Score4all Songwriting competition

Congratulations to Elliot Harrison Beese -Winner of the Score4All Songwriting competition 2013 sponsored by Songbay

Well Done to runner up Tom Benson

Special commendation to finalists Peter Stokoe and Josh Sercombe

The Competition Was organised by a team of  music degree students from Gateshead College. As part of their BA (Hons) course in music,  the team devised an on-line music writing competition for songwriters. Participants were required to compose a piece of original music to accompany a short promotional video for a local company-’The Outdoor Fitness Company’ (http://www.outdoorfitnesscompany.co.uk/)

We were so impressed by the idea that we offered financial and promotional support to the event. The competition also received generous assistance from Three Motion Digital Motion Media (http://threemotion.co.uk/) who supplied the promotional video for the competition, assisted by their Creative Director, Neil Wood Mitchell .

 Winner Elliot Harrison Beese (second from left) with members of the Score4all-team

 The Video

Here’s the video used for the competition with music ( ‘Fun Rock’ )  composed by the winner Elliot Harrison Beese:

The Finalist’s Songs:

Fun Rock  by Elliot Harrison Beese

Feel The Burn by Tom Benson

Showered and shaved mono by Josh Sercombe

My Gruff  by Peter Stokoe

The Winning Entry

The winning entry is “Fun rock” submitted by Elliot Harrison Beese. Elliot is a third year music student from Gateshead College studying for his BA hons. Elliot, who is 20, comes from Hampshire. He has been playing guitar for six years now and has written several other compositions. After finishing his degree, Elliot wants to live in London to pursue his freelance career in composition for Media. Elliot’s musical influences are Composers like Hans Zimmer, John Williams and Howard Shore.As well as receiving the £100 prize money, Elliot has also won one year’s free subscription to Songbay.

The Runner Up

The runner up entry is “Feel the burn” submitted by Tom Benson. Tom, 46, comes from Durham and is a student teacher also from Gateshead College. Tom has been playing guitar for 29 years and has written many other compositions. Tom’s musical influences are extremely varied and include classical, Progressive, Psychadelic and popular music from the 1960′s and 1970′s. Tom has also won a year’s free subscription to Songbay.

Three Motion Digital Motion Media Adjudication Report

The eventual winner was chosen by Neil Wood Mitchell of Three Motion Digital Media. Here’s a copy of his adjudication report:

“Well I’ve had a good listen and changed my mind a couple times. They’re all very good – however there can only be one winner.. So just a bit of feedback first:

 Feel the burn. A close contender for winner. Great pace, powerful start and good energy throughout. Liked the variation and the crazy high notes. Only thoughts would be that there’s probably too much high wailing guitar for this particular business / client. This might put the audience off a little

 Fun Rock. Great interpretation of the brief. Understood the product / service. Great summer vibe and feel good rhythm. Built a little too slowly for my liking – but enjoyed the drums and upbeat pace once it got going

 Showered and shaved. Technically very good, thought the pace was great and would be suitable for many corporates. Nice variation in beat also. Felt a little detached and removed from the video at times.

 My gruff. My personal favourite once it got going (again, a little too long to get going). Enjoyed the breaks and the drums towards the end. A couple more breaks might be favourable to add even more tempo. Thought the guitar was kind of infectious too.

 Overall very hard to choose. I thought they were all of the same production quality – although some felt like they would be better for a different purpose or video.

 My winner for this particular brief is Fun Rock. I thought it demonstrated the best interpretation of ODFC. It’s supposed to be fun – but high energy and this is how the track felt. Didn’t take itself too seriously and kept my interest.”

Songbay’s Adjudication Report

After  watching the advert, we felt the music needed to reflect key aspects of the video’s text, i.e.,

• “The results you want are outside your comfort zone”
• “Get fit outside, feel good inside”

Feel The burn

“Strong rock melody

Perhaps a little too heavy too soon, needs time to build in order to compliment text and scene?

 (lack of outdoor musical references, nature?? )

Real drums would have strengthened the piece

Showed and shaved

Intricate musically-Complicated time signatures/syncopated pushes were very interesting ,  

Perhaps a little too busy?

Lack of a principal melodic theme,  had a tendency to ramble which might be poor from a marketing perspective?

Fun rock

 Really Like the upbeat positive feel, works extremely well as a general back drop to the text and scene! this is a contender!

Structure repeats itself x2 why? needs to be new musical information at all times in an advertisement, unless there is a real reason for this not to happen?

 My Gruff

This is our winner!

Feel good heart warming opening vibe

u2′y type guitars and drums very strong, has the right emotional feel and pace”

Final Thoughts

Choosing a winner was not a simple task,  music advert placement is not an exact science, but as this competition revealed, well structured songs that are relevant to context will often be shortlisted for advert placement by company executives. We were most impressed by the submissions we heard and  have given all the finalists free professional accounts at Songbay. We  hope  they will be able to profit from our service and wish them the very best with their song writing careers.

Gary Cubberley

Songbayteam

The Importance of Strong Chord sequences

Over the last couple of weeks, Songbay has had the pleasure of welcoming some truly talented artists who deserve mention for their masterful use of chord sequences and firm grasp of harmonic theory. Take for example the latest upload from Mike Lea Jones. His outstanding song-’Lonely’ uses the incredibly mellow progression of Eb minor 9 to Eb minor 9 added 6 (listen to ‘Lonely’) or the equally strong submission from Stephen Pickering, his song-’Sick of here’, (listen to ‘Sick of Here’) which employs similar chord extensions, again resulting in sultry atmospheric verses moving to explosive harmonic sequences in the chorus. Will Allen’s ‘Touch away‘ and Phil Danter’s ‘All at Sea‘ are further examples of songs using advanced chord extensions and modulations which really emphasize the melody and take the listener on diverse musical journeys.

Inspired by some of the best SongBay artists, I decided to experiment by composing a song that would be based on  a few well known themes such as:  ’Summertime’ (Gershwin), ‘The Summer Knows’ (Michel Legrand), ‘Windmills of my Mind’ (Michel Legrand), and ‘Reaching for the Moon’ (Ella Fitzgerald). Here’s the result  >> Deja Vu, composed and performed by Gary Cubberley

We live in a ‘cut and paste’ world, even art is not spared from the trend. Increasingly today’s chart music is becoming loop and sample based, the use of harmony often relegated to third position behind melody and groove. That is why it is so refreshing to hear a well crafted song with great chord progressions.

