I'm Doing A Course

[snabbu]

I have decided to do a six week course with the Berkley School of Music. The lecturer is Pat Patterson.

I start Saturday I think. He promises to make me more efficient. So we shall see.

Anybody interested I'l post updates to this thread.

 

Cheers

 

Gary

 

Wrap up

 

So now the course is over. The overall impression is its avery worthwhile thing to do.

 

The only thing about the course is the peer review system which worries me. And I'm not saying that because of crook results in my last assignment I got 92% from my peers but I was still dismayed by one comment. It's like pedantic stuff.

I find it frustrating to be lectured in english by someone on diphthongs in regard to my rhyme scheme. I had a word I wanted to use and I didn't want a perfect rhyme just wanted to rhyme the vowels, and yes I know the vowel sounds for real and teach are slightly different but it is what I wanted to say and they are close enough for me.

The misunderstanding  of the use of phrasing for contrast, in my chorus continued the annoyance. 

Front and back heavy phrasing is used for prosody sad or longing or uncertain lines have a back heavy phasing to create prosody. ( that is you start the first accented line on a weak beat instead of a strong beat.) Positive or stable lines are front heavy. The first stressed word on beat one. I had used Front heavy on "It's all in the way you fall" and back heavy on "All in the way you fall" His comment was they are saying the same thing so why the different phrasing. The chorus lyric follows. the (f) means I am phrasing it front heavy. The ( means I am phrasing it back heavy. 

 

 

It’s all (f)

It’s all (f)

It’s all in the way you fall (f)

All in the way you fall (

 

Two things: all of the "It's all" are front heavy, it's a statement of fact I want the listener to believe.

For this reason "It's all in the way you fall" also has to be front heavy.

All in the way you fall is back heavy for contrast to make the hook stick out, and to create a nagging sense of doubt that I know that even though you believe me you are still hurting. Now when you take so much trouble to write this deep and someone comes along and says this. (see peer 5) It makes you shake your head.

 

peer 1 → Very nice song. All the best in everything you do, and don't forget to Write Fearlessly.

peer 3 → Good result which should spur you on to writing more and more when course finishes. Nice to review a colleague who can actually sing and sing in tune with excellent character in voice (important even though it was not the assignment objective)

peer 4 → I think the front and back heavy lines are mislabeled, but I like the song very much, especially the bridge and chorus. Guy has a really good voice. The harmony an unexpected surprise.

peer 5 → Don't understand why you'd make "it's all in the way you fall" a front-heavy line, but "all in the way you fall" a back-heavy? The essence is the same. Also, noticed some rhyme scheme discrepancies: abbac in the first verse and abbcd in the second. "Deep" and "real" have different diphthongs, but "deal" and "real" or "deep" and "reap" share same diphthongs. Otherwise, a great sound production! Really enjoy listening to it.

But apart from the pedantic peer issue I found it to be a great experience it is free and I highly recommend it.

Here is my last assignment which I am currently working up a proper recording of. I am still not sure if it's mad that much difference to my writing but it was very interesting.

 

All in the way you fall

© Gary Yeomans 2013

 

http://snd.sc/15NMP8K

 

Verse

It lays me low to see you weep (

I can recall when to hold you could fix anything (f)

From a scraped knee to bogyman dreaming (f)

I know it’s not the time for lessons to keep, ( or making a speech(f)

But there’s something I want you to know (f)

 

chorus.

It’s all (f)

It’s all (f)

It’s all in the way you fall (f)

All in the way you fall (

 

Verse

Now love has come and cut you deep (

I know that words at this time cannot heal everything (

It’s all right crawling fallings hard going (f)

You know that your life with lessons to teach, is sharing what’s real (

And there’s something it wants you to know (f)

 

chorus.

It’s all (f)

It’s all (f)

It’s all in the way you fall (f)

All in the way you fall (

 

Bridge

Never stop taking chances (f)

Don’t let this stop you making plans (f)

Never start building fences (f)

Don’t let this chain or tie your hands (f)

 

chorus.

It’s all (f)

It’s all (f)

It’s all in the way you fall (f)

All in the way you fall (

 

 

Cheers

 

Gary

 

 

Edited September 6, 2013 by snabbu

[Thrashimation]

Oh wow, that sounds like fun! Good luck and enjoy!

