Living In The Moment

I know this through direct experience. On August 19, 2011, I was diagnosed with early stage breast cancer. On October 12th I had major surgery to remove the cancer, from which I am still recovering. That’s why I haven’t updated Serve The Song in over a year. It sure feels good to be back. If you’re a regular reader, thanks for your patience.

After my surgery I couldn’t play guitar for a while, but I could play the ukulele. That ukulele was such a gift to my sanity. It kept me going for weeks and weeks during what was often a long, slow, painful recovery process. I’m so thankful that 1) I’m gonna be ok and 2) that I had a joyful, fun activity to pursue that helped me heal.

From October to March I recorded dozens of uke-based song ideas into my iPhone. I don’t know if any of them are worth keeping and I actually don’t care. It’s the doing of it that made me happy. I had forgotten that simple joy. Cancer shakes you to your very core and forces you to focus only on the things that truly matter. Everything else falls away. For me it’s my family, my health and my music. The challenge is carrying this feeling forward as things get back to normal. I want to feel this way all the time.

Remembering What Is Possible

I certainly would never wish what happened to me to fall on anyone else, however I want to use the experience for good if I can. I’ve been given a second chance to live life on my own terms. It’s so easy to fall back into old habits that keep us from our dreams. If you’re like me, perhaps you have a day job, family, or other responsibilities that prevent you from writing music as often as you would like.

I want Serve The Song to be a useful resource for DIY musicians who want to make things happen despite the everyday challenges life throws their way. I used to get really frustrated by my own time constraints, but now I’m learning to embrace them and use them productively. While things don’t always go exactly as planned, I feel like I’m heading overall in the right direction.

John Lennon said a long time ago that life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans. Life will continue to happen all around you and your music. But if it’s important enough to you you’ll make time for it.

Why Do You Write Songs Anyway?

As an aspiring or professional songwriter, of course you want your music to appeal to a mass audience and fit the needs of the market. But if it doesn’t also rock your own socks aren’t you just selling your soul? Where is the joy in that? You’ve got to be authentic and find your own voice first. Then, when you can express your highest and best self through your music, your audience will naturally find you. And that’s the real brass ring.

Over To You

Have you ever experienced healing through songwriting? How did it impact you and what did you learn from it? Please leave your thoughts in the comments.

photo credit: istockphoto

Unless you’re an established working songwriter, chances are good that songwriting is something you do in your spare time. Whether you’re doing it for fun, to complete an album or EP project, or you hope to win a Grammy one day, it’s important to establish a regular writing routine. But how can you do it in the midst of a day job, band, family responsibilities and walking the dog? In this post I’ll give you five strategies to help you block out distractions so you can effectively focus on following your dream.

1. Get Up An Hour Earlier

You’ve heard this one before, but it really works. Steven Memel, an L.A. voice/performance coach and author of the Science of Switching On, encouraged me to do this and it has made a huge difference. I give myself enough time to make a cup of coffee and grab something to eat, then make sure I’m in my studio writing by 6:30 am. I wish it didn’t have to be so early, but it’s the only way I’ve found to protect my precious writing time from work/family interruptions and distractions. The great news is I seem to be most creative during this time, and have come up with over 50 song ideas within a month. Now I just gotta finish some of ‘em.

2. Find A Dedicated Place To Write

It really helps with consistency if you write in the same place each day. Hopefully you have a home studio, but even if you don’t, a desk or kitchen table will do. Wherever you write, make sure your writing tools are handy, which may include pen, paper and a pocket recorder. If you’re a regular Serve The Song reader you’ve probably heard me talk about the importance of having a dedicated creative space before. It’s critical if you want to establish any kind of regular writing routine. Find a place in your home that is off limits to family, friends and any other distractions such as TV, computer or phone. Make it a special gift you give yourself to make time to write there every day.

3. Set Clear, Measurable Goals That Stretch You

What is the purpose of your dedicated writing time? Why are you doing it? It’s one thing if you’re simply exercising your creative muscles. It’s quite another if you want to go for a Grammy or get a song placed in a film. Knowing your desired outcome will give you the motivation you need to keep writing on a regular basis. Are you working on an EP or album? When do you want to release it? Work backwards from that date to figure out how long you will need to produce and package the recording, and then even further back to determine when you need to have your songs finished. Write these goals down and put them somewhere prominent where you will see them each day.

4. Find An Accountability Partner

Get yourself a cheerleader in the form of an accountability partner. This could be a fellow songwriter, bandmate, or friend who knows you well. This person needs to be a positive force in your life to cheer you on and help you stay on track when you need it. It’s best to have someone outside your immediate family who understands the ups and downs of the music business. That way they can remain objective as you work through the inevitable ups and downs of songwriting and recording.

5. Include Your Most Important Relationships

Even if you’re a budding Grammy winner, at the end of the day nothing is more important than taking care of your most important relationships. Whether it’s friends, parents, children, or a significant other, these people make up the fabric of your life.