Message to Songbay Artists-Keep uploading good songs and we’ll keep on promoting them!

Gary Cubberley

Songbayteam

To upload your music or Lyrics on Songbay, please go to www.songbay.co

Rhyme is an important structural and sonic element of great lyrics. When used well, rhyme helps us to control the pace of the lyric, where the listener feels conclusion of our thoughts, and distinguishes song sections from each other through contrasting schemes. Great rhyme pairs let the listener stay focused on the content rather than the rhyme. Poor rhyme pairs steal the focus away from the content and result in cliche or contrived lyrics.

A great tool for broadening your scope on rhyme is Pat Pattison’s instruction on the 5 types. (For more in depth study, refer to Lyric Writing: Tools and Strategies and Commercial Songwriting Techniques. Being able to recognize rhymes outside the small circle of perfect rhyme broadens the content available to us as we write. But I’d like to share with you a simple technique for finding rhymes that requires no pre-thought at all. You might find you’ve been doing this all along in one form or another, and the switch to being more intentional with your technique requires very little effort.

Using a style of free-writing called Object Writing or Destination Writing, the search for rhymes can be quite simple. The goal here is to find rhyme pairs within our original thought, not forcing ideas inconsistent with those original thoughts. To begin, do a few minutes of Object Writing or Destination Writing, using your senses to arrive at highly sense-bound language. If you’ve taken Berklee’s online lyric writing courses, or read Pat Pattison’s books or my own book, Popular Lyric Writing, you understand that this style of free writing focuses around taste, touch, sight, sound, smell, and movement.

Now that you’ve got a page or two of sensory focused writing stemming from an object or location, you can look within the sentences for possible rhymes. Taking directly from your original language, you may find many assonance or consonance rhymes that wouldn’t ordinarily occur to you. The rhymes are also directly related to the subject matter of the song that will come from the free-writing itself. Below is an example:

I watched the condensation slip down the sides of the plastic cup, beading on the surface like a snake shedding skin. A green straw slid into the slits on the lid, diving into the icy water and plunging to the bottom where I’ll find sweet relief on a humid September day in LA. The faint sting of chlorine singed my tongue as the roof of my mouth retreated into a numb stare. The hollow tingle of ice cubes floating like life savers on the surface riding the waves as I set the cup down on the sticky metal table. Starbucks in the afternoon, skateboarders clicking over seams in the concrete sidewalk, students with laptops, purple blossoms half decomposed littering the ground…

From this bit of writing I can set the scene for the next song I write. For rhyme and line ideas, I can look within the paragraph and find a few of following:

lid – skin – click – slip – slits – singe
shed – bead
sweet relief – chlorine – green – retreat – seams – bead
plunge – numb – tongue
laptop – sidewalk
roof – ice cubes
faint – LA – day – savers – skates – waves
water – litter

These are some of the rhymes available to me as I start to construct my verse sections of my song. You can use the same technique for chorus writing. This technique and many others are studied in the online course Commercial Songwriting Techniques and companion book Popular Lyric Writing: 10 Steps to Effective Storytelling.

Happy writing,

Andrea

Andrea Stolpe Berkley Music

Among the many opportunities for songwriters to get our songs heard is connecting with independent filmmakers. To get a little more insight into how to approach this, I talked with Tyler Gibb, a talented filmmaker, artist, and songwriter who has experience writing, producing, directing, and promoting film. You can visit his website to learn about his work and view clips of his most recent film “Refrain,” which was selected by the World Film Festival (Montreal 2009) coming up in August. http://www.tylergibb.com.

Q: How did you find the songs for your film?

A: Since “Refrain” itself is a movie about a songwriter, there had to be music for the lead character to appear to write and sing. Therefore, the majority of the music in “Refrain” was written specifically for the film. Most of the lyrics were written by me as I wrote the screenplay, and the musical compositions were written by Vidya Lutchman (who played the lead) and a guitarist by the name of Tom Simpson. The music was written to appear unpolished and off the floor – in keeping with the portrayal of a novice songwriter but sweet and beautiful none the less. All that to say, we needed to write most of it ourselves (Vidya and I are long time partners in songwriting – and in life) so that it would suit the film.

That said, there are still some spots for background songs in the movie that haven’t been assigned yet. We’re still looking for those songs and we’ve been taking our search to the web, mostly on MySpace. And if I could give any advice to musicians out there with MySpace pages it would be: Keep those pages simple, small and clean. If I’m looking for music for my films and I visit your page but it takes five minutes to load and is unsightly – I’m probably going to close the page and move on.

Q: What are some ways songwriters can identify filmmakers and those looking for original music?

A: The internet isn’t a bad way to go about it but I would stress research. Independent films are more prolific than ever and every filmmaker out there is dying to be discovered just as much as an independent musician is. So use those search engines, seek out films and introduce yourself to their producers. Networking is everything.

And don’t underestimate your hometown. If you’re writing songs wherever you are I’d bet someone nearby is trying to write a screenplay. Find them. Work with them. Start your own scene. You can write some music for their short film and in turn they could shoot a video for your band. There’s no wrong way to get your feet wet.

They say you can’t force your way into the film industry, you have to be invited. But no one’s going to invite you in unless you make yourself seen, so work your way up.

Q: In what form do you prefer to receive music submissions – CD, MP3 by email, other?

If a musician sends me a link to their music that has been placed online (either to stream or download) I will definitely check out their music. Unsolicited MP3s sent by email clutter up my email inbox and if I want a CD I’ll ask for it. But having a website, or a MySpace page (that is well built!) means I can visit your music at my own convenience. Though a lot of people I know refuse to visit MySpace pages just because so many of them are out of control. And check your website (an MySpace page) on several computers (including Macs), make sure it works on all of them, some computers give different results.
The Refrain webpage at http://www.tylergibb.com/refrain has a bunch of examples of free media players you can add to you website to play your music and video.

Q: Are there publications, websites, conferences, and festivals that songwriters should frequent in order to develop relationships with filmmakers?

A: There probably are! And I would say this falls into the category of doing some research online for where you can connect with like-minded people. There are festivals that combine film and music and those are definitely on our list of festivals to approach with “Refrain.” I can’t speak about them specifically without having been to them yet, but I’d say any film festival (there’s probably one near you) has got dozens of filmmakers just milling around hoping someone’s going to come and talk to them. Filmmakers talk with each other. And you never know where somebody’s going to be in a year, so get to know some filmmakers who are just starting out, if you connect with them, they’ll remember you.

