Some hints for the wild songwriter.

Last night I had the chance to listen to some of my friend’s new music. What I heard was pretty nice, but it left a whole lot for improvment. I gave my two cents, and I think I might have helped him a tad.

So as a favor to help somewhat odd songwriters with various musical influences, here’s a few hints and tips to help those compositions out.

Have a sense of some Unity: You can have as many wild solos, massive breakdowns, and screaming that you want. But if it doesn’t flow, it’s all just some noise. Sure, you may enjoy the composition, but it’s going to be the public that ends up buying the record. Give the audience a subtle hint when a transition occurs, then thrash away.

Repetition: If you have a simple riff, don’t be afraid to repeat it once, or twice, or for the most of the song. When something is repeated, whether it be drum beat or vocal line, it engraves itself into the audience’s mind. Result? Remeberance.

Don’t overuse Repetition: Remember “Seven Nation Army”? Although I love the White Stripes for their uniqueness, but once that tune is lodged into your ear, there is no escape. In the same way, you don’t want to give your audience earworms.

Experiment with Different scales: Contrary to popular belief, there are far more scales than the minor pentatonic. Give a little mystery with some whole tone or different modes.

In fact, music theory never hurt anyone: If you have the chance, take a course in some basic music theory. Who knows? Someday your professor might whip out a chord progression you’d haven’t thought of.

And above all, don’t stop Writing: If the ideas never come down to the paper, then it never sees the light of day. Write, record, scribble on a napkin if you have to.

That’s all for now. Any Questions? Then feel free and ask.

~Llama with headphones

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