two pithy (pitiful?) tips and a not so sad song

Thanks for those songwriters who participated in the last Forge. Here are a couple rather practical tips for writing a sad song.

#26 Arpeggios are sad. Joshua Weresch's song "the South Wins the War" was a very effective song . It had a beautiful arpeggetiated piano part. There's especially moving in hearing chords broken into individual notes -- a delicate vulnerability. I would definately recommend finger-picking for guitar players, if you are attempting to border sad subject matter.

#27 Melodrama, hyperbole and humour are not sad. I was told my own song "Someday" was too funny to be sad. Sad songs seem to require an appearance of sincerity and the sensitivity of understatement. Melodrama can be effective in eliciting tears at the movie theatres, but songs are very short form of writing, and so it is very difficult to engage the listener in such a dramatic build in such short amount of time.
I would still recommend writing overblown melodramatic songs -- like those Tom Waits, Rufus Wainwright or The Dears -- as I love to listen to them; but perhaps I should not consider these songs "sad".

Here are lyrics to my song, in case anyone would like to see by example or comment.

Someday (by Thomas Wilson)

On a Monday I first met you, in Love's innocence I stumbled
Over many hilly meadows, I rambled and I tumbled
I was chasing after your East-bound train
I almost caught up you, it was as close as I ever came

On a Tuesday we made a date, but my car broke down
And I got caught in the snow and the rai, fifteen miles out of town
I would've called up if cellphones had existed,
But the payphones were frozen and your number wasn't listed

But Someday
I'll declare my love (2x)
Someday
I'll declare my love
to --

On a Wednesday I was stuck like lightning in the eyes
God help me write a poem for you, God help me or I die
You laughed a might laugh, my dick shrunk in my pants
To quit while I was ahead, I took you to the dance

On a Thursday I bought you flowers, the kind you didn't like
And then I made you dinner, you didn't eat a bite
When you threw my toothbrush in the toilet out of spite
I was thinking just then, that it wouldn't be the night

Chorus

On a Friday I said I loved you a thousand times or more
But all my words just fell like dry gravel to the floor
You said you loved me too as a ricochet does bounce
A cease-fire was declared, for whatever that amounts

On a Saturday it felt like the last day of my life
I recognize you as someone who looked almost like my wife
You held my hand, cut my food with a plastic knife
I was trying to tell you something, but words didn't come out right

Chorus

A couple tips

Thank you Randy keeping the everyone up to date with radio show. Here's a couple older tips that I've been meaning to post.

#25 Young songwriters can add too many notes. Don't be afraid to give your melodies space to breath. --The Abbreviations

#26 Start with a good title and build your song around that.
--Bruce Springsteen (VH Story Teller) relied by Octoberman

Love Songs, Protest Songs

Hello deep forgers of the beyond,

Now with the weekly radio show the tips pile up.

About a month ago I stole a tip from Nick Cave's "Love Song lecture":
Tip #21 All love songs must contain duende. For the love song is never truly happy. It must first embrace the potential for pain. Those songs that speak of love without having within in their lines an ache or a sigh are not love songs at all but rather hate songs disguised as love songs, and are not to be trusted. (Nick Cave)
(For an explanation of "duende" and the complete lecture see the link below or get his complete lyrics for the library or if they don't have get them to order it).
http://everything2.com/index.pl?node_id=800055

Well these tips will be out of order because I don't have my Bob Dylan book of interviews with me. but a couple weeks a Matt Jelly (former mayoral candidate, graphic artist, and among other things, songwriter) came on the show. His tip is a simple one given repeatedly to all artists and craftspeople, and one that needs hearing repeatedly:

#22 Practice your craft everyday.

Even if its just for 10 minutes, giving yourself the daily time and space for inspiration is a  rewarding discipline.

I asked Matt about his forgo-ence (not a real word, I'm sure) of the writing "protest" songs, which is especially striking considering his political passion. He said he admires some political songs, but he likes art and politics separate like "pea and potatoes". Personally, I don't think it's possible for any of one's beliefs (political, philosophical, religious, ect) to be separate from any part of your acting, thinking or being. However, later, Matt said he didn't like songs about only one thing, ei love. Song need conflict or tension or contradiction. I think his later statement is the truer one. A problem comes when start thinking of protest songs as being solely concerned with political actions (about one thing), thus turning people into one dimensional objects to be incited. The best protest songs, rather, are about people, both in groups and individually multi-faceted creature.