Your songwriting efforts will be far better supported by a family/friend/roommate/spouse/partner who understands how important songwriting is to you. Let them know what you’re up to and see if they’re willing to give you the time and space to accomplish your goals. In return, it’s your responsibility to come out of the studio once in a while and spend time with them. You’ll enjoy happier, healthier relationships and might just come up with that monster hit as a result.

credit: istockphoto

Rewriting a song means accepting that the beautiful inspiration you just poured out of your soul might need some extra work. It takes courage, humility and patience to rewrite a song effectively. Here are 10 reasons why rewriting your latest song is a good idea.

1. New, Better Ideas Are Waiting To Be Discovered

It’s a wonderful feeling when you’ve just written a brand new song. There’s really nothing else like it. But have you ever noticed that you need to take time to learn it, just like when you’re adding a cover song to your set list? Rehearsing your new song often gives you an opportunity to make improvements and polish it further by making the lyrics more singable or the music more fluid.

2. You’ve Got A Great Chorus But Weak Verse/Pre-chorus

You want to make your song as strong as it can possibly be. So don’t settle for verses or a pre-chorus that don’t properly setup your amazing chorus and hook line. Keep working on these elements until they leave listeners begging for the chorus.

3. Your Chorus Doesn’t Payoff

Your verses and/or pre-chorus work hard to setup your chorus, so make sure there’s a solid payoff when you launch into it. If not, revisit it and tweak it until it’s worth listening to. How do you do it? Try to make it as punchy and memorable as you can, in a way that clearly connects it to the material that came before it.

4. Bridge Over Troubled Water

The purpose of a bridge is usually to give your listeners a break in the action and provide a re-cap of the overall storyline. Not all songs need a bridge, so if yours isn’t working to support the overall song it may be best to edit it out. At the end of the day everything needs to point to and support a memorable chorus/hook.

5. A Chance To Improve Your Production Values

Sometimes after you’ve spent long hours toiling away on your latest creation it pays to come back a little later with fresh ears. For example, when you listen to a mix after one or two days away you may discover a great opportunity to tighten the bass and guitar, or find just the right way to let the vocal sit in the mix without dominating the other instruments.

6. Addition or Subtraction Equals Better Songs

Along the lines of number five above, intentionally adding and subtracting production elements can really draw the listener in and make a good song sound great. See if there are places where adding or subtracting instruments or vocals might add more emotional intensity to your song. You want to maximize every chance to connect with your listener and this is a great way to do it.

7. Add More Contrast

Do you have enough contrast between your verses, chorus and bridge? How do the chord progressions change? If they are too much alike the lister will lose interest. Make a clear distinction so listeners know which part of your song is playing at any given moment.

8. Prosody Wins The Day

Loosely defined, prosody has to do with how everything fits together in your song to communicate your message. In very broad terms, if you are writing a happy song you want your music and lyrics to sound happy. If your lyrics are sad, the music should also communicate sadness. Each part of your song works together to reinforce everything else. If your breakup song sounds like “If You’re Happy And You Know It” you may want to consider a rewrite.

9. An Unexpected Collaborator Makes A Great Suggestion

You may play your new song for a colleague who in turn makes a great suggestion that totally improves the quality of the original composition. This is quite often one of the best reasons to rewrite a song.

10. You Just Need A Fresh Start

Sometimes an old dog just doesn’t want to hunt and it’s best to walk away for a while. Come back later with a fresh head and see what you can come up with. After all, Rome wasn’t built in a day.

Your Turn

What are your best reasons to rewrite your song? Please leave your thoughts in the comments.

credit: iStockphoto

Even though I’ve been writing songs for over thirty years, I recently decided to take a songwriting class at Berkleemusic.com. I figure I’m never too old to learn, and I can share what I’m learning with Serve The Song readers. So far it’s been a great investment and has inspired me to spend a lot more time in the studio. In this post I’ll show you the process I’m using for my weekly writing assignments to help you build up your own song catalog.

Begin With An Emotion

With each writing assignment, our instructor tells us the feeling or vibe he wants the song to convey. The course is geared toward writing music for TV and Film, so he often plays the role of music supervisor looking for a song to support the visuals. Along with these instructions, he also may reference the style of song we need to write, such as “Americana with a hint of Creedence” or something similar.

I like the idea of writing on assignment since it helps me focus. But even you’re just writing for yourself, having a solid idea of the feeling and overall concept you want your song to convey will really help you communicate clearly. After all, music is the language of emotion. Try to envision what you want the listener to feel when they hear your song. That will help you get into that same state of mind.

Find A Singable Chorus Melody

Once I know the emotion, I’ll turn on my recorder and start humming a tune which will eventually become the chorus. I like to “find my melodies first” before embarking on a chord progression. While I will usually wind up supporting my melody with a familiar chord progression, everything tends to sound the same if I start there. Starting with the melody also makes the tune more memorable, since all I have for reference at this stage is my voice, piano or guitar.

Sometimes I’ll also use a drum loop while I do this. It all depends on the style of music and the mood I want to communicate. The important thing is to try to come up with a bunch of different melody lines before deciding on a winner. Don’t just settle for the first thing that pops in your head. Play around with it, riff on it and repeat. When you have a good feel for the chorus, it’s time to figure out the overall structure of the song before you move on to the verses, pre chorus and bridge (if you have one).

Building The Perfect Beast

To be competitive, your song will need to have a familiar structure. Deciding on your song’s structure can be tough. Having a reference song makes it much easier. I’m not suggesting for a moment that you copy anyone directly, but I am suggesting you pick an existing song you like and try to emulate the style.