[Guest]

Hi, Gary!

 

Hope you enjoy the Berklee [no Y] course with Pat Pattison [no ER]! (I know... They decided to use uncommon spellings of BOTH!)

 

I assume this is an Internet course, yes?

[Just1L]

Sounds interesting. Is he going to make you more efficient with instruments, songwriting, recording, or everything?

[snabbu]

Hi, Gary!

 

Hope you enjoy the Berklee [no Y] course with Pat Pattison [no ER]! (I know... They decided to use uncommon spellings of BOTH!)

 

I assume this is an Internet course, yes?

Yea it's a bit far to commute New England NSW to New England USA

Starts on saturday so we shall see if he can make me more efficient.

 

Cheers

 

Gary

[snabbu]

Sounds interesting. Is he going to make you more efficient with instruments, songwriting, recording, or everything?

I think melody and lyrics but I also think he uses loops to quickly work up ideas. The course is song writing so I guess arrangement and demo production wont come into that.

 

Cheers

 

Gary

[Rudi]

Gary

 

Yep, me too. I would be most interested.

[snabbu]

Ok so I have watched all the lectures for lesson one. I am very up about this; Pat has a great way of getting his point across.

This lesson in on lyric writing. There is not a lot in here that I didn't already know. I just didn't know I knew it, because it came from the university of the radio.

 

Also and what's important is work methods I did not know about. Work methods that make it easier to develop ideas. Also a fairly good safety device so you don't get off track.

 

Firstly songs are communication and if the listener is left unsure who is talking to whom and why. The song may not communicate well and may be a lesser write because of that. My lecture notes are below.

Lecture one

Every song should answer three questions

Who is talking?

To Whom

Why

If it doesn’t then it will be less of a song than it could have been.

 

We really should be carrying a small notebook with us every where to jot down ideas, because they come from our environment. 

An example of this was Pat saw all these two story houses in a row on some development when he was here. So he wrote that down as a song idea. 

 

Now he developed that Idea as a house with two floors the upper one containing a painter using the light, the lower floor a musician noodling away in the dark.

 

I immediately had a totally different take on the idea. Like what if the house was like the marital home with a family living it and the couple were drifting apart like one house but two different stories as in tales.  I liked that so much I think I may write it.

 

We also discussed in more detail the issue of who is singing the story and who is best to be singing for what songs. There are four possible voices. The work method is you write say one verse and set it in all four voices then make a decision which one is doing the best job for that particular song. (This is something I have never done but will do from now on. Although sometimes the subject matter seems to determine which voice you would use quite obviously. You couldn’t write “Help†in anything other than direct address)

 

The voices in order of intimacy with the most intimate first are: Direct address, 2nd person Narrative, 1st person narrative, 3rd person narrative.

 

My lecture notes appear below with examples of each voice.

There was a quiz on this which involved listening to about 8 songs on youtube and the selecting which of the four voices the song was in.

 

Lecture 2

Keep a song ideas book. 

 

Establishing who is talking

1 storyteller 3^rd person narrative point of view, most objective omnipotent not intimate.

"She did this he did that"

2 storyteller 1^st person narrative point of view more intimate.

"I did this she did that"

3 storyteller 2^nd Person narrative more intimate still

"You did this she did that"

4 Direct address most intimate

"You did this I did that"

 

This next lecture speaks to efficiency in writing because it deals with a way to progress the story in the song. Like don't have all your ideas in the first verse dribble them out verse by verse. Pat does this with three boxes and whatever the song idea is he uses a method to develop it. So that the information becomes clearer, and the song idea more reinforced as it progresses. Like the lyric is going somewhere to a climax. So that when it is set to music and the music goes somewhere, and the production goes somewhere. We all go there together and that is a very good thing.

 

The two development techniques he discussed were to use a time line; like this happened in the past, this is happening now, and then this will happen in the future. The other technique was to explain the story from three different perspectives. So we talk about me, we talk about her, then we talk about us. I am sure there must be more methods than these, and I will spend some time thinking about them to see if that's true, maybe that's all there is. I will let you know when I come to a conclusion.

