Writing
January Week 4: Writing
Prologue
After my first three blogs, which focused on everyday disciplines and practices, I figure I would be more hyper-focused on music related content. So from the start, this may not be for everyone. However, if you do find yourself interested in the subject matter, I would welcome you to stay, and I’m hopeful that you can learn something you’ve never known before. Now let’s get into it.
The beginning
When it comes to writing songs, where does one start? As a kid, I often wondered how the songwriting process worked while listening to some of my favorite music growing up. By no coincidence, my favorite music was also my parents favorite music. In my house, my parents controlled the radio and CD player. As a result I grew up listening to a lot of Michael Mcdonald, Sting, Shania Twain, Michael Jackson and many other acts from the 70’s and 80’s. These are still some of my favorite artists today, and something they all have in common (including the ones not mentioned) is that they all write amazing songs.
When I started to get old enough to really have a grasp on playing music (which was when I was about 13), I decided to write my first song. Obviously, it was terrible. I don’t remember the lyrics or melody to the song, but I remember it was called “the Letter”. From my memory, I don’t think the song had a structure of any sort. It flowed more like a poem, and I remember it having every metaphor in the book, because I thought that’s what it took to have a moving song. I knew at that age that it wasn’t a good song, but I was proud that I actually wrote one. That was enough to get me addicted to the art of writing songs. It wouldn't be until I was 18 years old that I wrote a song that I actually liked, and that I thought was good. For the first 10 years of my song writing life, I exclusively wrote christian music, due to the plethora of christian artists I grew up listening to. If you know my story then you know I was a pastor’s kid who grew up in the church. As much as my parents loved to listen to “secular” music (i think the term secular is so funny) we also had to have a good balance of Christian music in our house. There were many nights where I’d listen to Hillsong United, Israel & New Breed, Kirk Franklin, Toby Mac and Steven Curtis Chapman on my portable CD player. I still hold these artists and songwriters in a near and dear place in my heart, even though I don’t listen to them much anymore. There were also some local songwriters within our church organization that I looked up to, and who taught me a lot. Unless you know these people, you most likely never heard of them, but their impact was immense. Here are the local songwriters and musicians that really helped spark the flame:
In His Name (Brandon & Zach Kelley)
Glen Chaddock
Stacey South
Javier Batista
Eman
How to Write a song (not really)
Specifically, there was one man that came from our church denomination that really showed me the ropes. From the early to late 2000’s, there was a singer/songwriter named Warren Barfield who was big in the Contemporary Christian Music world. Some of his big hits were My Heart Goes Out, Mistaken, Come Alive, Unleashed and Love is Not a Fight, but if you didn’t grow up listening to Christian radio, you might not be familiar with his music. But for me growing up, his influence on me was immeasurable. When he was 18 years old, and before he was ever signed to a major record deal, Warren met my dad, a youth pastor at the time in Wilmington NC. My dad helped Warren with his brand, recording and helped book gigs for him. Some 25 years later, they are still close friends. Because of their relationship, when I turned 16 years old my dad asked Warren to take me on the road with him for a string of shows on his current tour. I was shy and inexperienced, but I was pumped to go. Essentially, I was there to run Warren's merch table, and at some places, he would let me open up with a song or 2 of mine during the pre-show. It was my first taste of road life and I loved it. During the tour, after a sound check at this church in Shreveport LA, I asked Warren about songwriting. I simply asked “how do I write a good song?” hoping that he would drop a step-by-step process on how to get famous, win grammys and make a living writing hits. With a half-smile on his face, he told me “there is no formula”. He knew what I was asking, and at one time in his young songwriting career, he may have asked the same question. He continued saying that every song has verses, a chorus, a bridge, an intro, and outro, but that doesn’t make it a song persay. Hearing this frustrated me, because there had to be an answer. The answer can’t be “there is no answer”. But he did give me advice. He told me to write and rewrite. He quoted the great Stephen Curtis Chapman by saying “I’ve never written a good song, but I have re-written good songs”. In essence, that translates to you get better with every song that you write. And once you write a song, come back to it and make it even better. I didn’t quite understand what he was talking about at that moment in time, but after years of digesting it and experiencing it, I‘ve come to find that what he said holds water.
