Arts

What Fred Taught Me

Posted on by IJ



I started writing songs when I was about 12, but it wasn’t until I was almost 20 that I took my first songwriting workshop. It was an 8 week course, facilitated by a fellow named Fred Booker. Fred was a real character and a great teacher, who was born in Chicagoand ended up living in Canada for reasons I never quite figured out. He would teach songwriting classes at Douglas College in Vancouver, but he also traveled and performed constantly, applying for arts grants to record and tour. So he pretty much made his living from music, not an easy thing to do at any time!

Fred Booker
Fred Booker

His style of writing was very blues-influenced with a smidgen of folk, totally character-driven and very entertaining. In the course he talked about exploring the guitar and doing different things with it without getting too much into theory, which was just what I needed and something I still remember. Sometimes he would sit in front of the class, clasping his head in his hands, looking for the right words to make his point, and then he’d deliver this compelling and passionate monologue on some aspect of songwriting that would mesmerize me. Yes! I knew EXACTLY what he meant! And there was a word for the technique, and others did the same thing too! Fred’s course introduced me to the lingo that described what I had always done instinctually, without labels or any thought to what I was actually doing. I knew what a verse and a chorus were, but what I didn’t have names for were things like “tension” and “contrast” and “dynamics”. I was so thrilled to listen to someone speak in my language and put words to my efforts.



At the risk of sounding like a prima donna, I was one of the stronger songwriters in that class. I was not very good when I think of it now, but most of my classmates were less experienced than I was. I was also the biggest chicken. When it came to introducing a new song to the class, which we each had to do at least once over the 8 week period, I was tortured with nerves, and on the night of the very last class where we each had to perform a song, I didn’t show up. What a coward, eh? 🙂 And here I am many years later, writing articles about songwriting for newer inductees, thinking about what Fred taught me and realizing how important it was for me to understand the mechanics of writing, not just the inspiration behind it. Being inspired is one thing; just letting it all spill out in one big blob of emotion and getting it out of your system.

But the craft is something entirely different…sometimes I think the crafting of a song is where true inspiration kicks in, because you have to mull it over and over and find some way of tying everything together, which takes so much time and patience…and ultimately talent! What Fred taught me was to THINK about what I was saying, to push my musical and lyrical boundaries and most importantly to enjoy the process. He made me think of myself as a songwriter, not just a person who happens to write songs.

What’s the difference? I think your attitude about yourself and your purpose changes when you take your craft more seriously…I don’t mean that you become an arrogant snit; in fact there is something humbling in the recognition that you can do something that really affects people. Not everyone hits the point in their songwriting where they want to take it outside the bedroom (or wherever they write!) into the rest of the world. Some never desire more from it than a way to entertain themselves, and so it should be. But some of us feel that nagging or yearning for others to hear what we’ve created.And even though I was a coward at the time, I realized the importance of making my message clear, and I took that new understanding and still carry it with me.

Fred came to see me perform at a place called the Soft Rock Café in a Vancouver neighbourhood called Kitsilano months after that last class . He came up to me afterwards and commented on one particular song where I had done some of that exploration of the guitar neck that he had spoken about. I knew he had been listening with a critical ear the whole evening, and it made me nervous, so I was very pleased to get a positive response. Not long after that, when I joined a band along with another fellow who had also taken Fred’s class, Fred came to visit us one night and we enthusiastically discussed songwriting for hours. It was a heady time. And then I lost touch with him.

Recently, I tried to find some trace of him, using the internet of course 🙂 I found a link to a book of poetry where one of the contributors was a guy named Fred Booker, but not much else. I still have his album “On The Road”, autographed, of course, and my guess is that Fred is probably still out there creating something, whether it’s a song or a poem, still thinking about the process and maybe even still teaching, who knows? I never had the chance to thank him for all that he gave me, so I’ll do it now. Thank you, Fred! What a great teacher you are!

