth.

In the game of commercial music, perfection rarely stands a chance against good old honest emotion.

Antennae Up?

Sun block? Water bottle? Golf clubs? Beach chair? Favorite snacks? Good book?

As you head out for your summer vacation, don’t forget to pack your songwriters antennae. Many of us think of summer activities as distractions from creativity and songwriting. But one necessary ingredient for songwriting is new ideas and new perspectives. They can be abundant as you experience new scenery, new people, and new situations during your summer travels.

I was relaxing with a book the other day (unfortunately not on the beach!), and came across a line of dialog that seemed mildly interesting to me, though I didn’t understand why. I underlined it and went on reading for another hour or so.

When I went back to the song I had been working on before I hit a wall and took a break to read for awhile, I realized that the line of dialog I had underlined was the answer to the block I was having with the song. It summarized the whole idea of the song quite nicely in six words! Had I not been in “antennae mode,” that line might have passed right on by with no more importance than the transitional phrase the author had intended it to be.

Whether you write about the things you see, feel, smell, touch and hear right away or save them for the fall or winter writing sessions, there are many priceless ideas floating on the waves of summer.

Keep your creative antennae up and try to be an observer as you enjoy your summer activities. You will be amazed at how distractions can turn into morsels of gold offered up by the creative muse. But they can only be received by those who have their antennae up!