Admittedly, I found it difficult to find the time last year as well, but this year is particularly difficult.

I’ve managed one song, called Rattle your Jewellery. Here it is:

Download Rattle Your Jewellery

And to be honest, the writing of it was entirely a paint by numbers affair. I used this lovely album cover generator to find a random title. That gave me ‘Rattle Your Jewellery’ which I started messing around with, eventually come up with the first two lines sung over an A Minor chord.

Then I hit a brick wall. What was I going to write? The words seemed to be saying something about empty beauty, the idea of being nothing but your jewellery. So I jotted down some lyrics, all in one take (I still haven’t revised them) and set about filling in the blanks, musically.

It sounded vaguely folky, so I tried using minor folk chords A minor D minor E minor. That sounded too nice, so I added extra notes – a B pedal note, a minor seventh on the D minor and both an F sharp and C sharp in the E minor.

That gave me a verse. How to stretch it out into a whole song? Three verses, with very similar lyrics, a bridge that ended on an E7 to take us into the third verse, plus some A minor noodling with the guitar.

That’ll do, I thought, hit the record button and played the thing in one take, which is what you can hear above.

I’m not too proud of it. I find the best songs always turn up when you’re not trying to write them. It’s usually better therefore to create the situation where inspiration can flow and be caught, rather than trying to force a song.

This song was forced, and it feels that way to me.

Nevertheless, I don’t think it’s a bad song.

Ideas to steal:

Avoid chords sounding everyday by adding unexpected chromatic notes. Got an E minor chord? Stick a C sharp in it!

Use common structures. A A B A can be a real boon if you have an effective verse but can’t think of a chorus.

Instrumental passages can hide a multitude of sins. Seriously, if you’re not sure what should happen next, just throw in a guitar solo!

What’s that then?
FAWM is a songwriting challenge. The idea is to write 14 new songs or pieces of music. If you can, record them upload them and generally share them with others via the website fawm.org.

Is that it?

Not quite. The best thing about FAWM is the community. The FAWM forums are full of wonderful, creative fellow songwriters, all of them eager to leave helpful, constructive comments on your songs. You can find people to collaborate with, people to advise you on recording technology, music theory or any other subject. Most of all, you can find like minded songwriters, all of them eager to expand their song crafting skills.

A lot of my best songs in the last couple of years have been composed as part of the FAWM challenge, and I heartily recommend you give it a go.

If you do, here are a few FAWMers to check out:
Burr Settles (Founder of FAWM)
Charlie Cheney
T.C. Elliott
Helen’s Evil Twin
And of course Me

Five songs, one of which wasn’t really new at all. In fact it wasn’t even a song.

Seven Curses

Download Seven Curses

Started life as an audio sketch this one. Beyond the initial chorus I had absolutely no inspiration, so I had to rely on songwriting ‘tricks’ instead. These included the key change in the verse, the rather banal horro-film lyrics, and throwing in a widdley-widdely guitar solo rather than thinking of a decent bridge.

Fill my head up

Download Fill My Head Up

This was an improvised recording – I threw together a couple of chord progressions, improvised a vocal part and recorded that. Half way through that recording I decided to change key – up a tone again, like I did with Seven Curses when I couldn’t think what else to do.

After that I recorded three takes of backing vocals, and a couple of guitar solos. Given that it only took twenty minutes, I’m quite pleased with this. In particular I like the B Major chord on thechorus line ‘Fill my head up’.

Light a Path

Download Light a Path

I came up with the refrain for this while noodling about between guitar lessons a few weeks ago. Lyrically it’s supposed to be from the point of view of a person of faith. Not of any faith in particular, just general faith in all sorts of crackpot ideas.

I think the melody works for a couple of reasons. One, I’ve used a mixture of voices, including a synth sound. I’ve recently become very partial to a good synth sound.

The other reason is the change in mode – halfway through the melody it changes from major to minor. Gary Ewer has recently written an article about this, and in this case I think it works well.

Two

Download Two

This is the second of three pieces I wrote for flute and guitar during my degree. Not having a flautist to hand, I decided to realise it with guitar and synth. I’m particularly pleased with some of the chords in this: I was trying to come with chords with semitone/compound semitones in them eg. an E and F at the same time or a G and G# at the same time:

- 1 -
- 0 -
- 2 -
- 2 -
- 0 -
- x -

or

- 4 -
- 0 -
- 0 -
- 2 -
- 2 -
- 0 -

Mechanism

Download Mechanism

This was an attempt to write a set of steampunk lyrics – I’m quite happy with them, and also with the dirty synth sound and the chord changes in the verse.