Q: Is there any other information that may be helpful for songwriters aspiring to get their music heard through film?

A: You will get rejected. But don’t let it get to you. Remember that a rejection doesn’t mean your music isn’t good no matter where that rejection is coming from. Music is subjective, so all a rejection means is that your music may not be suitable for the film you’re hoping to appeal to.
Filmmakers have a vision. My vision while working on “Refrain” was of a young woman who is struggling to write soft, acoustic music. If a heavy metal band had approached me and asked if they could write a song for my film, even if they were a fantastic heavy metal band, that just wouldn’t have been appropriate for the tone of my film. I would have had to reject that band, but it wouldn’t be because they weren’t any good. What would come out of that exchange, however, is that a year later, if I was working on a film that could use some heavy metal music, I’d remember them.

That said, don’t decide not to approach a filmmaker just because you’re trying to guess what will appeal to them. Just introduce yourself, be polite, and make yourself known. Songwriting is an art but finding an audience is a numbers game.

As far as getting heard goes, we’re actually trying out a bit of a musical experiment with Refrain that we’re calling the “Side Project”. Essentially we’re opening up all the music that was written for the film to the interpretation of other musicians. No strings attached, just an open-source project for getting artists to collaborate and create some great music. So far the results have been incredible! The Side Project will launch this summer (join our mailing list to keep tabs on it) at which point it will be open to everybody to participate and be recognized.”

Thanks to Tyler for taking the time to answer these questions. If you’d like to know more, check out his website at http://www.tylergibb.com. And remember – musicians and filmmakers need eachother. If you were moved by Tyler’s work, tell someone about it, and you might even introduce yourself to Tyler in a brief email.

Andrea Stolpe

Andrea Stolpe Berkley Music

A while back, this question was posed and I thought it well worth a blog.

What would you do with a song that stubbornly refuses to offer up a chorus, or am I expecting something too substantial (other than just repeating the song title)? Sometimes, within one or two verses the point is made, and I’d rather be sharp and concise than meandering or boringly repetitive.

If verses are the veins and arteries of a song, the chorus is the heart. It pumps life throughout the whole tune, and when that section is struggling, the whole song struggles too. Without going too deep within the study of choruses in a blog setting, I’d like to offer up some simple ideas that may help our choruses come easier, and serve the song more effectively at the same time.

Let’s first define the function of the chorus. Very simply, the chorus delivers the main message of the song. Sometimes it’s one word, or one phrase, repeated over and over. Sometimes it’s a section as long or longer than the verses with the title set in various power positions such as the first line and last line. Another important idea with the chorus is that it’s singable for the listener. The more singable, the easier it will be to remember.

When a song is stubbornly refusing to offer up a chorus, I think a good first step is to take a look at the verse sections. When our verse sections seem to ‘say it all’, what can be happening is they have overstepped their boundaries as verses. The function of a verse is to set up the scenario for the chorus. If the chorus is the answer, the verse is the question. More clearly stated, the verses tell ‘how’ the story happened, and the chorus tells ‘why’ that story matters. Check to see whether your verses are making big statements that seem to sum up the bigger picture rather than provide details about what happened within the smaller moments leading to that big picture.

One neat technique taught to me by Pat Pattison is flipping the verse sections. The tendency is to write that first verse with kid gloves – gentle and vague instead of specific. Second verses (after the first chorus) often carry that quality of becoming less specific, more centered around the big picture. As writers, it’s often this second verse where we start to become brave enough to give away specifics, and really delve into the details of our story. So in this idea of ‘flipping verses’, we might try using verse two as the real verse one, and verse one as the real verse two. Or, try using verse two as verse one and writing a new verse two for after that first chorus. The main idea here is to make sure we stay specific in verse one so that we don’t tread on that big message chorus material.

Sometimes it’s helpful to write the chorus first. To do this, you might try talking out loud, as if you were in a conversation with a good friend. Sum up the moral of the story, and why this story is important to hear. Think about what you want your listener to walk away knowing. I like to record myself talking, so that I can play it back and copy many of the phrases word for word into my lyrics. Many times it’s my internal editor that tries to convince me the way the words came out is not ‘clever enough’. But for choruses, often the most effective lyrics are those that just say it like it is.

One final thought about choruses – don’t beat around the bush. Use that section to speak boldly and clearly to your listener. If you’re finding this difficult to do, then take a few moments to clarify what you’re really trying to say. If we’re not clear as writers what our main point is, then the listener won’t be either. One main point is stronger than several smaller points. Don’t be afraid to lay it all out on the line. You can always draw the language back later if you need to.

For anyone interested in deeper study and practice writing choruses, I suggest the online course ‘Writing From the Title’. In it, you’ll discover how rhythm, rhyme, structure, and other tools provide excellent brainstorming fuel for that critical song section.

Happy writing,

Andrea Stolpe

Andrea Stolpe Berkley Music

One of the hardest questions we writers can ask each time we sit down to write a song is, “what should I write about?” It seems almost ridiculous, with there being so many experiences, events, ideas, beliefs, values, hopes, discouragements, struggles, etc. to write about. After all, no-one is more equipped to write about our own experiences than us, and no-one else can give the song the personal perspective we can.

I think the real question lying behind the question ‘How do I come up with themes to write a song?’ is ‘How do I narrow down my ideas to write one, singular and strong theme?’

When I’m staring at an empty page and coming up blank, it is not usually a lack of ideas that prevents me from putting pen to paper. It’s that I am grazing the surface of so many choices that no one choice seems worthy enough to follow. To combat this problem, there are a few things we can do.

First, we can start a daily journal using Object Writing and Destination Writing. With this kind of writing, we’re coming in through the back door of an idea. We’re letting our journaling lead our creative minds to ideas that are worthy of songs, instead of starting with the idea and trying to conjure up angles that make that idea really shine. By choosing an object at random as we do with Object Writing, the pressure is off to start with anything remarkable. The same is true for Destination Writing, where we start with a person or a place as our topic. Then, we just write for a few minutes using sensory language, letting the ideas flow where they will. For more detail on Object Writing and Destination Writing, see Writing Better Lyrics and Popular Lyric Writing: 10 Steps to Effective Storytelling. These types of journaling are the currents running through the two songwriting courses, Lyric Writing: Tools and Strategies and Commercial Songwriting Techniques.

