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Kel

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Blog Entries posted by Kel

  1. Have you ever stopped to look at where you are, and compare it to where you were? I have, but accidentally. By accidentally, I mean I didn't put myself into the famous "The Thinker" pose, or even sit back and consider life in general. No I was playing some of my own songs, and noticed some rather profound differences between then and now, and it got me thinking...




    I have been writing songs on and off for over 40 years. I know, you don't get that for murder! Funnily enough, usually the first thing I play when I sit down to a piano is the very first song I ever wrote. I don't play it correctly, I've changed a few things over that time, and to be honest, I don't play piano enough, and never practice! *naughty boy!

    While I think the lyrics were pretty sucky, and very juvenile (I think) the melody stands up quite well after all this time, and so does the technicalities of form, key, progression etc, and I marvel at that. I knew so little then, yet wrote something I am still proud of, despite scrapping my original lyrics. If only I knew then what I know now, how good could this piece have been? My music teacher at school loved it, and said she could hear strings and an extensive orchestral arrangement (which horified me, I was into Deep Purple and Status Quo and not Symphony Orchestras!)

    40 years down the line, I've now been calling myself a songwriter for about a year. I joined Songstuff in October 2012, so I thought it about time I reflected on the past year. My apologies if this is somewhat self absorbed, but I think there may be some interest by the end of the article, I hope so anyway.

    This morning I was listening to a song I was writing about a year ago, and thought of the original lyrics. The melody was pleasant, but never really produced any dynamic climax, and the lyrics would make even the most hardnosed country singer balk. It was about a domestic abuser finally realising he had gone too far. These days I've learned that no artist would want to paint himself in such a negative light. I've learned that in the last twelve months.

    I listened to another song from late last year. That song goes on for over four and a half minutes and it quite plods along, once again without any real dynamics, although the realisation the song is a eulogy doesn't come until the second last line of the third chorus. A few ladies have mentioned tears in their eyes... However, upon Googling the title, it's been done to death, no pun intended. Well alright, I did intend it. But the title is nothing unique. A title needs to stand out. I've learned that in the last twelve months.

    I listened to another song from around Christmas time 2012. It told a sad, but often repeated tale of unrequited love. The singer lamented this and despaired about that, but nowhere was there an emotional connection with the listener. There were no details that a listen could identify with. It was full of fact, and devoid of feeling. It didn't engage, I told a story without the most important thing in it... the listener! I've learned that in the last twelve months.

    These are just three of the things things I've learned in the last year. I don't know if they are the biggest, the smartest, the hardest lessons I had to learn, but to me they are each significant. However there is yet another lesson I have learned: however good I can write on my own, I can write so much better with others. I have embarked upon a few collaborations lately, mainly through the Weekly Lyric Challenge Group. I am so happy I took up the challenge. I encourage everyone who gets this far down the article to approach somebody regarding a collaboration project. Like me, I'm sure you'll be glad you did. And I've learned that in the last twelve months, too.

    Don't forget to check out my other less self-absorbed articles here: http://forums.songstuff.com/blog/181-kelisms/

    Till next time,

    Kel
  2. In the past, I came up with melodies using my keyboard, or on rare occasions, my guitar. Never in my wildest dreams would I think of singing to work out a melody. Why? Because I was horrible. When talents were being handed out, I was out in the back yard building a billy cart.

    As a non performing songwriter I didn't pay much attention to the melody line, figuring a "singer" would be able to sing what I wrote. I wasn't a singer I told myself, but a real one could do it. In time past I barely even gave them time to take a breath between phrases, if they were any good they'd manage it, I reasoned.

    Then one day I decided to record something. It was awful! Not, it was horrible! No, it was... worse!!!

    However, a few people here on Songstuff offered support rather than derision and made a few suggestions, in particular HoboSage and Tunesmithth if my memory serves me. The few tips offered that day changed my songwriting attitude. I no longer considered a singer an instrument on two legs who would probably smokes and drinks too much and worse, offers an opinion on the master melody I was presenting him or her. I began to concentrate on phrasing, on melodies that made sense, that added meaning to the lyric. And I began to practice singing.

    Now I'm not going to type away about my singing prowess, far from it. What I want to get across though, is that as songwriters, we need to know how to provide an example for the vocalist. Not everyone can read music, especially musicians! If we can't sing to save our lives, how are we going to save our songs from some scrapheap? We need to provide a workable example for a "real vocalist" to follow. It is also way cheaper to sing our own rough demos than paying a session singer to do it. Save the money for the good songs, right?

    As songwriters we don't need to be able to nail every note and enrapture a theatre full of music lovers, but as I've just found out, life is better with a little singing. So sing a little, and let it guide your writing, and who knows what possibilities may present themselves down the track?

    Till next time,

    Kel
  3. I see the bad moon arising.
    I see trouble on the way.
    I see earthquakes and lightnin'.
    I see bad times today.

    What do you see? What I see, is that all these things are happening NOW. They haven't already happened, they are not going to happen, they ARE HAPPENING.

    I'll be there to catch you in a taxi, honey
    Better be ready 'bout half past eight
    Now baby, don't be late
    I wanna be there when the band start playing

    What do you see here? I see all these things are going to happen. They haven't already happened. THey're not happening now. They are GOING TO HAPPEN.

    I gave a letter to the postman,
    he put it his sack.
    Bright in early next morning,
    he brought my letter back.

    I know it's getting boring, but what do you see here? That's right, all these things have ALREADY HAPPENED! Not now, not later, IN THE PAST.

    While these three songs are very different, in one way at least, they are all the same. They are consistent in their tense.

    If the events you are describing HAVE HAPPENED, appropriate lyrics include: did, have, should've, was, were, held, followed, kissed, most words that end in "...ed"

    If the events you are describing are HAPPENING NOW, appropriate lyrics include: am, are, now, following, kissing, holding, most words that end with "...ing"

    If the events you are describing WILL or MAY HAPPEN, approprite lyrics include: may, will, are going to, then, follow, never words with "...ed" or "...ing"

    Read through your lyric and perform this quick test. Consistency wins with listeners. A verse in the past and a chorus in the present or other combinations can work, but not a verse or a chorus that changes its "when" halfway through.

    I hope this has helped (past tense) and

    I hope this helps (future tense) and

    I hope it's not too confusing! (present tense)

    Till next time,

    Kel

    No song was harmed in the writing of this blog entry...

    Songs:

    Bad Moon Rising, John Fogerty. Performed by Creedence Clearwater Revival
    Darktown Strutter's Ball, Shelton Brooks. Performed by Fats Domino.
    Return To Sender, Winfield Scott and Otis Blackwell. Performed by Elvis Presley.
  4. Entry #3 - No Good Way - Some relationships you don't want!


    No Good Way was my entry to the June 2013 Song Contest. It isn't a pretty song. It isn't about love, roses, romance or adventure. It's about revenge. Shotgun vengeance!


    One of my favourite songs of all time is Viva Las Vegas. Yes, THE Viva Las Vegas, the title song of the movie of the same name, made famous by Elvis Presley back around 1965. Why is it one of my favourites? I love the interplay of the major and minor chords. I've always ben drawn to songs that progress from the Root to Sixth and this song is one of those, with a difference.

