How to Write a Song

So, let's talk a bit about how to write a song.  Seriously, there's really no mystery in this; you simply do it no matter what your level.  I've had people ask me all sorts of slightly odd questions over the years, like where do you start when writing a song, how do you get an idea, and so on?  My answer is always the same - you just do it.  In fact, if you're "thinking" about it, you're doing it wrong, at least in my opinion.  It's all very Yoda - you do...there is no try.

You'll find a common thread in most people who write a lot of music, something along the lines of "I don't know where the ideas come from...they just happen and almost fall out of the sky".  This is the old "muse" concept, really.  Yes, that's exactly the way I would describe it as well, and it's almost magical.  It's seriously like some other power is doing it for you but I think it's just that you're so free with creativity that you simply do it with little to no thought.

But, how do you tap into that and get that started?  I've done a lot of observing over the years into the mentality of a wide variety of people and I think it's really quite simple.  I personally think there are creative types and non-creative types.  Creative types simply have a need or constant desire to create, no matter what medium, topic, etc.  Non-creative's, though, tend to over think the hell out of creativity and/or be completely intimidated by it.  That's where the probably lies.

So, what if you are somewhere closer to being a non-creative type but still want to write a song?  Again, just do it.  In other words, pick up your instrument, whatever it is, and just start playing.  It can be random chords, a riff, whatever...doesn't matter.  And then, start humming over it or singing or whatever you prefer.  If it's better, imagine the melody over what you're playing; it really makes no difference.  Sure, in the beginning your "songs" will sound pretty flat and not be incredibly exciting, or maybe you'll just feel that they're missing something, and the odds are that they actually are missing something, but the only way to figure that out is to DO it and do it more.  Trust me...you'll get over the hump if you keep working at it.  And, once you start learning how melody fits over chords, you're golden.

If you're a guitar player, even just starting out, don't be afraid to write a handful or more of simple 2-3 chord songs.  Yes, THOSE are songs too.  I mean, how many people have made countless amounts of money doing just that?  Again, don't think about what you're doing...I'd suggest you feel it.  To me, that's where real songwriting lies, in your own feeling for it.  The odds are that if you feel it, someone else just might as well.

Lastly, do not fall into goofy preconceived notions about what a song is, how long it should be, what the format is, what topics, and so on.  In fact, you should really be working to break or reinvent the rules, not follow them.  Now, having said that, there are certain things that you kind of need to at least roughly follow but truly the boundaries are pretty wide open.  I recently had someone say to me about one of my songs online, "Do you realize this song is 9 minutes long?!"  Um...yeah...I, er, wrote it, remember??!  That's another thing - if you intend to share with the world, just prepare to hear many bizarre comments.  People try to be nice and helpful but they often miss the mark unintentionally.  I think building thicker skin is actually part of the deal in this whole process so mentally prepare for it.

I'm no expert in anything since I have the old school mentality that an "expert" is someone that's been nose down in the books and studied under multiple professors for a decade or more.  I have been writing music for over 30 years, though, and I have written about 300+ songs so I think I have some knowledge in this regards.  I'd be more than happy to help anyone out with the concept of song writing.  At the end of the day, I still live by the old adage that you should write what YOU like, not what anyone else wants to hear.  I swear and live by these words, and at least half of my material wouldn't exist without them.

In the Nixon Trenches

It's been awhile since I've written anything and again it's simply because I'm busy, busy, and busy.  In fact, I've been so busy that in my heart I still think it's March...and yet it's only days away from being June.  When you're extremely "busy", well, time flies at a ridiculous pace and literally your life flies before your eyes.

I took my usual Memorial Day week off from work which was earmarked for working on the Defrost Nixon album and I've been hammering away at it every day since Saturday.  To back up slightly again, this is an album that my old band Defrost Nixon more or less recorded or started back in 2011.  We did most of the album at that time but then just dropped it, for reasons that I actually don't recall now.  I think the main problem was my own limitations in mixing and so I thought the whole thing sounded like crap...and it was actually me that was more of the issue.

Now, having said that, I have had to do some re-recording but for the most part I've been able to keep everything I have.  There have been internal fights, however, over the sound of drums and so on, and I frequently swear out loud at myself when I can't get something to work like I'm hoping.  I'm sure the neighbors think I'm completely nuts...although I'm sure we crossed that barrier many years ago.

