Songwriting magic and craft

My thoughts on how you become a songwriter.

Songwriters should always try to really ‘hear’ a song; i.e. figure out ‘how it works’. Learning about the choices other songwriters make, makes you a better songwriter. Ask yourself, how was this song created,  how is it arranged and why is it arranged in this way.

How to finish that song you are writing

Hi, I hope you are feeling well and having a good day. I just thought I’d come on and share a tip with you - related to songwriting - that I have to constantly relearn myself.

And that is, that the main talent you need as a songwriter is not a talent for melody or for lyrics, but a talent for persevering - against the odds.

We can all get songs started. The trick is getting them finished.

I’m no different from you. I get excited about a set of chords or an idea for a song - and I get started.

That’s the easy bit - at the start when there are so many options to explore and so many new changes and words to feel good about.

It’s after that initial burst of energy that things tend to become tough. The lyrics for the second verse aren’t coming to you - or for that matter, the words to finish the first verse - or to complete the chorus.

The structure of the song isn’t quite right - but you can’t figure it out what you need to to do to make it right. Or you can’t find a bridge or a pre-chorus that you think it needs.

You start to think, Wouldn’t it be great if someone else would came along and finish this song for me. You’d be happy to hand it over them and stand back while they did the work to bring you fabulous idea to life.

They will finish it in a way that makes it perfect. Because it feels impossible for you to get it to that point.

Things are tough. And there’s only one solution. Perseverance. You just need to keep working on it.

Sing what you have over and over and over agin - and keep pushing forward. Keep going back to it no matter what.

And here’s the payoff. If you keep doing that you will get that song finished.

How do I know that? I know that because I’ve been in this situation 100s and 100s of times and I’ve always made it to the end.

I know that if I keep gong I will get this song finished because I’ve done it so many times before.

But it’s different for new songwriters. If you are new to songwriting you haven’t yet developed that belief. You aren’t sure if it is possible to finish the song you are working on.

You aren’t sure because you haven’t yet developed the habit of finishing songs and you haven’t yet developed the cast iron belief that finishing this song you are working on is possible.

So I’m on here to tell you that it is possible. And that the one talent you really need is a talent for perseverance.

Here’s a tip to help you develop that belief. Finish every song you write. Even if you decide that the song is rubbish, finish it. Even if what you have when you get it finished isn’t great. Finish it.

Finish every song you start. And the next time you are stuck and feeling dispirited you will know you’ve been here before and you finished the song.

Develop the habit. Developer a talent for Perseverance.

I believe in you, and I know you can do it. Go to it!

The 15 Minute Songwriting Method

This video contains a powerful tip from singer-songwriter Margaret Glaspy and her partner, jazz guitarist Julian Lage

• Margaret Glaspy on the ‘Music Makers and Soul Shakers’ Podcast: https://www.makersandshakerspodcast.com/episode/margaret-glaspy

• Julian Lage on the ‘Broken Record’ Podcast: https://tinyurl.com/mpjh3svx

In summary, Margaret Glaspy’s method is as follows:

1. Turn on your timer.

2. Turn on your recorder.

3. Pick up your guitar or sit at your keyboard—or whatever instrument you use.

4. Start creating. Improvise continually for 15 minutes, aiming to write a song—whether it’s a basic structure or includes lyrics. Just keep playing. Don’t worry about whether you’re creating rubbish or good stuff. Don’t second-guess yourself or judge; keep going until your timer goes off.

5. When your timer goes off, stop. Turn off your recording.

6. Save your recordings in a way that will allow you to find them in the future, such as by organising them by date in a folder on your computer.

7. When you have time, review what you’ve recorded and look for ideas to develop further.

There’s gold in them thar hills

You might end up with nothing, or you might find some gems that will become complete songs. If you have nothing, that’s fine—just know that in some of these sessions, you’ll find great ideas that will turn into great songs. :-)

Repeat this process as often in a week as you want or have time for. Here are Margaret’s exact words explaining her process:

“I write pretty often and I write pretty quickly… And it works because I know it’s only going to last 15 minutes. Mainly so that I’ll do it more often. In that 15 minutes, I’m writing the entire time. And it’s really me showing up to the guitar with the intent of improvising an entire song every time. I’m making things happen for 15 minutes straight without second-guessing much, then afterwards going back to see what happened.”

