Another Great Month in the SAB

Well, February is coming swiftly to a close. Darn these months with only 28 days. We managed to write seven new songs between us this month. I noticed that all but one of them were posted before Valentine's Day. I'm sure that means something, but I don't know what it is.

We've written and posted 18 songs since Christmas! I don't know about you, but I'm really enjoying the songs and also the sharing of information asnd inspriration that goes on around here. On a personal note, I played one of the songs I wrote for this work out in public for the first time last week. Jesus and John Lennon made its public debut on February 16th.

On to March! Let me know what your goals are ASAP. I'm going with one this month. My focus got a little shifted the last part of this month as I played out live for the first time. My focus will likely stay on playing live for the next two or three months, but I'll grind one out this month!

Thanks for making it fun!
John

a new perspective

Just found this guy, Andy McKee, whilst stumbling about the internet. He has a wack technique, but very effective... great Sunday afternoon music. Nice innovation.

The Mad Scientist Strikes Again...

As I've probably said here before, I'm a bit of a gadget degenerate. And, like most artists, I'm terrified of losing ideas. While I'm out and about, I can, of course, write lyric ideas down, but have no real way of saving audio ideas (melodies, lyrics, guitar ideas). I've tried the "call your phone and leave a message" route, but no, thank you.

Today I bought an Olympus WS-100 Digital Voice Recorder. This little baby is about 3 1/2" by 1 1/2" and only about 3/8" deep. It's tiny. But this unit has 64MB of memory built in. It also has the ability to detach from the "base" unit and plug directly into the USB port on your computer.

This morning I sat down, set the WS-100 on my desk and played through a song I wrote about a year ago to try it out. The unit was sitting about a foot and a half from me as I played. I've uploaded an untouched file for you to check out the sound on this thing (and no, this doesn't count toward my song production for February).

It's a bit muddy, but for a unit that small that you can take anywhere, I love it. Check it out if you like...

This Time.WMA

I also tried to import the WMA file to my recording software and tweak it a little, but, while it works, it kind of defeats the purpose of the unit. I got it to save ideas. It's got so much memory (and the files it generates are so small) that I can hit record and just sit around and play all night, recording every idea I try. Then I can upload the file to my computer and save it with the date.

Plus, I can use it to record my kids when they tell me they're gonna clean their room - as evidence. ;o)

John

iSOUND - A Wealth of Information for the Aspiring Performer

Normally when I find a really useful site, I just copy the URL and put it somewhere on the sidebar on this site assuming you all will eventually come across it. Tonight I was messing around in the Man-Cave™ and received a message from a fellow Michigan perfomer, Dan Vaillancourt. He turned me on to a site that had a page full of useful article links. A few article titles:

• Getting Better is All About Promotion! Promotion! Promotion!
• Entrepreneurship Is The Key To New Artist Success Today
• Image: It Still Matters More Than The Music
• Building An Effective E-Mail List and Delivering the Right Message
• The importance of blogging and keeping your content fresh

Check them out if you get the chance. Note the list of article links in the sidebar of this site. There is a ton of useful information available to the motivated artist.

John

Leave Letters

I just wrote this in the last hour and recorded it in the last 15 minutes. shazam.

Leave Letters.mp3

Leave Letters
words and music by Liza Swart

Well you don't write songs for me baby
You don't write songs for me
And I don't want "no," I don't want "maybe"
Not when I know how it oughtta be
But we've tried and tried and tried tonight

Well you don't leave me little letters
You don't leave letters for me
Maybe it's time for something better
Time to change this present company
When we've tried and tried and tried all night

It's not giving up, it's not giving in
We both know now we can never win
It's not giving up, it's not giving in
It's just the end
We can begin

Well I don't whisper sweet nothings
I don't whisper them to you
And I for one am tired of all the running
Tired of running from the truth
When we've tried and tried and tried tonight

It's not giving up, it's not giving in
We both know now we can never win
It's not giving up, it's not giving in
It's just the end
We can begin

It's just the end
We can begin

It's just the end
We can begin

Leave Letters.mp3

Tunesmith - Songwriting Books

A couple years ago I purchased and read a book called Tunesmith by Jimmy Webb. After going back to this book recently, I can honestly say that every songwriter should read this book. Even if only for the first chapter. Webb is an inductee in The National Academy of Popular Music Songwriters Hall of Fame. His biography says the following:

Jimmy Webb has given the American songbook more hits, in more styles, than any other songwriter of his generation. The wunderkind of pop music, Webb became the hottest songwriter around when, starting at age twenty-one, he wrote a string of hits including "By the Time I Get to Phoenix," "Galveston," "Up, Up and Away," and "MacArthur Park."