    A lot of the "do wop" songs of the late Fifties and early Sixties used the I-VI-IV-V progression. It really lends itself to love songs I guess, a smooth blend of easy listening and tension all in one package. Viva Las Vegas isn't the only song to use a similar progression in a more lively setting. What I have always liked is the way the melody fooled my ears into thinking there are more chord changes than there really are. Maybe yours weren't so easily fooled, but mine were, and that is one of the main reasons I love the song.

    I wanted to try an write in a similar style.

    It didn't work! I ended up with No Good Way instead. But No Good Way didn't start out as a Viva Las Vegas wanabe clone. That came later. In the beginning...

    I was sitting at my day job desk, bored out of brain as usual, and my mind started drifting back to something I had read the previous night. Detail. Listeners want detail. I started thinking about details and I ended up driving down the dirt road, past a lilly covered waterhole, by a rumbledown timber fence cows had pushed aside to get to the waterhole. Around a bend the road took to avoid a rather large willow tree whose leafy tendrills ripped at the windscreen wipers as I drove through them, I pulled up in a dirt clearing 50 paces south and dug up old tin chest that contained, among other things, a Remington shotgun. I have no idea why I chose a Remington other than in my day job I have occasionally handled firearms, and we are trained how to make safe a variety of firearms, and one of them happened to be a Remington shotgun.

    The paragraph above describes merely the first of several verses that would take a patient listener down a dark road of bloody retribution being perpetrated by a make believe gangster who had been wronged. At least in his eyes! Lyrical content like this could not easily live within the cheerful sounds of major chords, so a darker tone was warranted. Minor chords would drive this song along its bloody path.

    Then I thought of Viva Las Vegas!

    I experimented with using the same chord progression that underlies VVL - mainly I-VI-IV with V thrown in at the end of the chorus. It didn't work. It didn't sound dark enough. VVL was talking about the aluring and exotic world of 24 hour gambling, No Good Way is a song about violence, bloodletting and yes murder! A more ominous tone was needed.

    I started experimenting with writing in a minor key, and this seemed to work, but I didn't like the raised 7th note, so instead wrote in a major key, but only used the root sparingly, and only with a minor chord interchange. I was relatively happy. I played the song for the first time and went on for over six minutes. Way too long for my goal of a 3:30 limit. It was time to re-examine the lyrics.

    Did I need a whole verse just to dig up the shotgun? Nope. Minus one verse. Did I really need a separate verse for each act of retribution? Nope, there went another three verses. I played the song again. This time it came up short, but short is better than long. I played it again. And again. It needs a riff! I created a riff. I played it again. And again.

    How did I do?

    http://soundcloud.com/kelabbmusic/demo-no-good-way

    No Good Way
    Words & Music by Kel Abbott (APRA)

    [VERSE 1]
    Good ol' boys got the jump on me
    They got me from behind!
    Beat so bad I was coughin' blood
    I was, really in a bind.

    [VERSE 2]
    Came the time to return in kind
    What those boys did that day,
    Hunt them down where they gone to ground
    Yeah those wise guys had to pay!
    First I had to spread the word
    That I was hunting 'em down
    If they had any sense at all,
    They would've just left town!

    [VERSE 3]
    [Found the first in a honky-tonk
    The second in his car
    Then the third, he was shootin' pool
    Got the last one in a bar.
    I caught up and when they threw down
    They met an unfortunate end
    No there's not any where to hide
    no way to make amends!

    [CHORUS]
    No good way will it ever end,
    No good way, not one.
    No good way it can ever end
    When I raise my Remington.

    [bRIDGE]
    Dont you think you can cross me, boy
    Better men found no joy!
    You can't hide and you can't prepare
    For when buck shot fills the air

    [CHORUS]
    No good way will it ever end,
    No good way, not one.
    No good way it can ever end
    When I raise my Remington.

    No good way will it ever end,
    When the buck shot fills the air!

  5. Don't Wanna Be Here

    By Kel ,

    Whenever I sing in the shower, the water turns cold! I guess this is Nature's way of telling me not to sing, but being a contrary individual I grit my teeth and put up with the goosebumps.

    I don't know why I started singing this song in the shower, but in the shower it was. Yes, it went cold, as usual! And also unusual, the words came out for a female vocal, rather than male oriented like I usually write. By the time I was dressed, I had the chorus in my head and headed for my keyboard as fast as my feet could get me there. Another oddity; I usually write with my guitar, but this time, I used keyboard as my main instrument. It took all of five minutes to come up with a rough melody for the chorus:

    I'm more than he wants,
    But I'm less than he needs,
    And he's everything I've been looking for.
    I'll break his heart,
    I know I must leave,
    But I don't wanna be here,
    Don't wanna be here, when I'm gone!

    I had a chorus, now I needed a couple of verses to tell a story. This took a while longer. I went onto youtube and searched out a couple of my favourite soul/blues songs, "I'd Rather Go Blind" and "If Loving You Is Wrong". I put these two songs on a loop and went and checked emails, a few other things to pass the time, even did some laundry, all with these two songs playing in the background.

    I came back to my keyboard after about two hours and wrote the first verse in another five minute burst.

    I'm laying in his arms
    Feeling his sighs
    As he's sleeping.
    Feeling so secure
    Ah da da da
    And I'm weeping....

    The second verse didn't take as long, and the bridge almost write itself!

    I had a friend who is a fabulous singer, but unfortunately I'm on the outer at the moment. Don't know why. But she loved it and said it described her previous relationship, which was before I knew her! Go figure. She sang it beautifully but alas, I never got a recording.

    I asked Lisa to sing it for me, and she kindly obliged. We only have Audacity between us, so the production is nowhere near studio quality, but I never claimed to be a producer, nor do I wish to be.

    Anyhow here it is:

    http://soundcloud.com/kelabbmusic/dont-wanna-be-here-featured

    Featuring vocals by Lisa Gates.

    Till next time,
    Kel
  6. Have you ever been stuck thinking about how to tell the story you want to get across in your song project? Well I suppose you'd have to want to tell a story I suppose, but even for abstract ideas I may have something for you to try. Lend me your eyes and I'll write you some lines, and I'll try not to write of key!... Yeah okay, that doesn't make a lot of sense, so I'll plunge right in.





    I start most projects with an idea. It could be a hook, it could be a lead in, it could simply be a theme. Regardless of how the idea is planted, sometimes it just stays there. An idea sewn into my subconscious. Sometimes it fails to germinate and other times it literally leaps out of the ground under its own steam from the get-go. It's those ideas that haven't germinated yet that I wish to address today.

    What do we do with them? We can open our book, folder, database, whatever it is we use to store these gems and look at them, or we can take them out and give them a little nurturing. I recently read the Theory of Omission which was proposed by Ernest Hemmingway:

    What is Hemingway's theory of omission or "iceberg principle?"

    In Death in the Afternoon, Hemingway outlined his "theory of omission" or "iceberg principle." He states: "If a writer of prose knows enough about what he is writing about he may omit things that he knows and the reader, if the writer is writing truly enough, will have a feeling of those things as strongly as though the writer had stated them. The dignity of movement of the iceberg is due to only one-eighth of it being above water. The writer who omits things because he does not know them only makes hollow places in his writing."
    http://www.lostgeneration.com/hemfaq.htm


    My take on this is that if in writing, a writer left out everything he knew, the rest is gold. The other day I had a chance to put this theory into practice!