That’s the fifteen-minute songwriting method as devised by Margaret Glaspy.

A related tip from Julian Lage

I was listening to Julian Lage on the Broken Record Podcast—some two months after listening to Margaret Glaspy—only to hear his version of what is essentially the same method, with a few differences.

Just like Margaret’s method, you use a timer and record everything you play/sing/write. The main difference is that you only play for one minute, not 15 minutes.

He shared some ideas I found helpful for understanding the process:

• Begin playing as if it’s a song you know.

• It’s a kind of make-believe.

• Watch the clock.

• At 50 seconds, start to bring it in for a landing.

• Do this ten times a day—but not all in one go.

• Don’t listen back until the end of the week.

I hope you enjoy trying out these tips!

Jim Byrne - Songwriting Magic & Craft

P.S. Remember this: your brain has been evolving for billions of years; it is an unbelievably powerful and creative tool that you can use to write your next brilliant song. You are naturally creative; all human beings are. Put it to good use. :-)

Songwriting advice from Ivor Novello winning songwriter Boo Hewerdine

In this video Chiara Berardelli talks about how songwriting makes her happy.

Website: https://chiaraberardelli.com/about

Chiara Berardelli is an Italian Scottish singer-songwriter living in Glasgow, Scotland. She grew up playing classical piano but spent most of her time playing along to any songs that made it over the airwaves to the Highlands of Scotland.
Chiara left her job as a doctor to follow her passion and studied music and songwriting in London and Bath. A lover of words, chords and honesty she writes confessional pop songs about life and how it affects her.

In 2010 she recorded her debut album 'Don't Be So Lovely' with Mark Freegard (Eddi Reader, Del Amitri) at Kyoti studio, Glasgow and self-released a further EP, 'My Big Mouth' in 2014. Her new album, Seamonster, released on March 2nd 2018, is her most personal project to date, inspired by the loss of her dream of becoming a mother. The songs depict a journey, from the crashing realisation that something so longed for is permanently out of reach in the title track to the tentative beginnings of finding joy again in the song Somewhere New.

Deep Space Hibernation, the lead single from the album, was Radio Scotland's Janice Forsyth's single of the week on the Afternoon Show and has also won an International Songwriting Award.

Chiara has collaborated with writer and director Rachel McJury to produce an intimate performance of the album's ten songs woven into a recounting of her experience of being childless not by choice and her quest to be ok with that. Seamonster, the Story appeared at The Barbican in April 2019 as part of Fertility Fest and will be journeying to Edinburgh's Free Fringe Festival in August.

Tom Rafferty is the guitarist in The Primevals and in The Beat Poets. Inspired by Dick Dale, Link Wray, Ry Cooder, Marc Ribot, The Raybeats and Underwater by The Frogmen.

Tom is famed for his guitar-based instrumental music. He is also a great songwriter, often collaborating with lyricists including  The Primevals founder and front-man Michael Rooney.

Americana songwriter and performer Martha Healy's advice for songwriters.

Michael Rooney is the singer snd main songwriter og The Primevals; a Glasgow Psychedelic rock group formed in 1983. Influenced by the MC5, The Stooges, Captain Beefheart, The Cramps, and 1960s US garage rock.

Advice for songwriters: from electropop songwriter and performer Carla J Easton.

I recently sat down for a chat with long time friend Mick Hart from the band The Elliots. In this excerpt Mick gives some good advice for beginner songwriters.

The Elliots new EP, 'Here Comes The Elliots' was recorded 30 years, ago at the height of the 'Postcard Records' era. It was only recently rediscoved and given a release by Foxstar Records. It's a fantastic EP with great songs. I highly recommend it. Contemporaries of their peers Joseph K, Orange Juice, Fire Engines and the Postcard Records scene. Mick Hart was regarded by many as one of the best songwriters around and the band with Graham ‘Tosh’ Macintosh on lead guitar and Aldo on drums were a formidable force on stage.

"15 awards in 4 years, a critically acclaimed album and the only act to be involved in all the mega-successful Country2Country festivals, Glasgow-based, Raintown deliver a startling take on UK contemporary country that is both firmly-rooted and unashamedly forward-thinking. Their intensely charismatic live performances are imbued with a spirit and energy that that make their sound accessible to all music lovers."