Here are a couple quotes from the back cover of the book:

Tunesmith [is] an eminently readable master class in songwriting-one that will thrill aspiring composers and lyricists, yet still interest the general reader." - Michael Eck, Albany Times Union
Tunesmith may be the most interesting book ever written on songwriting... The sections on writing lyrics are riveting... It's for anyone who enjoys words." - David Hinckley, New York Daily News

Chapter titles:

Out of Thin Air
In This Room You'll Never Make a Mistake
It's Only Words
Elements of Form
It Can't Get No Verse...
Give Us a Tune Then, Jim
In Search of the Lost Chord
You and the Words and the Music
At Odds and Ends
Getting to First Base
Living With It

If anyone knows of any other useful books on Songwriting, please include the title and author(s) in a comment and I'll post the list in this thread or on the sidebar.

Thanks,
John

Songwriting/Recording Book Listing -

• Webb, Jimmy. Tunesmith. New York, NY: Hyperion, 1998
• Swedien, Bruce. Make Mine Music. Norway: MIA Musikk, 2003
• Blume, Jason. 6 Steps to Songwriting Success. New York, NY: Billboard Books, 2004
• Thall, Peter, M. What They'll Never Tell You About the Music Business. New York, NY: Watson-Guptill Publications, 2002

Songwriting Ideas: What's The Big Idea?

Photo by Quas

I was sitting in a teaching seminar and I found that even there I could find ideas for writing songs. We were looking at the big ideas that drive our lesson plans and I found a list of themes that I thought might spur on songwriting ideas.

Acceptance
Adaptation
Balance
Beauty
Change
Chaos
Choice
Communication
Community
Conflict
Connection
Courage
Cycles
Dignity
Civersity
Energy
Equality
Evil
Ethics
Excellence
Exploration
Family
Force
Form
Freedom
Friendship
Future
Geography
Happiness
Harmony
Honor
Identity
Individuality
Integrity
Journey
Law
Leadership
Liberty
Matter
Migration
Motivation

(there were more but I didn't have time to copy them all down).

Any more that you can think of?

Our Year

Our Year.mp3

This is the current view of my backyard. Only add about 4 inches, maybe. No work today! So I thought I'd post a song.

Our Year
words and music by Liza Swart

Chasing down these miles of endless highway
The darkness of the road is on my mind
You never were the kind to see it my way
Just bind it up and keep it all inside

But it's almost here
This will be our year

I suffer from no lack of inhibition
Would you see the meaning of my words
There's nothing so beyond our definition
After all the sky was made for birds

And if you learn to fly
Love, you know, I'm coming right behind

Just a little bit
Just a little bit of you
Just a little bit
Oh love, you know we'll see it through
Just a little bit
Just a little bit of you
Just a little bit
Oh love, it's all that I can do

Picking up the threads of conversation
You know I'm always sleeping when you call
Understanding little of our nation
We conjecture when the empire will fall

But you know my mind
That's the end of sleep I will see tonight

Just a little bit
Just a little bit of you
Just a little bit
Oh love, you know we'll see it through
Just a little bit
Just a little bit of you
Just a little bit
It's all that I can do

Yes, this is the one lacking a bridge- I kind of fudge it a little with that last transition between the choruses. It also really needs some backing keys, but as I'm horrible/have no way to record them, it doesn't get any. Opinions?

Our Year.mp3

To Keep Me Comin' Back To You

To Keep Me Comin' Back To You.mp3

Ok. This song was really my goal for this month, a love song to add to the ten others I've written my wife since we first were engaged.

One song a year to be delivered on or before Valentine's Day.

I think THIS was actually the first songwriting challenge, self-induced, that gave me a set time a song needed to be finished.

I am going to post the original version that I was going to settle on...until several newer ideas started flowing. I do this partially for the sake of the songwriting process (and what people go through to get to a more "finished" song) and partially for the history of it. I don't hate this version, but it doesn't feel as interesting as my first version.

