井上愛の日記

QUESTIONS ABOUT YOUR PERSONAL HABITS

Q. Will one drink hurt?
A. Definitely not

Q. How does alcohol hurt your voice?
A. Alcohol dries your vocal folds which need to be wet so the two don't mix well.

Q. Why do I sing better when I drink?
A. That's what you think. Actually it's true that liquor will relax muscles and reduce inhibitions; the trouble has always been discovering you drank too much, too late. There is an easier way......

Q. Can I drink after I sing?
A. That depends on your schedule. Remember the drying qualities of alcohol won't take effect until you're asleep. When you wake, you'll have to work to regain the voice.

Q. Are cigarettes harmful to my larynx?
A. Yes

Q. What about occasional smoking?
A. Less harmful because you allow for recovery. Your body appreciates moderation.

A. Yes, it doesn't provide the lasting energy necessary to sing. Sugar eats up vitamins and leaves you depleted after the initial charge

Q. Does eating on the run hurt my voice?
A. Your body needs to focus energy to digest efficiently. The stress of rushing around while cramming food creates mucus because the system is over-taxed. If the dashboard and floor of your car is littered with McDonald's bags, it's time to re-think your schedule

QUESTIONS ABOUT THE DIET

Q. Are milk and other dairy products bad for my voice?
A. Yes, they coat the throat and produce excess mucous in your system.

Q. Do the things I eat matter to my voice?
A. Yes, you are the instrument.

Q. Are coffee and tea good to drink before singing?
A. No, heat expands and swells the throat.

Q. What is good to drink?
A. Room temperature water.

Q. Is honey soothing to your throat?
A. It coats the throat, but never touches the vocal folds, where the stress is located.

Q. Is it good to coat my throat when it feels sore?
A. First decide if the soreness is an infection or tense muscles. Coating the throat offers not help for tension because the soreness comes from the muscle.

Q. Should I be a vegetarian?
A. That's your personal choice. A lighter diet works better for singers, which doesn't leave much room for red meat.

Q. Is it bad to eat just before I sing?
A. This is best answered by experience. Some people relax their bodies after eating which is good for singing, but digestive juices can coat the throat. Others feel they don't have room to breath when they're full, but singing requires lots of strength. You should be sensitive to your metabolism. The timing is your responsibility.

Q. Should I drink lots of water during the day?
A. Yes, the larynx needs to be constantly lubricated. However, don't drink with meals and plain water is taxing on an empty stomach. Foods that have a high water content are the best source.

Copyright © Mark Baxter. All rights reserved worldwide.

Learning New Songs in 6 Simple Steps
Copyright © 2004 by Yvonne DeBandi

Why is it that some students can easily learn numerous songs in a short amount of time, but others struggle to make improvement on a small number of tunes after many tiring practice sessions? When students seem to be on the slow side of this process we always revisit how they are spending their practice time.

Keep in mind that while it would be great if singing students sang their assignments every day, the real world says that more practice time gets accomplished in the car when singing to the radio and simply singing the songs they love. Let's face it, when you love a song and you listen to music regularly, you listen to that song over and over again. So we place a lot of concentration on how to apply good singing skills to ANY song they want to sing.

Learning a Song in 6 Easy Steps

1. Listen to the song without making a sound. If you can anticipate what is coming next (including lyrics) then you are ready to move on to the next step.

This is probably the hardest step for most singers. If a song moves you, you want to wail it not LISTEN to it, right? If you are one of those singers that just has to go for it, be smart about it. Follow good boundaries and recognize those sections that don't come easily to you. Remember, muscles have memories. If you consistently sing a song with poor vocal skills, the memory of the involved muscles will include those poor skills. Breaking a bad habit in singing is much more difficult than creating a good habit from the get go.

2. Hum the song. Make sure that you feel the buzzing sensation in the front of your face; moving up and down your face as your pitch changes. Your goal is to make that buzzing very specific with each note -- just as if you were playing specific notes on a piano.
(If you need more information on Tone Placement, see Singing is Easy, Lesson #6).

If you are new to this process, you may need to repeat this step many times. Be sure to monitor your airflow. TIP: Your notes need to be connected on an airflow river, not resembling someone standing on the shore skipping stones.

When you can hum the song completely with ease, connecting the notes on your airflow and feeling very specific about the buzzing sensations on your face, you are ready to move to the next step.

3. Sing the song with the lyrics at a very natural volume, don't push and don't hold back...find the balance. Your goal is to place the words in exactly the same place that you felt the buzzing sensation when you were humming. Sometimes creating words makes us move the articulation arbitrarily around our mouth and makes singing much harder than it needs to be. Keep the words focused where you felt the buzzing and you will have more success. When you can sing the song easily at a comfortable natural volume with good vocal tone, you are ready to move to the next step.

4. Review the lyrics for performance purposes. With each stanza assign a one word adjective that best describes how you want the audience to feel during your song delivery. This adjective is the emotion you put on your face, in your vocal tone and in your body language during your performance of that song portion. So if you believe the main adjective for a stanza is "hopeful", it is much easier to perform hopeful than all the many words included in the lyrics. Try it, it really works. For those students that have never had acting training and feel a bit self conscious, this usually does this trick and helps them perform very moving performances...very quickly.

The only rule is you cannot use the same adjective twice. Remember, how do you want your audience to feel? Perception is everything.

5. Now you are ready to perform your song at a comfortable natural volume using everything you have practiced so far: good tone placement, good airflow, etc., AND add the emotional performance to the mix. I usually recommend sitting down for this step. In fact, to make the most progress I recommend that part of the performance practice be confined to the face. If you can move your audience with just your voice and your facial expressions, that's an accomplishment. Use your body and movement as an embellishment, not something that your performance relies on for success.

The comfortable, natural volume is very important. If you are using poor vocal mechanics you will be unable to create some notes without "belting them" and that needs to be addressed. Keep in mind that although it is a natural comfortable volume, you should not sacrifice your vocal tone. Think of it like when you turn the radio down. You still hear the peaks and valleys of the song, still crystal clear, just at a lower volume. This is your goal as you perform this step.

6. Perform with full movement and voice, adding stylistic nuances where appropriate. Be sure to use a mirror to help you make good choices. If you have followed the other steps correctly, by this step you will naturally begin to sing with more power as you become more comfortable with the song, the power properly reflecting the emotional peaks and valleys.

Again, if you are new to this process you might have to repeat each step several times. Singers that use this technique regularly will find that it gets easier and easier, and that songs are learned more completely with great speed.

Down the road I see a girl with a wedding bouquet
He left her at the altar and he went away
Her runaway fiancé's nowhere near
And now she has to face all of her fear

Let's look at one more example...read with a pause after each line. 

With breadcrumbs:

 You got a strange way of watching me
Shudder to think what you could do
But that's a "hungry salesman" look
And I won't be buyin' from you

The goal was to make each line force you to keep going. I don't know if I succeeded. Here it is before the rewrite...without breadcrumbs:

You got a way of looking at me
And I can see it in your eyes
You're insecure and desperate
Under your thin disguise

Keep writing,

GETTING PAST THE FIRST 30 SECONDS
in an audition or interview.
By Coach Yvonne DeBandi

During an audition or performance situation it is some times necessary to introduce yourself. Be sure to get started on the right foot because sometimes you only have thirty seconds to make an impression. Practice introducing yourself in front of the mirror and analyze your first impression-no matter how silly you feel. Learn from opinions, but do what feels right.

TIP #1 - State your name, don't ask it. Have you ever heard those introductions that make you wonder - is that their name or are they asking me? Practice your delivery tone and make sure your inflection does not rise at the end of the sentence making it sound like an inquiry.

TIP #2 - Slow down. Nerves can often cause you to speed up your speech pattern without you even knowing it. Before you begin speaking, take a deep breath and then speak slowly and clearly with good articulation.