There are a million ways to get started on a song here's one; don't try to write a song. Just play your instrument and let your natural creativity do the writing for you. All you do is play and listen.

In the last exercise I asked you to write a song from a set of lyrics. Here's the demo I recorded using those lyrics. It is recorded on my iPhone when the Bearpit Brothers played it. We didn't record it or work on it any further.

Mobile & tablet apps that will help you to find great chord progressions.

A short introduction to object writing; a technique outlined in Pat Pattison book, ‘How to write better lyrics’.

• In this exercise you wil practice your lyric writing by re-writing the words of an existing song.

In the previous lecture Ruby McCann discusses my song, The Yellow Clock, so it makes sense for me to post the lyrics to give her talk some context.

In this video, I introduced a technique that can lead to an inexhaustible source of new song ideas. I first heard a version of this idea from my favourite songwriting tutor Ed Bell. Ed is the author of the book, ‘The Art Of Songwriting’.

1. Type your favourite artists' name into iTunes or Spotify or whatever service you use. Take note of their most popular tune.

2. Listen to the song.

3. Search for the lyrics online, or if they aren't available, transcribe them from the song. Read and digest the song lyrics.

4. Summarise the story (or topic) of the song in a single line.

5. Change one word of your summary in a way that alters its meaning.

You have anew song idea. Now write a song based on it. :-)

For example, I'm a fan of The Secret Sisters. If I type their name into iTunes it tells me that their most popular song is called, 'Tomorrow Will Be Kinder'.

I Googled for the lyrics. Here is the first verse:

Tomorrow Will Be Kinder by The Secret Sisters

Black clouds are behind me, I now can see ahead

Often I wonder why I try hoping for an end

Sorrow weighs my shoulders down

And trouble haunts my mind

But I know the present will not last

And tomorrow will be kinder

It is clear to me that the story of the song is summed up in the title itself; 'Tomorrow Will Be Kinder'. In summary - the narrator has endured, sorrow, trouble and a heavy heart - but believes tomorrow will be a kinder world to live in.

In this case, I don't need to write a summary - it's already in the title.

By changing one word there are a few ways I could alter the meaning:

Tomorrow will be cruel.

Today will be kinder.

I will be kinder

You will be kinder

Tomorrow won't be kinder

Tomorrow should be kinder
Love will be kinder

Choosing two of these ideas to expand upon - I can easily come up with some new ideas:

Tomorrow will be cruel

What story can you tell with this idea? Has this person lost a lover and now they must endure life without them? Is their heart full of hate for someone who has 'done them wrong'? Has the world become a crueller place to live in as every day passes?

Today will be Kinder

What story can you tell with this idea? Are you going to be kinder from now on? Has something momentous happened in your life and now you have 'seen the light'. Is the world becoming a kinder place? Have you reconnected with a friend or a lover?

Any one of these angles can be the start of your nest song.

It is now your song, don’t re-write the original

Do not try to rewrite the original song or go through the original lyrics and alter them to fit your new story. Take this new story or topic and use it as a jumping-off point for your own song.

With this one technique (thanks to Ed Bell) you will never be short of song ideas again.

If Elaine Lennon can't inspire you to work on your songwriting, no-one can.

I interviewed Elaine for the Songwriting Magic course. In this excerpt Elaine talks about writing the song, Fear (Breakup Song).  She reveals both the message of the song and her writing process: dispensing tips, techniques and insights - in a way few can express so clearly.

Elaine's songwriting process isn't hindered by her busy family life, on the contrary it is crucial to adding that extra magic - that all great songs need.

Elaine Lennon is a breath of fresh air for songwriters: I'm confident that you will learn something valuable from this video.

Elaine's self-titled debut album is out now. Find out more at https://www.elainelennon.com/

Please give your response and comment about this video on the Songwriting Magic Facebook group. Is Elaine's experience the same as your own? What tips would you add?

https://www.facebook.com/groups/songwritingmagic/

Download Elaine's profile.

