Do you know what these vids are making me want to do? Go back through 10 years of badly written, half-finished songs and transform them into what they were supposed to be when I started writing them.
@@burtcocain1986 Well "utter dross" sells records. Look at Bohemian Rapsody by Queen, which is totally mish-mashed nonsense from start to finish, and random words which don't make any sense (it's my most hated song of all time).
It is a true joy to be a remote student following your classes - situated in Norway as I am. I enjoy all your free stuff that you so generously have shared, as well as your more systematic in depth courses at reasonable prices. So keep up the good work! Kind regards, Frode
SO enlightening. Thank you. “Why do I love this song?” can be answered on many levels. You’ve prompted me to dig a little deeper and to ask the same question about my own songs.
"Surprise is entertainment" Sting quote from an interview with Rick Beato ! After I heard this simple quote it changed everything about the way I understand the song ingredients :) Now I see ( Hear ) this everywhere and in a good way. I loved this video as much as listening to a new hit song. It pulled me in and had me taking notes, Thank you so much , Sincerely.
I have few creative bones in my body... but I love understanding the hidden elements behind "why" I love something like a nice melody, a captivating chorus or an emotional story. I have only heard some of these songs but wow, what a wonderful experience having you both bring these elements to life. Such a treat! 😍🤩
You two have the best songwriting lyric advise and instrumentation samples on RU-vid. In my opinion, you explain by example. It makes sense to me as a beginner/intermediate learning songwriter, and musician. I will visit often.
Love this channel. It's so easy to watch - I'm eating breakfast and taking it all in, and then I'm off do work on a couple songs with some new inspiration. Thanks! 😊
I *did* stay with this video until the end and subscribed to the channel straight afterwards. It is so great to hear someone say "You can't copyright a chord progression". I like to think that I am original, like everyone I suppose, and when someone points out that I have used the 'same chords' as something else I want to shout "What about bloody twelve bar blues then?". I also enjoyed being able to see your hands the whole time and follow exactly what you were talking about. You both have obvious love and enthusiasm for your craft, as well as knowledge and insight. I look forward to watching th rest of your opus.
Thanks for this. Another great video. I did watch it over a few sittings, as that allowed me to take it all in. If I was offering an example of a song that taught me about writing, it would probably be John Prine's "Angel of Montgomery". To hear a man sing the opening line "I am an old woman" taught me to be brave!
Wow, thank you! You might be interested it the mini course we just released here: www.udemy.com/course/how-to-write-songs-the-songwriting-process-start-to-finish/?referralCode=8B3DC2EAEAC9833FECBF
I am so blown away , finding you two today...really needing to make that leap with the musical composition part. The examples you used are all heroes of mine and artists I love...Your insights are invaluable , and have propelled me forward in my pursuit of completing many songs....Inspired, and buzzing with ideas 🌺 thank you both so much!!!!
Only just got to the end of the Radiohead section but what a fantastic video. Already learned two great chord progression tips. I love the song analysis stuff you do. Keep it coming.
Thank you both for making this video! I feel like I was familiar with all of these principles, but this really helped crystallize them into something I can effectively.
Lovely folks sharing generous insights, thank you kindly! Excellent song choices. Miss, you made me fall in love with Country music again. Your voice is a breeze on the prairies. 🕊
This is good. I think what i find hard personally is the tune comes to my mind first and then trying to putting words around it to match the tune makes its difficult
As a songwriter for a living, I would say: what do the melodies sound like? Sean Douglas (big hit songwriter) says he finds sounds in the melody he’s singing and sometimes they sound like words (or are just random words that you sing when coming up with a melody) and often that’s a good place to start building on.
I've always loved Dire Straights' Romeo & Juliet. You have me interested in open tuning now. Thanks! And I had never heard of Gillian Welch. They are very helpful as examples. Thanks you two!
When I first started write poetry /lyrics ,I went to the best Lennon and McCartney. This is before internet . All I had was a Album and my ears. I would count the lines in each verse, chorus. Grew from that.
