It's always random in a way, but I find myself looking for titles everywhere. Then what I tend to do is build up a chorus from that title. Unless I have an acceptable chorus I usually don't even continue. Parallel to that I have accumulated a massive vault of musical bits and ideas. Many of my songs end up being a jigsaw puzzle of title/chorus words and musical ideas from this archive. When I get stuck and need a song quickly it's just a matter of going through this archive (both musical ideas and the notebook with titles/lyrics). Unfortunately if I write an introduction or a verse I tend to get stuck if I don't already know where I'm going with it. My two cents - well done for this channel. It's really informative. And happy new year!
I only discovered songwriting over the past year, your channel is fantastic, since I watched your first video I’ve put your suggestions to work. I’m actually getting better. I’m scared as hell but I think I’ll be preparing for my first open mic night. The thought of presenting my artwork is truly Terrifying! But I’m better off now that I was before. And your channel has helped me immensely. 🙏🏾 thanks to you all you do.
@@htws I’ll keep you posted on it. I’m also forming a songwriting accountability group, Ofcourse I can’t find anyone else interested. But I know they’re out there 😄
@@dwaynegayle9020 if you head over to my Facebook page Dwayne, there’s a pinned post there where you can message me to join one! You’re not alone, so I’ve started some groups that anyone can join ;)
Enjoying your channel and these tips. Very practical and easy to try. Some of the comments are mis-understanding the whole idea of inspiration, like it's a black or white all or nothing thing. Either you have an entire song pop in your head or you don't. Inspiration can possibly come all at once without needing to trigger it, but other times, especially when our conscious mind is bogged down by everyday non-creative reality, we need to find inspiration in a variety of ways. Some songs are just birthed through you with little effort. Sometimes you get pieces of it and have to sculpt it until it feels right. Lots of gray areas in how we get creative. An all or nothing approach will likely lead to very few finished tunes.
Hi Chris, thanks for your comment. I think its a very understandable mis-understanding to have when discussing the comparison between daily process and inspiration, perhaps because we all know how good it feels to be inspired by a great idea that appears seemingly out of nowhere... and on the other side, we've all suffered the intolerable frustration of sitting silently with pen in hand, hoping for lightening to strike. The issue with inspiration is that it's virtually impossible to talk about or define and is also deeply personal. Craft and process on the other hand is something we can absolutely talk about and refine through consistent application ... but at the end of the day, the creative process is unique for everyone and everyone has their own interpretation of the ingredients that go into their creative work.
I always start by writing a framework, mostly because I have something I want to say. " Long time no see", "Anything at all", "A Lifetime" Then I work to improve original wording and structure. G/A/D/E are the most common keys for me, so I need to grow, a lot ! Learning flavored chords has moved me forward so much. Resolving from an augmented or a 7th is just so satisfying. So far no hits though ...........LOL :) Thank you for these wonderful insights, they are so valuable !
You guys are amazing. Obviously accomplished song writers. I must apologise that I have never heard of you until now. It looks like your genre is along the lines of Carol King, Joni Mitchell, James Taylor. Can you pls educate us in naming a few of the great hits that you’ve written. I tend to remember the songs but not the artists. Cheers ❤
I was glad to see the "borrow chords" tip! Over the years that has been one of the most successful methods for me, but there's still always a little part of me that feels guilty like I'm cheating!
I am absolutely loving these videos! I want to surpass my current level in song writing!! Thanks for these ideas, some are new to me and some are reminders of what I’m already doing right! Whawhooo
You’re so welcome! You might be interested it the mini course we just released here: www.udemy.com/course/how-to-write-songs-the-songwriting-process-start-to-finish/?referralCode=8B3DC2EAEAC9833FECBF
3:30 --> This is sooo interesting! I knew about the term 'mindmap' but using it in songwriting is a whole new idea. Really cool. Makes me wanna watch that video, that you see in that segment. . What I did use is 'theme-circles' I take the main theme and put it in a circle and do a brainstorm on that theme. Then put all of that in the 'margin' so to speak, for later use. If I am writing the lyric and find another theme that is also in the same lyric, I make another theme-circle and put that in the margin. While I am writing the verses and bridges I draw from those theme-circles, trying to use as many of the items in the theme-circle as possible, so the reader clearly sees the topic and also that a second theme is woven into the lyrics as well. I found that my lyrics got way more interesting + because the way of working is fun you kinda wanna write lyrics just to use that system :-) . Thumbs up + subscribed. + thanx for the mindmap-homework :-)
I’ve only recently stumbled upon your videos and I’m so glad I have, I’ve been writing songs for about 5 years and your advice and experience is so helpful, thank you😁
So... I've been listening to this channel a lot and I heard Pat P talk about the Places We Won't Walk by Bruno Major. I actually cried a lot because my dog nearly got ran over yesterday by an idiot on a scooter, so I was hugging him close last night. Funny how much we love our dogs. Anyway, I've basically stolen the song's structure to write about my ex g/f. When I took you on the train And watched the seconds tick away I knew I'd miss you every day From the wrong side of the sea Then I watched you pixelate and fade and vague excuses make Hard for me to make your day From the wrong side of the sea Yes I'm hurt, I'm devastated Thinking of the times we wasted Sharing things we loved and hated Knowing we would be Paying for a losing bet With flowers from the internet & voice notes peppered with regret From the wrong side of the sea If you have a towel, throw it in Be someone else's heroine Besides, they don't let your type in From the wrong side of the sea Hope it has an least some of the gravitas of the BM song. My ex had to leave because brexit meant that nobody wanted to give Tier 2 Visas to MSc graduates from South America. Thank you so much for helping me put it into words. I've been struggling so hard to get anything good written for years. Anyway, I was going to steal the chords from Read My Mind by the Killers and start with a new melody etc. I'm hoping this isn't the "Bad" theft that you outline in the vid.
