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"You’re in Nashville ? Well no doubt about that. I think you could swing a cat... and hit 99,000- songwriters. about 98,000 would be 25- years old The other 1,000 have been there 25- years : They're at the end of the bar complaining " :Three chords and the truth still don't rhyme with (Business' World).' "They keep telling themselves : "My next (tragedy) is going to be the best song ever written" , If we live that long.
"A Bible -Belt-Roulette wheel: all hoping it lands on their number”. "21 words and a melody: could be worth a million dollars : In "Thou shall gamble Dixie Baby". "The on-going fight: Jokers-Wild and Gentle- Jesus": Demo stands for (Demolition Derby)." "Gold -miners : But like Sutters -Mill.... the shovel salesman made most the money"
I liked it. I heard it as a funk tune. I didn't care for the tone of the electronic bass; just personal preference, I prefer a more bassy tone. Yes, good start, carry on! -Mike
"Last time I was in Nashville.... the publisher that gave Carrie Underwood "Jesus Take The Wheel" Was doing a strip tease listening to our shitty songs. One of them greet and meet deals. Looking back "Jesus take the wheel": did make our songs sound pretty bad" "That meet and greet was hosted by (Kye Flemming) : She had numerous hits in the 70ties and 80ties". "She had a site called (Song - Journey) . it only lasted a few years , she might of got tired of listening to bad songs" (I'm assuming of course)" "Fast foreword to now , Ashley Gorley with 60 hits now works for Sony as a Staff- writer: Maybe its keeping the money close to vest so to speak". " "Lets get back on the jokes . "So Maren Morris is leaving country music... due to drama: Does she actually think L.A and Pop music will be less (dramatic) ?"
Reality Show. lol . probably David . Why would she care on Aldean's wife ? Really silly stuff. "I just pop open say hits 8/23 on youtube , See what they're doing , study a few . Haven't heard her in awhile" "I watched Oliver Anthony... and his story"
Yes, easily. Obviously you'd need probably two more sections.
I agree with Japovs, melody supercedes everything, but many people write track first. Depends what your genre is, and I think once I finish my singer songwriter stuff I'm going to try writing this way
Great start, I like how it builds on the initial theme.
Reminds a bit of 80's stuff like Steve Winwood, higher love or something, broken wings, Mr Mr
Long way to go for that, but its a start
And yes, nice to have pro studio in your hands
Enjoyed, worth working on, maybe offer it up as a challenge, let people here write a melody and lyric to it
I'm pretty confident I could knock this out of the park
Dom, Are you able to record VOX? Perhaps the three of us could whip something together here
Yes Taylor Swift on her on going affairs... and write how they did me wrong and make millions doing it" . "Net worth 750 -million". She can put on Victoria Secret out- fits on , but still looks like the (Girl ) next door to me". "I'm in re -hab ...Nicotine- gum . I feel like the Chinese in a opium- den in 1862 lighting one up" "I want to thank the Cartel Tobacco farmers : God bless America and coffins" "Your southern charm is over whelming with angina" "You've killed more people than Pablo Escobar and Chappo" Ya'll .
Yes, easily. Obviously you'd need probably two more sections.
I agree with Japovs, melody supercedes everything, but many people write track first. Depends what your genre is, and I think once I finish my singer songwriter stuff I'm going to try writing this way
Great start, I like how it builds on the initial theme.
Reminds a bit of 80's stuff like Steve Winwood, higher love or something, broken wings, Mr Mr
Long way to go for that, but its a start
And yes, nice to have pro studio in your hands
Enjoyed, worth working on, maybe offer it up as a challenge, let people here write a melody and lyric to it
I'm pretty confident I could knock this out of the park
It’s just a idea , Ghost ideas are always fun If you can say it different than a billion other ghost ideas “Heart Of A Ghost” Some movie last night Let’s make some ghosts the line was good , the movie sucked
Walking deserted towns In my lonely soul I’m dead like wood on this guitar I only come alive in run down bars I got the heart of a ghost And nobody’s home
Yeah I can record vocals, but the song ain't written yet....
It's got one section, don't think there's even a verse there, seems like us an opening groove, which should thin out to sing a verse, the structure can go various places.