You are both uniquely wonderful in your approach and passion for songwriting. I wrote my first song when I was 8 years old, which was when the Beatles hit America (surprise, surprise). Today I spend 30 to 40 hours a week immersed in creating and practicing my compositions. The compositions are a combination of Appalachian, Folk, and Classical genres. While these musical styles may seem a disparate mix they work very well for composing on the guitar using a finger picking technique. The result is many of my compositions are instrumental ballads and waltzes using 3/4 and 6/8 timing. I have a request: I would love for you to critique the song "Che Gelida Manina". The song structure is very unique and it has three musical sections that have very different tonal relationships to one another. The harmonies, countermelodies, tempos, and dynamics are very beautiful and varied. I spent many hours studying this particular piece and it really gave me some important insights, inspiration, and tools for achieving a freedom of thought and expression in songwriting. A really nice version is by Andrea Bocelli on RU-vid. By the way, the song is only 4:20 long! Anyway, great job and love your videos.
That is so kind and generous of you to say, LP. Thank you :) It is much appreciated, and we are glad you've found something helpful. I will check out that song today :) Please feel free to join our newsletter if you're so inclined! You can find the sign up here: howtowritesongs.org/
But again, we have to realize that nearly all of human development is based on adding to, or building on, what someone has done before us. That IS the nature of human progression - that is still doing something new. I got caught up for too many years in thinking ALL I created had to be completely unique - but now I strive for "inspired by" and consider it a "building process". Thanks for your videos, I'm enjoying and leaning from them. Cary - 65 - pursuing songwriting since 2019.
The F in Karma Police could be seen as a tritone substitution of the dominant chord in Em, in other words, it is a sub for the B7. F is a tritone away from B.
Great video and very informative! Now I understand why I like karma police so much ! I also really enjoyed listening to you going over Tom Waits lyrics. I could honestly see a series of videos discussing his lyrics.
@@htws this may sound crazy but I've made up a few melodies by humming license plates numbers. Putting 2 or 3 together. No 2 people will ever see those same plates together. I've heard of people doing something similar with spelling out a word. Please entertain the thought. If it works then share this idea!!
I checked out a few of the songs mentioned and found out that the Tom Waits song in the video wasn’t written by Tom Waits! The credit on Apple Music went to Tommy Faile. I thought that might be Tom Waits’ real name but Wikipedia described him as an old entertainer a generation older than Tom Waits. It’s actually a demonstration of the point about stealing at the end of the video.
It was recorded by Red Sovine and released in the 60’s. Waits did rework some of the wording (hard to call them lyrics) but is is recognizable for sure. Sovine made a career out of spoken word songs. He had big hits with Giddyup Go and Teddy Bear but my mom had the It’ll Come Back album for the 70’s and that’s the one that sticks for me even though I doubt it charted very high.
45:48 That is the most inspiring definition of song analysis I've ever heard. Thank you. I can't get myself to analyze songs. So I'm gonna do that instead :)
You’re welcome! I just heard a Rick Rubin talking about the same thing on a podcast episode too, explaining that the Beatles were really trying to do Motown, but ended up sounding like the Beatles instead ;)
Speaking of Karma Police and songs that are atonal (not dissonant, but lacking an obvious tonal center) -- the Beach Boys "God Only Knows" is a great example as well.
I've been a guitar player for almost 30 years, basically self taught? Played by ear? And love and listen to all genres of music. I've tried writing songs, but have always struggled? I haven't watched this video yet, but I'm really hoping it will help me break down that barrier that's holding me back
In 𝘒𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘢 𝘗𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘦, I'd classify the "This is what . . . " section as the bridge, and the final "I lost myself" part as the chorus. Otherwise you've got a "bridge" to nowhere. Guess the labels don't matter that much, though, either way.
I'm a big Tom Waits fan, just wish there had been one or two examples of songs you can learn from that came from eras predating Tom Waits because I'd be willing to bet "one more dollar" that's where he drew his inspirations from
I only recently discovered this channel... really enjoying it... but have you done anything about phrasing? Some of the simplest, cleverless lyrics can be transformed by how you sing it, no?
