A Closer Look: 'Never Wanted Nothing More'

** Each week I measure the #1 song of the week in “Measuring a Hit” for you to readily see common threads in today’s biggest hits (hint: we’ll find many!). A posting called “A Closer Look” follows in a few days that brings a few craft issues of the song to your attention.

Straight from Nashville… let’s take a closer look at this past week’s #1 country song.

Look at my markup.

Measuring a Hit:'Never Wanted Nothing More'

** Each week I measure the #1 song of the week in “Measuring a Hit” for you to readily see common threads in the songwriting of today's biggest hits (hint: we’ll find many!). A post titled “A Closer Look” follows in a few days which brings a few songwriting craft issues of the song to your attention.

Here’s this week’s ‘measurement’.

          Never Wanted Nothing More
          Ronnie Bowman/Chris Stapleton

          time signature:                         4/4
          intro length:                              :12
          time to chorus:                         n/a
          time to title:                              :31
          # title appearances:                9
          general subject:                       life's desires
          viewpoint:                                 1st
          form:                                          A A B A - B A - B
          style written:                            story
          rhyme (predominant):         single perfect
          length:                                        3:29
          tempo:                                        mid

Songwriting Mistakes: Restating

I’ve had several consultations lately with newer writers whose songs suffer from the same ailment, and as a result I’ve received permission from one of those songwriters to post the beginnings of a song he’s currently writing to illustrate.

Before we talk about that let me make a brief point.

For newer writers it’s important not to become discouraged at the amount of rewriting that needs to be done. Learning to write solid songs is like a funnel. In the beginning you’ll need to rework large sections dealing with the more basic issues of successful songwriting. As you learn and write more, it’s the ever-smaller details that need to be picked apart and polished.

Keep in mind that even for professionals great songs are rarely written, they’re re-written.

The first draft of the song from my benevolent ‘student’ suffers primarily from a lack of moving forward, due in part to not focusing on a specific scenario. Each and every line of your song should move the song forward rather than restate something or merely provide non-descriptive, general information. Many newer writers fall prey to writing their first line then restating that line throughout the majority of the song. Without a specific scenario in your head, it’s difficult.

Successful songwriters, in and out of Nashville, learn to ‘speak’ in a fresh way about the same subjects. How many ways are there to say I miss someone?

     Here are just a few ways it’s been said:
     (think how each approaches the subject differently)

     “Crazy Arms” (Seals/Mooney)
     “Act Naturally” (Russell/Morrison)
     “I Still Miss Someone” (Cash)
     “Hello Walls” (Nelson)
     “I Miss My Mary Tonight” (Ketchum)
     “Loving Her Was Easier” (Kristofferson)
     “I Fall to Pieces” (Howard/Cochran)
     “Half a Man’” (Nelson)
     “Farewell Party” (Williams)
       etc.

How many hits has Alan Jackson written on this one subject?
(again, focus on how each approaches the subject differently)

     “She’s Got the Rhythm” (Jackson/Travis)
     “Here in the Real World” (Jackson/Irwin)
     “Who Says You Can’t Have it All” (Jackson/McBride)
     “Wanted” (Jackson/Craig)
     “Dallas” (Jackson/Stegall)
       etc.

So with that, here are some of the notes I made for the songwriter I mentioned at the beginning of this post regarding the first draft of a song in progress.


Til next time…

#1 holds spot for 2nd week

"Lost in This Moment" remains the #1 country song for the 2nd week, so there'll be no "Measuring a Hit" or "A Closer Look" this week.

Progressions: “Prosody” in Songwriting

In previous Progressions posts, we’ve looked at the current hit, “A Different World”, written by Jennifer Hanson, Mark Nesler, and Tony Martin when talking about Chord Substitution and Cutting Measures.

At the end of one of those posts I mentioned “the power in the way it [“A Different World”] was written with the minor chord falling at the end of ‘smoke and drank’, and ‘lead based paint’.” And as I said then, “That’s nice prosody to begin the song”.