    I am working on a collaboration with another Songstuffer, and a simple line was offered that said something like, "He got up and looked out the window."

    True, sometimes we need direct lines like this to move a story along, but I happen to think our listeners want the detail, not the summary.

    I thought to myself, how would Hemmingway get the subject of that line over to a window and look through it.
    I'm not in any way claiming to be a Hemmingway, or anything close, but I had a go, regardless...

    With a sigh that implied indulgence, he placed his gnarled, workman's hands upon the table. They quivered slightly with the effort of hoisting the bear they were attatched to out of the seat. I could almost hear the bones and sinew creak and I'm sure if I strained I would have heard each pulse resonate through the ancient cedarwood of the tabletop. The floor trembled as he lumbered over to the window and the wall strained with an impatient squeal as he rested his bulk against it. With a gentleness that belied his enormity, Simkins parted the florentine lace curtains and put his forehead against the glass. It must have felt cool to his brow compared to the intense furnace of the cabin. I noticed his eye reflected in the pane, as it scanned the sunscorched desolation outside .

    OR

    He got up and looked out the window.

    Which would you rather hear about? Did the narrative provide any information you didn't know beforehand? Do you have questions you want answered. Even if just a little bit? I don't know about you, but I could write a whole verse on that narrative.

    The idea is this, if you find it hard to know what to say, write the story and think about the things you know, and leave them out. Then include the things you don't know, because maybe, there's gold for you there, somewhere.

    Don't forget to check out all the Kelisms, and everything is open for discussion. Let me know what you think, and how a Kelsim helped you out, or not! http://forums.songstuff.com/blog/181-kelisms/

    Till next time,
    Kel
  7. Kelisms
    kel-isms [kel-iz-mmz]
    noun
    a remark, phrase, sentence, action or philosophical announcement or catchphrase that may be considered out of the ordinary, if not extraordinary, and made by Kel.

    origin:
    1980-present; Kelisms first started to emerge in the early 1980s when Kel first realised he had a slightly different, if not skewed vision of the world to most other people. It wasn’t until the mid-1990s that the term “Kelsims†came into popular use, mainly by Kel himself, when asked to explain his particular viewpoint, thought, action or outrageous announcement that had upset somebody too thin-skinned and/or lacking in intellect to recognise humour when they saw or heard it. Into the second decade of the new millennium, the term has gained widespread use around the world, or at least the world that Kel inhabits, to describe anything slightly odd, warped, skewed, off-centre, mildly unusual, hysterically un-politically correct, or something completely defying any sane person’s comprehension, and uttered, written, or acted out (as in charades) by Kel, or somebody as clever, insightful and intelligent as Kel.

    synonyms:
    rants, ravings, ramblings, delusions, inappropriate blathering, insightful observations, clever deductions, brilliantly devised concepts, ingenious elucidations

    who is this, Kel?
    Read on!

    Entry #1
    Hi all and welcome to my blog.

    I have been inspired to create this blog through some positive feedback I have received both as PMs and in chat. So don’t blame me, it’s their fault!

    I don't claim to be an "expert" or any sort of guru on this craft of songwriting. In fact I consider myself a student. I’ve played guitar for 40 years, and still consider myself a learner. (I learned E7 the other day!) I simply pass along what I have learned in my own extensive and considerable search for guidance.

    For those unfamiliar with my posts, I tend to concentrate on structure rather than content, and rarely offer alternative lines, though I have offered different ways of saying something from time to time. People write for different reasons, and that is sometimes obvious in what they are writing about. While I may help them focus what they are saying, I try not to tell them what to say, or not say.

    This first blog entry is really to let my reader (readers, if there is more than one!) know a little more about me, and my songwriting journey, not so much for establishing my credentials, but to hopefully provide an understanding of where I am coming from as a songwriting, critic and consumer of music.

    I am in my 50s now, and look to making a living from songwriting when I grow up. Don’t worry; while I have my head in the clouds, my feet are planted firmly in the air!

    I can’t say I have written a lot of songs. I haven’t. I know I have 13 on my Soundcloud page, and a few on hand that I’m nowhere near happy with for one reason or another, and sadly, some I’ve lost along the way. I particularly remember writing a Country duet back in the late nineties I’d like the Muse to revisit upon me. Please, Muse? The number of songs I’ve completed is closer to 20 than 30, I think. However I try to put everything I have into every one. This is radically different to the school of thought that says “write, record, forget, move on…†that I have read on Songstuff. I see every song I write as a song that can be improved (or ruined) by the further application of anything new I learn. I don’t believe in re-inventing a wheel, if the most of the hard work has been done already. There-in lays a whole blog entry, so I won’t elaborate on that for now.

    Update: it's a few months down the track since I started these prattlings and my MasterWriter now holds over 80 song files or versions. I haven't recorded them all and they aren't all "finished" but I must say nothing has spurred on my creativity more than contributing regularly to Songstuff. I urge everyone to become active. Don't just read about stuff, do stuff... Song stuff!
    Writing is not a cathartic process for me. It’s simply something I’ve always done, in one form or another. I’ve written songs, a novel, several short stories, and even a few poems. I’ve suffered rejection and indifference, had some minor publishing successes and have even won a contest or two, including here on Songstuff. I remember during the 90s I was even making Doom WADs. I won’t bother to explain what that is… those of us who know will understand!

    My musical preference these days is Country, but I have always been exposed to most genres of music. I grew up listening to such diverse artists as Slim Dusty, Englebert Humperdink, Elvis Presley, Charley Pride, and Al Martino, because these were the artists my mother liked. My father didn’t seem to care about music at all, apart from “Dead Ants†which he performed at most family functions where beer was flowing.

    As a 70s teenager I couldn’t not be influenced by what we now know as Classic Rock and even Glam Rock. I cried during most of my late teens and early twenties because I thought the guitar was dead. Every song on the radio had electronically synthesized sound that grated at me. My friends and I would purchase “Disco†records, and then go to regular “Death To Disco†concerts where said Disco records were thrown into a bonfire as part of a guitar worshiping ritual. Thank goodness for Jim Steinman who showed us how our own Rock And Roll Dreams Come Through by keeping guitars prominent (Todd Rundgren probably helped a lot there) and he was ably supported by Jon Bon Jovi and later by Messers Rose, Cobain and yeah okay, I had lost interest in rock by then… I had found George Strait!

    Songstuffers in America may cringe at the term, but down here in Australia, Country music is still considered the red headed step child nobody wants, despite the efforts of aforesaid Slim Dusty who chalked up an incredible 105 albums (he died during production of #106) and had sold more than 7 million records in Australia alone at the time of his death in 2003. Anyway, I’ll pay homage to Slim on another occasion, but for now… In 1995, there was 1, one, I say ONE major city radio station in Australia with a Country format. 2SM, in Sydney. And it only lasted a year! But what a year!!! That oft maligned minor AM radio station in the FM dominated Australian market introduced Australia to George Strait, Tim McGraw, Alan Jackson, The Tractors, The Mavericks, Lonestar, Vince Gill, Dwight Yoakam, Shania Twain, Faith Hill, Jo Dee Messina and many others who I am sure we would be ignorant of without 2SM’s brave move to play Country Music in Rock and Pop dominated Sydney radio. Thank you 2SM.

