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HARD KNOCKS 101: TIPS FOR SONGWRITERS
© 2005 Craig Bickhardt Permission must be obtained before quoting, copying, or disseminating any part of this document. |
ON PROFESSIONAL OPINIONS IN NASHVILLE: You'll hear a mountain of differing opinions in Nashville. No two people hear a song the same way. You have to tune your ear to your own strengths and weaknesses, otherwise you won't be able to recognize the advice and criticism that will help you. Things can get incredibly confusing. Lots of writers give up because they just can't sort it all out. Step back and try to remain objective. Don't take every opinion as the truth and try to fit it into your music. Be selective. Weigh the opinion carefully based on who is giving it and what their particular tastes are. Factor in whether you really respect the person or if you're just trying to please somebody so they'll give you a break.
ON FINDING YOUR OWN WRITING VOICE: Remember: you are searching for your writing voice not the voice you think they want. You don't have to become someone you aren't. Don't adopt a style or follow the exact formulas of other writers. Sing from your own heart and don't be afraid to be different or even unique. You can't really be successful by imitating others and hoping for the best. You have to absorb the boundaries of commercial music and then explore what lies within yourself until you find something unique that falls within those boundaries. You will become more successful when you discover your own voice and stay true to it. By staying true to yourself you will hit a consistent mark with your songs. They won't all be hits, of course, but when you write enough of them a few songs will succeed. This is more likely to happen by staying true to your own style than by changing styles and imitating someone different with each song you attempt. It's like an athlete practicing for one Olympic event. He does the same thing everyday until he perfects the timing, the execution and the follow through.
ON THE INNER ARTIST: Here is the truth: others will be blown away by what you write when you are blown away by what you've written. If there's a part of your brain that's telling you, "I don't like this but maybe it's what they want", wrong. Don't get into the habit of ignoring your inner artist. It produces all kinds of problems in your life. Pitch the songs that make you want to stand up in front of the whole world and say "Top this folks!" If you aren't setting those standards when you write, adjust your standards. You won't always succeed with every song you attempt, but you will be giving yourself a much better chance overall.
ON MELODIC PHRASING: Even if you don't sing well, it's important to phrase every line as a professional singer would phrase it. If a line can't be phrased without stumbling over it, it's the wrong line. If critical words are so rushed that they become indecipherable, then simplify the line. Give your melodies punctuation similar to the punctuation a good actor uses when reciting his lines. 'Theme and variation' in melody is the hallmark of good songwriting. It's important for the listener's mind to detect patterns in both rhythm and melody. This is what makes a song memorable and instantly appealing. When you write lyrics without a melody, try to "hear" a melody in your head, even if it's just a "placeholder" melody. That way your phrasings from verse to verse will all be somewhat similar. A little variation in phrasings from verse to verse can sometimes be good, but too much of it tends to water down a melody, make it less memorable because the melody has to continually change to accommodate the new lyric phrasings. The best composers use a theme and variation approach where a pulse or rhythm is set up in the melody and then slightly varied and developed in other places in the song. Otherwise the melody tends to become too linear and unmemorable.
ON SONG TITLES: Its important to be aware that some ideas carry their own baggage, and no matter how hard you try, you'll never get rid of the baggage. If an idea suggests a negative trait in your characters, you will not be able to completely turn it into a positive song. The ghost of that negative connotation will haunt the lyric and prevent it from connecting completely with the listener.
ON PLAYING IT "TOO SAFE" LYRICALLY: Being too "safe" lyrically can mean one of two things: 1) you're afraid or unable to say what you really feel, or 2) you have conservative values. #1 is bad. #2 is ok as long as you write great conservative songs. You have to live with your work for the rest of your life, so put the songs that you want to put into this world and stand by that. If you aren't naturally an extroverted type A personality, then don't pretend to be when you write. It will come off as a pose and will not appear genuine. You can go in the opposite direction and explore deeper emotional experiences and this is also a way of taking risks.But by all means don't be afraid to take chances with your words even if your values are conservative. Even if you are writing in a well-defined genre, think outside the box, push the envelope, and be different than the other writer/artists within that genre. It will get you more attention. Better to be strange than to be dull; better to be offensive than to play it safe; better to bare your soul than say what we expect.
ON "SELLING" YOUR HOOKS: Its important to remember one vital tip: you are essentially selling a brand name when you write a hit song. If I don't know what the brand name is after I hear the song, your product will not make a lasting impression on me. If after the first chorus I'm still asking myself 'What's this song called?' There's an identity problem. Work on making your hooks more identifiable with some repetition and more careful attention to where they are placed in the chorus. You have to really sell your concepts if you want to get on the radio. The kind of artist who records material written by other songwriters is generally looking for those real standout hooks, well-crafted radio songs that he/she isn't able to write. Knowing when you have a strong hook, and when to use that strong hook is essential. Don't hold anything in reserve. People flip the station in 30 seconds if you don't reward them. If you save your ammunition too long, the battle's lost. Try to imagine how your song would strike someone if they just tuned into it at the second verse. Focus on your hook with every couplet-- make it all related and tangent to the central idea. It will strengthen your lyric tremendously.
ON MAXIMIZING RADIO POTENTIAL: The competition to capture and hold listeners at the radio level is intense. If your song isn't going to be a useful weapon in that battle, then you'll get no airplay. In playing the hit radio game, it always helps to give your song all the advantages. Make the hooks stand out, focus the imagery directly on the hook and be as clever as possible without losing your honesty and artistic integrity. Before you write a song ask yourself if it's possible to write it in such a way that it will be instantly unforgettable. Before you choose a title idea ask yourself if there's anything really fresh about it that will surprise the listener. Think of your song as a well-tuned car about to enter a race. If one cylinder is just slightly mistiming, you'll lose the race. There really is no such animal as an 'album cut' these days. Every song must have radio potential. For that reason it's important to make whatever you write as memorable as possible, and that always involves repeating sections of it. The difference between the song that makes the cut and the song that doesn't is usually a highly memorable chorus, not the subject matter.
© 2005 by Craig Bickhardt, all rights reserved.