IT ALL JUST STARTS FROM THE (SOUL) YOU ALL ARE TO TECNICAL--- Writing is thoughts coming straight from the brain to the hand to paper ...... I just let it flow...... "CATER"
Great video! I watched twice to digest it all. Can’t wait to try out these ideas. So true about starting at one point or idea then ending up somewhere completely different. Thanks for giving examples too!
So glad it was helpful, and yes, totally agree that showing examples is helpful. It's important to me that folks know that we are real songwriters lol ;)
The best songs are born of inspiration, and inspiration is born of improvisation (just making stuff up off the top of your head). Another key to writing good songs is knowing when to throw away the bad ones, chances are pretty good that if it doesn’t catch your own ear when writing it, it probably won’t catch anyone else’s ear either, throw away the bad ideas and move on to better ones and don’t worry that you won’t think of another song just as good or better. As long as you’re actively writing songs all the time a better song is always on the horizon, all it takes is 1 good idea to start that inspiration and the rest comes a lot easier than one may think. And the more songs you write (good or bad) the better you get at it and the easier it becomes, when you write for hours & hours everyday something good is bound to flash before your mind and the feeling of inspiration will tell you if you’re headed in the right direction or not. No better feeling in the world than writing music (IMO), everyone should do it all the time.
I try to never throw out the "bad ones" before letting a couple of my "go to" people listen to them. I'm not sure why it is but these people and i tend to have extremely similar taste in music except when it comes to my own! For some reason the stuff that i think "eh" is the stuff that they tend to really like and vice versa. And generally speaking, they tend to be right. A lot of the tunes that tend to be fan favorites when I play out are songs that I did not particularly like and would've thrown out if it wasn't for another set of ears
@@eddiehauser6661 • That’s true and a very good point, I do the same thing with my friends as well. Some songs I don’t really like playing because they don’t catch my ear anymore but my friends still like them and there’s songs that I wrote that I absolutely love and everyone else hates them. I guess what I said is quite subjective, it still important to leave the bad songs behind but equally as important to know for sure that it was a bad song.
This is brilliant its just given me an idea to use 6/8 on a song that's been floundering a bit. Another point about changing time signatures is how it can make a old fashioned song sound up to date and provide new rhythmic melodic lines.
I heard that Amie Mann would write a bunch of chords on cute cards and throw them in the air. She would pick them up and play them in that order for inspiration.
Wow, great video. I just found you and I really enjoy the enthusiasm you have for your craft. I can tell you both enjoyed this conversation which made if more fun for me to watch! Thanks, John (new subscriber!) Gig Harbor, WA
Hello again and thank you much for support over last months. I tried to enroll in a seminar, but it was filled. Interesting is that these 4 methods I’ve kind of used and didn’t realize they were methods! The sense writing was new to me. My big question is, and may be to many here as well: How do we develop the guitar skills Keppie has in this video on the fretboard? The courses I’ve looked at are solely guitarists learning guitar. I’m not interested and have no talent for this; I’m a simple strummer after years learning as a left handed person, playing right handed. My right hand is retarded! The pick is always a problem for me. Any suggestions for me and others who can sing pretty well, but aren’t advancing in the guitar phase, please? Grateful for suggestions, Stephan Albrecht (I’ve taken a course from you, and am looking at next one!) Thanks thanks thanks and lots of love
Great video for a songwriter. I often use the blah blah method. Get into a progression of chords and blah blah sing over the top of it creating a melody. Make sure you record it. Listen back and you can hear potential lines and ideas within. Like, that sounded like i was singing " She sang like a minstrel." Eg. Build on it and refine the melody! I use it often. Warning! May sound a bit like trying to decipher Pearl Jam! No offence Pearl Jam!
Could maybe demonstrate in a video the sense writing technique? I get the description you made and it sounds great but I'm not sure how to apply it in practical terms
Thank you for these great tips!!! I'm really new on song writing (despite my age tha is not so new ☺) and all the info you give in your videos is amazing. I'm Spanish, do you think the technic is valid for all languages, or there are idiom particularities that must be taken into consideration? Thank you!!!
All languages! The ideas here are really about where ideas come from, how to build on ideas, etc, which I don't think is language-specific, although there very well might be particular things about different languages that make certain things easier/harder, or present different challenges or opportunities. For example, the grammar and conjugation of certain languages, like Spanish, mean that there is a lot more rhyme possibility than in English for example (eg the 'aba' part tense conjugation in Spanish...hablaba, caminaba...doesn't exist in English). That might mean that as a Spanish speaker, you'd need ot be more cautious about how much rhyme you put in, and not over-doing it...but I'm not a fluent speaker, so not sure ;)
Why writing a song if you have nothing to express to start with? All these advises seem to me like ploys to remedy poetic sterility. For a poet the process is rather finding metaphors and syntactic synthesis to best express what they feel like expressing.
I guess what we're saying here is that we always have something to express but its sometimes difficult to know HOW to express it. Using different methods such as these helps to 'kickstart' the process in an effort to turn songwriting into a habit - rather than be at the mercy of inspiration, waiting (and hoping) for it to strike.
@@htws For me if someone accepts a random word and starts to list “senses” has nothing pressing to write about. And a song that would pull your heart, like “perfect day”(…I’m glad I spent it with you…) has no physical senses reliance, most strong don’t because the deepest feelings like love, missing are beyond senses. Just like music and perfume are almost beyond physicality yet they hit so much harder than “sculpture”. If you mean that the “senses” thing is just a mind activating exercise leading to something to be found (yet again, to fill in a lack of pressing subject for expressing) then yes, why not. For me if you DO have something to express (for real), you should do what Ray Bradbury advised: go on a hunt for Metaphors! Make endless collection of metaphors. Everything you say in the video IG good though for the daily writing habit cultivation you mention.
