Archive for March, 2008
Don’t Be Afraid To Ask Questions
“Remember, we are all in this songwriting thing together. Let’s help each other out.”
Someone once said to me that the only stupid questions are the ones you don’t ask.
Knowledge is gained through experience and asking lots of questions. I would like to have a go at answering whatever question about songwriting you care to ask.
The music industry is built on networks. Networking with others is the most important skill, outside of writing songs that a songwriter needs to acquire.
One of the main reasons I wanted to set up this blog was to share my knowledge and skills from over 20 years of being a singer/songwriter/musician.
I want everyone to benefit from the mistakes I’ve made in the past.
As mentioned in the beginning quote, I truly believe that we are all in this songwriting thing together and that there is plenty of room at the top (not that I am anywhere near the top as yet).
So, instead of looking at this business as a competition, lets offer our hands to each other and lift up as many of us as we possibly can.
Whatever question you have on songwriting, the creative process, the music industry, any article suggestions or whetever you want just let me know.
If I dont know the answer I will find the answer for you.
These posts that I write are only scraping the tip of the iceberg of all the knowledge that can be gained by pursuing mastery of the craft of songwriting, and yes it is a craft.
A craft that needs to be constantly utilised and improved upon every day.
We are all apprentices of this craft no matter how successful we are (I am certain that even Diane Warren would say that she still has a lot to learn).
All of us are works in progress so don’t be scared, ask questions and lots of them. You can never, ever stop learning.
There are many songwriting resources and organizations out there either online or in the real world, with dedicated people in them wanting to help you.
Sure, you might come across the odd mercenary that only thinks about the money and not the person but you get that in any profession.
If you don’t feel comfortable with anyone that you come across while networking then stop the dialogue politely and move on.
Dont let the possibility of meeting a shark stop you from searching for dolphins.
We, as songwriters owe it to ourselves and the music industry to write the best songs we can, so get out of the spectator stands get onto the court of life and start playing.
As the old saying goes, “ask and you shall receive”.
Until next time, happy writing,
Corey Stewart
Singer/Songwriter/Musician
Keywords: songwriting help, songwriting, songwriter, songwriting tip, songwriting technique, songwriting idea, songwriting resource, songwriting blog, corey stewart
Songwriting Tip – Always Be Prepared
“Songs come from the most amazing places”
I was asked some time ago to lead a songwriting workshop for the songwriting organization that I belong to called SCALA. The topic for this particular workshop was ‘how to capture songwriting ideas’.
In researching for the workshop, one of the questions I asked myself was “where have my songs come from?”
It was one of the first times I really looked at my songbook and traced the origins of my songs in this way. I realised that some of my songs had come from the most unlikely places.
This was most interesting to me.
Doing this research reinforced the notion that, as songwriters we have to be prepared to note down everything because songwriting ideas can come from anywhere.
I have written songs while sitting in cafes, waiting for and on buses, having showers, going for walks, drinking at the pub and waiting at traffic lights.
I try as much as possible to have a notpad or a dictaphone with me so I can capture these flashes of inspiration at anytime.
Get into the habit of seeing at the world we live in as an infinite songwriting ideas machine.
As a songwriter all you have to do is find your own way to reach out and tap into this amazing resource. Of course doing this takes practice and a willingness to become much more observent and mindful of what’s going on around you.
On a personal note, since making an effort to be more observant and mindful of what happens in my life, I have managed to get more things done and my songwriting output has increased.
Don’t be afraid of what you see and what you feel. Write down your emotions.
Emotions demonstrate to us all what it’s like to be human. Embracing what you see, hear and feel on paper will go a long way in developing your own style as a songwriter.
Be brave in the face of the unknown. Always BE PREPARED.
Until next time, happy writing,
Corey Stewart
Singer/Songwriter/Musician
Keywords: songwriting, songwriter, songwriting tip, songwriting help, songwriting technique, songwriting idea, songwriting blog, corey stewart
Using The Newspaper To Find Songwriting Ideas
If writing lyrics is all about words, then to be a good lyricist you would need a healthy respect for the english language and how it can be made to tell a story, describe things or put across a point of view.
