From: Bill Habets,

9 Pitreavie Drive,

Hailsham,

East Sussex BN27 3XG.

Phone: {01323} 442711

Part one of a series of three articles

A STARTER'S GUIDE FOR

WANNABE SONGWRITERS

I imagine that just about everyone who has at one time or another fiddled with a keyboard to play music composed by someone else must have at times entertained the thought, 'Ah, I'm pretty sure I could write something every bit as good myself.'

In most instances, this brief, fleeting reflection is but too seldom followed by any concrete action, the very idea of sitting down and actually writing a song being abandoned before it is even considered seriously.

In many ways, it is a great shame that this happen, for writing music - or even merely making the attempt to do so - can be of great use to any player in many ways (and that is not even taking into the slightest consideration any idea of possibly earning money from your efforts). Just having a go, no matter how limited it may be, at composing a song will, amongst other things, at the very least help you develop a greater insight into how music hangs together, how notes, harmony, rhythm and the right kind of words all work in unison, interdependent upon each other, to achieve that elusive and ephemeral 'product' we call a song.

Additionally, without necessarily aspiring to have to have your work appear in the charts, you may wish to put together a ditty to celebrate a birthday or mark some occasion, like the opening of a supermarket.  And there is a fair a penny or two to be earned from penning commercials for local radio stations.

But, to keep crass financial considerations altogether out of the picture, the truly important point is that a bit of song writing can truly help make you a better, more insightful player, and for that reason only it's worth giving it a go now and then when you are of mind to do so. And that is exactly what this series of articles is all about ... to, first of all, show you that writing a song is not necessarily as difficult as you may think it is, and, secondly, to provide you with a basic guide to creating your very own music.

I need to pause briefly at this moment to point out that this guide will solely be concerned with writing songs, that is music that has accompanying words (or lyrics, to be pedantic), the composition of purely instrumental pieces being ignored for the moment, but perhaps remaining a subject to be visited later. There are two good reasons why this approach has been chosen: one, writing a song with words is in many ways a whole lot easier than trying to compose, say, a sonata right off the bat; and, two, I suspect that whatever tune-smithing aspirations most of our readers may secretly harbour, they will in general be most interested in putting together what might be called a 'singing song'.

With that explanation out of the way, let us now consider what to some is an all-important question: How good a musician do you have to be write a song?

The short, and perhaps somewhat surprising, answer is that you really don't have to be any great shakes as a musician to write exceedingly good songs. For example, Lionel Bart, arguably Britain's most successful writer of musicals, who also penned a lot of great pop songs before he turned his talents to the stage, often just sang his words into a tape recorder, leaving others to sort what the notes were and to put them on paper. Irving Berlin, too, had scant musical training, restricting his composing to the black keys of the piano (the immense virtue of that method is that no matter what black notes you play, they will always be in harmony).

A chicken-and-egg question

The next big question that usually arises in most people's minds about song writing is: what comes first - the words or the music?

It's totally impossible to be categorical about this because there are so many different ways that lyricists and composers work out their ideas, but it is often easier if at least the framework of the music (that is the melody, this perhaps underpinned by a sketchy chordal progression) is written before the lyrics (mind you, Elton John and Bernie Taupin go about it exactly the other way round, and they don't so badly). There are several inter-connected reasons why creating the music first is usually the favourite and most efficient way of getting a song down on paper:

• By far and large, music has to follow a much more rigid rhythmical structure than the lyrics. Having to match the words to an existing melody will to a greater or lesser extent enforce a certain discipline upon the lyricist, a discipline that can be essential to make the two components of a song work smoothly together.

• While a skilled lyricist can take great liberties to good effect with the spoken word (including how they're pronounced or how many syllables they're given), the scope for such deviation becomes considerably more limited when the words are meant to be sung rather than recited or read. Even the most accomplished of singers will find it difficult - if not nigh impossible - to  'hang on' to certain sounds while others - notably oo, oh, ah, and eeh - are quite easy to sustain. Whether a syllable can be held comfortably by a performer for a fairly long note will, of course, to a great extent dictate whether it is suitable for the ending of a phrase.