Other ways we can hone in on a song theme is by starting with a title. Instead of choosing such a broad theme like ‘love’, or ‘letting go’ or ‘schooldays’, we can make a quick list of words associated with a broad theme and let it take us to title phrases. For instance, with ‘schooldays’ I might list the first nouns, verbs, and adjectives that come to mind:

Tardy
bell
bus
note from the doctor
homeroom
homework
empty locker
gossip
bag lunch
milk money
ring
teenager
golden days
naive
having fun
football games

As I’m making this list, experiences I had come to mind. I remember what it was like to walk into a classroom of faces I don’t know. I remember eating the same bag lunch 5 days a week, sitting with a group of friends, counting down the 30 minute break like waiting for execution. I remember some things vividly, and they all paint a picture of how I perceived that time in my life. Now, if I step back and sum up how I think and feel about that experience in just one statement, it might be:

Though my schooldays were doused with excitement and spiked with horror, I will always keep them close to my heart, as the time I was learning to be me.

Looking back over that list of words and my simple statement here, there are more specific song directions emerging. If this tune were uptempo, it might be a light and fond look at those schooldays now that I’m an adult. If it’s a slow, melancholy tempo, it might be a look at how I’ve changed since those days, learned hard lessons from those days, or perhaps need to recapture something I’ve lost since those days. As a country tune for a male vocalist, maybe the idea is about my rebellion during that time of my life and the feeling I could carry on like that forever. As a female country vocal, perhaps the tune is a bittersweet remembrance of a coming of age.

Setting the theme in context of a specific genre can help to narrow the idea. With this process, we’re going with what our gut knows is typical of that genre, and what fans of that genre are accustomed to. Of course, we can certainly push the limits of a genre, providing we’re still relevant to the fans who listen.

As I hoped to clearly express in my book, Popular Lyric Writing: 10 Steps to Effective Storytelling, what makes our songs unique is our perspective. In songs in which the lyric takes a major role, ‘what’ we write about isn’t nearly as important as ‘how’ we write it. We can all write a love song, but what makes that love song believable and heartfelt are the details each of us brings based on our personal perspectives. So write your next song boldly, and infuse it with experiences that matter to you. And when you don’t know what to write about, ask yourself if you’re getting specific enough. Choose a major theme, and think of a time in your life when that theme became real for you.

Happy writing,

Andrea Stolpe

SONGWRITER TIP: USE CONTRAST TO GET ATTENTION!
by Robin Frederick (c) 2008.
Based on “Shortcuts to Hit Songwriting: 126 Proven Techniques for Writing Songs That Sell” available at Amazon.com.

Imagine you and I are standing in a room full of people. If I suddenly start yelling, I will get everyone’s attention. But if I keep on yelling at the same level for awhile, what happens? Pretty soon they all get bored and stop listening (and probably leave). It’s natural to think that being loud, is an attention-getter but if loudness becomes the norm then it ceases to be something we are interested in.

We are ‘hardwired’ to notice change. When something changes, we check it out. What’s happening? What’s different? It’s a survival mechanism, like the ‘fight or flight’ response. Once we are satisfied that everything is safe, we no longer need to devote energy to it and we disengage our attention. When I started yelling, everyone noticed the change; when they determined there was no threat, they disengaged their attention.

So, let’s try this. What happens if I yell for 30 seconds, then speak softly for 30 seconds, then yell again? Each of those changes in volume level will attract attention. It’s the change — the AMOUNT of change, which we call CONTRAST — that gets attention. Contrast says: “Hey, notice THIS! It’s different.” The more contrast, the more difference, the more it captures attention.

We’re going to do the same thing with songs: grab the listener’s attention and hold it by using CONTRAST!

If I sing in a loud, urgent tone of voice I will get attention, especially if the words are emotionally compelling – let’s call that a chorus. Then, if I employ a softer tone and the words reveal intimate details, I pull the listener closer, still keeping them involved because I’m doing something different. I’ve used contrast to create a new section. Let’s call this the verse. Then, when I return to the first section – louder, more urgent – I’ve got their attention again and it’s clear that we’re not in the verse anymore, we’re in the chorus. Thus, I have created a structured experience, directed the listener’s attention and successfully kept them involved in what I’m doing. And I used contrast to do it!
This example of yelling and whispering is pretty basic. In a song, we can create contrast with NOTE RANGE, PACE OF THE WORDS, and PHRASE LENGTHS. Try adding contrast to your songs by writing the verse in a low note range and the chorus in a higher note range or write a verse with a lot of words sung quickly and a chorus with slower, smoother delivery of the words. Listen to current hit songs and you’ll hear both of those techniques.

SONGWRITER TIP: LOOK FOR THE MELODY THAT LIVES IN YOUR LYRIC
by Robin Frederick (c) 2008.
Based on “Shortcuts to Hit Songwriting: 126 Proven Techniques for Writing Songs That Sell” available at Amazon.com.

Every time you open your mouth to speak, you start singing! Don’t believe me? Just try speaking without rhythm or pitch. You can’t do it. We generally imagine singing as something quite apart from everyday speech. People who think nothing of talking your head off, are scared to death if you ask them to sing a few notes. (Hmm, might be a good way to shut them up) In reality, when we speak we use pitch, volume, pace, rhythm, and words — all the elements of a song. The only difference is in a song these elements are exaggerated. Of course, we also add some repetition and a couple other things but to get your raw melody going, speech is all you need.

It’s the melody portion of speech that communicates emotion. In fact, just by changing the melody you can give the same words an entirely different emotional meaning. Try this: say the phrase “Oh, no?” as if you are asking a simple question. Now, say the same phrase –”Oh no!”-as if you are anxious and frightened. Notice the difference in the melody? Exaggerate the emotion in the second phrase and you’ll really hear it. In the first phrase the “no” has a slight rising melody. In the second phrase, the “no” has a slight downward melody, words were higher pitched, the pace is faster, the volume louder. Now try saying “Oh no.” with a sarcastic, disbelieving, ‘you’ve got to be kidding’ tone. It’s an entirely different melody from the other two.

