Recording - April 2014 - 28

You won't always have your best ideas come to
you while you're conveniently sitting at your desk.
To capture a musical idea, anywhere, anytime,
carry with you a pocket-sized digital recorder.
Don't neglect to check the batteries, the memory
card, or the internal memory, so that you can dictate a lyric or hum a melody whenever inspiration
comes to you.
If you have a smart phone, load it up with apps
to record, apps to take notes... Songwriting is a
guerrilla operation-one must be patient, but prepared to act quickly. Having even the most rudimentary record of this moment can make the difference between that tiny creative encouragement
becoming the best song you ever wrote, or just
another one that got away.
I knew a songwriter several years ago who
received a Nikon digital camera as a gift. This
particular model included audio recording capabilities. He carried it with him everywhere. To my
knowledge, I don't think he ever took a single picture with it. But it was filled with song ideas,
arrangement snippets, found sounds, lyrics and
poems...little audio finger-paintings, if you will.
The artist finds a way!
By Sven-Erik Seahom

Capture

and Craft

Grab those ideas and turn them
into great songs with the right tools

"A song is like a dream, and you try to make it come true."-Bob Dylan
A song comes to us with a blend of three complementary ingredients: lyrics,
melody and harmonic structure (chords). Each of these essentials supports the
others, so while the lyrics may often directly refer to a particular feeling or emotion, the melody can actually help to emphasize or even embody that sensation. The chords contextualize things further by defining and establishing major
and minor key relationships-the exact same melody can be made to sound
either happy or sad, depending on which notes surround and support it.
It all sounds very complicated, and it certainly can be, but the act of songwriting can also be fundamentally broken down into two simple phases:
Capture and craft.
Tools at the ready-anywhere, anytime
The first stage begins with allowing all of your ideas and inspirations to
flow freely, encouraging them to come into being without judgment or expectation. Each new line or musical phrase may suggest another and then another, until you've filled the room with all of these wonderful 'butterflies' of invention and creativity. Along the way, you may employ a wide variety of 'nets'
to gently capture them.
Songs are often like long-lost friends who show up unannounced while
you're in the middle of something else. You're always very excited to see
them, but the timing can be a bit of an issue. The key word here is readiness-
having the tools you need at hand when you're struck by the lightning of creativity. Have a note pad at the ready, and pencils or markers, highlighters-
the quicker you write down a good idea, the more likely you are to keep it
and to build on it. I usually write on an acoustic guitar. If that's what you do,
too, make sure yours is in tune, with good strings, ready to inspire you.
28

RECORDING April 2014

The muse comes calling
Sometimes, there's a nibble. A chord change or
a musical vibe might catch my attention or take
over. I fall under its spell and delve deeper into it,
playing it over and over in an endless loop. I
begin singing along and exploring the varying
sonorous textures that are suggested by the union
of my musical sense and my subconscious mind.
At this point, I try to sing the most beautiful and
unique melody I can uncover. Even though I don't
know what all of the chords will be yet, I'm
singing over what is there, because the very
melody that I'm singing could suggest what the
next move is.
Let's start out, for example, by playing a simple C
chord for a measure, followed by an E minor chord
for another measure. After a while, you might begin
singing a G "Ooooh" over the C chord and rising
to a B over the E minor. Return to the G over the C
chord, falling to an E over the E minor... Back and
forth: "Ooooh, ooooh. Ooooh, ooooh..."
Eventually, a melodic turn may be in conflict
with what you're currently playing, suggesting a
new chord. Let's say you want to hear a G note,
followed by a note of G# and then an A. That's
probably not going to work over the present
chords, so you search through a variety of combinations until you arrive at the solution that sounds
best to you. In this case, it might be a C chord, followed by an E7 and then an A minor. Suddenly,
you're in a whole new place. By simply following
our melody, you've wandered off the beaten path
and are now finding your way instinctively.

Getting acquainted
So, where can you go next? Continue playing
through the progression, still singing along, all the
way up to that creative 'cliff' where you had left
off. This hypnotic, cyclical approach places the
song "under your hands"; you become more comfortable playing and singing these inspirations,
allowing your mind to roam. This often gives the
next solution a better chance to present itself.



Recording - April 2014

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Recording - April 2014

Contents
Recording - April 2014 - Cover1
Recording - April 2014 - Cover2
Recording - April 2014 - 1
Recording - April 2014 - 2
Recording - April 2014 - 3
Recording - April 2014 - 4
Recording - April 2014 - 5
Recording - April 2014 - Contents
Recording - April 2014 - 7
Recording - April 2014 - 8
Recording - April 2014 - 9
Recording - April 2014 - 10
Recording - April 2014 - 11
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Recording - April 2014 - Cover3
Recording - April 2014 - Cover4
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