I
suggest you start to pay attention to cool song titles that you hear and start
to ponder "how did they come up with that?" Create a list of unusual things you
hear people say, clever advertising slogans, etc. When you've come up with a list
of 50 or so song titles that fit your personal definition of cool, then try this:
draft the layout of the back of your album cover, complete with 10-12 song titles
- stack the titles in the order in which you think they should appear. By doing
this you should be able to get a sense of the feel or atmosphere of the album
you'd love to create ...the ultimate you. Then, pick one title and go write the
song. Perhaps you'll write an entire album this way... even if you only come up
with one or two songs from this exercise ...it will be one or two songs your didn't
have before, and at least these ones will have titles for a change. B)
Melodic & Lyrical themes -HAPPY OR SAD, FAST OR SLOW? Can you write a happy
slow song or a fast sad song? The
answer is apparent to some, but I see evidence that to some, it is not and needs
to be explored. Just as the dynamics within a song(not all but many) "can" contain
both a lyrical and melodic journey with a beginning, middle, perhaps a "climax"
and then an end, so too can the order of the songs as they unfold on the album
and as they are scheduled in your live set list. There are acts that will present
song after song of hardcore, fast, fun, furious and loud music all night long
which can be an assault to the ears. Limited dynamic range, as in LOUD & FAST,
eventually fatigues the eardrums. The other side of the spectrum however, is the
budding songwriter who writes slow sad songs ALOT. At open stages, they perform
song after song of slow sad songs. What happens to the listener is he gets restless,
the vibe in the room gets to be a downer and sleepy, even if they are fantastic
songs. The long slow sad set list might work well for the amazing Allison Krause
or the ole cool Cowboy Junkies but it doesn't work for most acts. Some
writers can find it a challenge to write up tempo tunes that they think aren't
mindless fluff...if this sounds like you then I encourage you to dig deeper until
you can write an up-tempo tune that still is meaningful and rich to your ears,
by exploring varied ranges of the human emotion, tempos and grooves and the keys
(yikes... that's another tendency... where too many of one writers songs are in
the same key!) To
ensure our year end songwriter showcase concert has not only depth but also variety,
I always assign my students a "get in touch with your inner Saturday Night" song
- or the "write anything but slow or sad song." The results of this assignment
always adds the much needed energy in between the deep dark and equally relevant
and moving songs about suicide, abuse, addictions, busted and bad love, obsessions,
loneliness, longing etc.. The up tempos get fantastic audience response and help
the performers and audience wake up, relax and have more fun in the process, and
we just so happen to usually present these concerts on Saturday nights! I encourage
diversity in songwriters, no matter what genre they're writing in. C)
Create MORE ORIGINAL MELODIES by tinkering with alternative scales (not
just for jazz improv... not complicated. just a slightly wacked thing to try...(although
you do have to know how to read a few notes for this) Simply try experimenting
with these alternate scales by improvising with the notes in which ever scales
you are most drawn to. Vary the tempos, grooves and keys and follow what sounds
good to you. Based on the choices you make during this process, what should ultimately
transpire is your personal style guided by the genre you feel most akin to.
I
have been quite blown away by the originality of the melodies of the songs I get
submitted after this assignment and I hope it's a well of melodic inspiration
for you too.
Some
of the scales** may take you way too far into left
field but it might be a cool result.
Good Luck! ~Alix
**For
a copy of the scales Alix is talking about, send Kathy
an email and she'll be happy to forward them along to you. Unfortunately the format
was not suitable for the World Wide Web.
Alix
Bean can most often be found in the office of her company ALIX BEAN RADIO ROMOTIONS,
rounding up national radio airplay for artists such as: DUANE STEELE, THE POVERTY
PLAINSMEN, Corb Lund, Ian Tyson, Melanie Laine and many other Canadian recording
artists. Alix is also on the faculty at Grant MacEwan College, teaching a 3 credit
song writing course in the Music Department. As a songwriter, Alix has garnered
two nationally charting top 30 hits with her songs "WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR"
recorded by Duane Steele of Rock n' Horse at the time & "NEVER ENOUGH" recorded
by The Poverty Plainsmen. While continuing to evolve herself as a songwriter,
Alix also enjoys sharing her experience of the song writing craft and music business
with up & coming talent.
ALIX BEAN RADIO PROMOTIONS
780-430-4154
abeanpromo@shaw.ca
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