[PS…this was an old article written perhaps five or six years ago that I recently decided to dust off and re-post. Just for fun I thought I’d look for Fred again too, and to my surprise I found him!  He had recently written a book called “Adventures in Debt Collection” and was still living in the Vancouver area.  I also found a picture of him, posted above.  As I researched more into his book, however, much to my sorrow I discovered that Fred passed away in 2008 at the age of 69.  I’m very sorry I never had the chance to thank him for his enthusiasm and inspiration.  I found him and lost him again in the same day…there must be a song in that…IJ]

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The Use of Contrast in Songwriting

Posted on by IJ



Contrast, as defined in the dictionary, is: To set in opposition in order to show or emphasize differences. Black and white are two contrasting “shades” (they’re not colours!) and can be used as a visual way to describe contrast in songwriting.

Black and White "Model" Cupcakes
Image by clevercupcakes via Flickr


When you’re first writing a song (and I ALWAYS emphasize this!), you are not thinking about technique or creating dynamics, tension or contrast…you are simply expressing something in its raw form. Many songwriters never get beyond this raw state, never develop their writing or learn to polish their songs, and the lack of contrast is often a result. If absolutely everything in a room was white, how boring would that be? This is what songwriters who are just starting out don’t necessarily recognize in their own songwriting.


So what exactly IS contrast in songwriting? Well, it can be achieved in different ways. If your song has verses and a chorus, contrast may be created between those song parts. For example, the verses might have a melody in a lower range, and the chorus in a higher range. Another way to achieve contrast would be a different chord progression in the chorus as compared to the verse. It can be a subtle as starting the chorus with a different chord than the verses start with. Contrast doesn’t have to be “in your face”, it simply creates a feeling of freshness between the parts of a song. A bridge can be a really effective contrast. You’ve set your listener up, starting them off with a verse and chorus, another verse and chorus, and now you want to give them a breather, so you create a bridge.

So, melody and chord progressions can be used to create contrast, what about lyrics?  The most subtle lyrical contrast would be in terms of the subject by changing the point of view or creating a different idea (but not too different!) between two parts of a song.  A very simple example would be where the verses are in the first and second person (I, me, my and you), and the chorus being in the third person (she, he, they).

But a broader and more effective contrast would be to actually change the form of the song by changing the rhyme scheme or the length of lines and the meter.  You see this happening most of the time between a verse and a chorus;  the verse has its own rhyme scheme and meter and the chorus changes to another set.

Contrast can also be created in the production of the song where the instrumentation changes between different parts.  This has less to do with the songwriting, but if your song is missing some contrast or the contrast is not strong enough, adding or changing instruments in the production and recording phase can enhance the parts so they stand out a little more separately from each other.  What often happens with drums in a chorus, for instance, is that the rhythm stays more or less the same, but cymbals (or what they call a “ride”) are added.  Drums also accent a coming change when they do small fills just beforehand.

Drums are only one example of the use of contrast in production, other instruments like strings can also be effective in signifying a different part of a song.  But for the most part, you want to be able to create contrast in the writing itself so you don’t have to rely on production to do it for you.

Contrast is something that be the difference between your audience being continuously drawn into a song and putting them to sleep! Listen to one of your favourite songs and see if you can spot what they do to create contrast. And then listen to one of your own songs to determine if you are creating enough contrast to keep it interesting!

IJ

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How Do Songs Get On The Radio?

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KKHH
Image via Wikipedia

©I.Woloshen

I worked in a small radio station here in Victoria back in the 90’s.  The format was “oldies”, which, at the time, meant songs from the 50’s to the 70’s.  These days 80’s and even some 90’s songs are considered oldies.  Which makes me feel — REALLY oldie :-).

Members of my family have been in radio on the lower mainland in the Vancouver area for decades, in everything from talk to news to adult contemporary and pop formats.  As happens often enough these days, a radio station can change its colours many times over the years.  In a city where there is stiff competition, having a hot, new format with a popular playlist is what everyone is after.



Here in Canada, disc jockeys or “jocks” are obligated to provide a certain percentage of Canadian content.  This regulation was created years ago when our radio waves were pretty much overwhelmed with American music.  Not that this was a bad thing, but in a country with one tenth of the population of our neighbours, the opportunity for Canadian artists and bands to get radio airplay was pretty slim, so the regulation helped in the beginning.  Many radio jocks now argue that the rule is antiquated and that Canadian bands and artists are now big enough and good enough to fight for those positions without the rule.

