Harmonizing a Melody: When You Should Keep the Chorus SIMPLE

by Gary Ewer, from “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” website. (Follow Gary on Twitter)

With chord progressions in general, simple is better than complicated. And you’d be surprised by how simplesimple can be. A good chorus melody doesn’t need to be anything more than one or two notes, as long as the progression underneath it is simple and sensible.

A good verse melody should carefully match the mood of the lyric, and in that sense, you can be somewhat creative: use good contour, and create a climactic high point. And particularly in contemporary pop, if your verse melody is well-constructed and interesting, your chorus works better if it’s minimized to two or three notes, and the lyric is somewhat repetitious.

Here’s a good example of a two-note melody that works well as an intro as well as a chorus:

[Visit website for MIDI file (opens in new window)]

Obviously, this was done up quickly in MIDI, but you get the idea. Every song needs balance, and so if your verse melody is not very adventurous, you’ll find that a chorus melody with this simple harmonization will leave your song needing more. But in many cases, this kind of simple melody is possibly all you need.

So if you’re looking for a chorus melody that really sits in a groove and works, don’t over-complicate it. Don’t go looking for something “killer” that’s just not necessary. For many songs, the groove is more important than anything.

FREE OFFER: Gary’s newest e-book, ”The Essential Secrets of Songwriting- Chord Progression Formulas” is being offered for free when you purchase any other of his songwriting e-books. Let these six e-books show you every aspect of how to write great songs! Read more..

Getting Creative – It May Be Easier Than You Think

Writer’s block is a frustrating thing when it happens. And while there’s lots you can do to help keep it to a minimum, it can happen to the best of us. But getting that creative feeling may be easier than you think, and if you’ve got even just a basic keyboard, here’s something you can try.

Most keyboards today have drum machines – banks of various drum patterns in countless styles. They’re meant, of course, to add to your on-board recordings. But a great use of these rhythms can be to snap you out of a writing slump.

If you’re like most people, you try to break the writing doldrums by strumming away on your guitar, trying to come up with a chord progression that coaxes a melody forward. You’d be surprised how much more quickly the ideas happen if you do your improvising with a drum beat in the background.

When you can’t feel creative, it’s like every aspect of your creative mind shuts down, and you feel about as musical as belly lint.

That drum beat stimulates the creative mind, and gives you part of what you’re looking for – a basic background rhythm. And it gives you that without you even having to think about it.

The drum beat will likely be lame, and something that you’ll want to modify to have it work in a song, but it will have done its job: it begins the process of opening up your imagination. In a funny sort of way, it feels like at least the drummer knows what to do!

Other things are also going to help break you out of the writing slump, like finding a regular writing time, changing your songwriting formula, and listening to other musical genres.

Try the drum box stimulation, and see what it does for you.

FREE OFFER: Gary’s newest e-book, ”The Essential Secrets of Songwriting- Chord Progression Formulas” is being offered for free when you purchase any other of his songwriting e-books. Let these six e-books show you every aspect of how to write great songs! Read more..

Five Things You Need to Know Before You Write Your Next Song

by Gary Ewer, from “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” website:

No one would ever pick up a tool to start building a house without having a complete blueprint in front of them. And while it’s unlikely (and frankly, unnecessary) to have a song’s complete blueprint in front of you as a starting point, it is surprising how many people start the songwriting process with no preliminary thought to at least some important details.

There are at least five things you need to know, either before you start composing, or very early on in the songwriting process.

1. Basic rhythmic motif: This is the underlying rhythm that works its way through the entire song, and helps “paste the whole thing together.”
2. Hook: You notice, hopefully, that I didn’t list this with the basic rhythmic motif. A hook is short, memorable fragment, usually a combination of rhythm and melody, and meant to bring your song to mind easily. (A motif simply provides compositional cohesion, whether it’s clearly remembered or not.
3. Basic harmonic language: You’ll notice that some songs sound best when using the natural chords that exist in any one key, while others make great use of flat-3, flat-7, and so on. (It’s why I have several different formulas in my “Chord Progression Formulas” e-book). So decide what kind of song yours will be.
4. The climactic point: Every good melody needs a moment that the listener identifies as the high point, the moment of highest excitement. Don’t leave this to chance. Try to identify this moment early on in the songwriting process.
   
5. How the verse and chorus melody relate: If your song uses a verse and chorus, you’ll find that the listener derives great satisfaction, without knowing it most of the time, when there is some sort of relationship between the verse melody and the chorus melody. Some of that relationship should come from a similar rhythmic motif, but experiment with other techniques: reversing certain melodic leaps, featuring a higher range in the chorus while using similar melodic fragments, etc.
   