To Keep Me Comin' Back To You
words and music by Steven Wesley Guiles

verse
I was looking out the window, I could not believe me eyes
You were walking rather slowly darlin', I was hypnotized

I am trying to remember when I last looked deep at you
I hope that you will pardon all this staring at my shoes

chorus
Daylight, pouring through the window of my
Old mind, changing because love has found a
Gold mine, filled up with the days and hours
You don't need a dozen flowers and I don't need no superpowers
To keep me comin' back to you

verse
I was looking out the window, I could not believe me eyes
You were walking rather slowly darlin', I was hypnotized

I am trying to remember when I last looked deep at you
I hope that you will pardon all this staring at my shoes

chorus
Daylight, pouring through the window of my
Old mind, changing because love has found a
Gold mine, filled up with the days and hours
I don't need no superpowers
To keep me comin' back to you

bridge
Don't look back now with regret
Thank you for the hardship, thank you for the tears
Thank you for the blessing, thank you for the years
Thank you for the break down, thank you for the rough patch,
Thank you for the bleeding, thank you for the relapse
Thank you for the trials, thank you for the tribulations
Thank you for the nosebleeds, thank you for the fascination,
Thank you for the promise, the promise, the promise...of you

chorus
Daylight, pouring through the window of my
Old mind, changing because love has found a
Gold mine, filled up with the days and hours
I don't need no superpowers
To keep me comin' back to you
To keep me comin' back to you

verse (reprise)
I was looking out the window, I could not believe my eyes.

To Keep Me Comin' Back To You.mp3

Here is an mp3 of the original idea that I was going to go with until another idea struck me:

To Keep Me Comin' Back To You - original demo

Lyrical Ratings: I Would Never Have Thunk It

As a songwriter lyric writing can be the hardest part. Many times I have the music, the chords, even the feel of the songs done long before the lyrics are finalized. They are an integral part of the song and are therefore much scrutinized.


I stumbled upon this website and thought I'd share it with you guys:

Toward A Technical Analysis Of Song Lyrics
or, "How Many Ways Does That Line Suck?"

I think this is an interesting conversation to have. We rate everything in some ways.

"Whoah! What did I just play?! That was awesome!"
"This soup is too bland, needs salt."
"That chord progression and melody sucked! I will never play that again."
"Too many cooks in the kitchen if you ask me..."

Why not songs? We certainly rate our songs, if not with actual numbers, by playing them often or putting them in the circular file after struggling with them for too long.

I have to admit that these guys are pretty wacky. They rated a Fresh MC lyric higher than a Eurythmics lyric, but these guys are pretty tongue in cheek too. If this does anything for me, it makes me think a little more about what I put on the written page.

the toughest part

Ok, so I'm working on this new song, and it feels done, but there's no bridge.

How important are bridges, really? I know sometimes they're fab, but most of the time they feel contrived- the necessary "C" to augment the "A" and "B".

Is it ok to just not mess with them? Simplistic songwriters want to know...

Detours to the Grave

Sing Like the Angels.mp3

The other day I was working but I happened to have an extra hour between appointments. There was construction on the freeway onramp and the detour took me past a cemetery. Since I had extra time and my guitar in the back seat of my car I decided to pull into the cemetery and try my hand at songwriting beneath the trees and sun… and next to some graves.

The headstone on the grave that I sat by was for a lady who was born in 1934. It also had an inscription that read, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith”.

I started to wonder what this woman’s life was about and if she got to do all the things that she dreamed of doing as a little girl.

The lyrics feel more Nashville then LA.

Sing Like the Angels
words and music by Eric Shouse

I see her lying there so peacefully
I can hear her words ring out from yesterday
When she was a little girl, they all heard her say

“I want to sing like the angels sing
When they hear me, I hope they forget everything
I want to sing like the angels sing
O Halleluiah! Sing like the angels…”

Days don’t stop, and faces age
She took on children, but never took the stage
She'd hold her babies as they'd close their eyes
As she rocked them they’d hear her sigh, …

“I hope you sing like the angels sing
When they hear you, I hope they forget everything
I hope you sing like the angels sing
O Halleluiah! Sing like the angels…”

Family gathered around, the news was grim
They all held hands and sang a hymn
She opened up her eyes to see them there
And whispered with a smile this simple prayer,

“I’m gonna sing like the angels sing
When they hear me I hope they forget everything
I’m gonna sing like the angels sing
O Halleluiah! Sing like the angels…”

Halleluiah! Sing with the angels

Sing Like the Angels.mp3

-Thanks to Rosemary Ramos (1934-2002)

Jesus and John Lennon

Jesus and John Lennon.mp3

Couple quick things about this song. First, see the post before this for a few short remarks about the actual process of writing it. Second, I see this as an important song for me. Partly for reasons listed in the previous post, and partly because I think it's just a pretty good song (not that I expect everyone to like it). I found myself worrying a little about what listeners might think about this one. Perhaps this song will help me to let go of that feeling a bit and just let the songs come to life and breathe on their own.

