Practice 10 minutes

I saw a blog post about how it can be better to practice for 10 minutes a day than an hour a day. What?

My take on it is, it’s better to practice for 10 minutes than 0 minutes. It’s not how long you practice, but how frequently you practice.

So 10 minutes a day for 7 straight days is better than practicing the same amount of time (70 minutes) all in one session. It has something to do with repeated practice (like a sport). Obviously, the longer each practice session the better (up to a point).

So don’t skip a day. Instead, do a shorter practice that day. Some practice is better than no practice. And I believe you should practice songwriting, not just your instrument or voice.

Which comes first, music or lyrics?

Q: Could you give me some advice on how to structure lyrics – is it a question of writing lyrics in repect to the rhythm or write the lyrics and construct the chords and rhythm around them?

A:

For better or worse, there are no hard and fast rules in songwriting.

Many many successful, professional songwriters write the lyrics first or add music to lyrics already written by a co-writer.

And many many just as successful songwriters do it the other way around. They write the lyrics first and then the music.

Then there are those who do both at the same time.

I heard an interesting concept the other day. The idea is that the music is IN the words and the words are IN the music. Certainly the music conveys a mood and informs the writer what sort of lyrics to write.

Likewise, when you write lyrics first, they make it clear whether it should be a sad, happy or bittersweet song. Should it be uptempo, slow or something in between?

Good luck. I hope I’ve given you something to think about.

Topics for songs

This question recently dropped in my inbox.

How do I decide on a topic when I’m thinking about writing a song?

I’ve been thinking a lot about this lately. Here’s what I do to get around the problem. Hopefully there will be something in here that helps you.

My strongest songs are always the ones written about a specific topic (or person, place, idea, etc) I really care about. It can be anything from my pet iguana to my baseball card collection, from chess to downhill skiing, from social causes to my favorite cartoon.

It doesn’t matter what your topic is, as long as you are passionate about it. Whenever I try to write a song on a topic that I’m not really interested in, it turns out lame, or I lose interest altogether before finishing it. It helps to be a passionate person with a lot of interests.

What kinds of things are you passionate about – think of your hobbies, your interests, your loves (and that can mean romantic love, love for your mom, your kids or your hotrod).

Another source of topics and ideas for songs is quotations. I subscribe to a free daily inspirational email quote service. There are many of these on the web. You can also get a book of quotations at your library or bookstore.

Here’s an example. I’m passionate about my guitar, no surprise there. But one time with Valentine’s Day approaching, my songwriting partner and I thought we should try to write a love song for our respective wives. It turned out a little different than we expected.

Sound Connections

I just got back from Sound Connections New Thought Music Conference and I’m reminded of how much you can learn (about songwriting) in a short period of time, when the conditions are right. I like to attend songwriting workshops, seminars and conventions and other music gatherings. I can often get more out of a weekend seminar that it could take all year to learn otherwise.

Half of what you learn at these things is from peers, people who may not be as experienced as the paid presenters, but who often have that one bit of info, that missing piece that is just what you needed to learn. Likewise, you share what you know with them.

So it pays to network. Some people say they aren’t good at networking. Don’t think of networking as schmoozing over drinks with strangers, although that works for some. My definition of networking is nothing more than meeting people like yourself, who also may think they’re no good at networking.

Networking starts as idle conversation. Don’t start with ‘what can you do for me?’ In fact, it’s more effective to ask, ‘what can I do for you?’ But to start, it’s just anything that gets you into a conversation.

We all have to eat, so never eat alone at a music conference. Tag along with a group and keep your ears open. Nod your head, take notes. Ask questions. Now you’re networking. If appropriate, get a business card and/or demo from everyone at the table and give yours to them.

The hardest networking conversation for me to start is one-on-one. But you can break the ice by asking ‘what type of music do you write?’ That should be enough to get any songwriter talking.

Most of us can’t afford to go to a songwriting conference more than once or twice a year. What can you do to network the rest of the time? That’s where the Songwriter’s Tip Jar shines. It’s like a songwriter convention 365 days a year.

Leave a comment or question on any post, and the community of readers (your songwriting peers) will answer you from their varied perspectives. You’ll get lots of different answers, reflecting different points of view. It’s not about right or wrong answers, it’s about what you can learn that applies to you (or that you can adapt to your situation) and about what you can teach.

Brush up your networking skills by connecting online. Get invaluable tips and advice from your STJ peers and those anonymous members who happen to be industry heavies. And don’t forget to give back.

Feed me

If you find our blog helpful and would like to continue to visit, try an RSS feed. It’s free.

The main benefit of RSS is that you save time. You avoid checking blogs only to find there is nothing new. If you haven’t tried RSS before, here’s a 3 minute video that explains it in plain English.

Of course, you can use RSS for any number of other blogs and news sites, not just ours.

Play time

As a songwriter or lyricist, you may think of yourself as a wordsmith. The written word is a powerful tool. And even more powerful are words and music together.