You would also need to become very interested in what you read, speak, see and hear around you.
First of all, to become interested in words you need to actively seek words out. This would seem like an easy task as words are all around us yet we don’t really see them. We just take them for granted.
We especially take for granted what comes out of our mouths. The promises and commitments that we make and the way that we relate to people.
Words are very, very powerful things.
Actively seeking out words doesn’t mean getting out the dictionary and reading it from cover to cover but it does mean increasing the amount of reading you currently do.
First of all lets start with the humble newspaper. It’s something that’s easy to read and it can be delivered to you every day at minimal cost so getting hold of one requires very little effort on your part.
If you’re like me you’d be saying to yourself right now that you have no time to read. My answer to that is ‘who says you don’t have time?’
As songwriters, we can’t afford not to have the time to read and generally slow our lives down a bit so we can pick up on what is happening around us.
At the start of every day, get your newspaper and a cup of your favourite beverage and start reading and really take note of what you read and the pictures that you see.
What you’re doing is looking for something that jumps out at you.
A headline may make a great title for a song, a quote may make a good line for a chorus, an articles theme may make a great song story.
A word of warning here. Newspapers are notoriously full of bad news. Be careful not to get sucked in by the negativity. You’re looking for songwriting ideas not an excuse to feel sad.
Pay close attention to the letters to the editor. I find this section most entertaining and it also shows everyday people writing about everyday things in everyday language. I find this an absolute goldmine for songwriting ideas.
I know of a songwriter who only writes songs when she’s angry about something. If this is like you then reading a newspaper will be the equivilent to finding a vein of gold.
For the rest of us its a good opportunity to just take some quiet time out, grab a notepad and pen and allow the ideas to enter us from the ether.
Until next time, happy writing (and reading),
Corey Stewart
Singer/Songwriter/Musician
Keywords: songwriting, songwriter, writing songs, songwriting tip, songwriting help, songwriting technique, songwriting idea, songwriting blog, corey stewart
Giving Yourself Permission To Write Songs
A few years ago my songwriting was at a very low point. Well, I wasn’t writing anything at all.
I had this huge block as big as the Aswan Dam stopping any form of creativity coming out and because of that, I was very sad.
I was sad to the point of being very, very depressed.
For some reason I was allowing myself to not create and then sitting back and blaming everyone and everything for it. How silly was that?
I eventually realised that for anything that I do I am 100% in charge of what happens so, with that in mind, I started to give myself permission to create again. Once I did that, songs started to appear to me.
People in general are so obsessed about looking good and avoiding looking bad that all risk is taken out of life leaving a mere existance in its place.
Putting this into a songwriting context, we become so caught up with the end result that we actually forget to write.
Let me ask you this. How many times have you sat down to write a song, only to talk yourself out of it? All of a sudden vacuuming the carpet seems to be a better thing to do?
It seems that we would rather not write at all than write a so called ‘bad’ song.
If this has happened to you, then take comfort in the fact that you are not alone. I have been there and I would love a dollar for every other songwriter in the world that has experienced the very same thing.
Julia Cameron in her book “Walking In This World” says that in life we need to “always be willing to be a beginner”.
What this means is that we need to be able to be venerable enough to make mistakes, to be willing to learn again.
Every song that you write has the potential to be a powerful learning experience about yourself and the world around you. Dont deny yourself the opportunity to learn just because the end result might be not what you expect it to be.
Always remember, you do have something to say, your opinions are important and you do deserve to be a creative being.
Give yourself permission to write songs. Learn from every song you write and be prepared for some mistakes along the way.
You, and you alone are in control of your songwriting process.