Yeah Way ! The principals for all true belief systems ARE essentially the same Good Orderly Directions a.k.a. GOD Wow --- far out ! And down to earth . Now everything makes more perfect sense ! Thanks for thee head's-up yawl ! however Talk about corruption ! The blood of Jesus is not a blank check to do nothing or be like 'whatever'. Don't just sit there neutralized by blissful ignorance ! "Beware of the genetic-molesting 'leaven' (artificial sugar-coated lie bull HOOKS) of the so-called 'authorities' and scribes trying to sell us all out to the highest bidders." Actually jesus flipped out on the diabolical barbaric practice of selling innocent critters to be kosher slaughtered on the altar in the temple --- as a bogus way for schmuck human-cattle to have their 'sins' forgiven. the original sin was being schmuck enough to eat the forbidden fruit eggs and flesh of innocent critters like snakes do . (suffering causes suffering) Eating innocent critters is very bad karma indeed . thank goodness jesus stuck his own neck out to remind us that forgiveness depends on how we treat even the least of our bretheren ... (How would you like it if nobody cared enough to help you get out of the death-trap pits and snares ?) Man wouldn't it be great if someone else would die so that nobody would ever be held accountable for any sins anymore ? --- sure looks like spreading the other cheek further for the pedophile preistclass to rape everything more easily is backfiring big time ... Too bad --- Easy believers make it way too easy for the great deceivers... The last thing jesus wants to see when he returns with a serious vengence is a another death worshipping meat-cult double-cross... B-Less schmuckered yawl ! we best not let anyone try to scare the friggin Be-jesus outta any of us ! even Greater works than these kinda ones like our prince of peace performs super naturally through us faithfull free radical followers --- shall become the new normal ... Become the type of light worker you want to see in this world ... Like the good shepherd likes to say : "my joke is sweet --- and my burden is LIGHT !" for every step in the right direction we take --- the sun of god takes ten more for us ... get ready for G--ZEUS to return outta the clouds with a batta-Lion of starships (and sun dragons) armed to the teeth --- while the vast army of murdalized martyrs and resurrected saints go marching in with a seriously hilarious vengeance ! --- Leaving No ( peace, happiness, and freedom loving ) stoner left unturned into a hero of sorts ... Thank goodness for thee Divine down to earth Principals of : Peace --- kindness Purity --- integrity Ballance --- mindfullness Patience --- trust Strength --- will power Generosity --- forgiveness Encouragement --- joy Wonder --- insight and Enlightenment --- upliftment ... Anyhow --- Less B-Less-ing and More Best-owing to all yawl ! in all ways remember to stay thankfull and Ask thee GREAT spirit And THEE MOST HIGH intelligent designer located in the heart of all creation for guidance on how we can redeem ourselves most effectively --- rather than merely sit around aimlessly waiting for great pumpkin pie lies in the sky to save us ... So take heed --- and hold fast because the cosmic-director don't take too kindly to procrastinating i - do - laters who delay helping themselves realize how to instruct those that oppose themselves from being more brilliantly redeemed and grateful than ever before ... Muchos Grassyass ! And Goddesspeed ! (Schumann resonance has been off the charts lately) Sure Looks to me Like Empirical evidence of the thee Most High --- blasting out brilliant freedom rock riffs on rainbow coloured guitar strings ! (Guess we'll just have to wait until it dawns on ALL of us !) Lighten up ! And stay positive yet vigilant... And again yawl --- thanks for helping to keep the ideal --- real ! Check out this other stellar alternative cosmic solar weather report : this awesome looking nasa footage of what appears to be a giant black space serpent getting blasted by the sun : ruclips.net/video/t0jgkoA3Ywc/видео.html interesting --- how NASA stands for never a solid answer . the spooks are actively blocking huge chunks of their own data and it's making all the independent space watchers wonder what the heck they are trying so hard to hide ... Be aware of the new age pedophile preistclass deceptacon hex-nut Luciferian transhumanist one world religion however. 5D --- or 5G ? if you think the wages for schmucking the whole world into going to war against everything pure and natural and good are astronomically enormous --- yer darn friggin right ! Watch out for them multidimensional illegal-alien shapeshifter demons trying to use celebutard mouthpieces like meat-puppets to sell us all out on the fantasy 5D Deceptacon hex-nut deception --- of trading in our original divine organic living body soul vehicles --- for Crystalline bodies sure sounds more like more transhumanist hogwash motherschmuckery (to this here proud grateful indigenous earthling) Anyhow --- We best not let ANYBODY try to scare or finagle the friggin Be-jesus outta any of US ! So yeah --- ( i know ) good luck with THAT ! Thee Light of god is written in our hearts . . . so Hold FAST and Goddesspeed yawl !
I don't think I like the stealing part no matter how you shine it up that doesn't feel like artistry but if that's what you teach I hope people follow your advice and steal everything you create the good way of course happy writing
Hey Mark - please pick up a copy of 'Steal Like an Artist'. You won't regret it. As David Bowie said, "the only stuff I'll listen to is the stuff I can steal from". The concept is really about learning by close listening; the same way a basketball player watches a move from a great, and tries to recreate it, to reverse-engineer it. You can't ever really do it the same, but in reaching for it, you upskill, and also find out where your own voice is, in the area where what you do is different to what you were reaching for...
