Songcrafters' Coloring Book

Why Does He Have to Live in Detroit?

2012-01-14T18:38:00.004-05:00

Adding Sparkle to your Songs:

Why Does He Have to Live in Detroit?

You work hard to make your lyrics clear, and rich with images. They convey a message or story that is universal and heard in many other songs. Yet somehow, they still don’t measure up to other songs that are considered great. What's missing?

Great lyrics not only are clear and relevant, they also tickle the ear, the way bubbles in champagne tickle the palate. They have sonic activity. Sonic activity is the sum of all the points in a song (called "ping-points") that use the physical sound of the words, independent of meaning, to grab the ear. The primary ways of doing this are:

(a) Perfect Rhyme (two strings of sound in one or multiple words with exactly the same accents and sounds, except for the initial sound e.g., tumble/crumble; period/myriad; syrup/clear up; coincide/go inside) Perfect rhyme produces the strongest "ping" of any literary technique. Fresh, innovative rhymes jump out even more than the tired overused ones like love/above, heart/apart, life/knife, seem/dream, etc) NOTE: Multi-syllable rhymes should have the same accent pattern to work as effective pings. (e.g. the word "happily" flows as HAP-pi-ly; The most effective rhyme will be with the accented syllable "HAP", e.g. "RAP to me" not the last syllable e.g. "that will BE".

(b) Assonance (same vowel sound between two different consonants, e.g. sign/time; woody/fully; zipper/killer, etc.) NOTE: Assonance is not rhyme. It is sometimes called near-rhyme or slant rhyme, but it is NOT the same as a perfect rhyme, as it does not produce the same degree of 'ping'.

(c) Alliteration – words with the same initial sound e.g. "big bouncing ball"; " fresh fried fritters"; " silent searching souls"; etc. The repeated consonant sound does not always need to be at the front of the word: "complete unconditional hectic chaos"; "SnaKe SKin inKS"

A repeating consonant sound creates a very strong ping.

(d) Para-Rhyme - Same consonants at either end, with a different vowel in between:

Hip-Hop; pit/pat/pot/putt; bitter/butter/better/batter; etc. Again. like assonance, a very strong ping.

(e) Lexical Repetition - This is a repeating of the same sound, word or phrase multiple times.

"I love you in the morning/I love you in the night/I love you when I'm sleeping/So why are you uptight?" If used well, it can enhance the ping experience: "I was at the bottom of the bottom when the bottom fell out…". If used excessively and without clear reason, it dulls the senses. It dulls the senses. It dulls the senses. Oh yeah baby, it dulls the senses.

(f) Sonic Reversal - Same sounds, reversed (same SOUND, not same LETTERS). e.g.,

"at the TOP of the POT, and the TIP of the PIT" ; 'DRAWN ONWARD";

(g) Chiasmus – Reversing the order of key words in a sentence. e.g. "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country"; "Never let a kiss fool you or a fool kiss you". Chiasmus is considered one of the most effective devices in persuasive speaking and oratory.

So, armed with these devices for injecting sparkling bubbles into your lyrics, you can see why some songs tickle the ear while others fall flat, even if they are about the same thing. Sonic activity is not something that a listener is always aware of. It works under the surface to make the song hit with more impact and penetrate deeper into the listener's vault of good feelings.

Great songwriters write with sonic activity – some do it instinctively without conscious effort, and some very consciously choose and shape their words and sounds.

Everyone knows these lines from Journey's "Don't Stop Believing"

Just a city boy, born and raised in south Detroit

He takes the midnight train goin' anywhere…

Why does he live in Detroit as opposed to New York, L.A., or Racine (all of which have the right accent pattern)? It's so that the "oy" of "boy" can mate with the "oi" "Detroit" and give your ear a ping, followed up with the alliterative pair take / train. Of course he could also live in LaCroix , Des Moines or Hanoi, all sonically equivalent, but not quite the same image as urban Detroit.

Sonically active lyrics are nothing new. It's been going on since Gilbert and Sullivan and before.

( "I am the very model of a modern major general…). Look at any of the Gilbert and Sullivan scores and you'll see masterful use of all the above techniques. That's one of the reasons their work has survived for more than a century.

Sonic activity is the thing that enables a writer to write a song about nothing deep or special, with no lofty message or meaning, and still have something that gets into the collective consciousness of a generation.

Just because a song is about something simple does not mean that the lyrical craftsmanship has to be simple. An example from the 2011 Muppet movie:

I reflect on my reflection

Then I ask the question,

What direction should I go,

I don't know.

You've got lexical repetition (reflect/reflection); perfect rhyme, (reflection/direction); assonance (' question' pinging with both, reflection and direction); and another simple rhyme as a touch of garnish (go/know)

Even simpler, the 1962 Leiber and Stoller song "Ruby" was a hit for both the Drifters and Dion.

Everyone was singing Ruby,Ruby Ruby, Ruby will you be mine? Why is her name "Ruby" ? So that you have the ping of RUBY will YOU BE mine" It just doesn’t work if you said "Gertrude, will you be mine?" Same meaning, same accents, but no ping. Later in the song, even this filler line, which carries no meaning, works because of the high sonic activity: Ruby Ruby Ruby baby (roo-bee-roo-bee-roo-bee-bay-bee)

What's at workin these seemingly simple lines from the Cummings/Winter song "Rain Dance" recorded by the Guess Who:

Christopher was askin' the astronomer

Can your telescope tell me where the sun's gone?

I'm still sittin with my next door neighbor sayin'

"Where'd you get the gun, John?"

Why does it tickle the ear?

Christopher was asking the astronomer a a ( -opher….-omer )

Can your telescope tell me where the sun’s gone ? b c-d (your …sun’s gone)

I’m still sittin’ with my next door neighbor sayin b e (door….sayin’)

"Where’d you get the gun John ? " c-d (…. gun John)

That third line alone contains triple alliteration on "s"; assonance and a sonic reversal on still/sit; alliteration on "n"; a perfect rhyme back to the previous line with your/door; and a perfect internal rhyme with neigh/say .

Here’s another example showing effective use of alliteration, assonance, and rhyme from the bridge of "If My Mary Were Here" by Harry Chapin, enhancing lyrics which are simple and filled with emotion.

I could whistle up an old tune babe that your memory just might recall (a) recall
Rustle up some reminisce, ‘bout the good old days and all (a) all

If I were seekin’ someone else, I could find a place to hide (b) place to hide

But I’m just pleading like a pauper babe, (c)

And it leaves no place for pride… (b) place for pride

Sonic activity often does its best work while hiding, subtly embedded in the lines so that you don't readily see it, but you certainly feel the 'pings' when they hit you. Consider these opening lines from Kay Pere:

Welcome to my quiet little life

Well, come on in, leave your cares at the door…

Seems simple, but look closely:

WELCOME QUiet Little Life

WELL COME Leave Cares

Take these lines from "Put on a Happy Face" from the musical "Bye Bye Birdie"

Take of that gloomy mask of tragedy, it's not your style

You'll look so good, you'll be glad you decided to smile

So we see style/smile. That doesn't seem like enough to make these lines jump out the way they do. The big 'ping' comes from the exceptional hidden rhyme:

TRA-GE-DY / GLAD-YOU-DEcided

All it takes to sprinkle effective sonic activity through your songs is :

(a) to be aware that you can and (b) to push yourself to get as much 'ping' into each line as you can without sacrificing meaning or making it seem forced.

Take this line:

There's a lot of good holiday food in their freezer.

It has a natural rhythmic flow; It sits easily in 4 beats; It is clear and specific; It conveys information. It has the alliteration of food/freezer By those measures, it is an adequate line. However, it still comes across as dull and flat. No sparkle. It's like reading a government report on regulating cabbage.

The key question to ask yourself: Can I say this exact same thing in a more sonically active way? Of course!

Their freezer is filled with a fine festive feast…

Everything is exactly the same as above, except now you have the spicy zing of five-fold alliteration on the "f". Fantastic five-fold phonetic fun!

How about this line:

Her needle and thread bound together the sail for his ship.

Clear, specific, flowing, and you've got the two "s" sounds of sail and ship, so you're happy. Still, ask yourself, can you do better? Of course!

She sat and sewed the sails that swept him out to sea…

Now you've got a six-fold repetition of the sibilant sound of "s" like the hiss of surf on the deck of a ship. Much more sparkle.

One more:

Leeta is a popular girl, she don’t let many guys into her world

She knows she's got the fire, but no guy fills her desire

Now you must be on a roll, since you have two lines with two internal rhymes:

(girl/world and fire/desire). so you're happy. Can you do better? Of course!

Leeta's so elite, she says 'bout every guy she'll meet

That they just don't have the heat to hang with her very long…

Why does this version have so much more sparkle? A rhyming threesome: elite/meet/heat; A lexical repetition LEETa / eLITE; And a three-fold-alliteration: heat/hang/her, with a minor bonus of she/says and that/they . Lots more sonic activity than the first version.

As a final example of the sonic tools are used in the hands of a master craftsman, let's look a t a simple song which says absolutely nothing except "I love you". It's the most common topic for all songwriters. Most love songs from inexperienced writers although sincere and heartfelt, are just too plain to make an impression. You also see lots of current popular hits which have no lyrical zing at all – they are popular solely because of fancy production and good musical grooves. As popular as they are they don't represent good songwriting -- just great production and performance. How much better and long-lasting would they be if all that great production and performance also had great lyrics?

Randy Edelman is widely known as a writer of well crafted songs. His hit "Concrete and Clay" is totally simple in its message of "I love You". Yet it endures for almost five decades, while so many other love songs remain in oblivion. What elevates to a higher level?

A look a the lyrics below only seems to reinforce the idea that it is ordinary, with nothing particularly unusual.

CONCRETE and CLAY (words and music by Randy Edelman)

Verse 1: You to me are sweet as roses in the morning
And you to me are soft as summer rain at dawn,
In love we share that something rare

Chorus: The sidewalks in the street
The concrete and the clay beneath my feet
Begins to crumble but love will never die
Because we'll see the mountains tumble before we say goodbye
My love and I will be in love eternally
That's the way, that's the way it's meant to be

Verse 2: All around I see the purple shades of evening
And on the ground the shadows fall
And once again you're in my arms so tenderly

[REPEAT CHORUS]

So let's do a full Level 3 analysis and see why this is not just an ordinary love song.

In the song map below, you can see the massive amount of sonic activity that is constantly pinging the ear at every phrase. There is barely a wasted syllable in the song. It is high level songcraft, applied to a very simple message, and lives on after more than half a century.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE SONG MAP

BOTTOM LINE:

Map some of your own songs (the technique of mapping is discussed in detail in Songcrafters' Coloring Book ) and look at the amount of activity. When you have your song as "done" as you want it to be in terms of what is says and how it flows the information to the listener, give it one more pass with an ear toward sonic activity. Go line by line and ask "Is there another way I can say this exact same thing while adding more sparkle to the line?" With that sparkle, you'll turn your song from grape juice into champagne.

