I'll Never Write a Song AGAIN!!! - Writer's block.

 If you are into writing songs you will at one time or another...HIT A WALL!!  No ideas, no lyrics, no music, nothing comes to mind. You end up strumming chords and staring at a blank sheet of paper (or blank computer screen) and the harder you try...the worse it is to get a new idea. 

How do you break "writer's block"?? How do you fight your way through that wall or even knock it down???  Here are a few ideas of things that I do to try and re-fuel the idea tank...get started from a small base and start to build a new song.

1.  Name exercise:  One of the ideas that I use is to "make up a name". Make the name interesting sounding. I've written songs called "Lucius Gray", "Zebediah Jones", "Levi Birmingham", "Lizzy Hill" and several others. Once you get a kewl name...go ahead and give that person a personality. What is their story? What is interesting about the person? Brain storm about the person's life and write it all down. Now, start telling the person's story in the song.

2.  Put yourself in an imaginary situation:  Put yourself is an imaginary place and time and start thinking of what might be around you. Think of why you are there and what is happening around you. Example: Put yourself on a park bench...you are maybe waiting for someone that never shows up...maybe you've just been "done wrong" and are sharing the thoughts while sitting on that park bench. Tell the story. I used this technique in writing my song "With Love From Normandy" where I had no idea of anything to write. I decided to put myself in my grandma's attic and started to imagine what would be up in the attic. I led me to thinking there was old cigar boxes, and old army uniform, etc and once I started seeing that I wrote the song about a letter in the attic that I found that was from my grandpa dated the day before he died at Normandy.

3.  Look around and observe…read signs…what is around you!????  BE OBSERVANT!! Look at the things around you. Read signs! Listen to what people say. I actually combined 1 & 3 one time where I was driving down a country road and saw a large piece of plywood and painted on the plywood was written "Horton Stubbs Road". First I got a laugh and then started thinking that "Horton Stubbs was a kewl name!! I took the name from the road sign and gave Horton Stubbs a story and a personality and wrote "The Ballad of Horton Stubbs". If you see a city limit sign that reads "A great place to live"...maybe change one word..."A great place to love" and write a song with that idea. :)

 

4. Change the groove…change the chords….change time…change the melody! Get out of your musical comfort zone! If you usually pick up your guitar and write in the key of G, C, A or other.  Put the capo on and play chords in Eb, C#, just change it up to a key you don't use. Experiment with different chords. Change the timing up. If you usually write in 4/4 time...write in 3/4 or maybe 6/8 and get that celtic feel. Just noodle chords and melody and see if something will sound "AHA"...I like that :)

5. Write a lyric over a hit song:  Listen to a song that you love...a hit song and lay out the meter and phrasing...sing the song with new words (you can change the melody later). Just write a brand new lyric over and old song that you really love. Hopefully once you start getting a new lyric going the juices will flow :)

6: Write everyday!  Even if it only 15 minutes!!! Take these ideas and write everyday!!! Brain storm...write down new titles as fast as you can in one minute. Write down words that come to your mind as fast as you can for one minute. Look at your brain storm ideas and see if something "hits you". 

Bottom line..KEEP AT IT!!!  Don't give up. Put yourself in a creative place...go for a walk or drive in the country...The wall WILL come down but sometimes it is frustrating and wonder if you will ever write another song again. But you will...the key is persistence and the love of songwriting.  It will see you through...it is a fight but you will win!!! :)

Remember: Write more...Whine less!!!

Write on!!!

Brink

The "Plan": I Love it When a Plan Comes Together!! :)

Songwriters for the most part are great at writing songs but when it comes to doing the "business of songwriting" not so much :) Writing songs is the fun part...the business stuff is the part we hate. But, depending on the level you want to achieve, the business part becomes more important. In previous blogs I said I would talk about a "plan" for songwriting. Well, today I'll touch on some of my own thoughts on "planning". The specifics are up to each writer as they are very personal but this might be an overall approach :)

The first decision that must be made is "What kind of songwriter do you want to be?". There is no "right or wrong" level of songwriting.  It is only "right" for YOU!! 