For commercial stations these days, especially those owned by big conglomerates like Clear Channel, they don’t have much say in what goes on their playlists.  Most, if not all, of the songs you hear are from the “big five” record labels from well-established or hot new artists the labels are pushing.  And let’s face it, a lot of kids especially want to hear the artists they know and love.  But what many don’t realize is how “unlocal” their radio stations really are.   Sometimes there isn’t even a “live” jock, it’s all pre-recorded by one person somewhere and sent to all of the other stations that the company owns.  So trying to get your band or your song on a local radio station is harder than it ever was.

However, many local stations will have a show devoted to local bands and artists.  And college or university stations, which are not commercial, are free to play pretty much whatever they want, whenever they want.  In fact, many bands and artists these days often “break” on a college station and build on their audience that way.

As an artist these days you have a lot more access to information about your local commercial and college stations, and that’s where you need to begin.  Most of them have websites, and many of those list their shows, artists and other information about them that can come in handy.  If you research carefully, you will find the name of the programming director.  These are the people who decide what plays and what doesn’t.  As I said earlier, they may be restricted somewhat these days by people on high regarding the music they play, but if there is some kind of show featuring local artists, that’s your in.

Here are some tips you might consider:

  • Research is very important;  the most obvious point is to make sure their format fits your songs.  Don’t send your rock songs into a country station!
  • Write a good cover letter, not too long, introducing yourself and your music and package it nicely with your CD or demo
  • Be professional but you can be creative too in the package you send them, in order to get their attention
  • If you must, do a follow up phone call, but DON’T HARASS the program director or the station!  That’s a sure way to get black-listed
  • Do not give up, sometimes it’s all about patience and having your name heard a few times by the people who count

As I mentioned in the beginning, I worked at an oldies station back in the 90’s, but it never ceased to amaze me how many CDs ended up in the garbage because whoever was sending it had not paid any attention to the fact that we played Elvis, not Enya.  Even the big record labels sent CDs of recent releases!  Not very efficient or practical on their part…my guess is that they just sent these out to absolutely every station with no thought to whether or not the station would actually play it.

I’ve heard my songs on the radio a few times.  It’s a pretty exciting thing, and with a little patience and persistence I know you will experience the same thrill one day 🙂

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Be Bold

Posted on by IJ


Yesterday I was in the car listening to a radio show all about advertising…boring you might assume, but it was actually quite interesting. That’s because a lot of what advertising people are doing, the ones who are writing and producing commercials, is continuously trying to find new ways to say the same old things. How do you advertise a car in a way that no one has done before?

The most interesting thing I heard was an interview with a top notch ad guy in the US. He said that in the beginning, his success could be attributed to his LACK of knowledge. He didn’t know what he “couldn’t” do. Beyond that, he said, once you start to learn the rules and play by them, you start to become like everybody else. And once you become like everybody else, you stop standing out.

I found this particularly interesting because it creates quite a dichotomy when you are using the rules to try to come up with something new and fresh. How can you be new and fresh if you are simply following old patterns or methods? And when you have people like me telling you how to write a song, isn’t that the same as learning the “rules”? Maybe you should stop reading my tips right now 🙂



And, if, for instance, you are hearing from publishers or record people “We want the next ________”, meaning that they want you to be a new version of someone famous who has made them a lot of money…how does that make you new and fresh? You are going to come up against this again and again if you are trying to pitch your songs or try and make your band the next big thing. You don’t want to sound like anyone else, but a lot of people will push you in that direction.

I have always been an advocate of learning the rules, and then more or less learning how to break them. But now I wonder if rules don’t just get in the creative mind’s way, period. The mind is a pretty powerful thing. You know yourself, that if you let yourself second guess every word or every note, it ruins everything! So when you are first sitting down to write something, throw all the “rules” out the window…don’t even let yourself think about them.

Beyond that, let’s look at a couple of songs and artists that more or less break the “rules” and succeed. The first one I’ll mention comes to mind because a guitar student of mine recently asked me to figure it out for her to play. It’s a song called “Something Pretty” by Patrick Park. You can hear the whole song on his website in the media section, and it was introduced to a larger audience through the television show “The OC”. What’s really interesting about this song is that it starts out sounding pretty darn traditional country. But then you realize that his singing style isn’t really “country” , and musically the song takes some very nontraditional twists and turns, for instance, suddenly modulating to another key and back again, and having a very long instrumental section after the chorus. You’d rarely find that done in a popular contemporary country song today. Today’s country, especially country/pop, is very, very formula. And Patrick’s lyrical style is a kind of a self put-down, which is more of what you would find in rock or alternative (whatever alternative is these days!) songs. And for days after I worked it out, I had it spinning around and around in my head…it has a haunting quality that sticks with you.