TIP #3 - Mind your body language. Don't fidget. Stand comfortably with one foot slightly in front of the other, with the weight on the balls of your feet. Your arms and hands should remain relaxed by your side unless effective hand motions are being done.

TIP #4 - Eye contact. Look confident, even if you don't feel quite that way underneath. Make good eye contact with your audience. If you are not comfortable with making eye contact, try looking just over the audience's head. When using this technique they will often think you are talking/singing directly to them.

Big Lie #9 - To sing with power, especially up high, you need to exert a great deal of physical effort.

Truth - Your power does NOT come from more force applied. It comes from utilizing frequencies and airflow in the most efficient way. Archimedes said, "give me a long enough lever and I can move the earth itself." To get vocal power, one uses a figurative form of leverage.

When you produce tones in the upper registers the way your voice was designed, you will use LESS airflow and less force than you do on lower notes!

There are some simple exercises that automatically train your vocal cords to stop stretching and straining and start "zipping up" for the high notes. Then you will necessarily use less air to produce tone.

WHY? Because the little half inch space through which all the air flows when speaking and singing actually get's even smaller! So if the cords close off half their vibrating length, you should expect to use only half the air to produce tone.

The cords will actually close off even more length and shift into "whistle range" way up high (like Mariah Carey's signature sounds).

So with only half the airflow going through the cords, it should be even easier to sing a high note than lower notes. So why does it feel so difficult? Because many a singer tries to get 2nd gear results by staying in 1st gear!

If you don't train your cords to "zip up," you only have one other alternative to reaching higher notes--and that's stretching the vocal cord muscles tighter!

Now, what do you do to produce more power?

Once you have learned to easily move into the higher notes, you can apply more airflow as needed to produce more volume. It will feel like "leaning into the note." The key is to regularly do some exercises that keep you from venturing back into the "try harder to get louder" mindset.

And there's another way to increase the "size" of your sound!

It's called "formant." This is a lost vocal art that's coming back. It involves experimenting with the shape of the mouth and throat until you find a "resonating frequency" that causes the sound waves to actually double and sometimes TRIPLE one another!

To illustrate this, the next time you are in the shower, you can find the shower's "resonating frequency" by starting to sing "ooooh" down low and sliding slowly up in pitch until you reach a pitch that makes the shower seem to "fill" with the sound. 

Stop there and sing that pitch and you'll notice that the entire shower becomes part of your voice!

If you could change the dimensions of the shower, you could eventually get the same effect on all notes! Fortunately, you CAN change the shape of the inside of your mouth and throat and find THEIR "resonating frequency." This can cause a doubling of your vocal volume without any extra push whatsoever.

I hope you've learned a lot from this series. Be looking for your "Vocal Tips" newsletter from time to time, and don't forget to go check out what's new at singingsuccess.com

Keep singing,
Morgan Cryar

The following items represent a comprehensive listing of song characteristics . They may not apply to all forms of music. However, the majority will apply to most country, pop/rock and adult type songs.

Feel free to download this list for future reference. You should check at least 80% of the notes to have a marketplace contender.

• The first line or two should hook the listener into wanting to hear what comes next.
• People will be able to hum the melody after hearing it a few times. 
• The lyric is conversational. No forced rhymes, no convoluted phrases or sentences. 
• Today, you do not need to have perfect (care, bear) type rhymes. Meaning is more important.
• The listener will know the title of the song once he/she has heard it through. This is the place where many songs fall down. I've seen songs where the title is never mentioned in the lyric, or it is a pick up phrase, rather than a strong line. 
• The lyric and the melody belong together. It's called prosody. Happy lyrics/ happy melody. 
• The words and music flow naturally. No forcing more lyrics into what sings easily, no stretching out lyrics to fill in lack of ideas. 
• The song has a timeless feel about it. Try to avoid dating your material with references to events and people who may be obscure next year. Though, contemporary references do sometimes appear in country songs. How many of you know all the names and places in Billy Joel's "We Didn't Start the Fire?" 
• Songs should be built around a universal theme, idea or feeling. You want as many people as possible to relate to the material. 
• The song should be self contained. No explanation or mind reading is necessary to understand the story. If you have to say "What I mean by this, is...... then you need to rewrite the song. 
• The song is an acceptable length for radio play. Probably, no more than 3 1/2 minutes. The demo should not contain musical breaks. 
• The lyrics are honest, believable and heartfelt. 
• Ask yourself, would the singer want to be associated with the tone or message in these lyrics? If the male comes across as weak or the female as a victim, the artist will probably pass on the song. One big no-no is self pity. I have also been told by other publishers they don't like to hear begging songs, though its' been done. 
• Song lyrics aren't the same as poetry. Are your lyrics realistic in tone? Abstractions are hard for the public to grasp in the immediate sense, which is where the song is accepted or rejected. 
• Strong lines. The lyric should get better as it progresses through the song. Many times, writers cop out on the second verse, and resort to cliches to get through it. This is where rewriting may be necessary. 
• Does the song revolve around one main idea, or is the lyric scattered all over the place. It is usually okay to go somewhere else in the bridge, if it adds to the understanding with a different perspective on the same idea as the rest of the song. 
• Does the song change time frames? Has the listener been prepared to go from the past to the present, or, one locale to another? An abrupt shift will cause you to lose the listener. 
• Controversial topics should be avoided, but, if you do choose debatable subjects, make sure they are presented tastefully. I don't think the listener would sit still for a blow by blow account of an abortion, for example. 
• Does the song blame the listener for the singer's condition? No listener wants to associated with causing another's pain, or, be labeled as an s.o.b. 
• Has the song been subjected to an objective view? If you can, play it for few people who do NOT know you are the writer. In fact tell them it's an acquaintance's song and they can be truthful. 
• How many of these craft worthy details can you point to in the song? 
• The title is up front, the first line of the chorus? It is repeated for memorability? 
• The lyrics express a new way of presenting the familiar? They are cliche free? 
• The lyrics paint vivid images with word pictures? 
• The song/melody is short enough and simple enough to catch the listener's ear and be recognizable the first time it's heard? 
• The song has a touch of suspense or mystery about it that pulls the listener in?

Big Lie #8 - Singing is just a skill, like law or accounting, and thus can be educated into someone.

Truth - Music, especially something as personal as singing, is more than a degree to earn. It is connected deeply to the soul and has the ability to move people on a deeper level than most other "mundane" things on earth.

This LIE has an opposite which is equally a LIE. There are actually 2 ditches to avoid beside the road! 

One tells you that singing is just a "skill people learn and a degree people earn!" It says that you just have to take the right courses and you can put the diploma on the wall and begin your "practice."

As far as I'm concerned, the established education system is to blame for this lie. 

What's strange is that, once the joy of singing has been beaten from the body of most singers who make it through the college program, they have little left to them except a teaching career of some sort. So to some degree, this is a "true" lie. You get your degree and then you can start your "practice" of teaching others to do what you did.

But if you desire to sing well, a degree will guarantee you absolutely nothing toward your goal.

To be fair, there is a ditch on the other side of the road also: It tells you that you shouldn't do any "study" at all. Just do it! Just sing! This normally comes from a fear of the other ditch. "They'll mess up my sound."

If I must fall into the ditch, this is the one I prefer. That's because I'm a "free spirit" who likes to float on inspiration. But this ditch is not the truth either. So you need to stay out of both ditches to make progress. 

You should indeed "just do it" and never stop (unless you have damaged your voice--then you need some vocal rest first). But you CAN learn how to improve and sharpen your abilities for the rest of your life.

The best illustration I can think of is this: Imagine I found a painter beside the road who was doing portraits. He was very good. But he only had 3 tubes of oil paint. A black, a white, and a brown. So I ask him why he didn't use more colors. He says "because I only have these three tubes of paint!"

Brett finds singers like this all the time. They say "This is all I've got!" He usually answers, "You have no idea what you've got." Then he proceeds to give them more colors to paint with, vocally speaking. 