Bill Pere, is a Grammy-nominated songwriter, named one of the "Top 50 Innovators, Groundbreakers and Guiding Lights of the Music Industry" by Music Connection Magazine. With more than 30 years in the music business, as a recording artist, award winning songwriter, performer, and educator Bill is well known for his superbly crafted lyrics, with lasting impact. Bill has released 16 CD's , and is President of the Connecticut Songwriters Association. Bill is an Official Connecticut State Troubadour, and is the Founder and Executive Director of the LUNCH Ensemble. Twice named Connecticut Songwriter of the Year, Bill is a qualified MBTI practitioner, trained by the Association for Psychological Type. He is a member of CMEA and MENC, and as Director of the Connecticut Songwriting Academy, he helps develop young talent in songwriting, performing, and learning about the music business. Bill's song analyses and critiques are among the best in the industry. Bill has a graduate degree in Molecular Biology, an ARC Science teaching certification, and he has received two awards for Outstanding contribution to Music Education. The New York Times calls Bill "the link between science and music".

© Copyright 2012 Bill Pere. All Rights Reserved. This article may not be reproduced in any way with out permission of the author. For workshops, consultation, performances, or other songwriter services, contact Bill via his web sites, at http://www.billpere.com, http://www.ctsongwriting.com, and http://www.lunchensemble.com

In Brightest Day, In Blackest Night

2011-06-29T08:19:00.004-04:00

A stroke of the brush does not guarantee art from the bristles.

It was a summer day in 1960, as I walked past a gardenia-scented hedge in the Bronx, and entered the local mom-and-pop newsstand, which always smelled of jasmine. I walked out with the first issue of Green Lantern, and have been a fan ever since. I just saw the new GL movie in 3D and despite the amazing visuals, I was more struck by something else – 50 years and hundreds of issues of Green Lantern mythos was successfully captured in a 2-hour movie, and told in a coherent story that a non-fan (like my wife) could understand and enjoy.

When aspiring songwriters ask me where I learned to write in the cinematic, story-telling style that I gravitate towards, the answer is simple. I learned from reading comic books as a child.

Stories were told from beginning to end in 5-8 pages, with 2-3 complete stories between the covers. There was a beginning, middle and end, usually with a surprise, and it was clear who the characters were and why they did what they did. This was storytelling 101, whether it is a comic book, TV show, movie, novel or play.

Comic books are very much like songs in that they blend two different sensory inputs – artwork and dialog. Songs blend music and lyrics. There was always discussion about whether the art or the story was more important in comics, and the answer came in the late 1980's-90's when new types of paper color, printing and digital output became available. Artists began to take over the pages with big splashy spreads, and became quite well known to fans as superstars of the genre. Then they decided they wanted to write their own stories to showcase their art. That's when it became clear -- the stories no longer made sense -- being a great artist did not make someone a great writer. Prices went up as readership declined. Without great stories, a comic book was just a portfolio.

In the music world, Midi, sequencing, sampled sound, and digital editing made new production techniques available. Producers and performers, not songwriters, starting writing their own material. Being a great performer or producer does not make one a great songwriter. Prices went up, quality declined. And it also became clear --- without great lyrics and a singable melody, a recording was just a production, not a song.

Songwritng is not production or performance – it is the fine crafting of words and melody to weave a compelling, complete, and memorable story – a three minute cinematic movie. I guess it was no wonder that I was always drawn to the work of Harry Chapin, one of the greatest of the story-song writers. Singers and producers often view a song as a vehicle for showcasing their talents. But great recordings of great songs happen when the talents of a good vocalist and producer are used in service to the song.

I do my best work when in the presence of gardenias and jasmine.

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Bill Pere was named one of the "Top 50 Innovators, Groundbreakers and Guiding Lights of the Music Industry" by Music Connection Magazine. With more than 30 years in the music business working with top industry pros as a songwriter, performer, recording artist and educator, Bill is well known for his superbly crafted lyrics, with lasting impact. Bill has released 16 CDs, and is President of the Connecticut Songwriters Association. He is an Official Connecticut State Troubadour, and is the Founder and Executive Director of the LUNCH Ensemble. Twice named Connecticut Songwriter of the Year, Bill is a qualified MBTI practitioner, trained by the Association for Psychological Type. He is a member of CMEA and MENC, and as Director of the Connecticut Songwriting Academy, he helps develop young talent in songwriting, performing, and learning about the music business. Bill's song analyses and critiques are among the best in the industry. Bill has a graduate degree in Molecular Biology, an ARC Science teaching certification, and he has received two awards for Outstanding contribution to Music Education.

© Copyright 2011 Bill Pere. All Rights Reserved. This article may not be reposted without permission of the author. Reproduction for educational purposes is permitted with proper attribution. For workshops, consultation, critiques, or other songwriter services, contact Bill via his web sites, at www.billpere.com, www.ctsongwriting.com, and www.lunchensemble.com

From Triangle to Wisconsin

2011-03-21T15:33:00.004-04:00

The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in New York City on March 25, 1911, was the deadliest industrial disaster in the history of the city of New York and resulted in the fourth highest loss of life from an industrial accident in U.S. history. The fire caused the deaths of 146 garment workers, who either died from the fire or jumped to their deaths. Most of the victims were recent immigrant Jewish women aged sixteen to twenty-three.

The disaster gave rise to the cry "who will look out for the working girls"? One positive result of the fire -- the American Society of Safety Engineers was founded in New York City on October 14, 1911.

Now, in March 2011, 100 years after the fire, we hear a new cry emerging – "Who will look after the workers?" This is in response to the effort in many states to strip workers of the collective bargaining rights they have worked for so many decades to secure. In Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, Florida, and several other states, legislatures under the thinly veiled guise of reducing spending, are trying to enact laws which prevent workers from having any voice in negotiating the conditions under which they work, undoing more than a century of gains in the areas of worker safety, fairness and dignity.

Massive protests of middle class workers – teachers, nurses, firefighters, police, road crew workers, and others who are losing their voices in the workplace - are converging on state capitols to have their voices heard. These people are the last vestige of the American middle class.

My mother worked for decades in a textile factory, hunched over a machine, for low wages, in a job that wracked her body and often had her wearing a sling on her arm. When the workers finally were able to join the ILGWU (International Ladies Garment Workers' Union), things improved dramatically. I worked there myself for a summer and saw firsthand what was meant by the often-used term "sweatshop".

Inspired by the protesting workers in Wisconsin, which was ground zero for this renewed labor movement, I posted the music video of my song "I Am Erica".

…Bill Pere

The Music Community Loses Another Influential Voice, and CSA Loses a Friend

2011-03-19T15:33:00.006-04:00

by Bill Pere

I was saddened to hear of the passing of Jack Hardy this month, silencing yet another significant voice in the world of songwriting. The notice which appeared in the New York Times on March 12, written by Bruce Weber was as follows:

Jack Hardy, Folk Singer and Keeper of the Tradition, Dies at 63

Jack Hardy, a folk singer and folk music promoter whose Greenwich Village recordings and songwriting workshops kept alive the neighborhood tradition of counterculture troubadours, died on March 11 in Manhattan. He was 63. Jack grew up in New York City, Aspen, and Durham, Conn.. He graduated from the University of Hartford, moving to the Village in 1973. Mr. Hardy wrote hundreds of songs — protest songs, political talking songs and romantic ballads — his lyrics often consciously literary, his music tinged with a Celtic sound. With a singing voice raspy and yearning, he performed in clubs and coffeehouses in New York and elsewhere and recorded more than a dozen albums, many of them self-produced, though two boxed sets of his work were released by a small, independent label in 2000.

“I’m undoubtedly the least famous person with a boxed set,” he boasted in an interview that year. Perhaps he wasn’t famous, but he was, in his way, influential.

In the early 1980s, after Bob Dylan had gone electric and folk music had been shunted aside by disco and punk, Mr. Hardy helped found a musical cooperative for like-minded folkies. It established a performance space and made more than 1,000 low-budget recordings of local performers and distributed them to subscribers and radio stations, along with a newsletter, under the rubric the Fast Folk Musical Magazine.

Lyle Lovett, Suzanne Vega, Tracy Chapman and Shawn Colvin all recorded first for Fast Folk, according to the Smithsonian Institution, which holds tapes of the original recordings and the magazine archives. (A two-CD set is available from the institution’s nonprofit record label, Smithsonian Folkways.) Mr. Hardy’s song “St. Clare” was covered by Ms. Vega and appears on her 2001 album “Songs in Red and Gray.”

Since the late 1970s and up until recently, when he entered the hospital, Mr. Hardy was the host of Monday night workshops at his railroad flat on West Houston Street. Songwriters from as far away as Boston and Philadelphia would come to share a pasta dinner and their brand-new songs. Critiques were expected; the rule was that no song was supposed to be more than a week old, a dictum, Mr. Hardy said, that forced writers to write. Ms. Colvin, Ms. Vega and Mr. Lovett are all alumni.

Mr. Hardy said the “fast folk” idea was born out of a need to keep the music alive. “The whole idea was to do it fast,” he said of the music that he and others recorded and distributed in the 1980s and 1990s. “You could hear a song at an open mike or songwriters’ meeting and two weeks later it was being played on the radio in Philadelphia or Chicago. It was urgent, exciting. It was in your face.” --------------------------------------------------------------

So that was how the many obituaries and public notices went. On a personal note, I first met Jack in 2004, which was my first year as President of the Connecticut Songwriters Association, and thus I was in charge of arranging workshops and guest presenters. Knowing of Jack's reputation and influence, my wife and I contacted him and he graciously came to do a workshop for the Connecticut Songwriters Association. It was one of the most insightful, coherent, thought-provoking and informative presentations I have ever heard on songwriting in my 30 years in the music community. I learned a great deal in a short time -- the mark of being in the presence of a great teacher and mentor.

Jack also did a concert for the Mystic River Folk Concert series which Kay and I were producing, and in hearing Jack's songs up close and live, it was clear that he was truly a song crafter who thoroughly understood the art form and all of its complex nuances. As I was writing my "Songcrafters' Coloring Book" in 2008-09, Jack was kind enough to answer my questions when I contacted him to see what he thought of the ideas I was putting forth.

His legacy lives on in those whom he has taught and encouraged, as shown in the list of luminaries mentioned above. In my current teaching, I follow his underlying tenet that a song is essentially words and melody -- all the other stuff i.e. production, performance, arrangement, marketing, are expendable extras. If the song is great, it will transcend any of those things, crossing styles, artists, trends and time. Although he was not widely famous, there is no greater success a songwriter can have than to leave a legacy that lives on in others.

His voice may have been raspy, but it will be missed.

...Bill Pere

Rickenbacker - Full Circle

2010-09-15T14:18:00.004-04:00

I joined my first band in 8^th Grade, supposedly to play bass. There were two other guitar players, along with a very talented drummer. – One guitarist had just gotten a Farfisa keyboard and wanted to play that, which was fine with the rest of us, as it was great to have a keyboard in the band. The other guitarist, having lots of money and not a lot of rhythm, got a Rickenbacker 12-string guitar, and couldn’t play it. So, he wound up as the bass player and I got to play a Rickenbacker 12-string, during the heyday of Roger McGuinn and that distinctive 12-string sound of the Byrds, the Turtles, and so many of the 60's groups. My fingers and ears never again felt comfortable with just 6 strings.