Sometimes what makes a stand out, obviously, is the artist. Fiest’s “1,2,3,4” is just plain quirky. Her voice is different, the production is definitely not typical…lots of banjos and trumpets. Now when is the last time you heard that in a pop song? And someone like Amy Winehouse with her ballsy, vocal style, makes R&B sound new again, the way Norah Jones made jazz and country new and appealing to a pop audience a couple of years back. It seems these days that television commercials are breaking artists more commonly than radio. That in itself, is an interesting turn of events.

Occasionally, well-established artists go out on a limb and break their own rules. The first to famously do that in the folk/rock world was Bob Dylan. There was a huge backlash when he suddenly started playing electric guitar in 1965 at the Newport Folk Festival. They called him a sell-out, a traitor, even…they yelled “get rid of that electric guitar!” He was shaken from that experience, when all he was trying to do was to re-invent himself and move in a fresh direction. Another, less negatively received re-invention was Johnny Cash with that unbelievably powerful version of a Nine Inch Nails song and video “Hurt”. Who’d a thunk it…Johnny Cash and NIN? But it was a huge hit for him. The combination of that raw, seasoned voice and those equally raw and emotional lyrics, was profound.

So is the answer to re-invent yourself? Perhaps. One thing my husband likes to say to the kids is “Be bold.” And occasionally they take the bull by the horns and do something they never thought they could. I think that’s how you have to approach your songwriting (and performing, if that’s relevant to you)…I think you have to throw something completely different into the mix, and see what you come up with. If you’re looking to do something different, then pick a style you haven’t written before (even if you hate it!), or pick up an instrument you’ve never played. Use words that are not common to you. If you record your own songs, find the strangest loop you can possibly find, and write something to it. Find a trumpet player and ask him or her to invent a part for a song that doesn’t sound like it is meant for a trumpet :-). You see what I mean?

Be bold .

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Success – What’s Standing In Your Way?

Posted on by IJ
A digital sound recorder
Image via Wikipedia

© I.Woloshen

“Success” is a relative word, and your idea of it can change as you inevitably do. For instance, in my teens and 20’s (ugh!) I measured success by my position, my income and the number of friends I had. Well, the part about friends hasn’t changed much 🙂 But everything else has!

These days I define my success much more simply…I ask myself, am I doing what I want and love to do? Most of the time, I’m happy to say, the answer is yes! But it took me a long time to get here…

I believe that the largest hurdles we have in front of us are the ones we put there ourselves. Never mind what the “others” say, what are the things you tell yourself? Have you ever listened to your own thoughts? I know, that sounds weird and new agey, but have you? What kinds of things do you tell yourself? Do you encourage yourself and keep a positive attitude, or do you tell yourself over and over “I’m a terrible writer, I can’t do this, I’m not going to make it”? Creative people, on the whole, tend to be extremely sensitive…it is that sensitive part of ourselves that gives us the insight to our own creative juices, but it can also be a burden. The downside to sensitivity is the old chip-on-the-shoulder syndrome when things aren’t going the way we’d like.

But knowing all of that, what can we do to get a little closer to our idea of success? Being songwriters, sometimes we lose our ability to come down to earth and establish some structure in our lives! But structure, organization, plans and work are all necessary ingredients! Here are a few steps you can take:

1. Identify – write out what your idea of success is! Sometimes we meander around the subject without really clearly identifying anything about it. What is success to you? You can give yourself a time line, if you like. “In five years I’d like to be…” Work your way backwards, all the way to what you can do today!

2. The Steps – what steps can you take to achieve your goals? Make two lists…one will be the more major steps (ie…I want to get a publishing deal, I want to record a CD…etc.), the other will be the little steps! I can tell you right now that the little steps will be the most important!! For instance, if you want a publishing deal, there are several things you need to do to make that happen. You need to identify the publishers who might be interested in your songs, you have to have a decent recording of your songs, you need to collect addresses, make a list of who you’ve sent to, etc., etc.