I have 9 days off so I'm basically tackling a different song every day.  Now, it's a 12 song album but three of the songs are more or less kind of already glued together so hence I'm keeping my focus on the other nine.  I'm mainly working on making refrains sound bigger, fuller, and more exciting by adding secondary guitars and such.  I'm four songs in and so far I'm actually quite pleased with the results.  I'm also spending a large amount of time each day doing mixing on the track du jour which helps me understand how much or how little to add.  I just got done adding a nice little piano part to "Humor for a Lexophile" and it's amazing how something so simple can completely change the track.  If you're like me, an awful piano player, I can't overemphasize the importance of Midi (geez).

I dare say that this is going to end up being a pretty damn good album, in my opinion, at least.  By Sunday, I'm not by any means thinking it'll be all done but I'd like all the core parts narrowed done and hopefully recorded.  I'm sure there will be some stragglers but that's to be expected.

I still need to find the time to finish up the artwork for "The Effects of Connection" EP.  I think I should stop doing pre-orders since I'm terrible at the follow up.  I'm going to do my best to squeeze that in some time this week as well.

Too Busy

First up, the video version of "As Evening Brings Tears" from the "I Miss You Most at Nighttime" album was finally posted to YouTube yesterday.  You can find it here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6mN46fj6U4  I'm still really pleased with it and I think my friend, aka Jack P., did a great job with it.  We're already talking about the next collaboration which will most likely be one or more of the Defrost Nixon tracks.

I've been incredibly busy, basically working my day job and then doing my music work in the evenings, and to say that it becomes exhausting is putting it mildly.  It's what needs to be done, however, and I'm doing the best I can.  I also want to start looking for new band members for the next band project but haven't yet had the time.

I want to say this very plainly if you haven't already picked up on it:  I am not an expert...really at anything.  In this age of disinformation pretty much everywhere, you run into countless articles, videos, you name it, where the author acts like some authority on whatever topic they're talking about.  I'm the opposite; I'm just a guy, like everyone else, trying to navigate his way through creating, recording, and mixing music, along with doing the artwork and everything else.  I'm a one man shop because, well, I kind of have to be since no one else will do it (except for the videos, thankfully).  Therefore, I simply fumble my way through these things, trying to learn by doing and also by trying to find information online that actually does hold some truth.  Luckily, at least in mixing, there's a lot of it out there.

I've been basically tackling 3 Defrost Nixon songs each weekend, trying to get the drums mixed and then start on the rest of the song from there.  I personally think the drums need to be done first since they're so central to the song, and without it you can't really tell how anything else actually sounds.  I will say that I've been very pleased with running drums in parallel, with one buss being put through heavier compression and the Thermionic Culture Vulture plugin.  I would have never thought of using that plugin in that manner on my own but the UA tips videos really help at times and seem trustworthy, that is, when they're not trying to simply sell you yet another plug-in that you'll never use or completely forget about.

I still swear by the Cooper Time Cube plugin and I now use it all over the place.  I usually put it on that same drum buss as well and it makes a world of difference.  It is amazing how that plugin doesn't really seem to cause phase issues whereas the included Stereo Widener plugin that comes with ProTools (I'm spacing on the name right now) can wreak havoc on a Mono mix.  I consider the Cooper Time Cube an essential plugin to own, at this point.

I also finally spent the time on the artwork for "The Effects of Connection" EP CD's.  That task kept getting bounced around just due to lack of time.  I think at the very least I found the font I want to use.  For whatever reason, finding a font can take forever and is much harder to nail down versus the actual photos (you'd think it's the opposite).

I continue to be annoyed as hell with Photoshop.  Talk about a program that didn't need improvement...it was way easier to use back in the day.  Now, to do the simplest thing in the world tends to take me forever, and I'm constantly trying to write notes for myself since nothing seems to be logically where you'd expect it to be.  Personally, I'm not a fan of the layout at all but I'm not sure what the alternative is.

I have two more Defrost Nixon tracks to work on today and then some more "Mirror Land" changes.  Yes, those never seem to end...but hopefully will soon.  I'm actually to the point where I'm really pleased with the mixes; I just have a couple odds and ends that bug me.  Again, lack of time.