Until next time, happy writing,
Corey Stewart
Singer/Songwriter/Musician
Keywords: songwriting tip, songwriting, songwriter, songwriting help, songwriting idea, songwriting help, songwriting blog, corey stewart
Don’t Force It! Let Your Songs Happen Naturally
Let’s clarify something here. Having a songwriting process does not mean that you force yourself to write songs.
Nothing gets done if you force things. It goes against nature itself.
In nature, changes happen in their own time and at their own pace. Things grow, evolve, breathe and become whatever they are designed to be.
The problem with us humans is that we try to hurry things along because we feel that nature moves too slow for us.
Its the same with songwriting.
With the songwriting process, all we’re trying to do is to get a constant flow of ideas happening and from there, songs will appear and develop.
We achieve this flow by writing without concentrating on the end result. When we engage ourselves in our songwriting process we are already moving towards completing a song.
This is automatic.
Have you noticed that when you sit down in front of a blank piece of paper and say to yourself “I am going to write a song now” you immediately put yourself under pressure to do just that.
Straight away your inner voice starts talking to you, saying things like “ok, it better be good” or “are you sure you have something to write about” or “don’t you have something more important to do right now?”
More often than not we give into our inner voices and find reasons not to write. This is where the writers block cycle starts.
If you look at each day of your life as a means creating possible songwriting ideas you’ll incorporate songwriting as a part of what you do, just like getting up in the morning.
If, in your day to day songwriting activity you become inspired to finish a song then great. If nothing comes from the activity then, great. You’re still doing what you love..
Can you see where I am going with this?
Don’t force songs to come out, get out of your own way and let them happen and they will appear soon enough.
Remember, it doesn’t matter what you write it just matters that you write. Doing this will allow your songs to breathe, grow and evolve from the ideas that you come up with.
Have faith in yourself because you are a songwriter and writing songs is in your nature.
Until next time, happy writing,
Corey Stewart
Singer/Songwriter/Musician
Keywords: songwriting, songwriter, writing, songwriting tip, songwriting idea, songwriting help, songwriting technique, writing songs, corey stewart
Maintaining The Flow Of Songwriting Ideas
Your goal as a songwriter is to keep your songwriting ideas alive at all times and to develop ways of capturing those ideas at any given opportunity.
If you want to keep your ideas alive then my advice to you is to never trust your memory.
If you do, you’ll lose more ideas than you gain and the songwriting process is all about the flow of ideas.
Our brains are amazing things. They can soak up information and store things away however, as we get older, we start to forget things. Our internal filing system starts to break down. It seems we need to let some of the old stuff out so we can let the new stuff in.
Julia Cameron in her book The Artist’s Way calls this concept the filling of the well.
I liken this concept to the syphoning of liquid. Once you get the initial flow established it then becomes constant.
By emptying your mind onto paper or playing your ideas onto tape you’re making space for other ideas to come into being. It’s like you’re creating a vacuum for the new ideas to appear out of the ether.
Your ability to create a constant flow is determined by how much you’re able to accept any songwriting idea that appears before you.
Songwriters like Keith Richards of The Rolling Stones say that they were merely the channel for a song to come into existance.
It’s like he was the transmitter and through them the song was able to be received by the listener.
Remember, if at anytime you think of something that could even be minutely used in a song, write it down, record it onto tape or even ring your home phone number and leave the idea on your answering machine (I’ve done that a few times to great effect).
Do anything to keep your songwriting ideas alive. Your future songs depend on it.
Until next time, happy writing,
Corey Stewart
Singer/Songwriter/Musician
Keywords: songwriting idea, songwriting, writing, songwriting tip, songwriting technique, songwriting help, songwriting blog corey stewart
Songwriting Resources – What’s Out There?
There are many, many resources for songwriters on the net, far too many to list in one blog post.
What I am going to do though, is outline the types of resources that are available with some links to start you off on your journey.
First thing you should do is to type songwriting into Google and see what comes up. You will get a whole range of results.
These results can be split up into different categories. Categories such as:
1. General songwriting sites
These are sites that are formed for the songwriter by songwriters. You will find information on everything to do with songwriting and a whole lot more that you didn’t even know existed.