Perhaps your primary goal is to become a better writer. Well, that goal is never off my list! Again, you would benefit by sitting down and determining what it is that YOU NEED in order to begin achieving that. Do you need to improve your lyric skills? Do you need to be around other writers? A few visits to some open mics? Are a couple of piano lessons in order?

3. Be Prepared To Change – For heaven’s sake, if something isn’t working, let it go! It’s okay to move onto something else! Stubbornness and determination are admirable qualities, until they are just plain stupid!

4. Opportunity Meeting Preparedness – I’m sure you’ve heard that expression before. People who have achieved success weren’t just sitting around waiting for it to fall into their laps. Well, most of them anyway! They were able to recognize an opportunity when it hit them square in the face. You may think that is obvious…but you can never be sure exactly when it’s going to hit, or how. A little story, if I might: When I’m almost finished recording a song, I tend to make a DAT copy of it (digital audio tape) just so I can have it there to listen to for myself, and for whatever else I might need it for. A couple of months ago, my husband and I had a business meeting with an old friend in our home, not related to songwriting in anyway, just an investment opportunity. This friend brought his business partner with him, and we spent an hour or so discussing this new business. At the end of the talk, we started chit chatting about other things, and it so happened that this friend mentioned to his partner that I was a songwriter and had a studio downstairs. Lucky for me, I’d cleaned it that morning 🙂 So I invited them down to see the studio. I happened to have my DAT machine hooked up with the tape in it, and my friend wanted to hear the latest version of Catnip (a song he’d participated in recording). It JUST SO HAPPENED that his business partner was ALSO a songwriter and NOT ONLY THAT, but he had a line on a guy who was looking for material for an up and coming group, so I played him some of the songs…was that a coincidence? No, it was opportunity meeting preparedness 🙂 What comes of it doesn’t matter, but I was ready!

5. Critical Line – ever heard of this expression? It refers to the steps that have to be taken in order to achieve goals. Even at their jobs, most people spend a great deal of time doing the peripheral things that aren’t getting them any closer to getting the job done. Like sharpening pencils and tidying the desk, or getting distracted by something entirely un-job-related. Try to spend 1/2 an hour each day completely devoted to your critical line…doing something you need to do, even if it’s just a boring “little step”. Time is everything! So is discipline!

6. Discipline – is not one of my strong points. I consider myself a naturally lazy person, and have had to battle with myself most of my life to do what I need to do. This can be applied to just about anything in your life…but in order to succeed, you need discipline! Instead of throwing too much on yourself too quickly, take those “little steps”…see how important they are? But taking just one of those will make you feel better! And when you feel better, you’re likely to do more! It’s magic 🙂

7. More Irons in the Fire! – I know you’ve heard quite the opposite…that you can’t have too much on the go, but I’m here to tell you that when it comes to writing songs, the more your songs are “out there” the better it is for you! I don’t mean that you should be careless about it, BUT, if you’ve ever listened to some of the stories of how songwriters got their music heard, most of them had quite a long trail of opportunities. Someone just happened to hear a recording in the other room that someone’s cousin was playing that just happened to be sitting on the top of a pile…you know what I’m saying? Great songs aren’t just AUTOMATICALLY HEARD BY ALL THE “RIGHT” PEOPLE! It can take years for a great song to get the attention it deserves! So multiply your opportunities…let other people perform your song, play them at every chance, let people hear ’em!

8. Diversify – You’ve heard the saying “putting all of your eggs in one basket”. Having any kind of career in music means you have to diversify. The statistics are that less than 1% of songwriters make more than $5000 a year from their writing. That means that more than 99% of us have to have some other kind of income. I teach guitar, write music for television, write and perform…when some areas are not as profitable or emotionally satisfying, others are! As long as it is music-related, I’m happy. If it comes down to employment (and it inevitably does!), try to find work that is related somehow to your music, or at the very least, find work that allows you to BE a songwriter, go to open mics, or run off to the bathroom and record an idea when you have one 🙂 Then again, a job that is completely non-music related is sometimes perfectly satisfying! I’ve met writers who LOVE songwriting, but also love their jobs. Wouldn’t that be nice? 🙂

Okay, well there you have it…some ideas as to how you can achieve your idea of success. You know, half the time I write these articles as much for myself as I do for you 🙂

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