Songs: Revolution or Evolution?

This week I am reminded that some songs are born of revolution, and others of evolution. Evolution describes a song I just posted: "Who will pray for me now?"

First written in 1997, this song is based on a story about a young women with what she considered an 'inoculated' life style. She also had, perhaps, an over-simplified view of life. Her Grandmother - a deeply religious individual, prayed daily by name for each of her fifty or so grandchildren. With this spiritually prophylactic life philosophy, my protagonist felt immune to her actions... i.e. I'll do whatever I feel like because I know my Grandma is praying for me. When Granny crossed over to the other side, a dose of reality hit. Hard to believe, perhaps, but a true story.

I never was completely satisfied with the lyric, even though I had performed it many times over the years. Recently I refreshed the lyrics after reviewing my notes on it from work-shopping the tune at the Manitoba Independent Song Circle and and the Winnipeg Folk Festival Retreat. After some reflection, I slashed an entire verse, re-ordered some other verses, and tweaked a few lines in the first two verses. This new and improved version feels a lot tighter.

The evolution of this tune has been a great process, if a long one. I invite you to give it a listen on the player at the top right of this blog post, or here, and comment on the song.

Finally I'll repeat a theme from another post: If you don't have song-writing informed friends who can be constructively honest with you about your songs, I highly recommend finding a few friendly critics and mentors. There's not a song I've written that hasn't been improved by some helpful critique from some really smart folks in my circles.

My hat is off to all of you. Thanks!

Arrange yourself! And your music!

Keeping an audience engaged for one or more 30 minute sets of live music is a much bigger challenge for a solo artist than it is for a band (unless, of course, said band has not worked on their arranging skills).

Having been part of a few bands over the decades, I always found it easier to blend my creativity with others to develop a rich sound. In a band, you have loads of potential with other instruments, players, vocalists - and ideas. (Though bands can get into predictable ruts, or overlook obvious arranging mistakes - but that's another post).

Unless you are a talented instrumentalist and vocalist adept at using loopers, your tools for keeping up audience interest are fewer as a solo performer. Here are some antidotes to common mistakes, some more obvious than others, that I've seen performers make (yours truly included). Follow these tips to help keep audience interest up over the long haul:

• Choose a song order that varies the time signature and speed. Intersperse slow songs with faster ones, louder tunes with softer ones, sad themes with uplifting themes. Making sure you have some contrast built into your sets will offer something for everyone.Tossing in an instrumental tune here and there can help vary a set, too.
• Make sure to build some contrast into your individual tunes, too. Even the most basic players can start a song simply and quietly and build it up from there. Consider opening with just a few notes from each chord, and then building into a full chord accompaniment, then bringing your audience down again toward the end of the tune. Whatever you do, avoid playing full out, all the time, at max volume. With all but the most gracious and attentive audiences, you'll soon find yourself in a shouting match with listeners who would rather visit than listen.
• Match your playing to the mood of the song, to the lifts and dips in the lyric. Allow your voice and instrument to bring real emotion to the lyrics. And offer more contrast than you think you need. In my experience, the contrast I hear from myself is several degrees greater than what the audience detects. Nuance can be used to great effect - but it can also be so subtle to the average listener that it goes undetected.
• An appropriately placed but unpredictable pause in a song can make a fidgety audience focus in a way that only silence can. It's a handy tool, but use it sparingly and well.
• More advanced performers can vary their playing style. As a guitarist, I like to switch between rhythm, finger-style, flat-picking, and different guitar tunings, choosing what fits the song best. Audiences really appreciate variety.
• If you can play more than one instrument competently, work a song or two into your set! You don't need top be a virtuoso on a second or third instrument to be appreciated by your audience.
• Enunciate!! Whether it's your lyrics or your between-song intros, enunciate your lyrics and speak clearly and slowly between songs.  Sound systems and room conditions can create echoes that can make you nearly impossible to understand. All the best performers I've seen are very intentional and deliberate about this. You've put a lot of effort into writing your lyrics, now make sure people can hear them.
• Balance. Keep a close ear on your instrument volume relative to your vocal volume. Sound system biases aside, some (even experienced) performers play their instrument so loudly all one can hear is a competition between lyrics and accompaniment.
• It's about more than just the music. Audiences like to get to you know you as a person. Share something of yourself with them, share the story that led to the song, engage them in any little interesting story about something unique that happened that day or week. But do keep it concise and brief. Unless you are very experienced, practice your mini-monologues ahead of time. Folks who consider themselves to be great ad-libbers can babble on at length and bore their audience to tears. Use your lyric writing skills to develop clever banter or inspirational insight between songs - but make sure you keep it shorter than the song itself. I've been to live concerts of big name artists who barely spoke a word between songs. They seem to forget that I can hear their music on a recording. I paid a decent ticket price and came to your live performance for more than that.
• Be careful with humour, whether it's in a lyric or your in-between song banter. Humour is a tricky device that requires a combination of skills best left to practiced artists. But that doesn't mean you can't be funny. Some of my favourite shows featured performers who, by simply, sincerely, and authentically being themselves, were spontaneously funny.
• Be yourself, but not the self you allow yourself to be among your closest family and friends. They know you in context, and will more easily overlook your quirks and jokes (nudge nudge, wink wink) than perfect strangers who may be meeting you for the first time.
• Finally, try as best you can to know your audience. Knowing your demographic will help you choose songs and interact with your audience in genuine ways.

