Career Songwriter

For a more detailed explanation of the tools I’m about to share, please refer to Popular Lyric Writing: 10 Steps to Effective Storytelling.

The chorus of a song is for some of us the first section that begins to take shape during the writing process. Whether we start from the title or a theme, focusing the chorus to sum up the main point of the song is essential for any great purpose to form. If the song is worth writing and listening to, the chorus proves why.

In my opinion, what makes choruses so difficult to write is the responsibility that section has in summing up my point. If I make the listener wait too long to get to that main point, or if that point is vague, I stand to lose the attention of my audience completely. The chorus has to capture the essence of what I’m trying to say, and in a way that is immediately accessible to all the ears that have waited a minute or more for that essence.

When I already have a title idea, the first step I take in writing a memorable chorus is positioning that title in the power positions. Depending on the structure, those positions are the first line, the last line, and sometimes the middle of the chorus section. Take a listen to some of your favorite tunes and notice where the title line sits.

Next, I speak the title line out loud, noticing the highs and lows of the language. The stressed syllables falling on stressed beats of the measure allows the lyric to sing as naturally to the melody as it speaks in conversation. This idea of conversational quality is so important to the title line. If the way the title sings upsets the natural flow of the words or syllables, then the listener will be paying more attention to ‘how’ I’m singing rather than ‘what’ I’m singing. The result is my song becomes less believable. For more details on stress placement, refer to Pat Pattison’s course ‘Writing Lyrics to Music.’

After I’ve set my title to a catchy melody and tried out a few power positions, I’ve got to write some of the developmental lyric that falls between those title lines. I like to give some thought as to how I’m going to recolor the title at the end of the chorus. The key line in recoloring is the line before the last repeat of the title. That line holds the responsibility of twisting or adding dimension to the final title line. As an example, here is the chorus from a song of mine “Kaleidoscope” off my CD, Breaking Even.

Power position Not anymore
I’m letting go
I’m not gonna
be a kaleidoscope
I’m saving my life
or what’s left to lose
And taking it back from you
I was afraid
of some kind of change
Power position But not anymore

In order to frame the chorus in the title, I needed to allow the last line title idea to finish off the sentence I started in the second to last line. That new idea of being afraid of a change offered just a bit more insight into my final point, ‘not anymore’.

Once I’ve brainstormed a bit on those power positions and how to close the chorus section with a powerful final idea, I start to think about the internal lines, the developmental ideas in the chorus. Line one introduces the melodic hook I’ve chosen to become the ‘motif’ of my chorus section. Line two repeats that melodic motif, as well as line three. The lengths of my lines reflect that repetition of the melodic motif, and so I’ve used structure to help me decide the phrase lengths. For more information and a listening example, refer to my blog ‘A Short Songwriting Lesson, Part 1 and 2.

With lots of repetition in the melody, a rhyme scheme starts to surface. In your own choruses, a great idea would be to listen to the chorus sections of some of your favorite songs and note the structures. Listen for the rhyme scheme and any melodic repetition. Then, write your own chorus using the same or similar structure.

As for the lyric ideas, I use a process called ‘destination writing’ to develop those internal line ideas. Very simply, I journal about the very theme and title I’m writing about. From this paragraph of conversational ranting, I lift lines and throw them against the melodic hook. I look for any rhyme potentials, like ‘afraid’ and ‘change’ or ‘kaleidoscope’ and ‘letting go’. There are gems hidden within the journaling that make the process of constructing the chorus much easier than if I had plodded along line by line from top to bottom. For those of us who feel more comfortable talking out loud rather than writing our thoughts, try recording yourself talking about the idea or title. Just find a quiet and private place, and let your mind drift as you delve down into the core of what makes that title worth writing. What you’re looking for are those big thought ideas, as if you were standing outside the situation looking in. Try these sentence phrases to get you started:

All that really matters is…
What I really want is…
If only…
If things were different I’d…

Challenge yourself to write a chorus each day. Finding out how you move through your own writing process will come as you write consistently. Try new processes, and continue to refine as you feel what stalls and what encourages your creativity.

Have fun,

Andrea

I hope last week’s songwriting organization and song analysis have opened up new doors for you both in your craft and in your business of songwriting. This week I’ll add two more activities for your consideration when you’re looking for ideas to grow your career and skill level.

