| Originally published: June 30, 2020 |
TEXT-BASED SONGWRITING
Do you love words? Do you love finding just the right way to express a moment or a feeling with language? If so, then you are perfect for text-based songwriting. Award-Winning Vocalist and Songwriter Emily Braden explains that songwriters tend to write in two ways: music first, or lyrics first. Either way is valid, and each has its advantages. One of the benefits of starting with the text is that it will often lead to unconventional musical moments that help the song – and its meaning – stand out.
Many songwriters will tell you that writing song lyrics becomes a part of every day life, where you are constantly recording voice memos or jotting down ideas whenever they strike you throughout the day. These ideas can later become part of a poem or song as you re-visit and re-shape them. Some songwriters use poems written by others as the basis of their songs.
Once you have your lyrics, your next step is to create a melody. You might record your melody with a voice memo app or you may write it out with conventional notation, or both! Don’t be afraid to adjust the words to help marry them to the melody and rhythms your are inventing. Many songwriters will collaborate with another composer when it comes to creating a chord progression. Those who play an instrument may not need to collaborate with a composer but there is often a great benefit with the added creative juices from working as a team.
| To watch Emily Braden walk through and demonstrate her poetry-first songwriting process, upgrade and take her course Using Poetry in Songwriting |
MEMORABLE PERFORMANCES
| Keedron Bryant’s singing is beautiful; his message is heartbreaking – and, hopefully thought-provoking. Written by his mom, the 12-year-old gospel singer took our breath away at Singdaptive with the song, “I Just Wanna Live.” Definitely check out the extended remix version by @demjointz. |
Check out our Insta-Live chat with New York-based, Session Singer and Vocal Coach Jaime Babbitt!
DIVE DEEP INTO AUDIO
This is your chance to understand what everyone is talking about when they say things like “compression,” “loudness,” and “filtering.” We’re talking about really, truly understanding – once and for all – the audio concepts that affect your singing life. On July 3rd, 2020 we released the course for singers, “Deep Dive into Audio” by Audio Engineer and Technologist, Kevin Alexander. Check the course preview and subscribe to premium, so you don’t miss out.
Kathy Alexander is VP of Curriculum for Singdaptive. She was a staff writer for 6 years at VoiceCouncil Magazine and works for the University of Victoria as a practicum supervisor. Kathy is also a singer, vocal coach and choir director. Career highlights include guest appearances in Europe with Quannah Parker jazz fusion band in Norway, and back on the West Coast with Vision TV’s Let’s Sing Again, The Sooke Philharmonic Orchestra and the Victoria International Jazz Festival.