The main point of the 'cassettes' story was the Song-Screener, handed the job by people with time too valuable to do it themselves, deciding within 19 seconds whether you had a Song or not. The technology may have changed but the process probably has not. A 'submission' they agree to let a Songwriter send gets handed to an underling to put 'ears' on and make a Judgment Call, and he decides within 19 seconds whether you get a recommendation back to the 'boss' or a 'pass' to a Secretary who sends you a form letter, "Thank you very much, but we've decided to 'go another way'." Number of 'hits' on THE Hook? Hmmm...
"That was back in the 70ties on cassettes. Hook 3 times bare (minimum)- is bit dated : Hook once or twice in chorus is usually what's used in 2023 songs But the rest your saying is true "
"If you even get that far in todays market on pitching a song : Which I find futile . If your a staff -writer yes .... Besides that you're dreaming ." And Nashville loves that "
"Ok lets look at one '
"Typical......... hook on top and bottom of chorus. it outros it out on hook" "It also raised hell with liberals" "Hook on top and bottom of chorus that's it" "The rest of it...he works on paying it off" "Try that in a small town". "Personally I like hook once on bottom" "That means the (Writers) spent time paying it off" "Anybody can say the hook a million times"
You actually dont know if the song had hook on top and bottom of chorus, when written, all you hear is what Aldean and his team did to it.
But pitching is pretty much dead. The only shot you have is to make a damn near record quality recording, and perform it yourself, and hope it gets noticed online.
As far as money, even legendary performers dont make much on recordings any ore, its all free. They still make it performing live..
Even if you managed to write a massive hit, where is the money gonna come from?
Grab your acoustic and play your stuff live. You will make approximately a 100 bucks a night, and you might get a few claps. You can then direct them people to your site.
The internet is so cluttered, i think playing live has a backwards effect now. Go where other people aint
“Yeah I read the backlash on the song He gets a lot of heat ….but for millions I’m sure he can handle it” Sold his Catalogue for a 100-million... I guess to Sony I forget.
"Right... like Oliver's song. The south went Gaga over his song" "A (Star) over a Youtube Vid... that went viral." " I guess he turned down 8- million on a record -deal" "Or did ... Not sure what he's doing now"" He signed with them " :So he's on to Stardom .. https://www.unitedtalent.com/
4 line pre . Same pre thru-out. "Kinda funny and pros , don't do political songs , So much for their theory" "He basically hit the lottery " "Right song right time"
[Verse 1] I've been sellin' my soul, workin' all day Overtime hours for bullshit pay So I can sit out here and waste my life away Drag back home and drown my troubles away
[Pre-Chorus] It's a damn shame what the world's gotten to For people like me and people like you Wish I could just wake up and it not be true But it is, oh, it is
[Chorus] Livin' in the new world With an old soul These rich men north of Richmond Lord knows they all just wanna have total control Wanna know what you think, wanna know what you do And they don't think you know, but I know that you do 'Cause your dollar ain't [naughty word removed] and it's taxed to no end 'Cause of rich men north of Richmond
[Verse 2] I wish politicians would look out for miners And not just minors on an island somewhere Lord, we got folks in the street, ain't got nothin' to eat And the obese milkin' welfare Well, God, if you're five-foot-three and you're three-hundred pounds Taxes ought not to pay for your bags of Fudge Rounds Young men are puttin' themselves six feet in the ground 'Cause all this damn country does is keep on kickin' them
[Pre-Chorus] Lord, it's a damn shame what the world's gotten to For people like me and people like you Wish I could just wake up and it not be true But it is, oh, it is
[Chorus] Livin' in the new world With an old soul These rich men north of Richmond Lord knows they all just wanna have total control Wanna know what you think, wanna know what you do And they don't think you know, but I know that you do 'Cause your dollar ain't [naughty word removed] and it's taxed to no end 'Cause of rich men north of Richmond
[Outro] I've been sellin' my soul, workin' all day Overtime hours for bullshit pay
Yup that's it , Not that matters , but yes typical
Well, try that in a small town See how far ya make it down the road Around here, we take care of our own You cross that line, it won't take long For you to find out, I recommend you don't Try that in a small town
"He's using all O rhymes. or they did ....written by Kelley Lovelace, Neil Thrasher, Tully Kennedy, and Kurt Allison. 4 writers ... Maybe Kelly had the hook" .