1. Do you want to only write songs from yourself for fun? You don't care if you ever get a song recorded and you mainly just write them and sing them for yourself, family and friends. This kind of a songwriter has really no business need but still may want to keep learning about songwriting. The only "plan" that might be desired would be one to have a path to becoming a better songwriter...but not even that is necessary...it is just FUN :)

2. A "hobby" songwriter. This is a songwriter that encompasses all of type "1" but also has some desires to maybe play their songs "out". Let the general public hear the songs they've written. A "hobby" songwriter has some goals to maybe get a song recorded at some point. They would love to hear one of their songs played on the radio but if that doesn't happen...well they are good with that too. The emphasis is on FUN but with a minimal emphasis on the business part of songwriting. A "hobby" songwriter may attend some conferences and do some pitching if the situation would arise. There is a light need for a plan but really again not a necessity.

3. The "professional" songwriter. By professional I mean a songwriter that is serious about crafting songs to be recorded. They will study the craft of songwriting, network, pitch songs, will either become a publisher or seek out a publisher for their material and generally do the both the crafting of songs and the "business of songwriting". While this blog can be used by Type 1 and 2 it is really meant for the songwriters aspiring to move to a "professional" level.

So, with that said, let's talk about level 3. If you aspire to reach level 3 then you have to approach songwriting as a "business". It is just as much of a business as selling a product or manufacturing something. Every business NEEDS a plan. A well thought out mission and direction...a "track" to run on so to speak. This takes a LOT of thought as it will set your direction for the next few years. So here is how I approached my songwriting and my continuing effort to be a "type 3" songwriter :)

1. Like any quality business you need a mission statement. A short statement that encompasses your "core values". A template which you can lay over all your songwriting activities to make sure you are doing and accomplishing what you set out to do. There are many resources on the internet to help write a "mission statement". I know many folks go..."I don't need any mission statement!" but I would argue that "you do"!!! If you haven't done a mission statement, I would encourage you to try it :) At the very least it will add some clarity to your songwriting as a business! :)

2. Once you have you have your "mission" documented you want to create a 1 year and 5 year plan. Write down what you want to accomplish in your first year...then write down what you want to accomplish in 5 years. This isn't a quick and easy thing to do. If you are serious about songwriting and want to compete in the business world of songwriting you need to have a "plan" as to where you want to be and what you want to accomplish in the first year and then more long term in the next 5 years. Make a list of where you want to be, what achievements and goals you want to attain in those time periods. You want to set goals that are a "stretch" but attainable.

3. Once you have decided on your basic 1 year and 5 year goals you then REALLY need to roll up your sleeves and set "milestones" to get you to your goals. Milestones are really "mini-goals", they help you monitor your progress toward your goals and the MOST IMPORTANT thing is that the "milestones" will include the "ACTIVITY"!!!!  The DOING! The actual daily/weekly steps that you will DO to reach the milestone.  Here is where THE RUBBER MEETS THE ROAD!!!!

Now, the one thing no one can tell you is what your plan will be! You have to do a LOT of soul searching. Your plan will include steps to improve your knowledge of songwriting both craft and business. A marketing plan to get your songs in the pipeline and recorded. But ONLY YOU can decide what your mission and plan will be. 

Setting Milestones is critical as they are the things you do on a daily basis and allow you to celebrate small victories along the way and THAT is really important to have positives on your "road to success". For example: I may have a milestone for the one year plan that might read:

"I will pitch at least one song per week for the first 12 months. I will reach out to artists/bands and get permission to send one song per week for consideration." I think most people will agree this may be a "doable" thing. It's one song per week...heck...I can do that!!! :)  So you start every week with the goal of pitching "one" song that week. At the end of the year you have pitched 52 songs. This gets your feet moving, so to speak. Without this kind of milestone I tend to procrastinate!! :)  By setting several milestones that when added together keep you moving toward your overall "goals" you will begin to see accomplishments.

So, I hope this might get you thinking about your own songwriting and some soul searching as to what level of songwriter do I want to be and more importantly the things that will help me "get there"!! Of course your mileage may vary! :)

Remember:  Write more ....whine less!!

Write on!!

Brink

NO EXCUSE SIR!!!

It was about 44 years ago that I graduated high school and enter the US Air Force Academy. One of the first things I was taught was that there were "no excuses" for anything...rational or irrational!! I remember one day on the obstacle course when the upperclassman watched me fail the, what looked as, 20 foot wall (was actually 9 or 10 feet I think) obstacle. He came over and yelled, "WHY CAN'T YOU GET OVER THAT WALL???". I replied as always instructed..."NO EXCUSE SIR"!!!