Please permit me to bring in some philosophy here (or permit yourself to stop reading). The word politics comes from greek word polis , meaning "city" (and probably other things as well). Ancient Greek philosopher Plato's famous dialogue The Republic, the "politeia" is said to be about a politic system. But there's much more, because Socrates says, "the city is the image of the soul of each person". The means whatever happens in the city (macro) is reflected in each person and vice versa. In a plutocracy (the rule of wealthy), we see great monuments to business and banking, ei any North American city. We also see a great disparity of wealth, with extensive poverty and want. This an image of each person, as we see people impoverish certain desires (friendship, love) to the desires for material success and luxury. Thus the "class" battles of politics are mirror in internal battles of each person. 

Actually Plato's view, I'm guessing, is very much against "activism", as it is impossible to create the "ideal" city, though it possible for some people to change themselves on an individual level. (we can disagree with him on this). 

So how does all this relate to protest songs? The best protesting songs, I'm suggesting are those that look at the issue on both micro and macro level, like Bob Dylan's John Brown and folk song from the 19th c. Mrs McGrath. 

Two Hours of Tips (in 15 minutes)

Hello Forgers,

Happily, Alec of Two Hours Traffic was able to do phone-in interview last Wednesday. Two Hours Traffic is a terrifically acclaimed band and are worth checking out. He offered some amazing tips on air with great concision and here I will pass them on to you:

#18 Don't limit yourself by genre. Alec mentioned how listening to hip-hop can inspire and instruct in songwriting rhythms and phrasing. 

#19 Switch up your writing instrument. The Classical guitar has been giving Alec a good run in writing.

#20 If you have a good melody make sure you marry it to a lyric pronto, or else it is sure get lost to the mists of time. (Barring that, a dictaphone can be good investment to remember songwriting nuggets)

Sanguine Fire: Tips to Happy Songwriting

Thanks to everyone for their participation in our last workshop when we discussed the perennial songwriting difficulty: how to write a happy song. Our next tips are brands lit from that meeting.

In its component parts music made up of 4 things (please disagree about this in comments section): pitch, tempo, tone and structure. Let's be simple about it, and suggest how these components usually act in a happy, positive, upbeat, or feelgood song.

#12. Pitch: singing in higher range will make a song happier. Think Paul McCartney vs. a Nick Cave or Tom Waits.

#13. Tempo: A fast tempo is more invigorating and mood-lifting. This is pretty obvious. Never hestitate to steal the rhythmic pattern from a favourite song if you want to give a song a lift.

#14. Tone: A light tone. Try humour, being silly and choosing flippant subject matter. Err on the side of clarity for your lyrics. Use hooks and repetition liberally.

#15. Structure: Go conventional. Be predictable. Don't be afraid to choose the most commonly used chord patterns in pop music. (You can always add some twists later).

Again, disagreement and debate is always welcome in comments section.

Tips to Test Your Mettle: Songwriting Tips

Here's some songwriting tips inspired from our last meeting.

Tip #9 Begin and/or end with a riff.

It is often effective to start your songs with musical riff or hook. If this riff comes from the chorus or bridge, then it can draw the listener as they wait to hear again or are pleasantly surprised when the riff comes up in the later context.

Tip #10 Break your song into its component parts.

I've been thinking that a stronger song shouldn't be dependent on guitar (or piano) riffs like in Tip #9. Try breaking down the songs to its components to test the strength of each. Try singing the song without instrumentation -- do you get lost or does the melody stick? Try humming it or plunking the melody out in single notes on an instrument you are unfamiliar with. Try also reciting words as if they were a poem. Is there a natural rhythm there? 

Tip #11 Make your weaknesses your strengths.

