The Songs to Write Project » songs to write

Daily Practices Lead to Songs – Day 3

jayneb — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 23:38:02 +0000

Yesterday I talked about the tools I’ve been collecting and using to begin this year long songwriting project. I don’t expect to sit down immediately and start churning out songs, especially since this is new to me. I have friends who tell me of spontaneously having songs come to them in dreams, both sleeping and day time dreams, but they where active in the practice of music on a daily basis. I believe the practice must come first to prime the pump of creativity.

Here’s how I’m priming the pump…

Do Your Dailies

One thing that I find gets in the way of any creative expression is the day-to-day distractions. I’m sure you know what I mean. Life gets in the way of other plans. Unless I specifically set aside time to clear the junk out of my head, the really creative thoughts get lost in the rush. So there are two things I do every day now to help prime my creative brain.

Centering (or meditation practice) that involves relaxation and clearing my mind and emotions. I do at least 15 minutes a day, preferably in the morning.
Writing is the second daily activity that I have practiced on and off for years. I write at least three pages long hand in the morning. Nothing special, just what’s on my mind. It’s amazing how ideas just flow through my pen some times. I first picked up this practice reading The Artist Way, by Julia Cameron.

I have other things I do each day like read special affirmations and goals. Now it’s time to add daily practices related to my big goal of becoming a songwriter. I have been spending 15 minutes per day at the piano and piano exercises. And I am spending 15 minutes per day completing a songwriting exercise. The amount of time I set aside for each activity is a minimum. 15 minutes is doable. I can always spend more time if I have it. I often do.

The third new activity is to write this blog about my experiences with the Songs to Write Project. I believe that if I can become a songwriter, anyone can. The blog helps to keep me accountable.

Oh, and I believe in measuring progress so I created a checklist just to keep myself on track. I’ve found them very helpful. Send me a message if you would like a copy of it.

How about you? How do you keep yourself on track with your goal to learn how to write songs?

Technorati Tags: how to write a song, songs, songs to write, songwriter, songwriting

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Getting My Songwriting Tools Together – Day 2

jayneb — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 21:48:11 +0000

Welcome to Day 2 of the Songs to Write Project. Yesterday I set out on this big journey (for me) to fulfill a life-long dream. I’ve been setting up my tool kit and my processes to ensure my success.

My intention is to learn to play piano well enough use it to compose at first. To create melodies I know I will need to learn a bit more about harmony and chords than I do now. Songs need to have melodies that follow certain conventions, of course, in order to be appealing and pleasing to the ear. I’ve learned that creative genius comes from being prepared with the fundamentals first. Learning chord structures and chord progressions is a great place to start.

To me, song lyrics should be singable, interesting and ideally have meaning. I like lyrics that have some surprises. What to write about seems to be a common dilemma with new songwriters. One suggestion I’ve heard is look at your every day experience for inspiration. Write about what you know and what moves you in your daily life.

References

I’ve done a lot of research to find songwriting and piano instruction books to help me along. For now I’ve chosen two simple books by the same author that are very easy to follow. The author is Amy Appleby and the books are You Can Play Piano and You Can Write a Song.

I have a small electronic keyboard that I’ve had for years. It’s a Yamaha PSR-270 with a midi hook up for my computer. The midi is useful for learning as well as for recording.

I discovered a shareware computer game called PianoHead that is very helpful for learning notes, scales and intervals on the piano. When I hook my keyboard to my laptop I can improve my skill easily and in a fun way. I read music but I’ve played solo instruments all my life and only learned the Treble clef. Harmony and chords are a whole new world. PianoHead is helping me learn to hear notes, intervals and to read the Bass clef.

Becoming a songwriter in fun, but it’s also serious business as an adult. It requires learning and changes in habits. As with any major goal I’ve achieved in my life, I will need to find a process that includes daily activities. One doesn’t learn to play piano or become an accomplished songwriter over night. We can accomplish amazing things just chipping away at it even 15 minutes a day. Tomorrow I’ll share more about the daily practices, routines and disciplines that I’ll be putting in place.

How about you? What practices and disciplines do you use to accomplish your goals? What daily activities are important for your songwriting. I’d love to know so please comment below.

Technorati Tags: how to write a song, how to write songs, songs, songs to write, songwriter, songwriting

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The Songs to Write Project – Day 1

jayneb — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 00:35:22 +0000

Today is the official Day 1 of what I’m calling “The Songs to Write Project.” My dream and ambition when I was a teen was to write songs and sing. That was a very long time ago. (And I’m not going to say just HOW long!)

Over the years I’ve started and stopped the process of songwriting before I even got one song committed to paper or recorded. Was it lack of courage or lack of the right support and resources? Possibly both. I was recently cleaning out clothes (an excellent thing to do to spark change in one’s life, by the way) and I found a notebook with lyric ideas and fragments I started over 10 years ago! Then last year I started this blog only to let it sit idle.

I’ve never lost my passion and desire to make music, though. I just haven’t put all the pieces together to make it happen – yet. 2010 is the year. I promise.

I am making a promise to myself to put together the pieces and produce. Produce songs, bad songs and good songs, it doesn’t really matter. As Julie Cameron says in her book, The Artist Way, “Take care of the quantity and the Universe will take care of the quality.”

I also promise you, the reader (whoever you are and for whatever reason you are reading this blog – whether it’s because you have your own buried desire to write songs or you just want to see me possibly make a spectacle of myself), I promise to write about what it’s like to go from a complete beginner as a songwriter to creating a body of work, recording and actually performing that work. I promise to write every day to share my resources, the pieces I’ve found to help me. I’ll share the challenges I’m facing, too.

How about you? Have you had a desire to start writing songs? What’s stopping you? Please comment below. I’d love to hear from you.

