SONGWRITING Part 2 of 2
SONGWRITING - MAKING THE THREE MINUTE MOVIE
By huskybones
Good morning class!
This month I want to talk about songs, specifically, the structure, lyrics and overall betterment of your songs. These ideas can be applied to your music whether you favor Pantera or Pat Boone. Take a look at the information here and see if you can use it to make your songs better. I've heard musicians say that they feel restrained by the "boring verse/chorus" type songs. I offer two thoughts to those of you who agree. First, sometimes things get used repeatedly because they work, like snare drums on 2 & 4, cleavage selling anything, and Lava soap. Second, if a song is boring, it may not be the structure's fault.
With the help of someone who's way more knowledgeable than I am, Jon Iger of the Arizona Songwriter's Association, I've put together a songwriting primer for your perusal. (Jon's comments are in quotes.)
We'll start with the structure or form of the song. Think of form as the skeleton of your song. Also, remember "There are a lot of guidelines, but nothing is in concrete. Everything is subject to change or artistic interpretation." The two basic forms are the verse/chorus and the verse/bridge. "The most common is the verse-chorus. (This form) would usually be verse/chorus/verse/chorus and either chorus again or bridge. Or, if you need to tell more of the story, you could put in a third verse." In fig. 1, you'll see a typical example of this form. "Another variation on the verse\chorus is to start out with the chorus or if you have a lyric that's building up with a story then you may not want to give away the chorus until after 2 verses." One important distinction between the two forms is the placement of the title. "In the chorus the title is usually in the first or last line, or maybe every line. Another variation on verse\chorus is a pre-chorus. Sometimes called a pre-hook, lift or channel. This is usually a two line part that builds up to the chorus." Examples of verse/chorus include, I Got Friends In Low Places (Garth Brooks), Fly Like An Eagle (Steve Miller) and Drive My Car (Beatles). Listen to where the title is in these songs.
The second form is the verse/bridge or AABA.( Fig 2). In this form, the title is in the first or the last line of the verse. Good examples are Fields Of Gold (Sting), Sunny Came Home (Shawn Colvin) and Yesterday (Beatles). The verses in this form tend to sound complete at the ends as opposed to building to the chorus. With regard to the bridge, Jon adds, "The bridge should take it to another place, musically and lyrically. It might put a different spin on things or introduce a new view point on what you're talking about, so you're not saying the same thing all the time in the song. A chorus is where you do that (repeat) and the song should build. A song is like a three minute movie. It needs a beginning, a middle and an end. The story should keep moving so it's not boring. That's partly lyrical and partly musical.
Studying the songs of people you admire is a great way to help get your craft together. Jon made a suggestion to help you learn about song structure. Take a song you like and re-write the words to that music, then re-write the music and it's yours!
The other key element in songwriting of course is lyrics. One of the main things about your lyrics is finding new ways to tell the same old stories. How many things do people sing about really? So try to avoid clichés or as Jon says "Say the cliché in a new and different way." Or change it so that it's new somehow. "A lot of good titles are twisted clichés." There's also the idea of 'prosody' or the marriage between the lyrics and the music. Do the lyrics fit the music and does the melody flow with the words?
One of the other major pitfalls is boredom. There is an old axiom in songwriting that goes "Don't bore us, get to the chorus!" "Focus on one idea. Writing from a title is helpful. The title gives you an idea of what the song is about. This is very important. Every line should relate to the title. A good check is to say each line then say the title and see if it makes sense. It should."
Another good tip regarding lyrics is that you can create added tension in a verse by adding a fifth line where you would expect 4 or shortening a line to make it stand out. If you get stuck for a part, "Switch the first and second verse around and see how it works. This also works well with a line. Switch lines around and see if it makes a difference." Lastly, remember that you want the sections to be distinct from one another. Make the chorus different from the verse lyrically and musically. If the verse has long lines, then the chorus should have short lines. The dynamics (VOLUME, feel) of the chorus should be different from the verse as well.
That's it for now, hope it helps.
On a personal note, I just want to say to anyone making, selling, operating, fixing or profiting from pay phones that charge 50 cents for calls. You can all blow me.
-hb
SONGWRITING - MAKING THE THREE MINUTE MOVIE
By huskybones
Good morning class!