I was reading the fantastic blog by hit songwriter Marty Dodson (Songtown...check it out!!) and it was funny as I was thinking about doing a blog on this topic and he beat me to the punch. His blog really hit a nerve with me and seeing as I was going to talk about this it gave me the perfect excuse to "piggyback" on his thoughts.

As I was taught in the military...nothing good ever comes out of "excuses"!! Explaining why you can't do something is an exercise in futility. Seems to me most times excuses arise as a form of "whining". It seems however, defending oneself or rationalizing something is basic human nature and it is so easy to fall into the trap of making excuses and placing blame on why you can't accomplish something. "I can't get over that wall because you guys made it TOO DANG HIGH!!!". It never would be something that I did or didn't do!!! LOLOL

Marty says, "If there is one thing that I have learned in my journey through the music business it’s that I’ve never made one dollar from excuses."  How true!!!

Here are some of the excuses that Marty Dodson's points in his excellent blog...I couldn't agree more and have heard (and probably used ) them all!!:

“It’s harder than ever to get a cut”

“You have to write with the artist to get a cut”

“I write songs that are too deep for the market”

“People don’t understand my music”

I will add a couple more:

"There is crap on the radio...my songs are WAY better than what I hear being played on radio! They don't want good songs like mine"

"There just isn't any access anymore and it is impossible to get a cut unless you know somebody"

"I just don't have the time or money to get my songs heard and the doors are closed anyway!"

These all may ring true...but...the fact remains...if you want to get songs "cut" you have to STOP with the excuses and make a plan to overcome the obstacles!! GET OVER THAT WALL!!! No one is listening or cares to hear all the whining!  LOL Here is what I would call the start of a roadmap to success:

1. Study, Learn, Hone your craft, Write...write...write. In other words Write a GREAT song...not a "good song" but a GREAT song. Good songs don't get cut!!! Get to where you know a great song when you write one :) The late great songwriter Paul Craft once told me "A great song will find its way out!!!!"

2. Have a plan!! Spend time putting together your mission, your goals, and how you plan to go about reaching those goals by creating steps or "milestones" if you will. What can you do to move forward toward accomplishing your goal. (I think I will do a future blog on creating this "plan" and how to lay out "measurable" milestones for success)

3. Work the plan!! It is one thing to have ideas and plans but if you don't dedicate yourself to actually "doing" it is just a piece of paper that looks nice. Every day do something based on your "plan". 

4. Identify the obstacles and DON'T make excuses...be creative and find away over around or maybe even through the obstacles knocking them down!! :) Realize that "failure" is part of success...it is 'how' you handle the failure that sets a winner apart!!

5. Reward yourself for small successes or victories. Give yourself a reason to celebrate!!! 

6. Surround yourself with "positive" people. Songwriters that are passionate about the craft and can get you fired up and excited about songs and songwriting. 

Now as Larry the Cable Guy says...now get out there and "git r done!!!" The time for excuses is over and it is time for action. Make a plan...write a great song...work the plan...celebrate the milestones and overall no matter what....HAVE FUN!!!

Thanks to Marty Dodson for inspiring today's blog.  Remember...Write more...Whine less!!!

Write on!!!

Brink

Should I Publish My Own Songs??

Being your own publisher can sometimes be a double edged sword. A good share of musicians/songwriters just want to write songs and/or play music. They don't want to be "bothered" by all the "business" side of the music. Music is the fun part...the day to day business is not. Both are necessary! But, there are advantages to being your own publisher...but...you must be willing to take on the duties of a publisher.

So what are some of the pros and cons of being your own publisher? This is FAR from all inclusive but just a few thoughts for today's blog:

Pros: 

1. As a songwriter you keep 100% of the money. You get all of the writer's share AND all of the publisher's share.

2. You own and keep control of the "copyright" of your song. It also means that you are the one to "pound the pavement" to get your song recorded. And, you are the one to collect the money.

3. You as the writer can control who records your song for the first time. The copyright owner/songwriter only has a "veto pen" on who records a song the FIRST TIME it is recorded. As the publisher/copyright owner you can deny someone from recording your song...the first time. Once a song has been recorded and released to the public, all bets are off and anyone can record the song on the condition they obtain a "compulsory mechanical license". Compulsory meaning you have to give them the license and of course the recording artist must pay execute the license and pay the mechanical license royalty.

