Songwriters - Song Shaping

Shape the flow and structure of your song to give it maximum potential

http://www.kimcopelandproductions.com

Writer/Singers - Creative Responsibility

Creative Responsibility

By Kim Copeland

We are all in a different place on our songwriting journey.  Some of us are great musicians, some beginners. Some of us are great singers, some can’t carry a tune.  Some of us have natural rhythm, some struggle to keep a steady tempo.  Some of us are poets while others of us ramble aimlessly, confusing the listener as we go.

Kim Copeland
Music Producer

The beauty of this ever shrinking world we live in is that you are never far away from someone whose strengths compliment your weaknesses.  As you identify and own your strengths and weaknesses you can, and should, seek out fellow creative beings that can fill in the gaps for you and improve your chances of songwriting success and fulfillment.  In doing so, you will become more self sufficient and better able to take responsibility for your songs.

 “Songwriting” means something different to each of us.  We all use the gifts we have and try to find some basic understanding of those we aren’t blessed with in hopes of improving our songwriting experience.  This process can be fulfilling or frustrating; often times both.   It should help to know that you do not have to be a great musician or singer to be a great songwriter.  If you can feel or hear your idea, you can find a way to express it and present it to the world.  It isn’t hard to cast a creative team to fill the roles you can’t.

Here are some key elements to creating a good, commercial song and where the creative responsibility lies for each.

1. Rhyme Scheme - Songwriter

2. Song Structure – Songwriter/Producer  (You should have the basic structure down, but be flexible in case musicians or producer come up with some creative modifications in the studio that you had not thought of.)

3. Attitude – Songwriter/Producer (Production should enhance it, but you should know what attitude you are going for before you get into the studio.  If you cannot express it, use other commercial songs as examples to illustrate this to musicians, vocalists, producer, etc.)

4. Emotion – Songwriter/Producer (Though production should enhance and showcase the emotional impact of the song, it is the writer’s responsibility to create the emotion in the lyric and melody.)

5. Range – Songwriter/Producer (You should have the range of the melody written to showcase the lyrical emotion. The producer and/or singer may embellish it somewhat to match the musical track.)

6. Phrasing – Producer/Songwriter (Though you should have the melodic and lyrical phrasing written into your song, you should also give the musicians, producer and vocalist some latitude with them to allow the song to evolve in the creative process of recording it.)

7. Melody ad lib – Producer/Vocalist/Songwriter (Whether you are singing your own demo or hiring a professional demo singer, be open to exploring ad libs that can enhance the emotional impact of your song.)

8. Instrumentation (chord voicings) – Producer/Musicians/ Songwriter (You may have chord voicings that work great with one guitar, but not with a full band.  Sustained chords, sevenths, etc should be used as coloring.  Trust the producer to find the compromise that brings out the flavoring you like without letting it interfere with the vocal and musical theme of your song.)

9. Musical signature lick, groove, arrangement, vocal harmonies and background vocals, vocal and musical phrasing – Producer/Songwriter/Musicians (You may have a signature lick written into your song, If so, let the producer build it into the full production to fit the groove and attitude of your song.  If you have ideas on harmony and background vocals, that is great.  But if you don’t hear these things, the producer will.  This is not something that you have to provide as the songwriter.   All of this falls under the umbrella of production.  Your producer should work with you to incorporate your ideas into the big picture in the way that best serves your song and your goals for the recording.)

Whether or not you are a great musician, singer, or linguist, your responsibility as a songwriter is to present your idea in a clear way that the audience can easily follow and be drawn into, and to move the listener emotionally.   Few of us can do it all.  Focus on the elements that you can do well and seek out others to help with the rest.  By learning where to put your energy to good use and where not to waste it, you can relax and focus and make better use of your creative time and energy.

Email Kim

Songwriters: Hooks & How To Make Them Pay Off

By Kim Copeland

I'll assume you all know that a “hook” is an element of a song that hooks the listener into it; makes the song stick in their head; makes them sing it (even sometimes against their will); makes them tell their friends about it … and make them listen also; and, most importantly - sells the song to them!

