Candles - By Per Ola Wiberg (Powi)
“Many songwriters say they thrive on misery. It’s December 23rd - there should be plenty of misery at the mall”. When I first typed those words I intended every bit sarcasm and distain. I’ll go to my local instance of “The Mall” with a notepad and pen with the intention of..well buying my wife a Christmas Present, but also to do field research (so I can wright a fluffy blog post).
As it turns out it’s not pure misery that makes for good song subjects, but more specifically the listeners’ identification with attempts to overcome adversity (successful or otherwise) that draws listeners in.
As I enter the Sears side of the mall I slink guiltily past the Salvation Army bell-ringer guy - not sure if I will overhear enough material to put this article together - “people I need drama” I think to myself.
Within 10 seconds I walk into the middle of a very serious family altercation.
Initially I am relieved that this idea for my ”witty, irreverent” blog post will probably work out - drama everywhere. But I no longer have the jovial notion of, “Lets go to the mall and write down all the crazy things people say and make a fluff holiday blog post out of crazy quotes”. Now I am confronted by a reality that is too important for fluff treatment and saddened by my observation. It occured to me, this is what songwriters are supposed to do:
- observe the human condition
- discover universal truths
- produce meaningful, truthful, and ascetically-minded output
It also occurs to me that there is no such thing as “healthy detachment” or “objective reporting” when human subjects are the central theme of writing or art. If I treat this collection of hopes, dreams, fears, and anxieties - people - as my personal ant farm I have missed the point of what I set out to do as a songwriter.
Sure, I was able to fill pages of my notebook with great quotes and observations. Many are very funny and that’s an important part of being human too, but I’ll save those for another time.
I don’t anticipate blogging over the next few days, so let me leave you with an excellent maxim:
“It is better to light a single candle than curse the darkness.”
Merry Christmas
Technorati Tags: inspiration, songwriting, work, writing
Posted in The Songwriting Life.
Tagged with inspiration, songwriting, work, writing.
I eluded to a change on this site. It’s still in the works (hence the lack of recent posts). When I started this blog I envisioned a encyclopedic treatment of the craft of songwriting to be the cornerstone of content. I learned a bit in the few posts done here - boring articles are, in fact, boring, and this information is better covered in other forms of media. To be honest I’m hammering out the details, and this is my first blog (in case that wasn’t obvious). But, I do have a direction, a goal - or at least a proto-goal (it’s 3/4 baked at this point).
I know the content will be more reflective and universal in nature and less of the “how-to” which is covered well in so many other places.
And it goes a little something like this:
<Science Text>|—————————————(Songwritopia)———-|<Fortune Cookie>
My posts will be more regular, more personal, and more informal. Because that’s why we read blogs.
Don’t hang up yet,
Chris
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photo by apesara
Mark McGuinness writes in his Lateral Action blog about the Myth of Genius, the perils of hero worship, and what really separates these so-called “creative geniuses” from the “rest of us”. (Hint: it’s more like Thomas Edison said, “Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.” and less like some bolt from the blue.)
This is a great message for songwriters who all to often fall into hero worship. Don’t believe me? Continued…
Technorati Tags: effort, genuis, inspiration, songwriting, The Artist's Way, Thomas Edison, work
Posted in The Songwriting Life.
Tagged with effort, genuis, inspiration, songwriting, The Artist's Way, Thomas Edison, work.
Audio follow-up to Songwritopia.com post about chord sequences in the “Circle of Chords“.
Covers:
- Introduction & Demonstration of the chord sequence
- Choosing where to start the sequence
- Transition ideas
Apologies for the brevity, and delay in posting. I’ve been spending a lot of time on something else for the site. It’s a good thing - you’ll see.
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Technorati Tags: audio, chords, harmony, music, songwriting
Posted in Songwriting Foundations.