Prosody is the marriage of melody/chord with lyric and good prosody is when the music of a song accurately reflects the lyric. It's concerned with things such as the choice of chords, deciding what single note should accompany a certain word of the lyric, the rhythm of lines and certain words, etc.

In “A Different World”, the minor chords falling at the end of ‘smoke and drank’, and ‘lead based paint’ reflect the negative connotation of the words.

Let’s look at prosody in 2 lines of another well-known song, Alan Jackson’s “Here in the Real World”. I also look at this song when discussing melodic phrasing in my book, “Top 10 Songwriting Mistakes… and Correcting Them” (see sidebar for a FREE copy or visit http://www.Top10SongwritingMistakes.com).

If you can’t hear the melody in your head listen to it now and notice how the melody of the 3rd and 4th lines of the verse differ. The 3rd line’s melody contains the highest notes of the verse as we hear in the first verse that, “love is a sweet dream that always comes true”. Just as the tone of voice rises when there’s excitement when we talk, the melody accurately reflects what we’re hearing. And just as the tone of our voice naturally falls with disappointment, the 4th line’s melody steadily descends as we hear, “if life were like the movies I’d never be blue”.

The second verse continues the good prosody with the 3rd line's higher melody paired with, “and tonight on that silver screen it’ll end like it should”. And once again, the 4th line's lyric is a nice match to the downward sloping melody with, “two lovers will make it through like I hoped we would”.

Play songs you’ve written with attention to prosody and see if there’re places you can better match the emotion of your lyric with the melody and chord choice. For ideas on chord choices read the Progressions post, “Substitution in Songwriting”.

Print version

The Record Industry's Decline

In my 3-part series, "It’s a New World", we looked at how record companies are solving (actually not) their problem of cliff-diving record sales and the further diversification into the music publishing arena being the “answer” for many. We also looked at a couple of new models being tried in the music business.

Below is part of an article from Rolling Stone which discusses the tough times record labels are facing.

…"How is it that the people that make the product of music are going bankrupt, while the use of the product is skyrocketing?" asks the Firm's Kwatinetz. "The model is wrong."

Kwatinetz sees other, leaner kinds of companies -- from management firms like his own, which now doubles as a record label, to outsiders such as Starbucks -- stepping in. Paul McCartney recently abandoned his longtime relationship with EMI Records to sign with Starbucks' fledgling Hear Music. Video-game giant Electronic Arts also started a label, exploiting the promotional value of its games, and the newly revived CBS Records will sell music featured in CBS TV shows.

Licensing music to video games, movies, TV shows and online subscription services is becoming an increasing source of revenue. "We expect to be a brand licensing organization," says Cohen of Warner, which in May started a new division, Den of Thieves, devoted to producing TV shows and other video content from its music properties. And the record companies are looking to increase their takes in the booming music publishing business, which collects songwriting royalties from radio play and other sources. The performance-rights organization ASCAP reported a record $785 million in revenue in 2006, a five percent increase from 2005. Revenues are up "across the board," according to Martin Bandier, CEO of Sony/ATV Music Publishing, which controls the Beatles' publishing. "Music publishing will become a more important part of the business," he says. "If I worked for a record company, I'd be pulling my hair out. The recorded-music business is in total confusion, looking for a way out."

You can read the entire article here.

A Closer Look: 'Lost in This Moment'

** Each week I measure the #1 song of the week in “Measuring a Hit” for you to readily see common threads in today's biggest hits. A post titled “A Closer Look” follows in a few days that brings a few craft issues of the song to your attention.

After holding the #1 spot for two weeks, “Lucky Man” gives up the top spot to Big & Rich and “Lost in This Moment”. We’re given pedal tones, imagery, and a clear progression of the moment.

Here's my markup.

