re: what about song writing

["Jimbeau Harp" <jimbeauharp@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

>Larry Boy writes:
>"Has anybody in Harp-L land actually written a song?
>Tell us about your experience.  How did it happen?"

A lot of folks have been offering their ideas on this subject, so I thought 
I'd share my feelings, for what their worth:

I've been writing songs for over 30 years -- purely for my own amusement. 
I've always seen songwriting as an adjunct to my learning to play music. To 
a large degree, I probably started playing music in order to express myself 
through songwriting.

In the beginning, the songwriting process for me was very "inspirational" -- 
that is, I'd have to get the whole thing at one time, both lyrics and 
melody. It seemed that some songs only took 15 minutes to come together. I 
rarely re-wrote lyrics and melodic lines once they were formed.

I wrote a lot of songs that way, and in my opinion, a lot of them sound like 
crap to me now.

Nowadays, I write a lot less songs than I used to, but I approach the 
process much differently. When I worked in Lady Blue & The Tramps, I wrote 
songs for the female lead singer. Right off the bat, the themes of the songs 
were different because they had to be plausible being sung by a woman.

Many times now, I get an idea for what I want the song to say, and then I 
construct the lyrics to reflect my "goal" for the song. Finally I put the 
melody and harmonic structure together to support the lyrics.

Rarely is my first draft of a song acceptable. I will re-work the lyrics and 
music over and over, refining them until they "work" -- that is, the lyrics 
"sing" well, and they tell the story I'm trying to put across to the 
audience.

When I get the draft to a point I feel is "playable", I'll then try it out 
on the band. After rehearsing it live, I may go back and re-work sections 
for flow, playability, eveness of structure, and overall "feel".

Next step is playing it before a live audience. I really watch the audience 
reaction. Am I getting people to respond? For example, for the songs I wrote 
from a woman's point of view for the female singer, were women in the 
audience reacting well to it?

Again, I might go back and refine the lyrics or arrangement again to hone 
the song down to the best possible form.

Or, at any point along the way, I may say, "this song isn't happening", and 
bag the whole thing.

I've learned that, in order to write a song that connects with people, you 
have to step outside of yourself and hear the song as others would. For 
example, maybe you think your lyrics are saying one thing, but others may 
get an entirely different meaning from them, one you may not want to 
convey!!

If I had some advice to impart on songwriting, I'd say first to establish 
the "theme" of the song. What do you want to say?

The next piece of advice is simply: Do it! Get something, anything, down on 
paper that starts to say what you want to say. Then work and rework the 
lyrics and melody until they flow well and sound good.

Finally don't be afraid to ask others what they think of the song. You might 
be shocked at how well (or how badly) your songs are perceived.

Writing songs is like building chairs: they should have a solid stable 
foundation, they should be comfortable for a lot of different types of 
people, they should have good craftmanship in their construction, and they 
should be esthically pleasing.

There are few things that beat the satisfaction of watching total strangers 
connect with a song you've written and express their enjoyment of your 
creative efforts.

Jimbeau




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