4. You as the songwriter might continue to try and get the song recorded many times, pitching the song into different markets etc. Most labels can and will publish your song for you if you don't have a publisher. That will work for "that" recording...but...after the song is recorded for the label will they continue to "work" your song to get it recorded multiple times? Most times not!

5. You as the writer must "vet" your own material to determine if it is of the quality to actually get recorded. Sometimes as writer's we are too close to the song to be objective about the quality of our own songs :) This could be a pro or a con if you have a good handle of good songs vs. great songs (another topic) :).

Cons:

1. You have to split the money with the publisher. Usually the split is 50/50. You keep the writer's share and the publisher gets the publisher's share.

2. You give up control of your "copyright". The publisher becomes the "Copyright Owner" of your song. You no longer have control over the song. And unless you have a "reversionary clause" of sort in your publishing agreement...it is "for life" :)

3. A publisher may/should have access to many more artists, producers, labels etc to pitch songs. If, as a writer, you don't have access or opportunities to pitch song you are dead in the water. Many of the larger markets are a closed box and open only to a few publishers as well as many have gone to "staff writers" (another future topic). So, to get a song into the bigger markets most times a publisher becomes a necessity. Many times this is "genre specific" as some forms of music (i.e. bluegrass, folk, Americana, some gospel etc) the artists, labels, producers etc are willing to let you pitch songs to them. Other genres are like trying to break into Fort Knox!!!

4. Once a song is pitched and no recordings come, the publisher may just give up on your song and move on to other songs. There are many songs sitting in publisher's vaults pretty much dead to the world and there is not much you can do about it unless you have a "reversionary clause" in your publishing contract.

5. As a publisher you have to do all the administrative work such as "issuing licenses", "negotiating licenses", "pitching", "filing copyrights", "filing with PROS", "collecting the money", etc...all the business stuff!! 

Of course there are many "PROS" of having a publisher as well and everyone needs to weigh the good and bad and decide which is the best for "you". A publisher many times has the resources and ability to pitch to bigger artists. They don't make any money unless the song gets recorded. The publisher should take care of all the business stuff that you as a writer/musician may not want to do. 

So, should you publish your own material? Only you can answer that question.  Of course there are all kinds of "in between" answers.  Things like "co-publishing", "single song publishing agreements", etc but that goes well beyond a "blog" :) There are many business considerations when it is smart to give up publishing on one of your songs.

Of course this is just the tip of the iceberg, so to speak, but if you have interest in publishing your own songs, it can be done but be aware there are many pros and cons to consider. I really like the book by the late John Braheny..."The Craft & Business of Songwriting". It is one of my "go to" books for information and so sorry to hear of John's passing a while back. I would check it out as it is in soft cover and a very inexpensive resource for songwriters. 

As usual...your mileage may vary and remember:  Write more...whine less!!

Write on!!

Brink

"Finding" Time to Write

Some people ask me..."How do you find the time to write?" The answer is...you DON'T FIND THE TIME...YOU MAKE TIME!!!

I love the presenter who had a visual example of how to prioritize your life. Make sure you get to the "important things". He made the list: 

1. Rocks 
2. Pebbles 
3. Sand 
4. Water

This is how we should structure our priorities every day. He took a large glass jar that represented the time of one full day. He went on to start filling the jar. He explained that the "rocks" were the most important things in our lives. We all NEED to identify what are the MOST important things in our lives. If we fill up the jar (our lives) for example, with "sand" there will be absolutely NO ROOM for the "rocks" The same for "pebbles" or "water". So, we all need to "PUT THE ROCKS IN YOUR JAR FIRST!!!" For, if we put the rocks in first there is still room to put in small pebbles...and after the pebbles are in the jar you still have room for some "sand" and lastly after all these are in the jar you still have room for some "water". BUT...if you don't put the "rocks" in first...you will lose out in doing the things that mean the most to you in your life!!!

So it is with each of us. What are the important things (the rocks) in your life? Family? Friends? Writing songs? We all should identify the "rocks" in our lives and make them a PRIORITY EVERY DAY!  Put your ROCKS in the jar first!!! :)

One thing I learned over the years about myself is: 

"IF I DON'T PUT IT ON THE CALENDAR IT WON'T GET DONE!!!