Most of the hits from the last fifty years follow one of three common structures – verse/chorus/bridge, verse/verse/bridge/chorus, or verse/pre chorus/chorus. Listeners have been conditioned to these patterns for years, so it only makes sense to structure your song in a familiar way.

Lay Down The Lead Sheet

Now that you’ve got a chorus melody and a structure in mind, start playing with chord progressions, tempo and time signatures. Most popular songs on radio, TV and film are in 4/4 time, so this is a safe bet. You can of course venture off into other time signatures depending on your songwriting goals. But for the purposes of this post we’ll play it safe and keep to 4/4 time. Using a piece of paper or a sequencer, start organizing your song into a lead sheet.

Once you have a chord progression for the chorus that you like, start roughing out the verse melody and its underlying chord progression. Make sure it has plenty of contrast to the chorus. This can be done through varying the rhythm, harmony, or melody, or a combination of all three.

Next, decide whether or not to include a bridge in your song based on the overall structure. Just be sure to give it plenty of contrast from the verse and chorus melodies.

Writing Lyrics

At this point your song should be well-formed musically, and this is when I usually start writing the lyrics. Please see my previous post about writing better lyrics. When I first started writing songs, I used to either start with lyrics or try to write everything at once. While everyone has different approaches, starting from the chorus melody and working out from there has worked really well for me, especially when writing on assignment.

Over To You

What’s your overall approach to songwriting? Do you agree or disagree with this method? Please let us know in the comments.

Apple’s GarageBand software is fast becoming the preferred tool for Mac-based songwriters who need to quickly sketch out and capture song ideas. In this post you’ll learn how to setup GarageBand in your studio so it’s easy and convenient to use. I’ll also show you how to create some “song starter” songwriting templates to help get your creative juices flowing.

Studio Setup

Apple’s GarageBand is part of the iLife software suite and ships free with every new Mac since 2003, so if you have a recent Mac computer you probably have the latest version. For a hassle-free songwriting setup, you’ll achieve the best results if you have GarageBand ’09 or later.

To make broadcast-quality recordings with live instruments using GarageBand, you will need a quality audio interface, such as those provided by Apogee, M-Audio, or Presonus. I use the Apogee One and highly recommend it for a home-based songwriting studio.

You will need a keyboard controller to use the software instruments and audio samples within GarageBand. At a minimum you should have a 25-key USB controller, but I suggest you use a controller with 61 keys and up for more productive songwriting sessions. This will give you a lot more real estate across the keyboard without having to stop and switch octaves.

You’ll also need speakers and headphones to monitor your recording and mixing sessions. Is everything setup? Great. Now you’re ready to start writing and recording.

GarageBand’s Built-In Templates

GarageBand offers several different templates to help you get started with the program. Let’s take a look at the built-in songwriting template. Launch GarageBand and choose “Songwriting” from the new project selection window.

This creates a blank GarageBand file with tracks for voice, acoustic guitar, keyboard, bass and a simple pre-selected drum loop. You’ll also notice the file defaults to a one-measure count-in and plays an automated metronome.

While this setup gives you a built-in band that’s ready to rock, there’s nothing in there yet. So I like to start things a little simpler.

If you’re a guitar player, launch GarageBand and instead choose Acoustic Instrument or Electric Guitar as the default template. If you’re a keyboard player, choose piano. Keep the tempo and key at the default of 120 and C respectively and name your template file. You can easily change these parameters later once your song starts to take shape.

Start Sketching Song Ideas

Now you can start using the template you selected to start sketching out song ideas. But you can simplify things even further. For example, when I’m staring at a totally blank page, I like to use what I call a “blank slate” template. This is just a basic track setup with no effects, no count-in and no metronome. It’s the equivalent of a simple recorder and lets me get my ideas down fast with no worries at all about technology. I just hit “R” for record and go to town.

I’m a guitarist and singer, so my initial songwriting ideas are usually just me and my guitar riffing melody ideas over some chord progressions. This file also has a piano instrument track in case I get brave and want to try noodling around on the keyboard. This is my go-to template for most of the raw material I crank out on a daily basis.

Make Your Own Songwriting Templates

But many times you’ll need more than a blank slate. As my initial ideas become more fleshed out, I’ll want to move them over into a more structured environment. Or I may strike out altogether and not be able to come up with anything during a songwriting session. That’s when I open up one of my custom GarageBand songwriting templates.

My first GarageBand article talks about how to make your own GarageBand songwriting templates from a song structure standpoint, and my follow-up post offers some more templates you can use with a few different chord progressions. Now we’ll take it to the next level.

Once you know how to create a songwriting template in GarageBand, you’ll want to make a bunch of them to speed up your overall songwriting process. I have a collection of templates in several styles and tempos of music. While there is no magic bullet for the overall time commitment songwriting requires, having these files definitely speeds up the sketching process for me after I have the initial idea.

I call these template files “song starters”. Some have metronome count-ins, click tracks, and a full keyboard/drum/bass groove. Some are very sparse and are just setup with a click track and the basic song structure to give me something to play along with and jam to. All of my song starter templates are in a variety of chord progressions and tempos in the key of C. This makes them very easy to transpose later.

