Hello and welcome to The Songwriter’s Workshop. This is the series where I attempt to write songs based on the process and techniques of famous songwriters. Each video looks at a different songwriter’s writing habits, musical inspirations, and creative process while also including an original song written using those techniques.
Damn a whole book but doesnt even talk about the most important part of writing lol. Just teaches you how to rhyme doesn't talk about figurative language??? wtf
As a huge Nilsson fan I want to say thank you for this. Harry never gets the credit he deserves. He was a great songwriter and vocalist until he blew his vocal chords
So then why doesn’t this include booze, Cocaine and hookers in the late evening? That’s how he wrote in the early years. He’d be f@cked up and listen to what people say and try to write it down after he woke up from being passed out. You can’t do the later period after because those songs are written w/ his wife.
I thought this was great! I bought Jeff’s book during the pandemic…yes, it really helped write some different kinds of songs that I had never tried before. I have to go back to the book again ‘cause I’m in another songwriting time when feelings and struggles are trying to escape from my pores. My husband passed away last year - so I’ ve been trying to write about my feeling about this. It’s been very hard - every time I write something that’s too close to my emotions…I start crying my eyes out. So, I’m thinking I should write some other songs that I can finish without too many tears. Thanks so much for this video - I’m getting the book out again. Your song was great! I subscribed!❤
3.14 no harmonic complexities? That strikes me as a very silly comment from them about him. "A lot of the time he's happy letting V follow II and I follow V...." Yeah duh. Now let them try and cover a song by him or Ray Charles including the piano and in case of Randy also the orchestra without using more then 3 note harmony... Apart from that, rythm, feel and timing is huge in music. It's not simple. Randy can say that about himself. But no one else imho.
I really like your analysis! I can definitely hear more of the singing through a megaphone sound, or maybe just some more percussive buisness going on in the first one. I was making up my own background vocal choir parts (and strings too) while listening to the second one. Very good, both of them!
His songs, and yours always seem a little 'hymn' like to me. A story shallow buried beneath an accessible tune. Hidden depths, though. Keep listening and there's more going on. Nice job.
I've watched a fair few of you vids now and your model is a great way to exemplify the 'greats' different musical approaches. One of the most interesting channels on songwriting out there. Many congrats. One thing I have to say...I'm still surprised by just how many people hold Lennon/McC as the greatest ever (including industry people - who should ''know'') .....I mean they were essentially playing covers all day every day and then magically wrote 200 songs in a few years in a range of styles....the majority of which are now standards. Literally everrything they released went to number 1. After the Beatles, neither could really get close to that level again. George Harrison's ''best of'' is probably a far more pleasing listen than the other two's. So ....they clearly had ''help'' (ironically!) or they didn't contribute much at all. At the very least, G. Martin must've ''influenced'' the clever middle 8s. Some of their songs are complex and they had no formal training (Michelle?). Anyway, I leave it there. Personally, I am far more interested in the styles you have included in your videos. Diverse writers, all who sat down and wrote as a ''job'' and were working on their craft for decades. PS I think Neil Finn might be a decent candidate for a look, Robert Smith too....for 15 yrs his output was fantastic - thereafter not so convinced, but I'm pretty certain these two wrote their own. Elvis Costello's best work is outstanding. Very few make it past a decade of exceptional level output... Elton John a good example of this. Jethro Tull's first decade or so (Ian Anderson's writing) was groundbreaking.
👍 Thanks for the motivation to get Tunesmith and work through improving my song Good Morning to You My Sweetheart NEW SONG by Mary Kay Aufrance - Now, instead of a short little ditty with just Verse-Verse-Chorus twice through, I included: - a prolog with a fun little bass line and accordion accompaniment, - an introduction with lyrics that set the stage, - a couple of 7th chords at the end of the intro, with the last of these being on the 2-chord, to peak the listener's interest, - a bunch of short little fills throughout the song, which I played on my happy little accordion, - a bridge that I also played on my accordion, to lead into the second verse, - a bass line. These days I think songs just really gotta have a bass line, - vocal harmonies on the chorus, for Tom to sing with me. That's a lot! It was a lot of composing and twiddling on my part, but it sure was fun to put the suggestions in the book to work.
Great content, although this is essentially a lyric writing video not a really songwriting one. I came to this vid looking to move beyond reams of words and form some into songs but this video doesn't really cover that much... more generating lyrics in the first place.
Your Songwriter's Workshop is a really nice presentation and I am looking forward to all of your videos. What a nice song, using the techniques presented inTunesmith and encouraging. I have been doing the same with that book, to gussy up my songs. Currently, I am getting into Chapter 6 chords and progressions, and since I never had patience with that stuff I appreciate how Jimmy Webb inserts encouragement to stick with his exercises even though progress will seem glacial and frustrating. This time it is finally sinking in! As a piano player, I imagine you worked through the chording stuff years ago, eh? Lastly, please check out my most recent song that I augmented with Tunesmith recommendations. It is youtube video Fk1RtFz_9GA
I would have guessed, that the song was cover version of Talking Heads song I haven’t heard before. I have noticed the same thing, that one chord songs develope groovy rythms.