Business:
Make it a point to identify one musician who might help bring your songs to life. It might be a producer, an engineer, another songwriter, a bass player, keyboardist, vocalist, or ukeleist…. (make sure that’s how they like to be called)
The goal here is to sit down with someone who would be willing to play your song on guitar while you sing, willing to sing your song while you play keyboard, willing to listen to your song and talk about how it might be arranged, etc. You’ll expand your circle of contacts while gain a broader view of how your song is received. You can find these kinds of people anywhere, no matter where you live. Check local music stores for bulletin boards where players advertise their skills. Many of the customer service folks at these stores are trained musicians, so consider how their experience might combine nicely with yours. Check the yellow pages for recording studios in your area and ask if you might come by and view the facility. They should consider you a potential customer, and you should consider the facility somewhere you may choose to record in the future. As you attend shows at clubs and other venues such as coffee shops, business conventions, restaurants, hotel lobbies, and wherever else you see live music, consider that many of these working musicians are in the spotlight to network as well. Bring your business card with contact information, and as always, be honest about your intentions. You’ll need to decide what it might be worth to you in dollars to have a guitar player sit down with you for an hour and work up a guitar part for your song as you sing. If you bring a good recording device, you could end up with a great work-tape (what we call a rough demo of a song) you can add to your catalog. If you can’t pay right now, then be forthcoming about that. Many musicians are very clear about the fact that investing in folks early on in their career for free leads to great friendships and paid gigs down the road. Whatever outcome you expect, be prepared to wind up with renewed energy for writing more songs, and at least one new experience where you put yourself out there for potential success.

Craft:
One common complaint I hear from songwriters is how difficult it sometimes is to actually finish a song. We start out feverishly excited about an idea, or maybe about a knock-out first line or verse. Then, we get to the prechorus or the chorus and the ideas stop flowing. Or, maybe we’re stuck at the beginning of the second verse, without a clue where to go from there. We may have played the song in its unfinished state to a family member, friend, or writing group, only to receive feedback about the imperfections that already exist, stunting our excitement about finishing the song.
Whatever the case, the plight of the unfinished song clutters our minds and desks, keeping us from the valuable experience of actually writing through an entire idea. To deal with this problem, you’ve first got to make a pact with yourself.

1. Promise to finish every idea you start, no matter how insignificant the writing feels.
A professor once instructed me to write a song a week, and to finish each song that I started. At first I rebelled, but soon found that even if I was just writing a second verse and bridge section to fulfill the goal of finishing a song, I was practicing a valuable exercise. The first few times, the second half of the song was less focused, less intentional, and certainly less captivating than the first half. I repeated lines and ideas in several songs I finished, but I also found that I came up with good, original ideas at the same time. What was most important was that I grew a catalog of finished works.

2. Identify the section of the song in which you typically lose your groove.
Do you find verses come easily to you, and your biggest fear is a chorus that really pays off? Or, do you overflow with chorus material and avoid verse writing altogether? At what point do your musical ideas fall short of your expectations? Clarify your weak points, and do some research in those areas. There are several books on the market that focus on each of these individual points. I recommend Pat Pattison’s Writing Better Lyrics, Jimmy Kachulis’ Songwriting Workshop: Melody and Songwriting Workshop: Harmony, and my own book, Popular Lyric Writing: 10 Steps to Effective Storytelling.

3. Before you begin writing an idea, make an outline and stick to it.
If you start with a title or theme, practice outlining the content of each section. If you’re unsure how to do this, take a look at Writing Better Lyrics, or Popular Lyric Writing: 10 Steps to Effective Storytelling for help. Then, stay focused on your outline as you develop the lyrics in each section.

4. Hold off on playing your songs for family members or those close to you until you’ve lived with them (your songs) for at least two weeks. Feedback when we’re so close to an idea can sometimes be less constructive and more destructive. After I’ve given my own ears time to separate from a song, I’m more objective and can often make many observations on my own. I also like to have several song ideas in development at one time, so that when I do play my older material, I’m not crushed if it’s not my best material. The value of my ideas never hangs on one song or idea alone, and finding some separation from ideas of the past helps to foster future creativity.