@@htws well I don't think the analogy of basketball player be fitting simply because that something physically accomplished and song writing is emotional, spiritual intellectual and I wonder Bowie like third or fourth generation stealing or does he from the original types
You will never write a good song unless that song already exists within you ... there is no 4 ways, 10 ways 27 ways to start a song ... that `s why so much of pop music these days is so crappy ... never start writing anything unless inspiration hits you. If you`ve never felt inspiration, you should simply forget writing music and move on to other things ... you`re not cut out for it ... this funny lady is teaching you how to steal songs ... that`s dumb
It helps to vent that foul smelling methane gas a bit at a time - BEFORE it turns into deadly explosive diareah ! Let's conscientiously use our earnest outrage to 'Burn' them narcissistic deceptacon hex-nut motherfrackers outta thee equation for good . 👌☝The best way to gaslight the entire world is to mass-broadcast very scary and confusing information over large media platforms and then give no one the ability to question you, so the masses are left to squabble over it amongst themselves." This technique is called Divide and Conquer in (illegal-alien overlord) New World Order through sponsoring the chaos in the first place. Too bad People perish for lack of knowledge --- as well as 'knowing' so much that ain't so . Hopefully there is still a way to sort this terrible shit out BEFORE it's too late... Tyrannts drunk on power (due to 'exclusive' access to so-called 'superior' artificial intelligent technology) --- think they can 'play' God and shmuck the whole world into going to war against everything pure and natural and good --- but they definitely got another thing coming ... Billy the PRICK is trying to hijack humanity and turn honest to goodness indigenous earthings into patented humanoid 2.0 hybrids (he would own) through forced diabolically retarded genetic-molesting toxic cocktails --- for Christsakes ! Time to cut the crap. (Anyone pretending to save humanity by wiping 2/3rds of it out is definitely the antichrist --- research EUGENICS) Billionaire's lives matter A billion times more Than all the lives of every color combined --- acording to the celebutard cheater-class insider 'experts' and 'kiss-asses' trying desperately to sell the rest of humanity out in their insatiable hellbent to become godlike billionaires themselves. Time to cut the crap . No fn doubt the establishment is a con's-piracy --- you can't blame anyone for speculating what is really going on when the 'knowledge that is power' is systematically and vigilantly reguarded as 'top secret' . Time to hold them unmentionable self-chosen supremacist secret cults with diplomatic immunity accountable --- Before they 'manage' to make the rest of us various types of relatively poor Indigenous folks do each other in for nothing . . . Just be aware We all gotta realize how left and right (good actors and pure evil) always manage to work together 'nicely' when it comes time to give themselves big bonuses and $ell the rest of the population out . usa is getting played by both sides playing good cop bad cop --- when they are ALL diabolically retarded lucifarian flunky deceptacon hex-nut motherschmuckers in on the proverbial poi-zionist masonic power pyramid scheme HELLBENT for TOTAL WORLD DOMINATION together . Their O.T. - O.G. is one and the same as the narcissistic devil he is supposedly against. Playing both sides for schmucks is just how the deceptacon hex-nut pedophile preistclass kingpimps roll ... Spreading the other cheek further for them to rape everything more easily sure as heck aint helping anyone but the big glory hog glory hole himself . (ruclips.net/video/bZ4NTdSK5ac/видео.html This 6hr lucifarian whistleblower vid was about how almost all celebutards flash illumi-naughty gang signs) Of coarse if any 'professionals' come clean with the dirty details of their 'trade$' --- we should have mercy on them --- but until then --- they deserve every bit of righteous outrage that's coming their way ... But --- we heavenly endowed earthly beloved are fixing to excorcise all those who are violating our CERTAIN UN-ALIENABLE rights . Remember the golden rule --- 'do unto others as you would like others do for you' --- (or else!) Don't try to complain about your UN-ALIENABLE RIGHTS --- if you like to think that the 'lesser' critters are here just for food, making a killing from $$$, and to do diabolically retarded experiments on . The alien 'big brothers' were fairly upfront about this sacred agreement to not eat our brethren critters when they warned us through the bible and other channeled messages. of coarse all abrahamic religions --- are basically just sick meat-cults . their illegal alien overlord that goes by many names --- only eats the finest kosher-cannibal meat products he can find . the true benevolent divine intelligent designer may even have mercy on the poor schmucks that got indoctrinated into meat-cults at an early age --- but only if they can understand how sick it is to use other sentient beings as snacks --- just to snare them into becoming devil-food mind-controlled slaves themselves . gotta love watching meat-heads dig themselves their very own barbeque pit ... Or not . Don't try to say no one attempted to give yawl the 'heads-up'. Don't eat yer heart out ! Goddesspeed yawl ! Stick that in yer algorithm and smoke it ...
![OsamaSon - ik what you did last summer [Official Music Video]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/4DIQDnu3mr4/mqdefault.jpg)
To summarize: Limits can be generative when faced with a blank page. Great channel, thanks!
Great ideas, thanks!
It's always random in a way, but I find myself looking for titles everywhere. Then what I tend to do is build up a chorus from that title. Unless I have an acceptable chorus I usually don't even continue. Parallel to that I have accumulated a massive vault of musical bits and ideas. Many of my songs end up being a jigsaw puzzle of title/chorus words and musical ideas from this archive. When I get stuck and need a song quickly it's just a matter of going through this archive (both musical ideas and the notebook with titles/lyrics). Unfortunately if I write an introduction or a verse I tend to get stuck if I don't already know where I'm going with it. My two cents - well done for this channel. It's really informative. And happy new year!
Love it. Free.
Great Channel! Some awesome advice.
This channel is great for homeschooling! Thank you!
I only discovered songwriting over the past year, your channel is fantastic, since I watched your first video I’ve put your suggestions to work. I’m actually getting better. I’m scared as hell but I think I’ll be preparing for my first open mic night. The thought of presenting my artwork is truly Terrifying! But I’m better off now that I was before. And your channel has helped me immensely. 🙏🏾 thanks to you all you do.
That is SO GOOD to hear, Dwayne! Good luck with the open mic!
@@htws I’ll keep you posted on it. I’m also forming a songwriting accountability group, Ofcourse I can’t find anyone else interested. But I know they’re out there 😄
@@dwaynegayle9020 if you head over to my Facebook page Dwayne, there’s a pinned post there where you can message me to join one! You’re not alone, so I’ve started some groups that anyone can join ;)
Enjoying your channel and these tips. Very practical and easy to try.