We begin tuning into the melodic/emotional elements of speech from the time we are born, even before we ever understand the actual words being used. By the time we’re teenagers, even small nuances of melody convey loads of meaning. You can use this melodic element of speech to give your songs added emotional impact and credibility. If you’ve got a lyric that asks a question, try a rising melody on end of the phrase, just as if you were really asking a question. Or, if your questions are the kind that don’t really want an answer, try a descending melody on the end of the phrase. It will convey a lot of information and sound natural and believable to your listeners. If you’ve got a song with sarcasm in it, try lowering the melody a la “You’re So Vain” by Carly Simon. Add a descending, ‘sighing’ note for a sense of resignation and hopelessness as at the end of the bridge in “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.”

To achieve the conversational tone of many of today’s verses, try speaking your verse lyric in an offhand, conversational manner, then exaggerate it a little to begin creating your verse melody. Keep the pauses that occur naturally and exaggerate the little ups and downs in your speaking voice. You’ll want to make changes later but, for now, this will give you a good place to start. Remember, this is your raw material, not the finished melody.

Choruses often have more energy and urgency, conveying more of the song’s emotional heart. As we saw with the “Oh, no!” phrase, the more emotion there is, the more the melody of speech tends to rise. That’s why very emotional pop and rock choruses work well in a higher note range. Speak the chorus lyric with as much emotion as you can put into it. Now, exaggerate the pitches, keeping the rhythm of the words and any pauses that occur naturally. This will get you started on your chorus.

Once you have found the melody your lyric wants, then sit down with your guitar or keyboard and starting roughing out the chords. I like to record my vocal ideas before I even start to add chords, that way I can recall the original “spoken word” melody if the chords start to pull me away.

Read this article today from http://successforyoursongs.com. Thought we would share:

“The first few lines of your song may determine whether your listener sticks around for more, or bails out. While you want your whole song to be engaging, you really want to draw them in with an interesting opening.

Techniques like the use of metaphor, and engaging the listener’s senses will greatly help in bringing them into your story. Some artists have done a great job of bringing the listener into the story right off the bat. I’ll show you a few of my favorite opening lines and why I think they work so well.

“King of Anything” by Sara Bareilles

First let’s check out the first few lines of “King of Anything” by Sara Bareilles.

Keep drinking coffee, stare me down across the table
While I look outside
So many things I’d say if I were only able
But I just keep quiet, and count the cars as they pass by

These lyrics set the “table” of this song well. She does a good job of painting the scene with her words. Phrases like “stare me down across the table while I look outside” and “I just keep quiet, and count the cars as they pass by” are fairly visual lines that draw you into the scene. They do a good job of picking up on the details going on around her that help us visualize what’s happening.

What I would have liked to see here, would be a little more description to some of this stuff. Talking about the heat of the coffee’s steam, or the sound the cars make as they passed by could have been an even more effective way of pulling our senses into the song.

She only gave us a four line glimpse into this opening scene, as she didn’t want this portion of the song to go on for too long. I realize one of the hardest jobs we have as songwriters is editing ourselves. Deciding what gets to stay and what has to go can be difficult, so overall this is a good opening.

“I’m Your’s” by Jason Mraz

Here’s another set of opening lines from Jason Mraz’s “I’m Your’s”

Well you done done me and you bet I felt it
I tried to be chill but you’re so hot that I melted
I fell right through the cracks
now I’m trying to get back

Again, these opening lines are very visual. He even sprinkles in some other senses when he says “you’re so hot that I melted,” so we can feel the heat. Then he goes further with it and takes the “melting” concept to “I fell right through the cracks.” It’s very easy to picture him physically melting, like an ice cube, and then slipping away through some cracks in a sidewalk.

Each line plays off the previous one well. The whole time the words are very visual, and he even starts to get into the other senses as well.

“Believe” by The Bravery

In the Bravery’s song, “Believe” they open the song with the following line:

The faces all around me they don’t smile they just crack

What a great metaphor. The idea of someone whose face is so rigid, that even if they attempted to smile, their face would start to crumble, is a great new way of looking at this. It’s a collision of two ideas that don’t otherwise belong together: 1. people who don’t smile, and 2. the cracking of something rigid. It found their common ground and tied them together nicely. As a result, we get a very visual line which, again, is crucial when writing your opening lines.

“Heartbreak Warfare” by John Mayer

Finally, one of my favorite opening lines happens in John Mayer’s “Heartbreak Warfare.” He leads with:

Lightning strikes inside my chest to keep me up at night
Dream of ways to make you understand my pain

Just like the rest of the examples we looked at, this one’s very visual. You can almost picture a bolt a lighting filling his chest cavity. But what’s so cool about this one is not only does it hit you visually, but it hits you organically too. Just by hearing that line, you immediately know that feeling in your chest he’s talking about, that wakes you up in the middle of the night in worry. He found a great way to put that feeling into words. So now, not only are you visualizing the lighting, but you’re feeling that sensation in your chest right along with him. It’s a great way to pull you into this song, right off the bat.

The line that follows, “Dream of ways to make you understand my pain,” isn’t as visual, but it’s a good follow up to the first line, to let you know what this song is all about.

Your Favorites

Aside from just pulling the listener in from the very beginning, all of these opening lines are also giving a glimpse of what the rest of the song is going to be about. They’re not just their own individual elements that stand on their own (although they could be, if they needed to).

I know there are a ton of other great examples of opening lyrics that I haven’t discussed here. What are some of your favorites? I recommend taking a careful listen to some of your favorite songs that have opening lines that pull you in and never let you go. Write down those lines to give yourself a benchmark to work towards with your own writing. Analyze them and try to figure out why they draw you in. It can only help your own writing.

About The Author

To learn more, download Anthony’s free report here: http://successforyoursongs.com/freeoffer/

Anthony Ceseri is the owner of http://www.SuccessForYourSongs.com, a website dedicated to the growth and development of songwriters of all skill levels. Anthony’s writings appear as examples in the book “Songwriting Without Boundaries: Lyric Writing Exercises For Finding Your Voice” by Pat Pattison, an acclaimed lyric writing professor at Berklee College of Music.”

It may seem utterly obvious, but the importance of melody can sometimes be overlooked-great grooves, clever chord sequences and glossy production can  culminate in just that: a great groove, some chords and glossy production! From a music licensing perspective, it tends to be the melody that sells; writers who can compose great melodies are of most interest to film producers. The chords and rhythm set the mood, but its the tune that allows the viewer to relate to the product in the  fizzy drink commercial or makes us fall in love with the main character in the blockbuster movie!