Eventually the band members went separate ways, and I said a lingering goodbye to the Rickenbacker. From that time on, I've always been a 12-string player. Over the years (with the famous Manny's and Bronen's music stores nearby in New York), I acquired a multitude of 12-string guitars, some later sold, and some being keepers to this day. These included a Vox Teardrop, Hagstrom electric, Guild acoustic (still a favorite!), Yamaha electric, Ovation Adamis, and at least 5 others that have come and gone. But I never had a Rickenbacker --- until today. I came across an offer I couldn't refuse, so here it is. It feels just like it did back in 8^th grade, with that same great sound, except I hope I can play it a bit better now.

...Bill Pere

Sept 11 Reflections

2010-09-11T18:09:00.003-04:00

Sept 11, 2010: Having spent so much time in lower Manhattan as a child, it hit home especially hard as I watched 9/11/01 unfold on TV that morning. A week or so later, I started to write a song about it, and after a day or two, I had parts of a verse and chorus set to music, some assorted images, and pieces of other lines. To this day, it remains unfinished, as I came to find it had more meaning being left in fragments.

A short time later, Kay wrote her 9/11 reflection, "Because the Sky Fell Down", a wonderfully crafted song that captured much of what many of us wanted to say, woven in her own unique and artful way. I find it moving every time she performs it. It was recorded in Nashville and released in 2005

As the next several post-9/11 years unfolded, I wrote "I Am Erica" (using deliberate white space and oronym techniques to morph it into "I America"), released July 4 2008 on the "American Sampler" compilation and soon to be re-released on a 30 year retrospective album.

The songs we write, as well as those written by many of my colleagues, speak of the importance of tolerance by all people, for all people, of all beliefs, for all beliefs. Any type of extremism can only fan the flames of intolerance, and we've seen enough fire to last more than 3,000 lifetimes.

Music and songs can reach people in a powerful way, but still nine years later, it seems the lesson has not yet been learned, the message not yet heard. The music of the 1960's had tremendous influence on the social and political issues of those turbulent times. In this 21st century world of internet sound-bytes, the voices singing out on the important issues of our day are drowned out by pop, glitter, spandex, and pyrotechnics. Perhaps it is time to turn up the volume.

…Bill Pere

Remembering George David Weiss

2010-08-30T08:39:00.003-04:00

The music world is a bit more silent with the passing of George David Weiss this week. One of all-time great hit composers ("What a Wonderful World", "Can't Help Falling in Love", "Lion Sleeps Tonight", and so many more), he was truly one of the best. He was a personal friend and mentor to me for many years. I first met George in 1980 in New Haven where he and Sheila Davis came up from NYC to teach us how to critique songs. Over the years, I had regular dinner conversations with George before his 15 appearances with CSA (we'd often meet at Friendly's) and we corresponded many times by letter (yes, the handwritten kind). In 1994 he wrote a personal endorsement for me recommending that I be appointed as Connecticut State Troubadour, which I was that year. He always commented on how much he appreciated the songwriting articles I wrote, which he said "finally made it all understandable" for him. He will be missed.

Here is his full Obituary:

George David Weiss, who authored such signature pop songs as Elvis Presley's “Can't Help Falling in Love" and Louis Armstrong's “What a Wonderful World," died Aug. 23 of natural causes in Oldwick, N.J. He was 89.
Weiss served as President of the Songwriers Guild of America for many years. He studied at the Juilliard School of Music before working as an arranger for the bands of Stan Kenton and Vincent Lopez.

His early stage efforts included the music for Sammy Davis Jr.'s 1956 Broadway vehicle “Mr. Wonderful." His later legit shows included “First Impressions" and “Maggie Flynn."

In 1961, Weiss co-authored “Can't Help Falling in Love," an adaptation of the French standard “Plaisir d'Amour," with producers Hugo Peretti and Luigi Creatore. Included on the soundtrack for Presley's film “Blue Hawaii," it rose to No. 2 on the national charts; Presley used it in later years as a closer for his live shows.

Weiss, Peretti and Creatore also collaborated on an adaptation of South African musician Solomon Linda's “Mbube." The Americanized version, “The Lion Sleeps Tonight," became a hit in successive versions by the Tokens, England's Karl Denver and Robert John.

Penned with producer-writer Bob Thiele, “What a Wonderful World" was not a success for Armstrong on its initial single release in 1968. However, it reached the top 40 in 1988 after it was used in the pic “Good Morning Vietnam," and became a standard thanks to constant employment in films, TV and advertising.

Weiss' other well-known compositions included “Lullabye of Birdland" (written with jazz pianist George Shearing), “Wheel of Fortune" (a 1952 smash for Kay Starr) and “Stay With Me" (a memorable vehicle for R&B singer Lorraine Ellison, penned with producer-writer Jerry Ragavoy).

His other screen credits included the Disney cartoon features “Melody Time" and “Fun and Fancy Free," Presley's “Wild in the Country," “Gidget Goes to Rome" and “Murder Inc."

Role Call - You Are Bartholomew Cubbins

2010-07-30T21:59:00.010-04:00

"In the Beginning, Bartholomew Cubbins did not have 500 hats. He had only one hat." -- Dr Seuss

In the traditional music business model, you, the songwriter or artist would be under contract to a large record company and publisher, who would then call all the shots. In today’s world of Independent artists, YOU are the one who puts others under contract to you.
The key is to know

(a) what types of roles/tasks need to be done
(b) which ones you can do yourself
(c) which ones you need to engage others for
(d) how to find the right person(s) to do the tasks you want to contract out.

There are three parts in the journey from creative inspiration to released recording. These are:

• Creation – (Songcraft): the process of conceptualizing, creating and crafting the song, including getting critique and making revisions.

• Realization – (Studiocraft): the process of taking the finished song from paper (or in your head) to fully arranged master recording and/or performable piece

• Proliferation - (Salescraft and Stagecraft): the process of getting copies ofthe song as widely disseminated to as many people as possible through a recording or live performance

Within these three phases, a number of different things must happen, each requiring different types of skill sets. Each related group of tasks that must be done comprises a role. In big label, big budget projects, each role may have a dedicated person (or more than one person) doing those tasks. For the typical Indie artist, all the roles are filled initially by you. These are the many hats you have to wear. The reason it often seems so daunting is that the knowledge and skills you have will fit some of the roles, but not others, and when you come to a point where those roles need to be filled by skills you don’t posses, you feel adrift.

If you know what each role is, when it is needed, and the skills required, you will be able to make informed decisions and you will be able to continue to move ahead with much less stress. First, let’s take a look at some of the key roles required to get a song from beginning to end.

(GO HERE FOR DIAGRAM)

Actual songwriting occurs in the Creation phase. Realization involves arranging, recording, and production, while Proliferation centers around distribution, performance and promotion. Each of the roles above is a combination of creative elements and technical elements, but the skill sets and objectives for Realization and Proliferation are different than those for the initial creation of the song.

A song is traditionally and legally defined as a melody and lyric. For purposes of this discussion and the Creation-Realization-Proliferation paradigm, Creation means the initial writing of a melody and lyric, along with (optionally) the initial accompanying chords. Anything beyond that (for example when the rest of the band or the producer starts adding parts) becomes elements of Realization, i.e. deciding stylistic elements of how the song will be arranged and produced. As songwriters, we want to be able to create a lyric and melody which, if sung a capella or in any stylistic arrangement, will always stand on its own as a well-crafted song. That is how a song gets covered by many artists across several different styles.

As a self-contained Indie artist, you may indeed have to wear all 500 hats, but while you are acting as a songwriter, you have to deal with only four roles: Lyricist, Composer, Idea Generator, and Sounding Board. Remember that one person can fill more than one role (e.g., you write both the music and the lyrics) or one role can be filled by more than one person (e.g., two people collaborate on a lyric).

The Lyricist role is the one which writes the lyrics. The Composer creates the melody and optionally, the initial chord accompaniment. These are well known and easily understood roles.

But where do the inspirations for songs come from? What ignites the spark to want to write about something ? This is the role of the Idea Generator. The one who has the “songwriter’s antennae” always extended, scanning life for moments to be captured in a sonic snapshot. Many songwriters generate their own ideas, from life experience, from an event in the news, from a line in a book or from seeing something on TV. But just as easily, it could be someone else who provides the key idea for a song. That person may not write a single lyric line or melody note, but they can provide the spark, the hook, the central premise that becomes a song.

In that case, they are acting as the Idea Generator. It is important as a songwriter to always remain open to all sources of inspiration. The person who insists on being totally self-contained may miss out on some great ideas that come from others. If someone else provides the idea for a great song, an idea is not a copyrightable entity, thus you are not required to credit them as a co-writer, but it may be good business and interpersonal etiquette to do so. That becomes one of your early choices. If there is one less co-writer, you get a larger piece of the pie. But will it cause hard feelings and possibly burn a valuable bridge? Like all choices in the arts, there is not an absolute ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ decision. -- just the one that seems right for you, and you can only make it if you stop to think about it.

The fourth role in the realm of Creation is that of Sounding Board. This is one role which is usually impossible to fill yourself, and it is an extremely important part of Creation. Sadly, many writers are afraid of this role and leave it out of the process, to their own detriment.

The Sounding Board is the person (or persons) whom you let hear your early versions of the song, or see the initial drafts of the lyric, to get feedback and constructive critique. The skills required in order for this role to be valuable to you are that the person(s) filling it have no reason to say they like or dislike your song for any reason other than its own merits. This means that your spouse, your mom, you dog, or your employee will not effectively fill this role (unless they are also a qualified music evaluator whom you know can be objective) A music professional, a knowledgeable teacher, a qualified songwriting coach, or a Songwriter Association provide good sources
of constructive feedback.

Think of Olympic athletes – how would they ever reach their full potential if they didn’t have a qualified, objective person observing them and telling them what was good and what could be improved. If all they ever got was a supportive parent or partner saying “good job!” and “great effort” to everything, without someone pointing out areas for improvement, there would be limited advancement of skills and no intensifying of inner drive. However, there would be that warm fuzzy feeling of affirmation, which everyone likes.

On the other hand, if all one ever heard is relentless criticism, which unfortunately can also come from parents and loved ones, there is no better way to kill motivation and creative spark. And in both cases, your eyes would certainly not be wide open to what could really be achieved. Only you can determine where the right balance lies for you. Many songwriters tend to avoid objective critique, but it is one of the surest, fastest ways to advance your skills.

In my years of song critiquing, I’ve seen so many writers bring fully produced studio recordings, representing significant time and money, to critique sessions. This is clearly outside the Creation-Realization-Proliferation paradigm, as a fully produced song is ready for Proliferation, while the Sounding Board role as it relates to critiquing the song (as opposed to the production), is part of the Creation phase. When good suggestions are made that would really improve the song, the writers are faced with unpleasant choices: go back to the studio and spend more time and money to make the improvements, or live with a song they know could be made better. (NOTE: The Sounding Board role in the Realization phase relates to input on arrangement and production. In the Proliferation phase, the Sounding Board offers input on marketing strategies or live presentation).

The simple way to avoid this rock-and-hard-place situation is to get your constructive feedback early in the process, before anything is fully committed to a final form. Then, adjustments are easy to make and don’t cost anything. Rewriting and revising is an integral part of songcrafting, thus its value lies in the Creation phase.