Some have more info than others and a great example of a site that has an amazing amount of information for songwriters is Muses Muse
2. Personal songwriting sites
Same as a general songwriting site but it’s showcasing a particular songwriter. A good example of such a site with a lot of great songwriting tips included is the website of Canadian singer/songwriter Irene Jackson.
3. Songwriting organizations
As soon as you can find the songwriting organization in your area, join it. These organizations are invaluable resources in themselves.
You will be able to meet other songwriters in the area, showcase your material, go to songwriting workshops and get your songs onto radio. It all depends of course on what services your songwriting organisation provides.
I belong to an organisation called SCALA (Songwriters, Composers and Lyricists Association).
You should check them out.
4. Songwriting newsgroups
If you are wanting to network with other songwriters around the world then joining a songwriters newsgroup is an absolute must.
The big daddy of them all is the rec.music.makers.songwriting newsgroup (or affectionately known as RMMS). Here you can ask questions and get your stuff critiqued by some pretty understanding people. Make sure you read their FAQ first.
5. Songwriting forums/message boards
Works on the same principle as a newsgroup. Type in ‘songwriting forums’ into Google and start visiting them. Some are really good and some are a bit thin on information.
A good example of a cool forum would be the Tunesmith songwriting forum.
6. Songwriting blogs
Just like this one. Created by songwriters or people interested in putting forward their views for the sake of getting information out into the world wide web. Feel free to sign up for this one and get up to date tips, thoughts and feelings from yours truly.
Another songwriting blog I recommend you look at is Blogging Muses
Phew, there you go. Hopefully I have pointed you in the right direction. If you like something that you see, bookmark it and use the resource as often as you can.
That’s what they’re there for.
Until next time, happy writing
Corey Stewart
Singer/Songwriter/Musician
Keywords: songwriting, songwriter, writing songs, songwriting tip, songwriting help, songwriting idea, songwriting resource, songwriting forum, songwriting blog, corey stewart
What I’ve Learnt About Songwriting By Playing Covers
I love playing covers as much as playing my own music. The main reason for this is that by learning to play covers that have been hit songs themselves, I’ll learn how to write my own songs better.
Here are some ways that learning covers has helped my songwriting process:
- I learn different song formats, song structures and chord patterns.
- I expose myself to singing different melodies, and lyrical ideas.
- I spice up my guitar practice regimen.
- I maintain my musical theory knowledge by learning a song by ear.
- I get to know my favourite songwriters more by learning their songs.
- For every song I learn other ideas come up for my own material later on.
The trick with playing covers is that you don’t do them like the original.
I readily admit I don’t like hearing a cover done in exactly the same way however, if I hear someone do a cover in their own way, in their own style, I get hooked everytime.
Some performing songwriters I know feel that playing covers is selling out to your art. I don’t agree. I mean who is going to say that Jeff Buckley’s version of ‘Halleujah’ by Leonard Cohen was a sell out on his part?
I think it’s one of the most beautiful performances of any song I have ever heard.
Of course, your goal as a performing songwriter is to play your own songs as much as you can. I mean, there is nothing more satisfying than people actually being touched, moved and inspired by what you are saying.
However, an amazing thing happens when you add the occasional cover song in your repertoire. The audience becomes closer to you.
I cant tell you how many times a quiet gig becomes a great gig after I play a well chosen cover. Every other song I play afterwards sounds like music to their ears (pardon the pun).
“Selling out” is a term used by people who wish they were in the same position as the other musicians they are commenting on. Jealousy rears up its ugly head often in the music industry.
If you keep focused on writing your own music and learn a few covers (at least for research purposes) to break your songwriting process up a bit, you will have better gigs, become a more well rounded player and you will be a real hit around the odd campfire or two.
I believe playing covers only affects your ability to write songs if you allow it to.