The great thing about songwriting is that you can modify what you’re doing as the song progresses, so don’t be surprised if your ideas change as you progress. You may find that a certain rhythmic idea occurs to you as you are almost finished, requiring you to go back in and rework the song. But that’s the creative arts for you! My point here is that if you start the process with nothing but a wish, you’ll wind up with something that sounds more like aimless wandering than songwriting.

FREE OFFER: Gary’s newest e-book, ”The Essential Secrets of Songwriting- Chord Progression Formulas” is being offered for free when you purchase any other of his songwriting e-books. Let these six e-books show you every aspect of how to write great songs! Read more..

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Adding Horns and Other Instruments to Your Recording – Do It Right!

by Gary Ewer, from “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” website:

Anyone doing a demo recording knows that you don’t get much of a chance to get a record exec’s attention. You’ve got to keep your playlist small, and grab attention right away. One way to set your songs apart from all the other noise out there is to add horns and other acoustic instruments. But if you don’t know what you’re doing, your song can sound like Mickey Mouse time pretty quickly. Here are some tips for recording acoustic instruments:

• Particularly with winds or brass, set mic levels as hot as possible without distortion. The goal is to get maximum signal into the computer, so record within a few decibels of distortion.
• Unless you’re recording in a nice hall with gorgeous natural reverb, record the instruments in a room that’s as dead as possible, then add reverb later.
• Ideally, don’t record in the same room as your computer; the fans will be a problem.
• Regarding compression: as little as possible with live acoustic instruments. The better the quality of your recording, the less compression you’ll need to use.
• Regarding reverb: add what you think is right, then cut it in half. With voice, if you can hear it, it’s borderline too much.

These guidelines are very basic, of course, and depend on the kind of recording you’re doing, and what you want as an end result. Get professional advice if possible. As a final piece of advice: if you’re trying to make your instruments sound like the real thing, listen to classically recorded instruments to get a proper picture of what the instruments are supposed to sound like.

FREE OFFER: Gary’s newest e-book, ”The Essential Secrets of Songwriting- Chord Progression Formulas” is being offered for free when you purchase any other of his songwriting e-books. Read more..

Creating Lyrics that Have a Natural Flow

by Gary Ewer, from “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” website:

If you want lyrics to sound natural, you need to sing them with the natural pulses that occur in spoken language. For songwriters, you need to match up the natural pulse of the lyric with the natural flow of your music. It may not be as easy as you think, but the rewards are worth the effort.

Every language has an innate rhythm which comes across as accents and pulses, though some languages make more use of these pulses than others. For example, English has stronger accents while the pulses and accents in French are much more subtle.

Music also consists of pulses, and it’s important that songwriters make a serious attempt to match the pulses of the text with the pulses of the melodic line. If you’ve ever heard a song where you find it hard to hear the words, but they seem to be clearly spoken, mis-matched pulses between lyric and melody are usually to blame.

If you’re creating your melody and lyric together, the pulse of the text comes first in importance; modify the melody in order to make the pulse of the text work. Your song loses meaning and emotional impact if it seems that the lyric is being forced to fit the melody.

Once you’ve finished your song, take bits of the lyric and speak it(without the pitches) using the rhythm you’ve given it. Then speak the words, the way you’d normally say them in casual conversation. There should be an obvious similarity. Be sure that the notes that are longer are the ones that would normally get the most accent.

EXAMPLE: “I’m dedicated to our love.” When you say this line in casual speech, the accents are: “I’m DED-i-CA-ted to our LOVE”, with “DED” being a stronger accent than “LOVE”, and “LOVE” being stronger than “CA-”. We can actually change the meaning or inner message of what we’re talking about when we accent different words or syllables. But in whatever you do, be sure that your text pulses match up with your music pulses. This will enhance the emotional impact of your text.

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The 2009 BET Awards Show Honours Michael Jackson

by Gary Ewer, from “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” website:

The 2009 BET (Black Entertainment Television) Awards were handed out last night in Los Angeles. The show was completely refashioned as a Michael Jackson homage, complete with wardrobe and musical tributes to the King of Pop.

Probably the most surprising aspect of the spectacle was the fact that this show was pulled together in mere hours, and was stunningly successful. Hosted by Jamie Foxx, it was the feel-good celebration of a lifetime, where thousands of people refused to let shock and sadness eclipse a joy-filled acknowlegement of one of the most spectacular musical careers of the modern era. Jackson’s music and wardrobe figured prominently in the stars’ performances, interspersed with teary testimonials to Jackson’s influence on the industry.