You are always in control of your artistic choices, even when the options come from a source external to you. It is not easy to offer up your creation for strangers to pick at, but to avoid critique is to deny yourself the opportunity to make choices, and if your head is in the sand, you cannot choose with your eyes wide open.

Once you move beyond the Creation phase, there are many new hats to wear, each with a different set of skills. Your choice is always

(a) Do I do fill the role myself, and

(b) If not, how do I decide who to get to fill it ? .

These are important decisions for all songwriters and artists, and they are discussed fully at www.songcrafterscoloringbook.com

...Bill Pere

Songwriter Organizations - What's Right For You?

2010-07-30T21:33:00.005-04:00

In 1979, when I helped start the Connecticut Songwriters Association, there was no Internet, no one had heard of "Indie Artists", and there were relatively few songwriter support groups around. In this current day of thriving Indie music, and social media, there are new organizations, both real and virtual, constantly springing up, presenting themselves as support groups for artists and songwriters. How do you know which might be right for you, and which would not be a productive investment of your limited time and resources? I am asked all the time about Taxi, NSAI, SGA, ASCAP/BMI, Songsalive, Indiegrrl, CSA, WCS, PNSA, ASG, SongU, Indie Connect, and so many more.

Ask a hundred people what the role of a songwriters organization is and you’ll likely get a hundred answers. In practice, there are many different roles that such an organization could play, thus it comes down to how the organization defines and presents itself.

The three broad facets relating to songwriting are: (1) the art, (2) the craft, (3) the business.

What would an organization look like if it focuses exclusively on each of these?

(1) An arts-based group would be one which emphasizes and supports creative expression in any form, with little application of rules, guidelines, structure, or technique, and which does not judge or evaluate songs in any prescribed way. Members would be seeking affirmation, encouragement, and the opportunity to network with like-minded folks. “Success” is measured solely by the artist’s own internal criteria. Such an organization may be a non-profit entity, functioning as a support group, and discussing topics such as creative process and where to find local open mikes. Critique would not be a central part of the activities. Informal song circles might be structured this way. A common thread in these organizations would be that the songs can be writer-centric (expressive) rather than audience-centric. (communicative). Most of the members in this type of group are likely to be performers (singer-songwriters) as opposed to just writers who do not perform.

(2) A craft-based group would have much of the above, but would add a new element. Craft is often misunderstood, for when confused with the artistic focus as discussed above, it may perceived as “imposing too much structure”, “selling-out”, “compromising artistic integrity”, etc. But exactly what is “craft”? Consider the craft of woodworking – a woodworker is an artisan, and may create what he or she wishes without regard to any guidelines. However, one can certainly learn about such factual things as the nature of different woods; how to make smooth, secure joints; how to sand and varnish wood; how to use different kinds of hand tools or power tools, etc. This knowledge can be used to build skills which enable the artisan to bring craftsmanship to his or her art. The emphasis here is on education with the objective of providing tools to make the best possible product. . Individuals still have their own definitions of success and complete artistic freedom. These organizations may discuss rules and guidelines as they apply to craft (i.e. how), not art (i.e. what), and may evaluate or critique the execution of technique (i.e. how) without judging artistic value (i.e. what). Members may be seeking the same types of things as in an arts-based organization, with the added desire for education about tricks of the trade and seeking to create a more polished end product. Such an organization is likely to be a non-profit entity functioning as an educational group centered on optimizing music and lyrics. The perspective is that to successfully share songs in a competitive environment, the songs must be honed to be the best they can be, and be audience-centric (communicative), rather than writer-centric (expressive). Many of the members in this type of group are non-performing songwriters.

(3) A business-based group focuses on commercial outcome of the product. The emphasis is on whether or not it can sell, regardless of the underlying elements of art and craft. Success is generally defined in terms of tangible outcomes such as money or recognition, and members would be oriented toward this type of goal. Critique of products is done with commercial outcome in mind, and the information presented usually revolves around marketing and promotional strategies and tools. Such an organization is often organized as a business league, and though it itself may be non-profit, it will not typically have a tax-exempt status. Discussions may focus on production, marketing, touring, royalties, and generating income streams.

So where exactly would a songwriters organization fit? The answer is that a songwriters group can be any of the above, individually or in combination. It is up to the organization, but what is important for the individual writers is to make sure that their personal goals fit with those of the organization, or at least to be aware of where they differ.

When evaluating an organization to see if it is a good fit for you, visit the website, look at its history, its programs, and the people who run it.. There are national and international organizations with many chapters, and there are smaller regional or statewide organizations.(See www.songwriteruniverse.com for a directory).

In this Internet age, there are also many virtual groups who interact only online, some small, some large. Facebook and Yahoo groups are loaded with them. When it comes to support groups, bigger is not always better – it depends on the kind of access and individual attention you are seeking.

Look specifically at the mission statement (if they don’t have one, it's a red flag). An example of a mission statement, from the Connecticut Songwriters Association (www.ctsongs.com) is : “A non-profit, educational organization dedicated to improving the art and craft of original musical and lyrical composition”. That is a clear statement of purpose and all of the programs are centered around this mission – helping writers craft the best songs that they can, while defining their own personal goals and artistic outlets. A look at the organization's activities shows that it clearly acknowledges and addresses the importance of providing programs about the commercial and business. side of songwriting, but that is not the focus.

No matter what kind of group you decide is right for you, there is one overarching principle: Success comes from opportunity, and opportunity comes from involvement. Joining an organization does nothing for you unless you are prepared to fully involve yourself in it. Become a familiar face so that the rest of the members know who you are and what you do. Music is first and foremost a relationship-driven business, and being involved is what leads to opportunities to show others what you have to offer.

As an independent artist, you only have so much time, energy, and resources, so they need to be used in the best possible way. Involving yourself in a songwriter organization is an investment in yourself. Involve yourself fully, but be sure the organization it is one which fits your specific goals and aspirations. While there is allure in getting immersed in the business end of things, or in being part of an affirmation group, don’t overlook the importance of craft and critique in making your end product be the best it can be, to successfully compete for the limited amount of attention that is out there. Craft is often overlooked in the zeal to find affirmation or commercial success, but it sits right in the in the middle of that journey from creation to realization to proliferation, and thus it’s hard to get around it, or to get around without it.

...Bill Pere

Untangling the Maze of Music Conferences

2010-05-15T12:45:00.005-04:00

I've had the privilege of presenting and mentoring at many conferences across the U.S. over the years -- not just music events, but business, technology and educator events as well. I often find first-time attendees asking some common questions: "Do I belong here? Is this the right place for me? How do I get the most from this?"

To help you decide what events to attend, it is important to understand what the name of the event tells you. Any event where a bunch of people get together or "convene" for a purpose is called a "Convention" There are three main types of conventions, and it is important to know the distinctions.

When people come together with the primary purpose of learning and sharing knowledge, it is a "Conference" in the true sense of the word. Folks are there to confer.

Workshops, panels, mentoring, and critiquing are front and center. Education is the event driver. This would be the case at events like the Independent Music Conference or the Singer-Songwriter Cape May Conference, which are geared mostly toward education, with performance as a secondary activity. The music professionals who come are there not to 'discover' artists, but to share their knowledge and mentor attendees who seek to develop their skills and careers.

When people are gathering with the primary purpose of performing, you have a "Festival". Think of the Newport Jazz Festival, the Kerrville Folk Festival, The Monterey Pop Festival, Falcon Ridge Folk Festival, or the Podunk Bluegrass Festival. These are clearly labeled as to what they are, and attendees know what to expect. Performance rules, and any workshops or panels are ancillary activities. The industry professionals there are frequently venue operators, booking agents or artist development folks, and even the educational workshops are slanted toward aspects of performance.

When people congregate around a theme of business, products, and commerce, it is an "Exposition", or "Expo". Vendors and their goods and services are the main attraction. Think of the Eastern States Expo (The Big "E"), the New England Music Exposition (NEME), or the NAMM Expo (National Association of Music Merchants). What we often call the World's Fair is actually called the Universal Expo, or the Great Exhibition.

Industry folks there are usually people with products and services to sell to the attendees.

This is not to say that any event of one type won’t have parts of the other two as well. Most of them do . It's a matter of which of the three elements -- education, performance, or commerce -- is most prevalent and prominent.

If you attend an event expecting a healthy dose of education and instead see everybody hawking goods or promoting performances and guerilla showcases, you'll be disappointed.

Similarly, if you are expecting a weekend of performances and find mostly panels or vendors, you'll feel you're in the wrong place.

So you need to do two things –

First, make sure you know what YOUR primary purpose is in attending a convention. Do you want PRIMARILY to learn, to perform, or to find products/services? No single one precludes the others, but there is usually going to be a primary motivation.

If you list networking as one of your key purposes, that's going to occur at any type of convention. The question is whether you want to network primarily with industry pros who are willing to help and mentor you, or with other performers and venue coordinators, or with providers of goods/services.

Second, you need to make sure that the event you are thinking of attending is accurately named, so that you get what you sign up for. Do your internet research to find out. Contact others who have attended. Don’t assume the name is correct.

Of the three types of conventions, the ones that create the most confusion are the conferences. Many conferences start out as truly educational endeavors, and then evolve over the years to become more performance oriented, with the educational components taking a lesser role. Always check out a conference agenda to make sure there is a full schedule of panels and workshops, and that the focus is still on education.

Size matters – but no necessarily in the way you think. Some of the best quality time with industry pros and the most valuable networking can be found at the smaller scale events. When you look at massive events like SXSW with 20,000+ people there, you're just a drop of water in an endless sea. If you're at an event of 200 people, you're much more likely to get individual attention from whichever mentors and professionals you want to meet. Don’t hesitate to ask event organizers what the typical size is of the event, if you can’t find out from the website.

Finally, check out an event's longevity. If it's been around for many years, it must be doing something right. For a long-running event, you can easily find others who have attended who will give you some feedback. However, just because an event is new doesn't mean it won't be valuable. Check the track record of the event organizer, and the backgrounds of the presenters.

When you decide on the right event for you, make the most of it. If you ask anyone there to listen to your songs,, do so with the expectation of constructive feedback, not just a pat on the back, and always have lyric sheets with you. Lyric sheets make you look professional and show that you respect the other person's time. Make your package look professional with all your contact info on each piece. It's a shame to see so many expensively produced CDs thrust into my hands that have unreadable fonts, no track times listed, no contact info, no titles on the disc, shrink wrap not removed, misspelled words, and sadly, artists who do not want to have those things constructively pointed out to them.

The biggest successes I've seen at conferences come not to those who attend primarily to perform, but to those whose primary purpose is to learn and to network. Specifically, many of the bands and individuals who are at conferences just for the performance aspect are absent during the day at all the workshops, panels, and mentoring stations. Attendees who do frequent the learning and networking programs establish relationships with people who can offer them career-advancing opportunities later on. I know this to be true, as I have been involved first-hand with many mutually beneficial business opportunities with folks whom I have met through my conference workshops and mentoring. And I've had little useful follow-up interactions from those who were there only to perform or to be "discovered". The real benefits from a conference come from the follow-up interactions after the event is over.