There's a lot to concentrate on as a solo artist. In a band, you can hide behind other players and instruments; when you goof up, it's not always so noticeable. As a solo artist, you're fully exposed (no pun intended) and need to pay attention to a lot of detail. It's a challenge - but there are a good many who have perfected a style and presentation that can blow your socks off. And when you get it right, the satisfaction is extremely rewarding!

Got the beat?

This week I got together with a friend in his studio to lay down foundation tracks for a couple of new tunes I've written. While we had a lot of fun, it was a helpful reminder once again to focus hard on tempo when you rehearse.

I play to a click track when I record at home on my own gear. It's a necessary discipline if you want to add tracks featuring you or other performers later on in the process; you and they will need a rock solid tempo to play to, and won't be able to anticipate a tempo that moves around. (For readers not familiar with the term, a click track is a little automated metronome you hear in your headphones when you record to keep your tempo steady.)

Kelly, my recording engineer, insists artists play to a click track when recording. This critical step can save a lot of time and frustration later on when you're laying down other additional tracks. Kelly says that an artist's willingness to lay down a click track at the outset separates the pro from the amateur. He's worked with too many performers who claim their timing is rock solid, but who are quickly found out when a click track is added (or percussion, instrument tracks, or additional vocals are added later on.) A pro's timing will be dead on with a click track, says Kelly; these folks can lay down repeated takes to a beat that seldom wavers.

It's a good discipline to rehearse frequently to a metronome or some other automated, unwavering timing device that keeps your rhythm on beat throughout a song. If you are are easily frustrated in doing so, keep at it until you perfect it. It'll pay off if you ever play with others or do some recording. And your engineer and fellow musicians will appreciate it, too.

-dan silas

Write what you know...

"Write what you know" is about the most common advice a song writer can receive. It also happens to be the best advice one can take if you want to write songs that move people.

That's not to say great songs can't be written about all kinds of topics that one does not experience first hand. Rather, I think the trick is to spent some imagination time injecting yourself into a given situation so that your emotions about it come through with authenticity. James Keelaghan writes great songs about Canadian history. He manages to inject himself into the story in a way that makes its characters come alive. He seems to live inside the story and its characters for a while, then puts pen to paper and fingers to strings.

If you're unable to do that effectively, keep trying. In my experience, great songs come from living with the story for a while. Subconsciously, my imagination is always brewing up lines that at that time see to come out of nowhere and have no home at the moment. If that happens to you, jot them down. Many writers are collectors of words, phrases, fresh metaphors, and ideas. Much later - sometimes years later - these are pieced together into a brilliantly quilted song. Finally, don't be afraid to throw out a day's work in words. In a documentary by Lian Lunson, Leonard Cohen says, “You have to write down what you have to abandon. You’ve got to see how it works with the whole thing and then throw it away.”

But don't throw it away physically just because it doesn't have a home in particular song. It may well find a home in another project down the road..

On a related theme, last week I performed two new pieces at the Winnipeg Folk Exchange. I expected the tune "No Going Back Can Bring You To Me Now" would go over well. Our foursome had developed a heart-rending arrangement of this break-up song (can there be a more popular theme?) - and the audience did love it. But to my surprise, the song before that ("Killin' Frost") generated more post-performance feedback than I had expected, for a song about critical illness and dying. (Both songs can be found here.)

A minister friend requested the lyrics, and told me he quoted from it three times the next day as he met with people in uncertain health situations. I also received a request from a university student to quote from for a paper she is writing on dying. And in less than a week, a live performance video of the song received 26 views - despite less than ideal audio quality. Who'd of thought a song so weighty would be so well received?

I was anxious that writing about such a heavy topic from a second hand perspective wouldn't seem authentic. But the from the feedback I've received so far, it seems I've written something that resonates with listeners. To me, that's an indication of authenticity in song writing. A rough count immediately brings to mind over a dozen people I personally know who have died from, survived, or are currently living with a life threatening illness - some for the second time. Living with such an uncertain future for yourself or someone dear to you is such a common experience, despite the fact that we all just want it to go away.

While I'm grateful for my good health, it didn't take a huge leap to myself in their shoes - and then capture what it must feel like in a song. So - go forth and write what you know! Whether it's joy or sorrow or humourous or love - it'll shine through in your song when you allow yourself to be vulnerable.

Disclaimer: This post is simply a reflection on my 20 year journey as a songwriter. In no way should it be construed as advice from a professional song writer on how to write a marketable song

Movember, Moustaches, and Music

Movember is a brand new 13th month added the the calendar that has men the world over growing stylish moustaches for the cause of prostate cancer research. Why Movember? Because in a parallel universe, it occurs at the same time as November. And, participants get to be two-faced for a good cause!

In addition to donating my face to the cause (hint, hint - give here, and yes, I became clean shaven in time for Nov. 1 and am presently working on my Grow n' Show status), I have written a song in honour of all those who have ever spent time in that nether-land between knowing you may have a life-threatening illness, but waiting for a confirmed diagnosis and/or treatment. We have all experienced those stuck-in between places of uncertainty at various levels, but I have a special place in my heart for those courageous souls who live there for while, and do so with grace and aplomb.

In honour of anyone that's ever found themselves living in such a time of uncertainty, I'll be performing a new song called "Killin' Frost" tomorrow evening with bassist Rick Unger at the MISC and Winnipeg Folk Festival sponsored Performance Night of Original Music at the Winnipeg Folk Exchange, 211 Bannatyne, Wpg. Doors at 7, stage at 7:30. (see map).

Will other Movemberists be there? Come down and find out!

-dan silas