Every Song Tells
A Story…But Does It Need To Be An Abstract Novel?
By Sheena Metal
For a musician, your songs
are your art. They are the physical embodiment of your creative
gifts. Every bit of anger, happiness, angst, joy, pain, elation,
knowledge or humor goes into the story known as your song.
You write and re-write it, scouring over each note and word…perfecting
it for recording and live performance.
But when you play it for
others, you’re not getting the reaction you expected.
Your friends, fans and family seem less than enthusiastic
as they dully respond, “Yeah. That was…um…good.”
How could this be? You poured your soul into this piece. This
was your “Stairway To Heaven”! This was your “Smells
Like Team Spirit”! It’s a lyrically amazing ode
about the persecution of pagan midwives in grass hut tribes!
It flows, it breathes, and it’s seven and a half minutes
of pure musical perfection!
Whoa. Stop right there,
Mozart. You wrote a seven and a half minute song about the
persecution of pagan midwives in grass hut tribes and you’re
wondering why you’re thirteen year-old cousin fell asleep
in the middle of the fourth verse? You wrote a seven and a
half minute song about the persecution of pagan midwives in
grass hut tribes and you’re confused as to why your
drummer’s girlfriend began calling her friends on her
cell phone before the song had reached its bridge?
It may be hard to believe
when you’re penning an opus such as this, but the normal
human brain is wired a little differently than an accomplished
musician’s, like yourself. And although music is art,
it’s also popular culture and the goal should be for
others to enjoy your creative efforts as much as you do.
So, how can you make sure
that your writing experience is as positive as your audience’s
listening experience? What can you, as musicians do, to eliminate
aspects of your songs that may alienate, confuse or just plain
bore your fans?
The following are a few
tips that may add success to your songwriting experience:
1.) After Four Minutes,
It Becomes Background Music---Music aficionado’s aside,
the average person has roughly the attention span of a young
adult hummingbird. As a songwriter, you need to grab your
audience’s attention and hold it until the end of the
song before they flit off to something else more interesting
to them. Although four minutes (or less) may seem like the
blink of an eye when a songwriter is storytelling, it’s
a very long time to expect your run-of-the-mill club-goer
or web-surfer to stay fixated on your music.
2.) Tell Your Story As
Directly As Possible---We all love allusions, allegories,
vague references, and subtle metaphors but use them sparingly
or become a beat poet. A little abstractness goes a long way
when writing a popular song. Song lyrics fly into people’s
minds as quickly as the bassist plucks out quarter notes.
If you make your lyrics too complicated, then your audience
may still be trying to figure out the verse when you’re
already playing the chorus. This could prompt the average
listener to tune out your masterpiece, order another beer
and switch on their Ipod.
3.) If English Is Your
First Language, Use It In Your Song---It’s great that
you’re an educated, cultured, artistic intellectual
sponge. But remember that most people who hear your music
are not book worms or art whores. Big, involved words make
for memorable song lyrics but use them occasionaly. It’s
good for your fans to ponder the meaning of a particular lyric
but give them too many to ponder and they’ll get so
caught up in the words that they may forget your song.
4.) Obscure Musicality
Can Be Confusing Too---Lyrics aren’t the only way to
confuse the average listener. Obscure time signatures, discordant
instrumentation and avant guard drum lines may seem like genius
to your fellow musicians, but if your listeners can’t
tap and/or hum along, you may find yourself only invited to
perform in underground opium bars where the audience members
have all had one too many hash brownie.
If you’re not sure
where to begin, start simple. Write a short, but sweet, song
that packs an emotional punch in a universal way. Write about
something everyone is familiar with: love, politics, lifestyle
issues or the sociology of being a human being on the planet.
Once people have fallen in love with your music, it will be
easier to get them to give the extra listen to your more complicated,
artistic pieces.
Remember that just because
a song is popular or easily understood, doesn’t mean
that it’s not good creativity. Art is subjective, and
truly in the eye of the beholder. Your least favorite song
could be someone else’s favorite. You never have to
stop being creative or artistic, just acknowledge that there’s
an audience out there that wants to hear what you have to
say…but they’ll need to be able to comprehend
it first.
Sheena Metal is a radio host, producer, promoter, music supervisor,
consultant, columnist, journalist and musician. Her syndicated
radio program, Music Highway Radio, airs on over 700 affiliates
to more than 126 million listeners. Her musicians’ assistance
program, Music Highway, boasts over 10,000 members. She currently
promotes numerous live shows weekly in the Los Angeles Area,
where she resides. For more info: http://www.sheena-metal.com.
Past Column's by Sheena
Every Song
Fan Etiquette
To Tour or Not to Tour
Leave Your Drama At Home
Burning Bridges
Radio Play
Opening Acts!
Managers
Show Me the CD
Be Committed
Scandalous Behavior
Create A Buzz
Green Eyed Monster
It's All Good
The Winner Is