Some of the comments are mis-understanding the whole idea of inspiration, like it's a black or white all or nothing thing. Either you have an entire song pop in your head or you don't. Inspiration can possibly come all at once without needing to trigger it, but other times, especially when our conscious mind is bogged down by everyday non-creative reality, we need to find inspiration in a variety of ways. Some songs are just birthed through you with little effort. Sometimes you get pieces of it and have to sculpt it until it feels right. Lots of gray areas in how we get creative. An all or nothing approach will likely lead to very few finished tunes.
Hi Chris, thanks for your comment. I think its a very understandable mis-understanding to have when discussing the comparison between daily process and inspiration, perhaps because we all know how good it feels to be inspired by a great idea that appears seemingly out of nowhere... and on the other side, we've all suffered the intolerable frustration of sitting silently with pen in hand, hoping for lightening to strike. The issue with inspiration is that it's virtually impossible to talk about or define and is also deeply personal. Craft and process on the other hand is something we can absolutely talk about and refine through consistent application ... but at the end of the day, the creative process is unique for everyone and everyone has their own interpretation of the ingredients that go into their creative work.
Awesome video. Great ideas. Thank you
Thanks Tony, glad it was helpful!
I always start by writing a framework, mostly because I have something I want to say. " Long time no see", "Anything at all", "A Lifetime" Then I work to improve original wording and structure. G/A/D/E are the most common keys for me, so I need to grow, a lot ! Learning flavored chords has moved me forward so much. Resolving from an augmented or a 7th is just so satisfying. So far no hits though ...........LOL :) Thank you for these wonderful insights, they are so valuable !
You guys are amazing. Obviously accomplished song writers. I must apologise that I have never heard of you until now. It looks like your genre is along the lines of Carol King, Joni Mitchell, James Taylor. Can you pls educate us in naming a few of the great hits that you’ve written. I tend to remember the songs but not the artists. Cheers ❤
I was glad to see the "borrow chords" tip! Over the years that has been one of the most successful methods for me, but there's still always a little part of me that feels guilty like I'm cheating!
I am absolutely loving these videos! I want to surpass my current level in song writing!! Thanks for these ideas, some are new to me and some are reminders of what I’m already doing right! Whawhooo
Thanks so much! We run workshops too if you're ever interested:
tinyurl.com/murcefyu
Thank you!
You’re so welcome! You might be interested it the mini course we just released here: www.udemy.com/course/how-to-write-songs-the-songwriting-process-start-to-finish/?referralCode=8B3DC2EAEAC9833FECBF
3:30 --> This is sooo interesting!
I knew about the term 'mindmap' but using it in songwriting is a whole new idea.
Really cool.
Makes me wanna watch that video, that you see in that segment.
.
What I did use is 'theme-circles'
I take the main theme and put it in a circle and do a brainstorm on that theme.
Then put all of that in the 'margin' so to speak, for later use.
If I am writing the lyric and find another theme that is also in the same lyric,
I make another theme-circle and put that in the margin.
While I am writing the verses and bridges I draw from those theme-circles,
trying to use as many of the items in the theme-circle as possible, so the reader
clearly sees the topic and also that a second theme is woven into the lyrics as well.
I found that my lyrics got way more interesting + because the way of working is fun
you kinda wanna write lyrics just to use that system :-)
.
Thumbs up + subscribed. + thanx for the mindmap-homework :-)
i love this, thank you so much
You're welcome 😊 We put out a monthly newsletter, if you're interested! howtowritesongs.org/subscribe-to-the-newsletter
I could listen to you play that slide guitar all day!
Yalls channel has almost made me tear up at times because it was exactly what I was looking for
Oh I'm so happy to connect! Lots more to come :)
I’ve only recently stumbled upon your videos and I’m so glad I have, I’ve been writing songs for about 5 years and your advice and experience is so helpful, thank you😁
So... I've been listening to this channel a lot and I heard Pat P talk about the Places We Won't Walk by Bruno Major. I actually cried a lot because my dog nearly got ran over yesterday by an idiot on a scooter, so I was hugging him close last night. Funny how much we love our dogs.
Anyway, I've basically stolen the song's structure to write about my ex g/f.
When I took you on the train
And watched the seconds tick away
I knew I'd miss you every day
From the wrong side of the sea
Then I watched you pixelate
and fade and vague excuses make
Hard for me to make your day
From the wrong side of the sea
Yes I'm hurt, I'm devastated
Thinking of the times we wasted
Sharing things we loved and hated
Knowing we would be
Paying for a losing bet
With flowers from the internet
& voice notes peppered with regret
From the wrong side of the sea
If you have a towel, throw it in
Be someone else's heroine
Besides, they don't let your type in
From the wrong side of the sea
Hope it has an least some of the gravitas of the BM song. My ex had to leave because brexit meant that nobody wanted to give Tier 2 Visas to MSc graduates from South America. Thank you so much for helping me put it into words. I've been struggling so hard to get anything good written for years.
Anyway, I was going to steal the chords from Read My Mind by the Killers and start with a new melody etc. I'm hoping this isn't the "Bad" theft that you outline in the vid.
IT ALL JUST STARTS FROM THE (SOUL) YOU ALL ARE TO TECNICAL--- Writing is thoughts coming straight from the brain to the hand to paper ...... I just let it flow...... "CATER"
Great video! I watched twice to digest it all. Can’t wait to try out these ideas. So true about starting at one point or idea then ending up somewhere completely different. Thanks for giving examples too!
So glad it was helpful, and yes, totally agree that showing examples is helpful. It's important to me that folks know that we are real songwriters lol ;)
The best songs are born of inspiration, and inspiration is born of improvisation (just making stuff up off the top of your head).
Another key to writing good songs is knowing when to throw away the bad ones, chances are pretty good that if it doesn’t catch your own ear when writing it, it probably won’t catch anyone else’s ear either, throw away the bad ideas and move on to better ones and don’t worry that you won’t think of another song just as good or better.