In this video Carol Laula talks about writing Gypsy - a song she wrote 30 years ago - which she has re-recorded it for her latest album, 'The Bones Of It'. It's a beautiful song inspired by her Romani Gypsy family background.

About Carol Laula

Scotland is famed the world over for its exports and one of its finest has to be singer-songwriter, Carol Laula. With a style which bobs around somewhere between the smooth, clear delicacy of Karen Carpenter and the tougher edges of Joan Armatrading, it's hardly surprising that she's risen from a young unknown to become a household name. She first captivated the media and her audience in 1990, when her independent single, 'Standing Proud', was chosen to represent Glasgow in its year of culture.

The same decade saw Carol team up with Stuart Adamson to produce a series of songs that will no doubt be seen as a legacy to the talent of the late Big Country singer / songwriter. Carol has also collaborated with Jane Weidlin of the Go-Gos, Ryan Hedgecock of Lone Justice and Australia's Cheryl Beattie.

In 1997, Carol took a study break - supposedly - but in between achieving her MA Honours Degree in Politics & English Literature at the University of Glasgow, she couldn't resist branching out into other aspects of the media and made her debut presenting shows for both BBC Radio and Scottish Television.

The noughties shaped up to be another busy decade her. As well as touring new areas such as Iceland, she has performed across the UK and Ireland with Eliza Gilkyson and appeared at Glastonbury - something of a highlight, when she not only shared the bill with Billy Bragg, but met her hero, Tony Benn.

With eight albums under her belt, the most recent The Bones of It (Vertical Records) released in February 2016, she still stirs critics to describe her as "One of Scotland's leading singer-songwriters" and "an undeniably passionate and whole-hearted singer".

Contact information:

Management:
Clare K. Duffin
e: clare@carollaula.co.uk

Booking enquiries:
RLN Music
e: Booking enquiry

Ruthie Kennedy is lyricist and singer for the fantastic Chiptune Pop Duo King Wine. King Wine use only one 'instrument', a Gameboy 'played' by Craig Wilson.

An introduction to the songwriting techniques of hit songwriter and producter Max Martin. Max Martin is the most successfull songwriter apart from Lennon & McCartney. In this lesson I outlined hte seven rules of Melodic Math; what they are and why they work.

I look at the song 'I and I and you' to find out if it passes the Melodic Math test. In the process I describe a technique for consistently fitting words to a melody.

The song 'One More Time' was a world wide hit for Britney Spears. It was written and produced by Max Martin. In this lesson I look at how well it makes use of the seven rules of Melodic Math.

In this download you will learn about different types of hook and get some ideas for creating your own. 

Two videos by guest lecturer Mike Molaro. A video about scale interval and a video about how those intervals work in  melodies.

Whether it is music or words you are dealing with, when telling a story, you build up tension and then release that tension at the end. In this first video, Mike shows you how to do that with your note choices.

In this second lesson in melody writing Mike shows how the techniques outlined in his first video apply to a real song. That song is John Prine's Speed of the Sound of Loneliness.

Here are my four favourite podcasts on songwriting. This section of the course is all about song arrangement and these podcasts all dive deep into that topic. I guarantee you will be as hooked on them as I am. Happy listening!

Jim McAteer is a guitarist and singer from the musical city of Glasgow in Scotland.

He has played with folk legends - Martin Carthy, Wiz Jones, Davey Graham, Robin Williamson and John Renbourn, as well as appearing in his own right at international venues from New York to Iran.

He founded the monthly Magic Carpet Cabaret at popular bohemian hidey-hole Tchai Ovna tea house, showcasing new and exciting live music and also hosts the weekly world music show - Global Hobo - on Subcity Radio.

A true hobo at heart, he can never resist the call of the open road, to grab his guitar and head off into the hazy blue unknown - recently completing an epic road trip with a friend, driving a faithful old hatchback from Scotland to Kazakhstan, recording buskers and musicians in each country as they travelled the ancient Silk Road from West to East all the way to the border of China!

Music is his favourite thing - in particular Yodeling! It's the primal scream of the soul you know!

3 top tips for older songwriters

Tip number one - ignore any piece of advice that is based on the memory and concentration levels of a young person.

Paul McCartney famously said, “If you can’t remember the song the next day, it probably isn’t much of a song.”

