Songwriting Class January 27th, 2016

Rich started off the class by asking this question: Why wouldn't someone like your song? And you know, there are so many reasons why someone won't care for it! Here are just a few we brainstormed:

• music is too fast or too slow
• wrong genre (don't play your country song to someone who only loves opera)
• reminds them of their ex
• the person listening to it may have just had a bad day

The point is, audience reaction to a song has nothing to do with whether or not the song is objectively, empirically, beyond a shadow of a doubt, any good. You may be nervous about putting pen to paper. There is an urge to please others and a fear that putting ourselves out there exposes us to shame and ridicule. In the end, don't let nerves stop you from writing.

And don't let the first reaction to your song be the last word. Happy Together was a monster hit by The Turtles after it was rejected by nearly every other band in the 1960s. Another great example is Jimmy Webb's All I Know-- which was deemed "silly" by the person he wrote it for that he was trying to impress.

Mark shared his beautiful song Mountain Sunset with us in class that night. One of the things that was so good about Mountain Sunset is that it did a nice job differentiating between the verse and chorus. That's why songs aren't poems exactly, although you could put a poem to music if you wanted to. Songs have more freedom to differ from the verse and the chorus, or from the bridge. 

Next week we will have other folks share their tunes if they wish, and we will begin to talk about setting words to music. This week (and always, really) listen to music that you enjoy, and to songwriters you admire. Listen, borrow, and take inspiration. Songs don't just appear in a vacuum, and we take what we need from everyone. So listen, relax, and have a notebook, pen, or a recording device handy when the mood strikes you. 

Here is one source of inspiration: Kate Bush and her Hounds of Love album. It's hard to overestimate how important this album was to a weird little kid growing up in rural Virginia. 

For a bonus, here is the song Rich mentioned at the end of class. It's Flora Purim singing Everyday Everynight, produced by Michael Columbier. (Warning: may contain jazz)

See you next Wednesday! We're having a room change February 3rd-- we'll let you know as soon as we can where we'll be next week.