In Summary

I’m hoping to do better next year, and also over this summer’s 50/90 challenge, which I’ll probably have a go at. All told, in the last year I’ve written 15 songs over two FAWMs and 25 songs for 50/90, as well as recording 8 singles for We’ll Write (a total of about 24 tracks so far). That’s a pretty good output, seeing as there aren’t very many throw-away joke songs amongst that (I haven’t got the guts to post the comedy songs that other people do!)

But next time, I’ll actually hit that magic number 14!

Download Seven Curses

Download Fill my Head Up

Download Light a Path

All of which are rough drafts rather than finished versions.

My latest finished songs can be found here.

What’s that?

The Fawm challenge is to write 14 songs during the month of February, and (if you want to) post your lyrics and recordings on the Fawm website.

Fawm.org also allows you to hear what other people have been writing, and the forums and comments are an amazingly constructive and encouraging experience.

In short, Fawm does wonders for your songwriting, whether you manage to complete all 14 songs or not.

It’s a challenge, but it’s great fun!

Still need convincing?

I asked some of the people I’ve met through Fawm.org to shed some light on the experience.

Erik Didriksen says ‘February is otherwise a dreary, dreary month — it’s frigid and snowy out, and baseball season is still two months away.’

(I’m a little bemused by this – as an Englishman I know that baseball is really called ’rounders’ and only played by school girls. I don’t see how this might interest Erik.)

More seriously, for Erik the forums have allowed him to meet other songwriters:

‘I have a little group of friends that I’ve made who are fantastic people, and are tremendous sources of support and inspiration. It’s really neat, because it works cyclically — I get to offer them my two cents, and they offer me theirs, and we all improve and get inspired together.’

I’ve had a similar experience – the supportive comments from people I’ve never met who’ve liked my songs, and the inspiration of having a deadline to meet, have done wonders for my songwriting abilities.

What if I fail?

You won’t. Fawm isn’t monitored or marked – it’s up to you how you measure success. I’d say getting even one song written that you otherwise would not is a major success.

If you’re still unsure, here’s a great list of tips to help you out over the month of February, courtesy of Evin Wolverton. (I also heartily recommend Evin’s podcast ‘Colors of the Ghost‘. Even if he can’t spell ‘colours’)

Hide a pen in the pocket of every jacket you own.
Keep inscribables on your person at all times.
Get a portable voice recorder and aggressively befriend it.
Find a quiet or private space to call your own.
Gather each unused title, tailless phrase, and rickety stanza from your mental attic, and take inventory.
Sweep every melody from under the bed and suck it onto tape.
Keep these things safe and organized.
Get silent, get still.

Notice all the things that task your attention:
Turn off all screens and speakers.
Find a phone that won’t ring.
Turn off the lights.
Acknowledge that part of you is thinking ‘I can’t,’ and turn that off too.
Look through your lists, your thoughts, and your fingers to find an idea that wants more.
Follow it all the way down.

Wake without the radio.
Walk without the walkman.
Underindulge, overinterpret, and break the pattern of numb routine.
Start conversations, overhear conversations.
Get lost in your home town.
Eat foods you don’t recognize.
Ask the questions you’ve kept hidden.
And no matter how incongruous or repetitive your instincts seem,
When they call, answer.

1. 50 songs….. how on earth did you manage that?

Having an understanding family. On Saturdays my wife works and I am off, so except for some running around for the kids I had between 6 and 8 hours to devote to songwriting, recording and posting. Additionally, I was able to squeak out between one and three hours on Tuesday and Thursday nights for the majority of the challenge. I wrote and recorded at other times as time allowed but it was hit and miss at best.
In a way only having three specific times to write was a blessing. It caused me to unconsciously organize my ideas so that when the time came I just started writing. I didn’t prepare, get in the mood, worry or spend my energy on anything other than writing. So I became very productive. The vast majority of my songs were written and posted within an hour each. I really learned how to follow through. In fact, if I didn’t complete a song in one sitting it generally didn’t get completed at all. I found that when I get an idea and I get stuck, I have to fight through it, keep at it and do the hard work it takes to finish the song at that time of creation or else it sits and often stays incomplete.
I work 40-50 hours a week, coach my daughter’s in-line hockey team and both of my daughters and I are within a belt of testing for our Black Belt in ATA Tae Kwon Do. We have classes between 2 and 5 times a week. If I can find the time to write 50 songs anyone can find the time to write 50 songs.

