My Top Tips for Songwriting (continued)  

“Firstly allow me to apologise for not blogging sooner!  I have been swamped in a band related project but sadly I cant reveal what that is until the summer - so watch this space…  Thank you for the kind comments on my last blog - below, are my continued tips for songwriting…"

With all the research I put into songwriting, I thought it would be a good idea to document what I took from this research and share the advice I found useful - I’m certainly not writing this blog claiming to be a successful songwriter, this is just what I gleaned and found useful/worked for me; 

My Top Tips for Songwriting (continued)  

 

  • Writing from real experience - Nile Rodgers famously was refused entry into the nightclub “Studio 54” and so he went home and wrote the song “F*ck off!” (Aimed at the door staff) Which was of course later changed to “Freak Out!”  Using real actual emotions are going to gain real results and people can connect with that.  Adele is another great example; real emotions yielding real results. 

 

  • It doesn’t have to make sense - at first… Most famous example of word replacement is probably Paul McCartney’s “scrambled-eggs” which later got changed to “Yesterday” - truly a song writing master-class.  You can fill in the blanks later.

 

  • “Practice” - Tony Visconti was asked what is the one key element to writing and performing, his reply was “Practice Practice Practice!”  He went on to say how he was always surprised how the likes of Gary Moore, Marc Bolan and David Bowie put the hours in - even when they were top of the charts, they never stopped practicing throughout.  

 

  • “If you’re good you’re going to make it” - Watching a Noel Gallagher interview he was asked what advice would you give anyone starting out?  His reply (minus the swear words) was “write a chorus, if you’re good you’re going to make it” - He goes on to say “Don’t look back in anger” isn’t a great recording - the vocal, guitar playing and studio quality aren’t that great but the song is too good for any of that to matter…   

 

  • Having empathy - I used to think there were just some subjects you shouldn’t write about but having discussed this matter with experienced writers my mindset was completely (and thankfully) changed.  I put this down to establishing empathy and identifying/relating to other peoples thoughts, feelings and attitudes.  I found it to be a whole other world/world’s to create from.  Try it and see! 

 

If you think this blog will be useful to anyone considering starting out this process then please share it.  As for MASK, last week we released our new single “Suffer In Silence.” I have blogged before about it being the first “real” song I have ever written and i’m very proud of it.  For the track I worked with a company called "Mash-Mob" to story board and create an animated video based around the songs meaning.  The whole process was a real labour of love.  Check it out and thanks for reading.

“H” Humphrey from MASK

 

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