If you want to be good at anything, you have to work hard at it. It doesn’t just fall from the sky. I work every day at trying to improve my writing, and I really enjoy it. Nothing fascinates me more than putting words together, and seeing how a collection of words can produce quite a profound effect.

The next course doesn’t start until June 6th Bank Holiday Monday, but if it were running today we would have been able to use the Google Doodle which is a Moog Synthesizer.

Moog Goog

The gadget is only there for one day though, celebrating Robert Moog’s 70th birthday, unless it remains archived somewhere in which case we might just resurrect that particular songwriting challenge. It even has a functioning reel to reel tape recorder gadget attached, so you can make recordings live on the doodle, then make a screenshot or audio recording of the tune once you are happy with it.

If you are reading this and it’s still May 23rd, hurry along to https://www.google.co.uk/ and exercise your inner Rick Wakeman

Update on the Moog Doodle after the day

OK, i’ve found out where they archive all the previous Google Doodle’s so now we can have a permanent link to the working Moog Synthesiser simulator with attached reel to reel tape recorder. Go ahead and compose!

http://www.google.com/doodles/robert-moogs-78th-birthday

Repetition is a curious thing isn’t it? And that goes for the experience of listening to a piece of music as well. Some songs appeal on the first hearing, while others take a few listens before the appreciation kicks in. Why is it that? Familiarity helps to ease the way in, but originality is what we often crave, so how do you get the balance right, if indeed balance is the thing. Why not try imbalance for once and see how you get on with that?

Most but not all songs have a chorus or a refrain.

The chorus is the part which tries to appeal on the first hearing, and of course by being repeated, has more than one opportunity to do so. But that’s no use if by the second or third exposure to the entire song, you are starting to get sick of it already. Now then, I’ve made a big assumption here, have you spotted it? I said that the chorus is where the repetition kicks in but in fact that’s only the case with the lyrics. Typically a song which is structured around verses and choruses will repeat the same tune for each verse, and parts of the melody may well be repeated line by line within the verses, so there are degrees of repetition building up all the time, reaching a climax in the chorus which may repeat lyrics and melodic phrases more than once.

The skill of putting it all together is something that may be learned by induction, if you listen to a lot of music,  and also requires practice, but there are some common pitfalls which can avoided less painfully with a bit of shared knowledge. The main thing though, as with any undefinable task, is just to get started.

The Songwriters Circle 30 day online course is designed for beginners and improving songwriters and sets a series of small daily tasks which require some commitment, (and that’s a good thing) but can be completed in your own time. The process works well when there is a small group going through the tasks together online, day by day and there are a few places left on the next course starting on Monday June 4th 2012.  If you’d like to join us, the registration fee is very modest and the link for signing up can be found in the sidebar top right over there, or in the page at

http://songwriterscircle.co.uk/songwriterscirclechallenge/

March Songwriting Challenge

Spring is a great time of year for new ventures. Maybe getting some more songs written was on your New Year list and just hasn’t happened?

Well, springtime is a time for fresh starts and new beginnings so why not let us help you to get that first new song of 2012 written?

Songwriters Circle is now booking for our April month long Songwriting Challenge course. Every day for the whole of the month we will send you a link to a lesson and a songwriting prompt to help you make this April your most prolific ever. The aim of the challenge is that by the end of the 30 days you will have one song you are really happy with and a whole toolkit to help you next time your songwriting needs a boost.
Click here now to buy the June 30 Day  Song Challenge 2012 for only £17
Let us help you take those first vital steps to getting your songs written.

The course is ideal for newcomers or old hands as you can work at your own pace and level. It doesn’t matter if you don’t write your own music or play an instrument you can still take part. We work on both lyric writing and ideas for music for your songs. If you aren’t able to write your own music there are thousands of traditional tunes that you can borrow and tweak to make them your own.

You will learn techniques to use when the words just won’t come, ways to kickstart your writing. We know that many people think songs just ‘come’ to them without doing any work but that is a very rare thing. Even when it does happen the song can usually be improved by giving it a little polish.

What about those of you who just feel really stuck? We have ideas and techniques to help you too. Here is just one example:when people who do any kind of writing get stale and stuck there is a really useful concept called ‘dare to be bad’. Come and join us and find out what it means and how it can help your songwriting.

We believe that showing up for 30 minutes every day for a month to concentrate on your songwriting sends powerful messages to your brain and to your inner ‘muse’. It shows that you are serious and that this is something you value.  This is also. in part, why we charge money for the course. From our experience you are far more likely to value and complete something if you have paid for it.

One of the best things about the course is sharing ideas and responses with other songwriters. All the lessons have a private shared space for you to respond, comment and to add your works in progress.  You will learn how to use free online services to share your work privately and easily with no set up costs.

Andy is there in the community on a regular basis, explaining things, making suggestions and giving feedback on your work, if you want it. Because we limit the number of people on the course there is no need to feel shy or uncomfortable in a big group.