2. Which of your 50/90 songs are you most proud of? What musical characteristics do you think made it successful?

I have narrowed my list of “keepers” down to thirteen songs. Out of those thirteen there are a handful I’m fairly proud of. If I had to choose only one I’d have to say the song “I’m Sorry” It still needs a little editing on the lyric, but it is a sad story with a semi-twist that relates the emotion of being sorry in relation to a loved one. The music is fairly simple, the lyric is somewhat repetitive… all the things you try to avoid in good songwriting. But somehow it speaks to me. This was one of those songs that just kind of wrote itself down and came out pretty much the way it should have. I like the melody and the simple chordal strumming fits without being to simple sounding.

Download I’m Sorry (demo recording).

Other songs I’m proud of are “Oh Lord Take Me Home” a country-gospel song right out of that tradition. It’s old school country, not this new stuff. “Down that Road Again” is a cool melody/chord progression. I don’t do a lot of quick changing chords and this one turned out well. “Heaven’s Gonna Have To Wait” is a good song in the tradition of “Precious Jewel”, traditional folk/country death ballads. A song for one’s wife or husband that has passed. It isn’t quite as old fashioned as it could have been. I really seldom write in that old traditional vein, but I’m beginning to see I have a knack for it.

Download Oh Lord Take Me Home (demo recording).

3. Thought or feeling – how much do you think about the nuts and bolts of your songwriting, how much is emotion, instinct and experience?

I’d say that every song (with very few exceptions) begin with feeling or intuition. I sometimes get a melody in my head and just start singing or playing along until something bubbles out of my subconscious and I write it down. Sometimes I have a phrase, or a title, or a chord progression, or a little riff… something to get me started. I almost always write a lyric after I have a melody or at least a chord progression, even an incomplete one. So for me starting the song is usually instinct or feel. But once I get the first verse or the chorus done, then I use my brain to finish the song. Sometimes the song will write itself down beginning to end and requires just a bit of editing, but normally I have to work at meter and rhyme scheme and different ways of saying what I want to say in order to complete the song. A lot of times I’ll come up with a cool idea that takes the song in a different direction which will have me re-order the verses, or write new
verses or edit verses already written in order to make a more cohesive song. Or maybe just a phrase will pop out that becomes a focal point.
The song “Dead and Gone” was started just as a sappy break up song, fawning after a lost love. But somehow my brain decided it would be cool to have a twist at the end. And it also turned out really well. I still haven’t been able to play that one the way I heard it when I wrote it, but I think it is another that deserves a lot of attention. It is a keeper for sure.

4. Are there any songwriting clichés you try to avoid (eg. particular chord progressions, rhymes etc.)

Well, I don’t want to sound like anything that’s already been written. At least not to the point where someone would hear it and say, “that sounds like such and such song.” It’s cool if someone comments that they can hear the influence of another song, often one I haven’t even thought of. But there is a distinct line there that I try not to cross. I also enjoy singing and playing with the blues and blues structures. But I shy away from using certain cliches such as “baby.” Although I admit I have done it in the past.
So really there is definitely a few things I shy away from, but mostly it shows up as I’m writing. If it sounds hokey, or ripped off, or cheesy I try to change it up or else make it seem intentional. But basically there isn’t anything I go into my songwriting refusing to use, but I think subconsciously there is a mental understanding that some things just don’t work for me.

5. And to finish, an easy one  - What makes a catchy melody?

I don’t know. I just know when one I hear or write is good or when it isn’t. I think most of us subconsciously know when a melody is too cheesy or fit for a “kid” song. But that doesn’t keep us from writing them sometimes. Although it is fun to do things like invert the intervals or reverse the intervals or change the melody rhythmically but keep it the same melodically…. I admit I rarely do this, but it is fun to try new or crazy strategies when you can’t get it to work properly.

“All the posts about changing key and arranging instruments are useful, but before I start doing that, don’t I need a song to arrange? How do I get things written!”

There’s no point worrying about the bassline, the drop chorus or the guitar solo if you haven’t written anything yet. This post should give you a couple ideas about how to get things done.

Last month, as I’ve mentioned before, I took part in February Album Writing Month.