This month I want to talk about songs, specifically, the structure, lyrics and overall betterment of your songs. These ideas can be applied to your music whether you favor Pantera or Pat Boone. Take a look at the information here and see if you can use it to make your songs better. I've heard musicians say that they feel restrained by the "boring verse/chorus" type songs. I offer two thoughts to those of you who agree. First, sometimes things get used repeatedly because they work, like snare drums on 2 & 4, cleavage selling anything, and Lava soap. Second, if a song is boring, it may not be the structure's fault.
With the help of someone who's way more knowledgeable than I am, Jon Iger of the Arizona Songwriter's Association, I've put together a songwriting primer for your perusal. (Jon's comments are in quotes.)
We'll start with the structure or form of the song. Think of form as the skeleton of your song. Also, remember "There are a lot of guidelines, but nothing is in concrete. Everything is subject to change or artistic interpretation." The two basic forms are the verse/chorus and the verse/bridge. "The most common is the verse-chorus. (This form) would usually be verse/chorus/verse/chorus and either chorus again or bridge. Or, if you need to tell more of the story, you could put in a third verse." In fig. 1, you'll see a typical example of this form. "Another variation on the verse\chorus is to start out with the chorus or if you have a lyric that's building up with a story then you may not want to give away the chorus until after 2 verses." One important distinction between the two forms is the placement of the title. "In the chorus the title is usually in the first or last line, or maybe every line. Another variation on verse\chorus is a pre-chorus. Sometimes called a pre-hook, lift or channel. This is usually a two line part that builds up to the chorus." Examples of verse/chorus include, I Got Friends In Low Places (Garth Brooks), Fly Like An Eagle (Steve Miller) and Drive My Car (Beatles). Listen to where the title is in these songs.
|
Fig.
1- Verse/Chorus
Verse 1 Chorus Verse 2 Chorus Bridge Chorus |
Fig.
2 - Verse/Bridge Verse 1
Verse 2 Bridge Verse 3 Bridge Verse |
The second form is the verse/bridge or AABA.( Fig 2). In this form, the title is in the first or the last line of the verse. Good examples are Fields Of Gold (Sting), Sunny Came Home (Shawn Colvin) and Yesterday (Beatles). The verses in this form tend to sound complete at the ends as opposed to building to the chorus. With regard to the bridge, Jon adds, "The bridge should take it to another place, musically and lyrically. It might put a different spin on things or introduce a new view point on what you're talking about, so you're not saying the same thing all the time in the song. A chorus is where you do that (repeat) and the song should build. A song is like a three minute movie. It needs a beginning, a middle and an end. The story should keep moving so it's not boring. That's partly lyrical and partly musical.
Studying the songs of people you admire is a great way to help get your craft together. Jon made a suggestion to help you learn about song structure. Take a song you like and re-write the words to that music, then re-write the music and it's yours!
The other key element in songwriting of course is lyrics. One of the main things about your lyrics is finding new ways to tell the same old stories. How many things do people sing about really? So try to avoid clichés or as Jon says "Say the cliché in a new and different way." Or change it so that it's new somehow. "A lot of good titles are twisted clichés." There's also the idea of 'prosody' or the marriage between the lyrics and the music. Do the lyrics fit the music and does the melody flow with the words?
One of the other major pitfalls is boredom. There is an old axiom in songwriting that goes "Don't bore us, get to the chorus!" "Focus on one idea. Writing from a title is helpful. The title gives you an idea of what the song is about. This is very important. Every line should relate to the title. A good check is to say each line then say the title and see if it makes sense. It should."
Another good tip regarding lyrics is that you can create added tension in a verse by adding a fifth line where you would expect 4 or shortening a line to make it stand out. If you get stuck for a part, "Switch the first and second verse around and see how it works. This also works well with a line. Switch lines around and see if it makes a difference." Lastly, remember that you want the sections to be distinct from one another. Make the chorus different from the verse lyrically and musically. If the verse has long lines, then the chorus should have short lines. The dynamics (VOLUME, feel) of the chorus should be different from the verse as well.
That's it for now, hope it helps.
On a personal note, I just want to say to anyone making, selling, operating, fixing or profiting from pay phones that charge 50 cents for calls. You can all blow me.
-hb