More Work To Do

Remember, templates can only help you get started. They can’t do the work for you. It’s up to you to flesh out your creative ideas into a finished song. The nice thing about using songwriting templates is they give you a primed canvas on which to paint your masterpiece. Give it a try and let me know your results in the comments.

photo credit: iStockphoto

Writing good lyrics is hard, and where they come from is often a mystery. While everyone has their own unique approach to writing a song, here are seven tips that may help you jumpstart your lyric writing process. Let me know what you think in the comments.

1. Keep A Hook Book

This is a great tip I got from Jason Blume’s wonderful book, Six Steps To Songwriting Success. For the last few years I’ve kept a “hook book”, which is simply a collection of song titles and phrases I keep with me at all times. While a pocket notebook and pen works just fine for this purpose, my hook book is in my phone and I email myself backup copies once in a while to keep it safe.

The idea is to always be ready to capture ideas for song titles and hooks the moment they strike so you don’t forget them. Over time you will amass hundreds of ideas, many of which you can later incorporate into your song lyrics. Lyric ideas are everywhere – in everyday conversations, in books, on TV, on Facebook, etc. Anywhere humans interact there is often a story waiting to be told. Find it and write it in your next song.

2. Start With A Strong Title

When you sit down to write, try to start with a strong title that clearly communicates the emotion you want to impart to your listener. A strong title should also contain your hook. This will help you keep your lyrics focused on your song’s overall concept. Your challenge is then to support the title and hook in your verses/choruses with powerful, concrete imagery.

A great current example of this is Edie Brickell’s “Pill”. Each verse opens up with an everyday vignette explained in a conversational tone, followed up with a catchy hook/title that I still can’t get out of my head. A great title often helps a great song write itself.

3. Sketch Out A Concept

Robin Frederick, author of Shortcuts To Hit Songwriting and Shortcuts To Songwriting For Film and TV advocates sketching out an overall concept of your song that you can use as a lyric template. First you decide what the song is about, such as “I miss you”. Then come up with a one-sentence statement that describes each verse, chorus, or bridge in a way that supports the title. This gives your song a written “scaffold” on which to hang your lyrics as you develop them out further.

4. Do Your Research

Often doing a little research can pay huge dividends in your search for the perfect lyric line. Last week I was writing a song to pitch to a network TV drama. Before I started, I watched a few episodes of the show to get familiar with the show’s sound, and then decided on the emotion I wanted to convey, which was “isolation”.

I went to Wikipedia and looked up the word “isolation” and some other facts that I knew would be featured in the scene. This, along with a concept sketch really helped me come up with some concrete lines that vividly described the story without specifically stating “I feel isolated”. The real proof will be if the song gets accepted. But regardless of the outcome, I really enjoyed the writing process.

5. Do Word Associations

Once you’ve done your research, make a list of words and phrases you like that tie back to your title and hook. Then make a list of opposites, synonyms, and rhymes. This word association will provide you with some great reference material which you can then use to craft your verse, chorus, and bridge lyrics. Give it a try and have fun.

6. Re-Write

Re-writing is often what separates professional songwriters from amateurs. Just getting to the point of having a finished lyric is a big enough milestone. Is it really necessary to re-write? Yes, it is. Take some time away from your song and come back a day or two later to look at it with fresh eyes. See if there are any spots you can tighten. Ask yourself if everything was communicated clearly and get rid of any lingering cliches. Share your creation with people you respect and ask for feedback. Then polish your song lyrics until they are the best you can do.

7. Make It A Game

If this whole lyric writing thing steals all the joy out of songwriting for you, see if you can make it into a game. Write your lyric lines backward. Tape them up on the wall and put sticky notes with new ideas on top of them. Come up with 10 reasons why you just know your latest verse is going to win a Grammy. Team up with a co-writer and make a friendly competition to see who can come up with the most titles and hook lines over a given period of time. You get the idea.

Write Lyrics Every Day

The point of all of these tips is to get you writing better lyrics quickly and on a regular basis. On top of all your other songwriting activities, try to set aside time each day to improve your lyric writing skills. The more you do it the better you’ll get. And the world is waiting to hear the stories you have to tell.

In this final installment of my conversation with veteran songwriting consultant John Braheny, John gives advice about making a living as a solo singer-songwriter, how to maximize your songwriting output even if you have outside responsibilities such as a job and family, and the best ways to seek out and secure publishing deals. I’d like to thank John for sharing his decades of music industry experience with Serve The Song. We really appreciate your insights! – Mary Shaw

11. Is it possible for a solo singer-songwriter to make a living completely online, or is it still necessary to tour and get as much publicity as possible?

Big question and a good one. It is possible for a singer-songwriter to make a living completely online, but the odds aren’t as good and it takes a lot of work and creative marketing. You need to be able to drive potential fans to your website or wherever you’re selling your music.

Touring is one of the best ways to generate fans. There’s nothing quite as powerful as connecting with your audience in person. If they like what they experience they’ll want to take home your CD as a memory. You want them to go to your site, get on your mailing list and you want to create as much contact with them as possible. That means blogging, using Facebook, Twitter and other social media networks frequently, coming up with special deals for fans, like bonus tracks, works in progress they can have input on, discounts on merchandise and concerts etc. Even if you are touring, it’s still tough to “make a living completely.” It helps if you can find compatible sponsors for the tour.