With that assumption, let's talk about types of hooks and how best to make them pay off for you.

Kim Copeland
Music Producer

Different genres of music rely of different types of hooks to sell songs.  This is mostly based on what that genre's audience reacts to and what is proven to sell records (downloads, concert tickets, etc.)  

Country music has always been built on stories and characters.  Loyal listeners of Country music demand a character that they can identify with; love, hate, emulate or desire.  They also want a story, a visual scene or relationship, with a beginning, middle and end.  And they demand a lyrical and/or emotional payoff.

Since the early days of Country music, singers in that genre have been storytellers.  Hall of Fame songwriter, Harlan Howard, built his career on what he called “three chords and the truth”; honest characters talking about honest emotion and situations that mainstream audiences can relate to.

Today's Country music still rides on a story, even as it incorporates rhythms and lyrical and musical phrasing from other genres.

When you are writing a Country song, you still need to start at the beginning, set the scene, introduce the characters and give your audience a payoff hook at the beginning or end of the chorus or, in a 5th form structure, at the beginning or end of each verse section.  It may also appear elsewhere in the song, but because it is likely the conclusion or point to the song, it usually fits best there.

Other examples of lyrical driven Country music hits are: Your Cheatin Heart, Crazy, I Walk the Line, All My Ex's Live in Texas, Forever and Ever, Amen, When you Say Nothing at All, Always on My Mind

Pop music has always relied on melody to hook its audience.  Emotion can be expressed in melody, even without lyrics.  Today's Pop music features much more groove and rhythm as the lines blur between R&B, Hip Hop and Pop, but you still will find the most success with a melodic hook line that any four year old can sing after one listen.

Example; Taylor Swift's Shake it Off.  Though the song definitely has a message and the lyric has a payoff (after all, Taylor comes from Nashville), the song is built around a nine note repetitive melody capped off by a six-note hook.  It comes at you over and over making it very easy to remember and sing along with.   

This song is the perfect example of formula Pop writing and that is why it has been so successful commercially.

If you are writing Pop music and looking for commercial success, start with a melodic hook and make it simple and singable.

Rock music relies heavily on musical hooks to keep listeners loyal to their songs and artists.  Sonic uniqueness is achieved with instruments, outboard gear, chord progressions and voicings.  Vocal timbre and texture are often an extension of the instrumentation used by a Rock band or artist, as the musical sound usually is the first building block for a rock song.

Often times you can recognize a Rock song by a musical riff way before you hear a vocal melody or lyric.  This is what drives this genre of music and what hooks its listeners.  Think of how many of your favorite Rock songs you play air guitar to or sing the musical hook of.  When you remember the first time you heard the song, you likely remember the musical hook as what grabbed your attention first.

If you are writing Rock music, chances are you are also the artist performing your songs.  Put yourself in the audience.  Try to create an energy from the fist note you play that makes the audience react the way you want them to.  

Examples of great Rock music that has followed this strategy to the top of the charts and into our collective memories are: AC/DC - Back in Black, Rolling Stones - Gimme Shelter, Ac/DC - You Shook Me All Night Long.  

Though guitar is most often the vehicle for a musical hook in Rock, there are many good examples of other instruments being used for this, very effectively.   

Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen is a great example of a Rock song that uses voices to establish the musical hook.   Pink Floyd - Comfortably Numb is another good example of this.

When you are writing, think not only about what you want to say with your song, but also how you might say it by building around a catchy hook. (Get it…catchy - to catch an audiences attention. Hook - to hook them in.)

No matter what type of songs you write, you can elevate your chances of commercial success and increase your fan base by focusing on strong hooks that do their job well.

Country - You can also have a memorable musical hook and a great melody; but the lyrical “aha” or “I told you so” moment will take you to the top of the charts.

Pop - You can say whatever you want to say as long as your children can Shake it Off from the back seat of the car or dancing around the living room.

Rock - Make them feel it before they hear it!  Put the emotion in the music with a phrase that makes them feel something before the singer starts singing.

Hope this helps you hook the big one!

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