Think of it this way: At a conference, where the focus is on learning, the performance-only crowd sends a signal that they are there because they are the ones with something to offer and they don't need any professional or peer advice. The learners/networkers send a signal that the music pros and fellow-artists there have something of value to offer them. Which do you think will lead to more fruitful long-term relationships down the road in a relationship-driven business like music ?

For more: www.songcrafterscoloringbook.com

...Bill Pere

Sail the C-Seven: Chord Naming

2010-03-08T10:27:00.003-05:00

When I have a client who wants to learn about music theory, I make sure we spend however many sessions it takes so that they understand the essentials of chord names, and don’t ever get caught using that dreaded term "Dominant 7th chord".

The most confusing part of chord naming is understanding the use of "7".There is no chord type called a 'dominant 7th'. It's just "7" or 7th". The term dominant 7, which derived from misuse of classical music terminology, refers to taking the V chord in a scale (the major based on the 5th degree of the scale) and making it a 7th chord. But let's back up to basics of chord naming and get there more clearly (all examples below refer to the key of C).

The names of chord are based on the distance (interval) between the root of the chord, and each of the other notes in the chord (i.e. the name of the chord tells you what notes are in the chord).

If the root of the chord is C, the next highest note is usually a third, or the note "E", the third note of the C scale. If the interval is a major 3 (2 steps, or 4 guitar frets, C-E), then the chord is major. We don’t have to say "major" in the chord name, as that is understood by default. If the interval is a minor 3rd (3 half-steps or 3 guitar frets, C-Eb), then the chord is a minor chord, and we use the word minor in the name of the chord – Thus, the word MINOR in a chord name always refers to the status of the 3rd. If the 3rd is moved one half-step (fret) in the other direction, the interval is now a perfect 4th (C-F), and the chord is called Suspended or sus4. The third is changed to the 4th. "Sus" in a chord name refers to changing the 3rd to the 4th.

The 5th in a chord is usually going to be a Perfect 5th or P5 (C-G) and if so, is not mentioned in the chord name. Like the major 3rd, it is the default (Thus a major chord - Root, Major 3rd, P5th) is just called by the letter name e,g,. "C". If we mess with the 5th, and move it down one fret, it is now a diminished 5th, and the chord name says (-5). If we push the 5th one fret higher, it is now an augmented 5th, and the chord name says "aug" or "+" . Thus, the chord C+ would mean C-E-G#, and the name C-5 would mean C-E-Gb.

Now, this brings us to the confusing 7. If we have a normal major chord, and add to it the note that is the normal 7th degree of the scale, the interval is a Major 7th and the chord is called maj7 or M7. CM7 = C-E-G-B. The major7th interval is always designated with "maj" or "M" If you reduce the M7th interval by one fret (e.g. from B to Bb) it is now a minor 7th interval. BUT, the word "minor" in a chord name is reserved to refer to the 3rd So we can't use the word "minor" to refer to adding a minor 7th interval to a chord. So what do we do? WE USE JUST THE NUMBER 7. Thus a 7 or 7th chord is root-Major 3rd-Perfect 5th-Minor 7th, or C-E-G-Bb. It has nothing to do with whether the chord is a dominant chord (built on the 5th degree of the scale) or not.

In the key of C, "G" is the 5th, so a G7 is the 7th of the dominant chord, but just as easily, F is the 4th, so an F7 chord in the key of C is the 7th of the Sub-Dominant, but no one ever says "F Sub-Dominant 7". D is the 2nd and a D7 is the 7th of the Super-Tonic but no one ever says D SuperTonic 7. It makes no sense, and is just a perpetuated misunderstanding of classical music terminology. (1 = Tonic, 2= Supertonic, 3=Mediant 4=Subdominant 5=Dominant, 6=Submediant, 7=Leading tone, 8=Octave)

Now what happens if you have a minor 3rd in a chord AND a minor 7th (C-Eb-G-Bb)? By the rules above, the minor 3rd is noted by the word 'minor', and the minor 7 by just the number 7, so you have Cm7. What if you have a minor 3rd and a major 7

(C-Eb-G-B) ? It is a Cm(M7). That name tells you every note in the chord. Similarly if you messed with the 5th, and had C-Eb-Gb-B you'd have Cm-5(M7).

You've probably seen the chord name "dim" or diminished. This means that EVERY interval in the chord is reduced one half-step. Thus a C7 (C-E-G-Bb) becomes

C-Eb-Gb-A (technically, the "A" is Bbb) and is called Cdim. In classical music, a diminished chord would not typically include the diminished 7th. Just the Root, m3rd, and dim 5th.

Other points to remember: Just a number after a chord name means that the chord includes every third interval from the root to that number, i.e "9" means Root, 3rd, 5th, 7th, 9th. An 11th chord means Root, 3rd, 5th, 7th, 9th, 11th. Depending on whether each of those intervals is raised or lowered, you would adjust the chord name accordingly.

C-Eb-G-Bb-D is root, m3, P5, m7, and maj9, and the chord name is Cm9. The "m" means the 3rd, and the 9 means both the 7th (NOTE that the "7th means the minor 7th, Bb instead of B), and the major 9. If instead you had C-E-G-B-D, it is now Cmaj9, as the "maj" indicates a major 7 interval, instead of a minor 7.

Last point: We commonly see chord names such as Cadd9. This means exactly what it says. It's a major chord (C-E-G) to which we ADD the major 9, which is D. (D is 9 because it is nine scale degrees above the root i.e., the octave C-to –C is 8 (C on the A-string to C on the B-string) plus one step to D is 9, which is why we stick our little finger on the 3rd fret of the B string while fingering a regular C to make Cadd9. Same concept on the keyboard.

There are many more chord names and variations, but the principles are all the same. The name of a chord, based on the distances from the root to each not in the chord, should tell you all the notes in that chord. – And there is NO SUCH CHORD TYPE AS A DOMINANT 7!

For more chord, scale, and rhythm theory, go to my book website, http://www.songcrafterscoloringbook.com

...Bill Pere

http://www.billpere.com

http://www.lunchensemble.com

http://www.ctsongs.com

http://www.ctsongwriting.com

http://www.songcrafterscoloringbook.com

"One of the Top 50 Guiding Lights of the Music Industry" - Music Connection Magazine"

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Little Boxes - The Flow of Information in a Song

2009-12-26T10:32:00.008-05:00

It is not uncommon to see songs brought to critique sessions where the first verse and chorus are solid and engaging, but the subsequent verses are a let-down. They don't take the momentum that the first verse creates and build on it to move the song forward. Often, a second verse just re-states what the first verse has already said instead of presenting new information. In a list song, this is reasonable, but in a story song or vignette format, it doesn't work.

There are some strategies and techniques for dealing with this. First, keep in mind when writing a song that the first thing you write does not have to end up being the first verse. Often times, when a first draft of a song is done, the second verse winds up working better as a first verse, and the original first verse might get tossed or re-worked into a different place in the song.

The most important factor in determining this is the flow of information to the listener. If your song is telling a story, consider how you would relate this tale to someone if you were lust telling it to them in normal conversation. Forget about lyrics and melody and meter. Just tell the story, and look at how the flow of information unfolds.

What background do you need to give about the people involved? Do you need to convey where this happens, or when? How will you let the listener know what the situation is, what the conflict is, why it happened, and why this is relevant?

To help organize this flow of information from a conversation into a song, try the "Box" technique, used by screenwriters, playwrites, novelists, and songwriters alike. Draw some boxes, representing the sections of your song. For example:

Without worrying about actual lyrics, just ask yourself what information needs to be conveyed to the listener in that section, before getting to the next section, concentrating primarily on the verses first. Then you can see whether or not you need a bridge. A bridge is always optional.

The chorus in general is going to be a summarization of what the whole song is about, rather than moving the story along. Notice that the chorus box is shown as being larger each time. Why is this ? It's not because the chorus gets longer each time – the chorus is generally going to stay the same with each repetition. If it is working well with the verses, the chorus should gain weight and become more important each time it is repeated. Thus the increasing size represents significance, not length.

When you have established what information needs to go in each section, then you can start looking line by line within that section to see how you're going to get that information across in the number of lines you've allowed for yourself.

A song does not have to have all these sections or follow this exact structure. If you can say everything you need to in just 2 verses, don't write a third. The important principles are:

n Think in terms of information first, not just lines.

n All the verses should share a common structure

n The chorus should logically flow from the verses

n There is never a need to repeat what has already been said (except in a list song)

n A bridge is optional and usually occurs only once

n Get as much of the 6 W's (who, what where, when, why, how) into the first verse/chorus as possible

n Make sure all the necessary information is presented in a logical order

When you have an inspiration for a song, and quickly get a first verse/chorus written, that a good time to stop and think it through in terms of what you're really trying to say, and how you're going to say it. Just talk it through as though you're telling a friend in normal conversation, and listen to the flow of information.

One final consideration: It is also important to remain aware of the structural issues as you develop a song. Once you decide which verse is actually "done" (it does not have to be the first verse to be the first one that's considered finished), that sets the overall line-structure, meter, melody, and rhyme scheme. Each of the other verses should then try to fit as closely as possible to that structure to maximize the overall consistency and thus, memorability (stickiness) of the song.

...Bill Pere

How to Lead People to Your Music in a Digital Age

2009-09-02T09:39:00.004-04:00

With the maturity of digital delivery and a proliferation of websites that allow easy uploading and legal downloading of music, the old models of making and marketing CDs are gone. The shift from an album-based economy to a track-based economy spawns many new considerations for the Indie artist when the time comes to go into the studio and record.

In the old days, the typical strategy was to record an album, release a featured "single" and people would then purchase the whole album, never having heard the other songs. Albums often contained several 'filler' tracks of songs which never would have stood alone.

Today, anyone can easily hear up to 2-minute samples of tracks before purchasing, so the notion of using filler tracks is essentially useless – ALL the tracks have to be good or the consumer will just bypass them and download the ones they want. More than ever before, the quality of the songs is important helping your music rise above the baseline of filler tracks that are out there on CD Baby, i-Tunes, and other internet music stores. If you spend the time and money to record a filler track, it's not going to give you the return on your investment in a track-based music economy as it might have in the old album-based economy.

This leads to the obvious question, is the concept of an "Album" even valid anymore? Should an artist spend time and money making a physical CD, when CD sales are rapidly declining and digital sales are increasing? If you are a touring artist, you'll still (for now) want physical CDs to sell at gigs, but remember that the ultimate goal is always to be able to generate income without having to be physically present.

Content is King

Consider how a typical listener comes to find new music. As an Indie artist, it's fair to assume that most people have never heard of you. How will they find your songs? The most likely path to your music will come from consumers doing Internet searches on topics which have nothing to do with you. However, if your website contains content that might be of interest to particular groups of people, they will find you and then discover your music. For example, I have lots of website content about hunger and homelessness, and also about songwriting techniques. I've had lots of folks around the world find me and my music because they were searching on those topics, and now they've become fans. Think of the content on your website as a net to catch Internet searchers.