I can be one of the biggest procrastinators around.  My motto seemed to be: "Don't put off till tomorrow..what you can put off till the day after tomorrow!!!" :) But, if I put the important things in my jar first and schedule them, they tend to get done. One thing about songwriting is it easy to say "well I can't just sit down and "write on cue...I need to wait for inspiration to come". That is one way to think about it but for me that has been kind of way to "push" my songwriting down the road...turning the "rock" into a "pebble" on my priority list. I find that sitting down and putting myself in the "frame of mind to write" brings inspiration. My mind is ON SONGWRITING and that in and of itself leads to ideas and inspiration. 

So...IF songwriting is one of your priorities (a rock)...don't "FIND" the time to write..."MAKE" the time to write. Put that ROCK in your daily jar FIRST along with the other rocks in your life. Don't spend all day on "sand" and at the end of the day have no room for those rocks!!!. I love the line from "The Shawshank Redemption" where Andy Dufrane says to Red, "Get busy livin'...or get busy dyin'!!!" Are you making time for the most important things in your life, and really "livin" or just going through the motions spending all your time on activities that just get you to the next day and then complain that you have no time for the things that mean the most? 

Don't FIND time....MAKE time!!! :)

Your mileage may vary and remember: Write more...whine less!

Write on!!!

Brink

TAG YOU'RE "IT"...Writing songs over the internet!

With technology comes all kinds of possibilities for songwriters. Writing songs "long distance" is now much more of a reality than ever before and there are several ways to do that. Personally, nothing beats sitting in the same room and bouncing ideas off each other. Having the instruments there, the mojo, the coffee etc :) That is the best case scenario for me. But...that being said the internet has opened up a whole new world for songwriters. I have written several tunes over SKYPE with some extremely talented writers like Becky Buller, Tony Rackley, Dave Adkins, and more...and for all it's faults, works fairly well. It is the closest thing to being in the same room and writing.  I'd like to share another experience

My friend, and wonderful songwriter, Gary Ferguson, and I had tried to "write" for years. We talked about it many times...well we have now finished two songs. Gary and I decided to do more of "tag your 'it'" method. Using a combination of email and iphones/iPad scratch recordings we batted things back and forth over time. I was thinking that the "analog" version of this was a situation years ago in the early 70's when I was in the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, CO. My roommate was a guy named Gary Ellis. He was a "chess master". He played chess with players all over the world via post cards. He would have several games going at once. The post cards had a chess board on with the pics of the pieces. Each day several post cards of games would arrive and on each game one single "move" was made. Gary would study the "board", make his move and mail the post card  back to the opponent on the next day. The game would continue this way until "checkmate"! This way he could play with 'great' players all over the world :) 

Mail chess seems pretty archaic now but the idea can be translated to what Gary and I did with our songs. I started the first volley with an "idea" and a few possible lines of a verse or chorus and then emailed it to Gary....he in turn added/changed etc his ideas and emailed it back to me. In the same vein I then sang a tentative melody into my iPad app (iRecorder...a great musical scratchpad btw) and email the mp4 to Gary. He then would tweak the melody and add more ideas. Back and forth like a tennis match each of us adding ideas along the way. We did talk over the cell phone on a couple occasions to clarify but really over a period of time we were able to finish, IMHO, two pretty stout songs :)

Sometimes the emails would go back and forth several times in a couple hours and sometimes we'd chew on things for a day or so...but the song kept moving forward just like my buddy's chess games through the mail. Anyway...this is just another option for writers to foster long distance writing relationships :) I know many folks that just don't care to write with SKYPE. If you don't like video conferencing maybe this might be the option for you :)

My advice is to try various ways to write long distance...give it a shot!!! The benefits of writing with some great writers far outweighs the "quirks" in any of the systems that you might use. So get with a songwriter and say "let's write....tag your 'it'!!"  

And remember:  write more....whine less!!!

Write on!

Brink

Why Songwriting??

