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“How To Write A Song, 5 Unconventional Tips” plus 1 more |
How To Write A Song, 5 Unconventional Tips Posted: 18 Apr 2019 05:33 AM PDT Today we’re going to look at how to write a song. This won’t be your typical guide on songwriting though, there are already plenty of those floating around the internet. Instead, I’m going to give you some unconventional songwriting tips that will help get you out of that beginner stage. Some of these ideas might sound bizarre initially, but give them a chance and I promise you your songwriting will benefit. 1. Go To Extremes In LifeGuitar virtuoso Joe Satriani has an album titled The Extremist. One of the reasons it’s called The Extremist is because Satriani was often known to go to extremes to find inspiration. Now, you don’t necessarily need to go bungee jumping or skydiving to uncover worthy ideas (though it probably wouldn’t hurt). But whether it’s going for a run, doing an intense workout, trying a new dish at a restaurant you’ve never been to, playing an instrument you’ve never played before, or otherwise, be intentional about stimulating your creativity. Try things you’ve never tried before. If you’re in a rut, it could mean you haven’t experienced anything new in a while, and now it’s time to go live a little. Life is full of people, events and circumstances that can inspire music. 2. Bring Your Loose Ends TogetherDo you have a lot of riffs, lyrical snippets and song ideas scattered across your practice room? I know I do. They’re worthy ideas, but I have yet to develop each of them into complete songs. This might sound counterintuitive, but what if you squashed several of these ideas together? This may be difficult to do when you’re still a beginner, but remember, you’ve written these down because they sound good. So don’t give up on them. When I listen to albums like Michael Jackson’s Thriller or Def Leppard’s Hysteria, I can’t help but feel that’s exactly how some of those songs came together. And, we are talking about some massive albums here. Now, songs on these albums were polished to the nth degree. Of that I have no doubt. But it also appears that, if there was an opportunity to bring disparate ideas together under one umbrella, the artist, band and/or producer didn’t hesitate to give it a try. Have a listen to Def Leppard’s “Animal”. Do you honestly think all those riffs were written for the same song? If you’re stuck, maybe try combining two or more ideas to create a fully fleshed out song. It doesn’t matter if it sounds a little polar or schizophrenic – it might just work. 3. Pick & Choose Words, Phrases, Themes Or Ideas From A ConversationGo and have a 30-minute conversation with a friend. Ask if they’d be okay with you recording the chat (indicating that it will be strictly for personal use). Once you have the recording, bring it home and take some time to listen to it. What words, phrases, themes or ideas jump out at you? Inevitably, some will stick out over others, so write them all down. By the time you’ve listened to the full 30-minute conversation and taken notes on it, you should have plenty of ideas ready to exploit. If you’re used to writing the music before the lyrics, then this will also stretch you, because you’re putting words together before you’re adding the music (though you can write them simultaneously). If you can’t be bothered to go and record a conversation with a friend right now, you can also find a random interview on YouTube and do the same thing. Just remember to paraphrase, reorganize and summarize the ideas being shared, as you don’t want to end up with a copyright suit. 4. Take An Existing Song Of Yours & Write It BackwardsDo you have a song you’ve written and released that ends on a happy note? What if you told the story in reverse? The song could start happy, and then go onto tell all the challenges, obstacles and difficulties leading up to that point. Maybe you could take the chord progression, play it backwards, and see how that sounds. Perhaps you could reverse engineer how the song was written in the first place, turn that into a commentary, and then transform than narrative into a cohesive song. No matter how you choose to go about this process, begin by playing an existing song of yours backwards (on your instrument). Then, take the lyrical themes, riffs and chord progressions and keep editing them until you’ve converted it into an entirely new song. By doing this, you could get double the mileage out of one song without too much added effort. You might even create a new sound in the process. 5. Have Someone Pick A Few Random Numbers Between One & SevenIf you’re familiar with music theory, you know that there are seven chords in any key. After a while, you get used to writing songs using the same chords. The I, IV, V and vii chords, specifically, tend to get a lot of love and most artists are quite comfortable using them. So, get a friend or sibling to pick out a few random numbers between one and seven and see what they come up with. They might give you something like seven, one, three and four. Now, you don’t need to stick with the order they’ve given you, in case you’re worried about starting with the vii chord, for instance. But now you’ve got yourself a creative challenge, especially if the person you’re asking happens to say “seven”. As you’re likely aware, the vii chord is the diminished chord in any key, and it can be a little tough to figure out how to use it effectively. But hey, now you’re out of your comfort zone doing things you wouldn’t normally do, which can help you stretch your writing muscle. If you need more chord progressions, you could ask someone else to give you a more numbers between one and seven. Wrapping It Up, How To Write A Song For Intermediate SongwritersAs a songwriter, as your tastes develop, you can easily end up relying on a lot of familiar chord progressions, riffs or themes. But if there are no rules, and everyone’s process for writing is a little different, then you should leave some room for experimentation. Give a few of the ideas mentioned here a try. You could end up writing some of your favorite songs, but you won’t know unless you give it a try. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
The Evolution Of The UK Festival Scene Posted: 17 Apr 2019 01:30 AM PDT Fashion: it’s been at the centre of music culture since way back when, from Teddy Boys to Hippies, Glam to Grime, you only had to look at the UK’s festival season to see these styles being flaunted. And what better way to get you in that festival mood than a crash course in UK festival fashion? River Island have put together a visual history to show how it’s evolved over the years, from Hippies and Rockers to Ravers and Hipsters and everything in between. Who knows, you might even find some inspiration for your look this festival season…
1960s: Hippies, Rockers & ModsIn the early days of festival fashion, there was no shortage of iconic looks to choose from. The most notable has to be the ‘flower power’ Hippy movement, which still has a home to this day. Look no further than the outfits Vanessa Hudgens rocks at Coachella, keeping the 60s style in the spotlight. As well as the peace and love attitude of the era’s Hippy revolution, there was a violent clash of subcultures in the form of the parka-wearing Mods and leather-jacketed Rockers which, a decade later, was turned into a beloved cult-classic movie and 60s fashion showcase – remember, Quadrophenia from 1979? Mods were considered more fashion conscious, favouring tailored suits and a clean-cut look, whilst Rockers styled themselves after Marlon Brando from his appearance as an outlaw biker in the 1953 film, The Wild One. The Isle of Wight Festival kicked things off for UK music festivals as we know them in 1969 with a star-studded rock and folk line-up including The Who and Bob Dylan, allowing Brits to let their inhibitions go to a weekend of music, dancing and uninhibited fun.