He has no interest in forcing them to paint like Picasso or Rembrandt. He just wants them to have all the colors they desire. It's very exciting to watch.

I hope you stay out of the ditches and...

Keep singing,
Morgan Cryar

PS--If you'd like to see how some of this works, go the website and watch the free lesson here. 

SECRET #7--SECRET CLUES...THE LITTLE THINGS THAT PROVE BIG THINGS

Sweat dripped off his nose into the open tub of gasoline that was soaking carburetor parts.  His hands smelled of fuel and he breathed loudly through his nose.

With just a few chosen details, I can cause you to conclude much more than a few things.  Is he rich or poor?  Is he a detail person or a big-picture strategist?  Is he scattered or focused?  Where is he?  What is he surrounded by?  Are there people watching him?  Does he think highly of himself?  Is he experiencing some emotion?

All these questions were unanswered by me, but answered by you, using nothing but my details and your own pieced-together memories and ideas.  By planting a few details, I led you down the path to some conclusions of your own.  Your mind easily filled in the rest of the picture.

That's what happens when you choose to reveal selected details.  You have to trust some things to the mind of the person on the receiving end.

At first, this is unnerving to a writer.  We want to feel the power.  We want to tell our audience what to think and how to feel, so we can be sure they agree with us.  But you must resist this temptation.

One of the things you'll learn in Strong Songwriting is that our emotions not only respond to details...they are likely made up of details.  Our emotions are a cross between a bodily function and a mental function.  Emotions are like chemicals dumped back into the body from the brain.  They operate using the language of the 5 senses.

So when you speak in details, you get a person's emotions involved.  And that's strong medicine. 

Bent halfway over, the stop sign was flapping like a broken bird wing.  It was made of metal, but it was behaving like a dish rag on a clothesline.

When you read that, what do you conclude?  In your own mind, was the stop sign wet or dry?  About what temperature is it?  What's making it move? Air or water?  Is there a crowd watching?  Is there a camera filming?  Is there anything nearby?  What's the closest object to it?

All these conclusions are drummed up in your mind from a few details I fed you. As a writer, you need to get over trying to control your listener's life, so you can relish the control you can have over your listener's experience, just by using details in a song. 

This concludes my report, Writing Unforgettable Songs.  If you haven't read my ebook, Strong Songwriting, you need to.  It's full of examples (and a lot more in depth tips) so you can learn quickly how to write songs that make a place for themselves.  Get that here.

Also, be on the lookout because I try to send out a Strong Song Tips newsletter every week or so as I have time.

Keep writing,
Morgan Cryar

Big Lie #7 - It takes great effort and the coordination of many varied muscles to sing correctly.

Big Lie #6 - Either you have talent, and thus CAN sing, or you don't have talent, and can NOT sing.

Truth - Since almost everyone can speak, and the speaking mechanism is the same as the singing mechanism, almost everyone can sing--and should, if they desire to!

This is a "non-technical" lie, but it has affected so many people that you wouldn't believe it. I meet singers all the time who have spent the better part of their lives wanting to sing, but believing this BIG LIE.

Of course, I know that NOT all people possess the same degree of singing talent. But the BIG LIE says "Give it up! You shouldn't sing because you're not...(fill in the name of any famous singer)."

My job brings me a unique perspective. You see, I've enjoyed some fame as a singer in the Contemporary Christian music field. And I know for a fact that many already famous singers still feel inadequate and yet we are singing despite those feelings!

I remember telling Brett Manning some time after he had helped me so much, "I always felt like a fake...like any minute, they'd realize I had no real talent."

So if you have the dream to sing (or play an instrument), and have a little time to give to it, you can become quite good at it. I personally know several who have gone so far as to make an income from it--in their later life!

If you do the right exercises, you can get your voice into shape far more quickly than you think. There a couple of pitfalls that must be addressed though:

Pitfall #1: You think you're too old.

This is so far from true and yet so commonly believed. Just think of the singers you like to listen to. Are any of them near your age? Most people say "Yeah. How'd you now?" Because everybody says that. You're about the age of many of your favorites.

Pitfall #2: You packed away your dreams and you haven't taken them out lately.

Well, it's time. Think of all you've accomplished that you DIDN'T like! Don't you think you could accomplish something that you DO like? If you long to sing, you can be taught to find your voice and let it go do its thing.

Pitfall #3: You're intimidated by other singers you know.

My answer to this is that you have no idea how wonderful it is on the other side of that wall of fear until you push through it. The only question is how much fun you allow yourself to have in the process. Get yourself some "secret weapon" instruction and watch people's reaction when your voice cuts loose! Check Brett's program out here.

I hope you will always, always, always...

Keep singing,
Morgan Cryar

PS--There's another lie that you'll hear about next time--It has to do with how hard you need to work at this.


Singing Success Inc
801 18TH Ave South
Nashville, TN
37203
US

If your goal is to write songs that make people stop what they are doing and listen with rapt attention, it's really not so hard.  (I'm serious...it's not rocket science.)

The feedback I'm getting from my ebook, Strong Songwriting is of a specific variety.  I hear it over and over again...People are actually writing songs when they read it (both pros and beginners)!

Here's an email I got today, from a reader named Hazen Kent:

"First, wonderful book and thank you! I ordered it in Nov. and I have just completed MY FIRST SONG and am ready to put it out there. So that is a credit to your book! Which brings me to my question... (Her question was about Song Contests, which I'll try to cover in a future newsletter.)

WHY do I get this kind of feedback?  How is this possible (read a book and it makes you write songs)?

One of the big reasons is that there are ideas revealed in this little volume that professional songwriters just don't talk about that freely.  I'd like to share one of those right now.

WRITE WITH A CAMERA IN YOUR HAND

My 16-year-old daughter, Phoebe, is what you'd call a "camera buff."  She spent her hard-earned money on a VERY nice camera. She snaps LOTS of pictures every day.

It may not be a coincidence that she turns out to be a decent songwriter too.  (You can check that out for yourself: www.myspace.com/thevespersofficial) Callie and Phoebe are my daughters and these are their FIRST songwriting efforts.

But here's my point...if you want your songs to stand out from the churning crowd of songwriters out there, just try this ONE thing:  Write with a Camera.

I don't mean to literally carry a camera...(though that may not be a bad idea).  You don't really need a physical camera in your hand. But this one technique can make you enough of a songwriter
to buy a couple cameras.  Here's how.

1.  Get a blank paper (or Word document).  This will NOT be what you write your actual song on.  It's a "worksheet." Think of it as a painter's palette that you'll squish paint onto...except your paint is ideas and words.

2.  Now write your song idea (one sentence) at the top of the page (for instance, you might scribble:  "Song about a sweet girl who gets lots of attention from the boys, and lots of jealousy from the girls.")

Maybe you even come up with a working title: "All Turned Green"

3.  Now brainstorm and write down everything from words, phrases, ideas, emotions, story parts, character sketches, etc.  ANYTHING that could have ANYTHING to do with your song idea.

4.  Come up with a simple plot.  What happens in verse 1? What does the chorus say about that?  What happens in verse 2? What does the chorus say about THAT?  What new angle gets revealed in the bridge?

Now for the camera part...

5. Now, as you think along those events happening in the verses, go back to each event and hold a camera up to your mind's eye and look at the scene.  FORCE YOURSELF to SEE it! Ask yourself what the most important thing is that you see in that camera lense.

Zoom in on it, and write down what you see.  (Remember, this isn't the song yet...it's just what HAPPENS in the story.)

Are her hands red from hot dish water?  Are they blue with cold? Are they shaking?  Does she touch her cheek with them?  Is she biting her fingernails?  When she talks to that boy, does she
blush at all? Are her eyes steady or does she look down?

Ask yourself...what are these characters DOING while I watch?

Each scene is YOURS to make!  You write what YOU see.  Most of these details will not fit into your song...but they will FIRE YOUR SONG with reality and emotion.

Once you go through all the events you'll likely have more than one "worksheet" page.  That's ok.  They're just words.  Just paint squished onto the palette.