Early Sunday morning watching the sun come up put me in a thoughtful mood. I starting thinking about some of the reasons that I love to write songs. Maybe it is a byproduct of getting older and a sense of urgency and the reality that I have a limited amount of time to create. Here is a list based on my morning thoughts:

1. I write songs because I have to! There are thoughts in my head that just need to come out and for me it is a little like breathing. The world just doesn't seem right if I don't have a guitar, pen and paper! I'm sure there was a time I didn't write songs but I don't remember it :)

2. It is fun! Writing music, lyrics...laying stories and emotions out on paper and melodies is both frustrating and great fun!! It is wasn't fun I'd have quit writing a long time ago :)

3. Friends!! From co-writers to becoming friends with so many creative people is such a blessing. Being a creative person is a "gift"! Not everyone has "it". So many folks come up to me and say "man, I wish I could write a song". I usually say...you can...just do it! But, I've come to learn that not everyone has the ability to create a song...so to have even a little bit of ability to create original music is a gift and never to be taken for granted! I can't count the number of friends that have come from music and songwriting!!

4. To leave some kind of legacy. I think we all want to leave something behind that might help people remember us when we are gone...that we once existed. Leaving a family behind, children to live on keeps our memory alive. Part of me hopes that people will not only remember me through my children, but through the music/songs left behind. The thought of people singing my songs long after I'm gone makes me feel pretty good. Someone told me that you should "Live, love, and leave a legacy". Not bad advice :)

5. To touch peoples lives!! Maybe I should have put this as the #1 reason. To write a song that can make people laugh, cry, think, reflect, dance...to touch people's hearts in a positive way! An example here: Sometimes you feel like the "messenger" and not the "writer" of some songs. One of those is the song "Beyond the Rain". I can't go most weeks without hearing from someone telling me how the song has touched them. I received an email from  Arizona a few months ago from a gentlemen telling me that his father had passed away and that "Beyond the Rain" was his father's favorite song. He went on to tell me that they had the lyrics of the song put on a large posterboard and displayed on an easel next to the casket in the church. He continued to tell me that the lyric sheet was included in the program at the funeral and that the family placed that lyric sheet in the casket before it was closed. WOW!!!! I can tell you that by the time I got to the end of the email I was a mess! So...why songwriting??? 

I thank God for whatever small talent that I may have for putting music and lyrics together and I plan on sharing songs for as long as I can :) I still sometimes wonder why folks like the songs I put together...I love it that many do and appreciate EVERY single artist/band that likes a song enough to sing and even record!! Whether the artist is a major artist or a small local band...it really doesn't matter to me...both are rewarding and I appreciate them all! 

I encourage anyone who has the urge to try and write a song...GO FOR IT! Whether you do it just for personal fun or want to become a professional songwriter you won't regret it!! Anyway...just some serious thoughts on this Sunday morning. Your mileage may vary.

Remember:  Write more...whine less!

Write on!

Brink

How Much is a Word Worth?

Is a word like "eloquence" worth the same as the word "the"? In the world of songwriting, how much is a word really worth? Maybe it is just me, but when I co-write with someone we are "all in" for equal shares of the song no matter what. What is "the best" way to split up the ownership of the songwriting share of a song? While I'm no expert at what might be "the best"...I know what works for me and over time just seems "fair". I know that there are songwriters out there that go so far as to "count words" and relate that to the percentage of ownership of the song. If the song is 100 words and I wrote 10 words...I get 10% of the "rights". But, what if my words are more "critical" or "important" words to the song? What if I just bring the "idea" for the song to the table w/ the "hook"? What then??

Sometimes "the idea" might be the most important part of the song for without the "idea", the song would have never been written! So...here is my deal: When I write with someone we all share equally in the percentage of the song. If I co-write with one other writer we are in 50/50. If there are three writers we are all in for 33 1/3. This has to be agreed going in or I just won't write with that songwriter. Here are my reasons why:

1. Over time it all comes out in the wash! This time maybe I'll have the idea and you write most of the song...but...next time it might be reversed. Each time we write a song, roles will change and over the long haul things will "even out". It is what is best for a healthy long term writing relationship. If I write with someone that I personally feel isn't pulling their "weight" with ideas, contribution, creativity, commitment...well...I just will choose not to write with them anymore. But, with quality songwriters I feel this all evens out over time.

2. It supports "the creative process". All of us are freely able to brainstorm and create, free from worrying about how much or little I'm contributing to the process. Sometimes one writer is the "idea" person and are great at "brainstorming" line ideas while the other is great at taking those "brainstorms" and crafting them into great lyrics!!! Both are important but the idea person didn't really craft the words...they fueled the great idea!! I refuse to value or devalue based on how many words a writer contributes.