 

What is important to grasp here is this song development method of three boxes; the beginning the middle and the end, or you I and us, bears no relation to the song structure. It is not like three verses one for each subject. The me could be two verses, the her could be the third verse, and the us could be the bridge.

 

The most valuable thing for me in this lecture was; I have my idea, I have decided on a way to develop the idea, and I have written it down in three boxes. I can now let my mind wander all over the place in regard to how I work up the three boxes.  I won't get lost, or confused, or distracted from the main song idea. Because I am inside box number one, and I always know what I should be doing in there. The same goes for box two or three. Pat tongue in cheek calls this thinking inside the box. Only dumb suits in the city think outside the box :-)

 

So if we look at my interpretation of Pat's two stories song idea; I have decided that I will use perspective technique.

Box one His story; Box two her story; Box three their story. (note I have written that in third person narrative but this hasn't been decided yet. Because as I work it up it may change to work better as very personal. Like My story your story our story. Which would be direct address, the most intimate. And that will depend on hook ideas etc. The point is I know all this and I have yet to write a word. Normally I wouldn't know any of this until after the words were written. This is a major difference. My Lecture notes appear below.

 

Lecture 3

Song development song ideas should develop and move forward.

Development engine,

(1)  Timeline method past, present, future

(2)  Perspective method You I us

 

So now we are looking at developing the ideas within the boxes. So to do this you work up your idea addressing some or all or most of the following

questions. Who is talking and whom are they talking too. What are they saying, and why are they saying what they are saying. When did this happen, where did it happen and how?

 

So I guess depending on the development technique you are using; timeline, or perspective. Some of what you work up in each box is going to be pretty obvious. If you are doing timeline when would obviously be in box one.

 

This is interesting so you have this story when did it happen? in the summer, in the spring, in the morning, in the night, 3am in the morning or what? So it starts to generate ideas. Because if my "house of two stories" ( see the change from with to of . A more developed hook idea.) If this happened at 3 am it probably happened in the bedroom, and it was probably a blazing row over the differences detailed in the two peoples stories. If it happened at some other time then it may have just been a drifting apart.

 

So see how you sit there and work up this whole story in your head, about who these people are, then you distill that story down to a few lines. To me I am imagining like a sauce in a pot on the stove, like gravy and it's watery.  But I keep cooking it, driving of the steam to get to its essence. In the end I have a very strong flavor. I think this could happen with a song as you distill this entire story down to verses and bridges. So you end up with a super strong lyric. I hope this is right. Because making up all of these stories or aspects and not really worrying about rhyme or form is quite liberating and a lot of fun. 

 

Consider this before you even bother to write a line you can sit down with your partner and tell her the song story in great detail with the chorus idea interspersed. Between each of your three parts. Is it interesting did the story grab her could it be more interesting if something else happened that you have not thought of. Does she care about the people in the story? If the answers no then you could save hours by not writing this and working on something else. 

 

Lecture 4

Developing the song ideas within the development engine.

In each stage Who What When Where Why How

Who when where are the most powerful

 

The next topic discussed was song form. This I know already in greater detail that was discussed in the course. What the parts of the song are and what they are supposed to do what a chorus is and what it isn’t. What bridges do etc. There was no discussion of other song forms other than verse pre chorus and bridge. ( like AB form example “ (somewhere over the rainbowâ€)Also the function of the bridge was not described in the detail as I would understand it’s multiple functions. It was described simply as a bridge between two other parts of the song. There was no discussion about using bridges as a reveal or that they should add to or clarify the story.

I didn’t make lecture notes for this one because; this is already second nature to me. 

 

The verses tell the detailed story of the song; the chorus sums up the story, and must of course work with each aspect of the story. Or it answers questions posed in the verse. The bridge adds an extra dimension to the story or reveals something about the story that was hidden up until then.

 

The last lecture was about choruses. Pat spoke for about twelve minutes about hook emphasis without once using the term but that was what it was about. The chorus must have the best lyrical and musical ideas and you don’t allow these ideas to be used elsewhere in the song. He used the analogy of a bride and the bride’s mother buying wedding dresses. Trying them all on till they found one that really made the bride look fabulous. Then the bride’s mother selects the plainest dowdiest bridesmaid dresses to dress the attendants in.