Each week you get a PDF with the lesson, and everyone’s comments, that you can keep and refer to whenever you need to. This resource means that if you want to reuse any of the techniques we cover you will have it all at your fingertips. It is not quite the same as going through the challenge with a group though and people who have done the challenge more than once have found they got something different out of it each time. As you grow and change as a writer it means that you can access the material at a higher level so even experienced songwriters have found it useful.

Click here now to buy the June 30 Day  Song Challenge 2012 for only £17
Let us help you take those first vital steps to getting your songs written.

Music Business

• The Recording Industry is not The Music Industry. Apparently.
• LINK: The Difference Between the Music Industry & The Recording Industry – MTT – Music Think Tank
• RD:  Not really sure what point is being made, but it is interesting, nonetheless.

Interview

• Interview with singer-songwriter Emma O’Reilly in which she talks about her process of working at songwriting Well worth reading to the end.
• LINK: Want to write? Interview with singer-songwriter Emma O’Reilly | A Younger Theatre Giving young people a voice on theatre and the arts. Get the latest news, reviews, articles, internships and theatre resources.
• MV: Thank you, I’ll read the article later on today.. I’m always interested about any information or advice or opinion about songwriting… I love this Songwriters Circle yo guys created ! Thanks !!!

News

• Even people who write songs for others to sing can sometimes become really famous – The Scot who wrote Tina Turner’s comeback hit, What’s Love Got To Do With It, is to be honoured at the Grammys when What’s Love Got to Do With It? Is inducted into the Hall of Fame. – Of course having someone like the Beatles backing your songs might have helped……
• LINK: Scots songwriter Graham Lyle set for Grammys honour with Tina Turner anthem ‘What’s Love Got To Do W…
• THE Scot who wrote Tina Turner’s comeback hit, What’s Love Got To Do With It, is to be honoured at the Grammys – when the song is inducted into the awards’ hall of fame.

Songwriting

• “I liked words that weren’t necessarily obvious when you heard them. There are so many records on the radio where you can hear it the first time and you can guess the next rhyme,” Best says. “Often, like with Bryan Adams or something, you knew that if he was walking down the street, he would look at his feet, and it was just like, ‘Ah, geez.’” – article gives a great insight into how he wrote 4 of his quirky songs
• Fujiya & Miyagi on Writing Songs About Child Stars, Soccer Players, and Boredom
• By his own admission, David Best isn’t all that great of a singer. As the voice of the Brighton,…

Project

• Craig Finn set out to write a song everyday for 6 weeks for his new solo album. He says” I did for the most part. Probably 5-6 a week for six weeks. Some of these songs were really underdeveloped and sometimes not so great but the idea was to put something down on paper and then come back to them and try to improve them.” Could you?
• LINK: Craig Finn: ‘You Learn A Lot Putting Yourself In New Situations’ | Features
• Craig Finn tells us about his time away from The Hold Steady, and the creation of his debut solo album.
• AM: I think this kind of discipline would improve my discipline but not my art
• CS:  Yes I could but I’ve never sat down to deliberately write a song. My music is my life diary and when a song comes it is just there. Think looking at the industry there is to much forced song writing, dull, flavourless and no real meaning. It’s a $ production. Hope you found the right songs for your album. after all, they are yours xo

In this post I want to make a couple of important points about the evolution of a song, using the example of “Never Was To Be” by Daryl P Hall and Andy Roberts

The 30 day song challenge is all about putting the work in, getting ideas flowing, developing technique and prompting the generation of enough good song ideas from which to pick one or two to keep. But now I want to talk about what can happen to a song after the initial period when it may or may not have been considered “finished”.

Never Was To Be

A song by Andy Roberts and Daryl P Hall

The song developed from an online collaboration within the Songwriters Circle, which is not an unusual occurrence. Lyricists post their latest writings and musicians will offer to supply the music. Or maybe somebody will strum and hum a tune challenging anybody to come up with a set of lyrics to fit – perhaps less often.

Often when faced with somebody else’s verse in black on white I read it and fail to make sense of it as a structure. When I write my own lyrics, I always have a rudimentary tune in mind, to provide the scaffolding. Then I develop a better tune to fit the verses, maybe add a refrain and change the lyrics to fit the new tune. So my answer to the riddle ‘which comes first, the lyrics or the music’ is kind of both.

Anyway, this time the writing jumped out at me from the screen. I could immediately click with Daryl’s lyrics when posted in the group, with no title. Unlike many which are contributed, I could immediately ‘hear’ the rhythm of a song in this one.

March 2011 Never Was To Be – Podcast version

This video was recorded shortly after setting the lyrics to music.
The words needed to be adjusted a little to fit the tune and to scan consistently. I made a few small changes, and brought the chorus in after verse 2.

Its also a great topic for a song, one which has the potential to touch people’s hearts. And a story which demands attention

The tune is primitive, not terribly original, but pretty and fits the lyrics.