PICTURE AND CAPTION

The next thing you'll do is look back through these detailed mental pictures and add any senses that the camera couldn't capture.  (Sound, touch, smell, taste).  "She shivers when he walks behind her; he leans and smells her hair; etc."

You're very likely to get some NEW ideas for story twists, once you start SEEING the action unfold.  Work those out in your mind.

Now you're ready to write a song that grabs the listener by the lapels!

Start writing your song lines, using as many of the best details as you can [pictures].  Explain the feelings or meanings or thoughts when necessary [captions]

That's why I call this "Picture and Caption."

You'll show me the picture and then tell me what it means to the story (whenever an explanation is necessary).

There are a ton more tips like this inside the book.  Stop thinking about whether you want to write great songs...just do it!

Click here for the Strong Songwriting ebook!

Keep Writing,
Morgan Cryar


Strong SongWriting
849 Forest Acres Dr.
Nashville, TN
37220
US

SECRET #5--WRITE THE TRUTH, IF YOU CAN HANDLE IT!

"Three chords and the truth."  I believe that was a Willy Nelson quote, but I'm not 100% sure.  Even if you hate country music, the quote still applies.

What I believe it means is that when you write a song, it needs to smack of something real.  Does that mean you can't write things you make up?  Of course not.  But it does mean that the most important truths in your song have to get presented in such a way that they seem true. How do you do that? 

The most powerful way I know to accomplish this is to start with something I know really happened.  If I start with something from real life, it puts my mind into "true story" mode.  And I write with the flavor of truth, even if I'm making up other details for the benefit of my story.

Let's look at a few examples.  I'll write some "first lines" and then tell you the story each one came from.

My Daddy's voice trembled on the phone, he just said "she's alright"
"The doctor said it went well, but we'll know more by tonight"

I was in Michigan on business and I got the call that my daughter had fallen off her bike and gashed her upper thigh down to the main artery.  (She was just fine after some critical surgery.)  My first line above came from that very real phone call, but it was from my wife about my daughter.  The sense of reality stays intact even though I changed it to be a call from my Dad about my Mom--a call which never happened.

Here's another...

Everyone seemed so tiny
Nothing like when she was here 12 years before
She heard a child say "Miss April!"
As she toted her book sack through those double doors

I visited my old elementary school once, while I was in college.  The thing that struck me was how little everything was.  My memory was stamped with a much larger picture from my 6th grade years.  I thought of that experience to get the lines above.

Here's another one...

He dialed that girl's number for the fifteenth time
But this time he let it ring
When he heard her voice on the other end
He couldn't think of a single thing
To say

Once in college, I remember trying to get the courage to call a cute girl.  I'd dial the phone and hang up, dial and hang up.  Once she answered, I talked, but I don't remember what I said.  I just remember she turned me down for the date...

Ok, I'm not saying any of the above are hit songs...just quick first drafts, pulled at random from my failing memory.  But you have to admit that they sound real. That's because they were, and so they smelled like the truth.

Check out my ebook, Strong Songwriting by clicking here.
 
Keep writing,
Morgan Cryar


Strong SongWriting
849 Forest Acres Dr.
Nashville, TN
37220
US

Big Lie #5 - You must develop a strong "falsetto" to sing very high notes.

Truth - Your voice will make several coordinations, none of which require a great degree of effort. There is the "chest" voice, the "head" voice, and falsetto (sometimes confused with the head voice). Our technique would also add what we call the "mix" voice, which is a mixture of chest and head voices.

First, let's identify these voices.

Put your hand on your chest and say "AAAAh" in your regular speaking voice. Do you feel the vibration of your chest against your hand?

This is called "chest voice" and it's what you naturally use when singing lower notes. We call it the chest voice because much of the resonance (sound waves becoming stronger by building upon one another) takes place in the chest cavity in your lower range.

I guess I better explain "resonance" a little more.

It's pretty easy. Imagine the sound made by slapping your hand against a boulder the size of a washing machine. That impact is like one vibration of your vocal cords. Your hand against the boulder would make a fairly tiny sound (more like a "snap" than anything).

Now imagine slapping the side of a real washing machine.

What sound comes from that? A big, giant BOOM! Why? "Because it's hollow," I hear you say. But WHY does that make such a difference?

It's because the hollow space in the washing machine serves to amplify the sound by "resonating" or vibrating, moving a larger volume of air than the initial slap by itself would have moved.

Your vocal cords are only about half an inch long! They're stretched across a little pipe the same diameter (half inch). If they were vibrating out in open air, you'd have to put your ear right next to them to hear them at all.

But they are part of a system that includes several resonating cavities. The biggest is the chest. It's got the "boom" of the lower notes and it can sound "explosive."

The cords make the air vibrate, and the chest amplifies that vibration.

Next voice--the "head" voice.

Why do they call it the head voice? I hear you saying "I bet it's because it resonates in the head." Yep. You're right.

But we think of the head as a solid block most of the time, expect maybe for the mouth. The truth is, there are hidden pockets of air in your head! You see those 2 little nostrils and you think they are just pipes to the lungs. But they lead to the "nasal cavity" behind your nose and your cheek bones. And those cavities are quite large. Then there are also sinuses (around and above your eyes).

Still another resonator is in the back of the throat, just above your vocal cords.

As you sing higher, your vocal cords are designed to thin out (almost as if you are changing from a thick guitar string to a thin one). When your vocal cords "get thinner" like they are supposed to do, they throw the tone more upward and forward into these resonators in your head.

Let's find that head voice tone right now.

Put your hand on top of your head. Now make the very happy sound: (very high) Wheeeeeee" like you're on a swing at the park. Did you feel your skull vibrating under your hand?

Now if you put one hand on your chest and the other on your head and alternate, "AAAAH" down low, and "weeeeee" up high, you'll feel the difference in resonators.

Now for falsetto.

This is not really a "voice." It's more of a defense mechanism to keep you from straining your vocal cords when you try to go too high in "chest" voice and don't know how to shift gears into head voice. If you sing a very high, light, airy tone, you won't feel much resonation anywhere.

This is because the cords are not really even coming together. Instead, they are coming near to one another, then vibrating as air passes between them. The airy sound is from all the air that escapes through the cords in this position.

In singing, you can use this "false voice" as a sound effect sometimes (to communicate soft emotions). But you don't want to be limited to it.

The chief difference between "head" voice and falsetto is that in head voice, your vocal cords are actually coming together and closing off some of their vibrating length. The tiny space left to vibrate is what is used to make the tone.

When done right, it sounds clear and clean, and it's easier and takes less breath than either chest voice or falsetto!

The fun (and the power) comes when you learn to mix the chest and head voices so that they "fade" into one another, creating one long block of usable range! It all sounds like just "your voice."

That is the power of Brett Manning's Singing Success Vocal Program. It uses simple, easy exercises to train your head and chest voices to mix in the middle ranges...thus erasing the "break." It's effective and it's guaranteed: Click here to check it out.

Next time, I'll tell you about the most debilitating lie that a singer can ever believe.

Keep singing,
Morgan Cryar


Singing Success Inc
801 18TH Ave South
Nashville, TN
37203
US

You've watched the show, you've seen the competition, and you think you're ready to come face-to-face with Simon Cowell. The first step is to blow everyone away at the initial American Idol audition. The rules and audition format for each city where American Idol auditions are held keep changing each year, so be sure to check the American Idol site and prepare exactly what they specify for the city where you plan to audition. Here's a checklist to help you prepare:

1. Find a Good Audition Song

For most auditions you will want to sing just a chorus of a song, so make sure it's a great chorus that really shows you off. This is not a time for subtlety, you want songs that hit people over the head like "I Will Always Love You", "Somewhere Over The Rainbow" and "If I Ain't Got You." However, all of these songs I've mentioned will probably be sung by many other singers. Do your homework and find a song that's not as popular but just as showy. Recent hits are in everyone's ear, so go back a way and find something older and great. Try singing songs originally made famous by a singer of the opposite gender to make it fresh. Also try jumping genres: "I Will Always Love You" was originally a country song until Whitney reinvented it. A fresh approach to a killer song will get attention.