Listeners may hear lots of different things and/or draw different meanings from it when they listen to this one. I'll let them sort that out in their own minds as they do. I'm sure you may find a meaning in this song that is completely unrelated to the one(s) I felt as I wrote and performed it. Regardless, I hope you enjoy Jesus and John Lennon. It comes from a good place, I think.

Thanks for taking the time,
J

Jesus and John Lennon
words and music by John Natiw

VERSE 1
Nineteen seventy three
On the way to the high school dance
Someone shouted to me
"All I'm sayin' is give peace a chance"

Saw an old man on a bench
His clothes were all covered in dirt
He smiled at me and looked away
Then he stood up and said "have you heard...

CHORUS 1
I saw Jesus and John Lennon spend the day
Hangin' out and talking 'bout that better way

Can you Imagine..."

VERSE 2
Word came through the telephone
A man killed a man with a gun
In a moment the dreamer was gone
But he wasn't the only one

Sad man on the radio
Said the world has just lost a great light
Closed the shades and then my eyes
And drifted off into the night

CHORUS 2
I saw Jesus and John Lennon take a walk
Through times square, strawberry fields and central park

Can you Imagine...

BRIDGE
Can you imagine, Standing side by side
Imagine, it's high time that we tried
Can you imagine, A brotherhood of man
Imagine, please tell me that you can...

[instrumental verse - harp]

CHORUS 3
I saw Jesus and John Lennon spend the day
Hangin' out and talking 'bout that better way

Can you Imagine...

Jesus and John Lennon.mp3

Who Wrote This? And Who Am I???

This is weird. I've been writing this song the past few days (that's not the weird part) and when I play it (or read the lyrics) it doesn't look/feel like I'm the one who wrote it.

This may take awhile to explain.

I started with a little chord progression on the guitar and started humming some stuff over it for a few days. Then came some passable, but not inspiring, lyrics. Then, last night, I had this "flash" of brilliance (I'll call it) and wrote a pretty good verse (or part of one). I wasn't able to run down what the song was about so I put off writing any chorus thoughts and went up to bed.

As I was laying there in the dark last night, I came up with a few chorus ideas. In the morning when I actually took time to really read what I'd written I was amazed/shocked. It was like it wasn't me. I actually wanted to NOT like it, but I knew it was good.

This is further support, by the way, for my theory that we do not "write" these songs. We "discover" them.

Tonight I kept running it down trying to focus the song in a bit. I even tried to change some things so it seemed more "me" (whatever that means). No dice. This song apparently just wants to piss me off. So now I've got a verse and a chorus for a song that no one who knows me will believe I wrote and I'm not sure I'll ever sing live or record.

Maybe there is a liberal inside me trying to get out.

I need to sleep on this one.
J

A Whole Lotta Love...Songs

I found this site and it is beyond sappy...but there are links to what look like hundreds of classic love songs with chords and lyrics.

Check it out by clicking HERE.

My goal this month IS to write a love song, so why not start by examining a few of the classics?

My favorites tend to be ringed with sadness and hope. In Your Eyes by Peter Gabriel is perhaps one of my favorites.

Follow Up To 1:29 AM: I've Got News For You

I've Got News For You.mp3

If you were to take this song and "Don't Be Hatin'" in a row, they should cancel each other out and ruin any credibility I have as a serious songwriter.

:)

Here's my serious song. I'm really excited about the end because I created a vocal effect that I have always loved, but rarely been able to pull off because of my limited range. I also like the chorus that came to me last night as a result of "just doing it".