Inspiration
Warren also told me to listen to my favorite artists and essentially copy their styles. It got me thinking, who do I want to emulate as a songwriter? The first answer that came to my mind was John Mayer. Ever since I was a kid, John Mayer was playing in the house. Everything from his first E.P the Inside Wants Out to Continuum. And when I was learning to play guitar, I learned all of his songs. But ultimately what drew me to him was his writing. Not just lyrics, but also his riffs and chord voicings. So I started doing that. Taking the same type of chords he played and essentially switched the order around until I found a progression that was different enough, but still invoked the same feeling. I also thought of Sting. We always listened to both Sting and the Police growing up and I always loved the diversity of his music. Whether it was rock, reggae, pop ballads, folk songs or jazz fusion, sting was never out of pocket. In a given week we would listen to albums like A Brand New Day (which definitely has more of an urban, world and digital aesthetic) and Ten Summoner's Tales (Which was more or less groovy folk songs). What I took from him was the way he placed the melody in his voice. Sting has always operated mostly in his high register, singing in his head voice with dynamic precision. I would listen to his music and try to copy the melody, and because I had essentially the same range, I developed my head voice to be the strongest register I have. James Taylor was another person I have always considered to be one of the best songwriters ever. From him I learned to tell the truth. Not everything has to rhyme, or have perfect syllabic consistency. You can definitely use these tools to help refine your song, but it should never be the driving force. Songs like Carolina on My Mind, Fire and Rain, Mexico, and You Can Close Your Eyes are simply beautiful. And they are Beautifully simple.
I took this advice and developed my own style, which was influenced by my music idols, the same way they were influenced by people before them. I take ideas from Lennon & McCartney, Paul Simon, Cat Stevens, Kenny Loggins, Stevie Wonder, Prince, Marvin Gaye, Earth Wind and Fire, Shania Twain, Dixie Chicks, Michael Jackson, Toto, Queen, Phil Collins, Eric Clapton and so many more. And it’s not just the icons that shaped music through the 70’s and 80’s that I draw from. From the 2000’s I think of Maroon 5’s first album Songs About Jane, and how I have always loved that record and the songs on it. I think of Come Away by Norah Jones that absolutely swept the grammys. I think of Carlos Santana’s Supernatural and how it was literally the biggest album in the world and touched so many people. I think of other artists who were popular during that time like Jack Johnson, Jason Mraz, Natasha Bedinggfield, John Legend and James Morrison. I also look at what's happening currently and I’m so inspired by artists like Billie Elish, Jacob Collier, Dodie, Gary Clark Jr., Kings of Leon, Phoebe Brigers, Leon Bridges, Beyonce, Bruno Mars, Anderson Paak, Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift, Ed Sheeren, The Jonas Brothers, Yebba, Vulfpeck, Cory Wong, Cody Fry, H.E.R, Bruno Major, SZA, Tom Misch, Mac Miller and so many more. Ultimately what I'm trying to say is that there is no limit to the amount of inspiration you draw from. It can be big or small, young or old, known or unknown, it doesn’t matter. What matters is that you write and keep writing. Draw from people you look up to, even outside of your medium. Whether it's poetry, film, art, dance or design, you can find inspiration everywhere to look. You just have to have the eyes to see it.
In conclusion
So maybe you’re an aspiring songwriter, or a seasoned one. I urge you, regardless of your experience, to always search for inspiration. Write as much as you can. Re-write songs you have put away in the top drawer and see how you can better tell your story or truth. Listen to your favorite artists and take everything you can from them. Be inspired and let your songs come to life in a brand new exciting way.