• Lyricists might not appreciate being told this, but the truth is that the mood of any song - that is the impression it creates upon the listener - is usually more a product of the music than of the lyrics. So if a tender ballad is what you're after, get the music right first, then go on to add the words. Doing it the other way around could well leave you with a wonderful set of words that virtually defy any attempt to put them in a suitable musical setting.

It, of course, needs to be added that the joining together of words and music is also often a more or less simultaneous process: a melody suggests lyrics; lyrics suggest melody, the two finally blending together in a smooth mix.

Collaboration may be the answer

As far as the words - or the lyrics, to give them their fancy name - are concerned, and unless you're either a bit of a wordsmith already or are absolutely dead set upon your songs resulting solely from your own efforts, think about working in partnership with a writer (perhaps one with poetic inclinations?), each of you contributing what you can do best. Some of the world’s best songs were written by two people, such as those resulting from the partnerships of Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe, Johnny Mercer and Harold Arlen, Howard Dietz and Arthur Schwartz, and many, many others.

And if you don't have a potential collaborator at hand, here are a few ideas for locating a suitable 'partner':

• Advertise in your local paper, or perhaps in the musical press.

• Put up a notice in your local library.

• Contact local music teachers.

• Most music shops have free bulletin boards through which local musicians (and budding lyricists) can establish contact.

Doing it your way

However, if 'words are your friends', then you may well choose to write both the words and the music - after all, why share the credit (and maybe the money)? Here are some tips to help you get underway with your first efforts:

• While playing around with notes on a monophonic instrument, such as clarinet or flute, can inspire a melody, it’s usually better by far to use a polyphonic instrument, such as a piano, organ, or guitar. All musical compositions contain three major elements: a melody, a chord sequence (which provides the harmonic setting for the melody), and a rhythm (timing and tempo). Only a polyphonic instrument allows you to play all three elements at the same time and so gauge how well they interact.

• Just where you start depends very much upon your personal preference - or what is inspiring you at the moment. Most composers begin with either an original musical phrase or by building up a chord sequence. Musical phrases, of course, may be inspired by lyrics (or the other way around); and chord sequences are often derived from more or less standard patterns, the chosen pattern most usually being one associated with a particular musical style.

• Now to preach a bit of anarchy: as we all know there are lots and lots of so-called 'rules' about writing music. While it can be useful to be aware of what these rules are, obeying them is never as important as originality and a well-developed sense of what sounds right in the specific context of a given song. You only have to look at the scores of well-established and extremely successful composers to find that the rules were broken time and time again in the interest of genuine originality or to create a specific effect.

• Lyrics that may look fine on paper or sound good when recited may nevertheless appear flawed when sung, the usual reason for this happening being the simple fact that the human voice places stresses and accents quite differently when singing than when talking. Because of that, it’s vital that any lyrics be given the acid test of being sung, preferably by an experienced singer, as this is only way of making sure that the music and the words are genuinely in harmony with each other. A particular good way to spot any flaws or awkwardness in your composition is to record it on a tape recorder and then carefully listen to it several times.

Finally, a thought to keep in mind until the second part in this series comes your way, many musicians who have turned their hand to penning lyrics have found that this change in approach actually rapidly became a valuable source of musical inspiration, the different challenges posed by what to them was a new medium often leading them to fresh visions and stimulating their mind and emotions.

In the second part of this series, we will take a closer look at how an the starting point for a song may be triggered by the simplest of musical idea, such as just a couple of notes, an unusual (or even a very usual) chord sequence, or by, as it were 'thinking in reverse'.

- ends -

(about 1,700 words)

From: Bill Habets,

9 Paradise Close,

Eastbourne,

East Sussex BN20 8BT.

Phone: {01323} 728760