So at the wedding the bride already looks fabulous but is made to look all the more fabulous in comparison to the bridesmaids who look plain. The chorus is the bride the verses are the bridesmaids and although he didn’t actually use the term, the fabulous dress is the hook and the hook emphasis. All of this I knew already but it was nice to have it confirmed. And to have it explained in a parable I now have that image in my head, of the parts of a song, and where the bling should go. I can think of it as choosing a diamond tiara and whacking on the bride’s head. So that is good.

 

Something else that came up in one of the lectures was to do with music production that there is such a thing called a production graph used by producers to map out the peaks and climaxes in a song. I looked on the net to see if I could find a link that would explain this chart and I couldn’t so basically as I understand it.

The production starts out simple and builds towards the chorus, the chorus then is more intense. Then the intensity drops back down for verse two but not down to the level of verse one. Then builds up to the second chorus, which is more intense than the first. Then the bridge, that is more intense than all that has come before. Then the final chorus, where they throw the kitchen sink at it.  So that was interesting. I critiqued a song by studiobee yesterday and I knew there was a production issue but I wasn’t able to explain it very well now I know exactly what the issue is. He threw the kitchen sink in verse one and just kept going at a manic level all the way through so there was shit loads going on but it still didn’t go anywhere because there was nowhere left to go.

 

In conclusion my first impressions of the course are positive and my impression of the lecturer is very positive.

 

Cheers

 

Gary

[Rudi]

Hey Gary,

I now carry an unshakable image of four squabbling bridesmaids. Verse two is pulling the hair of verse three because she wants her song position. The other two are shouting for the ones they want to win. Both one and four are worried about getting fired in case the song is pruned back to three verses.

The Bride is serenely indifferent to the squabble. She is oozing poise and grace.

Thank you for the summary. There are useful tools in there I think.

It reads like a blog entry. I have taken the liberty of creating a link here so I can check some songs to these criteria.

Regards

Rudi

[snabbu]

So Now I have just completed Lesson 2

Here are my notes

 

Lecture one: Prosody

Prosody is essential to any successful work in any discipline.

Everything in the song should belong there and support the song idea.

The broad concept of prosody covers stable and unstable concepts.

Decide if the feeling is stable or unstable and use the appropriate tools.

The reason for using stable or unstable is to assist in making choices as to whether

An intuitive idea, you have actually fits with the verse or chorus you are writing.

 

Lecture two: Stable and unstable recognition practice.

If it feels like a statement of fact it’s stable.

If it feels like there is an unsaid subtext, or something is missing it’s unstable.

 

Lecture three: Introduction to the five elements to create stability and instability in lyrical ideas. They are

(1)  Number of lines

(2)  Matched or unmatched line lengths

(3)  Rhyme scheme

(4)  Rhyme types

(5)  Rhythm of lines.

 

Lecture four: Using the number of lines in a section to create stability or instability.

 An even number of lines tends to feel stable.

An odd number of lines tends to feel unstable.

The feeling creating can support the lyrical message.

Chant lyrics in rhythm tapping with a pencil or use a drum loop. Or a simple musical loop.

 

Lecture Five: Expanding on the effect of number of lines.

There are three other effects of the numberer of lines used.

(1) Spotlighting important ideas in the song.

The balancing position ie: when something is resolved automatically highlights that point. So the idea in the last line of an even number of lines will be emphasised. An unexpected addition of a fifth line to a four line verse structure will spotlight the idea in that line.

(2) To stop song motion or move the song forward from one section to another.

So typically odd number of lines are used in sections that move onto something else like the pre chorus

(3) To create contrast between sections.

 

Lecture Six: The effect of length of lines.

Two lines of the same length feel stable.

Two lines of unequal length feel unstable.

A shorter second line give the lyric forward motion

A balance second line stops the motion of the lyric.

A longer second line creates a spotlight but no forward motion because the previous line length has been matched, and then we’ve added something. It is the added something that is emphasised.

 

Lecture Seven: Further discussion of line length.

Line lengths can be used to create prosody due to being stable or unstable.

Line lengths contrast one section to another.

Line lengths can be used to move from one section to another.

Line lengths can act as a hook emphasis technique.

An example of contrast and prosody is Paul Simons 50 Ways to leave your lover.