Measuring a Hit: 'Lost in This Moment'

** Each week I measure the #1 song of the week in “Measuring a Hit” for you to readily see common threads in the songwriting of today's biggest hits (hint: we’ll find many!). A post titled “A Closer Look” follows in a few days which brings a few songwriting craft issues of the song to your attention. Here’s this week’s ‘measurement’.

          Lost in This Moment
          Keith Anderson/John Rich/Rodney Clawson

          time signature:                         4/4
          intro length:                              :16
          time to chorus:                        1:06
          time to title:                              1:06
          # title appearances:               6 (10 with tag)
          general subject:                       love found
          viewpoint:                                 1st
          form:                                            V - V - C - V - C - (inst ½ C) - C
          style written:                            moment
          rhyme (predominant):         near
          length:                                         3:37
          tempo:                                         slow

Progressions: “Secondary Dominants”

A hit on the charts right now which I personally am very fond
of is “Startin’ With Me”, a country hit for Jake Owen and
written by Kendall Marvel, Jimmy Ritchey, and Jake Owen.

Let’s look at the writer’s use of the secondary dominant in
the chorus.

read the rest of this article:
"Secondary Dominants"

Bad Advice: Beware Info on the Net

I just read an online article that’s prompted me to write this post. The article gives songwriting advice and when I read the following I knew I had to write this post:

“Always add colour: By this I mean create more than what is already there. If there is a D Major chord being played, try singing a note other than those in a D Major chord.”

At best, this advice is incomplete. The problem with the above statement is that it totally depends on the effect needed for the song. If your lyric has an easy going quality, then it’s probably best to compose the melody predominantly around the triad (root, 3rd, and 5th) of that D major chord being played at the time. The melody will have a more easy going quality, and better match your lyric.

If your lyric requires a more dramatic melodic treatment to match the subject, then writing your melody around notes that extend beyond the 5th works well.

The article continues with this:

“The average song will have the following arrangement (although this is only a guide):

Up tempo Song:
Intro, Verse 1, Bridge, Chorus, Verse 2, Bridge, Chorus, Chorus, Middle 8, Chorus, Chorus

Slow Song:
Intro, Verse 1, Bridge, Chorus, Verse 2, Chorus, Middle 8, Chorus, Chorus”

Both examples are WRONG. These are not the forms that “the average song will have”.

Other than the AAA and the AABA form, virtually all popular song in our lifetime has been given to us in one of the following forms:


     V - (V opt) - C - V - C - inst - C - out
     V - (V opt) - C - V - C - B - inst - C - out
     V - climb - C - V - climb - C - inst. - (climb opt.) - C
     C - V - C - inst. - B – C


You’ll find variations/alterations within all of these forms, but the bridge immediately following the 1st verse in “the average song” is completely wrong. In fact, I’ve never heard a song with a bridge after the first verse of a V/C song. The sheer purpose of a bridge contradicts this. The author of the article apparently also doesn’t understand that “middle 8” is itself a common reference to a bridge, particularly in the AABA form.

So the real lesson here is, beware of what you read on the net and look for someone’s credentials before heeding their advice. Otherwise they just might lead you down the wrong path.

Friday Fun: Keep Going

If you're serious about pursuing a songwriting career, you need to watch this clip from 'Facing the Giants'.

Progressions: “Cutting Measures”

Let’s look again at the recent hit "A Different World" written
by Jennifer Hanson, Mark Nesler, and Tony Martin.

Let’s focus on the verse. While the song is in 4/4 time, notice
the cut measures which gives it a rhythmic distinction from the
chorus.

read the rest of this article:
"Cutting Measures"

A Closer Look: 'Lucky Man'

** Each week I measure the #1 song of the week in “Measuring a Hit” for you to readily see common threads in today's biggest hits. A post titled “A Closer Look” follows in a few days that brings a few craft issues of the song to your attention.

You'll see two good examples of sequence in last weeks #1 country song.

Here's my markup.