I’ve been writing songs for a good few years now, but in all that time I’ve never been forced to compose to such tight deadlines.

In the end I didn’t quite get the 14 and a half songs written, but I did write a lot more than I thought I would. Doing so meant changing both my working methods and my judgements.

Here are the ideas that helped me:

1. Be prepared. I made sure, for the whole month of February, I had a microphone set up in front of the computer, a guitar and tuner nearby and a notebook constantly at hand. As soon as I had an idea, or even before, I could start recording.
2. Just do it! Two of the songs I wrote were near enough improvisations. Rather than thinking about structure or lyrical ideas, I just started noodling.
3. Start with a first line Which obviously is where you’d usually start, but those two improvised songs started as a first line. That first line informed me what the melody and mood would be, and also what the story of the song would be. Both were on subject i never thought I’d touch in a song.
4. Don’t judge This was the toughest and most important idea to get hold of. The point of the FAWM excercise was to write fourteen songs, not to write fourteen good songs. I had to forget whether the song was any good, and just make sure it was written
5. Use up old ideas Thanks to my trusty notebook and computer archives, I could dig out all those ideas that I hadn’t finished and finally put some work into them.

All of which are ideas that are worth following in songwriting generally.

Before you can perfect a song, you need to write it!

Well, I’ve written 10 songs I wouldn’t have otherwise, so that’s not exactly failure is it? But I’m not going to hit fourteen and a half, simply because I’m running out of time!

Here are the last two songs. I’m particularly proud of ‘Where Once They Had Hearts’.

Ideas to steal from them:

• An ostinato that stays the same while the chords change (E Fsharp Gsharp in ‘In the cellar at number 33′).
• Climaxing on a chromatic chord (the first chord in the chorus of ‘Where once they had Hearts’ isn’t in the mode that the rest of the song is in)

[audio=http://www.wellwrite.co.uk/songwright/tomslatter_whereoncetheyhadhearts.mp3]

Where Once they had Hearts

[audio=http://www.wellwrite.co.uk/songwright/tomslatter_inthecellaratnumber33.mp3]

In the Cellar at Number 33

I’m going to sum up what I’ve learned from my first FAWM adventure in this weekend’s post.

I’ve written and demoed two more songs for Fawm which puts me up to four. Technically this means I’m ahead of schedule, but I’m sure things will happen in the rest of the month to balance this out.

Spinning the Compass 

[audio=http://www.wellwrite.co.uk/songwright/tomslatter_spinningthecompass.mp3]

 To The Empty Sky

[audio=http://www.wellwrite.co.uk/songwright/tomslatter_totheemptysky.mp3]

Ideas to steal:

• Fourths and fifths. Both songs have harmonies that emphasise fourths or fifths. The guitar chords of To The Empty Sky are built using collections parallel fifths, the vox harmonies in Spinning the Compass are sometimes parallel fourths
•  Build up to something. To the Empty Sky is a big build up to the final line. It sticks with the same two chords until that point.
• Move from Major to Minor. To the Empty Sky also move from A minor to a Major frequently
• Change time signature if you need to. Spinning the compass does so frequently.

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[audio=http://www.wellwrite.co.uk/songwright/tomslatter_blackwater.mp3]

First draft lyrics:

Treading water, wound in my side
Overboard in the dark of the night
grinning faces threw me to my doom
and now my arms and legs burn with the strain

Threw me right in, cursing my sins
here alone, I’ll admit that they’re right
All the traces, the things that I’ve done
I thought I’d get away with all that pain

Black water, Floating out on the tide
Salt water, filling me up inside

Once a while ago, thought I might stop
Though I’d sinned there was time to make right
And now pace has, become too much,
as I go under I begin to pray

Black water, Floating out on the tide
Salt water, filling me up inside

But a rescue comes at last
Rough hands pull me out
cold lips on mine
some god took pity on me
some ragged angel came to my side

And if I’ve my time back,
Might I make things right?

But who’s gonna take me in?
If I find a way out of here?

Ideas to steal:

• Main riff is in 7/8
• chorus melody is the same little phrase twice with very different chords underneath: Eb Maj 7 F#min7 Bmin Faug.
• Structure is dictated by the story, so there’ s a big change in pace on the line ‘But a rescue comes at last’

Some more fawmers: Elaine DiMasi Mike Skliar Phil Norman Pigfarmer Jr

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