It is essential to know  the fundamentals of melody, i.e., symmetry and balance-(a few notes in one direction, then back again), small steps, not jumpy leaps (If you’ve composed your melody on a guitar or keyboard, test it by singing it back  to yourself. Is this easy to do? If not, chances are its a weak melody). Strong ones are memorable, they stick in people’s heads, that’s why people whistle, sing and buy them! Keep the rhythm of your melody simple, even if all else around it is complex and syncopated (Pat Metheny is a great exponent of this). There’s no excuse to overlook melody in writing unless there really is a justifiable reason to do so; even some of the biggest selling rap songs are those that introduce a strong melody or riff at some point within the song.

We recommend listening to great melodies; give yourself a chance to be inspired by them! Think outside the box and don’t be restricted by your musical tastes and genre preferences when composing. For example, listen to Mozart, Debussy or Michel Le Grand, then write your ‘Dubstep’ or whatever style track straight after. You never know, as a consequence your song might receive a great hook just after the  middle 8 build up. It could make you millions!

Best Wishes,

Songbayteam

Songwriting Competition open to all Songbay Users.

One of our Songbay users- Mike Lea Jones http://www.songbay.co/artists/844/  has asked us if we would mention this to Songbay users. Mike is an incredibly talented music student in his second year of a music degree course in Newcastle, UK. One of the modules requires the music students to organise and promote a Songwriting competition. We will  help with contributing to the organisational costs of the event and by awarding free Songbay subscriptions to the winners and runners up.

This is a copy of the email sent to us

“Just to reiterate this event project involves myself and 3 other BA music students from Gateshead College. We devised an on-line competition to compose a piece of original music to accompany a short promotional video produced by a local production company. The winning prize is £100 (plus free  professional memberships to Songbay), and will be judged by ourselves with input from the production company. The website is live now and has been promoted via facebook and posters in north east universities and colleges. Below is the promo wording which is pretty self explanatory. Your involvement would be a great lift to the event as your members probably already have music that is appropriate. Having said that, we ultimately have to pick a winner, so I wouldn’t discourage any entrant based on their perceived suitability of the music. Whilst there is dialogue on the video the music doesn’t have to fit around it as we can simply fade up and down to suit. I have attached our poster which could possibly be used.

Thank you again for your interest

Regards

Mike”

Score4all.webs.com

Online music competition

You could win £100 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

All you have to do is compose an original piece of music to accompany a short promotional video. If you already have some original music that you think is appropriate that’s fine. To enter simply go to our website to view or download the video and then send us back your composition for judging using the links provided.

The video is a real promotional produced by Three Motion Media, a local production company, so this is a great opportunity to get involved in the music industry, gain some experience, make some professional contacts and of course, win £100 and receive subscriptions to Songbay  

For more details visit our website www. score4all.webs.com

So if you have some time free and fancy entering the competition, get your submissions together as soon as possible.

Songbayteam

The upgrade to our service has been set for Mon 28th January 2013. From this date, Songbay users will have some exciting  options available to them. In addition to music licensing, they will also be able to:

• Trade  music samples
• Sell Lyrics
• Trade Music and Lyric copyrights
• Set their own prices for their work
• Contribute to our blog (we want all users to participate in sharing their expertise and experience with fellow users).

The changes are designed to give our users complete control and flexibility. We aim to offer a unique service to all.

Songbayteam

The Beatles are known as the most successful music group in music history, selling over a billion records worldwide. The songwriting partnership between Lennon and McCartney is legendary. The Beatles collectively were also songwriting Ninjas, but they employed many tricks that anyone can add to their songwriting tool box. Here are 5 less obvious examples:

1. Mutate Your Chorus

As well as starting songs with the chorus, some of The Beatles’ greatest hits open with a chorus hybrid that previews the title and hooks.

The intro to Help has the same chord progression as the chorus but moves twice as fast and features the title 4 times (to the chorus’s 3).

Use this trick and by the time you reach your chorus the listener will be hooked by the reassuring feeling that they’ve heard your song somewhere before.

Also used on: She Loves You, Can’t Buy Me Love.

2. Bluesify Your Melody

We expect to hear blue notes like the b3, b5 and b7th in rockers like Back In The USSR but the Beatles often added these notes into more melodic material too.

In Blackbird the final phrase uses the b7 on inTO the LIGHT and the b3 on dark BLACK night.

Tricky to pull off if you’re not a confident singer — you might want to insert the blue note into your chord until you’ve learnt to pitch it correctly. Using it will add a soulful edge to your melodies.

Also used on: Ticket To Ride, From Me To You.

3. Delay The Root Chord

Starting a song on the tonic chord is a rut the Beatles managed to avoid a surprising number of times.

Eleanor Rigby starts on C major (the bVI of Em) before heading to the home chord. It’s one of the many things that gives the track such an immediate sense of tension. Using this trick will give your progressions more forward momentum.

Also used on: All My Loving, Hello Goodbye.

4. Utilise The Outside Chord

Many of us employ ‘out of key’ chords (whether we realise it or not!). But out of 186 Beatles compositions only 22 remain in key!

In Strawberry Fields Forever, Lennon pulls the rug from under the Bb major tonality by replacing the F major chord with an F minor .

Bb Let me take you down ‘cos I’m going Fm to…

It’s like the stomach drop you experience on the crest of a rollercoaster. Later he creates a disorientating momentary high by replacing the Gm with a G major.

Eb Nothing to get G hung about

Outside chords will surprise your listeners and freshen your melodies.

Also used on: I Am The Walrus, Fool On The Hill.

5. Restate Your Lyrics

The Beatles didn’t make their lyrics memorable just by repeating sections wholesale. They also repeated and adapted words, phrases and sentence structures.

Take A Day In The Life. 4 verses, a middle 8 and only one repeated line.
And yet it’s memorable (in part) because of lyrical links like these -

I read the news/saw a film today, oh boy
and though the news was rather sad/holes were rather small
found my way downstairs/coat/way upstairs
I just had to laugh/look

Using this subtle trick will make your lyrics sticky and give a sense of unity to a track.