    I’d better conclude my ramblings before anyone starts to understand me!

    Thanks for reading, and I think I’ll start a trend by having a shortlist of future blog subjects (or targets) at the end of the entry and you can help choose the focus of the next entry by participating in the poll.

    Cheers for now,
    Kel

    Upcoming Blog Subjects:
    The world according to Slim
    Re-inventing the Wheel
    Where did that idea come from?
    Syllables – we know they're there, but why do we ignore them?
    What to say, and how not to say it!
  8. Syllables.

    We know all about them. They are in every word we speak, think, say, sing or write. Yet why is this fundamental building block of language completely overlooked when we are overcome by our creative urges? I'm no Freud (but yes, it IS my mother's fault!) and I'm far from anything anyone in any way may consider intellectual, but I think it's a choice we make! Choice! Not just a word the Kiwis have adopted as their own! You've heard about the case currently before the International Copyright Organisation, (a sort of parent figure to all national Copyright offices from every nation) that whenever anyone not from New Zealand uses the word "choice" in a sentence in public, a royalty must be collected by the appropriate Performing Rights Organisation and paid to the New Zealand Department of Culture and Heritage, haven't you?

    I'm the first to advise anyone not to bother editing while the Muse is sitting on your shoulder and whispering her/his sweet words into your ear. Go with it, run free like the buffalo... sorry I digress! The Muse must not be interrupted. But when she's finished and gone for a cup of tea and a lay down, then it's time to revise.

    Just look at our beautiful lyrics! I'm brilliant! I'm clever, and oh, I'm gonna be rich!

    Nup! Not gonna happen, well not that easily anyway. Sure we hear about inspiration hitting songwriters in the most awkward of places. Willie Nelson and his furious scribblings of "On The Road Again" on a napkin while flying the friendly skies. Ian Gillan, Ritchie Blackmore and the other Deep Purplers scratching away at "Black Night" in a 15 minute download at a restaurant. Athol Guy writing "Georgie Girl" on the back of a coaster at a pub, or the Troggs drunken recording session that blessed the world with "Wild Thing"! One day I'll tell the story behind Forever And A Day!

    True these are wonderful stories. But don't for one moment think they're the whole story. Don't get me wrong, I wasn't there, but remembering the mystique we love to entwine around ourselves, as creators of songs, stories and insights beyond the comprehension of most music consumers, let's not let the truth get in the way of a good story. Even if these songwriters never changed a word from what they first scribbled down, I'll bet my left one they still revised what they had come up with while the Muse was delivering.

    And here lies the true subject of this entry. Revision. Not just because we love reading our "pearls of wisdom!" but because we need to get them right!

    I'm a bit of a structure Nazi. In fact I get requests from other Songstuffers particularly asking me to critique their lyrics. And I'm tough on the rules (well, not so much rules, as a set of guidelines, really!) of successful songwriting. Remember I don't profess to being a "successful songwriter" but I try to pay attention to successful traits. Why, because I want to be a successful songwriter, so I look for whatever is common to successful songs. I'm not going to get into an argument about how success is defined. Well at least not without alcohol being involved. For the sake of needing a yardstick of some sort, I look toward the common elements of songs that reach #1 in the charts. I don't care what charts, Country, Pop, Soul, Nursery Rhyme, Pie, Bar... anything. From what I have seen they all have several things in common. And fundamental to this is Structure, in my belief. (Note the capital, that means it's important!)

    Lets look at Structure for a sec. Or rather, lets look at what it is not... it is not whether you use two verses, two choruses, a bridge and another chorus, or verse, verse, bridge, verse. That is Form. There are already great articles on Form here at Songstuff. I don't believe in re-inventing a wheel, as I've said before.(Though I think a square one would be great, imagine the control going down a steep hill!)

    Structure is about the construction of each of the elements of form. The way a verse is put together. The way a chorus is presented. Line by line. That is what I mean by Structure.

    Here are the rules (okay, okay, more a set of guidelines, really!) that I try to stick to:

    1. All verses have the same number of lines,
    2. All verses use the same melody,
    3. Each line within a verse has the same syllable count as the same line in all other verses.

    Verse 1
    Line 1 :10 syllables
    Line 2: 8 syllables
    Line 3: 12 syllables
    Line 4: 7 syllables
    Line 5: 9 syllables
    Line 6: 5 syllables


    Verse 2
    Line 1 :10 syllables
    Line 2: 8 syllables
    Line 3: 12 syllables
    Line 4: 7 syllables
    Line 5: 9 syllables
    Line 6: 5 syllables


    Verse 3
    Line 1 :10 syllables
    Line 2: 8 syllables
    Line 3: 12 syllables
    Line 4: 7 syllables
    Line 5: 9 syllables
    Line 6: 5 syllables

    I bet you're glad I'm not Bob Dylan!

    Before you go charging off and count all your syllables, there is another aspect that is just as important. And that is accent. I'm not talk about the Proclaimers singing The Devil Went Down to Georgia type of accent, I mean making sure the syllables align with conversational speech patterns. I gave an example somewhere using "The rain in Spain."

    In normal conversational speech, the accents (in bold) may be:


    The rain in Spain falls mainly on the plain.

    Say that a few times, out load. You can pretend you're rehearsing for Eliza Doolittle if you like...

    Now say it like:

    The rain in Spain falls mainly on the plain.

    Sounds a bit odd, right?

    Sure does. Unless where you come from that is how everybody says it, it will sound odd. So why sing it odd? By paying attention to accents, we keep the lyrics conversational and easy to understand. Rarely do successful songs pronounce a word in a way we wouldn't expect. Remember, not everyone will be sitting in a booth with headphones on listening intently to every lyric.

    Rarely do successful songs pronounce a word in a way we wouldn't expect.

    Say that out loud:

    Rarely do successful songs pronounce a word in a way we wouldn't expect.

    Lesson over.

    In summary...
    1 Try to keep the shape of your verses consistent with other verses... we do that by keeping out syllable count similar in corresponding lines of all verses.
    2. Try to have words pronounced how we would say them in everyday speech. Test the accents by speaking the lyrics out loud.
    3. When you are as famous as Bob Dylan, you can do whatever the hell you want!


    Now, the part you're all waiting for... the next installment.

    Don't forget to vote in the poll at the top of the page. YOU determine what comes next!

    Early leader is "Where did THAT idea come from?"

    Cheers,

    Kel



    Resources: Pat Patisson from somewhere on the net!
  9. I suppose you're wondering by now what makes me such an authority on songwriting that I feel I can provide advice. Albeit Kelistic advice! I'm glad you asked that question, read on!


    I was driving along the highway just the other day, carefully plotting and replotting in my mind my diabolical plan to take over the world, when... oh, wrong blog!

    I was driving along the highway just the other day, carefully plotting and replotting in my mind how to convince my loyal readers (I believe there are two of you!) that it is in your interest to read more of my entries.

    Eventually, between crossing over the centreline, being honked by a semi and nearly getting wiped out at a level crossing, it occured to me. There was nothing I could say that could convince you, if you weren't already attuned to my way of thinking.

    I know you could go along to a Pat Pattison lecture, video clip, interview, cartoon, comic or scribble on a bathroom wall and see something familiar...