Find a song that shows off your full range without going beyond it. You don't want to be straining for any high notes, but you don't want to bore them with a song that's too easy. The key of the original song may be too high or low for you, but when you sing it a cappella you can put it in your key. Put it in the highest possible key where you still sound good. If the low notes are still too low you need a different song, you won't be able to magically sing them at the audition. See my article about singing low notes for more on that.

If possible, get a version in your key to practice with. That can be a karaoke version in the right key, or if you have a karaoke player you can change the key. Or, you may need to go to a vocal coach or accompanist for one lesson to get a piano version of the song for practice purposes. If you do this, make sure to get a version with and without the melody played, and while you're at it get one where just the bass notes of the accompaniment are played. I'll explain why in the next section.

2. Practice Your Song With Accompaniment

You will be auditioning without accompaniment, but too many singers forget to really learn the song before doing this. Then a cappella they go off-key. I had a singer come in last year right before an audition who managed to sing one chorus in five different keys! You'll want to develop your own version of the song, but learn the melody first. That means get that melody down. Record yourself singing along with the singer or piano accompaniment with melody and make sure your voice matches, especially on high notes, low notes, fast phrases and runs.

When you are comfortable singing your song with the singer or melody, practice with a version where the melody isn't played or sung. Focus on listening to the accompaniment while you sing, that will help keep you in tune. Record yourself again and listen for any pitch problems. Remember that sometimes singers go out of tune because they just need more practice, and sometimes they go out of tune for technical problems like too much throat tension. You may need to work more with the melody version of the song, but if you keep practicing and you're still out of tune, go see a vocal coach.

3. Practice Your Song Without Accompaniment

Now you want to see if you can keep it together singing a cappella. If you have a version where just the bass notes are played try singing with that first. Or start singing with the recorded accompaniment, turn off the track and sing a cappella, then check the track when you're done to see if you're still in tune. If you play an instrument you can use the same method, just play the first and last chord and sing a cappella in-between.

Once again, record yourself. If you're drifting to another key, go back and work with the accompaniment some more. If you sound good, get ruthless with yourself: evaluate your singing as if you were Simon Cowell. Listen for pitch accuracy, tone quality, expressiveness, articulation, and control. Polish your performance until it's a sparkling diamond.

4. Practice Your Song In Front of the Mirror

Now that your singing sounds good it's time to make sure you look good. Get in front of the mirror and sing to yourself. Make sure you aren't bouncing around too much, or that you aren't a statue. You should look relaxed, but still have good posture. Your face should look interested as you sing, not like you're in pain. As you sing to yourself in the mirror try to focus on your forehead, which will keep your eyes from flitting around.

5. Practice Your Song In Front of a Camcorder

The camera doesn't lie: tape yourself and then check for all of the already discussed visual, vocal and performance points. Taping yourself might kick up some nerves, too.

6. Practice Your Song In Front of an Audience

Many singers are good at working their song feverishly up to this point, but forget to practice in front of people. Live performances have an energy that is hard to recreate at home, so the only way to prepare is to do practice performances. Sing at karaoke clubs as much as possible. Even though your American Idol audition will probably be off-mic and a cappella, this is still a good way to prepare. You could have a friend videotape your performance. Also, gather family and friends and perform your song for them. You could even tell them to act bored or tired, since that may be the emotional state of the people you sing for at the audition! Whenever a friend can spare thirty seconds to be your audience, sing for them. Singing in as many different places to as many different people as possible will prepare you for the craziness of the actual audition.

7. Practice Your Song In Your Sleep

Well, this is a joke, of course, but I do have a point to make. If your audition is like many of them, you will have been waiting a long time, perhaps even camping overnight, before you finally get to sing. You'll be tired, impatient, hungry or otherwise not at your best. Then when you finally get to sing, adrenaline will hit you like a lightning bolt. You want to be able to give a fantastic performance even if you're exhausted, nervous, hungry, angry, whatever. If you've practiced and fine-tuned your performance enough, you can transcend any physical or emotional state and still deliver the kind of knockout audition that will get you noticed.

10 Vocal Commandments
...That Every Singer Should Keep

I. THOU SHALT keep the vocal cords hydrated at all times:
a. Consume at least 8 glasses of water a day.

b. Stay away from excessive amounts of diuretics (substances that dehydrate your body and your vocal cords). Two of the number one culprits are Alcohol and Caffeine. So…think twice before you have that second cup.

c. The real serious singer will sleep with a humidifier to make sure the vocal cords remain hydrated during sleep.

II. THOU SHALT get at least 8 hours of sleep a night.
A singer's body is his/her instrument. Mistreat your instrument and it will show. Make sure to give your body and voice the proper rest it deserves.

III. THOU SHALT not smoke.
Among other incredible health concerns, smoking dries out the mucous membrane lining of the nose & throat which adversely affects the voice.

IV. THOU SHALT not overuse or mistreat the voice.
This would include talking over loud noises such as groups of people and loud machinery. Just like other muscles and membranes, your vocal membranes and muscles can suffer from fatigue. In other words, don't talk too much! It is also stressful to the voice to talk too quickly, so slow it down! Those people that have no choice but to tax their voices on a daily basis -- singers, professional speakers, teachers, cheerleaders, auctioneers, etc. --- need to take extra precautions to protect the voice.

V. THOU SHALT protect yourself from stress and nerve attacks prior to performances.
We suggest the following to fight the gig day jitters:

a. Develop a checklist for gig preparation. It might include dry cleaning, reviewing lyrics, or getting your hair cut! (Follow these guidelines and you should be calm, cool, collected and able to give your best performance!

b. Leave a few minutes early for the gig or rehearsal so you can focus prior to the performance. (If this is a new location, be sure you have the proper directions and contact phone number ready ahead of time.)

c. Develop a habit of warming-up with an organized vocal exercise program on the way to the gig to properly prepare your voice.

d. Prepare materials to help you during an "off night" or for special circumstances - lyric books, practice CDs and Tapes.

e. Have promotional material such as business cards and flyers organized so that you can access them easily at the appropriate time. Marketing yourself as a singer is as much a part of the battle as singing and performing well in the music industry.

Remember, properly preparing yourself allows you to focus all your energy on your performance.

VI. THOU SHALT NOT eat or drink dairy or milk products before performing.
Sorry, that means no chocolate or ice cream, among some other great tasting foods. These products cause the mucous membrane lining of the throat to create a great deal of mucous. In case you can't guess or don't already know, that makes it very hard to sing well.

VII. THOU SHALT keep thyself healthy and virus free.
We suggest eating right, exercising regularly (don't forget that cardiovascular work to improve your breathing!), and taking a quality vitamin supplement each and every day! Remember, a singer's body is his/her instrument! A finely tuned and maintained instrument will perform at a much higher level than an instrument that has been neglected.

VIII. THOU SHALT never sing without properly warming up.
If you were running in a marathon, would you begin without stretching your legs? Of course not. Doing this would risk reduced performance and possible cramping that would take you completely out of the race. The muscles and membranes associated with the voice would appreciate the same courtesy. Just like those hamstrings, your voice will reward you for taking the time to properly warm up before strenuous use.

IX. THOU SHALT SMILE.
Smiling not only helps with tone placement of the singing voice, it also improves your attitude! Try it! It really works. It's infectious too!

X. THOU SHALT enjoy life and celebrate every accomplishment no matter how small they may seem. Sing for fun, sing because you love it, sing because you can. Share your voice with the world and enjoy your journey as you learn not just to sing, but to sing with impact!

FREE SINGING TIPS provided by http://YouCanSingWithImpact.com
A daily vocal exercise program available as a book and 2 CDs or instant online download.