"Even if you managed to write a massive hit, where is the money gonna come from? Publisher , terrestrial radio I guess. Say a signed Sony Staff- Writer"
A 'Musical Composition' of any genre commences with whatever sounds are delivered to the listener first, an 'Introductory Movement'. The function of an Introductory Movement is simply to get the listener's attention, and sustain that attention until the next 'Movement' commences. Those sounds have 'Hook Factor'. The words, when they commence, should have 'Hook Factor', getting and sustaining listener attention.
For a 'Song', meaning a Composition with a 'Lyric' to be 'sung', the next Movement may be a Chorus, or a Verse.
Actually, for any Composition, Instrumental or vocal, even rap, I recommend attention to that 'Structure', perceiving the various Movements typical of a 'sung' work, Intro., Verses, Choruses, Repetition and Change, a Bridge if necessary, and a final Movement, a Coda.
The 'sounds' of the Intro., Introductory Movement, may continue unchanged into that next Movement, or may change dramatically, to accommodate the Vocal execution, the Melody of the Lyric, the dynamics of 'Change'.
An Introductory Movement need only be long 'Enough' to accomplish that 'Hooking' of attention function. It may be as little as seven seconds, as much as fourteen seconds, but, ideally, not much longer. Singers, Songwriters, often miss their cue and 'Repeat' the Intro., making it twice as long as necessary to serve that function.
Someone wrote the 'rule', "Don't bore us! Get to the Chorus!"
Again, some Songs open with the Chorus, then go to a Verse to do the 'Exposition' of the 'Storyline' that the Chorus Lyrical content implies. If the Song 'Structure' is Intro. and next to Verse, that Exposition sets up for the Lyrical Content of the Chorus, the third Musical Movement in the Composition. 1. Introductory Movment 2. Verse 3. Chorus
A common complaint among Song 'Screeners', listening to submissions by aspiring artists, or submissions for Publishing to other artists and their management, is that the Verse and Chorus sound too much alike, "Not 'Enough' contrast between Verse and Chorus." A Song must have 'Enough' Repetition to supply Structure, Enough 'Change' to keep it interesting.
How long is 'Long Enough' for an Intro.? How long is 'Long Enough' for the next Movement, be it Chorus or Verse?
The other degrees on the 'Enough' continuum are 'Not Enough' and 'Too Much'. "Don't bore us! Get to the Chorus!"
I read a Producer quoted, saying, "If you haven't done something interesting in 47 seconds I quit listening." A Song Screener told of driving down the road popping submission cassettes into a small player, and if you didn't 'Hook' his interest in 19 seconds, he popped you out and the next submission in.
It has to do with the Human attention span, and the demands of terrestrial radio, where they play music, and pay Royalties, not as a presentation of Art, but as a device to keep you listening 'Long Enough' for them to play the Commercial Advertising that pays the bills. So they like short Songs.
People cite long Songs as a guide that their Songs are not 'Too Much', like "Stairway To Heaven" an "Hotel California", and the latter's one minute Introductory Movement as justification for their own 'excesses'. I say, "Yeah. Write Songs like that and play them like that and you can get played on radio $$$ too."
But if your Song isn't a masterpiece like those, your chances of getting played, paid and listened to are better with short Intro's. and just 'Enough' Lyrical delivery to get to the 'Change' of dynamics of the next Movement, Into. to Verse or Chorus, Verse or Chorus to next Movement, be it Verse or Chorus.
By 19 seconds in, or less, you should be to the second component. By 47 seconds in you should be to the Title Line, THE Hook, the main idea of the Lyrical Storyline. The listener should hear that Line, 'get it' as a summary idea in the Story.
It may be a 'Refrain', a single Line of Lyric and the Melody to which it is sung, that ends each Verse, a 'Refrain-Type' Chorus. It may be one of the several Lines of Lyric in a 'Stanza-Type' Chorus.
The first Line may be forgotten by the time the Chorus ends. The last Line is left ringing in the listener's ears, so may be ideal as the position for THE Hook.
THE Hook/Title Line should Repeat a minimum of three times, with more better because it 'drives' home' that Line as the main idea of the Song, making it 'memorable', remember-able, ear-worm-ish, insisting on being heard and remembered.
