Friday
Jan182008
a bit of songcraft
Friday, January 18, 2008 at 12:47PM
Well, I've been playing catch-up the past few days. Returning e-mails and phone calls that have piled up over the past month of my sabbatical. I think I'm about done now, or at least am at the point where I just have to wait for the returns to my replies. You know how it goes...
I've written a couple songs in the past few days. Two are aimed at an upcoming project that I'll hopefully get to tell you about really soon, possibly later today. I'm really excited about both of the songs.
I told you last month about that Tom Petty documentary we watched. It has so gotten under my skin and inspired me to keep aiming for simpler, catchier ways of saying things. "Don't bore us, get to the chorus." It's been a good exercise, trimming every unnecessary thing so all you hear are the things about the song you love.
I used to think this kind of stuff was all tricks for dumb, lowest-common-denominator pop music. I'm realizing now that a lot of the great artists I love learned these tools, and it's what has allowed them to reach so many people. It's not selling out when Springsteen gets to the chorus quickly or when U2 repeats it eight times. It's poetry to say the thing you want to say and not clutter it with things that don't contribute to your point. And this is as much musically as it is lyrically.
I first dabbled with that aspect of songcraft on the Letters EP and I think I learned a lot from it. That's the first solo project I've done that I still consistently listen to, just because I enjoy it. Here's hoping for more of that in the future.
I love my job.
I've written a couple songs in the past few days. Two are aimed at an upcoming project that I'll hopefully get to tell you about really soon, possibly later today. I'm really excited about both of the songs.
I told you last month about that Tom Petty documentary we watched. It has so gotten under my skin and inspired me to keep aiming for simpler, catchier ways of saying things. "Don't bore us, get to the chorus." It's been a good exercise, trimming every unnecessary thing so all you hear are the things about the song you love.
I used to think this kind of stuff was all tricks for dumb, lowest-common-denominator pop music. I'm realizing now that a lot of the great artists I love learned these tools, and it's what has allowed them to reach so many people. It's not selling out when Springsteen gets to the chorus quickly or when U2 repeats it eight times. It's poetry to say the thing you want to say and not clutter it with things that don't contribute to your point. And this is as much musically as it is lyrically.
I first dabbled with that aspect of songcraft on the Letters EP and I think I learned a lot from it. That's the first solo project I've done that I still consistently listen to, just because I enjoy it. Here's hoping for more of that in the future.
I love my job.
Reader Comments (9)
I love your job too! lol
I have a FEVER...and the only cure is more....AO songs.
I bought the Andy Gullahorn CD online yesterday and I told my wife. She got upset cause she was going to get it for my birthday. Oh well, I guess she'll have to find something else to get me. :)
i know exactly what you mean. most of the songs that i've written that i cringe when i think about now are the ones what would really be so much better if i'd just remove about half the verses...
if you song goes on for 6 minutes _without_ a lengthy guitar/drum solo, then you really think too much of yourself.
;)
of course, i've not written a new song in 3 years, so i really don't know what i'm talking about anymore, anyway...
If anyone understands how much there is at stake when you take too long to get to the chorus, it's Tom Petty.
I used to play in a Tom Petty cover band, and every time we learned a song, we would have to re-learn it, because we would instinctively add material that just wasn't there.
Look forward to hearing whatever it is you're so excited about. If it's half as good as Letters V1, you can put me down for a copy.
I do like the stuff that says what needs to be said and doesn't throw other things in the way. There are some songs however, that have a lot to say.
There's a lot of beautiful setting-up-of-punchlines in songs like New Mexico and High School Band and Broadway Bartender.
it really isn't cool to hint at an all andy project and leave everybody hanging. i'm just saying.
I understand what you're saying, but part of what I enjoy about your songs is that you craft interesting verse. I wouldn't go away from that. It's one of your strengths, and it's part of what makes your songs so interesting. In my humble opinion, the ideal song mixes a moving chorus with powerful verse. Your songs (in particular "Early in the Morning") achieve this balance. I'm sure there are others like me who love lyrical poetry and thus enjoy your music so much in part because you write it.
So I say, stick with what you're doing. Your music is critically acclaimed, it seems to come from your heart, and you should stick to your deal. I know we all grow, but let the short-versers do what they do. Keep giving us that poetry, the crafted stories, the moving verse.
I'm trying to learn this principle when it comes to preaching. Having a lot to say doesn't necessarily mean you have lots worth hearing.
I liked hearing that you told Ellie that "It's time to see what you're made of" was a line that was worth saying over and over again.
I was at a press conference once where Micheal Pritzl of the band The Violet Burning arrived at this same conclusion. It actually takes a lot of work and talent to put together a good three and a half minute song. It's challenging to put together a song that's both accessible and artful and it really only comes with experience.
For a listener like me, it means more songs to listen to and that's always a good thing!
I'm finding that the fewer words I put into a song the better.