Let's give it one more try
Let's take a good hard swing
I'll put my soul into it
Let's get back up and do this thing...

Don't leave gaps.  That's my advice.
And don't forget to check out Strong Songwriting here!

Never stop writing,
Morgan Cryar


Strong SongWriting
849 Forest Acres Dr.
Nashville, TN
37220
US

Something Out of Nothing: 21 Songwriting Tips
by Ken Hill - Torchlight Creek Music

This is not a how-to article. This is just on some songwriting tips that I want to share with you to help you become a more versatile songwriter. Take the hints that you feel help you out and discard the ones you don’t agree with. 

#1) Authors and Musicians... 
I have had some people tell me that composing music is easy, and that anyone can do it. Yes, anyone can do it, but few can really do it.

Writing a song is much like being an author. Yes, we all have tools to write (everyone has a brain I hope!), but that doesn’t all of a sudden make us best selling authors.

Authors work at their abilities, often every day. The prime goal of an author is the same as a musician, which is to emotionally connect with the reader in some way or another. Writers do this by using motivation, chararacterization, and powerful word combinations among other things. Composers, like authors, have a lot in common. Our main goal is to connect with the listener emotionally. 

This is where our first tip comes into play: Never stop working at your abilities.

If our main goal is to connect emotionally, we should want to have as many tools as we possibly can to achieve that goal.

The more abilities that we have, the more choices we can make musically. It’s important to have a wide arsenal of choices at your disposal, because if we keep doing the same ‘tried and true’ methods, their emotional effects will wear off as the songwriting becomes caged into a predictable movement.

#2) Who are you writing your music for?
Know your goal.

The reason why you need to know this is because when you make music for yourself, there is no limit to what you can do to be ‘expressive’.

If you are making music for other people, you will have to be aware of how people relate to it.

It is like this: when you are a computer genius and you want to tell someone how to fix their computer, you have to speak in their terms so they can understand what the heck you are saying.

If you speak in your lingo, you will most likely lose them in techno-talk. Another example is the author. He can write a story with the largest, most sweeping words he knows- but if the reader does not know what those words mean, the entire meaning gets lost.

We, as musicians, face the same predicament.

Overcomplicated songs will lose the average listener.

Now, other hardcore musicians will greatly appreciate your abilities and probably get more feeling from it- but the common person will most likely not be able to follow.

Once again you should ask yourself when you write a song: Who am I making this music for and will they be able to relate?

#3) Scratching in the dirt
Minds are like flowers. If you let it sit there without soaking anything up, it will dry up.

Not to say that you can’t invigorate your mind again, but it is saying that it is harder to do so. Just like weight lifting. If you haven’t worked out in awhile, it is quite hard to lift as much as you did when you were lifting every day.

So this is my first suggestion. Practice. I’m not talking about technical ability this time (although you should practice that too!). I’m saying that you should practice making new songs. Make a goal to make 1 new song every week, even if it is only 50 seconds long.

It is the fact that you are working your brain out. Once you begin the song, you can latch onto ideas rather quickly. That is not the purpose of the exercise.

The purpose is to get your brain to find new avenues by exploring different ideas. It’s about trying something new every time.

#4) Music vs. Robots
Music is an art form. It is a way to wordlessly communicate. There are computer programs that are designed to ‘make songs’ on the fly. How much do you think that communicates? Please don’t be a robot! Don’t give in and throw in random notes that fit in a scale just to fill a passage. Make a reason for why every part of your song exists.

Find parts in your lead passage that really hook you. Now delete all the other parts. Now build off of the hook. Get it? Computers cannot find hooks, but your ear can. If you can’t feel anything interesting from a part, get rid of it.

Unless of course you want to have a “boring” part to build into something grand! There’s a nice strategy.

#5) The song’s opinion is better than yours! Nyah!
When you think in the best interests in the song, you may have to rid yourself some very good ideas that you wanted to do.

I have come up with very creative ideas that really didn’t work with the song I was currently composing.

Don’t mess up your song by trying to fit it in! If you can fit it in and it feels right to put it there- good shot! If it doesn’t- well then you have an idea for your next song to go! Remember, the song’s opinion is better than yours!

Oh, here is a good one.

Just because you got a new toy, does not mean every song needs to have it! There, I said it. Just because you get a wah-wah pedal for your guitar, now every song you make after that needs to have a wah-wah??

I think not!

Think about what the song needs not what you want. The both of you might have varying opinions. When you make the music bigger than you are, then you’ll understand what I mean- it tends to have a mind of its own.

#6) Where does inspiration come from?
Quite often when I write a song, I think back to a moment in my life. I use what has happened in my life as an inspiration to make music.

The more I do in my life, the more I can write music about- new experiences. Sometimes just getting out of the house and doing something you haven’t done in a long time (or never done!) can open up the doors to musical inspiration.

Open up a photo album, read old letters, visit family, friends, go do an activity, do anything but music! Read poetry, watch ballet, go see a movie, walk around in a museum, look at oil paintings and sculptures- these are all different forms of art. Music is an art form too.

Sometimes other forms of art can be inspiring to the musician. Come back, after your mind has been freed, and try to write a song about it.

#7) Oops I made an accident.. er- no I didn’t!
Once we begin a song, our minds begin to formulate where to go next, and most of the time- we excitedly travel down the road.

Throughout the excitement, we can make good mistakes. We hit the wrong key, and all of a sudden, our mind is opened to a new avenue. Mistakes can be good things, because it is an unexpected thing. I think the best music sounds familiar enough to know where it is going, but unpredictable enough to avoid musical clichés! 

Sometimes I will click on a random sequence of notes- not to actually use it in a song, but to see if I can find maybe a simple pattern that I can build off of. About 95% of the time, I just hear musical mush that I can’t use. The other 4% it is good stuff, and 1% of it is amazing! Accidents can be good things.

Remember that.

If you don’t have an inspiration, sometimes just ‘playing around’ is a good answer!

#8) Country?!? I make rock songs!
It is hard to compare Clint Black to Korn. That is not to say there isn’t something to be learned from different styles.

The best way to be able to attack a song from every angle is to have as many techniques and styles as possible. Your talent will tell you which ones would work for your song.

Learn country, rock, alternative even try polka! Learn as much as you can. There might be a place to use that knowledge somewhere in the future!

#9) A + B =C. A + B = XYZ???
Don’t use the same formulas for your songs!

Just because you found a winning formula, that may only work for that particular song.

Try different avenues.

There are artists that you hear (even on the radio) that seem to have all of their songs to sound alike. Be creative.

#10) Don’t retrograde your V into a IV??!? Are you crazy?!
Don’t be a music theory lawyer, but use it to your advantage.

Knowledge of the rules of music can be a great thing- if you also know that it’s okay to break them. If you stay theoretically sound, you may have a generic sound.

Dissonance can be a powerful tool. 

#11) That musician can’t play himself out of a paper bag...
Ahh, how many times have I heard one musician talk about another behind their back.

The reason why refraining this can help your songwriting is because when you stop comparing to the outside world, you can learn from them. Maybe the guitarist isn’t the most technically sound, but maybe he can fingerpick like you wouldn’t believe.

Learn from his strengths so they can be yours too. Examine his style and abilities and see if there isn’t something you can’t learn from him.

#12) I feel like listening to...
Maybe you’re brain fried but you feel like writing a song. Why not toss in a CD of someone who inspires you to write.

Examine the style, the mixing, how the entire song is constructed, when each instrument blends in and out of the mix, etc. etc.

You’ll find that many times you can get ideas from other artists. I’m not saying steal their riffs (but go ahead if it makes you feel better) but you can take some of their ideas and blend them into your own style.

Steal an idea and then bend it to the inner workings of your mind!

#13) Let’s write a Metal song next to a Kinder care...
Location is a very important aspect to songwriting.

When you’re next to a lake, you probably get the feeling of relaxation.

When you’re at a concert, I doubt you will feel so relaxed.