    I know you could read Ralph Murphy's Laws of Songwriting and recognise stuff there...

    I know you could jump in to one of Jason Blume's articles and see things you might find vaguely similar there too...

    You could read the articles here on Songstuff and see things I mention....

    So why bother reading my prattlings? I don't know either?

    I'm glad you do though.

    Go here http://forums.songstuff.com/blog/181-kelisms/ and tell me I'm wrong! About anything. Go on. I'm waiting!

    Till next time,

    Kel
  10. Kelisms #9

    Have you ever wondered what hit songs, films, books, television shows, even magazine articles have in common?

    There is an element of drama!

    Even in sit-coms, rom-coms, tom-toms, well maybe not so much with tom-toms, but there is something dramatic happening that brings change to the person or people it is happening to. Sometimes it’s what the character is doing, what is being done to the character, or events out of their control they have to cope with. It can be one thing, it can be many things. The best examples have at least two, tugging the character in different directions.

    In song writing, we call this tension. And we can do it three ways, at least:

    Lyrically

    The lyrics we choose explain the subject’s predicament or situation:
    • A man loving two women,
    • a woman no longer loving her husband,
    • an angry boss or father figure,
    • a cheating partner,
    • a swindle or scam,
    • an unexpected event.
    Whatever it is, there is something the subject of the song must overcome to move forward; we produce drama or tension.

    Melodically

    Throughout the centuries of man creating music, we have trained listeners to expect certain things:
    • a phrase that repeats
    • an upward lift to the chorus
    • if the melody goes up, it often comes down again
    • coming back to the tonic or dominant note of the chord at the end of a major section.

    If we don’t deliver these and other examples listeners have been trained by us to expect, we create tension.

    Another way to introduce tension into the melody is to use notes outside the usual selection of tonic, harmonic and dominant; notes we would usually use as passing notes. I find using the 6th note of the chord works particularly well and is pleasing to the ear, and adding something a little different. A fantastic example of this is Paul McCartney’s Yesterday. Have a listen and you will notice that from the very first note, he is producing tension with his melody.

    Musically

    Not to be confused with the former example, here I am referring more to the chords being used, rather than the notes of the melody. There are some standard patterns:
    • Starting a song in the Root chord
    • Ending a chorus, or the song itself on the root chord
    • Moving away from the root chord and coming back to it, often from the 5th or Dominant chord to produce a resolve of built up tension, produced from
    moving away from the root chord.

    There are others of course, but whenever the listener is presented with something different, or unexpected, it produces tension.

    A common example is at the end of the first chorus, the final two chords are the Dominant (5th) and the Root (1st). However, at the end of the chorus leading into a Bridge, the chords become the Dominant (5th) and the next chord up in pitch, the 6th chord of the scale. In C major, this would be:
    Chorus 1 G – C
    Chorus 2 G – C
    Chorus 3 G – Am

    A change from the expected doesn’t have to jar the senses like playing a discordant chord would. It just needs to be unexpected.

    It isn’t all about tension however. While we want some tension, we don’t want to overdo it either, or it will lose the impact when we really want it. It’s a good idea to introduce a little tension, and then give the listener a release of that tension. This is usually done by giving them something they are expecting, or by moving back to the Root chord. Throughout the song we want the tension to build until the big release. This is often accomplished in the Bridge or instrumental solo section.

    So there is another building block in out tool kit of songwriting. Play with it, see what you like. See what your audiences like!

    Till next time,
    Keep rockin’ and a rollin’
    Kel
  11. How many times have you heard a rhyme that is just... forced, cliche, ordinary!

    Me too, way too often.

    It got me thinking, does a lyric have to rhyme? Of course not, however, as songwriters we have trained listeners to expect a rhyme in a song. And it is a recognised way to help remember the lyrics. So if we don't have to rhyme, yet it's a good idea, when might it be better not to?

    Easy, when it sounds contrived, forced, chiche, ordinary!

    When it comes to rhymes there are a few different types. I don't want to get too technical, that's not my thing, after all. But it's okay to almost rhyme, or sort of rhyme, and often they can be clever. Don't forget, different accents will sound like a rhyme when they're not at all. As anyone who talks to a Kiwi can attest, then they are talking about six, it isn't a number!

    Country music has many examples of rhymes that don't even look close on paper, but when the singer says it in their own normal accent it sounds pretty close.

    Another important part of using rhyme in a lyric is to be consistent with the pattern. What you set up in verse one must be repeated in subsequent verses. And whatever pattern you use in the verse MUST be different in the chorus. I'll demonstrate

    Verse: Verse:
    A A
    B A
    A B
    B C
    A C
    B B

    Chorus Chorus
    A A
    A B
    B A
    B B


    From these two examples you should see what I mean.

    Have fun with your rhyming, and don't be afraid to almost rhyme. With melody, drums, guitar, hands clapping and feet stomping, it's likely close enough. Just don't be ordinary!

    Till next time,
    Kel
  12. How often have you read through the lyrics of a song, and when you get to the chorus had to go back to the start again because it wasn't making any sense? I have, and quite often. And the culprits are all in the little words: I, me, us, we, you, them, they!



    While it might be quite poetic to have a story told from different viewpoints in a poem, or interesting in a novel, it just confuses us when we are listening to a song. I often see people posting lyrics for critique that fall into this trap and maybe it's because they don't quite understand a vital part of the human physiology that we, as songwriters need to understand: that our ears and brains are incapable of deciphering both lyrics and melody, and when push comes to shove they will defer to the melody every time, according to Nashville songwriting legend Ralph Murphy.

    The answer is simple, keep it easy for the listener to understand.

    Far too often, complexity comes from either accidental or deliberate misuse of pronouns.

    I often read lyrics that say something like:

    Love hit me like a battering ram
    I didn't know what to do.
    You should just enjoy it
    Before it fades away.

    Okay, not much doing in the quality but can you see the twist in the pronoun? I've used "me" and "I" in the first two lines, and then switched to "you" in the third line, but it's obvious I'm giving myself advice, and not talking to somebody else. In this example, "you" is the wrong pronoun, and "I" would have been correct.

    We had it easy when we had each other
    They didn't know it at the time.

    This is a little easier to see. Two uses of "we" in the first line indicates to us that the singer is either talking to or about another, but by using "they" in the second line takes themself out of the story as if it was being told in the third person. In other words it's confusing. It's also simply poor writing.

    Another pit I've seen lyricists fall into is having the verse from one perspective and the chorus from another:

    V
    John and Mary were in love
    They knew it from the start
    The minute they looked into each other's eyes
    They could never be apart

    C
    I said I love you Mary
    You said you love me too
    I could never ever leave you
    I could never make you blue.

    Okay, again, not much in the way of lyrics, but an example of what I was saying nonetheless. The verse is told in third person, about John and Mary, yet the chorus is from John's first person viewpoint. While it's not too hard to see what is happening here imagine another verse or two, another chorus and a bridge. Sure if the melody is good people might whistle along but will they remember the words?

    I won't go on and on about this. Enough to say, at least check your pronoun use is consistent. Remember, you know the story, when the listener hears it the first time, they wont. Don't make it hard for them to remember.

    Till next time,

    Cheers,
    Kel
  13. Another off-beat choice for a blog entry, but it was the only subject to receive a vote.