I very much doubt that at 83 McCartney is finding that a useful maxim to live by now.

Don’t for a second expect to remember a tune, a lyric or a set of chords the day after you came up with them. You won’t.

But there is a simple solution: use your phone - or some other portable recording device to record every single bit of music you come up with.

Tip number two: Work in the morning when your brain is fresh and your concentration and creativity are at their strongest

As you get older your concentration levels drop and you get tired a bit quicker than you did when you were young.

So, do your songwriting work in the morning when your brain is still fresh.

And be comfortable with the idea you don’t need to get a song written in one sitting.

Feel free to stop and start as your mental energy comes and goes.

These days there are only a few occasions when a song flows out in one go.

The rest of the time it can take me many days or weeks to get from the start of a song to the end.

Know that the quality of your songwriting has not diminished. In fact it is at its best because of your life experience.

Your songwriting goals may have changed anyway. Make a difference to one life with a song and worry less about making a difference to millions.

Tip number three: understand that you know what a good song sounds like; you’ve had time to internalise how songs work: the structures, how chords, rhythms and words go together.

As an older songwriter, there’s a lot your brain doesn’t need to deal with - that it did when you were young.

And because you know the difference between a good song and a bad one you won’t waste time working on songs that you know aren’t good. You will spend your time more efficiently.

You won’t waste time on songs that you ultimately throw away when you realise they are just a bunch of clichés or chords and melodies that are tired because both you and the rest of the world have worn them out.

Write about what you are interested in not necessarily what will garner most attention. I suspect you are not in a boy band or a girl band looking to perfect your dance routines at a city night club.

You usually write faster than you did when you were younger. You’ve internalised song structure, rhyme, melody movement, and phrasing over decades. Your brain already knows the patterns.

So the real challenge becomes removing friction, not learning craft.

You already know what a finished song feels like.

And, here is my final comment: you are a better songwriter today than you were in the past. I know it and you know it. :-)

Keep writing,

Jim

A video of me talking about the songs on my new album. I say what the songs are about and who played on them. And I sincerely thank everyone who contributed to the recording.

If you are watching, Lesley O'Brien, Robert Ruthven, Angus Ruthven, Warren McIntyre, Ruby Shah, Janet Crawford, Mary K Burke, Carolina Teruel, Lejoe Young, Mark Freegard, Kurt Baumer, Linda Jaxson - you get a mention in the video.

The video is in black and white. No reason other than just to be different. I hope you enjoy.

In my interview with songwriter & songwriting entrepreneur Eve Williams, we talked about how to create a successful marketing campaign on Facebook.

Here is something I've learned lately - I thought I'd pass on - before it disappears from my head. It turns out that making 'home videos' of my songs to post them on Facebook is a teaching tool. Because when I watch them back I can see what works and what doesn't.

It's an obvious thing to say, but I'll say it anyway: playing a song live is completely different from recording it and there are a million different ways to play every song. Though, of course, what works for one will not work for another. 

So how do we learn what works?

If you are playing lots of gigs, you will learn from the feedback you get from your audience. The more you play, the more you will learn and the more you will integrate that learning into your performance. Without you thinking about it you will develop a facility for reading your audience. Instead of playing your songs you learn to 'perform' them.

The flaw is, of course, many songwriters don't have the opportunity, or the desire, to play live. And right now, due to the Covid-19 lockdown, we can't, even if we wanted to.

Most of us have 'smart' phones that allow us to make videos of ourselves singing and playing the same song in many different ways. I've just realised this myself.  We can be our own audience and critique our own performance.

So from now on, assuming time and motivation, I intend to take advantage of that facility to try to find the best way to present my own songs on my 'home videos'. I'll always be limited by my abilities, or lack of them, as a singer - but that's not an excuse for not presenting the song in the best way possible. By that I mean how it is arranged and performed.

This morning I played my song, The Yellow Clock in a few different ways. Here's one version. I would have replayed it without the tiny mistake in the solo and the out of tune note near the start - but I ran out of time. The good thing is, I can improve it next time. :-)

Onwards and upwards.

How I arranged the song, 'Do you remember Marseille?' https://youtu.be/Ufr6Wc946wI

In this week's video I talk about song arrangement. All of the basics are already covered on the Songwriting Magic course - which you can revisit at your leisure.