Long verse lines contrast with very short chorus lines. Also prosody is achieved by the fact that the verse lines are long and relaxed. The chorus lines are short and urgent. In other words leave as fast as you can type of feeling.

[Lisa Gates]

Gary, I don't need to take any notes...I see you are doing much better than me in that department! ;-)

I think I am just writing down what is new to me, and leaving the items Pat discusses that I already do out of my notes...hmmm sounds like I'll have some holes if I ever need to go back. Oh well.

My only worry about this course is that Pat will make it too much of a methodical process that my artistic thoughts and ideas might be shadowed or pushed aside.

OMG! Have you read the forums for this course! Whoa there are some simple minded folks taking this course right now. I'm getting a big laugh out of the Peer Review threads. LOL!

Chat soon,

Lisa

[Mahesh]

Lol I did not even go through the discussion forums.  

Pat has a good way to put things through. I feel all that he's saying can be applied perfectly when rewriting a rough idea rather than applying it WHILE writing a song for the first time. (Doesn't hurt to keep all of them in mind but it shouldn't deviate from the feel and emotion of the song) That's just my opinion.

 

I've downloaded all his lectures. So that I can go through them every now and then.

[Lisa Gates]

Mahesh, I wondered if you could download them. Great idea. Thanks

[Mahesh]

Yeah you can Lisa

 

Here's a screenshot. (Click to enlarge)

 

 

 

 

Let me know if you need help.

 

Cheers

Mahesh

[Lisa Gates]

Duh! that is so simple. I should've looked around some more.

thanks so much Mahesh!

[snabbu]

Gary, I don't need to take any notes...I see you are doing much better than me in that department! ;-)

I think I am just writing down what is new to me, and leaving the items Pat discusses that I already do out of my notes...hmmm sounds like I'll have some holes if I ever need to go back. Oh well.

My only worry about this course is that Pat will make it too much of a methodical process that my artistic thoughts and ideas might be shadowed or pushed aside.

OMG! Have you read the forums for this course! Whoa there are some simple minded folks taking this course right now. I'm getting a big laugh out of the Peer Review threads. LOL!

Chat soon,

Lisa

I took all the notes because I sort of committed to review the course here so if someone wanted to do it they'd know if it was applicable. 

I wouldn't be too concerned about loosing creativity. Consider this write a song like you have always done, then go back and edit it according to the tools of Pat. If it makes the song better very good. If not give it the flick. The other thought I have is say you wanted to create that real feeling of not knowing what to do being lost in your song. You can say I know I'l try a consonant rhyme, then say how does that sound feel. So if its tools not rules then I think there is nothing to worry about. 

 

Yea well I had to comment on a few of those threads because of the simple minds. I mean you have to worry about the peer reviews you are going to get.

 

Post your assignment to the adjunct thread if you want I'd like to see it.

 

Cheers

 

Gary

[snabbu]

Lol I did not even go through the discussion forums.

Pat has a good way to put things through. I feel all that he's saying can be applied perfectly when rewriting a rough idea rather than applying it WHILE writing a song for the first time. (Doesn't hurt to keep all of them in mind but it shouldn't deviate from the feel and emotion of the song) That's just my opinion.

 

I've downloaded all his lectures. So that I can go through them every now and then.

Hi Mahesh

 

There is certainly some eye opening stuff on the forums. I mean when you are used to being critiqued here by the likes of messieurs Creek, Sage, Rudi, Skylark, et al. To come up against such lack of knowledge is a bit of a shock.

 

Still onward and upward this week rhyme.

 

Cheers

 

Gary

[Lisa Gates]

I took all the notes because I sort of committed to review the course here so if someone wanted to do it they'd know if it was applicable. 

I wouldn't be too concerned about loosing creativity. Consider this write a song like you have always done, then go back and edit it according to the tools of Pat. If it makes the song better very good. If not give it the flick. The other thought I have is say you wanted to create that real feeling of not knowing what to do being lost in your song. You can say I know I'l try a consonant rhyme, then say how does that sound feel. So if its tools not rules then I think there is nothing to worry about. 

 

Yea well I had to comment on a few of those threads because of the simple minds. I mean you have to worry about the peer reviews you are going to get.

