Songwriting

As much as I like performing, I love the creative aspect of songwriting. It is wonderful to make something out of thin air. I have done all kinds of writing. I have written for theatre, I have written for a specific demand (can you write a song about grain handling?) but mostly, I have written because I can’t help it. It is the way I express myself and most of all, it’s fun to do. There are aspects of revision that are quite tortuous and there is the editing that can be a long and round about task, but it is fun to create something. If you are reading this you must be interested in songwriting, or perhaps you want to write a song. In this section I am going to answer a few questions that people often ask about my process (such as it is). I also have included a couple of things that I do to get people going on songwriting and if you are encouraging people to try the process of songwriting, you may find them useful.

Where do you get your ideas?

I think for starters it is best to work from what you know and that can be what you know about the human condition, yourself or your country or your dog. I write all the time. I get ideas in all sorts of situations, driving, drinking tea , anywhere. I usually try to have a piece of paper around and ideally I have my small tape recorder and just sing it onto tape.

I never turn down an idea or a creative jag. I leave the editing for later. Anything can make a song, any idea or rhythm or melody. You’d be surprised. It is fun to create in any way. What happens to your idea or if it makes a million dollars is something else, but making up songs has a whimsy to it .I have songs that I have written while doing laundry (god knows I need a distraction), or while sitting at the piano, on a walk, driving, in the middle of the night. I do think that the more you create the better you get at it, like most things. So as to ideas, I think I just grab the opportunities that seem to make a good melody or lyric idea.

There is something to be said for just sitting and playing and letting your ideas come to you. I think that boredom has also been quite a creative force. Why practice an old song when you can write a new one?

Often as an exercise, I will imagine that I am someone else, another singer, another person, to see what I would write for them. I don’t always write in my style or for my audience. It is good to expand your musical palette.

What comes first , the melody or the lyrics?

It can be either. What often comes first is the rhythm of a melody or the rhythm of a series of words. That seems to get me down the path to a song. I love the rhythm of language. I sometimes make up a melody, just for an exercise. I am quite lyric oriented, most times. I often write a song with lyrics and melody, and then I forget about it and weeks later, I come back and find the lyrics but have long forgotten the melody. I then write another melody to the rhythm of the existing lyrics.

Have you studied songwriting?

For example, Jesse Winchester is a writer I admire. He has a wonderful ability to keep a lyric so simple, with phrases that you might ordinarily hear and yet their context makes them powerful. I looked at his songs and how they were put together. It made me want to rush home and edit my own.

It is good to start with songs that you like.These are the ones that ring a chord in you. Those writers are doing something right. Not everyone has to write in this way. There are as many different writing styles as there are people. There are songs within every style that are worth examining.

Look around for books on songwriting.

I love listening to other songwriters when they talk about writing. Most major centers hold seminars on songwriting in connection with SOCAN, ASCAP or a music industry association. There is always something to learn.

For me, learning how to write is not the issue. However, learning how to find the problems in the songs I do write, is a valuable tool. Sometimes I must find what isn’t working and figure out how to get it working better. And this is often difficult to do on your own, which is why looking to outside sources can be most helpful.

A Simple Way to Begin Songwriting

Kids do it naturally.They are always taking songs they know and changing the lyrics to suit the present situation (we three kings of orient are tried to smoke a rubber cigar ..etc.)

The classic songwriting songs are of course; "Down by the bay" and songs where you have to find a rhyme. Did you ever see a fly, wearing a tie, or sitting out to dry, blue as the sky etc..

So start by taking a melody you know and write something new to sing with it.

One of the easiest forms to start with is the blues. It has a clear pattern, it has a clear rhyme scheme and you can get by with four lines at a time.

If blues is not in your repertoire, try a simple children’s or traditional song. Take the first line and go from there.

There are always starting lines that will get you going, make sure the ending words are easy rhyme words like:

1. I walked out and what did I see
2. This is the way I feel today,
3. Tell me , tell me, tell me please
4. I saw you and what did I do

This is a good exercise to get the creative juices going and to get over the panic of making something up. There will be goofy replies and good ideas, but it will get the process started. There is a rhyme scheme that is easy to see.

It is good to just put yourself on the spot. Write something on the fly. You may not get the most fabulous song, but you will get some ideas and maybe a good one or two. Don’t write them down, just sing them.

At the end, see if there are any lines that you can remember. Start with one of those and write a four line verse or chorus. This is the time to write it down so you can see it.

The nice thing about working with a melody that is familiar is that it will force you to invent in a standard rhythmic pattern and that is a good exercise. It makes new songwriters aware of the rhythm of their words. It also allows you to only have to handle one thing at a time.

When you have your four line verse or chorus, invent another melody. Write a melody that would make your four lines a rap tune and then a hymn, and then a sad folk song etc.

One or more of these might be interesting and give you something to work with.

This is just a simple exercise to start towards a song of your own. It works with adults and children.

Go Make a Song!

Note: Connie Kaldor has given many songwriting workshops throughout her career, all over the globe. We will announce the time and place of all songwriting workshops she will be hosting in the near future right here in SONGWRITING. Stay posted!