So, in this video I take a different approach; I discuss how I arranged the song, 'Do you remember Marseille?', i.e. the charity single I recorded and released yesterday.

I've tried to give you some insight into my thought processes during the recording and arranging process.

If you have questions or feedback please leave me comments below.

Song Start Tuesday 3. Try this 'free music' exercise. Disconnect from your conscious mind and let your subconscious direct your creativity.

Songwriting - certainly at the start of the process - is not a technical exercise; songs are not mathematics; not a puzzle that requires brain power to solve. Songs are not an Ikea cabinet you are trying to put together.

So get your brain out of the way; the song wants to be written - catch it rather than writing it. It's not a logical process - it's a creative process; and you already have all the tools you need.

"How does a person create a song? A lot of it is being open... to encounter and to... be in touch with the miraculous." Joni Mitchell

"..you are desperate.. to get down to the subconscious which (is where) I really think all the goodies come from." Quincy Jones - from the documentary Quincy

"My job is often only to finish a song idea that I’ve been lucky enough to receive.” Sananda Maitreya, aka Terence Trent D’Arby

"Every child is an artist. The challenge is to remain an artist after you grow up.” Pablo Picasso

Song Start Tuesday episode 4: There are a million songs in every chord.

Song Start Tuesday episode 5. Do you need to get started on words for your song? Just look around the room.

I was listening to the latest episode of Song Exploder - a podcast created by Hrishikesh Hirway - which takes apart songs - to see how they work. For the last year, the Podcast has been guest hosted by Thao Nguyen.

Rishikesh was taking over the podcast again so was chatting to Tal about he experience hosting the podcast - and as part of that conversation, something caught my ear.

He wanted to change the intro music a little bit - just as a way to indicate the change of host - so he was talking through his process - and one thing he said was, that he wanted to ensure that the new music reflected your Thao Nguyen's energy. Specifically, the energy as expressed by her voice in her Podcast intro.

That idea of taking someone's energy as a starting point for music - I found it interesting. A day or so after that I was watching a documentary on the BBC iPlayer about composing film scores - and one of the talking heads was Moby - the electronic music artist. He pointed out that whether we are listening to the sound of a truck rattling past on the street outside or the sweet sound of a Bach cello concerto - our ear is being hit by the same thing - the energy of moving air. That air hits our eardrum (entire body in fact, as even people who are deaf, can 'hear' and enjoy music). One is just noise the other is music.

He pointed out that music - like many things in life - has no physical presence - we can't touch it and we can't see it. It only happens in our brains. Our brains interpret the air hitting our eardrums.

All of this got me thinking. As songwriters we essentially organising and presenting energy which manifests as a waveform.

So why not try to use that idea itself as a starting point for a song?

We are all different but we should all be striving to be unique and to write our 'own' songs. So my suggestion for this week is to identify your energy level and try to write some music that reflects that. Some of us are laid back (like myself) and some of us are 'all go', full of beans.

So first identify your energy fingerprint, then write music or a song - that reflects that fingerprint. For one thing - this really should help you to write music that is a reflection of you and not a copy or a pastiche of something else's work.

Please note there will be no Song Start Tuesday next week, I'm taking a break over the festive period. Enjoy yourselves and I'll see you when I get back.

In this video I talk about creating songs from riffs. Once you have a decent riff you can create a song quite quickly.

Part one of my long chat with multi-award winning songwriters Paul Bain and Claire McArthur-Bain of the country band Raintown. They are based in Scotland and have their own unique take on writing country songs - a genre of music which can sometimes feel quite prescriptive.

Part two of my long chat with multi-award winning songwriters Paul Bain and Claire McArthur-Bain of the country band Raintown. They are based in Scotland and have their own unique take on writing country songs - a genre of music which can sometimes feel quite prescriptive.

This is part one of my interview with Johnny Smilie and Monica Queen of the band Tenement & Temple. If you are interested in hearing about the adventures of two musicians who have been signed up by major record labels, toured and made numerous records, you will find this interesting. This interview is from the podcast I do with my wife Pat called, Jim & Pat's Glasgow West End Chat. Check the article for my introductory text from the podcast: