Who's Got The Magic?
Saturday 10 January 2015
Last month, I taught a songwriting master-class at a school in Hong Kong. I’ve always loved teaching, and my work in the Philippines with the choir has given me lots of face-time in front of kids who want to learn.
But I have never actually taught song-writing before. And it got me thinking, “How can I teach something that is such a mystery to me?”
I know all about the building blocks of songs. I have studied songwriting and analysed and pulled apart songs for many, many years. In fact, it’s almost impossible for me to listen to a song without deconstructing it mentally and finding all its features. But when you ask me what makes a song great, what is about the combination of melody, harmony, groove, lyrics, rhythm, structure that can move your soul to tears, can stir the most profound emotions in you, can fill you with joy, sorrow, determination or peace... that is and will always be a mystery to me.
One of the questions that songwriters always get asked is “How do you write a song”? As a young artist, I didn’t really have an answer to the magic question. I used to say, “I don’t know... songs just sort of come to me.”
Now, as I know my craft better and understand my creative process more, I am able to answer that question a little more eloquently. I often give the analogy of a clothes hanger. For me to write a song, there always has to be a “spark”; something that ignites a strong emotion, feeling, message. It can be a melody, a chord progression, a lyric, sometimes it’s even just a topic that I’m passionate about. This spark becomes the ‘hook’ - it sets the tone for the rest of the song, and everything else hangs off and complements that hook.
The discipline of songwriting is found in being able to dress that hook in the desired style to achieve your purpose. Drawing on all your knowledge, experience, devices and training to create a piece that magnifies the song’s message.
But where does the hook come from? How does one find that magic spark to start with?
It truly is a mystery to me. Sometimes I write something and wonder where on earth did that come from? Music is extremely spiritual to me, and I definitely believe that the Creator of the Universe has something to do with my inspiration. I also believe that our brains are weird and wonderful places that hold incredible depths of memories and information that we are consciously unaware of. I see it as a deep ocean, with millions of possible combinations of artistic expression swimming subconsciously beneath the surface. And every now and then, one of those combinations floats to the surface, and, if I am aware and put myself in the right space, I can catch it and turn it into something beautiful.
I have to be constantly putting myself in a place and state of mind where I can be ready to catch one of these ideas, because, as many creatives will tell you, I never know when a spark will ignite. With my little notebook ready or my voice memo recorder to hand, I make sure that I don’t waste these opportunities.
So, what did I teach my class?
Well, I started with them where I started: What do you want to say? How do you make a song achieve that purpose? I taught them the basic elements of what builds a song. And told them to listen to lots and lots and lots of different kinds of music. I encouraged them to keep experimenting, journaling, performing and collaborating. And I learned a little something about myself on the way.
But I have never actually taught song-writing before. And it got me thinking, “How can I teach something that is such a mystery to me?”
I know all about the building blocks of songs. I have studied songwriting and analysed and pulled apart songs for many, many years. In fact, it’s almost impossible for me to listen to a song without deconstructing it mentally and finding all its features. But when you ask me what makes a song great, what is about the combination of melody, harmony, groove, lyrics, rhythm, structure that can move your soul to tears, can stir the most profound emotions in you, can fill you with joy, sorrow, determination or peace... that is and will always be a mystery to me.
One of the questions that songwriters always get asked is “How do you write a song”? As a young artist, I didn’t really have an answer to the magic question. I used to say, “I don’t know... songs just sort of come to me.”
Now, as I know my craft better and understand my creative process more, I am able to answer that question a little more eloquently. I often give the analogy of a clothes hanger. For me to write a song, there always has to be a “spark”; something that ignites a strong emotion, feeling, message. It can be a melody, a chord progression, a lyric, sometimes it’s even just a topic that I’m passionate about. This spark becomes the ‘hook’ - it sets the tone for the rest of the song, and everything else hangs off and complements that hook.
The discipline of songwriting is found in being able to dress that hook in the desired style to achieve your purpose. Drawing on all your knowledge, experience, devices and training to create a piece that magnifies the song’s message.
But where does the hook come from? How does one find that magic spark to start with?
It truly is a mystery to me. Sometimes I write something and wonder where on earth did that come from? Music is extremely spiritual to me, and I definitely believe that the Creator of the Universe has something to do with my inspiration. I also believe that our brains are weird and wonderful places that hold incredible depths of memories and information that we are consciously unaware of. I see it as a deep ocean, with millions of possible combinations of artistic expression swimming subconsciously beneath the surface. And every now and then, one of those combinations floats to the surface, and, if I am aware and put myself in the right space, I can catch it and turn it into something beautiful.
I have to be constantly putting myself in a place and state of mind where I can be ready to catch one of these ideas, because, as many creatives will tell you, I never know when a spark will ignite. With my little notebook ready or my voice memo recorder to hand, I make sure that I don’t waste these opportunities.
So, what did I teach my class?
Well, I started with them where I started: What do you want to say? How do you make a song achieve that purpose? I taught them the basic elements of what builds a song. And told them to listen to lots and lots and lots of different kinds of music. I encouraged them to keep experimenting, journaling, performing and collaborating. And I learned a little something about myself on the way.