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The circle of 5ths is an über-cool musical tool with many uses. Today we’re going to talk about another circle - the “circle of chords” (you may recognize it as series of dominant 7th chords rooted on tones that are a backwards circle of 5ths) this name, “circle of chords” comes from Stephen Citron’s Green Book. The circle is a series of dominant 7th chords that tend to suggest the next chord in the circle.
Here is the sequence:
(click to enlarge)
C7 -> F7 -> Bb7 -> Eb7 -> Ab7 -> Db7 -> Gb7 -> B7 -> E7 -> A7 -> D7 -> G7 -> C7 (again)
You can start anywhere in the series by playing any chord in the circle then moving on to the next. Each chord seems to resolve to the next which, in turn, feels incomplete until you play the next. In this manner you work your way around the circle.
Try playing the sequence on your instrument, and observe the relationship between the chords - each seems to beg for the next. It’s great - it just goes around, and around. Go ahead and do it now - I’ll wait.
Tomorrow we’ll talk about how to “get out of the circle”. Hopefully you aren’t still “stuck” going around and around. 
Technorati Tags: chords, dominant7, harmony, music, songwriting
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Follow-up to Monday’s post where I talked about the importance of taking a deliberate and organized approach to songwriting. Here are a few songwriting references that I found useful when trying to follow and customize my writing process: Continued…
Technorati Tags: books, lists, songwriting
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Songwriters talk about inspiration. How to get inspired, where their inspiration comes from, why they aren’t inspired, etc. Inspiration is important, but follow-through (execution) is key. Continued…
Technorati Tags: execution, planning, productivity, songwriting
Posted in The Songwriting Life.
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Yesterday my daughter told me she really wanted to write a story, and that she needed a journal to write it in. We made the trip to Barnes & Noble where she picked out a small journal with foil peacocks on the cover. “This is perfect - I’ll write a story about peacocks!” she exclaimed. Back at home, about 45 minutes into the writing process my daughter asks, “Dad, what happens when you are writing a
The Peacock Journal
story and can’t think of anything else to write, but you still have pages left.” She was serious – she wanted so badly to fill that notebook with a story about peacocks but couldn’t think of what came next.
Continued…
Technorati Tags: lyrics, motivation, music, songwriting, writing
Posted in The Songwriting Life.
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I found a video on YouTube in which Elloitt Smith discusses three ways to fail. There are some universal thuths for songwriters, or really anoody in his comments.
- “Playing things to safe is the most popular way to fail…”
I’m guilty of this one - are you? Out of fear we play it safe, but in the long run we don’t product an authentic work if we don’t take risks. If you don’t make yourself vulnerable (put yourself “out there”) the listener is not as likely to connect with you and your music. Continued…
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The word “hook” is thrown around a lot in the context of songwriting - not only can many parts of a song be called a “hook”, but there are many terms that are synonymous with “hook”. This article will clear things up and discuss the major types of song hook.
A hook is a mnemonic device
A hook is a mnemonic device implemented through musical means, lyrical means, or some combination of the two. The most common variety is the musical+lyrical hook, followed by the strictly musical (or rhythmic) hook. Examples of the patently lyrical hook are harder to come by in the pop catalog.
Examples:
- Music Only: The obvious hook in Led Zeppelin’s “Black Dog” or the neolithic guitar riff from Deep Purple’s “Smoke on Water” are examples.
- Lyrics Only: Strictly lyrical hooks do not rely on changes or dynamics of surrounding musical activity, and can occur in a musical vacuum or plateau. In Kris Kristofferson’s “To Beat the Devil” the verses are largely spoken in “talking blues” manner - the line about getting free beer and stealing a song from the devil stand out vividly on their own - even if the music doesn’t doesn’t scream “here’s a hook”.
- Music & Lyrics (Combined): The vast majority of song hooks are realized through a partnership between lyrics and music. Usually it’s the most impact-full expression of the song’s concept pared with a particularly expressive or memorable musical passage. Kristofferson’s “Me and Bobby McGee” consists of choruses that give narrative details with a even melody contrasted against a sweeping chorus with the song’s poignant concept expressed more philosophically.
Continued…
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