There’s another version on soundcloud from the earliest days which is similar to the video 1. Slightly creaky vocals on this song demo.

January 2012 - Never Was To Be – Live

Ten months later.

I needed to memorise the lyrics well enough for a public performance. This is an important step in itself. Memorising a new song these days involves playing it over and over, maybe 2 or 3 times a day for several days in a row. During this time, some of the words may be clipped or changed slightly.

On replaying Video One and the Soundcloud just now, I was a little surprised to realise just how much the tune has evolved. this is one of the main points of this blog post: Once the lyrics are polished, a tune is finalised and a demo recorded, that isn’t the end of the development of new song. It can carry on changing, improving, maturing, informed by the passing of time and the exposure to new audiences.

Daryl’s lyrics allowed me to get something over to the audience, and feel an immediate response, something which only happens with a few rare songs in just the right circumstances. Other songs may fall down at this point and be consigned to the back catalogue of songs once completed and learned that get forgotten again because they don’t bridge that gap for one reason or another.

So the other point is that in the end, it’s only after having  performed a song to a live audience that I can truly confirm that the song works.

Day  Six of the Songwriters Circle 30 day Challenge,  now open for February Registrations, was all about using a walking pace as a device for maintaining a steady rhythm while composing a new tune to the beat of the footsteps. It’s a technique I  evolved years ago, which resulted in Mondura Dam. I mentioned that I was intending to try out the same principle applied to swimming, with no idea whether it would work or not.  Well today was my day to visit the swimming pool and I gave it a good bash.

Normally I swim up and down, counting lengths. It’s hard enough not to lose count after a while, and most of the time I’m not thinking of anything else much except being there in water, in the moment, drilling back and fore and occasionally diverting to avoid other swimmers. Swimming has an invigorating effect for hours afterwards, but at the time it’s pure physical exercise with the mind relatively unstimulated, yet not bored either. More of a grounded, meditative state of sort of not thinking.

So today I had to stop the counting entirely, and see if I could think in words and  phrases.

It took a little while to tune in to the rhythm of my stroke, it’s obviously slower than walking, but also more complicated with regular breathing in short bursts followed by arm and leg movements that are not quite together, in my case. But once I could hear a tune it stuck with me for the whole hour or so. Unlike when walking, being unable to sing or speak out loud makes it harder to grasp hold of words, and in my mind that also means ideas, because for me, ideas are mostly bound up with language. That doesn’t mean I need to talk out loud when I read or write of course but I usually do hum or sing to myself when playing around with a new tune or pattern for words to fit into, and it certainly makes it easier to commit to memory, which is a big concern.

After half an hour I had two couplets and a possible refrain, that’s all. And even those I was struggling to hang on to.  But the endorphins from exercise kicked in and I was feeling happy about it all. Underwater songwriting works! The rhythm stayed with me, and I think it will provide me with an original tune framework that’s going to be interesting to play. The sparse lines I had fought to think up helped me to fix the tune for long enough, so many have been lost otherwise.  I didn’t have the foresight to take my notebook or anything with me, so had to wait until I got home before I could jot anything down, and now I’ve made a brief audi memo to self, just in case I forget the tune.

I don’t know if I’ll progress the lyric idea, but I shall definitely develop the music. What I’ll need to do next though, is to go out to a cafe or somewhere by myself one day where’s there’s no guitar and no internet and see if I can write down the bulk of a whole song to fit the tune, then later work it out on the guitar as a complete whole, reworking the lyrics as necessary.

This is an introduction video for the Songwriters Circle January Challenge which started on January 2nd 2011 and lasts for one month with a goal of writing at least one new song.

My name is Andy Roberts and I’d like to welcome you all, experienced songwriters and beginners alike, even if you have never written one song but would like to try then the Songwriters Circle is a great place to start and the the January Challenge is the perfect time to join.

All you need is a pen and paper and a computer or device with internet access.

The way the challenge will work is that there will be a daily lesson or task that should take no longer than about half an hour to work through or listen to. That all, just thirty minutes a day and then at the end of the process you will have a song to call your own that you are happy with, possibly after writing and discarding a few more half finished songs than that.

Happy New Year everybody!

Below is the link to the youTube video recorded for the introduction to the January Challenge back in 2011, it’s based on the old version of the site, but the general drift is still valid.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eiJbGbe2hwA

In just thirty days time a small group of people will have written and completed at least one song each – how amazing is that.

By the way I should also say that if you are reading this and it’s already half way through January or something like that, don’t worry it’s not too late. You could still catch up and complete the challenge by the end of the month if you just put in a little extra time each day. You could probably cover three or for days worth in just one hour every day until you are all up to date.

Postscript 9/1/2012:

The January Challenge is closed to new applicants now, but you can  - ENROLL NOW for the  March 2012 or later cohorts.

Here’s the link you need to read all about it

http://songwriterscircle.co.uk/songwriterscirclejanuarychallenge2012