If you’re not touring it means you have to generate income and publicity about yourself in other ways. One of those ways is to get your songs and instrumental tracks into films and TV shows, video games, commercials or for other uses that pay licensing fees and royalties. Another is to gain expertise in production and write for/with other artists.

12. Let’s talk about output for a minute. Obviously the more you write, the better you’ll get. But given the other responsibilities faced by many singer-songwriters such as day jobs, families, etc., what is a reasonable amount of output that an aspiring singer-songwriter can expect to make without going crazy? Should they aim to write one song a week, one a day, two-three a month? What’s reasonable?

What’s reasonable varies widely. All those factors you mention have variables. How supportive is your spouse? Will he/she support time for you to spend a couple of hours a night by yourself without making you feel guilty? Are you willing to allow your spouse the same consideration?

You also have to make quality time for your spouse and kids – share what you create with them so they can see/hear what that creative space you request has produced. You’ll model for them that they deserve to have their own private time to create.

As for the numbers, I’ve known people with day jobs and families who can still create a song a week and produce at least a rough demo. Others just take a whole lot longer. There’s no getting around the fact that it’s always a difficult juggle. But don’t use your family and job obligations as excuses for not writing. You can write while you’re in line at the bank, commuting, and in any number of common circumstances. Keep a digital recorder and notepad with you. I did a seminar recently and a 13-yr-old was in the front row taking quick notes on her iPhone. (Or was she texting her friends??)

13. What is the future of music publishing? Should writers aim to keep their own publishing or look for deals?

Music publishing will continue as long as there is music to be licensed and royalties to be collected. It’s just a question of whether you’re capable of exploiting your own music (finding income generating uses for it) or whether you want help with it.

The royalty collection part is extremely important because over half your income may be generated outside the U.S., which means you will need an administration deal with an experienced international administration company to collect on your behalf. In this situation you’d keep your publishing and hire an admin company for typically about 15% of what they collect.

My general advice (much more detail in the book) is to hold on to your publishing rights unless you get something very valuable in return. That might include financing and shopping master recordings, giving you advances to live on while you’re writing songs, and giving up limited publishing income (but not ownership) for someone to do film/TV placement.

Generally speaking, if you’re a writer/artist/band actively looking for a record deal, keep your publishing. You may need it as part of the deal. If you’re a songwriter only, finding a good publisher may be a good situation for you.

14. Are services like TAXI and Pump Audio still viable in light of all the recent changes in the music business?

Very much so, especially if they’re as trusted by the industry as TAXI to pre-screen the material so it’s high quality and appropriate for the requests. There are always producers and record company A&R people looking for songs and artists, managers looking for artists, film/TV music supervisors and music libraries looking for songs and instrumental tracks, and publishers looking for songs and writers. Those services can really help indie writers exploit their songs and keep the publishing in most cases.

15. What do you think about selling songs to royalty-free music providers like AudioJungle.net?

AudioJungle is an Australian company and I believe you receive a 40-70% commission from the music that they sell to users on your behalf. Generally speaking, royalty-free music means that a user pays a one-time fee and can either sell unlimited units of the same work or, depending on the contract, may use up to, say, 5000 units without additional fees.

A better deal for you is that the end user has to file a cue sheet with your Performing Rights Organization (PRO) – ASCAP, BMI, or SESAC (in the U.S.) so you’ll get paid a royalty for its continued use. One factor that will shape your decision is how valuable that piece of music is to you. If it’s an instrumental track that you don’t think you’d have another use for and you need the cash, you might go for it. If it’s a song that’s dear to your heart, you’ll probably want to maintain ownership and license it so you get an up front sync fee and “back end” payments from your PRO. This is a time when these services are evolving with varieties of new business models. As a copyright owner you can make any kind of deal you want. My advice is to read the contract very carefully, though.

In case you missed them, check out part 1 and part 2 of this interview and leave your thoughts in the comments.

A lot of people come to Serve The Song looking for songwriting templates, so I’ve put together another one. My first  GarageBand songwriting template was built using basic song forms. This new template uses very basic music theory featuring simple I, IV and  V chords along with ii and vi minor.


What The Heck Does That Mean?

With all due respect to those of you who understand music theory, the Roman numerals I, IV and V (1, 4 and 5) describe the first, fourth and fifth scale degrees in any major scale. When you build major triads (three-note chords) from these points in the major scale, you always get major chords. Likewise, when you build minor triads on the second (ii) and sixth (vi) scale degrees you always get minor chords.

Use Basic Chords As Building Blocks For Your Songs

While there are dozens of chord combinations you could use, these 5 basic chord forms are excellent building blocks for pop songs in any key.

Download and use the attached zip file to get started. The template has a basic drum and bass groove and the chords are played on piano as straight half notes. There are also blank tracks available for you to add your own melodies.

Remember, this is very basic stuff. No bells and whistles. Just enough to give your creativity a boost. You are free to build on top of this in any way you choose. To change key in GarageBand simply change the key of your project and all the chords will transpose accordingly. Same goes for tempo.