To increase your word power (resulting in improved songwriting), you probably read a lot of books. You may also read poetry and study the great writers. And for an avid wordsmith, this is all fun.

On a lighter note, I suggest you also play Scrabble and other word games. It may be rest and relaxation, but it also keeps your mind sharp and develops that part of your brain that deals with words.

Listen

To teach yourself to be a better songwriter, listen to all kinds of music. And I don’t mean putting music on in the background. I’m talking about active listening or study.

Try something out of your comfort zone, something you might not even especially enjoy or a genre you don’t know anything about. For many of us, that would include classical. Let me recommend a new CD called The Mozart Album. You can get an exclusive first listen free (the entire CD) at NPR.

If you’re already familiar with classical music, try punk, metal, polka, bluegrass, folk, jazz, reggae or whatever seems most outside your normal listening parameters. I’m not suggesting you’ll learn to like it, only that you will learn about composition.

When you listen, try to figure out why the song works (or not). And break it down. For example, you might ask ‘how did the writer make the emotion build and peak in the chorus, and how did he/she transition to a less intense passage after the chorus?’ Ask questions like, why did the writer choose that type of lyric or that intro and see if you can answer them.

Embracing change

Change in itself is neither good nor bad. In any given situation, don’t assume a change means a change for the worse. It could just as easily be a change for the better.

We’ve all seen articles on the music industry’s recent rapid changes and I’m not planning on adding my two cents here. Instead, I want to talk about change as it relates to songwriting.

How many times have you written a song and felt the pride of accomplishment, only to realize you could improve it by making one more little tweak, one more rewrite?

How many times have you asked for a critique only to be reluctant to make any of the recommended changes? Are you afraid of change or just too comfortable to change?

Change can be scary to children, going to a new school, for example. But change in itself is not good or bad. In any given situation, don’t assume a change means a change for the worse. It could just as easily be a change for the better.

Rather than automatically resisting change, try being consciously aware that you always have a choice: you can resist change reflexively or you can keep an open mind and decide on a case by case basis whether a given change is a good one or not.

In my own writing I can usually improve a song if I give it a little more attention (even when it seems already complete). Sometimes I change a single note, other times I write a whole new bridge or a better chord progression.

Being neutral to change (neither mindlessly resisting nor accepting it) will serve you well in songwriting.

3 secrets of songwriting success

Here’s a gold mine of insights into learning how to become a better songwriter from Michael Shorr, from a conference call. Listen to this 60 minute mp3 as he tells how he learned to become a songwriter, before going to Berklee, and then goes on to talk about 3 secrets to songwriting success in detail.

If you don’t have 60 minutes, just listen to the first 5 minutes and see if you don’t learn something good.

Capturing your ideas

Deb Hilton shares her unique way of writing songs:

There are an infinite number of possibilities to writing songs and thus an infinite number of songwriting tips to be given. Here is one way I like to write.

I got a $7 tape recorder from Wal-Mart and I carry it around with me all the time. Whenever I think of (or hear) something clever, or true, or just something that sounds poetic, I say it into the tape recorder. It is much handier for me than a pen and paper, my thoughts get slowed down with the writing.

I sometimes go a week or two, sometimes months on end, taping phrases or weird sounding words on this recorder, and if I run into a slump where I’m not personally thinking of anything creative, I’ll go to a busy cafeteria in the mall, or a busy coffee shop where people aren’t afraid to make conversation in an audible tone. I’ll sit next to a talkative table or near them and sort of eavesdrop just a little, not so much I’m intruding, I’m just keeping my ears open for buzz words or phrases that have a ring with me. When I hear it, I’ll write it down (this time).

Last fall I was at Meir Woods with my family and we were walking back to our car and passed by these three truckers in the parking lot and one was just finishing telling a joke with the punch line when I passed by and heard, “she plays the guitar and kisses with her eyes open.” They all burst out laughing, I didn’t hear the joke, but I knew that line was getting written down when we get to the car (when I’m with other people and need to record something, I’d rather just write it down for now, but you do what you like). I haven’t used that line yet, but It is still recorded and I won’t forget it.

Sometimes, I go months before reviewing my tapes, and I’ve found that when I do wait so long, I am hearing these ideas with new ears, as a listener would hear them for the first time and I can get and give an honest opinion of myself to myself as a first impression would.

I also like to give my verses, lines, phrases dual meanings. One may be universal and one may have another more personal meaning for me. It helps keep the song fresh for me (the one who is singing it over and over again). Nothing is worse than having to sing a song that has become boring to you.

I think it’s important to cut yourself some slack when it comes to writing too. I wait until I have the night (or day) entirely to myself to get out the recorder and hear what I’ve got to work with.

This is your sacred escape, use it!

Just keep writing, and rewriting and crafting until it feels good to you!

Deb Hilton
The Porchlights