Unlike classical (and  jazz) music, singer/songwriting is an amateur art form. Of course, some musical training can make a world of difference. But most of the time we "make do" with our weaknesses. Even better is when we can turn our weaknesses into our strengths.

If you a weak guitar player, keep your guitar work simple so that you can feature your voice. 

If lyrics are your strong point, make sure your melodies, chord progressions and instrumentation are simple enough that your lyrics can be easily followed.

Conversely, if you find lyrics difficult to write, take your best line (or steal it from a better writer -- a famous novelist or poet) try seeing how many times you can repeat it a keep it interesting. 

Please if anything irks or pleases you in these tips, do not hesitate to leave a comment. Our next Forge is June 11th. Please contact me to showcase.

Tips to Prod Yourself With: Songwriting Tips

Hello, hello songwriters! 

Have you been heaving your deep drafty artist sighs, feeling you've once again been forgotten? I know I have! But I haven't forgotten to draft up a few tips to goad you into your further artistique excellence. These are tips honed from the last meeting of the Forge. Remember, you songwriters in and around hamilton, to contact me if you are interested in showcasing at the next Forge, on May 14th.

Tip #6

Push your voice. Your singing range WILL increase the more you sing. Don't only push your range of pitch, but your dynamics: how quiet can you sing and still sound good? How loud? How harsh or intense of a tone can you create? How smooth and sultry? Listen closely to yourself and you are sure to extend the colours of your vocal palette. 

Tip #7

Change the key, use a capo. Relate to previous tip: do not hesitate fooling around with the key of the song to find the sweetest part of your voice, or push your voice to its limits. 

Tip #8

Lose the capo. For you guitar players, losing your capo can ultimately be surendipitous. Exploring up the finger board, trying out new chord forms, using open tunings and using open strings  are all ways to revitalise your guitar playing and songwriting. 

Tips to Sharpen By: Songwriting Tips

Here's some tips derived from our last meeting.

Tip #3

If a song does not seem to be working, take the best line, chord change or melody and rebuild the song around that. This can mean repeating this part as a hook or refrain, OR you can try saving this part for one golden moment the whole song is building toward. 

Tip #4

This is a basic one: do not be afraid of re-writing your songs! Can I be so bold to say that I all the best songwriters go through multiple version of their songs? Write as many verses as you can and then pick through and cut and paste it for continuity and the effect you desire. Bob Dylan reportedly wrote something like 25 verses for Like A Rolling Stone.

Tip #5

Try writing a song in the genre of your favourite songwriter(s). Many of us today are concerned with developing our own unique style. This however can become a hinderance to our development and ability to learn from the great songwriters of the past. I've attempted deriving and lifting parts from other songwriters and then by the time song is finished, the stolen parts become near unrecognizable and secretly I'm almost disappointed that my blatancy is hidden.

As T.S. Eliot (one of the greatest poets of the 20th century) famously said, "immature poets imitate, great poets steal".

That's all for now. Next Forge is April 9th! Contact me if you are interested in showcasing-- my info can be found here: www.myspace.com/thomaswilsonfolksongs

tips to sharpen by: Songwriting Tips

Hello Songwriters and Songcritics!

After each meeting of Forge, I thought it would be a good idea to condense some of the discussion into helpful songwriting tips. Please add your own thoughts/tips in the comments section!

Tip #1: Get advice from musicians. 

Since I often primarily focus on the words in songwriting, I was especially impressed by the feedback given by people who are primarily skilled musicians. Skilled musicians can give insights into rhythm, melody, harmony and song structure that most songwriters can hardly imagine existed. 

Tip #2:  Play with obscurity and clarity.

Pop songs tend to err towards clarity, while artsier indie/alternative songwriting tends to err towards poetic obscurity. I believe both clarity and obscurity are necessary for good songwriting. For the pop songwriter who wants to delve deeper, you can try adding elements of mystery to your songs-- unusual turns of phrase, reversed expectations, intentional gaps in the plot, contradictions, paradoxes. For a more poetic songwriter, it may be beneficial to add elements of clarity -- cliches, choruses, repetition, simple language, catch phrases.

Two tips is all I have time for now. I know we discussed much more last week, so please do not hesitate to add your own tips.