As long as you’re actively writing songs all the time a better song is always on the horizon, all it takes is 1 good idea to start that inspiration and the rest comes a lot easier than one may think.
And the more songs you write (good or bad) the better you get at it and the easier it becomes, when you write for hours & hours everyday something good is bound to flash before your mind and the feeling of inspiration will tell you if you’re headed in the right direction or not.
No better feeling in the world than writing music (IMO), everyone should do it all the time.
I try to never throw out the "bad ones" before letting a couple of my "go to" people listen to them. I'm not sure why it is but these people and i tend to have extremely similar taste in music except when it comes to my own! For some reason the stuff that i think "eh" is the stuff that they tend to really like and vice versa. And generally speaking, they tend to be right. A lot of the tunes that tend to be fan favorites when I play out are songs that I did not particularly like and would've thrown out if it wasn't for another set of ears
@@eddiehauser6661 • That’s true and a very good point, I do the same thing with my friends as well. Some songs I don’t really like playing because they don’t catch my ear anymore but my friends still like them and there’s songs that I wrote that I absolutely love and everyone else hates them.
I guess what I said is quite subjective, it still important to leave the bad songs behind but equally as important to know for sure that it was a bad song.
This is brilliant its just given me an idea to use 6/8 on a song that's been floundering a bit. Another point about changing time signatures is how it can make a old fashioned song sound up to date and provide new rhythmic melodic lines.
Thanks Lloyd, that's a great point about changing time signatures to reinvent an older sounding song.
Have to say that I absolutely love your recommendation of Austin Kelon! Fabulous stuff. Thanks for great content and pointers to other great thinkers
Glad you picked up a copy Kenneth! It is something I read and reread all the time...
Thanks for making these videos, they’re appreciated
Thank you for this!
I ended up taking notes...
I heard that Amie Mann would write a bunch of chords on cute cards and throw them in the air. She would pick them up and play them in that order for inspiration.
This is really inspiring, I love your videos ! Your energy is so great. The tips are just so useful :)
Thank you so much!!
Wow, great video. I just found you and I really enjoy the enthusiasm you have for your craft. I can tell you both enjoyed this conversation which made if more fun for me to watch!
Thanks, John (new subscriber!)
Gig Harbor, WA
Thanks so much, John!
Wonderful! Thanks!!
Hello again and thank you much for support over last months. I tried to enroll in a seminar, but it was filled. Interesting is that these 4 methods I’ve kind of used and didn’t realize they were methods! The sense writing was new to me.
My big question is, and may be to many here as well:
How do we develop the guitar skills Keppie has in this video on the fretboard?
The courses I’ve looked at are solely guitarists learning guitar. I’m not interested and have no talent for this; I’m a simple strummer after years learning as a left handed person, playing right handed. My right hand is retarded!
The pick is always a problem for me.
Any suggestions for me and others who can sing pretty well, but aren’t advancing in the guitar phase, please?
Grateful for suggestions, Stephan Albrecht (I’ve taken a course from you, and am looking at next one!) Thanks thanks thanks and lots of love
Loving this channel guys. Anything more on lyrics would be much appreciated. Big love and a happy new year from England. 👍🙏😎❤️
Thanks Jeremy! There are a couple of links in the show notes worth checking out where there is more info lyric writing!
@@htws Many thanks, will check them out. 🙏
THX to the algorithm, now i know u guys!!! geetings from Argentina.
Welcome! Thanks, algorithm ;)
Wow amazing thanks for sharing
You're so welcome!
Great video for a songwriter. I often use the blah blah method. Get into a progression of chords and blah blah sing over the top of it creating a melody. Make sure you record it. Listen back and you can hear potential lines and ideas within. Like, that sounded like i was singing " She sang like a minstrel." Eg. Build on it and refine the melody! I use it often. Warning! May sound a bit like trying to decipher Pearl Jam! No offence Pearl Jam!
Well, that was fun! Just found your channel. Thanks for the great ideas!
You had me at "Steal Like an Artist" ... great book!
It really is. It sits on my desk at all times.
@@htws 10th anniversary hardcover edition to be released March 15. I’m on Austin Kleon’s mailing list. lol
I use a random number generator to come up with Chord Progressions or 7 modes (5 is Mixolydian for example)
Thats a great idea Bill! I love random number generators... so useful in a variety of situations. Got any other randomising techniques you like using?
@@htws not that I know of yet but if I think of any others I’ll posted here.
Using PLAYING CARDS also works. As-7 (A-G) then use Face cards for 9th,11th and 13.
These classes are great! Thank you. :-)
Another great video.
The genius Gerry Goffin told me before he passed
IF YOU DON'T HAVE A GREAT IDEA
DON'T START!
L.Russell Brown
Do you have tips for bridging? like after and before the chorus, the flow of the song
Could maybe demonstrate in a video the sense writing technique? I get the description you made and it sounds great but I'm not sure how to apply it in practical terms
There's a link in the video notes to a blog post with lots of examples :)
@@htws thanks!!
Thank you for these great tips!!! I'm really new on song writing (despite my age tha is not so new ☺) and all the info you give in your videos is amazing. I'm Spanish, do you think the technic is valid for all languages, or there are idiom particularities that must be taken into consideration? Thank you!!!
All languages! The ideas here are really about where ideas come from, how to build on ideas, etc, which I don't think is language-specific, although there very well might be particular things about different languages that make certain things easier/harder, or present different challenges or opportunities. For example, the grammar and conjugation of certain languages, like Spanish, mean that there is a lot more rhyme possibility than in English for example (eg the 'aba' part tense conjugation in Spanish...hablaba, caminaba...doesn't exist in English). That might mean that as a Spanish speaker, you'd need ot be more cautious about how much rhyme you put in, and not over-doing it...but I'm not a fluent speaker, so not sure ;)
Where can we find the video using a mind map to watch? Thanks!
