Five Beatles Songwriting Tricks

Original Post From http://www.songwriting.net

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:

Five Beatles Songwriting Tricks

 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.

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. Utilize 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.

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How to Sell Original Songs

 

Original Post From http://www.ehow.com/
Selling a song can be a difficult task, even for people already established in the music industry. Finding the perfect home for the perfect song takes time, confidence and patience. However, selling an original song is less about the song itself and more about getting the song to the right people. Learn how to sell an original song and climb your way to the top of the music industry ladder.

1) Start by writing an original song that you are extremely confident in. Sing the song yourself or have a musician who is adept at singing or playing music perform your song. You want it to be something record executives or artists will find viable.

2) Cut a demo for your song in a well-made recording studio or at least ensure that it is of the highest quality. Invest a good deal of money in the demo because it will be your first impression to interested prospects. If you aren’t capable of performing your songs up to your vision, then find an artist who is willing to record. Perhaps you can find a singer who is trying to establish a career, as well.

3) Establish a solid connection with someone in the recording industry—an agent, a producer, an artist or even a secretary would be good. Find someone who will listen to your song and give it a chance. Make sure your song is ready to be heard or viewed by others. The lyrics should meet industry standards and be free of grammatical errors and properly composed.

4) Contact a music publishing company through letter or email and ask whether they will grant you permission to send your song for possible publication. Remember that you are not really selling your song, but rather licensing the song to a manufacturer, artist or publishing company to be performed. You make your money through licensing the song, since selling it will relinquish your legal rights to royalties and proceeds.

5) Be persistent, and remember that you must record a commercially viable song that can easily be distinguished by record or publishing executives. Send your demo to multiple music publishing and record executives in order to gain the most possible exposure.

http://www.ehow.com/how_2273452_sell-original-songs.html

Six Ways Songwriters Can Motivate Themselves To Write

 

Original Article From http://songwriter101.com

As passionate as we are about our songwriting, the reality is that sometimes it’s difficult to motivate ourselves to write. Whether it’s the fear of plumbing our emotional depths or just good old fatigue after a long day, there are often obstacles to overcome when it’s time to write. While flashes of inspiration are great, we can’t always count on the muse showing up on our schedule. Instead, we’ve got to make our own inspiration. I’ve put together a list of a few things that should help you keep your creative fires lit.

1. Set up a place at home to write. As simple as it sounds, having a place to go where you can focus and be creative can be motivating. Even if it’s just a small desk and chair in a corner of your living room, the fact that you’ve dedicated it to your art will serve as that little push you might need to write. Keep your writing tools — rhyming dictionary, guitar, laptop, etc. — out and easily accessible. It’s amazing what a difference putting your guitar on a stand versus keeping it in a case can make. Make things as easy as you can for yourself and you’ll be much more likely to dig in.

2. Set up a time of day to write. Routine can be a good thing even for something as artistic and creative as songwriting. If, for example, you know that every day at 7 p.m. you’re going to write for half an hour, then you’re more likely to do it. They say it takes a few weeks of consciously making yourself do something before it becomes a habit. Setting up a daily time to write will go a long way towards the healthy habit of songwriting.

3. Keep a file of unfinished songs. One of the hardest things about writing is starting with a blank page. By keeping an organized file of your unfinished lyrics and rough recordings, you won’t have to climb the mountain from the bottom every time you sit down. While sometimes it feels good to start with a fresh idea, don’t forget to check your unfinished ideas from time to time. It’s remarkable how a few days or weeks can add the perspective you need to see a partially finished song in a new light and finish it.

4. Find a co-writer. Nothing motivates more than accountability. If someone is counting on you to show up and work, you’re more likely to do it. Not only that but halving the burden can make writing a much more approachable pursuit. This is one of the many benefits of co-writing. Other advantages include having someone whose songwriting gifts complement your own in such a way that you both get a better song than you would have separately. If you haven’t co-written yet, this is as good a time as any to give it a try. Even if it’s not a perfect experience, we all benefit from observing firsthand someone else’s writing process.

5. Give yourself an assignment. Sometimes the idea that you can write about anything offers too much freedom. Often, it’s easier to write if you have some guidelines. If, for example, you tell yourself you’re going to write a song with one chord you’ve never used or a song about a topic you’ve never covered, you’ll find it’s easier to get to work. Anything you can do to give shape and structure to what you’re attempting to write will make the task that much simpler.

6. Tell yourself you’ll only write for five minutes. This is one of my all time favorites. On days where you’re really struggling to make yourself write, tell yourself you’ll sit down for five minutes. That way, if nothing is happening after five minutes, at least you’ve tried. It’s astonishing how often those days are the days where the breakthroughs happen. Taking the pressure off of yourself may be all that you need to get on a roll. That being said, if it’s just not coming, stop. There’s no point in making yourself miserable. There’s always tomorrow.

http://songwriter101.com/articles/entry/six_ways_songwriters_can_motivate_themselves_to_write