Some comments/questions straight from your inquiry minds.
- I’d love to hear you break down a song into pieces and build it back up. Talk about mood setting chords, progressions and melody and harmony building.
Not bad. Actually, I’ve done a story behind the songs in the past on my personal blog years back. Gave some background of where the song came from. I could expand it. Take a song, break it down and show why I did what I did, what I could change and why… that Kind of thing.
Since you asked? I’ll put it on the schedule. Look for it as a Tune Booster bonus dealy in the nearer future.
Speaking of which. I think there is some confusion. I think some peeps think they are subscribed to Tune Booster now. As if reading this now IS Tune Booster.
Uh-uh. Go ye here to find out more about the monthly newsletter. http://www.tunesmithttips.com/tunebooster/
- Tell me: Why does some music irritate and some music calm the savage breast? What is positive, healing music? What is negative, plant-wilting music? Who are we to criticize?
I think we criticize based off our own likes and dislikes, our own experiences and memories associated with music.
For instance, I like all kinds of music, but some I can take more than others.
My dad likes the 1920s swing tunes. I get my fill when I visit him and we play Cribbage and he plays it all night. ALL NIGHT. I think it’s a diabolical plan to beat me in Crib, but I won’t spoil it for him.
For him it’s relaxing. For me it’s irritating to hear the same steady beat on one-and-two-and-three-and-four-and.
For me, I can sit back and listen to Rush with a glass of red and relax. For him he’d be… “Why do you listen to that screaming kid crap?”
I might feel the same about my son listening to screamer bands like Godsmack and some of the European metal bands he listens to.
Without getting too much into human psyche, we’re conditioned creatures. Especially with music. We can listen to a song while in a perfectly awesome mood, and by the time we’re done, we’re depressed. I’ve seen this first hand with a family member. It happened in the time it took one song to play out.
They had no clue why they felt like they did, until it was pointed out. Suddenly, a flood of negative memories associated to that song came in to consciousness. On one hand this song was a, couple’s song… sort of “their song.” On the other hand it was seeded deep in negative emotion from unpleasant memories. It contained lyric references this person associated with a traumatic abusive situation.
We associate memories and strong emotions to music and lyrics. What is good for one might not be good for another. What calms one person, can put another on edge.
This increases the importance of our writing, right?
That said, we’ve also been conditioned to associate emotion to the modes of music with certain emotions. Without getting too much into theory, the simplest example being something written in A minor. Basically, it’s the Aeolian mode based off the C major scale. The notes are all from the C Major Key (white keys on the piano). Only thing is, the A-C-E are the 1st, 3rd, and 5th of the scale. It has a minor—sometimes dark, sometimes pretty—sound. But, it’s not straight up happy or ordinary as its major key relative.
Modes like these help shape the emotion of a song.
- Who is going to have the balls to tell me I suck? Only The Donald?
This question makes me recall a statement Craig Wiseman said when he came to Nashville. I’m paraphrasing but it basically was…
“Listen to the song and tell me what sucks about it.”
He was interested in improving as a writer. He went on to write 24 #1 Billboard songs.
If you want me to tell you what sucks about a tune, I can. It’s just one man’s opinion of course. Some folks want the straight poop, just tell them what needs work. Others want to know what’s working and what’s not.
Unless someone tells me different, I default to both… what works and what doesn’t. It’s important to hear what works in a song too, and there’s always good stuff in a song. ALWAYS.
If you’re a Tune Booster subscriber and have songwriting questions, remember, that’s part of the subscription.
Also if you’ve got a song eval coming from October’s publishing delay offer, go ahead and send it in.
For non-Tune Booster’s? Subscribe here. https://www.tunesmithtips.com/newsletter/