Have Fun And Write Something New

The template is saved in both Garageband .band format and .mp3 so you can use it in whatever software package you prefer. Let me know if it helps you jump start your songwriting. Use some or all of the chords to give you a starting point for your next song. Use them in any key at any tempo. Stretch them out, chop them up, or put them in any combination you prefer. But most importantly have fun!

Download Songwriting Template

John Braheny is a consultant for songwriters and the author of “The Craft and Business of Songwriting”.  Learn more about him at www.johnbraheny.com.

In Part 1 of our interview with John Braheny, he talks about the importance of mental preparation, current opportunities and demo production strategies.

In Part 2 below, John gives some great tips on getting the most out of your songwriting sessions, the value of re-writing, and learning how to communicate better with your audience.

6. What are some common mistakes you see songwriters make?

A. Assuming the first thing they think of will be their best idea.

B. Settling too soon just to get it finished. Have a check list you go through on each song you write so you keep up your own standards.

C. Deciding not to write any more until you get your songs demoed, published etc. That’s a good sign you’re not writing because you love to write. Most successful writers have written hundreds of songs before they get their first cut. That’s certainly not a rule, but as Malcolm Gladwell observes in his great book “Outliers,” most people who are successful at anything have spent at least 10,000 hours practicing their art or trade. In songwriting, it took Diane Warren 10 years to get her first cut after writing several songs a week. I can attest to that work ethic after hearing about 150 of the songs she wrote when she was 15. Check out her site at www.realsongs.com.

D. Listening to friends and relatives who tell them they can’t do it because: “You’ll never make any money,” “It’s a waste of time,” “What makes you think you have talent?” If you let yourself internalize those comments as negative self-talk, it becomes the voice of a destructive inner critic that’s poison to your creativity.

E. Refusing to re-write. Re-writing is how you learn and grow.

F. Not investing in classes, workshops, critique sessions to learn the craft that will better serve your imagination and creativity.

G. Giving up  when other priorities compete for your time. Even with a day gig and a family, if you want to write songs, write songs. Hang in there and make things happen.

H. Not getting help when you need it. For example, if you’re a great guitarist/singer but need help with production, you should seek the help of a knowledgeable producer.

7. What are some simple exercises songwriters can do to immediately improve their craft?

Write for 10 minutes every morning about anything that occurs to you. Julia Cameron, author of “The Artists’ Way”, calls it Morning Pages. Berklee songwriting professor Pat Pattison calls it “object writing” because you start by picking an object then just free associating. Don’t stop to worry about grammar, style and don’t rewrite. Just let it flow. Stop at 10 minutes. It gets so your subconscious knows you’ll be doing it and you find that during your day you’ll make a little mental note of what you’re going to write about. You’ll have a reason to pay attention. You’ll have to think about how you feel about things – how you’d describe things. You’ll write more clearly and deliberately, even when you free associate. Practice describing what you feel in detail in sensory detail.

You might invest in some Jump-starters. My friend Lisa Aschmann has a great book called “1000 Songwriting Ideas” that will give you that little shove to get the ball rolling. Another book like that is Barbara Jordan’s “Songwriters Playground: Innovative Exercises in Creative Songwriting.” Also, Robin Frederick’s “Shortcuts To Hit Songwriting” is full of great tips and exercises. It’s like a companion workbook to my book, “The Craft And Business Of Songwriting”.

On the music side you can do the same thing. Pick up the guitar or get with your keyboard for 10 minutes once a day. Try to just come up with a new chord progression, melody line or guitar riff each time. Record every session. Just sing nonsense. If you’re primarily a lyricist it’s very important to get used to focusing on the melody, otherwise you may have a tendency to get too wordy. Every time you get something started and come up with an actual lyric line, while recording, try out 4 or 5 more variations of the melody line.

8. How often should songwriters re-write?

As often as you need to make it as good as it can be. Although there are songs that come out pretty much finished the first time around, they’re very rare. In Nashville, the pro writers say “You don’t write songs, you re-write songs.” Jon Ims did 32 re-writes for his Songwriters Hall Of Fame hit, “She’s In Love With The Boy.” I asked him to chronicle that process for the “Rewriting” section of my book. It’s a great lesson.

It’s so difficult to come up with a unique idea that you owe it to yourself and your song to make it as good as possible. That’s how it is for Nashville writers and others who write for hit artists. They know those songs will go through a lot of scrutiny before a label will decide to invest a million dollars in producing and marketing a song. On another level, if you’re an artist who writes for yourself, you’ll become known and appreciated for the unique way you express yourself.

You want to take as much time as possible to hone your songs to reach into those listeners, your potential fans, and express their feelings as well as your own. Don’t be pretentious. Tell the truth. They’ll like you and identify with you because they feel they know you. So let them know the real you. Don’t obscure your feelings and attitudes by writing lyrics that are deliberately (or unconsciously) uncommunicative. Consider your songs to be conversations with your listeners. Don’t talk nonsense to them.

There are many creative, unique, poetic, profound and even somewhat abstract ways to express yourself. You rewrite with your imagination, art, and craftsmanship to achieve those goals, to communicate clearly and to entertain your listeners whether you’re delivering a message, expressing your feelings or just making music that makes them shake their butts and forget the world.