Beatles Related Quotes:

“I don’t work at being ordinary” ~ Paul McCartney
“Try to realize it’s all within yourself no one else can make you change, and to see you’re only very small and life flows on within you and without you” ~ George Harrison

(edited by Jessica Brandon)

Matt Blick is an Eclectic Electric Songwriter and Singer. He writes interesting articles relating towards songwriting and being an independent music artist. For more information on USA Songwriting Competition, go to: http://www.songwriting.net

Clever Catchy Choruses Constructed using ‘Alliteration’ Are Always Amazing!

Alliteration (When two or more words in a sentence begin with the same letter or sound) is a great technique to use in songs, particularly in choruses. It makes them instantly memorable. Here’s a good example:

Double Essay (S.S.A) by One Be Lo

Double Essay(S.S.A) by One Be Lo

“So so amazin, so so amazin
So so amazin, so so amazin

Secret Service agent, surely slowly aging
Shootin suckers, amazin super-soaker aimin
Silent skill assassin, surfer sayin “Awesome”
Still slammin anybody, Stone Steve Austin
Sorta sour apple, spittin slang at’chu (ah-choo!)
Senim Silla’s anthem, stealin shows in action
Sixty seconds, and sexy shorties admire
Somebody should acquire sixty-seven amplifiers
Silky smooth adult, soakin soapy aloe
Storm shadow, attackin swingin swords ample
Soldier solo Army
Stop shootin archery, shell shocked armory
Skills symbolize artillery
Scratch sniff activated sensory, super auxiliary
Some sail away south Sydney, Australia
Souvenir shops always see some aliens
Solar system apparatus, scale stratus
Atmosphere scary, Spielberg actress
Soul sister Asian
Sweet sixteen adolescent, sweat shop accommodations

So so amazin (so, so) so so amazin (so, so)
So so amazin (so, so) so so amazin”

Even companies know the benefits of alliteration:

Brand Names and Alliteration

The major reason companies use this technique is to ensure that their brand name is memorable. Think, for example, of all of the famous and well known brands and companies that have used alliteration in their names:

• Dunkin’ Donuts
• PayPal
• Best Buy
• Coca-Cola
• LifeLock
• Park Place
• American Apparel
• American Airlines
• Chuckee Cheese’s
• Bed Bath & Beyond
• Krispy Kreme
• The Scotch and Sirloin

Well known phrases using alliteration

So many common phrases have become ‘common’ by becoming memorable:

Phrases and Quotes

• Busy as a bee
• Dead as a doornail
• Get your goat
• Give up the ghost
• Good as gold
• Home sweet home
• Last laugh
• Leave in the Lurch
• Living the life
• Look to your laurels
• Mad as a March hare
• Make a mountain out of a molehill
• Method to the madness
• Moaning Minnie
• Neck and neck
• Not on your nelly
• Out of order
• Pleased as punch
• Pooh-pooh
• Primrose path
• Right as rain
• Right roughshod
• Round Robin

When we are selecting lyrics for our online library at Songbay, we always look for examples of alliteration-they tend to sell well!

Writing strong Lyrics. Personification never hurts!

Personification is a technique for  giving human qualities to non human objects.

Example:
The  smiling moon, a jovial sun, a lonely road, the  sad ocean, etc

As an example, in the poem”Mirror” by Sylvia Plath, the mirror (referred to by the letter ‘I’ in the first line) is given the ability to speak, see and swallow, as well as other human attributes such as truthfulness and preconception. This makes the words so very ‘poetic’.

“I am silver and exact.

I have no preconceptions.

Whatever I see I swallow immediately

Just as it is, unmisted by love or dislike.

I am not cruel, only truthful”

When looking for the strengths of lyrics at Songbay, we always look for examples of personification. So to personify, personification can help bring  a lyric to ‘life’!!

42 Different Ways That Artists Can Earn Money…
Ever wondered what all the revenue sources are available to you as a songwriter or lyricist? We came across a brilliant article from Paul Resnikoff, publisher and founder of Digital Music News. Previously, head of music initiatives at Lycos, starting out at Sony Music Entertainment (Epic Records). He lists the following ways that artists can receive payment for their work. Useful to know!
Songwriter & Composer Revenue
1. Publisher advance
Bulk payment to songwriter/composer as part of a publishing deal.
Paid to: songwriter composer by publishing company.
Rate: varies according to deal.

2. Mechanical Royalties
Royalties generated through the licensed reproduction of recordings of your songs — either physical or digital.
Paid to: songwriter/composer by publisher, label, Harry Fox, or digital aggregator like CD Baby.
Rate: 9.1 cents per manufactured copy of song/composition.

3. Commissions
Typically a request from an ensemble, presenter, orchestra or other entity for a composer to create an original work for them.

4. Public Performance (PRO) Royalties
Revenue generated when your songs are played on radio, TV, in clubs and restaurants. Paid to songwriter/composer/publisher by ASCAP/BMI/SESAC.

5. Composing Original Works for Broadcast
Typically a commercial request to compose an original jingle, soundtrack, score, or other musical work for a film, TV or cable show, or an ad agency.

6. Synch Licenses
Typically involves licensing an existing work for use in a movie, documentary, TV, video games, internet, or a commercial. Paid to songwriters/composers either via publisher or record label, or via a direct licensing deal with the licensee (movie studio, ad agency, etc) if you are self-published..

7. Sheet Music Sales
Revenue generated by the sale of songs/compositions as sheet music. Paid to songwriter/composer by publisher, or directly from purchasers if you are selling it on your website or at performances..

8. Ringtones Revenue
Generated from licensing your songs/compositions for use as ringtones. Paid to songwriter/composer via your publisher, your label or Harry Fox..

9. ASCAPlus Awards Program
Awarded by ASCAP to writer members of any genre whose performances are primarily in venues outside of broadcast media.

10. Publisher Settlement
Payment from publishers to writers for litigation settlements.

Performer & Recording Artist Revenue
11. Salary as Member of Orchestra or Ensemble
Income earned as a salaried member of an orchestra or ensemble.

12. Shows/Performance Fees
Revenue generated from playing in a live setting (for non-salaried players).

13. Record Label Advance
Paid to artist as part of signing a deal.

14. Record Label Support
Money from label for recording or tour support.

15. Retail Sales
Revenue generated from selling physical music in retail stores or via mailorder. Paid to artist/performer by your label, or digital aggregator like CD Baby.

16. Digital Sales
Revenue generated from selling music digitally/online. Paid to artist/performer by your label, or digital aggregator like CD Baby or Tunecore.