 

Post your assignment to the adjunct thread if you want I'd like to see it.

 

Cheers

 

Gary

Gary,

that is a great reminder for me "tools not rules" to put it in perspective for me.

I just posted my week two soundcloud tidbit. I think the lyrics are not flowing well. I'm struggling with instability...I am comfortable with stable. let me know what you think. thanks.

[snabbu]

Ah So now week three.

And I have to say it is starting to get interesting and it's making me wonder several wonderings and if nothing else the experiments I am going to have to do to answer my wonderings will create new works.

 

So now I discover that the type of rhyme you use has an effect on the emotion of the song. Ignoring the words you can create a feeling about the words that is not caused by what the words actually say. Interesting stuff.

 

I also discover it's six times as easy to write songs in italian than it is in english. Now he tells me!

 

Here are my lecture notes for week three.

 

 

Lesson three

 

Lecture 1 Rhyme schemes

Rhyme schemes can be stable or unstable.

The most stable would be two equal length rhyming couplets.

Rhyming couplets fracture four line sequences into two, two line sequences.

Unrelenting rhyming couplets fracture a song and make it drag.

Rhyming couplets reduce the hook emphasis to two equal emphasized lines, line two and four. Rather than one emphasised line four if you are using abab

 

Refer to Pat’s parlour same song different journey.

http://www.patpattison.com/pparchivedifjourney/

 

 

 

The deceptive cadence technique. Is a hook emphasis technique, it is unstable.

Using line length, long line, short line, long line, you lead the listener to think that line four will be a short line rhyming with line two. You make it a long line rhyming with line three. The end of line four is then emphasized.

 

Lecture 2 Rhyme schemes cont:

Stable rhyme schemes.

Aabb

Abab

 

Unstable rhyme schemes

Abba ( example; sweet baby James)

 

 www.pa

 

Lecture 3 Perfect rhymes

There is a scale of rhyme types that goes from most resolved to least resolved.

Just as there is a variety of tonic chords that affect the resolution of melody.

Root note melody with triad chord root in bass most stable.

Examples C Chord with C melody cadence. Most stable to least stable list

C Bass

G Bass

E Bass

E Bass ( no C in chord)

E Bass ( 7^th note in chord B, becomes E minor )

 

Rhymes

Perfect rhyme

Vowel sounds the same “Blood/Mudâ€

Consonants after the vowel are the same “Blood/Mudâ€

Rhyming syllables begin differently

Perfect rhyme is fully resolved.

 

Lecture 4 Family Rhyme

Phonetic relationships.

 

Consonant groups

Plosives

P T K unvoiced

B D G Voiced (partners)

 

Fricatives

V Th Z Zh J Voiced

F  TH S Sh CH Unvoiced (partners)

 

Nasals

M N Ng

 

Family rhyme definition

Vowed sounds the same “Blood/Mudâ€

Consonants after the vowel if any are phonetically related “ Mud Butâ€

Rhyming syllables begin differently

Family rhyme is not fully resolved.

 

Functions of rhyme

Resolution

Acceleration

 

Lecture 5 Additive and Subtractive rhyme

 

Additive rhymes are where sound is added to the rhyming word like.

Cry/ ride (voice plosive “d) The least sound you add the more stable the rhyme.

Cry/smile is for example less resolved.

Additive rhymes are more stable than subtractive.

 

Subtractive rhymes are where something is removed.

Eg: Smile/cry

 

Lecture six Assonance rhyme

These are always unstable

Definition only the vowel sound rhymes the consonant following are unrelated.

EG:

Life (fricative consonant)

Tide (plosive consonant)

These will diminish forward motion and diminish resolution.

 

Lecture seven consonance rhyme

This is the most unresolved rhyme.

Definition the vowel sounds are different the consonant sounds are the same this is the weakest form of rhyme. But is very expressive eg Hasn’t down the wind. The end of the innocence. (defence/innocence)

 

Stability list in order most stable first

Perfect Rhyme

Family

Additive

Subtractive

Assonance

Consonance

 

 

The rhyme type itself will create emotion in the lyric. 

[derekeverett]

Pat knows his stuff. I took this course back in the new year. I also have a couple of his books. I have found his advice helps me with something pretty much every time I sit down to write, or listen.