Where you are can impact your music.

If you are lucky enough to have your own private place in your home to play music, you most likely have it decorated with posters or something that puts you in the mood. If you don’t... try it! I had a guy tell me that he couldn’t write a song unless he turned off all of his lights except for one... and it was blue.

If you create an atmosphere, it will most likely affect your music. When you are in a store you act differently than at home. Even your kitchen will invoke a different type of feeling than your living room. No doubt about it..

Try to get a room that can match your musical personality and write there. Test out different places. I, personally, write my music in the dark. No blue light here.

#14) It sounds okay... I guess...
Get rid of it!

To exercise your mind, you have to work it to its full capacity. Back to weight lifting, if you can curl 45-lbs, don’t settle for 20 lbs one day. You won’t get stronger.

Half-hearted songs don’t count in my opinion. Playing around is nice and all, but your ultimate goal should be to write a song like you’ve written before. It is how we expand as musicians. Writing songs with methods that we’ve done before is like lifting 20 lbs.

Using new ideas and methods, that our mind would have only thought of because we’ve mastered the old- that’s your 45 pounder!

Keep it fresh! Don’t fall into the habit of generic music!!!

#15) Ideas.. Ideas.. Ideas...
Sometime I write a song off a central idea, instead of emotion.

For example, my idea might be: well what if I wrote a dance song with a heavy guitar?

What if I wanted to write a song uses a distortion over drums? Ideas don’t always evolve into songs, but they help you be creative!

The important thing is that since they are ideas (kind of like a hypothesis) you shouldn’t come to a conclusion till you have tried it.

In other words, if you have an idea that running distortion over drums would sound cool over a love song, and when you try it- you may tell yourself... “no- distortion with drums sounds good on a hard rock song.”

#16) I like it, but what do you think???
Let me start by saying that your friends and family members will most likely be very biased about your music. Ask them what they think if you want a self-esteem booster.

I take compliments more to heart from strangers who like my music. The most important thing is that you like the music. Will others like it as well? Maybe, maybe not.

If they offer suggestions, consider them... There is no right or wrong way to write a song. There are only songs that people can and can’t relate to. And I’m sure that almost any song that was ever made could probably relate to at least 1 other person in this world. 

#17) Catchy phrases for lyrics
If you’re planning on writing lyrics, then I offer you this suggestion:

Use words that people use everyday.

Why? Because if those same words are used in just an everyday conversation, it will remind that listener of your song.

For instance, if I said “I was outside last night and saw a twinkle twinkle little star”, immediately that song pops into your mind. Of course no one would talk like that, so if you mold your song around an everyday phrase, then it will remind people of your song easier. Just think of Staind, “It’s been awhile”. Every time someone says that phrase it reminds me of that song.

#18) Be healthy. Eat, sleep and exercise regularly as part of your daily routine.
Strange to think how proper sleep, exercise and food come into play, but it can.

Just think of this: Food is your body’s fuel. Without fuel, your body wants to shut down. That is why people who aren’t healthy are tired more often.

When you’re in shape, your metabolism will rise giving you an extra supply of energy that you can use to focus onto music or whatever.

Does that mean that if you’re out of shape and not eating right that you can’t make good music? Of course not! But what I am saying is that if you do choose to eat right and get in shape, it will help you keep your focus and energy for a longer period of time.

I can’t stress enough how different one feels when they choose to get in shape, but it really helps you psychologically, mentally and physically.

#19) Building a hook.
Some of the most powerful hooks are derived from taking a simple melody and modifying it ever so slightly.

Why does that make it powerful?

Hooks need to be predictable and not predictable at the same time. If there is a degree of predictability then the listener will be able to relate to the song more quickly. For instance, how many of you have said in your mind, “that would be so cool if this song did this...” and then the song took the same direction you wanted it to go.

Immediate satisfaction. 

If you twist it a little bit, then the song will have its unique identity that separates it from the traditional cliché of many hooks.

People have heard different artists use the exact same musical hooks and patterns, and if there is no unique twist then you will hear something like, “they copied (fill in the blank)’s song. Sounds just like it but with different words.” You will most likely want your song to have its own identity.

#20) Texturize
Music is about textures as well as melody.

Think of the texture of a nylon string guitar as opposed to the texture of a steel string. Think of the texture of a piano, and the texture of a synth.

Some of the same melodies played with different textures can completely change a song.

A lot of metal songs sound like classical pieces when played on a classical guitar instead of an electric. The human voice sounds thicker with a chorus and reverb than a dry signal.

Textures can bring out the best and worst in a song. We pay great amounts of money to get the ‘best’ texture we possibly can. That is why people buy expensive musical equipment over cheap pawn shop items. Distortion has a huge variety of different tones and sounds.

Not every distortion pedal sounds the same.

Why? For texture. Don’t keep using the same sounds, experiment with as many textures as you can. This is so important; I’m going to say texture 20 more times by the end of this tip. Texture Texture Texture Texture Texture Texture Texture Texture Texture Texture Texture Texture Texture Texture Texture Texture Texture Texture Texture Texture .

#21) Have fun
Have fun!? What kind of topic!?

Guess what. People don’t have fun making music all the time. It’s really sad.

If you don’t believe me, think about all the people who have been upset because of something their band did to them. Revert to the very beginning, when you first realized that you loved to create music... and have fun!

About the Author

Ken Hill is a guitarist and keyboardist for the New Age band, Torchlight Creek.

If you have any comments, suggestions or ideas about this article, please be sure to e-mail him at ken@torchlightcreek.com

• A song needs to draw the listener in with an interesting lyric. 
• A song needs to be "catchy", as a song must please the ear rather than just reading it like a poem. 
• Lastly a song needs to have good sound structure. 

Below I will explain some of the basics of good structure and some common songwriting terms.

If you have all three sides as strong as possible from the songwriting triangle, you will give your song it’s best chance at success.

If you have a weak side of the triangle or more, generally your song does not have a very good chance at pleasing listeners. It is suggested that you always continue improving your writing in those three areas.

Study songs and look at those three areas within songs that are successful. Now, lets go over some basic songwriting terms and structure fundamentals.

A song is composed of several items.

A stanza is similar to a paragraph in a book. A stanza is a section of grouped lines. Usually a song will have multiple verses and a chorus.

A verse is a stanza, or two of lines that give the details of the song.

The chorus is a section of lines that generally contain the catchiest part of the song. Usually the chorus contains a songs hook.

A hook is a phrase of words or music that catches the listeners ear and if the listener remembers anything of the song, it’s usually that part. The hook is often the title of the song and is similar to a slogan for a company.

In most cases, a song contains a chorus that is the same or has only very small changes to it’s content each time it’s repeated. Some songs have no chorus, but most do.

A song format of AAA would mean three verses with no chorus for instance.

Some songs use a bridge as well. A bridge is usually of different length than a verse and usually has different music accompaniment. A bridge usually will "sum up" a songs message, or flash forward or backwards in time or often give a different perspective or surprise twist to a song. 

Here we’ve mentioned "usually" and "generally" and words like that because there are no rules in songwriting. There are guidelines or principals though that we will continue discussing here.

Below I will go into some detail of rhyming in songs.

Again, I will say that songs do not have to rhyme, but I will also say that the vast majority of successful songs do rhyme and would strongly suggest you consider using this wonderful tool to aid your songs.

Take caution though because cliché’, boring, predictable rhymes can ruin any song.

Often a new writer gets so tied up in rhyming that the rhymes force the song to use words that sound like the words were picked simply because they rhymed, not because they helped the song. Don’t get discouraged.

Like anything, writing good songs takes practice and some effort.

A rhyme works best when it seems like it was an accident that words rhymed, and the lyrics are so fresh that the rhyming isn’t even noticed, the song just has that "effect" of all fitting together somehow and rhymes were a part of that.

Rhymes should not be in the way; they should be like the icing on the cake that made it taste better. 

Rhyme patterns are simply the pattern of rhymes within a stanza.