Another way to increase the effectiveness of your net is to put the lyrics to all your songs online as a separate page for each song. If you write songs about various topics, people searching those topics will be more likely to find your content. Again, the importance of the songwriting comes to the fore. If you just write generally about love and how you broke up or got together, you're going to be lost in an ocean of similar content. If however, you want to write about those things and use some interesting metaphors, like "your love is kryptonite" (a Superman reference) or "My heart is as parched as the desert of Tatooine" (a Star Wars reference), you're now providing potential hooks for people with specific interests. In this age of niche marketing, specificity is always going to be a big plus. Over the years, I've been commissioned to write songs about a submarine, a river, a statue, horseback riding, Special Olympics, and various other unusual but specific things. These songs get found by people searching for related content. As an example, my submarine song about the USS Connecticut is often mentioned on websites of Navy personnel.

In a track-based digital music world, there are some things we've lost from the album-based model. Concept albums like the "Days of Future Past" (Moody Blues) , or "The Who Sell Out" (The Who) don’t translate well to a track-based model. The order of tracks and the transitional content between them were essential to making concept albums work as a whole. With individual digital tracks available in any order, the artist can no longer control how the listener will hear the content. Each song will have to be able to stand alone, and transitional material between songs is meaningless, and complicates where to place the track markers. If you want to do a concept album with transitional material, it is a good idea to submit a different version for digital download, where any inter-song transitional material is omitted. With most sites giving a 30-second clip to preview the song, it's important to limit the length of musical introductions and get right into the song, unless you can specify the section to use for the preview clip.

Critical Mass

Similar to a concept album, but more in tune with today's market is the themed-album. This is a collection of individual songs, each of which could stand alone, but all of which relate to some common and specific theme e.g., high school life, baseball, rural life, spirituality, boats, etc. This serves two purposes. It makes it much easier to identify a target audience, enabling you to focus your promo efforts. It also provides a critical mass of content on the Internet, making a much bigger net for catching Internet searches about that topic. The more specific the theme, the better.

What's In a Name ?

One of the most important things to think about in a digital world is the song title. Typically the title of a song going to be a phrase in the first or last line of the chorus, as that is the most easily remembered part of the song. But it might not be the most unique phrase as far as search keywords go. So you can use the technique of double-titling, where the song has one primary title, followed by a second in parentheses. An example would be Rupert Holmes' song "Escape (The Pina Colada Song). In the aftermath of hurricane Katrina, I produced a song by a fellow writer called "Daydream" about memories of growing up in New Orleans. I suggested that it would be advisable to double-title the song calling it "Daydream (The Levees of New Orleans)". You can see the difference that would make in number of search hits the song receives.

If you can come up with a title which is similar to some word or phrase which is commonly searched, it will be a big help to you. Before there was the "High School the Musical" phenomenon, I released my CD and song "High School My School". This gets many hundreds of hits each day from people searching "High School Musical". If you can generate high web traffic, you only need to convert a small portion of that into sales to start seeing meaningful royalties.

To Summarize:

In today's world of individual tracks and search engines, make it a part of your overall planning to think about how you can maximize the web traffic that each of your songs can generate. Think of lyrics, titles, and subject matter as web content. Make sure each song is truly strong enough to stand on its own as if it were a featured single. Learn how search engines like Google work and optimize your website content to draw people to you. Cast a well-thought-out net, and you'll be well-rewarded.

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©2009 Bill Pere. All Rights Reserved. Content may not be re-posted without permission. Quotes from this content with attribution are permitted. Use of this content in for educational purposes is permitted with proper attribution. Links to this content are encouraged.

Expression vs. Communication: The Golden Key to Effective Songwriting

2009-09-01T16:37:00.012-04:00

Picture yourself in Africa, wandering aimlessly through the jungle with tears streaming down your face and your heart broken because your pet gorilla has forsaken you and run off with a group of other apes.

You stumble into a village of natives, known as the "Audients", who gather around you and seem curious as to what’s going on in your life. Unable to choke back the sobs, you spill your life story, your hopes and dreams, joys and sorrows. The natives just stand and stare at you, as you hear a few snickers and see a few smiles. You grow irritated that they have not responded the way you thought they would, so you jump up and down and yell angrily at them about all the pain and injustice you have endured. They still stand and stare, their snickers growing louder, their smiles wider. You can’t understand how it can be that you have expressed such intense feelings and emotions to these people and have gotten no reaction, no sympathy, no connection. Quite simply, you don't speak their language and they don't speak yours, and you were too wrapped up in your own despair to notice. You most certainly have expressed yourself, but there has been no communication.

Expression is the outward display of that which you think or feel inside. It is a process of sending signals or transmitting messages. Expression does not address what happens to those messages after they are sent. Communication deals with both the transmission and reception of a message. If a message is received the way it was intended, then communication has occurred. It doesn’t necessarily have to involve words, although this is the most common method. Communication can occur via sign language, images, Morse code, etc, but whatever the method, communication is made possible by the existence of rules which both parties understand. Communication is the glue that connects people with others. When expression is mistaken for communication (i.e., “I expressed myself so you MUST have understood me…”) we get all the unhappy social situations that result from not being connected.

So what does this have to do with songwriting? Quite a bit when we remember that in general, songwriting is a two-phase process i.e., creating and crafting. The creation phase of a song is universal in the sense that everyone “does” it. Unless creation occurs, there cannot be a crafting phase, since there would be nothing to work with. The creation process is very individual, without rules or restrictions. Everyone finds inspiration in his or her own way, and expresses it with individuality. However, this is where some of the major areas of confusion arise in discussions and critiques of songs and songwriting.

How often is it heard at song critique sessions or among groups of artists that “there are no rules in songwriting” and “how can anyone else critique MY song” and that “I won’t compromise my artistic integrity for the sake of commercialism!”

In the world of creative expression, it is true that there are no rules, because everyone is free to think and feel what they want and to share those thoughts and feelings. The creation phase of a song is directly connected to inner feelings, thoughts, and emotions; thus, music and lyrics that come from that process are usually quite personal and genuine. If those lyrics are never intended to go anywhere else beyond the writer, then nothing more needs to happen. The song does not need to be performed for an audience or brought for critique. However, if the writer really wants to share this snapshot of his or her inner self with others, and wants others to connect with it, then all of a sudden, it has entered the realm of communication, where, like it or not, there are rules that determine whether or not the words will elicit a desired feeling or action.

Thus, the first decisions a writer faces are “what do I want to have happen when someone hears my song?” and “How important is it to me that the listener understands what I am really saying and not just overlaying their own interpretation?” The question of interpretation is a key one for a songwriter. If you want to maintain control of your message, then you don’t want the listeners to impose their own belief about what they think you are saying. If you really want some vanilla ice cream and you say to your significant other “please go to the store and bring back some of that delicious white creamy stuff that I love”, you really can’t blame them if they then present you with a bottle of milk or a jar of mayonnaise. By not being specific in what you said, you left it open to interpretation and didn’t get the result you wanted.

Quite often, a song is music-oriented and is driven by a beat or a groove, with lyrics that remain vague and non-specific. This is fine as long as the intent is only to evoke a mood or feeling or to get people to dance. By definition, music itself, without words, is an abstraction and can only express, not communicate. Great orchestral works like “Peter and the Wolf”(Prokofiev), “The 1812 Overture” (Tchaikovsky) , “Petroushka” (Stravinsky), or “Rodeo” (Copland) are all written around very specific stories or events, but the music, as great as it is, cannot convey any of the specifics, and can only evoke general feelings and images which a listener flavors in his or her own way. Without the verbal explanation of the roles of the instruments in Peter and the Wolf, or the Mardi Gras setting of Petroushka, the chance of anyone actually understanding the story from just hearing the music is nil. In expressive songs or dance tunes, where the music is the driver, the words are not functioning as carriers of meaning. They are really functioning as an additional part of the music, to enhance a mood.

To actually communicate effectively though a song is an amazing challenge when you think of what’s going on. In normal human interaction, there is constant two-way checking to insure that meaning is understood. Phrases like “What did you mean by that? ”; “Could you please re-phrase that?”; “Let me see if I got this right”; “Is that what I heard you say?” all serve to get people aligned so that there is one common interpretation. In a song, the communication is not interactive – you have three minutes to speak your piece with no feedback from the person(s) on the receiving end to tell you if they are “getting it” or not. Thus, the rules of communication become extremely important.

The number one rule of course is specificity. Using concrete references (nouns that are accessible by at least one of the five senses) is a must. If all the reference words (nouns) in a song are abstract, you are opening up the message to broad interpretation. Of course most songs are about abstract things like love, loneliness, friendship, happiness, peace, etc, but in order to communicate, those abstractions have to be put in concrete terms.

A second principle is to address the six W’s: Who, What , When, Where, Why, hoW.

Look at these opening lines from three hit songs, and see how much detail and sensory input they provide:

Bus stop, wet day, she’s there, I say, “Please share my umbrella”

Bus stop, bus go, she stays, love grows, under my umbrella.

All that summer we enjoyed it, wind and rain and shine

That umbrella, we employed it, by August she was mine.

(Bus Stop, by Graham Gouldman, recorded by the Hollies)

Riding on the City of New Orleans

Illinois Central Monday morning rail

Sixteen cars, sixteen restless riders,

Two conductors, twenty-five sacks of mail.

(City of New Orleans, written by Steve Goodman, recorded by Woody Guthrie)

Hot August night and the leaves hanging down and the grass on the ground smellin’ sweet

Move up the road to the outside of town and the sound of that good gospel beat

Sits a ragged tent where there ain’t no trees, and that gospel group telling you and me its’

Brother Love’s Traveling’ Salvation Show

(Brother Love’s Traveling Salvation Show written and recorded by Neil Diamond)

For other great examples of conveying lots of information in a very compact way, look at TV theme songs like The Beverly Hillbillies, Gilligan’s Island, The Brady Bunch, etc. The whole story is told in a minute.

Another principle of communication is semantic field, which is closely related to context.

Take the simple sentence “That was the finest set I have ever seen”. If you think you know what that means without any other information, you’re betting against the odds. That line can mean completely different things depending on whether it was said by:
A maker of chess pieces
A tennis player
A volleyball coach
An antique TV collector
A leering guy in a bar

All the words in a lyric have to work to provide clear context, which is accomplished by keeping all the words in the same semantic field (if you’re writing about apples, don’t talk about oranges, if you’re writing about fruit, then apples and oranges are okay, but don’t talk about celery, etc). This is called tone constancy. The semantic field is determined by the overarching metaphor that governs the song – and there can be only one in a song – remember, it’s hard enough to communicate clearly about one idea in three minutes, let alone more than one idea. It is important to set your overarching metaphor to match the audience you’re trying to reach. Consider these lyric references from the hit “Backfield In Motion”.

Backfield in motion, I’m gonna have to penalize you,

Offside and holding, you know that’s against the rules

These references are completely tone constant against an overarching metaphor of love=football. This of course only makes sense to people who know the details of football, but since that number is millions of people, it provides a large audience who will “get it”. Perhaps one of the best examples of this aspect of communication was depicted in an episode of Star Trek Next Generation, called “The Children of Darmok”. This race of people spoke in English words but no one had a clue what they were talking about because everything they said only made sense if you knew the characters and events of a particular story from their culture. Similarly, if you’re writing a song and use images and references known only to you, or a select few, you seriously compromise the chances of being understood. You’re expressing yourself, but not communicating.

