Muse's Clues - Richard Miller

©2014 Richard Miller. All Rights Reserved.
Used By Permission

Hello again.  One of the first things I noticed while wandering around the Muse website was the wealth of talent and experience of the members.  For someone relatively new to songwriting taking on this monthly column can, therefore, be a daunting task.  Most people using this site are already very well informed and the chances of finding something new to everyone is likely to be remote.  Having said that the simple approach, which is the only one I’m capable of, can provide helpful reminders from time to time.

Following on from last month’s theme of finding the rhythm around us it seemed logical to continue in that vein and search for inspiration and guidelines to improve internalisation.  There’s a good article by Mel Martin in Jazz Times on this very subject.  He does get a bit cerebral, at least it was for me, but his comments in the last paragraph about rhythm and internalisation really struck a chord (if you’ll forgive the pun).

Another article by Chris Krushar called Developing Musical Instincts: Internalising the Music provides some practical tips as well as further references for developing ways to internalise music.  If his About page is correct and he truly started out life as a professional wrestler then I’m not one to argue with him.  There’s also a little MP3 from Berkleeshares.com that pretty much reiterates Krushar’s message.

Getting the inspirations was fairly easy but trying to find an application that may help the process, after all this is about doing something not reading about it, proved much more elusive.  There are sites which offer trivial exercises but not much more than that.  Anyone can create their own little exercises at home and they would probably be much better focussed.  Then it occurred to me that I had the answer literally at my finger tips.

I’ve been using an application called Transcribe! for near enough 10 years.  First and foremost let me say that I have no commercial or financial connection with the product or individual that sells it.  I am not part of the affiliate program but I do find it extremely useful.  It does come at a price but the price is reasonable for what you get and there is a free trial period so you don’t have to splash out straight away.

Basically I started using the software to learn songs I wanted to play.  You can isolate sections of the sound spectrum, for example strip out all but the bass frequencies, raise the tuning an octave so it easier to hear, and study the bass line.  You can isolate sections of a tune, slow them down with little or no distortion to the original sound and practice sections.  I’ll do this with my own songs when trying to work out lead lines and when I want to give myself a little extra time to react to the basic melody, tempo or mood as it develops.  Quite often these days I’ll listen to a song a few times in the morning, get it running through my head all day and then sit down in the evening to start to work out how to play it from memory.  It doesn’t always come out perfect but oftentimes what does come out is highly entertaining and fun.

This software is only available for desktops and laptops.  It is not available for tablets and smart phones.  This is in part because a number of the features would be lost in getting the application to operate on these platforms and there are already plenty of alternatives that may suffice.  A short list (unannotated) of these can be found on the SeventhString site.

So if you think something like this may help build your chops, get over a particularly difficult case of writer’s block or simply study (and internalise) a piece of music you like then give it a try.  Everything you need to know is here:  SeventhString.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Richard Miller is a caterpillar who has begun his chrysalis phase. Originally from Maine, Richard has, via a series of mis-adventures and accidents, worked as an accountant in the English Midlands, a systems programmer on the South Coast of England (where he also pursued an illustrious career in rugby) and a statistical programmer in Belgium. Now he has put all that aside, bought a house, stripped it back to the brick and started to renovate it from top to bottom while simultaneously transforming himself from a results oriented automaton into a winged song writer. You can peak inside the chrysalis at: www.vanishingpirates.com.

Featured Article - By Brad Dunse

QUICK TIP: Are Your Songs Plucked Daisies ... or a Musical Bouquet?

What comes to your mind when you think of rubber bands?

 Decades ago a colloquialism of love depicted a gentleman holding a daisy in one hand and the other plucking one petal at a time while saying …

“She loves me, she loves me not… she loves me… she loves me not…”

The last petal plucked gave fate wings on whether she actually loved him or not; sort of a ‘Russian roulette with Cupid’s bow’ kind of thing.

Ever feel similar with your songs and a listener? Perhaps from past experiences of one person saying, “That is one of the best songs I’ve heard in a long, long time!” And then another saying, “It’s okay, but honestly, AABA type songs are old school and just aren’t in anymore”

What’s up with that? Same song, but two totally different views leaving you plucking daisies wondering…

“They’ll love it, they’ll love it not, they’ll love it, they’ll love it not…”

What things have you heard about your songs? Things like…

• 4.5-minutes is too long to hold a listener’s attention today.

• A word like “unfurled” just isn’t used anymore.

• AABA songs don’t sell anymore, re-write it to a Verse-Chorus tune.

• Spoken bridges are from the 70’s.

• What was that section between the bridge and the chorus? That doesn’t follow normal song structure.

• Your song is a bit too specific, not universal enough.

• That’s too obscure of a topic.

• You’ve got too limit your vocal to an octave plus three notes.

All those comments are 100% right, they are also 100% wrong, why?

It depends on the target for that particular song, or even the type of writer you are. Besides the fact that a person could write for a specific industry, we encounter a great divide between radio or non-radio songs or writers.

Do you write with a goal of getting radio hits or what we call song cuts? Or do you write for you the artist and want to say what you want to say?

Do you write for an audience that comes to an intimate listening room to experience in-depth topical songs, or for an audience that wants to sing along on the drive at five? There is a difference in the two types of writing. Which do you favor? Which do you aspire to be?

Many commercially goal orientated writers still write non-commercial songs, and there are also some non-commercially minded writers who write songs that get cut by indie or commercial artists, but it is very helpful to think of what your goal is as a writer for a particular song.

If you write for your own shows, to say what you feel you want said, have no intention of writing for radio, and find your audience is enjoying what you are writing? Then holding to rules like keep it to 3.5 minutes, stick to verse-chorus-verse chorus-bridge-chorus, always present the singer in good light, keep vocals under an octave plus three-notes, and other commercially-minded rules may not be limiters for you.

Conversely, if you’re writing for radio, using out-of-date phrases or words, too complicated of a melody structure, too many verses, going much beyond the 3.5 minute mark, and other proven commercial no-no’s isn’t a good idea for you either.

Take a good look at your reason for writing. Do you want to try breaking into the clad-iron staff writer positions or pitch to artists? Do you want to write to a unique industry you know a lot about? Do you want to be a performing songwriter with intentions of performing in front of intimate groups of people looking to hear non-radio type songs?

What you decide for any particular song, or you as a writer, will help you discern the comments you will get on your songs, and more importantly the type of listener giving them.

If a commercially-minded professional or fan is listening to your Ballad of Modern Day Slavery, they will probably crinkle up their face. Don’t take it personal, because an indie artist connoisseur with ideals on the human condition sitting right next to them might look on intently nodding in hair-raising approval of every line sung.

Find out who you are as a writer and what your song’s goal is, and line up your audience accordingly.

Save the plucked daisy guesswork for those wondering whether their next door neighbor loves them or not, and make your song a bouquet that bursts with your personal goal and satisfied listeners.

Until next time… keep writing from the heart.

*****

Brad Dunse is a performing songwriter based deep in the country's heartland reflecting sensitivity of daily living in his songs. Writing primarily in Folk, Country, Pop, or Americana, he occasionally writes CCM. Co-writer of The Wall, a tribute to Viet Vets receiving major market airplay, he's also received airplay on NPR, local public, independent, and web radio. He is a freelance writer, is board member of Minnesota Association of Songwriters, been member or involved in ASCAP, NSAI, SongU and other organizations. You can visit his web site at WWW.BRADDUNSEMUSIC.COM as well Add As Facebook Friend or Follow Him On Twitter.

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