And so who were the winners?

Centric Award – Jazmine Sullivan
Best Male R&B Artist – Ne-Yo
Best Female R&B Artist – Beyonce
Best Group – Day 26
Best Male Athlete – LeBron James
Best Female Athlete – Serena Williams
Best Male Hip Hop Artist – Lil Wayne
Best Female Hip Hop Artist – M.I.A.
Best Collaboration – Jamie Foxx F/ T-Pain “Blame It”
Best Actress – Tarji P. Henson
Best Actor – Will Smith
Best New Artist – Keri Hilson
Best Gospel Artist – Mary Mary
Video Director Of The Year – Benny Boom
Viewers Choice – T.I. & Rihanna “Live Your Life”
Video Of The Year – Beyonce “Single Ladies”
Humanitarian Awards – Wyclef & Alicia Keys
Lifetime Achievement Awards – The O’Jays

__________________________
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The Life and Death of Michael Jackson – Why Do We Care So Much?

by Gary Ewer, from “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” website

Anytime the name Michael Jackson hits the news, it has a way of pushing everything else completely into the background. And the news of his untimely death did more than push other news back. It completely shocked generations of people, from those who weren’t even born when Thriller was created, to the most elderly, no matter what their musical preferences.

And how is it that at a time when the Iranian “election” (I use the term loosely), North Korean nuclear ambitions and the economy has gripped the world, the death of a pop music icon could push all of that off the front pages? Does this say something about our skewed priorities?

Michael Jackson has been the flag-bearer of the music of at least two generations. For those in their 50s and 60s, Jackson is the 10-year-old superkid, lead singer of the Jackson 5, belting out hits like ”ABC” and “I’ll Be There.” For 30 to 40-year-olds, the superkid became Superman, with “Thriller”, “Billie Jean” and “Beat It”. For anyone older or younger, even if it wasn’t their music, it was and is impossible to not to acknowledge that Jackson was different – greater than most. A true genius.

But does that really answer the question? Why do we care so much about our entertainment industry icons?

Part of the reason is that what Jackson, and all other super-performers do, is claim our emotional soul with their art. They don’t just appeal to our sense of aesthetics. They appeal to our heart, on a much more primitive level than aesthetics. Their music graps us at a time in our lives (usually the teen years) when music is about all that can really describe our messed-up emotions. And the death of an icon like Jackson, for that reason, becomes psychologically hard to accept. For many of us, the death of a musical genius scares us, because it reminds us that even Superman dies.

Amongst the sadness generated by the loss of a musician like Michael Jackson, we can at least find solace in the fact that his music lives on. And that’s the thing to remember: creators of art will die, but the art they create is immortal. I truly believe that in 500 years, historians will still be discussing the genius of Michael Jackson. His music will live on.

FREE OFFER: Gary’s newest e-book, ”The Essential Secrets of Songwriting- Chord Progression Formulas” is being offered for free when you purchase any other of his songwriting e-books. Read more..

If You Want Your Song to Sell, Your Melody Needs Shape

by Gary Ewer, from “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” website:

Many songwriters start the writing process by coming up with a chord progression, and then try to create a melody that works with it. The problem with this approach can be that the melody lacks shape, as the importance is placed on the progression first. And a melody without a real shape becomes difficult for your audience to remember, and, quite frankly, boring.

One easy solution is to work on a melody first to which you add chords. In my experience, most songwriters find this to be a trickier way to write (though it can yield better results in the long term.) In any case, it’s important to remember this: while simplicity is an important characteristic of both a melody and a chord progression, a melody usually needs contour, while a chord progression simply needs to work.

Here are some standard signs that a melody will be boring to your listeners:


Problem #1: The melody is mostly stepwise (i.e., has no leaps). If your melody goes from note to note without leaping, it affects the potential energy of your song. A leap will inject energy into the melodic line, but be careful when you do it. A leap in a melody should coincide with an emotional word in the lyric.
Problem #2: The melody is too leapy. Too many leaps makes it difficult for a listener to remember the melody, and destroys shape. Smooth out those lines, and keep only the leaps that enhance the lyric.
Problem #3: There’s no real difference in the tessitura (basic range) vis à vis the verse and chorus. The contours of a chorus melody should take the voice higher than the verse.
Problem #4: There’s no recurring motif. A recurring motif is a short melodic idea (a hook is an one type of this) that occurs throughout your melody. In the Beatles’ Yesterday, that descending stepwise figure that happens on the word “yesterday” is a recurring motif. It helps glue the song together. Look for ways to incorporate a recurring motif into your melody.

