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    Soak Up Influences:: The Beatles Yesterday Paul Mccartney

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    Josie Mae Hawkins
    1. Listen intently to a variety of songs to soak up influences on songwriting styles, focusing on elements like rhythms, transitions, and feel. Every song heard can act as an influence, even if not consciously. 2. Start writing by playing simple chords on guitar or piano and singing, even if the lyrics are nonsensical at first. Getting started, even imperfectly, is important for improving songwriting skills. 3. Typically, write the music first by finding chords and a melody you enjoy singing to, even if just making sounds instead of words. The lyrics can be added later once the music is established.

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    Soak Up Influences:: The Beatles Yesterday Paul Mccartney

    Uploaded by

    Josie Mae Hawkins
    31 views4 pages
    1. Listen intently to a variety of songs to soak up influences on songwriting styles, focusing on elements like rhythms, transitions, and feel. Every song heard can act as an influence, even if not consciously. 2. Start writing by playing simple chords on guitar or piano and singing, even if the lyrics are nonsensical at first. Getting started, even imperfectly, is important for improving songwriting skills. 3. Typically, write the music first by finding chords and a melody you enjoy singing to, even if just making sounds instead of words. The lyrics can be added later once the music is established.

    Original Description:

    Songwriting Handout

    Original Title

    Songwriting Handout

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    1. Listen intently to a variety of songs to soak up influences on songwriting styles, focusing on elements like rhythms, transitions, and feel. Every song heard can act as an influence, even if not consciously. 2. Start writing by playing simple chords on guitar or piano and singing, even if the lyrics are nonsensical at first. Getting started, even imperfectly, is important for improving songwriting skills. 3. Typically, write the music first by finding chords and a melody you enjoy singing to, even if just making sounds instead of words. The lyrics can be added later once the music is established.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    31 views4 pages

    Soak Up Influences:: The Beatles Yesterday Paul Mccartney

    Uploaded by

    Josie Mae Hawkins
    1. Listen intently to a variety of songs to soak up influences on songwriting styles, focusing on elements like rhythms, transitions, and feel. Every song heard can act as an influence, even if not consciously. 2. Start writing by playing simple chords on guitar or piano and singing, even if the lyrics are nonsensical at first. Getting started, even imperfectly, is important for improving songwriting skills. 3. Typically, write the music first by finding chords and a melody you enjoy singing to, even if just making sounds instead of words. The lyrics can be added later once the music is established.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    of 4

    1.

    Soak up influences:
    Listen intently to songs you like and how they are written.
    Try and work out what ‘gets you’ about them aiming to pin
    point why; but really, by listening carefully you are already
    benefiting. Listen to how the masters did it and how the
    new stars do it. Soak up the rhythms, the transitions and
    the feel. Every song is an influence and it’s important to
    have diverse genres whirring round in your subconscious
    when writing, even if you’re not aware they are there.
    2. Just do it:
    Pick up a guitar or sit down at a piano. Play two chords on
    repeat or start with three classic chords such as Em, D
    and C or Am, G and F and just start singing. You will get
    better and better so the sooner you start the better and
    never be embarrassed by what comes out. I seem to
    remember the first song I wrote when I was twelve
    mentioning a chemistry AND a physics book! Needless to
    say, no one ever heard it. But it was the first step.
    3. Write the music first, then the lyrics:
    OK, so any way it feels right is of course fine but I’d
    recommend writing the chords first, especially when you
    are starting out. A classic way is to find some chords and
    a singing melody you love and just start singing gibberish.
    You can write and fit in your actual lyrics in later once
    you’re happy. Often I’ll end up using the same rhymes or
    syllables as the gibberish I first sing and it really does
    work but don’t take my word for it, ‘Scrambled eggs,
    you’ve got such lovely legs’ eventually became The
    Beatles’ - ‘Yesterday’ written by Paul McCartney.
    4. Find a hook:
    Every good song (within reason) needs a catchy melody
    or ‘a hook’. It’s often the simplest melody that it seems
    came too easy to be the killer line; but it’s normally the
    one that ‘just comes out’ without trying too hard. You can
    shape a whole song around a hook, or even better - find
    one for each section of your song which brings me nicely
    onto ‘Structure’.
    5. Understand structure:
    Typically a song is split into: intro, verse, bridge, chorus
    and middle 8. I personally view verses as telling the story,
    bridges as creating the lift or transition into the chorus,
    and the chorus to really hit home that catchy hook. Verse
    lyrics can be repeated but normally only either side of the
    chorus and really, it’s nice to have some varied verse
    lyrics. The middle 8 is called the ‘middle 8’ because it is
    typically eight bars that are different to all the other
    sections and it adds a huge amount. It usually comes
    before the final big chorus, ¾ of the way through the
    song, so not really the middle! Phew! That’s the boring
    (but crucial) ‘Structure’ part out of the way.
    6. Use a rhyming dictionary and thesaurus website:
    Once you’ve got your hooks, your chords and your
    gibberish ready, you need to say what you want to say.
    A rhyming dictionary website is great to have handy for
    achieving this. Not only does it let you know all the
    rhymes you have available for you to rhyme with that last
    great line; but it shows you ‘half rhymes’ too which are so
    important. Everyone has heard ‘fly high to the sky’ way
    too many times so don’t be afraid to play around.
    A thesaurus will show you other ways of saying what you
    want to say, but be careful, ‘heart’ will always sound
    better than ‘aortic pump’!
    7. Use your smartphone:
    Inspiration can strike at any time and that great hook you
    think of while walking home after a few drinks may well
    not be there in the morning! Sing lines into your phone or
    make sure you record that guitar line as soon as you love
    it. It’s just so gutting to forget something you are sure was
    great, and if it turns out it’s really not, then no harm done!
    8. Try things out:
    Never be afraid to go down an unfamiliar writing avenue
    or try something that shouldn’twork. Sound is a weird and
    wonderful thing and sometimes you’ll be surprised where
    something ends up. It doesn’t matter if you revert back to
    what you had before, but without exception, it is always
    worth a go.
    9. Don’t be afraid to ask opinions:
    Let someone hear it when you are ready and ask their
    honest opinion. Bandmates are of course the perfect
    people if you have them. I was lucky enough to have band
    mates who were a) honest and b) had a far better grasp
    of theory than me. They could shape and change bits they
    weren’t too keen on to better structure the song. It’s easy
    to get too close to the song and forget how you’d feel if
    you heard it for the first time. Bandmates or a girlfriend /
    boyfriend who has heard you play far too many times can
    remind you!
    10. Enjoy it:
    Don’t stress about finding something good, you will
    stumble upon it at the most unexpected of times as long
    as you’re playing to enjoy it and experimenting. If nothing
    else it is incredibly therapeutic to write something down
    and get something out, even if no one ever hears it, so
    always make enjoyment your first reason for writing.

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