Tomorrow I’ll share the process I’m using and the resources I’m using.

Technorati Tags: songs, songs to write, songwriter, songwriting

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How To Write A Song

jayneb — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 13:19:53 +0000

I’m showing you how I write songs and to maybe inspire you to write your own:)

Duration : 0:6:20

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How I can I write songs without playing an instrument?

jayneb — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 17:23:07 +0000

I have written 2 songs and the tones are in my head. What do I do? I really want to sing them with music.

Sing the song into your computer or tape recorder. A decent musician should be able to figure out your melody. Once that is done, it's pretty easy to figure out the chords and arrange the background music. I've done it plenty of times for people who can sing but can't play an instrument.

Rikky Rooksby – How To Write Songs On Guitar: A Guitar-Playing And Songwriting Course Karaoke CDs – Holiday & Patriotic Karaoke CDs – Disney...

How to Write Better Songs with John Braheny

jayneb — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 16:51:22 +0000

Legendary songwriting coach and author of The Craft and Business of Songwriting, John Brahney, hanging with TAXI CEO, Michael Laskow, in his office.

Duration : 0:9:53

Technorati Tags: A&R, better, critique, songs, songwriter, songwriting, TAXI

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Where to Start When You Have Songs to Write?

jayneb — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 22:26:11 +0000

Ever wonder how songwriters find the songs to write to get started? Like any creative process it varies from person to person. The one thing that all successful songwriters have in common is… They start. And they don’t quit. Songwriting can seem mysterious and inaccessible to those on the outside. Unless you have songs naturally popping into your head or writing themselves as some songwriters maintain, you will need to create the environment for songs to write.

Some songwriters start in childhood making up rhymes and little ditties. Johanna Burns had a toy Casio Keyboard and used to sit in her room picking apart pop songs she heard on the radio. Her interest in how the songs worked and were constructed blossomed into songwriting and singing career at the age of 24. She has two EPs released independently, “Everything Til Now” in 2005, and “Music From & Inspired By,” earlier this year. Burns has shared the stage with Ingrid Michaelson, the Click 5, Melissa Ferrick and Fountains of Wayne, and has finished a two-song EP she hopes to release in the fall.

When asked where she finds inspiration for songs to write, Burns says, “I’ve become inspired more by how other people’s songs make me feel. Maybe it sounds loopy, but I kind of get inspired by the essence of a song, the whole picture. For example, John Mayer has a song called “Slow Dancing in a Burning Room” off of his “Continuum” record. That song is so good, it’s almost something tangible.”

Connie Kaldor who teaches songwriting workshops suggests listening to a lot of music and deciding what you like and don’t like, “It is good to start with songs that you like.These are the ones that ring a chord in you. Those writers are doing something right. Not everyone has to write in this way. There are as many different writing styles as there are people. There are songs within every style that are worth examining.”

Kaldor loves the creative aspect of songwriting. She notes that is wonderful to make something out of thin air. The thing is songwriting can be a fun, playful activity. “It is the way I express myself and most of all, it’s fun to do.”

Some suggested steps to getting started on songs to write:

Take a song you know well and like and write new words. One of the easiest forms to start with is the blues. It has a clear pattern, it has a clear rhyme scheme and you can get by with four lines at a time.

If blues is not in your repertoire, try a simple children’s or traditional song. Take the first line and go from there.

There are always starting lines that will get you going, make sure the ending words are easy rhyme words like:

“I walked out and what did I see…”

“This is the way I feel today,…

“Tell me , tell me, tell me please…

“I saw you and what did I do…”

You can sit around and wait for a bolt from the blue and the songs to write themselves or you can get started now. Commit something to paper. Play with it. Have fun. I’ll be writing more about how to write songs from the beginners perspective.

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Everyone Has Songs to Write and a Story to Tell

jayneb — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 02:41:34 +0000

Have you ever wonder if you have songs to write inside of you? If you’re like me you’ve experienced hearing a song playing on the radio that you relate to so much that it seems like it’s about your life and how you were feeling right then. It’s like someone put a sound track to your life.ï¿½ My favorite example of that was the songs from Joni Mitchell’s Blue album. (from my codependent, “he done me wrong” period). I could put on Joni and feel some how comforted and understood. On the other hand, no one else’s songs quite express exactly what I experience and what I have to say.

I have believed for a long time that had songs to write inside of me without knowing how to go about it. Many attempts at writing, books read on theory and I have yet to finish my first song. Yet, I remain completely fascinated by songwriting and how songwriters write songs.

This blog is dedicated to bringing out the inner songwriter and story teller in everyone one who suspects they have songs to write. For everyone who has wanted to write songs or tried and gave up, we will explore everything about songwriting from where successful songwriters get their ideas for songs to write, how to write lyrics, melodies to how to get recorded or published.

Take Vermont native, Pat Kelley, Owner Operator of Kelly Automotive Sales and Services for instance. He really dabbled in songwriting for decades while running his business in Vermont. It was a chance meeting with Nashville songwriting giant, Bucky Jones (Eight #1 hits and 25 Top 10 hits since 1975) that gave him the catalyst to really encourage him write songs in a big way.

Kelley was interviewed by Robert Smith in his weekly blog about Vermont and New Hampshire. He tells his story of meeting Bucky Jones and how he came to be a featured songwriter on the Nashville’s America’s New Artists Tour. Pat says he gave a tape of his songs to Bucky Jones to listen with the understanding that he would get honest feedback and coaching.

Jones liked the songs enough to encourage him to keep writing and even proposed songs to write together. To date they have written 20 songs together and Kelley will have two that he has written on his own that will been recorded on the new Mike Kidd album. “That’s a remarkable feat for any songwriter – especially a new one.” Read the article about Pat Kelley and his music.

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