Another element of verbal communication that we often take for granted is the effect of dynamics (loud/soft) and cadence (pattern of accents). In typical communication, a word in a sentence which is stressed (louder than the others) automatically conveys “as opposed to”. This is called the principle of contrastive stress. For example:
He didn’t drink his beer TODAY. (as opposed to having drunk it some other day)
He DIDN’t drink his beer today. (as opposed to the fact that he usually does drink it)
He didn’t DRINK his beer today. (as opposed to having eaten it or snorted it)
He didn’t drink HIS beer today. (as opposed to having drunk some else’s beer)

Thus, the exact same sentences have totally different meanings, depending on where the accent falls. And when you’re putting words over music, the music forces accents to go in certain places. Thus, to communicate effectively, the natural verbal accents (both words and syllables) have to align with the natural musical accent, or else you change the meaning of what you’re trying to say.

Whether or not a song needs to communicate is completely a matter of what the writer wants to accomplish. If the only desire is to have people dance to the music, then the words really don’t matter much and they can just be expressive to convey a mood, or they could just be nonsense. If the purpose of a song is to make a connection between writer and listener, and create a specific response, then the lyric needs to communicate clearly.

There are no rights or wrongs about what a writer wants to accomplish with his or her song. It is completely up to the writer. Problems arise when there is a mismatch of the desired outcome and the means of trying to achieve it. One of the best things that a songwriter or songwriter’s association can do when critiquing a wide variety of song types in a single session is to clarify up front whether the writer really cares if the audience understands what he or she is trying to say. If it doesn’t matter to the writer, then the listeners can focus on different things like a general mood or the musical groove. If the writer does want the audience to “get it” then the song needs to be listened to and responded to in a different way.

From a commercial perspective, songs are successful because of either their mood/groove, or for the impact of their story or message. Either element alone can make a hit. Songs that sit in between which have no distinct musical or emotive identity and which do not have a clear and cinematic lyric, are the ones that are going to need significant re-working.

For more, visit http://www.songcrafterscoloringbook.com

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Playing the Field

2009-09-01T16:31:00.003-04:00

Along with the concrete/abstract balance, one of the most important tools for communicating effectively through lyrics is the concept of “semantic field”. It is this aspect of a lyric that determines whether or not it appears focused and cohesive, or diffuse and wandering. Most English words have multiple meanings. The particular meaning intended is clarified for the receiver by the other word preceding and following the key word.

For example the words “set” and “jack” each have more than 20 meanings. The sentences “That set of Jack’s was the best tennis he’s ever played” and “This set of jacks is the child’s favorite play toy” are made clear only by the words other than set and jack. Those other words provide context and define the semantic fields being used.

Key words in a lyric should stay with a single semantic field and not bounce around... i.e., if you’re writing about apples as the semantic field, talk about Delicious and Macintosh and cider, not oranges and pears. If you’re writing about fruit (a broader semantic field), write about apples, oranges, and pears, not carrots, celery, and turnips. If you’re writing about edible plants (a still broader semantic field) then you can mix apples, oranges and carrots, but not poison ivy or redwood trees. If you’re writing about all plants...well, you get the idea. The semantic field is defined by the main metaphor of the song, and straying outside that semantic field essentially means you’re mixing metaphors, which generally dilutes the impact of your lyric. So it’s not enough just to balance concrete and abstract references, but they should all be consistent within the context defined by the governing metaphor of the song.

Of course we have exceptions. There is a technique where it is highly desirable to switch semantic fields in midstream... this is the essence of punning, irony, and related wordplay. It can be the source of memorable titles and lyrical hooks. “We live in a two-story house” is an example. By itself, this sentence places “story” in the semantic field of “words relating to houses and buildings”. But the rest of the lyrics, dealing with deception and cheating, create a semantic field where “story” means a lie or deceitful tale. Switching semantic fields can be done locally (within a line or verse) or globally (from one verse to another). In a song about going back in time to change the mistakes in your life, the line “An hour, a minute, a second chance” clearly uses “second” simultaneously in two ways, both of which are embodied in the premise of the song (time, and correcting mistakes). This is the key point... it is not good writing to use double meanings just to be clever; Both meanings of a word must be fully supported by the song and the lyric must contain words from both semantic fields. This creates a no-lose situation for you-- the listener gets two chances to hear it right, and if they only get one of the two, it still makes sense, because other parts of the lyric are supporting the meaning. If they get both meanings, they appreciate your crafting that much more. Another example:

Ten thousand faces, I see only yours

I hear your heartbeat over all the applause

You are my shining sun, but everybody thinks it’s me who’s the star

It’s you helped me get this far...

The word “star” has both meanings clearly referenced in the rest of the verse.

It takes a good deal of practice and craft to do this effectively, and here in its entirety is one of the very best examples, written by Greg Ham and recorded by Men at Work.

I could stand but I don’t like the feeling

I could fall but I’m always on the floor

You can make a million staring at the ceiling

You can break your back and still be poor

One for the liar, one for the cheat

One for the man who you’ll never meet

He saw the action and a portion of pie

He’ll be there waiting when your big chance comes by

There a snake at the top of every ladder

Who will tell you that he’s your best friend

Everyone important needs an adder,

But subtraction gets you in the end..

One for the liar, one for the thief

One for the man who’s time is so brief

He saw the action and a portion of pie

He’ll be there waiting when your big chance comes by

This whole song converges at that one key word “adder”, which is a kind of snake, and which is also used in the math sense of an accountant who adds up your money. The snake reference is supported immediately before the word, and the math reference is supported immediately after (“subtraction”). Let’s look at some of the craft elements of this lyric: The title immediately sets up the song premise, that when you climb the ladder of success, there are people waiting to prey on you to get a piece of your pie instead of one of their own. The title is a common phrase based on the name of the popular children’s game (also known as “Chutes and Ladders”). The chorus explicitly supports the premise, and sets up both semantic fields for the key word to follow. Notice the technique of subtly changing the chorus the second time around to balance the familiar with the new. The second verse is a shining example of lyric craft. Not only does it effectively switch semantic fields, but the word it pivots on, “adder”, is an unusual, fresh , and memorable word. The “snake” reference is literal and concrete, while the “accountant” reference is figurative and abstract. An excellent lyric.

Thus, once you’ve gotten a handle on balancing concrete and abstract references, you can turn your attention to semantic fields, first to insure consistency of the metaphors you use, and then for seasoning your songs with wordplay that enhances the communication effectiveness of your lyric. And if it all works out, you’ll have to hire an adder of your own...but watch out for adders.

For more, visit http://www.songcrafterscoloringbook.com

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The Power of Why

2009-08-15T11:10:00.004-04:00

Music legend Les Paul passed away this week. Aside from transforming music through his inventions like the electric guitar, reverb, and multi-track recording, perhaps his most important contribution is a life that is a testament to the power of asking "why".

I recall an NPR interview with Les Paul when he was in his seventies. He said that his success at innovation and his triumphs over the medical adversity in his life came largely from an inner drive to always ask 'why'. As a young child he pondered why it was that a piano-roll could be sped up or slowed down and not change pitch, while a record on a turntable did change pitch when the speed varied.

I identify strongly with this, as I have always made every effort to understand why a particular song has the effect that it does on the people that it touches, positively or negatively. I studied psychology and got a degree in Molecular Biology, and that scientific background has been invaluable in deconstructing and understanding the complex process of songwriting.

If there is one big change I see in the mindset of the many young artists I work with today, as opposed to 20-30 years ago, it is the lack of that spark of curiosity to dig into the "why" of things. Kids and young adults are as bright and intelligent as ever, but not necessarily as curious about the world around them (due in part to changes in emphasis in school curricula, coupled with an instant-gratification digital/virtual world). The emphasis has made a shift from 'why' to 'how'. Of course there are always exceptions, but I see it as a clear trend, across thousands of folks that I have worked with.

This has significant impact on the craft of songwriting, and on the quality of the songs that are created. I am constantly asked 'how' to market a song, 'how' to record a song, 'how' to structure a song, 'how' to make a lyric better – but rarely 'why' does a specific aspect of a song or an arrangement have a specific effect on a specific type of listener. And, ultimately, this is really what we as songwriters want to be able to consciously shape and mold into our creations. To know the ideal blend of melody, harmony, rhythm, words, meanings, and phonics that will affect our target audience in the way we intend.

It's simply easier to say "you can’t know that" or "I just go with my gut instinct" or "however it comes out of me is 'true' so I'll stick with it". All of that just avoids the extra time, effort, and skill it takes to take the initial output and work it into something even better.

This is the crafting process – distinctly different from the song generation/creation process. Creation is unconscious, spiritual, emotional, and very individual. The biggest trap that aspiring songwriters fall into is believing that when that burst of inspiration is spent, the song is "done". The successful, seasoned songwriter knows that the end of that wonderful, indescribable time of inspiration marks the beginning of the next phase in the life of a song, which is the crafting phase. This is the rational, analytical process where specific tools and techniques are applied to the raw output of the creative flow, to cut and polish the raw gem into a final product that touches people in a desired way.

Understanding the difference between creation and craft is a key to better songwriting. And in this digital age where you are competing fiercely for the awareness and attention of an audience, it is ultimately the quality of the songs that is going to lift you above the baseline of uncrafted clutter.

When I wrote "Songcrafters' Coloring Book", I devoted the entire first half to "Why" it's important to learn and apply all the techniques presented in the "How" part of the book. That's a discussion which had never been presented before in any depth in other books.

You may know that saying "a guy", "the guy" and "this/that guy" create three separate effects. But when you know why, you become the master of every instance of this in all your songs. You may know that "she KISSED me" means something totally different than "she kissed ME". But when you know why, you become the master of every instance of this in all your songs. You may know that "she's just one of a kind" and "he is even kinder" both have six syllables, but cannot possibly be put to the same melody with good effect. But when you know why, you become the master of every instance of this in all your songs. You may know that the line "His innocence, in essence, was an evanescent dream" causes some kind of brain-tingle, while "His lack of experience eventually just faded away" is flat and forgettable. But when you know why, you become the master of every instance of this in all your songs.

If you are a songwriter or musician or singer, don’t shortchange yourself by overlooking the benefits of asking why things work or don’t work, and find yourself a good mentor or coach who can explain it to you and make it relevant to your world and your goals.

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Q&A : Collaboration Agreements

2009-08-14T14:34:00.011-04:00

Actual questions I receive from people
across the U. S. and abroad.

QUESTION:

I am an unsigned singer/songwriter, and am often contacted by artists requesting that I write and/or sing a hook on their song. I am often hesitant to do so because I am not sure how I should be compensated, or what rights I have once the song is recorded and put out there. Often times these artist will make it seem as though they are doing me a favor by allowing me to be on their track, as though that should be compensation in itself. I have already once had a situation where I wrote a hook for someone who asked that I "collaborate" with them, and since have never heard from this person. What are my rights in this type of situation? And how I do prevent from being taken advantage of?

ANSWER:

Rest assured, you're not alone in wondering about this, as I get the same question from many folks all over the world. Collaboration in music is good thing, as it usually leads to a better result than when working alone, but it should only be done when you fully understand the business and legal implications, not just the creative benefits. If either party is not aware of the business aspects of collaborating, it is likely that unpleasant disputes can arise.