17. Sales at Shows
Revenue generated from selling recordings of music at shows/live performances. Paid to artist/performer directly by fans.

18. Interactive Service Payments
Revenue generated when your music is streamed on on-demand services (Rhapsody, Spotify, Rdio). Paid to artist/performer by your label, or digital aggregator like CD Baby or Tunecore.

19. Digital Performance Royalties
Revenue generated when your sound recordings are played on internet radio, Sirius XM, Pandora. Paid to performers by SoundExchange.

20. AARC Royalties
Collected for digital recording of your songs, foreign private copying levies, and foreign record rental royalties, distributed to US artists by AARC.

21. Neighboring Rights Royalties
Collected for the foreign performance of your recordings.

22. AFM/Secondary Markets Fund
Paid to performers on recordings used in TV and other secondary uses.

23. AFM/Sound Recording Special Payments
Paid to performers for the sales of recorded music.

24. AFTRA Contingent Scale
Payments paid to performers when a recording hits certain sales plateaus.

25. Label Settlements
Payments from labels to recording artists for litigation settlements (MP3.com, Limewire).

Session Musician Revenue
26. Session Musician/Sideman Fees for Studio Work
Revenue paid to you for playing in a studio. Paid by label, producer or artist, depending on situation.

27. Session Musician/Sideman Fees for Live Work
Revenue paid to you for playing in a live setting. Paid by label, producer or artist, depending on situation..

28. AFM/AFTRA Payments
Payments from the AFM/AFTRA Intellectual Property Rights Distribution Fund, which distributes recording and performance royalties to non-featured artists.

Knowledge of Craft: Teaching & Producing
29. Music Teacher
Revenue generated from teaching your musical craft.

30. Producer
Money from producing another artists’ work in the studio or in a live setting.

31. Honoraria or Speakers Fees

Brand-Related Revenue
32. Merchandise Sales
Revenue generated from selling branded merchandise (t-shirts, hoodies, posters, etc.). Paid to artist/performer by fans.

33. Fan Club
Money directly from fans who are subscribing to your fan club

34. YouTube Partner Program
Shared advertising revenue, paid to partners by YouTube

35. Ad Revenue
Or other miscellaneous income from your website properties (click-thrus, commissions on Amazon sales, etc.)

36. Persona Licensing
Payments from a brand that is licensing your name or likeness (video games, comic books, etc)

37. Product Endorsements
Payments from a brand for you endorsing or using their product

38. Acting
In television, movies, commercials

Fan, Corporate, & Foundation Funding

39. Fan Funding
Money directly from fans to support an upcoming recording project or tour (Kickstarter, Pledge Music)

40. Sponsorship
Corporate support for a tour, or for your band/ensemble

41. Grants
From foundations, state or federal agencies

Other Sources of Revenue
42. Arts Administrator
Money paid to you specifically for managing the administrative aspects of a group that you are a member of.

What makes a Good Lyric?
In advance of our lyric trading functionality arriving next month at Songbay, we thought we would share with you our top tip for writing good lyrics-know the elements!
In the same way that a composer must understand the fundamentals of song construction, i.e., melody, harmony, rhythm and arrangement, a lyricist needs to know what makes a strong and catchy lyric.
Over the past twelve months we have received and reviewed hundreds of lyrics, some good, some not so. Many of the best combined some if not all of the following elements in their construction:

Alliteration
Similes
Personification
Onomatopoeia
Rhyme

It is vital that lyricists understand all of the above elements and have a grasp of when and how to use them in a song. In order to trade lyrics at Songbay and have them advertised for sale in our online lyric library, they must meet our selection criteria. As well as originality, we look for comprehension and implementation of these key elements.

Over the next few days we will be giving some examples of each, and tips about how and when best to use them. If you are not sure about any of the elements, do some research pdq!
Best Wishes, Songbayteam

Hi Songbay users!

It’s been a very busy time for us of late, the upgrade to our our online service of Music and Lyric Sales is almost here. We have made many changes which offer greater choice and autonomy to our users.
Specifically, we will be expanding our service by offering these additional features:

• Lyric sales
• Sample sales
• Digital downloads
• Entire Copyright Sales
• A New Single use audio/ video synchronization licence (replacing the existing complex licensing categories)

Users will be able to select any/all of the above options when listing material and be able to determine their own sale fee for each. Our aim- to put the artist in control at all times.
We are also making changes to our website to make it easier to use and introducing an exciting comments feature and ranking system for all material submitted.

How will existing listings be absorbed into the new system?

If you are an existing subscribers to Songbay, you will still be entitled to the same amount of uploads as determined by your current package; the start and end dates of subscriptions will remain unchanged.

When listing new material you will see a new user interface something like this:

We will invite you to set a fee for each of our new options. To help you in this process, we will supply you with an average market guide price for each. You can of course choose to set any price you wish for your material and decide which of the features you wish to use.

As before, we will supply completed contracts to all users at the point of sale without charge.

Fees and Royalties
Current subscribers will still be able to use all our services without charge and as before, will continue to receive 100% of any sales fees and royalties.
We have decided to use Paypal to handle all financial transactions.

I am an existing user, what will I need to do once the new service is operational?
We will email you as soon as the service is in place and invite you to select and enter a sales value for each option. (We will initially set all fees to the standard market rate for each selling option, with the exception of copyright sales, which will only be available to buyers should you select it).

Quality controls
We will analyse all submissions to our library to ensure they meet our quality requirements. In order to attract buyers, we cannot accept material displaying poor recording quality, low composition standard or major musicianship issues (such as tuning and timing). Any unsuitable material will not be visible for sale and be removed from our site within 24 hours. Should your material not meet our selection requirements, you will be notified by email. (Current Songbay subscribers will receive credits to allow further upload opportunities).

Changes to our current subscription package system
We will be removing the package options in favour of a much simpler per song/ lyric upload system. There will be two listing options available, a ‘free’ (percentage of sale) option or a ‘listing fee’ per song/ lyric option (no percentage of sales taken). Other options such as ‘promotion’ and ‘extended artist profile areas’ will be made available as additional paid features. We will not ask for any percentage of subsequent performing or broadcast royalties with either listing option.

That’s it for now, we sincerely hope you will enjoy the new features and that you will continue to gain sales and contacts through Songbay.

As always, we wish all our users the very best with their song searching/ song writing

We will be in touch very soon.

Songbayteam