WiLLiE DAVE WiLLiS

Yes that Stephen King. He has a book on writing (right there in the title). He has a band you know… They are called “The Rock Bottom Reminders”. He also claims he writes to music and is a big music fan.

Sooooooo… what can we take from his writing advice and apply it to songs? Here’s a dozen things.

- “Write what you know” should be interpreted as “write what you love”, as in “what you love to listen to”… as long as you tell the truth. If you intend to write as truthfully as you can, your days as a member of polite society are numbered.

- Write what you like, then imbue it with life and make it unique by blending in your own personal knowledge of life, friendship, relationships, work, etc… especially work… people love to talk about work.

- Try anything you like, no matter how boring or outrageous. If it works, fine. if it doesn’t, toss it. Toss it even if you love it. Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch once said, “Murder your darlings,” and he was right.

- Nouns and verbs are the two indispensable parts of writing. Without one of each, you can’t make a sentence.

- Verbs come in two types, active and passive. With the active verb the subject of the sentence is doing something. Use the active and avoid the passive tense.

- The reader (listener) must always be your first concern.

- Adverbs are not your friend. They’re the words that usually end in -ly, avoid them.

- If you don’t want to work your butt off, you have no business trying to write well - just settle for competency and be grateful you have even that.

- He says to be a writer you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot. For songwriting that translates to listen a lot and write a lot.

- The key to good description begins with clear seeing and ends with clear writing, the kind of writing that employs fresh images and simple vocabulary.

- Symbolism does serve a useful purpose, it can serve as a focusing device for both you and your listener, helping to create a more unified and pleasing work.

- Every book worth reading (or song worth singing) is about something.

Well done Stephen King, and only one murder during the whole thing (your darlings - not the real ones, the songwriting ones). Whoda thunk in?

It all begins with a song they say. So let’s start there.

I get in a lot of conversations about songwriting. Maybe because I start them… maybe not. So I’ve decided to do some short “reviews” on some of the best songwriting books I’ve read.

I’m gonna start with Murphy’s Laws of Songwriting by Ralph Murphy, It’s one of the simplest, shortest and one of the best I’ve read.

Ralph was my ASCAP representative for a while and he was always willing to offer up some good advice. Unfortunately he is no longer with us but I don’t think he would mind if I shared my top ten takeaways from his book. I also highly recommend you go pick up a copy for yourself if you can find one. It is currently out of print but it’s totally worth tracking down a used copy.

THE TOP 10 TAKEAWAYS:

1 Start with a “killer” opening line.

2 Make your title original. 
If your title is “I Love You” there may be an originality problem. An original title will also make it easier to find if someone is searching for your song.

3 Have a beginning, middle and end.

4 Get creative - Avoid the same old banal lyrics and clichés.

5 Put your own attitude, vocabulary and technology into the traditional songwriting craft.

6 Change rhyme schemes between Verse and Chorus (Also vary the melody between the two).

7 Lead your listener step by step through the song and deliver them to the hook (The HOOK is the main idea of the song, usually it’s the title). Answer THE one question… What’s this song really about? Create an expectation,,, then fulfill it (Ask a question then answer it).

8 Connection, it’s all about connection. It’s not about you! Give the listener “them”. Your favorite songs gave you… you.

9 Your song has to stand on its own (You don’t get to explain it).

10 You have to LEARN to master the craft of songwriting. When craft and creativity collide the results are usually pretty spectacular.
WHAT iS CRAFT?
Knowing how to use song structure (Vs-Chorus V-C Bridge-Chorus - for example).
Knowing how to use rhyme schemes (ABAB or AABB for example)
Choosing the right pronouns (you, us, we work best to lure the listener in).
Placing the right metaphor.
And pretty much everything else in the Top 10 list above (and the bonus stuff below too).

And a few (10) bonus TRICKS:
1 Don’t rhyme the chorus with anything.
2 Have an internal rhyme before the hook. Ex.- I hate your dog, he ate my frog, and now I hate you.
3 No whining, venting, bitterness or preaching. Use humor and irony.
4 Provide detail. EX- not a tree… an oak tree. Not a swing… a rusty swing. DETAILS MATTER!
5 Surprise me.
6 Engage and include.
7 Melodies and lyrics must work together. Melody lures the listener in. Lyrics keep them involved.
8 Punch lines count… even in songs, don’t forget the setup. Fulfill expectations. 
9 Get to the “Hook” within 60 seconds.
10 Be more than anyone… be a professional. (You have to work at it.) Hemingway wrote every day. Drunk or not.

OK so my Top 10 became a Top 20… I told you it was a good book.
Feel free to share this with any aspiring songwriters in your life.