    Slumps. What is a slump? I’m not going to define it according to a dictionary, but rather by what I’m talking about. I describe a slump as a period in my Creative Cycle where little or substandard quality work is being produced.

    No matter what they call them, I’m sure every songwriter, poet, scriptwriter, novelist, composer or sportsman goes through these periods. Some will succumb to the alluring temptation of distraction. Others will continue through the cycle into the better times ahead. They say cream always rises to the top and nowhere is this more evident than when out of nowhere an artist is back in the Top 10, a racer finishes on the top of the podium or a team who have struggled all year beat the competition leader, in whatever sport you follow.

    Slumps are a natural part of the cycle, and the best part is, even while struggling through them we are practising our craft, making it and ourselves stronger, and more resilient for when the cycle takes its inevitable downturn, sometime in the future.

    But you didn’t start reading to be told, “Chin up there lad/lass, it’ll come good again in time!â€

    No, you are reading because you want some practical advice. So here it is:

    Write.

    “What?†you say. “That’s it?â€
    Yep, that’s all there is to it. We are song writers, so like a runner must run his way out of a slump, a basketball team must run, dribble, shoot their way out of a slump we must write our way out of a slump. But don’t despair, there is more we can do than write substandard lyrics or melodies.

    Write a blog entry! (No, I don’t feel like I’m in a slump!)
    Write a critique or several – and remember to read all the other critiques as well!
    Write an article.
    Write a list of catchy titles.
    Write a shopping list and take your mind off that empty page for a while.
    Write a letter to a friend. Not an email. A letter!
    Write a chorus.
    Write a verse.
    Now write the first verse.
    And a bridge.

    Put down what you have just finished, go back to your list of titles and repeat the process.

    DO NOT REVIEW NOW!

    Put everything you write away, out of sight. Hits are re-written, but during a slump is not the time to review or re-write anything, trust me.
    i.e. Write! Write!! Write!!!

    Now get to work!

    Cheers,
    Kel
  14. Hello all,

    I'd like us all to step into Mr Peabody's Wayback Machine for just a little while... What do you mean you don't know who Mr Peabody is? He is the man... dog who inspired the historian in me. Google it! As HoboSage would say.

    Turn the dial back to 1977. Sydney Australia. Summer time. I was driving down the Great Western Highway toward Paramatta (Where the eels lay) and it's around 11am on a Sunday. (I hope you're getting all this detail! D-E-TAIL!) Three power chords just about burst my car radio speakers into shreds... I, I-V-IV I forget the key... I think it was A, A E D and then "It was a hot summer night and the..." I won't go into it. Meatloaf burst onto Australian Radio with the first of what would be four singles from the magnificent Bat Out Of Hell album. Steinman's reign on the world of rock had just been unleashed. I believe Meat gives credit for the initial success of this album to Australia, and as a tribute in his first tour played Heaven Can Wait live for the first time.

    Fast forward 5 years, through Meat's dark days, Steinman recording Bad For Good because Meatloaf couldn't and into the light before Cher discovered Auto Tune and teamed up with the big man on Dead Ringer For Love. Kel was sitting in his little cubicle of a workstation wating for the telephone to ring when he started writing down... "Don't let me go, don't let me leave, do you wanna see me down on my knees, I'll do it if you say it'll work!"

    To say I was inspired by Jim Steinman would be an understatement. I was in AWE of Jim Steinman! Those who care to listen to the song I'll post at the end of the story will hear the musical similarities to Paradise By The Dashboard Light and Hot Summer Night, and the total catastrophe of the situation as described in lyrics inspired by Bat Out Of Hell, and Hurricane Katrina. Quite a combination. Might I add, Steinman would have gone further with it!

    Okay, step out of the Wayback Machine and into present times. My original lyrics have been long lost, and much like with Your Anything Is Everything, all I had was a snippet of the chorus, and no verses whatsoever. In fact the only thing that is true to the original song I started playing on my piano back in 1982 is the chorus melody and subsequent chord progression. The rest is all contemporary. I came up with the verse melody and all the lyrics bar a couple of lines just last year, 2012.

    I sat at my computer (manuscript paper is long gone...) and stared at the blank screen of Microsoft Notepad and thought, what would Steinman do? I thought back to a television special I saw that was celebrating 25 years after the release of Bat Out Of Hell and he was describing how he took the story from Leader Of the Pack and upscaled it into Bat Out Of Hell. A light bulb went off in my head!

    I can't answer what Steinman would do, but what I thought he would do is take an ordinary everyday situation, in this case a break up, and turn it into a four act musical production going way over the top in his imagery and metaphor. Hence, the catastrophic break up akin to love being torn apart by a cyclone, or as in North Atlantic terminology, a hurricane.

    So without any further ado...

    http://soundcloud.com/kelabbmusic/love-dont-live-here-no-more-2


    Love Don't Live Here (No More)
    Copyright 2012 Kel Abbott

    There’s a cold wind blowin’ through our house tonight
    And storm clouds close about the halls
    Hailstones tearing all the curtains down
    Love don’t live here no more

    Just let me go,
    Just turn me loose.
    If I got a live a-noth-er min-ute with you
    I cant think what it will do to my mind
    Just let me go
    What could be worse
    That we stay here mak-in each oth-er hurt
    'Cos love dont live here no more.
    No, love don't live here no more.

    There’s flood waters risin’ in the kitchen tonight
    Ain’t no bridges to be found
    Mud is clingin’ to the hallway floor
    Love don’t live here no more
    Just let me go,
    Just turn me loose.
    If I got a live a-noth-er min-ute with you
    I cant think what it will do to my mind
    Just let me go
    What could be worse
    That we stay here mak-in each oth-er hurt
    'Cos love dont live here no more.
    No, love don't live here no more.

    [Lead]
    Light-nin's strik-in in our room to-night
    [Response]
    [Love dont live here no more]
    [Lead]
    Fire balls climb-in' up the burn-in' walls
    [Reponse]
    [Love don't live here no more...]
    [Lead]
    Dark smoke risin' from the ash of the bed
    [Reponse]
    [Love don't live here no...]
    [Lead]
    Love don't live here...
    [Reponse]
    Love don't live here
    [Lead]
    Love don't live here...
    [Reponse]
    Love don't live here no...
    [Lead]
    Love don't live here...
    [Reponse]
    Love don't live here no
    [Lead only]
    Love don't live here...
    Credits: Production and performance by Nigel Cuff Music http://www.nigelcuffmusic.com/demopage.htm (not associated, just a client!)
    Notes, as this demo was produced for an amazing 50 Euros (AUD$78) the call and repsonse section is all done by Nigel, and it doesn't come off as I would have liked. Still, once doesn't complain about a $78 demo!

    Till next time,
    Kel
  15. I thought I'd talk about song ideas, where they come from for me, and how you might generate your own.

    Let me start by saying I don't get writer's block. I don't allow myself that sense of pity. I have times of reduced creativity, and I subsequently have times of heightened creativity... I'm in one of those at the moment. In the past week I've written lyrics for around six or seven songs, recorded sketches for around four of them, had a session with lyrics I'm collaborating on, recorded a rough demo (4 times!)(and I only record rough or very rough!) and went to work every day I should have. I probably could have got some more sleep... that comes on the other side of the creativity curve. And you know, the busier I am, the more creative I remain.

    Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying all these songs are worthy of paying for the production of a demo, let alone marketing for a radio hit! No, but every one is a step along the way towards the elusive hit we are all looking for.

    So ideas? Where do they come from? - Everywhere!

    Here is a short list of where some ideas for my songs (not just this week!) have come from:

    Meeting somebody new
    re-aquainting with an old friend
    hanging out the washing (laundry)
    in the shower - no naughty thoughts...
    getting dumped
    dumping someone
    hearing the "as friends" line
    something somebody said
    a challenge
    something I saw
    signs
    watching people
    listening to other people talking - okay, eavesdropping!
    getting a phone call from somebody while I was thinking about them
    reading
    jamming

    What I hope you'll glean from this list, is that it just happens. We just need to recognise it, and write it down or record it somehow. I'll elaborate on a couple:

    I was talking to a lady I'd never met before one day, and we were swapping "ourselves" stories. She said she'd always been the good girl, didn't run with a bad crowd, looked after the house, the man in her life, kept a stable job etc, but that she was continually being let down by her man - unstable, drinking, cheating different things for different men. She felt like it was her turn to do the wrong thing. KAPOW! That one throw-away line hit my brain like a spark to tinder... I don't think I've presented it to Songstuff, but that resulted in "The Wrong Thing" a project I've been working on...

    One fine sunny day I was doing my laundry. As it was fine and sunny, I was hanging it out on the line to dry. I noticed over in the corner all the dog poop. My mate was by my side as usual, and I looked down at him and said, "I'm sure glad you're such a creature of habit and I don't need to watch every step I take..."
    KAPOW! "Creature of Habit" was born. (not on Songstuff)

    I met a lady I'd been talking to on-line for a while last weekend. She may have been "the one" but it wasn't to be. "Two Way Street" was the result of both of us agreeing to remain in the friend zone. (Don't take the song too literally!) - In the song evaluation forum.

    My other blog on Songstuff, will be the stories behind the songs, so maybe as I explore each song a little further there may be more elaboration... don't know... lets find out together?

    http://forums.songstuff.com/blog/183-the-song-the-story/

    Don't forget to vote in the poll, it lets you drive what I talk about!

    Cheers,
    Kel
  16. Hi all,

    Not the blog subject I would have chosen, but this topic received 100% of the votes in the last poll. So it's your fault!

    Why do you think I even included this subject in a blog poll about music? I'm glad you asked that. You see, I'm currently between significant others, and while there are aspects to singularity I enjoy, there are definitely aspects to being partnered up I miss, and it's not all about the bedroom! I miss... well, no need to go into all the things I miss. What I find interesting though, is what seems to be considered "romantic" by if not the majority of available women I bump into, but the majority at any rate, and that is a walk on the beach!

    Apparently there is something about having sand blown in your eyes, your hair, between your the outer layer of clothing and your bare skin that women find romantic. I don't see it.

    It seems the thought of strolling hand in hand along the water's edge in the moonlight and stepping on a washed up jellyfish, or blue bottle (Portugese man o' war) or tripping over because you stumbled into seaweed you didn't see that women find romantic. I don't see it.

    Maybe it's the idea of a long walk away from your car, and then the longer walk back in the rain that women find romantic. I don't see it.

    Perhaps it's the thought of squishing along in wet sneakers, the distinctive aroma of salt and sweat wafting up from their socks that women view as romantic. I don't see it.

    It could be that walking along the might of the ocean, home to myriad unseen creatures that humbles man to the core that women see as romantic. I don't.

    I know. It's that incredible seen in From Here to Eternity isn't it? That would be fun, I accept. Unless it turned out as it did in Flying High (Airplane). Fun, but not romantic.

    And it isn't that they could sit and have a candle lit picnic on the beach. No candle would stay alight, and everything tastes salty. Nup, not romantic in my eyes.

    So what is it about beaches and women? I for sure don't know!

    Kel
  17. Hi everyone.

    This blog is in answer to a challenge issued by our gracious most eminent Songstuffer, John Moxey.

    You see, I've joined a member group http://forums.songstuff.com/groups/1-songstuff-music-promo-workgroup/ all about promoting our music. And John's first challenge? Start a blog.

    Well, I already have a blog, http://forums.songstuff.com/blog/181-kelisms/. Kelisms is a bit of fun. A light hearted look at how I see the makings of a song. It is full of convoluted ramblings, irreverent examples and, well, Kelisms... (that term is fully explained in the first entry. But where Kelisms is fun about the work, this blog, I hope, shall be about the work involved in the fun. Totally different, right?

    I have posted a fair number of my lyrics in the Lyric critique section, and so far, only one song into the Song critique section, and yet another into the May Song Contest. I guess that makes two songs in all, and maybe a half dozen lyrics. As this blog is to be part of my education into self promotion, I'm going to use it to enthrall you, educate you, and encourage you to spend whatever hard earned dollars you have to make sure I get as many 9 1/2 cents as possible. (None of my songs are for sale at the moment... see why I need help with marketing!) In order to enthrall, educate and encourage you to spend your money on my songs I plan on telling the story behind the song.

    I am not a cathartic writer. I don't write to get something off my chest. I'm a story teller. (If I say it enough, you'll believe me, you just watch!) And as I'm a story teller (that's twice, now!) my ideas come from somewhere. However they may not all come from the same place. They can come from anywhere. As you will see...

    Your Anything is Everything has just been named the winning entry in the May Song Contest here on Songstuff. Why not start there?

    Way back in the distant past, the internet was new and cool, hip and happening. Not much different from today I guess. I was surfing one day and somehow, I found this product called Noteworthy Composer. I think it was shareware... back in the day the "contribution was around $5 for basic programs to maybe $20 for something really elaborate. I think NC was in the $5 category. I set it to download... by dial up... we'll come back when it's finished...

    In 1999 I moved from Sydney to Brisbane (around 600 miles) and took only what I could fit into my Mitsubishi Colt. (Small hatchback...) I arrived in Brisbane with no musical instruments to my name. I had recently sold my piano, my ex-wife had "accidentally" broken my guitar... I was without music! Can you imagine the potential fun I saw in Noteworthy Composer? Download finished? Yep, okay... install.... Woohoo there it is! In all it's glory, Noteworthy Composer. For those who have never marvelled at NC, it had a sky blue screen with a keyboard down the bottom of the screen. I would click on a key, select a time value and whalah! Music! Sort of... it produced a MIDI sound. Like a parrot being strangled by fencing wire...

    One day I was tinkering around and I played a real simple melody, (Nothing new there, most of my melodies are simple!) It simply started at F and played every white key down to middle C 3 times. When I figured out how to produce a fuller sound by playing a chord triad in the bass section, I was making melody, with accompaniment. How grand! Anyway, I played around with different chords until I found a sequence that sorta sounded okay.

    As time went by I added further to this simple motif, and eventually I had a verse, and this motif would finish it... Somewhere along the track some lyrics came to me...

    Maybe it's not everything
    Like how it's meant to be
    But you should know that
    Anything means
    Everything to me.