These are some of the Songwriter's 'Judgment Calls'. Songwriters make them, usually unconsciously, inspired by their own sense of what is 'Enough' and when it is 'Time' for the next Movement. Listeners will make their own Judgment Calls about whether they like or are moved by the Lyrical content, the Melody to which it is sung, and whether they 'get it', get the summary significance you intend that Line to mean in the overall Storyline, and whether it is 'memorable' or 'forgettable'.
You, as the Songwriter, are the first 'listener'. You make those Judgment Calls, consciously or unconsciously.
What we're talking about then is 'Structure'. Do you 'Compose' a Structure the listener can relate to, a Lyric they 'get' and are entertained by, a Melody they can't help singing along with? On the 'Enough' continuum, your Judgment, is the Introductory Movement Too Long, not Long Enough, or Enough? Is the timing of getting to the next Movement Enough, Too Much, Not Enough? Is the next Movement, be it Verse or Chorus, Enough, Too Much, Not Enough?
Songwriters enjoy 'emoting', singing their Lyric, playing their instrument, and their Judgment may be influenced by their own enjoyment, so guarding against that with attention to what other listeners will experience is necessary.
Songwriters enjoy writing, so they often get verbose, 'wordy', and it becomes Too Much, more than Enough. Melody tends to become 'Monotonous', mono = one, tone. The listener drifts off to other thoughts.
This Composition is very Introductory Movement oriented, in my Judgment, and gets my attention. About 7 to 14 seconds in I'm ready for the next Movement. By about the time this recording ends I would be ready for the Change of dynamics of the next Movement, the third Movement, Intro., Verse, Chorus. or Intro., Chorus, Verse.
So any sounds can commence a Composition, 'Introduce' the Composition. Timing for Change, Repetition to supply demanded Structure listeners can relate to, continue to be 'Hooked' on, when and how to 'Change', all demand Judgment Calls on the part of the first listener, you, the Songwriter.
Not knowing you are making Judgment Calls works. Your 'sense' of timing, emotive qualities of your Melody, word meanings, all go into creation of a Song. You didn't have to 'think' about it; you just did it. It came out that way and 'felt' right. Conscious examination of those factors can enable you to stop 'Boring us' and 'Getting us to the Chorus'.
I think I'll go back and listen to the track again, and see what Judgment Calls I can make.
P. S. The final Musical Movement of a Composition is not the 'Outro'. 'Intro.' abbreviates 'Introductory', but there is no 'Outroductory' word. The final Musical Movement is the 'Coda'.
Putting THE Hook in Line 1 of a Stanza-Type Chorus, AND at the end, is a strong Structure.
It gives you two 'hits' on THE Hook in each giving of the Chorus, which is likely to be at least twice, four 'hits', driving that Line home in the listener's mind, and memory, if you've got them listening.
If there's a third giving of the Chorus that's six 'hits'. Short Songs, short Verses, a short Chorus, can do that, and still perform, in recorded form, under three minutes, thirty seconds, or less; Radio Friendly. Live play can go on longer. 'Album' recordings or 'Download' streaming can go longer. Internet listening? Maybe longer can still work.
Or a Song can Repeat THE Hook in a Coda, several times to get that 'memorability' factor up.
I like the 'AND' solution rather than the 'EITHER/OR' solution, in many decisions, in Songwriting, and in life. Either Line 1 or the last Line; versus first Line and last Line.
If I'm sixty seconds or more into a Song and you haven't gotten THE Hook to me by then I'm probably drifting off to my own thoughts and will only notice when the Song ends that I've come 'Un-Hooked', not paying attention, not thinking about the Lyric, or the Melody, or the Structure, or the singers, players, and not likely to think, "I'd like to hear that again!" and certainly not, "I'd pay to hear that again!"
Structure may make a great difference in how your tracks for the consideration of others who might write a Lyric to it. If they can hear the Movements, the Change, the Repetition, the Structure, they can write to it. It will impose restrictions on the time/space for delivery of a Lyric, keeping them from droning on with multiple examples of the same idea, or Too Much Exposition in a Verse, a Chorus which, rather than delivering the 'Punch Line', the main idea, does more Exposition.
Adhering to some Time limitations, getting to THE Hook within the first minute, not much later if at all, can make Lyricists pare down their words and get it done within those limitations. You can reasonably stretch the limitations you create to accommodate their ideas. It's malleable, pliable, flexible, at this point. But don't let them make the mistakes that make the difference between 'Hook Factor' memorability and forgettable 'Too Much/Not Enough'.
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