1970s: Glam, Punk & Teddy Boys/GirlsThe 60s may have opened the door to fashion as an expression of politics and genre connection, but the 1970s took things to a whole new level with some of the most recognisable subcultures of all time finding their iconic look. While Hippy culture slowly faded out, Glam rockers like David Bowie emerged to rule the airwaves and inspire a fashion revolution that celebrated androgyny and flamboyant clothing. The UK Punk movement also broke out with fashion inspired by the provocative clothing of Malcolm McLaren and Vivienne Westwood giving a voice to the disenfranchised youth of Britain. The Teddy Boy/Girl style from the 50s also had a popular resurgence across the UK, drawing inspiration from American rock and roll icons like Buddy Holly. Zoot suits and pompadour hairstyles were essential - with added elements of the glam look (mainly in terms of colour palette) making their way into the 70s Teddy wardrobe. The 70s also saw more festivals emerge - much to the delight of music fans. This era saw the first ever Glastonbury Festival which originally had the (much less catchy title) of ‘The Pilton Pop, Blues & Folk Festival’ and attracted 1,500 people, a far cry from the 135,000 revellers due to be taking over Worthy Farm in 2019.
1980s: New Romantics, Ravers & GothsThe 80s was the era that embraced the weird and wonderful. Think theatrical statement outfits and a new take on period fashion that formed the New Romantic style, pushing boundaries and challenging gender norms. Meanwhile, Rave culture inspired a look that would become widespread throughout the following decade, renowned for baggy, colourful and visually stimulating style. But it wasn’t all spandex and loud colours, the 80s also saw the modern Goth wardrobe evolve from the older punk aesthetic – requiring heavy make-up and as much black as possible. Defying the rise and fall of many other styles, rockers were also still going strong, with their genre of choice growing more diverse through alternative rock and the rising popularity of post-punk. With weekend-long events now a staple of British summertime, a greater variety of festivals started to emerge. Festivals like Reading & Leeds catered to the alternative crowd and rode the popularity of rock music across the decade, a focus which they’ve (mostly) stuck to ever since.
1990s: Grunge, Britpop & Hip-HopThe 90s was a defining decade for music and fashion on both sides of the Atlantic. Grunge was taking over the US and Britpop fever swept through the UK. It was the decade that also welcomed Hip-Hop and its iconic fashion style to the mainstream, people couldn’t get enough of those oversized sports jerseys, bomber jackets and branded tracksuits. Pioneers of Grunge like Nirvana and Soundgarden became trendsetters; baggy sweaters, flannel shirts and torn jeans made their way from music videos to the high street and Britpop’s influence combined elements of ‘lad-culture’, football casual and Mod fashion to create a style all of its own. The 1990s saw a new wave of UK events springing up, most notably T in the Park and V Festival, drawing more diverse crowds and bringing festivals back into popular consciousness on a whole new level since the hedonistic free love of the 60s.
2000s - 2010s: Hipster, Grime & EmoFestival fashion went through quite a lot of change in the 2000s and 2010s yet the amount of larger and core subcultures have declined. Now, people are feeling a lot more liberated and open to rejecting specific labels. Festivals in the 2000s saw people edge towards a more glam look, think Kate Moss at Glastonbury in chic mini dresses and leathers. The decade also saw the rise of equally iconic yet totally different trends including Grime (bringing elements of high fashion to the Hip-Hop style) and the rise of Emo culture, famed for swooping fringes and post-goth looks. As the 2010s came around, attitudes definitely shifted more towards ‘wear what you feel’. Ever since Hipsters signalled a new break in mainstream styles in terms of attitudes as well as fashion, people have been much less interested in being defined by what ‘group’ they are a part of and would rather express themselves in their own unique way. This anything-goes approach means we’re seeing people look to iconic styles of the past and adapting them with a modern twist to create their own spin on festival fashion. Aspects of the 60s, 90s and everything between have become part of the fabric of today’s festival style. As the larger Festivals continue to stand the test of time, many people began looking to cater to more niche audiences. The 2000s and 2010s brought about the rise of smaller boutique events in the UK, with festivals like Kendal Calling and Bestival quickly proving that they could compete with the big names.
This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
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