I've Got News For You
words and music by Steven Wesley Guiles

I've got news for you, I've got news for you
I've got words of inspiration, hope and blues for you
I've got news for you, I've got super glue
If you put it all together there's a clue for you

Words are never enough
Too weak or too tough to be helpful but
Right now what can I do
I'm doing the best that I can

I've got news for you, brand new shoes for you
I've got pent up expectations busting through to you
I've got news for you, not empty platitudes
I've got words of pain and worth that might ring true to you

Words are never enough
Too weak or too tough to be helpful but
Right now what can I do
I'm doing the best that I can (2x)

You are sad, I know that
Maybe mad, probably my fault
Your heart's a stone, so far from home
You wail and moan, but would you block me out?
Would you block me out? Block me out, block me out

Words are never enough
Too weak or too tough to be helpful but
Right now what can I do
I'm doing the best that I can (2x)

I've got news for you, I've got news for you
I'm gonna love you even if it means I'm losing you

I've Got News For You.mp3

It's So Embarrassing It Almost Hurts, But...

...I think I might post it.

Post what you might ask?

"We still haven't seen that song you were working on at 1 in the morning?"
"Yeah, Steve, what gives?!"

Well, yesterday I wrote a song, at school, in less than 27 minutes. In fairness I wrote the lyrics in 2nd period under the direction of my students who were demanding a second song. (The first song was "The Chicken Song", now a Mr. Guiles classic that has been anthologized by my students).

The title? Don't Be Hatin'.mp3, my foray into rap/hip hop that is sure to bring me some kind of award. Most Ridiculous Rap Ever Made or Why Most White Guys Aren't Allowed To Rap Unless They're Eminem.

It was my last day with one of my classes (the semester change) and they basically wanted to have a party. So, I decided to redirect that energy into music, which they were all excited to do.

One of my kids is always beating out hip hop beats on his desk, so I had him step up to the mic (a USB mic that I keep in my school bag for just such occasions) and make a beat. The class was totally into it. His first beat, unfortunately, was almost impossible to rap over because the timing was some sort of bizarre jazz thing. We did it again and I pounded it out with him to keep it in time. After we laid the beat I just picked up the mic and attempted to do some of the lyrics kids and I had developed a couple hours earlier.

This song has shoutouts, at least one beat box, and the lyrical sense of a junior higher.

My first try was pretty bad, so I did it once more. The attempt you hear is STILL pretty bad, but I've decided that I'm not afraid to look like a total dork, so here goes.

Don't Be Hatin'.mp3

1:29 A.M.

This song has been flitting around my head for the last couple of days. I decided to chase it down until I wrestled something out of it.

I'll send out an Mp3 sometime in the next day or two.

I'm going to bed.

The Mississippi Saxophone

Recently I've been thinking about getting a harmonica. After the Folk Festival I just HAD to get one. Seemed like many of the performers there had the ability to play one. Plus, being able to play guitar or piano, sing and play a harmonica is the very definition of cool IMHO. So, off to the music shop I went.

Turns out there are lots and lots of options when it comes to getting one of these buggers. After perusing the various harps, I settled on a Hohner Blues Harp (key of G). At the risk of overdoing my "cool", I also picked up a harmonica harness (gotta play my six string too, yo). I have no delusions of becoming an expert player, but I'd like to perform various "solos" over some of my songs when playing by myself. I think it'd add an interesting layer to the music. I love it when a performer breaks out with the harness and lays into their harmonica during a song.

I've come across a few helpful web sites thus far and will be posting them to this site as I have opportunity. In the meantime, I'm off to practice my new toy. Oh, and write a couple songs this month.

Maybe a harmonica will turn up in my next offering here on the site. If it does, just humor me, 'k?

THE OFFICIAL LIST OF HARMONICA LINKS
HarmonicaLessons.com
Hohner USA
Harmonica.com
The Diatonic Harmonica Reference

Fourteen In February?!!

I will be checking this website out(if I have time between writing the songs I need to write).

http://www.fawm.org/

This site's challenge (NOT, I REPEAT NOT THE SONGWRITING APPLES SITE) is to write FOURTEEN SONGS IN THE MONTH OF FEBRUARY!!
Maybe, when my kids are a little older, I might try this.

For now, I'm baby-stepping into consistently writing 2-4 songs a month.
But I can still stand in awe of those who write fourteen songs.

Now, repeat after me: "I don't have to measure up to anyone else...I don't have to measure up to anyone else...I only have to do the best I can do..."



Rinse. Repeat. Deep breath. Cleansing breath.
Aaaahhh. I'm ok now AND I'm even happy for the guys that write fourteen songs.