I love you
Mostly music for me, but happens all different ways
lmao, the noun I was given from that website was music
Can't you start a song for me ❤
Good artists borrow. Great artists steal…
Why writing a song if you have nothing to express to start with? All these advises seem to me like ploys to remedy poetic sterility. For a poet the process is rather finding metaphors and syntactic synthesis to best express what they feel like expressing.
I guess what we're saying here is that we always have something to express but its sometimes difficult to know HOW to express it. Using different methods such as these helps to 'kickstart' the process in an effort to turn songwriting into a habit - rather than be at the mercy of inspiration, waiting (and hoping) for it to strike.
@@htws For me if someone accepts a random word and starts to list “senses” has nothing pressing to write about. And a song that would pull your heart, like “perfect day”(…I’m glad I spent it with you…) has no physical senses reliance, most strong don’t because the deepest feelings like love, missing are beyond senses. Just like music and perfume are almost beyond physicality yet they hit so much harder than “sculpture”. If you mean that the “senses” thing is just a mind activating exercise leading to something to be found (yet again, to fill in a lack of pressing subject for expressing) then yes, why not. For me if you DO have something to express (for real), you should do what Ray Bradbury advised: go on a hunt for Metaphors! Make endless collection of metaphors. Everything you say in the video IG good though for the daily writing habit cultivation you mention.
Yeah Way ! The principals for all true belief systems ARE essentially the same Good Orderly Directions
a.k.a. GOD
Wow --- far out !
And down to earth .
Now everything makes more perfect sense !
Thanks for thee head's-up yawl !
however
Talk about corruption !
The blood of Jesus is not a blank check to do nothing or be like 'whatever'.
Don't just sit there neutralized by blissful ignorance !
"Beware of the genetic-molesting 'leaven' (artificial sugar-coated lie bull HOOKS) of the so-called 'authorities' and scribes trying to sell us all out to the highest bidders."
Actually jesus flipped out on the diabolical barbaric practice of selling innocent critters to be kosher slaughtered on the altar in the temple --- as a bogus way for schmuck human-cattle to have their 'sins' forgiven. the original sin was being schmuck enough to eat the forbidden fruit eggs and flesh of innocent critters like snakes do .
(suffering causes suffering)
Eating innocent critters is very bad karma indeed . thank goodness jesus stuck his own neck out to remind us that forgiveness depends on how we treat even the least of our bretheren ...
(How would you like it if nobody cared enough to help you get out of the death-trap pits and snares ?)
Man wouldn't it be great if someone else would die so that nobody would ever be held accountable for any sins anymore ? --- sure looks like spreading the other cheek further for the pedophile preistclass to rape everything more easily is backfiring big time ... Too bad --- Easy believers make it way too easy for the great deceivers...
The last thing jesus wants to see when he returns with a serious vengence is a another death worshipping meat-cult double-cross...
B-Less schmuckered yawl !
we best not let anyone try to scare the friggin Be-jesus outta any of us !
even Greater works than these kinda ones like our prince of peace performs super naturally through us
faithfull free radical followers ---
shall become the new normal ...
Become the type of light worker you want to see in this world ...
Like the good shepherd likes to say : "my joke is sweet --- and my burden is LIGHT !"
for every step in the right direction we take --- the sun of god takes ten more for us ...
get ready for G--ZEUS
to return outta the clouds with a batta-Lion of starships (and sun dragons) armed to the teeth --- while the vast army of murdalized martyrs and resurrected saints go marching in with a seriously hilarious vengeance ! --- Leaving No ( peace, happiness, and freedom loving ) stoner left unturned into a hero of sorts ...
Thank goodness for thee Divine down to earth
Principals of :
Peace --- kindness
Purity --- integrity
Ballance --- mindfullness
Patience --- trust
Strength --- will power
Generosity --- forgiveness
Encouragement --- joy
Wonder --- insight
and Enlightenment --- upliftment ...
Anyhow ---
Less B-Less-ing
and More Best-owing
to all yawl !
in all ways remember
to stay thankfull
and Ask
thee GREAT spirit
And THEE MOST HIGH
intelligent designer located in the heart
of all creation
for guidance on how we can redeem ourselves most effectively --- rather than merely sit around aimlessly waiting for great pumpkin pie lies in the sky to save us ...
So take heed ---
and hold fast
because
the cosmic-director
don't take too kindly
to procrastinating
i - do - laters
who delay
helping themselves
realize how to
instruct those that oppose themselves from being
more brilliantly redeemed and grateful than ever before ...
Muchos Grassyass !
And Goddesspeed !
(Schumann resonance has been off the charts lately)
Sure Looks to me
Like Empirical evidence of the thee Most High --- blasting out brilliant freedom rock riffs on rainbow coloured guitar strings !
(Guess we'll just have to wait until it dawns on ALL of us !)
Lighten up !
And stay positive
yet vigilant...
And again yawl --- thanks for helping to keep the ideal --- real !
Check out this other stellar alternative cosmic solar weather report :
this awesome looking nasa footage of what appears to be a giant black space serpent getting blasted by the sun :
ruclips.net/video/t0jgkoA3Ywc/видео.html
interesting --- how NASA stands for never a solid answer . the spooks are actively blocking huge chunks of their own data and it's making all the independent space watchers wonder what the heck they are trying so hard to hide ...
Be aware of the new age pedophile preistclass deceptacon hex-nut Luciferian transhumanist one world religion however.
5D --- or 5G ?
if you think the wages for schmucking the whole world into going to war against everything pure and natural and good are astronomically enormous --- yer darn friggin right !
Watch out for them multidimensional illegal-alien shapeshifter demons trying to use celebutard mouthpieces like meat-puppets to sell us all out on the fantasy 5D
Deceptacon hex-nut deception --- of trading in our original divine organic living body soul vehicles --- for Crystalline bodies sure sounds more like more transhumanist hogwash motherschmuckery
(to this here proud grateful indigenous earthling)
Anyhow --- We best not let ANYBODY try to scare or finagle the friggin Be-jesus outta any of US !
