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Muse's Clues - Richard Miller

©2014-2016 Richard Miller. All Rights Reserved.
Used By Permission

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In my long and generally unremarkable life I’ve had one blind date.  We met at a pub.  My date was extremely nice but it took us about 10 minutes to realise we were worlds apart, had nothing in common, nothing to talk about and nothing was going to happen.  We battled on gamely for another couple of hours, parted amicably and never saw each other again.  The Songwriters’ Collaboration Challenge reminded me of that blind date.  It took some time to get hold of a collaborator and when we finally got together our concepts of collaboration came from different worlds:

• My contributions:
  • Write the melody line
  • Design the song structure
  • Write the lyrics
  • Write the chord progression
  • Lay down a basic track
• My collaborator’s contributions were to say:
  • ‘Cool’
  • ‘Great’
  • ‘Awesome’
  • ‘Have you finished it yet?’

That led to a pretty rapid deflation of enthusiasm.  Added to that the challenges from the Song Collaboration felt, in general, a little contrived.  Although, to be fair, one exercise of jotting down song ideas was particularly fruitful.  It came as quite a shock to discover there were fragments of 12 songs spinning around in my head.  But then, as it sometimes does, the world fell apart.  Nothing serious mind,  it was only work, the machinations of a couple of self-inflated dimwits, created a sequence of crises and I had to work seven days a week in order to dig my client out of a very deep hole.  All this has lead to the onset of an extremely negative attitude.  At one point it felt like the best way to negotiate the rest February would be to hop on a gravitational wave and skip straight to March.

Something had to happen to regenerate the positive vibes.  First I went to a local writers’ Meet up.  I’ve mentioned this site before but it’s worth a reminder.  The organiser was, with good reason, very unhappy with the progress of the group.  (It was February.  So far all we’d manage to do was sit around a cafe for a couple hours every other week, chat a bit and then go home to make dinner.  We started talking about things we’d like to be doing and, deep into my second Duvel, I began to spout on about doing some radio podcasts, 15 minute mysteries and things like that.  (Yes, I know this has little to do with songwriting but bear with me).   This ignited a spark of interest in the organiser and she mentioned her blog and added, probably not for the first time, that she’d like my feed back on it.  Well this time I made the effort and particularly liked her story of about a bear and a sheep striking up a friendship.  This got me excited so I sauntered off and found a site offering free sound effects and proposed that we write and perform a radio play.

Armed with this burst of positive energy I was determined to get writing and song writing back and, luckily, as my contract was due to end on the first of March I sauntered into the negotiations for an extension and advised I would only be available on an 80% basis.  (Take it or leave it – they took it)  Suddenly the last few days have been punctuated with brain storming sessions on how to get the singing, writing, songwriting, guitar, recording and videoing projects back on their feet.  There are a host of song fragments patiently waiting for attention.  There’s so much to do that the best idea seemed to be to head for the coast for a long weekend of lengthy windswept walks, probably punctuated by heavy rain, along the beach followed by a hot shower, change of clothes and lingering over dinner rich with conversation.

I’m well aware this month’s article is bereft of links but, in my defence, it’s February, it’s cold, it’s dark, it’s wet and for most of the month I’ve been thoroughly miserable.  Just wait till next month.

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: This Little Light of My Song is Shining ...Where?

Songwriters have many tools to choose from in the old writing bag to write a song. We can reach in, grab any one of them, and begin shaping what we want a listener to hear.

What’s more, how we present emotion in our song can directly influence a listener’s beliefs. All because of what we write, and how we choose to write it.

We got the power! The influence of a songwriter today is severely under estimated.

Sometimes we write songs to tell another we love them. Maybe write one to create some chuckles. But sometimes we want to write something monumental. Maybe a timeless humane message to the world.

There are several tools we can use to get the job done.

One tool is to write the verses so they flip the song on its head against a static chorus. By static chorus, I mean one that doesn’t change lyrics.

Typically, a verse’s job is to point the song’s light at the chorus, make it shine. Rinse and repeat for verse two, toss in a bridge and a third go at the chorus, and your garden variety song has bloomed.

A cool technique however, is writing a song which bounces your song’s light back and forth--from verse to chorus and back again, building a message as you go.

This is done by writing a verse which shines on a static chorus like normal. Then writing another verse which shines on the chorus, but as you listen to the chorus it simultaneously reflects the song’s light back to the verse. Sort of a lyrical house of mirrors.

We’ll purposely shine the light from verse to chorus, chorus to verse; back and forth. All the while building an emotional message delivered from both angles.

From a listener’s view, he’s heard the chorus the first time, so he knows it will be repeated. As the second verse is sung towards the chorus, he begins to realize something is unraveling right before him he didn’t quite expect.

Anticipation builds. When the chorus is sung again, his suspicion of how he heard the verse is validated. The light is pointed back on the verse, and the emotional point is driven in quite effectively.

This technique is easier explained by an example, and I’ve got a really good one for you.

One of the songwriter’s songwriter from years back, and who left us much too early, was Harry Chapin. Harry’s songs were more commercial back when deep rooted messages were more prevalent on radio. He was a master story teller of timeless messages, evidenced by songs like Taxi and Cat’s in the Cradle.

The song we’ll look at is, Flowers Are Red. A 70’s folk-pop tune written with a hint of Irish influence.

This song tells a story about a child’s first day at school. He begins to color with crayons.

The teacher gives him corrective instruction which we hear in the chorus.

The boy says, “But….”

The teacher calls him sassy and reinstructs him in the chorus.

And the boy again says, “But….”

She punishes him, and we see the first perspective change as the chorus is sung again.

The song could have ended there, with the boy mildly agreeing with his teacher, only to serve a temporary solution to classroom loneliness, but it didn’t.

Another verse and repeat of the chorus, and we get Harry’s true message to the world, how easily we can break the spirit of a child by boxing him in with status quo.

As a creative, free spirited person, putting myself as that little boy nearly broke my heart of what took place around the chorus in Harry’s song. The emotional impact on me was because of how Harry presented the message.

You can listen to Flowers Are Red on YouTube. I’m sure Harry’s family wouldn’t mind your purchasing it from iTunes either.

When you listen, try paying attention to how the verses shine on the chorus, and back again. It doesn’t happen straight off, but you’ll see it.

Next time you feel the need to share a timeless message with the world, try using the technique Harry shows us in Flowers Are Red.

Until next time…

Keep writing from the heart!

*****

A performing songwriter, Brad Dunse is  member of ASCAP, NSAI, SongU, and Minnesota Association of Songwriters. His songs have been played on various independent, internet, and public radio stations across the country with The Wall touching a major country market station. Interested in song evaluations? Go to Brad's site for more information.

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