To state the obvious, the UK Songwriting Festival is about songwriting. Specifically, it's about songwriting as opposed to performance and arrangement. We often use the metaphor of a picture frame - the arrangement and performance are the frame; the song is the picture. A song is transferable to a different performer (i.e. a cover version); a song can be arranged/interpreted in different ways (instrumentation, tempo, groove/feel, arrangement etc).
But even though these boundaries are self-evident musically, it's still very difficult to keep the song in focus when evaluating or analysing new work. After a new song has been shared in a playback session, we ask for feedback from other five or six songwriters in the group - they are, after all, the new song's first ever audience. (It often helps if we initially prevent the songwriter themselves from responding verbally, because of course they won't be able to explain or justify their creative decisions when the song is performed or broadcast – the 'I-won't-be-there-when-you-cross-the-road' principle.)
This demonstrates an important principle - that listeners do not differentiate between the picture and the frame. An obvious example would be the meaninglessness of a Coldplay or Keane lyric. But although these particular types of lyric make little sense without a lot of inference from the listener, individual couplets work well enough in isolation. Most importantly, the phrases 'sing well' - lots of open vowels and great scansion. So although we have no idea why Noel Gallagher tells us 'Sally Can Wait' (and no information about who Sally is) in Oasis' Don't Look Back in Anger, it feels really good to sing these big vowels - especially over the melody to Manfred Mann's Pretty Flamingo (which is lifted pretty much verbatim in the chorus). Incidentally, the obvious and deliberate reference to Lennon's 'Imagine' in the piano intro to the Oasis track is an arrangement artefact, not a songwriting one. So in a publishing dispute with Oasis where Manfred Mann or Lennon's lawyers were looking at Don't Look Back in Anger, I'd be backing the Manfreds every time - because of the nine or so melody notes that are common to both choruses.
It always seems a shame to me if a technically poor singer or guitarist writes a great song but the audience can't see the picture for the frame. Which is why the studio sessions and House Band performances are such an integral part of SWF. We try to give the song its very best opportunity to 'survive', ensuring that the songwriter's skill (crafting form, melody, harmony and lyric) is not eclipsed by any technical shortcomings in the performance.
Each songwriter creates a song, usually based on one of the tasks. They then, working with a tutor, turn the song into a chord sheet (with tempo markings, style guide and structure marked) and bring it to the house band in the afternoon, who rehearse it quickly (we got through 15 songs in 90 minutes today, for example). Normally the songwriter performs their own song, sometimes with guitar or keyboard, and the band fills in electric guitar, bass and drums.
Today (Friday) we're working with our session drummer James, who's flown in this morning from a session in LA - it's actually 9pm as I type this, but his body thinks he's been awake all night and that it's 8 o'clock tomorrow morning! He's rotating a diet of Stella, Coca Cola, Jammie dodgers and espresso at the moment. Sends some of the tempos a bit out, but he's bearing up...
Back to it - we have another 18 songs to play before 11pm.
When Andy writes he divides the process into two parts - creative and editorial. For the creative part, he often uses dummy lyrics or even cliches, returning to improve the early draft later when he's in the editing phase.
The main purpose of the lecture is to break up the songwriting process into a series of clear choices; it also demonstrates one of the SWF core principles - that writer's block doesn't exist!
See the video below to see his techniques and to hear parts of the final song 'Can You Lie To Me'.
On day 3 we welcomed our special guest Richard Thompson, who joined our demo panel in the morning, and sat in on some of our songwriters' playback sessions. In the afternoon Richard treated us to a masterclass where he discussed his songs, techniques, and thoughts on the art and craft of songwriting. Songs included 'Bathsheeba Smiles', 'A Love You Can't Survive', 'The Ghost Of You Walks', 'Cold Kisses' and 'I Feel So Good'.
Today began with a demo panel. Before the festival, some of our visitors had volunteered to have their worked critiqued by a panel of songwriters from the team. This year's panel was Joe Bennett, Iain Archer, Boo Hewerdine and Richard Thompson. We discussed songs by Dan Plews, Jo Stevens and others, with lyrics projected live. The panel were very supportive (and in many cases, impressed), and all the songwriters said they found the experience very useful in developing their work.
Introductory task – “My Name Is” • Write ten titles. If you have time, choose the most inspiring one and develop it into a chorus. If you have (more) time, complete the song.
SKILL DEVELOPMENT – beating writers’ block
Task 1 – “Do It Again” • Write a chorus-based song where the title appears at least twice in the chorus.
SKILL DEVELOPMENT – making your songs memorable.
Task 2 – “There’s a Place” • Write a song with a place name as the title.
SKILL DEVELOPMENT – breaking out of lyric cliché/ developing emotional truth.
Task 3 – “All Together Now” • Work with another one or two members of your tutor group and write a collaborative song.
SKILL DEVELOPMENT – collaborative negotiation/pitching ideas/creative space
Task 4 – “Scream If You Wanna Go Faster” • Write a song at a tempo faster than 120 beats per minute (use a drum loop, metronome or wristwatch – 120BPM = 2 beats/sec).
SKILL DEVELOPMENT • avoiding mid-tempo blandness
Task 5 – “Miss Ghost” • Write a song using a ‘ghost song’. Choose an existing hit and rewrite its lyric and melody, but keep the syllable count and scansion the same.
SKILL DEVELOPMENT – creative starting points/avoiding doggerel scansion
Task 6 – “Words are all I have” • Complete a lyric in its entirety and then add music later. Try describing your song’s ‘Big Idea’ in ten words or fewer before you start.
SKILL DEVELOPMENT – developing a strong central idea
Task 7 – “You and I” • Write a song that features “I” and “You” characters.
SKILL DEVELOPMENT – avoiding diaristic cliché
Task 8 – “Picture book” • Choose a selection of Google images and include them in your song lyric.
SKILL DEVELOPMENT – using imagery.
Task 9 – “All by myself” • Write a song without using a musical instrument.
SKILL DEVELOPMENT – developing melodic shape
Task 10 – “My Name Is” • Write a song with a character’s name as the title.
SKILL DEVELOPMENT – avoiding diaristic cliché/ developing narrative
Task 11 – “Take it to the bridge” • Write a 32-bar song in AABA form.
SKILL DEVELOPMENT – controlling form/using hooks