9. Truly successful songwriting depends on finding a receptive audience. With that in mind, how important is it for writer-performers to connect with their audiences? What can they do to improve their efforts?

Practice alone and with an audience every chance you get. When you practice alone, visualize an audience. Use a mirror or use a cheap video camera to record yourself and study it. Keep a daily journal of funny stuff you observe or think about in your normal life. Be honest. Work on developing those funny personal stories and sharing them with your audience in a regular blog and between songs at your showcases and gigs. No matter what your personality is, you’ll draw an audience who likes and identifies with it. Don’t forget that you’re not on stage just to express yourself – you’re there to entertain your audience and make them feel good that they invested their precious time coming to see you.

I see way too many artists just get up and stumble through their songs, apologizing, “Sorry I’m out of tune” (Just shut up and tune or learn to tune as you tell them a story.) “Sorry I’m not at my best/ I didn’t get much sleep” (This one better be accompanied by a VERY funny story!) “Hey I just wrote this today and I haven’t quite got it worked out yet.” (Don’t inflict it on them. It’s like saying “You only deserve to see me at my worst.”) They don’t care!! They didn’t come to see you at your worst! Don’t apologize! You don’t exactly have to put on a suit and tie (Unless you’re Michael Buble), but wear something that shows some respect for your audience. Comb your hair. Look like you care – like you’re going to meet your girlfriend/boyfriend’s parents. Well, that might be a little extreme but you know what I mean.

As a singer, make sure you’ve written lyrics that represent your true feelings, convictions, experiences and that you personally connect emotionally with every line you sing. Quantum Physicists are finding that there is an actual transfer of energy that takes place. It’s why you see some American Idol contestants who hear from Simon or Kara “You’re just not inside the song.” when they’re thinking about how they’re singing and how they look etc. and not what they’re singing. There are singers who can fake it and audiences who will buy it. There’s a famous line of David Lee Roth, if I remember correctly when asked by Johnny Carson what was the secret of his success, he said “Sincerity, Johnny, and if you can fake that you’ve got it made.” It’s much better, however, if you are sincere.

10. What can people do to keep their connection to an audience once they establish it?

Get their e-mail address. Make sure they can reach you. If you’re playing a club, persuade the doorman to use a stamp with your website on it so they can go to their iPhone or computer and enter it. Then send them something every week. Tell them about your next gig, video yourself and send them a link. Send them a newsletter, do a blog on your site, let them know with a Facebook message or a Tweet. Try using a site/service like www.Reverbnation.com that will let you post your songs on you fans’ sites so they can promote you. There are lots more of these things. Check Ariel Hiatt’s www.arielpublicity.com and Bob Baker’s www.bob-baker.com for great self-marketing info.

In Part 3 of this interview, John gives advice about making a living as a solo singer-songwriter, how to maximize your songwriting output even if you have outside responsibilities such as a job and family, and the best ways to seek out and secure publishing deals.

John Braheny is a consultant for songwriters and the author of “The Craft and Business of Songwriting”.  Learn more about him at www.johnbraheny.com.

John Braheny is a top consultant for songwriters, performers and industry entrepreneurs. He is a consultant and screener for TAXI, the independent A&R company, and offers valuable feedback on songwriting craft and business and career strategies for performers.

John is one of the most respected people in the music industry, and, more specifically, in the songwriting community. From 1971-1996 he co-founded and directed the legendary Los Angeles Songwriters Showcase (LASS), which BMI sponsored for 18 years.

During that time the organization gave exposure and opportunities to a virtual Who’s Who of up and coming singer-songwriters, including Stevie Nicks and Lindsay Buckingham, Janis Ian, Warren Zevon, Karla Bonoff, Stephen Bishop, and Diane Warren.

John graciously took some time away from his busy schedule to discuss songwriting with Serve The Song over the phone and via email. Below is the first part of our conversation.

1. Most readers of Serve The Song are DIY songwriters and producers. Can you talk a little bit about how they need to think like entrepreneurs to move their careers forward?

Sure. In some way or another we’ve always had to be entrepreneurs, even during the days when everybody aspired to a major label deal. We had to find managers, booking agents, hire or select musicians for our bands, select and book recording and rehearsal studios. We had to handle and budget our money and we had to promote ourselves. If we found a manager, many of those tasks would be taken over by him/her and/or a business manager. If we got a major or indie label deal, the company would often take over the jobs of finding a booking agent, selecting a producer and paying for marketing and record promotion.

One of the most expensive items was marketing/promotion. The record had to be good enough for radio airplay and promoted to radio with a combination of in-house and out-sourced promoters. In the old label deals most of that cost would be recouped by the record companies through record sales. Production costs, tour advances and sometimes promotion costs were recouped from the artists royalties before the artists got their first penny.

Currently, most of those things still have to be done, but DIY artists now have a vast array of services and resources to help them with booking, accounting, and fan-base management. What that does, however, is to put the responsibility of developing your career solely on your own shoulders. It requires self-discipline, good time management skills, networking skills, the willingness to seek feedback on your work (an often under-appreciated service that was provided in the past by music publishers and record companies) and to commit to growing and learning as an artist. So without the record label or a good manager, you can’t blame failure on anyone but yourself.