So yeah --- ( i know )
good luck with THAT !
Thee Light of god is written in our hearts . . .
so Hold FAST
and Goddesspeed yawl !
If you are not inspired. Do not write crappy songs! Stop forcing songs. It’s embarrassing!
I don't think I like the stealing part no matter how you shine it up that doesn't feel like artistry but if that's what you teach I hope people follow your advice and steal everything you create the good way of course happy writing
Hey Mark - please pick up a copy of 'Steal Like an Artist'. You won't regret it. As David Bowie said, "the only stuff I'll listen to is the stuff I can steal from". The concept is really about learning by close listening; the same way a basketball player watches a move from a great, and tries to recreate it, to reverse-engineer it. You can't ever really do it the same, but in reaching for it, you upskill, and also find out where your own voice is, in the area where what you do is different to what you were reaching for...
@@htws well I don't think the analogy of basketball player be fitting simply because that something physically accomplished and song writing is emotional, spiritual intellectual and I wonder Bowie like third or fourth generation stealing or does he from the original types
You will never write a good song unless that song already exists within you ... there is no 4 ways, 10 ways 27 ways to start a song ... that `s why so much of pop music these days is so crappy ... never start writing anything unless inspiration hits you. If you`ve never felt inspiration, you should simply forget writing music and move on to other things ... you`re not cut out for it ... this funny lady is teaching you how to steal songs ... that`s dumb
It helps to vent that foul smelling methane gas a bit at a time - BEFORE it turns into deadly explosive diareah ! Let's conscientiously use our earnest outrage to 'Burn' them narcissistic deceptacon hex-nut motherfrackers outta thee equation for good .
👌☝The best way to gaslight the entire world is to mass-broadcast very scary and confusing information over large media platforms and then give no one the ability to question you, so the masses are left to squabble over it amongst themselves."
This technique is called Divide and Conquer
in (illegal-alien overlord) New World Order through sponsoring the chaos in the first place.
Too bad People perish for lack of knowledge --- as well as 'knowing' so much that ain't so .
Hopefully there is still a way to sort this terrible shit out BEFORE it's too late...
Tyrannts drunk on power (due to 'exclusive' access to so-called 'superior' artificial intelligent technology) --- think they can 'play' God and shmuck the whole world into going to war against everything pure and natural and good --- but they definitely got another thing coming ...
Billy the PRICK is trying to hijack humanity and turn honest to goodness indigenous earthings into patented humanoid 2.0 hybrids (he would own) through forced diabolically retarded genetic-molesting toxic cocktails --- for Christsakes !
Time to cut the crap.
(Anyone pretending to save humanity by wiping 2/3rds of it out is definitely the antichrist --- research EUGENICS)
Billionaire's lives matter
A billion times more
Than all the lives of every color combined --- acording to the celebutard cheater-class insider 'experts' and 'kiss-asses' trying desperately to sell the rest of humanity out
in their insatiable hellbent to become godlike billionaires themselves.
Time to cut the crap .
No fn doubt the establishment is a con's-piracy --- you can't blame anyone for speculating what is really going on when the 'knowledge that is power' is systematically and vigilantly reguarded as 'top secret' .
Time to hold them unmentionable self-chosen supremacist secret cults with diplomatic immunity accountable --- Before they 'manage' to make the rest of us various types of relatively poor Indigenous folks do each other in for nothing . . .
Just be aware
We all gotta realize how left and right (good actors and pure evil) always manage to work together 'nicely' when it comes time to give themselves big bonuses and $ell the rest of the population out . usa is getting played by both sides playing good cop bad cop --- when they are ALL diabolically retarded lucifarian flunky deceptacon hex-nut motherschmuckers in on the proverbial poi-zionist masonic power pyramid scheme HELLBENT for TOTAL WORLD DOMINATION together .
Their O.T. - O.G. is one and the same as the narcissistic devil he is supposedly against. Playing both sides for schmucks is just how the deceptacon hex-nut pedophile preistclass kingpimps roll ...
Spreading the other cheek further for them to rape everything more easily sure as heck aint helping anyone but the big glory hog glory hole himself .
(ruclips.net/video/bZ4NTdSK5ac/видео.html
This 6hr lucifarian whistleblower vid was about how almost all celebutards flash illumi-naughty gang signs)
Of coarse if any 'professionals' come clean with the dirty details of their 'trade$' --- we should have mercy on them --- but until then --- they deserve every bit of righteous outrage that's coming their way ...
But --- we heavenly endowed earthly beloved are fixing to excorcise all those who are violating our CERTAIN UN-ALIENABLE rights .
Remember the golden rule --- 'do unto others as you would like others do for you' --- (or else!)
Don't try to complain about your UN-ALIENABLE RIGHTS ---
if you like to think that the 'lesser' critters are here just for food, making a killing from $$$, and to do diabolically retarded experiments on .
The alien 'big brothers' were fairly upfront about this sacred agreement to not eat our brethren critters when they warned us through the bible and other channeled messages. of coarse all abrahamic religions --- are basically just sick meat-cults . their illegal alien overlord that goes by many names --- only eats the finest kosher-cannibal meat products he can find .
the true benevolent divine intelligent designer may even have mercy on the poor schmucks that got indoctrinated into meat-cults at an early age --- but only if they can understand how sick it is to use other sentient beings as snacks --- just to snare them into becoming devil-food mind-controlled slaves themselves . gotta love watching meat-heads dig themselves their very own barbeque pit ...
Or not .
Don't try to say no one attempted to give yawl the 'heads-up'.
Don't eat yer heart out !
Goddesspeed yawl !
Stick that in yer algorithm and smoke it ...