Treat your melody with care. Remember, you’ve got to create something that will keep people humming all day if you want the song to sell. Your melody is your way of connecting to your listener, and a song with no real shape will die the death.

FREE OFFER: Gary’s newest e-book, ”The Essential Secrets of Songwriting- Chord Progression Formulas” is being offered for free when you purchase any other of his songwriting e-books. Read more..

Seven Great Progressions to Get Your Summer Writing Underway

by Gary Ewer, from “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” website:

Summer is a great time to write songs. Especially for those of us in the northern hemisphere, we get out of the house a lot more, and there’s a lot more that inspires us. But if you find it hard to get past the chord progression stage, try these progressions.

The first progression uses what’s called a borrowed chord. In major keys, the chord built on the second note of the scale is usually a minor chord. In minor keys, the chord based on that note is usually diminished. You can “borrow” that chord from the minor key and use it in major; it creates a sound best described as melancholy or meditative:

1) C Ddim/F C Ddim/F C/E Am Dm G C

The next set of progressions uses secondary dominant chords. For our purposes here, a secondary dominant means that you’ve taken a chord that’s normally minor, and made it major. It operates as a secondary dominant particularly if the root of the chord that follows it is a 4th higher (or a 5th lower):

2) C A Dm G7 C
3) C F E7 Am D7 G C
4) C D7 G7 Am D7 G C

These next chords a type of chord called “augmented – 6″ chords. You build them on the lowered-6th degree of a scale, and they have the same structure as a basic dominant-7th chord. For example, if you’re in C major, an augmented 6th chord would include the notes: Ab-C-Eb-F#. That F# is, enharmonically, the same as a Gb, making that chord an Ab7. It should resolve, however, to G:

5) C Am Ab7 G C
6) C F F/A Ab7 G Am
7) C E7 A Ab7 G C

If you’re looking for more chord progressions, “Essential Chord Progressions”, “More Essential Chord Progressions”, and “Chord Progression Formulas will give you dozens and dozens of progressions you can use as is, or modify to suit your new song.Read more about those downloadable e-books here.

TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THIS GREAT OFFER: Gary’s newest e-book, ”The Essential Secrets of Songwriting- Chord Progression Formulas” is being offered for free when you purchase any other of his songwriting e-books. Read more..

Is “With a Little Help From My Friends” the Perfect Song?

by Gary Ewer, from “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” website:

I believe the best songwriters in the world are the best listeners. You can spend a lot of time trying to come up with the next gem, but it’s the ones who really listen to successful songs, trying to figure out why they work, that succeed. And in my opinion, Lennon & McCartney’s “With a Little Help From My Friends” is perhaps the quintesential perfect song.

So what makes this song work so well?

1. Simplicity. There’s nothing tricky, nothing overly unexpected. In fact, it’s the perfect balance between predictability and innovation. I’ve always made the point that hit songs are strongly balanced toward predictability, with only a touch of innovation.
2. The use of the tonic (key) note. The verse almost entirely avoids the tonic note, leaving that pitch to be stated and restated by the refrain. This works because verses should have a feeling of incompleteness about them, a sense of needing a chorus (or in this song’s case, a refrain) to complete the song. The refrain’s “Oh, I get by…” does this.
3. Melodic structure. The verse undulates mainly between the tonic note and the dominant note. Because the refrain is basically lower in pitch than the verse, we get the dominant note in a strong position at the very beginning of the refrain. This places a high note in a structurally important place in the song. The bridge features the highest pitches of the song – crucial in a song that uses a rather limited range in the verse and refrain.
4. The lyrics. They’re simple, using everyday words that everyone can relate to. Not to say, of course, that clever lyrics and double entendres aren’t the hallmark of many Beatles’ hits, but the simple lyric really works well here.
5. Chords. The verse uses simple diatonic chords from E major with no surprises. The refrain uses a flat-VII (D), helping to differentiate it from the verse. The bridge (middle uses a major II chord (F#), taking it a little further afield from the diatonic choices of the key of E major, but that’s as adventurous as it gets. For those looking for the elusive killer chord progression for their own songs, you’ll find that the zanier the chords get, the more you leave audience behind. Simplicity always trumps complexity.

As a final thought, let me say: Being clever in a song can and will work for you, but if you are looking for a way to really connect with the heart of your listener, you need to be real, use simple words, and describe common emotions. “With a Little Help From My Friends” is the perfect example.

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