Until next time, happy writing (and playing),
Corey Stewart
Singer/Songwriter/Musician
Keywords: jeff buckley, leonard cohen, songwriting, songwriter, performing songwriter, songwriting tip, songwriting help, songwriting idea, corey stewart
When Doing Nothing Is Doing Something
Writing songs is a cyclic process.
Sometimes a song apprears with the greatest of ears and sometimes writing songs is like pulling teeth.
If you find yourself entering a period where nothing is coming out and your motivation is low, the first thing you should do is stop worrying about it.
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We have all been there haven’t we? No matter how hard you try there is still a blank page staring at you. It makes you feel all angry and stressed inside because you think you should be doing something.
Early on in my music career someone said to me that instead of forcing a song that doesn’t want to come out, sometimes the best thing to do is to do nothing at all.
So thats what I do. NOTHING.
I just do something else, go for a walk, visit a friend, clean the bathroom, read a book, anything that will take me away from the songwriting.
The last thing I want to do is to get all frustrated and upset that nothing is coming out. Doing that will just make the problem worse.
How can you be motivated if you’re all stressed out?
Give yourself a break. Take some time out to do other things and don’t set a time limit to it. You don’t want to pressure yourself back into the songwriting process. If writing songs is your passion, you will automatically come back to what you love most.
Sometimes other things in your life need your attention and taking a break to sort those things out is probably just what you need to do at that time.
As John Lennon so eloquently put it in his song “Beautiful Boy”:
“Life is what happens to you when you’re busy making other plans.”
So, if life does get in the way, don’t try to resist it. Just let it pass and go with the flow because once you are clear to write again, you will do it with gusto.
I guarantee it.
Until next time, happy writing,
Corey Stewart
Singer/Songwriter/Musician
Keywords: john lennon, songwriting, songwriter, writing songs, songwriting tip, songwriting idea, songwriting help, songwriting blog, corey stewart
Mindmapping Your Songwriting Ideas
From one idea, many ideas form.
I love mind maps. I’m a visual person, and developing a songwriting idea by using a mind map really helps me write my song lyrics more effectively.
Right now you’re probably asking “what is this mind map?” Well, according to Wikipedia a Mind Map is:
“…a diagram used to represent words, ideas, tasks or other items linked to and arranged radially around a central key word or idea. It is used to generate, visualize, structure and classify ideas, and as an aid in study, organization, problem solving, decision making, and writing”.
A mind mapping exercise is a simple, but a very effective way of fleshing out the body of a song from a single idea, phrase or a word.
It’s very similar to brainstorming but in a very visual way.
If you follow the steps outlined below, you will have a whole song laid out in front of you. All you have to do is follow the paths that you have created.
Heres how you do it.
1. Take your idea, phrase or word and write it in the middle of a piece of paper and draw a circle around it.
2. From that circle branch out five lines in different directions. At the end of those lines write a word that is associated with the central word. These words could be the basis for your verses and choruses.
3. From each of those five words start writing five other words that relate and so on.
By the time you have had enough (or you run out of paper), you’ll see the whole song mapped out in front of you and it all started from one songwriting idea, phrase or a single word.
Start from the central theme and work outwards, following the word paths you’ve created. Can you see what phrases you can come up with from doing that.
Be careful not to have too many initial branches springing out from your central theme. This will turn your mind map into a complicated mess of too many ideas pulling against each other. Up to five is plenty.
Remember, you dont have to use all (or any) of the words you have written down, this is another way of opening your mind to new ways of generating songwriting ideas.
Most of us are visual people. As mentioned before, I personally access information the best this way. I can tell you having a whole song mapped out in front of me makes the job of formulating a song so much easier.
Give it a go and see what happens, you’ll be amazed at some of the paths and tangents you create.
Let me know how it works for you
Until next time, happy writing,
Corey Stewart
Singer/Songwriter/Musician
PS: For more information on Mind Maps, click here.
Keywords: mind map, songwriting idea, songwriting, writing songs, songwriter, songwriting tip, songwriting help, corey stewart
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