3. It is just "simple". The plan is laid out ahead of time and it simplifies the process. There is no worry or arguing over who contributed the most on the song and who gets what share! Simple is good :) That being said...make sure everyone has this same understanding going in! It is not something to decide "after the fact" or it could lead to hard feelings.

To me, it is all about the "song"!!! When I agree to write a song with someone I just feel that everyone should be equal in the creative process. For me, counting words or negotiating who contributed the most, or who has the most "clout" is self destructive to a writing relationship and destructive to the creative process. Of course, that is just "me". Your mileage may vary. 

Just a thought for today and remember:  Write more...whine less!

Write on!!!

Brink

MAN....I Didn't See That Comin'!!!!

The element of surprise is a great way to keep the listener engaged in a song. There are a few ways to keep that surprise element coming to keep the listener wondering what is coming next. There is nothing more boring (in my opinion) than a song that is totally predictable. Now, I'm not talking about just the storyline of the song and that the song has a "twist" at the end that will "turn heads". There are other ways to keep the song fresh. A great way to keep the listener on his/her toes is to have unpredictable rhymes. Using lyrics that the person hearing the song would never see coming. Let me use a couple examples here. What if we were to write a song like this:

We both fell in love
Just like two turtle doves
We fit like a glove
A gift from above.

OK....now who couldn't predict the rhyme after hearing the first part of each line. To use a phrase my kids use to say "gag me" LOLOL! It is pretty nauseating! A person hearing this would check out after the first few words and never be back!!

Now, let me use an example of a song that I wrote a while back that was recorded beautifully by the band "Jett's Creek". The song is called "The Arms of Tennessee". Jett's Creek have recorded several of my songs and they are a fine band. Check them out at all the usual places like iTunes, Amazon etc!  Have a listen to their recording of "The Arms of Tennessee":

https://soundcloud.com/brinksongs/arms-of-tenessee 

“The Arms of Tennessee”

© 2008 Mark “Brink” Brinkman – BMI

Verse 1:             I was young and so naïve

Life grabbed me by the sleeve

And led me so far from my home

Daddy said “Boy, what’s the rush?

You know just enough to be dangerous”

He was right, but I would learn that on my own.

Verse 2:            The California sun was hot

I moved up the coast, worked the lobster pots

My pockets seemed to have more holes than dimes

So I pawned my watch in Coeur d’Alene

Bought a ticket on an eastbound train

I cried, “Just get me out of Mountain Time”.

CHORUS:             Back to Tennessee…………………….

                                                In my mind I see her reaching out

                                                And she’s forgiven me

                                                I long to feel her warm embrace

                                                Dry the tears I put upon her face

                                                Safe, in the arms of Tennessee.

Verse 3:            North Dakota, ten below

I swear, Highway 2 ain’t got no soul

Thank God, for that shelter in Des Moines

Chicago, night time fell too fast

Had to sleep under an overpass

Where dreams took me out of Illinois.

CHORUS:             Back to Tennessee…………………….

                                                In my mind I see her reaching out

                                                And she’s forgiven me

                                                I long to feel her warm embrace

                                                Dry the tears I put upon her face

                                                Safe, in the arms of Tennessee.

Verse 4:               Her memory keeps me alive

                                I’m thumbin’ here on ‘65’

                                A trucker dropped me south of Bowling Green

                                If I have to crawl this final stretch

                                I’ll gladly use up my last breath

                                To get back in the arms of Tennessee.

CHORUS:             Back to Tennessee…………………….

                                                In my mind I see her reaching out

                                                And she’s forgiven me

                                                I long to feel her warm embrace

                                                Dry the tears I put upon her face

                                                Safe, in the arms of Tennessee.

                Tag:                      Safe, in the arms of Tennessee

Ok...take a look at some of the rhymes in this song. Naive..sleeve.  Rush...dangerous.  Coeur d'Alene...train. Des Moines...Illinois.  Stretch...breath.  While the story is "boss"...I tried to tell this story with lyrics that would be almost impossible to predict while listening to the song. Keep each verse "fresh" for the listener :)  Hopefully, this song makes the point that as a songwriter you want to keep the lyric fresh and unpredictable. Of course there are always exceptions to the rule in songs where you want folks to "sing along" etc....and as always...your mileage may vary :)

Have a great day and remember:  Write more...whine less!!!

Write on!

Brink