The first thing you have to clearly understand is the concept of Roles in the creation and production of a song, and the rights that go with each. The rights and expectations are different for writers, performers, producers, arrangers, and all the other roles. In addition to the Roles there is the format of the agreement between the parties – there is joint ownership collaboration, where income and expenses are shared according to some agreed arrangement, or there is work-for-hire, where one person pays another a set fee up front in exchange for ALL future rights, or there are spec deals (speculation) where you do something for free with expectation of seeing income later on.

I discuss this at length in "Songcrafters Coloring Book" and to read my online articles on this topic, go to my Songwriter Tools and look at the articles entitled "Role Call: You Are Bartholomew Cubbins", and also "Taking the Labor Out of Collaboration".

Once you understand the different roles in the life of a song, you'll have a better handle on what to realistically expect from different kinds of collaboration. Remember that there are no set rules for collaboration – it is whatever the parties agree to. The one golden rule of collaborating is to always get the agreement in writing BEFORE you actually do any work with or for someone else, and know what is reasonable to ask for and expect.

In your question, you describe two different situations: "artists requesting that I write and/or sing a hook on their song"

If you write any part of the song, you have a whole different arrangement than if you just sing on the song. If you do both, you have two different agreements for that same song. As a writer, assuming you are not paid up front as work-for-hire, you are a part owner of the copyright, and are entitled to a portion of the writer's share of the song (based on a percentage you both agree to). You also need to decide who will administer and control the copyright (i.e. act as the publisher). The publisher always gets 50% of all royalties, and the writer(s) split the other 50% . Thus if you are a co-writer with a 50/50 writers share, and the other person is the publisher, they get 75% and you get 25%. Ideally, you want to be co-writer AND co-publisher.

Whether you contribute one word or most of the song, the percentage split is whatever the parties agree to. Generally, business etiquette would be a 50/50 split, or if you collaborate only on lyrics but not on music (or vice-verse) then it's generally a 75/25 split of the writers share (50% of the income).

These are only guidelines, as you can negotiate any arrangement you want, but ALWAYS get it written down, signed and notarized UP FRONT!. It's up to you whether you want to ask for a fee up front as full payment and not have any claim on later earnings (work-for-hire) or whether you want to retain some percentage of ownership. The work-for-hire arrangement is clean and simple and is probably best when you don’t think there is much potential for the song down the road. If you want to retain part ownership, then you have to address the question of who pays for expenses of recording/promoting the song. If you have a share in the potential royalties, it is not unreasonable for you to pay a share of the expenses. However, also know that whoever pays MOST of the expenses is really the one who controls what happens once the song is written – the major stakeholder has the final say in how the song is produced, recorded, promoted etc – UNLESS you have a specific written agreement stating otherwise.

You want to avoid a situation where you are responsible for any portion of costs without having some way of controlling those costs, and the way they are being spent. Be careful about painting yourself into a corner with this type of arrangement. It may sound good initially but is a very bad situation to be in.

As a writer, you get royalties from 4 sources: (a) CD's/downloads sold (currently 9.1 cents per copy, split between writer/publisher as above) (b) live performance (only if monitored by ASCAP, BMI,SESAC, SoundExchange, and only if you are a registered member) (c) Licensing for movie/TV/Videogame/Ringtone placement (whatever deals you negotiate) (d) Sheet music (not as relevant today as many years ago).

All of the above has to do with collaboration as a writer. As an artist you have less leverage. Artists do not automatically share in royalties that the song generates. (There is legislation being considered to give artists some compensation from airplay, but as of right now, there is nothing). As an artist, you have to negotiate your own deal, based on whether you think it's best to be paid now and nothing later, or nothing now and a percentage later on, or something in between. I usually recommend that artists take some up-front amount and opt for less, if anything later on, unless the label has a good track record. You can try to negotiate an up front payment along with a specified, reduced percent on the back-end.

You wrote: Often times these artist will make it seem as though they are doing me a favor by allowing me to be on their track, as though that should be compensation in itself

This is essentially giving away your service for free. If you want to be compensated, negotiate terms up front and get it in writing. Anyone who does not want to do that with you is not someone you want to work with. Don't things based on the promise of "exposure". If you record for someone for free, it should be strictly because YOU want to and you're willing to donate your services. There should still be an agreement which governs what the person can do with the recording, and which stipulates what happens if the recording does generate income. As a recording artist, you generally have no legal say in how the song is used – that is controlled by the publisher.

You wrote: I have already once had a situation where I wrote a hook for someone who asked that I "collaborate" with them, and since have never heard from this person. What are my rights in this type of situation?

You are technically a co-owner of some portion of that song. If it generates any income, you are entitled to a share, BUT -- in the absence of any written agreement , and if the other person did not list you as a co-writer on the CD or on the copyright form, you may not have much recourse.

Bottom line of the whole thing:

-- Understand what you can reasonably ask for in a particular situation, and the different kinds of possible deal arrangements

-- Decide within yourself the value of your services

– Make any deal you want

-- GET IT IN WRITING UP FRONT

Besides the articles I mentioned above, get the book "Music Law: Managing Your Band's Business" by Rich Stim, Nolo Press. It will help you with a lot of this stuff. (See my Recommended Reading list)

Good luck to you in all your music pursuits.

For more, visit http://www.songcrafterscoloringbook.com

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May I Have Your Attention Please: Branding Your Song

2009-08-14T09:23:00.009-04:00

In today's very crowded music marketplace, you are competing at any given time with thousands of artists and tens of thousands of songs – and you're competing for two specific things: Awareness, and Attention. Awareness is getting a listener to notice that you (or your song) exist, and Attention is sparking enough interest in that listener so that they willingly hold you in their awareness (and ideally, make others aware of you as well).

You cannot achieve Attention without first achieving Awareness. Thus, many artists spend considerable time and resource in "marketing and promotion", learning what they can and applying a variety of approaches to capture listener Awareness. However, they often overlook one fundamental piece of the whole picture – once you've achieved Awareness, what does it take to turn it into Attention?

The answer is simple and basic – quality. Great songs. The songs are like cars to GM, computers to Apple, food to McDonald's, or flavor to Coke. These companies have great brand awareness, but have faltered when there was a perception that their quality was compromised or did not measure up to competitors. The ultimate success of a company (i.e. you), is bring a quality product into a wide awareness.

I meet many young artists who want me to tell them all I know about marketing, but who never ask for analysis or critique of their songs. They've spend large amounts of time and money recording songs that have never been critiqued by objective professionals, or developing graphics that have never gone before a test audience, and then they wonder why all their best efforts at marketing and promoting yield little results – OR – they get some degree of results from their marketing efforts and never think to ask how much MORE they would have gotten if they had a better product (see the discussion of Ullage in "Songcrafters' Coloring Book").

There was an amazing online poll conducted by Derek Sivers in early 2009. He asked how folks get input on their songs during the development stage. A huge number of aspiring Independent Artists wrote (sometimes emphatically!) that they never seek out nor ever need critique. Not for their songs! Could you imagine any company today investing all the time and money it takes to launch a new product or service without including focus groups and market testing as part of the product development? We all remember (or not) the Ford Edsel… (See "Songcrafters' Coloring Book" discussion on Expression vs. Communication).

If much of your competition is not spending time and effort in maximizing the quality of their songs, it is good news for you – it means that if you take the time to work on the crafting of your songs, then your subsequent efforts at promotion and marketing will be that much more effective.

A typical response to avoiding critique is that "I want to be different! My music doesn’t fit any type of category." Let's take a moment to look at when 'different' works for or against you. (See previous post on the Von Restorff Effect).

At my workshops, I usually ask 100 people in a room what song they think about when I say the word "love", and I usually get 100 different answers. Then I ask what song they think of when I say "centrifugal" – and there are only two kinds of responses – either nothing, or "This Kiss", as recorded by Faith Hill, written by Beth Nielsen Chapman, Robin Lerner and Annie Roboff (yes, it sometimes takes a village to raise a great song).

There is no question that this song "works", across different styles, tastes, demographics, and cultures. Besides being a #1 international Country hit and a Top-10 crossover hit on multiple-genre charts on three continents, "This Kiss" became the signature song for the 1998 movie Practical Magic. It won the Video Of The Year awards at the 1998 Country Music Association awards. This was the first time in her career that Faith Hill had international success with a hit – success due to the song, not the artist. (She had had four previous #1 hits, but nothing of this magnitude).

Why does this song "work" so well, as opposed to the vast number of other songs that are also about love and kisses? Clearly it's not just what the song is "about". There is more at work.

Song lyrics have three main sets of components: Semantic (having to do with meaning), Phonetic (having to do with the sound of the words), and Prosodic (having to do with the rhythm of the words). (These are all discussed at great length in "Songcrafters' Coloring Book")

When you look at the chorus of "This Kiss" :

It's the way you love me

It's a feeling like this

It's centrifugal motion

It's perpetual bliss

It's that pivotal moment

It's, ah, impossible

This kiss, this kiss, unstoppable

This kiss, this kiss

you see that it's not what is being said that is so memorable -- a million songs say the same thing. It's not any unique use of metaphor or any memorable story. It is the sound of the words, their cadence, and the unusual choice of words. The incredible international success of this song is shaped primarily by five words: centrifugal, perpetual, (that)pivotal, impossible, unstoppable". These five words show tremendous interaction between semantic, phonetic, and prosodic elements. The sonic activity (use of phonetics) here is extremely high: a five-fold alliteration on "p"; all the words end in the "ul' sound; assonant syllables in "cen" "per" and "pet"; a sonic reversal in "pos/"stop"; and a rhyme in "tual"/"fugal".

Prosodically, all the words have the exact same cadence (accent pattern) of 4 syllables with the accent on the second: soft-LOUD-soft-soft, and the same rhythmic timing. The five lines of this rhythmic pattern set up a real perception of motion -- and then -- the spondee pattern of the words "this kiss" (LOUD LOUD) moved to musical off-beats totally changes the sense of motion and makes the title really stand out, far more so than if the words just continued the fast-moving pace of the previous lines. It is truly good songcraft on all levels.

Finally, the semantic choice of the particularly unusual word (for a song) "centrifugal" put the icing on this lyric, using the Von Restorff effect to uniquely brand the song.

The Von Restorff Effect is the cognitive principle that makes things stand out and be more easily remembered by being different . This same principle is at work with the music in songs as well. Ask 100 people what well known band they think of when you say "guitar", and you'll get 100 answers. Same for "keyboard". But ask what band they think of when you say "French Horn" and you'll get one – The Who. Ask about "flute" and you'll get Jethro Tull, and perhaps some Moody Blues. Ask about "cello" and it's the Harry Chapin Band. The Von Restorff Effect is clearly at work musically as well as lyrically.

The bottom line of all of this is simple: it's not enough to just be different, nor to be technically proficient. You have to have an above-average song in order for uniqueness and technical artistry to have optimum effect. And if you're going to be "different" it has to be in a way that is in a space of its own, without other competing songs or artists or styles. You can only determine this with some market testing. Don’t just assume. Always strive for maximum Awareness, but be sure you have a well crafted, quality song to hold Attention.

For more, visit http://www.songcrafterscoloringbook.com

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