Karma Police chord progression is based on “Sexy Sadie”, a John Lennon song from the Beatles White Album. The lyrics are also ripped off from “Instant Karma” by Lennon
Glad you found us! I send out a free newsletter with my top songwriting tips and prompts, if you're interested, Michael! You can sign up here: howtowritesongs.org/
What's bizarre is that Radiohead didn't hand over those writing credits right out of the gate, versus waiting for the inevitable lawsuit. Anyone who grew up in the 70s recognized "The Air That I Breathe" the very first time we heard "Creep." Hell, I thought it was a satire of the original lovey-dovey vibe.
Maybe silly - but an example of what you were talking about with Creep by Radiohead - it's the same chord progression as the Steven Universe theme song! Completely different vibes
Really interesting, thanks. Probably the most influential and innovative songwriter in contemporary music is the New York genius Laura Nyro, particularly her revolutionary pop album Eli and the Thirteenth Confession (1968). Nyro breaks all the rules and is very complex and unique. Olivia Rodigo's recent massive hit 'Drivers Licence ' is based on Nyro's You Don't Love Me When I Cry (1969), right down to the ring at the beginning of the song.
love that Radiohead references....I have a tattoo of the top of the ok computer cd on my shoulder or upper arm because it was the last album I listened to in the house grew up in. very cool....beaustiful music and my favorite off that album is electioneering.
Thanks so much! If there are other things you'd be keen to see covered in future videos, please let me know by messaging me on fb or insta! facebook.com/keppiecoutts instagram.com/keppiecoutts/
I think Tom Waite’s use of the line “every now and then when the moon is full of water” doesn’t have anything to do with the tides. It’s a reference I think to the idiom “once in a blue moon” because water is blue.
Being , down and out , broke is a common blues / folk theme . I like Simon and Garfunkel's, The Boxer... They don't mention the Boxer, till the last verse.... Then, it's not clear, if he's a Boxer OR has a boxer's spirit.
A perfect example of Internal/External songwriting is Colors by Black Pumas (I have been obsessed with this verse ever since I first heard it and the way this picture is painted in my mind listening to the song) THANK YOU for breaking this down and putting this puzzle together for me, I didn't quite grasp how intentional this language is - It's all external, until the blend at the end - a masterful verse. I woke up to the morning sky first Baby blue, just like we rehearsed When I get up off this ground I shake the leaves back down to the brown (brown brown brown) 'Til I'm clean And I walk where I'll be shaded by the trees By a meadow of green for about a mile I'm headed to town town town in style
Then Lana Del Ray was accused of "ripping off" Creep with her single "Get Free". Modern song writing can be a minefield. As mentioned in this great video where possible try not to use really well known distinctive chord progressions wholesale, where the rhythm and feel is very similar.
So true. It’s a balancing act between adapting tools and techniques from other songs, but adapting them through your own filters and cross-pollinating with other influences such that they aren’t in the zone of copyright infringement…
I have a problem with the word “stealing”. I’d rather use the words “influenced” or “inspired”. To me, stealing conjures up a philosophy; a way of thinking that I’m not particularly fond of. Maybe spending a lifetime working in the commercial music domain contributed to my feelings. It seemed that what was important was to make sure your song sounded like the current #1 hit rather than being a quality song that can stand up on its own, all for the sake of record sales. I guess that’s the difference between good and bad “stealing”. There’s one way to find out …. I’ll be purchasing “Steal like an artist”. I’m sure I’ll feel better after reading it! ;) Thanks for another informative video.
@@htws Someone once said something like “artists create, great artist steal” (or something to that effect). I just ordered the book. Looking forward to reading it. I finished “Art & Fear”. I walked away with some helpful insights and perspectives. Thanks!
I just finished reading « Steal like an artist ». It’s a quick read. It’s full of golden nuggets. I read it in an hours time although 10 hours would be appropriate …. read it 10 times over! ;)
great video, (edit) just saw the end part about being squeamish about stealing for fans of Radiohead check out "the Air that I Breathe" by the Zombies, yes their breakthrough song is stolen