The rhyme pattern in each verse should match other following verses in the song, but this pattern does not have to be the same in the chorus or bridge and is usually best to be different than the verses.

Songs do not have to rhyme, but the vast majority of successful songs do rhyme. Rhymes are generally categorized as "perfect" or "near."

A perfect rhyme is not the best rhyme; the name just refers to the way it is. For instance, the two words "mind" and "find" are considered perfect rhymes. The consonants following the rhymed vowel (in this case I) are the same. The two words "find" and "line" are considered "near rhymes because the consonants after the rhymed vowel are different. (The E in both words is silent) 

Rhyme patterns in songs are referred to in several common formats. This is simply a way of looking at the particular rhyming pattern.

Usually rhymes come at the end of the line, but not always.

Let’s look at several popular rhyme schemes below. I will use 4 line stanzas, which is a popular stanza length, but don’t get caught up in 4 line rhymes all the time.

This is called a, the very first line

I am the second in the stanza this time

The third goes here in this song of mine

This stanza ends with another silly rhyme

Let’s imagine that stanza above is our 1st verse of your song. This verses rhyme scheme (pattern of rhyming) would be AAAA.

The reason it would be AAAA is that each line ended with a word that rhymed in following lines. (Line/time/mine/rhyme)

The A refers to the 1st rhymed line. An X would be used if the line did not rhyme to any other line. Often each line does not rhyme to every other line in a stanza, but maybe to just one or two others.

The 2nd rhymed word would then be B. For instance, see the stanza below:

This is called A, which here is the first line

Line two is now B, as it’s not the same

Three matches one, because they both rhyme

Four matches 2, and ends this silly game

This format is considered the ABAB rhyme scheme.

A is representing the 1st rhymed line (line which rhymes to rhyme in line 3) and B represents the second rhymed line. In a stanza there are sometimes more sets of rhymes that would be referred to as C, D, etc.

So, if you look above, you see again that ABAB means that the 1st and 3rd line rhyme to each other and the 2nd and 4th line rhyme to each other.

If the format were AABB, then the 1st two lines would rhyme and the 3rd and 4th line would rhyme. Consider now the stanza below that has lines that do not rhyme. 

This time is different; I’m now an X

The second is now A, and this is new

Line 3 matches nothing, just like the 1st

Line 4 rhymes nicely, but just with line 2

In this stanza, just lines 2 and 4 rhyme. Lines 1 and 3 do not rhyme to any other line.

This format would be considered xAxA. The X represents a line that does not rhyme, and again, the A represents the 1st line rhymed.

The important thing is that once you decide on your rhyme scheme, or pattern, is to keep it the same in following verses.

Again, the chorus need not match the verse, but verses need to match each other. So, if you use an AABB format in verse 1, use that same format in verse 2 and verse 3 etc.

If you use a different format for each verse you throw the listener off completely and make your song hard to follow. So using a format of AABB in verse one and a format of ABAB in verse two is not advised at all.

The reason you can use a different format in a chorus or bridge as compared to the verses is that they are completely different sections of a song with different purposes. Usually the music is different for those different sections as well. Having a different rhyme scheme further illustrates to the listener that this is a different section of the song. 

Inner line rhymes are also used in songs.

An inner line rhyme is two or more rhymes in the same line of lyrics. An inner line rhyme accelerates the time between rhymes and is a useful effect in songwriting.

Writing songs with inner line rhymes is a little tough because since the rhymes are closer together they are noticed more easily. Your rhymes need to be very good and not "cliché" or "predictable" because they will be noticed more than normal being close together.

Below is an example of an inner line rhyme. 

I wrote this for you, this little song

It’s not very strong, and it’s not very long. 

In that silly section of lyrics you noticed the word "song" in line 1 and that it was rhymed in line 2 twice. "Strong" and "long rhymed to line 1 "song" and also to each other which caused a near rhyme.

You can use an inner line rhyme with or without rhyming to other lines. For example, look at the change below:

I wrote this for you, and placed it here

It’s a couple of lines, to explain these rhymes

In that example above, the rhymes are only in line 2 and are considered an inner line rhyme because the rhymes occur in the same line. ("Lines" rhymed to "rhymes")

A song’s lines within verses will need to match the music. The repetition of patterns in stressed and unstressed words within lines are referred to as a song’s meter.

Now we will discuss meter and how that will affect your writing. Lines in one verse will need to match lines length in following verses. Have you ever wrote a song, and had to squeeze in words real fast and later decide that it just didn’t sound right? That’s because your lyrics did not match the music.

One of way of matching is to hum the melody where the line goes and count the syllables. The best way is to count the stresses in that line. For instance, read the lines below:

This song is silly

But serves a purpose for us

It shows song stresses

And I guess that’s enough

Song meter is not an exact science. It is a theory to a degree. Just as many poems can be scanned differently, so can lyrics. In the above stanza, I had the following words stressed that I will show in capital letters below:

This SONG is SILLY

But serves a PURPOSE for US

It SHOWS song STRESSES

And I GUESS that’s ENOUGH

Stressed words, are the "important" words that are focused on and "stressed" within the line. Take the 1st line you see above that reads "This song is silly." The two most important words in that line are song and silly. Say that line a few times and notice how you "stress" those two words when you say them. 

This stanza has 2 stresses in each line.

One way to find stresses is to quickly look for words that have the meaning in the line.

For instance, the word "this" and "is" don’t have a lot of importance in line 1. They are not stressed words in the line. The line would have 3 stresses if the line read "This song called meter is quite silly." The words "song" "meter" and "silly" would all be stressed.

Say the line out loud and notice how those words are stressed.

With this verse, we have established the verse's meter, the pattern of stressed words within the lines. With that pattern established, following verses would need to match the pattern of 2 stresses per line in each of it’s 4 lines. They could not, for instance, have 2 stresses in line 1, 3 in line 2, 2 in line 3, and 4 stresses in line 4.

The songs meter would be off considerably and would sound silly with the music.

For more information, search the Internet for meter and also purchase some of the songwriting books available.

When you take away everything but the stressed words of a line, you end up with the basics of the message of that line. For instance, line 1: song – silly. Knowing those two important words, we have a good idea about what the line is trying to say to us.

Many times you’ll notice that stressed words appear in the "down beat" of the rhythm.

Tap your foot while you say those lines. Tap your foot the 1st time, when you say the word "song" and then the next time when you say "silly."

Continue that same tempo as you say the rest of the lines. You will also find many chords fall on stressed words in a song. That is a good thing to happen, as this new chord highlights a word, and the words that you would want highlighted are the important words in your lyric which are also the "stressed words.

When a singer holds a note and lets it soar at times, you’ll notice that the notes will be stressed words as well. There is no reason for a singer to hold a word and highlight it if it’s not a stressed word. Imagine a line that said, "I wish I was in Toledo." The stressed words are "wish" "was" and "Toledo." You wouldn’t hold the note on the word "in" and not "Toledo." If you held "in," you would be highlighting the wrong word. 

Songwriting basics again are these three things:

• A song should have an interesting lyric that draws a listener in.
• A song needs to be "catchy" and draw the listener in by that as well. (Catchy tune, melody, chord patterns, musical parts etc.)
• A song should have proper structure. 

All those items cannot be covered in this short article.

This article is simply meant to give an overview of them. At this point, dive into studies of your own and search out books and study materials from several sources to begin continually improving your craft.

Treat songwriting as just that, a "craft." Make sure you have all the tools available to you as you work at your craft, and learn to use each more and more as the years go by.

It would seem romantic to figure that all lyrics are simply wrote in 5 minutes and with little effort or time spent on them. The reality is that many are not. The reality also is that when inspiration hits quickly and a song is written quickly and ends up a successful song that it is often due to the study and knowledge acquired long before that particular song was written.

About the Author

Dave Byers is the author of the book "Songwriting Fundamentals" available at www.writingsongs.com/davebyers