    Okay a little whiney, maybe a little romantic... but definitely inappropriate. You see, at that time I had just begun a relationship with the woman who I would marry and share the next 14 years. Not a good song to be singing in a new relationship. I shelved it. For guess how long? Yep, 14 years! When we separated I dug this gem out and went to town... the original first verse went:

    Baby, it's not knowing,
    That's close to killing me.
    You don't seem to realise,
    What you mean to me.
    Maybe it's not everything
    Like how it's meant to be
    But you should know that
    Anything means
    Everything to me.

    I won't bore your with the second and third verses. But I was wrapped. I sent my finished masterpiece off to Jason Blume for a critique. What I received back was a wonderful critique, full of detail, suggestion and specific areas in which it sucked.

    The main thing that came of it, was that instead of being 3 verses of the above structure with a bridge between the second and third (AABA) it developed into a ABABCB pouring out of the heart about how this girl was so not seeing how much I loved her. Is she blind? No, she was seeing somebody else!

    My lyrics weren't focused, they hovered around issues without touching them, asked questions that never got answered and generally, well, sucked.

    In a moment of brilliance I completely changed the tone of the song, from whining about this girl being blind to my love to me whining that I couldn't get any reassurance from this girl that she was into me. Yes, I know, more whining!

    Then I found Songstuff.

    When I thought I was ready to record a demo I posted to the Lyric Critique forum, and rewrote it I think 4 times to get it where it is now.

    If I ever make any money from this song (yeah, right!) I'll owe a lot of it to Songstuffers who helped me along the path of lyrical enlightenment. I still walk this path by the way, I am under no allusions my lyrics are gold. Just better than they were. And that brings us full circle.

    In the true spirit of marketing, any of you who supply me your email address (by PM) I'll send an MP3 file of this song free, and you can get the latest news and information about all things Kel, and you'll have sneak previews of songs in progress, and your opportunity to comment on them, and perhaps make them even betterer! (Remember, PM me unless your email is in your signature block, and then make sure to offer to join my Inner Circle. I don't want to pester anyone by sending unsolicited email... I hate Spam too!)

    Here for your listening and reading pleasure is the song you helped me create, Songstuff.


    http://soundcloud.com/kelabbmusic/your-anything-is-everything


    Your Anything Is Everything
    Written by Kel Abbott (APRA)
    [VERSE]
    I've never said I love you
    Simply haven't had the nerve
    If that has caused uncertainty
    That's not what you deserve
    I see now you're unsure
    You're giving me, all I need
    [CHORUS]
    It could be the dress you wear
    The way you fix your pretty hair
    It might your gentle sighs
    Or watching the sun rise
    Don't you know
    your anything
    is ev'erything to me.
    [VERSE]
    I really should have told you
    What I nev-er meant to hide
    How you make me tremble
    How you shake me up, inside.
    You could lead me anywhere
    I'll be right by your side...
    [CHORUS]
    It could be the dress you wear
    The way you fix your pretty hair
    It might your gentle sighs
    Or watching the sun rise
    Don't you know
    your anything
    is ev'erything to me.
    [bRIDGE]
    You been burned and you've been hurt be-fore,
    And I know you know what heart-break is.
    I will be here when the morn-ing comes
    And together we will hold back all your fears, and
    [CHORUS]
    It could be the dress you wear
    The way you fix your pretty hair
    It might your gentle sighs
    Or watching the sun rise
    Don't you know
    your anything
    is ev'e-ry-thing to me.
    [OUTRO]
    Let me say your anything, is
    Ev'rything, to me.



    Till next time, signing off,

    Kel
  18. What to say, and how not to say it!

    Okay, that’s a really messed up bunch of words, isn’t it?
    What the hell is he saying?
    Am I reading your mind correctly? What I want to talk about is how I put out a message, without using the “expected†words for that message. It’s up to you to judge whether I am successful or not, I can only go by feedback I receive to ascertain if my audience has “got it†or if I missed the boat.
    Let me first start with some examples. Try this quick quiz:
    Name the song:
    1. I say, that’s a dang-awful, mean looking moon coming up over them thar mountains…
    2. An acrid grey cloud hovered just above the lake…
    3. The interlocked metal ringlets…
    4. The female humans residing anywhere from San Francisco to San Diego…


    ===================================================================================


    Did you say:
    1. Bad Moon Rising? (Creedence Clearwater Revival)
    2. Smoke On The Water? (Deep Purple)
    3. The Chain? (Fleetwood Mac)
    4. California Girls (The Beach Boys)

    You might very well say I’ve merely drawn from various song titles and built a sentence to replace them. You’re right, I did just that! (Back off, chASed!) However this is at the very heart of what I am talking about. While I am sure Brian Wilson wasn’t thinking about the girls who live north of San Francisco when he wrote his Beach Boys classic, only he knows how long it took him to think up the phrase “California girlsâ€. And the same could be said with the various writers of the other songs mentioned, and myriads of songs already written.

    The principle of saying something by not saying anything is not a new one. It’s been done for years. How many movies have you seen where while the victim lies dead on the ground, the hero prevents the heroine from looking at the mutilated corpse of her father or who-ever. And like her, we never see it either. Just by the hero telling us not to look at it, we understand it ain’t pretty. We don’t have to see it to understand it. Ernest Hemmingway was a master at this style of writing, and there have been many others. Keith Whitely even sand a song about it. (Before Ronan Keating did, kids!)

    So how do we do this in song?

    I'm glad you asked.

    I write down what I want to say, then I take all the words out. What have I got left?

    DON'T throw anything at the screen!

    Just think about it for a sec. I've got a message, I've got words, and I have writing. Take away the words and I still have the message! All I have done at this point, it taken away the obvious route to my destination. Now it's time to hit the back roads. As anyone who owns an off-road vehicle will tell you, this is where the fun starts!

    It will take some practice. Have you even driven along a mountain road without applying the brake? That's right, using the gears to speed yourself up, and to slow yourself down. You need to do the same thing with your writing. Sorry, no easy way, you need to practice. But at least it isn't scales!

    One way you can do this, and I do this all the time, is to start talking differently. Yep, talking differently. And I don't mean you guys from Maine to talk like a Texan, or vice versa. A slight adjustment in your everyday speech could pay dividends in your royalties. You can start with one phrase, or sentence if you like, ease yourself into it. Lets start with something we all do, yet some are too timid to mention:

    "I'm off to the loo!"
    "Goin' to th' head!"
    "Off to play king!"
    "Shake hands with the unemployed!"

    Four different ways to put across one message, and I bet you all know what the message was! It's as easy as that. Ladies, you talk about "...making a brew," "...joining the jigglers,", "...partaking of a beverage" or even "...blending animal with vegetable" (but only if you drink your tea with milk!

    Think the message, then step sideways, and maybe even step past, and look over your shoulder. Don't let words come between you and an interesting way of saying something.

    I heard a song called "The Truckies Wife" by John WIlliamson (a legend in Australia:
    ) on the radio the other day, he sang of a woman with "...years of pain running down her cheek". (That may not be the exact line, but isn't it terrific!). Now when you have something to say, allow yourself the freedom of taking the words away.

    That's it for this week. Thanks for coming on the ride. And don't forget to vote for the next installment of Kelisms!

    Cheers,

    Kel

    NB: EMI has blocked that video in Australia guys... sorry Aussies, can't watch it unless you're OS!

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