The bottom line is that even if you do aspire to a major label deal, labels want to sign successful entrepreneurs who have demonstrated a real commitment to their careers. I’ve heard many record execs through the years remind artists that when the deal is signed, that’s when your REAL work begins. These days I’d disagree. Your work as an entrepreneur starts when you decide YOU want to make a living doing what you love.

2. Besides pitching songs to established artists and TV/movie music supervisors, what other opportunities are available to today’s DIY songwriters and producers?

Getting your songs into film/TV is the biggest but there are other opportunities. Video games are using more actual songs aside from scores and more games are getting set up so that the songs can be changed out and new songs used. Songs in greeting cards are getting big, although they’re still dominated by old hits. There are many compilation CDs created for charities that will use songs that focus on their particular interests (medical, animals, armed forces family charities etc.). You won’t see a lot of income from those compilations but it’s a good way to get your songs out there to help people discover you. Sponsorships and endorsement deals can be a good income generator or a way to finance your road tours, equipment, etc.

Some contests offer cash prizes and all offer recognition if you win. Good indie producers are always in demand if you’re willing to work on “spec” until you get real opportunities. It’s also good to attend audio school combined with internships that prepare you and put you in line for those opportunities. Always look toward your classmates and contemporaries as potential partners on projects. Join forces and collaborate wherever possible and jump on any creative opportunity. This is not a time for competition, but for cooperation.

I’ll mention here that one of the best ways I know to connect with new opportunities if you feel you have a viable catalog of songs is to join TAXI. It’s a great opportunity to get constructive critiques to help you grow as a writer and artist.

3. In the old days we used to be able to pitch material with just a simple guitar and vocal demo. Given the current level of competition out there, what is the minimum quality standard songwriters should shoot for when pitching their demos? Does everything need to be slickly produced? Is it possible to get an acceptable level of quality in a home studio environment?

If you learn to use your home studio equipment well – your software and samples, plug-ins and outboard gear as well as old-school microphone placement techniques, you can do very good demos on your own that are comparable to masters costing thousands of dollars in expensive studios not all that long ago. So don’t think you have to get that elaborate. You need clean, undistorted sound. The kinds of demos you present to whom is a topic I cover extensively in my book but I’ll try to be brief here. If the song is for country or a pop ballad, and has a great, unique lyric and melody, you can get away with a well-played guitar or keyboard and vocal. The vocal MUST be very good. If you know anyone who’s a better singer than you, hire them to sing it. If you’re a band, you obviously use your band. If you write rock or R&B, Hip-Hop, etc. you need a great rhythm section and a great singer. This is a generalization and there are a lot more nuances to this question.

4. How important is storytelling when it comes to writing a great song?

What’s most important is engaging and holding the listener’s attention lyrically, melodically and rhythmically. Storytelling is one of the most successful time-tested lyrical approaches. There have always been great story songs in all cultures. Holding a listener’s attention with a well-developed story has been a staple in all genres. The linear narrative like “Coward of The County” or Eminem’s “Stan” or Dan Fogelberg’s “Same Old Lang Syne” is one kind of storytelling but you can also tell a more non-linear, abstract, emotional story that leaves more to the listener’s imagination. Ultimately, it’s a magic combination of lyric, melody, groove, production and arrangement and performance that together tells, and sells, the “story”, regardless of how you define it.

5. How important is an understanding of music theory and various song forms?

What both of those give you is a toolbox. If you only know one chord progression or one melodic mode, you’ll start repeating yourself very soon. Your writing will get stale. Though it’s not necessary to know music theory to write a good song, understanding the theory will help you to know how to analyze your own instinctive artistic choices. Once you know them you know how to control them and expand them.

Song form, or structure, is very important if you’re writing contemporary music that you want to be commercially viable. There are many viable structures to choose from. Although you should have them all available in your toolbox, it’s equally as important that you understand why they work. Song structure serves as a matrix that helps to guide the listener through the song with a combination of predictability and surprise that serves to hold their attention. If you have 5 0r 6 verses in a row with the same melody, it doesn’t hold a listener’s attention as well as a verse/chorus/verse/chorus/bridge/chorus structure that introduces a listener to 3 different melodies to keep it interesting. Note that the bridge (surprise factor) comes after a repeat (predictability factor) of two verse/chorus modules.

You always need at least two of something before you can introduce a surprise. If, say, you had 4 different sections in a row where nothing repeats, though it may be interesting to progressive rock or jazz fans, it’s hard to hold the attention of a mass market audience who likes to “own” a song by learning the chorus and participating.

There are styles of music that don’t need to use the same structures as pop music because the audience doesn’t need these structures to hold their attention on radio while they’re thinking about/doing something else. Dance music is generally built for clubs where the music surrounds the listener and depends on a different mix of ingredients (groove, sounds, etc.) to delight its audience. Musical theater uses songs to move the story along and develop characters and already has the attention of a viewing audience. To some extent, music for film/TV doesn’t always require the same kind of structure and dynamics as radio music because its function is more about supplying a “vibe” or emotional underpinning to what’s happening on-screen or saying lyrically what the characters are thinking. In that case, the screen, not the music should hold your main focus – unless the film is about the music.

Check out Part 2 of “A Songwriting Conversation With John Braheny”, and please feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments!