Songwriting
by Joel Hirschhorn
A Pearson Education Company
To Jennifer, with appreciation for her love, her support, and her creative
brilliance.
Copyright © 2001 by Joel Hirschhorn
All rights reserved. No part of this book shall be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording,
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Publisher
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Managing Editor
Jennifer Chisholm
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Contents at a Glance
Part 1: How to Write a Hit
1 Music Training: Is It a Must?
Make the most of your musical education.
1
3
2 A Century of Songwriting
A look at some of the factors that make a song a hit, from
the era of vaudeville to the age of videos.
13
3 The Idea Is King
Absorb every influence for inspiration and stop suffering
from writer’s block.
25
4 What Comes First, Words or Music?
Well-known songwriters weigh in on this chicken-and-theegg debate.
37
5 Finding and Keeping Collaborators
Communication is the name of the game in establishing a
successful musical marriage.
47
6 Title Power!
A good title helps to tell the song’s story and hook the audience.
59
Part 2: Dressing Up the Song
69
7 The Visual Songwriter
Develop your visual sense, use all your senses in your
songwriting, and you might see a hit record.
71
8 Cooking Up Your Hit Ingredients
With a savory song structure and a rich rhyme scheme
(add a dash of alliteration), you can create a tasty tune.
79
9 Repetition and Hooks
You can say that again!
89
10 The Secrets of Hit Melody Writing
Get the best grooves and killer chords, and you’ll be on
your way to success.
101
11 Rewriting
Fight to make it right.
111
Part 3: Genre Gold
12 Crossing Into Country
Let simple chords and honest heartache lead you to the
Grand Ole Opry.
123
125
13 R&B and Rap
Rhythm plus passion equals chart success.
135
14 Commercials and Children’s Music
The joy of jingles and the charm of children.
147
15 Movie Scoring and Songwriting
From Hammerstein to Horner: how composers match their
music to the movies.
159
16 Live and Animated Musicals
Capturing movie characters with words and music.
171
17 Musicals for the Stage
How to write tunes that win Tonys.
181
Part 4: Showing It Off
197
18 The Power of a Hit Demo
Making a model of a hit song.
199
19 Becoming a Great Song Salesman
Networking your way to your next hit.
211
20 The Singer/Songwriter
Creating an image as an artist and a writer.
223
21 Home Studio
Have the convenience of recording whenever the mood
strikes you.
233
22 Producing Your Own Hit Songs
Writing, recording, arranging, mixing—it’s all you.
243
Part 5: Finishing Touches
255
23 Royalties and Guilds
How BMI and ASCAP help you get what you have coming
to you.
257
24 What’s Happening in Songwriting?
The effects of the Internet on the songwriting industry, and
how the Grammys signal musical trends.
271
Appendixes
A Glossary
287
B Resources
291
C Contests and Competitions
297
Index
299
Contents
Part 1: How to Write a Hit
1 Music Training: Is It a Must?
1
3
Looking at the Hit-Makers....................................................3
Is There Success Without Counterpoint? ................................5
Prestige vs. Poverty ................................................................5
Don’t Delay Your Dreams ....................................................6
From the Harbor Club to Elvis ..............................................6
Make It Big Through a Local Gig ..........................................7
Accompany Your Way to a Hit ..............................................7
Play Sessions ........................................................................7
Join an Orchestra ..................................................................8
Say Yes! ................................................................................8
Put Your Musical Knowledge to Work ................................8
Teach Me Tonight ................................................................8
Write What You Know ..........................................................9
Spin Some Tunes ..................................................................9
Let the Music Keep You Going ..............................................9
Preserving and Submitting Your Songs ................................9
Keep the Cassette Player Running ........................................10
Lead Sheet vs. Lyric Sheet ....................................................11
Preparing a Lead Sheet ........................................................11
2 A Century of Songwriting
13
Hey Mr. Ziegfeld, Here I Am!..............................................13
The Rise of Ragtime ............................................................14
Beyond Blackface ................................................................14
“Give My Regards to Broadway” ........................................15
George M. Cohan ................................................................15
Jerome Kern ........................................................................15
George Gershwin ................................................................16
Irving Berlin, a Man of the People ......................................16
The Elite Cole Porter ..........................................................16
Songs of the Great Depression and World War II ................16
Rodgers, Hart, and Hammerstein ........................................17
Crosby, Sinatra, and the Pop Singers ................................17
The Role of Rock ................................................................17
Rocking the Clock Forward ..................................................18
Bob Dylan ..........................................................................18
Sex in a Red Jumpsuit ........................................................19
The Beach Boys ..................................................................19
The Beatles’ Artistic Fearlessness ........................................19
The Rolling Stones ..............................................................20
Motown Magic ....................................................................20
Independent Women............................................................20
Bruce Springsteen ................................................................21
The Rap Revolution ............................................................21
Michael Jackson and the MTV Explosion ..........................21
Quick Cuts..........................................................................21
Videos Come of Age ............................................................22
A Rock Genre Mini Guide ..................................................22
3 The Idea Is King
25
Banish Writer’s Block ..........................................................26
Dig Deeper ..........................................................................26
Keep Your Eye on the Idea ..................................................26
Satisfy Yourself....................................................................27
Inspiring Characters ..........................................................27
The People on the Street ......................................................28
Loved Ones ........................................................................29
Your Own Life ....................................................................29
Universal Themes ..............................................................29
The Blues............................................................................29
The Tragedy Trigger ............................................................29
Cheating Hearts ..................................................................30
Breaking Up ........................................................................30
Endless Love ......................................................................30
Pride in Your Parents ..........................................................30
Traveling Back in Time ......................................................31
All Apologies ......................................................................31
Mining the Media ..............................................................31
Chance Encounters Lead to Hits ..........................................31
I Am Woman......................................................................32
Simple Starting Points ........................................................32
Devil or Angel ....................................................................32
“Barbara Ann” to “A Boy Named Sue”................................32
Location, Location, Location ..............................................33
The Songwriter’s Paintbrush ................................................33
Animal Magic ....................................................................33
The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Songwriting
Good Days and Bad Days ..................................................33
Questions and Answers ......................................................34
Holiday Songs ....................................................................34
The Four-Minute Screenplay ..............................................34
Priming the Idea Pump ......................................................35
Travel the Highway to Hits ................................................35
4 What Comes First, Words or Music?
37
Working Styles ....................................................................37
Preparing to Create Songs for Artists ................................39
As a Composer....................................................................39
As a Lyricist........................................................................39
Major Songwriters Weigh In ..............................................40
Was Richard Rodgers Wrong? ..............................................40
Tim Rice ............................................................................40
Hal David ..........................................................................40
Randy Newman ..................................................................41
The Rhythm in Your Mind ................................................41
Practice Wearing Both Hats ................................................41
No Borders ..........................................................................42
Take This Song and Shove It................................................42
Don’t Stick to Your Own Area..............................................43
Positive Disaster..................................................................43
Hooked on a Feeling ............................................................44
Feel Your Way to Creativity................................................45
5 Finding and Keeping Collaborators
47
A Roller Coaster Worth Riding ..........................................47
Work Habits ........................................................................49
How Important Is the Job? ..................................................49
Punctuality Problems ..........................................................49
Last-Minute Blues ..............................................................49
Deferring to the Larger Ego ..................................................50
It’s the Song, Stupid ............................................................50
“Let’s Try It Another Way”..................................................50
Stick to Your Guns ..............................................................51
I Do (but Sometimes I Don’t) ..............................................51
Part-Time Collaboration......................................................51
viii
Contents
How to Find Your Partner ..................................................52
Start Locally........................................................................52
Advertise ............................................................................53
Establish Industry Contacts ................................................53
Be in the Right Place at the Right Time ..............................53
Contact ASCAP, BMI, and SESAC........................................54
Go for a Lucky Long Shot ....................................................54
Work an Artist’s Muscle ......................................................54
Cold, Hard Business............................................................55
Inspiration from Across the Sea ........................................55
Long-Distance Gold ............................................................56
Traveling in Your Mind ......................................................56
Starting Out with a Hit ......................................................57
Gaining a Worldwide Reputation ........................................57
6 Title Power!
59
Titles That Tell the Story ....................................................59
Simple and Straightforward ................................................59
Title Characters ..................................................................60
Titles That Set the Tone ......................................................61
Built-In Drama ..................................................................61
The Message in the Music ..................................................62
Pleading, Hoping, Begging ..................................................62
Hot-Blooded ........................................................................62
For All the Victims of the World..........................................63
Title Triggers........................................................................64
Go from Text to Title ..........................................................64
Find the Right Word............................................................64
Dance to the Music ............................................................64
Cover the Country ..............................................................65
Keep Your Titles in the Trunk ..............................................65
Words That Work................................................................65
“Come On, Baby, Light My Fire” ........................................66
Letters ................................................................................66
Cry Your Way to the Charts ................................................66
A Taste of Sugar..................................................................66
One Is the Magic Number....................................................67
Only ..................................................................................67
Kiss ....................................................................................67
First-Line Fever....................................................................67
ix
The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Songwriting
Part 2: Dressing Up the Song
7 The Visual Songwriter
69
71
A Unique Visual Personality ..............................................71
The Visual Lifestyle ............................................................72
Start with Cereal ................................................................72
Live in the Visual Landscape ..............................................72
Twain and Conroy ..............................................................73
The Drama in the Details ..................................................73
Brides and Brothers ............................................................74
Analyze Nonvisual Lyrics ....................................................74
Look for Consistently Visual Writers ..................................74
Describe Everyday Experiences Visually ..............................75
Visual, but Not Verbose ......................................................76
The Other Four Senses ........................................................76
Sound ................................................................................76
Smell ..................................................................................76
Taste ..................................................................................76
Touch ................................................................................76
Writing with the Five Senses ..............................................77
Look at Who’s Talking ........................................................77
Write It All Down ..............................................................77
Music and Colors ................................................................78
8 Cooking Up Your Hit Ingredients
79
Rhyming Time ....................................................................79
Types of Rhymes ................................................................80
A Hit Mixture ....................................................................80
Endings That Set You Free ..................................................81
Inner Rhymes ......................................................................81
Wayward Rhymes ..............................................................81
Rhymes Without Reason ....................................................82
Rhymes That Box You In ....................................................82
In Search of Colorful Rhyme Words ..................................82
Rhyming Dictionaries ..........................................................83
Rhyme Schemes ..................................................................84
Other Hit Ingredients ........................................................85
Structure ............................................................................85
Alliteration ........................................................................86
Vibrant Vowels ..................................................................87
Act Out Your Lyrics ............................................................87
x
Contents
9 Repetition and Hooks
89
Styles of Musical Repetition ..............................................89
The Strength of Simplicity ..................................................91
Repeat Hits ........................................................................92
Repetition and Tempo..........................................................92
Hooking the Audience........................................................92
Hooking the Emotions ........................................................92
Developing Your Hook Consciousness ..................................94
Creating and Testing Your Hooks ......................................94
Verse vs. Hook ....................................................................95
Instrumental Breaks ............................................................95
Sleep on It ..........................................................................95
What Hooks Your Friends? ..................................................95
Tell Yourself the Truth ........................................................96
Instrumental Icing: Figures and Riffs ................................96
Figure on Catchy Figures ....................................................96
Write Cool Riffs ..................................................................97
10 The Secrets of Hit Melody Writing
101
What Makes a Tune Singable?..........................................102
Reliable Rhythms ..............................................................103
Prosody..............................................................................107
You Gotta Shop Around ....................................................108
Do a Prosody Search..........................................................108
11 Rewriting
111
Bad Reasons to Avoid Rewriting ......................................111
The Best Things Will Be Thrown Away ............................112
The Rhyme Is Fine ............................................................112
Second Verses Aren’t That Important ................................113
The Bridge Is No Big Deal ................................................113
It’s Just a Little Like Britney ..............................................113
But the Rhythm Fits the Words! ........................................113
I’ll Fix It in the Studio ......................................................114
My First Draft Is Always the Best ......................................114
I Just Want It Done ..........................................................114
The Title Is Strong Enough ................................................114
The Ending Is Okay ..........................................................115
It’s Not Worth Bothering About ........................................116
You’re a Genius ................................................................116
You Do It! ........................................................................117
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The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Songwriting
Starting the Process ..........................................................117
Take It from the Top ........................................................118
It’s His Song, Not Mine ....................................................118
Tell Yourself It’s Fun..........................................................118
Create Your Own Time Patterns ........................................118
Choose the Right Environment ..........................................118
Staying with It ..................................................................119
The Record Lost Its Bullet..................................................119
This Is Show Business ......................................................119
Try a Different Instrument ................................................120
Let the Song Breathe..........................................................120
Going in Reverse ..............................................................121
Part 3: Genre Gold
12 Crossing Into Country
123
125
Nashville News..................................................................125
A Little Background ..........................................................126
The Currents of Country....................................................127
Musical Elements of Country ..........................................130
Chord Patterns of Country ................................................131
Keeping the Nashville Flavor ............................................132
Recommended Listening ..................................................133
13 R&B and Rap
135
Birth of the Blues ..............................................................136
Minstrel to Motown ........................................................136
The Johnson Influence ......................................................137
Jordan’s Jump....................................................................137
The Gospel Truth ..............................................................137
Doo Wop ..........................................................................138
Early R&B Hits ................................................................138
The Motown Sound ..........................................................139
The Many Faces of R&B....................................................139
The Sound of Young America ............................................139
Chicago Soul ....................................................................140
Southern Soul....................................................................141
Funk: Forerunner of Rap....................................................141
Disco and Dance ..............................................................141
xii
Contents
Rap and Hip-Hop ..............................................................142
Hip-Hop to the Top ..........................................................143
Going to Extremes ............................................................143
Regan on Rap....................................................................143
Rapturous Albums ............................................................144
Rhythm and Rap ..............................................................145
14 Commercials and Children’s Music
147
Composing Commercials ................................................148
Getting Engaged ................................................................148
Pressing the Right Buttons ................................................149
Ready to Write ..................................................................150
Analyze the Objective ........................................................150
Give Me “Yesterday” ........................................................150
Don’t Be Obscure ..............................................................150
Personality ........................................................................151
Play with Words ..............................................................151
Think Showtime! ..............................................................151
Don’t Bury the Singer ........................................................151
Offer a Choice ..................................................................152
Don’t Wing It ..................................................................152
What’s the Deal? ..............................................................152
Publishing ........................................................................152
Getting Paid......................................................................152
Package Deals and Their Drawbacks ................................153
The Market for Children’s Songs......................................153
Do Your Research ..............................................................153
Educational Productions ....................................................153
Respecting the Minds of Children ..................................154
Make It Modern ................................................................154
Keep It Moving..................................................................155
Create Characters, Not Caricatures....................................155
Thou Shalt Not Preach ......................................................155
Frame Your Story ..............................................................155
Match the Songs to the Story ............................................156
Don’t Be Afraid to Be Dark ..............................................156
Free Your Mind..................................................................157
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The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Songwriting
15 Movie Scoring and Songwriting
159
Scorers as Songwriters ......................................................159
Make It Happen ................................................................160
Read the Hollywood Bibles ................................................161
The Fat Spy—No Jurassic Park............................................161
Respect Your Material ........................................................162
A Successful Disaster—on Spec ..........................................162
Have a Strategy ................................................................163
Underscoring ....................................................................163
In the Scoring Game ........................................................164
Follow the Right Leader ....................................................164
Provide Reassurance ..........................................................164
Ask Questions and Do Your Research ................................165
Work Closely with the Music Supervisor ............................165
Talking About Titles..........................................................166
Spotting the Picture ..........................................................166
Practical Scoring Tips........................................................168
Get Into It ........................................................................169
16 Live and Animated Musicals
171
Not Eliza Doolittle, but a Dragon ....................................172
Keeping Up with Current Styles ......................................172
Television Musicals ..........................................................172
Music Behind the Scenes....................................................173
Dialogue vs. Music............................................................173
The Song’s the Thing ........................................................174
Nailing the Characters ......................................................174
Where Songs Belong ..........................................................174
Easy Does It......................................................................175
Stand Up to Stars ..............................................................175
The Performers and the Song ..........................................176
Bring Out the Actor’s Best Qualities ..................................177
Vocal Ranges That Match..................................................177
Every Job Is Your Job ........................................................177
Arranger and Best Friend ..................................................177
Think Like a Choreographer ..............................................178
I Just Want This Small Change ........................................178
Monetary Rewards from a Musical ..................................179
xiv
Contents
17 Musicals for the Stage
181
Creating an Illusion of Reality ........................................181
Belting to the Balcony ......................................................182
Songs on Stage and Screen ................................................183
Important Musical Categories ..........................................183
Adult Fairy Tales: Love Heals ............................................183
The Revue ........................................................................184
The Historical Musical ......................................................185
The Musical Fantasy ........................................................186
The Musical Biography......................................................186
Novel Adaptations ............................................................187
Play Adaptations ..............................................................188
Movie Adaptations ............................................................188
Offbeat Adaptations ..........................................................189
Shakespeare and the Bible ................................................189
Originals ..........................................................................189
Get It on the Stage............................................................189
Show Me the Money ..........................................................190
Do a Local Production ......................................................190
Be a Talent Scout ..............................................................191
Hold a Workshop ..............................................................191
Take It on the Road ..........................................................192
Cut a CD..........................................................................192
Find Available Theaters ....................................................192
The Producer’s Viewpoint ..................................................193
Hits from Shows................................................................193
Special Material ................................................................194
Part 4: Showing It Off
18 The Power of a Hit Demo
197
199
Choosing Your Musical Approach....................................200
Piano-Voice Demos ..........................................................200
Guitar-Voice Demos ..........................................................201
Voice with Piano, Guitar, Bass, and Drums ......................201
Cover Your Bases ..............................................................201
Finding the Singer and Musicians....................................201
Choosing the Singer ..........................................................201
Picking the Right Musicians ..............................................202
xv
The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Songwriting
Locating the Best Players ..................................................202
When You’re the Artist......................................................203
Figuring Costs ..................................................................204
Royalties: Targeting Elvis ..................................................204
Prepare Now or Pay Later ..................................................204
Making the Demo ............................................................205
Choosing a Studio ............................................................205
Enlisting Creative Support ................................................205
Staying Creatively Focused ................................................206
Holding Your Ground on Tempo ........................................206
Handling Studio Disasters ................................................206
Demos at Home ................................................................207
Upgrade Slowly ................................................................207
Who Uses What ..............................................................207
Be a Maniac About the Mix ..............................................208
Demo Presentation ..........................................................208
19 Becoming a Great Song Salesman
211
Casting Your Songs ..........................................................212
Ricky Martin Is on Tour ....................................................212
Listen to the Artists’ Records ............................................213
Personal Casting That Worked ..........................................213
Selling to a Publisher ........................................................215
The Right Publisher ..........................................................215
Publishers with Production Companies ..............................216
What Good Publishers Do for You ....................................216
Working for a Publisher ....................................................218
Sign with a Publisher or Freelance? ................................218
Signing Up ........................................................................218
Doing Your Own Publishing ..............................................220
Creative Selling ................................................................220
20 The Singer/Songwriter
223
What Makes a Good Agent? ............................................224
Small Agencies ..................................................................224
The Big Enchiladas ..........................................................225
Managers ..........................................................................225
Mutual Obsession ............................................................225
I Just Want to Be Your Everything......................................225
A Lawyer You Can Trust ..................................................226
xvi
Contents
You Gotta Shop Around ....................................................226
Don’t Be Frightened by Fees ..............................................226
Do You Have What It Takes? ............................................226
Who Are Your Future Fans? ..............................................226
What Do You Look Like? ..................................................227
Russ Regan’s Rules ............................................................227
Feed the Media Monster ..................................................228
Signing with a Label ........................................................229
The Majors ......................................................................229
The Minors ......................................................................230
Come to the Cabaret ........................................................230
21 Home Studio
233
Embracing the Technology ..............................................234
Equipment Choices............................................................234
Roger LaRocque’s Experience..............................................234
Ease into the Manual ........................................................235
Equipment Terms ..............................................................235
Where to Buy....................................................................237
Computer Software............................................................237
Equipment Recommendations ........................................237
Roger’s Picks ....................................................................237
Memory ............................................................................238
Workstation ......................................................................238
Other Inexpensive Approaches ..........................................238
Making Music ..................................................................239
Live vs. Synthesizers: No Conflict! ....................................239
Keep It Short ....................................................................240
Mixing ..............................................................................240
Old vs. New Arranging ......................................................241
Engineering a Session ......................................................241
22 Producing Your Own Hit Songs
243
How Do You Learn to Produce? ......................................243
A Producer’s Job ................................................................245
Techno or No? ..................................................................245
How Involved Will You Be? ..............................................246
Be a Director ....................................................................246
Planning a Recording Date ..............................................246
What Are the Songs? ........................................................246
Try Different Studios ........................................................247
xvii
The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Songwriting
The Engineer ....................................................................247
Up-Front Budgeting ..........................................................247
Earnings ..........................................................................248
Rehearsal ..........................................................................248
In the Studio ....................................................................249
One Hundred Ways to Confuse Yourself ............................249
Artists Are Only Human....................................................249
Musical Approaches ..........................................................249
Soul Power ........................................................................249
Potent Performances ..........................................................250
Good Goofs ......................................................................250
Experiment........................................................................250
Be Weird If It Works ........................................................250
Play with the Atmosphere..................................................251
Vary Your Themes ............................................................251
Voice First ........................................................................251
You Have to Love It, Too ..................................................252
Top Producers ..................................................................252
Part 5: Finishing Touches
255
23 Royalties and Guilds
257
The Big Three: ASCAP, BMI, and SESAC ..........................258
Basic Functions ................................................................258
Distribution of Royalties....................................................259
ASCAP ..............................................................................259
Membership ......................................................................260
Showcases and Awards ......................................................260
Payment Procedure ............................................................261
Payment System ................................................................261
ASCAP Locations ..............................................................262
BMI....................................................................................262
Membership ......................................................................263
Seminars, Workshops, and Showcases................................263
Payment Procedure ............................................................264
Payment System ................................................................266
BMI Locations ..................................................................266
xviii
Contents
SESAC ................................................................................267
Copyright Basics ..............................................................267
Copyright Registration ......................................................268
Watch Out! ......................................................................268
The Songwriter’s Guild of America ..................................269
The Guild’s Creed..............................................................269
The Popular Songwriter’s Contract ....................................269
Copyright Act of 1976 ......................................................270
24 What’s Happening in Songwriting?
271
The Good New Days ........................................................272
Steve Schalchlin’s Internet Miracle ..................................272
The AIDS Crisis and the Internet ......................................273
More Online Miracles ........................................................274
Napster ..............................................................................274
Fund-Raising ....................................................................275
The Future of Music Downloading ....................................275
Working the Internet........................................................276
But He’s Too Important! ....................................................277
Tonos................................................................................277
Record Labels ....................................................................278
Workshops ........................................................................278
Publishers ........................................................................279
The Importance of History ..............................................279
The Simon Syndrome ........................................................280
Other Opinions ................................................................280
Looking Ahead..................................................................280
Reading the Grammy Tea Leaves ....................................280
Song of the Year ................................................................281
The Freelance Writer’s Heroine ..........................................281
Best Rock Song ..................................................................282
Best R&B Song ..................................................................282
Best Country Song ............................................................283
Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television,
or Other Visual Media ....................................................283
Other Categories................................................................284
Grammys 2001 ................................................................284
Common Denominators ..................................................284
xix
Appendixes
A Glossary
287
B Resources
291
C Contests and Competitions
297
Index
299
Foreword
The majority of books about songwriting are written by individuals who have never
had a hit. Contrast that with Joel Hirschhorn, who has won two Oscars (four nominations), five BMI Awards, a People’s Choice Award, and four Angel Awards. He is also a
two-time Tony nominee for Best Broadway musical score and the recipient of four
Golden Globe nominations. Joel is the only composer/lyricist I know who has triumphed in every medium: pop, R&B, country, theater, and movie musicals—and he
has sold over 93 million records!
Joel and I met under the most auspicious of circumstances. He co-wrote two Oscarwinning songs, “The Morning After” from The Poseidon Adventure and “We May Never
Love Like This Again” from The Towering Inferno. Both became million sellers worldwide and launched my career as a singer when I recorded them.
Aside from being a singer and an actor, one of my greatest loves is songwriting. I’ve
recorded and performed many of my compositions in regional children’s theater and
concert halls, on television around the world, and with symphony orchestras, including the National Symphony and the Hartford Symphony Orchestra.
As a composer and a singer, I so deeply appreciate Joel’s clear, practical approach to
the composing craft. When he talks about “hooks,” it’s because he learned through
trial and error (in the form of publishers, artists, and producers) that a song without
a hook will be a song without a chart position. When he stresses the importance of
ideas, titles, visual action, and structure, it’s because he learned firsthand that including those elements almost always guaranteed acceptance.
His chapters on rewriting and demo production are valuable lessons in how to polish
a song and show it to its best advantage. The advice Joel gives on casting and promoting your material offers indispensable shortcuts to success for the novice as well as the
seasoned songwriter. You’ll also see “what works” for Diane Warren, Stephen Sondheim, Billy Joel, Marvin Hamlisch, and other classic songwriters such as Johnny Mercer,
Richard Rodgers, Oscar Hammerstein, Jule Styne, and Sammy Cahn.
I’ve always called “The Morning After” the “generic hope anthem” because it was generally specific for the movie, but also specifically general enough for the public to embrace it outside of the film and apply it to their own lives. Some 28 years later, I still
receive letters from people telling me how “The Morning After” has changed or saved
their lives or has seen them through difficult times with its life-affirming message, and
that kind of reaction is the true test of a timeless song.
Any person who has had recording hits by such diverse artists as Elvis Presley, Sheena
Easton, Julian Lennon, Taj Mahal, Charlie Rich, Roy Orbison, Charles Aznavour, and
yours truly has insights that no other book writer on contemporary songwriting can
duplicate.
If you want a career in composing or lyric writing, one that covers every conceivable
area, you will find that in this gracious and insightful book; Joel Hirschhorn has
dozens and dozens of great ideas, and our creative road is easier to travel for his sharing them with us. Thank you, Joel!
Maureen McGovern
Los Angeles
December 2000
Maureen McGovern’s 28-year career spans recordings, concerts, theater, films, television, and radio. Her children’s musical, The Bengal Tiger’s Ball, had its East Coast
premiere in 1999; Maureen wrote the music, co-created, and starred in the show. Her
films include Airplane, Airplane II: The Sequel, The Towering Inferno, The Cure for
Boredom, and the voice of Rachel in DreamWorks’ animated video/DVD Joseph: King
of Dreams! Her recording career began with being nominated for a Grammy for the
Oscar-winning gold record, “The Morning After,” from The Poseidon Adventure, followed by the Oscar-winning gold record “We May Never Love Like This Again” from
The Towering Inferno. Maureen made history in 1975 as the first singer to record two
Oscar-nominated songs in the same year, “We May Never Love Like This Again” and
“Wherever Love Takes Me” from Gold.
Introduction
When I first began writing songs, Manhattan’s Brill Building was the magnet that
drew every hungry, starry-eyed songwriter. Music publishers waited in their dark, tiny
offices while eager hopefuls like me knocked on their doors, ventured timidly inside,
and said, “I’ve got a song. I think it’s a hit.”
In those days, kids off the street could wander in and be assured of an audience. The
first person to hear my masterpiece, “I’m Going to Peggy’s Party,” was named Sal
Giancarlo. He was six feet four and 300 pounds and resembled a wrestler more than a
man of musical taste. The needle went on the vinyl, and he listened, legs sprawled
over his desk. After three or four bars, he abruptly yanked off the needle and said,
“Buddy, this song doesn’t have enough fire. Passion. And remember,” he continued,
delivering the worst possible advice any newcomer could receive, “craft doesn’t matter
in pop music. You have to feel it, and it’ll come out right.”
Minutes later, I was out on the street. My bleak mood wasn’t helped by a sudden, drenching rain that soaked my sheet music. There’s nothing more depressing than feeling
like an 18-year-old has-been, and I walked down Broadway, replaying his words.
Over 30 years later, I now realize that Mr. Giancarlo was half right: passion matters intensely. But passion without craft is a shortcut to oblivion. Even the successful songwriters who can’t articulate all their composing methods have an instinctive understanding
of certain rules. When a writer has no grasp of structure, his or her songs wander aimlessly. The music doesn’t build, the rhythms are static, and the rhymes are clichéd.
This talk of craft is not to exclude emotion: Without it, songwriting is meaningless.
But no architect would build a house, however beautiful, without a foundation. This
book will teach you how to build that foundation and incorporate all the necessary
elements so that your songs will be recorded and reach an international audience.
As a two-time Oscar winner and composer/lyricist of songs that have sold over 93 million copies, I’ve been fortunate. En route to those achievements, however, I fell into
every trap and made every mistake. My goal is to provide you with the knowledge you
need to avoid most of the pitfalls.
This book deals with the vital need for repetition, the ingredients required for a hit
hook, and the importance of a colorful title. I also talk about the elements that make
a melody unforgettable and analyze chord progressions to illustrate which ones draw
the strongest response.
Through examination of various rhythms, you’ll see which ones stimulate listener excitement. By studying lyrics from all genres (pop, country, R&B, hip-hop, theater, and
motion pictures), you’ll become aware of why certain words touch the heart and stir
the senses. After I cover basic rules for hit melodies, lyrics, and rhythms, you’ll learn
how to cut the kind of demo that excites producers and artists.
The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Songwriting
Finally, this book will teach you how to sell the hit song you’ve just written. The outlets for selling your material are greater than ever, but you have to know who to approach and how. Let me show you what those rules are and spell out the steps of the
game, so you can play it and crash the Top 10.
The late Curtis Mayfield, legendary lead singer of the Impressions and writer of such
classics as “Amen,” “Keep on Pushing,” and “It’s All Right,” once told me, “People
listen to songs on the radio, then do the opposite. The rules are there—why do so
few composers bother to learn them?”
The first thing this book asks you to do is absorb every influence around you and be
willing to learn your craft. Writing hits is amazingly easy if you keep an open mind.
You may have talent, but in this book, you’ll find the tools for success that all major
songwriters use.
How to Use This Book
This book is divided into five parts:
Part 1, “How to Write a Hit,” deals with the many ways you can support yourself in
musical fields while working to get your first break. It examines the issue of formal
training and how to educate yourself musically even if you’ve never had a lesson. You
can discover what influence the various eras of the twentieth century had on the hit
songs of the day and learn about the most important element of successful songwriting:
a great idea! The best writers don’t just wait for ideas to magically show up; they have
numerous ways to locate them, and you’ll find out what these ways are in this part.
Words or music: What comes first? This question is explored through the work of
classic and contemporary songwriters. Finding and keeping collaborators is another
matter of tremendous concern to songwriters. I discuss all those unwritten rules that
ensure a harmonious, long-lasting, and successful collaboration.
You’ll also need dynamite titles for your songs. I point out the difference between an
ordinary title and one that takes you to the top of the charts and what route the legendary songwriters took to find their best titles. This road is available to every composer and lyricist.
Part 2, “Dressing Up the Song,” gives you vital tips about writing once your idea is
hatched. We live in a visual age, and you’ll learn how to sharpen your sense of sight,
as well as smell, hearing, taste, and touch. I cover all kinds of rhyme and go over the
basic rhythmic grooves that producers and artists look for. I also explain the foundation of popular songwriting: the hook. Once you get the hang of writing a hit hook,
you’re home free, and this part will show you how to do it.
No one wants to rewrite, but it’s often inescapable. You’ll see how to ease into it by
accepting the fact that it will make you a better songwriter.
xxiv
Introduction
Part 3, “Genre Gold,” points out the elements that make great country, R&B, and hiphop songs. I also cover how to write and sell commercials as well as children’s music.
As a two-time Best Score Tony nominee for Best Broadway musical (Copperfield and
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers) and two-time Oscar nominee for best movie musical
(Pete’s Dragon), I lived through the process of creating shows from the ground up. I also
had the benefit of a brilliant mentor, Irwin Kostal (who scored The Sound of Music, Mary
Poppins, and West Side Story for films). The information that you’ll find here on movie
and theater musicals explains everything you need to know about writing a show and
getting it produced. You’ll also learn how to write the kind of motion picture song that
works within the film and has the ingredients to become a hit outside of it.
Part 4, “Showing It Off,” moves beyond writing into the commercially crucial phase:
getting your song sold. I talk about the secrets of cutting a demo that matches any
record on the air for quality, a demo so realized and exciting that artists and producers
can’t resist it.
As a songwriter today, it pays to think of yourself as a producer, and the chapter on
record production will help you to build and polish your producing skills, whether
you work in a rented studio or your own home setup.
Part 5, “Finishing Touches,” educates you about protecting your material. Royalties
are a songwriter’s lifeblood, and such organizations as BMI, ASCAP, SESAC, and the
Songwriter’s Guild of America exist to help you hold on to the money you earn and
negotiate the best contracts.
I discuss the miraculous new ways the Internet can aid your career, as an invaluable
research tool and a link to other writers, producers, and artists. I also look at the dynamics of popular music today and why opportunities for songwriters will continue
to increase as traditional genre lines break down and recombine.
Finally, this book provides you with a glossary of key musical terms; a list of helpful
Web sites; the names of influential publishers, organizations, and trade papers; and a
guide to songwriting contests and competitions you can enter.
Extras
In addition to the information in the chapters and appendixes, the sidebars throughout the book contain fascinating quotes from songwriters and others in the music
business, cautionary tales, helpful advice, and translations of terms you may not be familiar with. Here’s what to look for:
xxv
The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Songwriting
Trouble Clef
Backstage Banter
You can avoid 95 percent of the
pitfalls if you’re aware of what
they are. These sidebars give you
every warning you need to know.
Read these sidebars for colorful,
informative quotes and stories
about your favorite performers
and songwriters.
Lyrical Lingo
Hirschhorn’s Hints
These basic terms will equip you
for dealing with the professional
songwriting world.
These tips make the path to
composing, producing, and
selling songs easier.
Acknowledgments
My deepest thanks to Amy Zavatto and Doris Cross for their guidance, friendship,
and enormous skill in helping me put together this manuscript. I’d also like to express gratitude to Maureen McGovern, Marvin Hamlisch, Jerry Herman, Lee Holdridge, Peter Bart, Phil Gallo, Ramin Zahed, Roger LaRocque, Mark Wyckoff, Lisa
McKinnon, James Brochu, Steve Schalchlin, Russ Regan, Frances Preston, Del Bryant,
Paige Sober, Michael Kerker, Rodney Mencia, Rob O’Neill, Madeleine and Richard
Desjardins, Evelyn Hirschhorn, Kevin Carter, Brent Carter, Derek Carter Jr., Arthur
Seidelman, Dimitri Logothetis, Aaron Meza, Emily Carter, Doreen Ringer Ross, Will
Jennings, Fred Karlin, Carole Bayer Sager, Alan Menken, Michael Gore, Paul Williams,
and Justin Tseng.
xxvi
The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Songwriting
Trouble Clef
Backstage Banter
You can avoid 95 percent of the
pitfalls if you’re aware of what
they are. These sidebars give you
every warning you need to know.
Read these sidebars for colorful,
informative quotes and stories
about your favorite performers
and songwriters.
Lyrical Lingo
Hirschhorn’s Hints
These basic terms will equip you
for dealing with the professional
songwriting world.
These tips make the path to
composing, producing, and
selling songs easier.
Acknowledgments
My deepest thanks to Amy Zavatto and Doris Cross for their guidance, friendship,
and enormous skill in helping me put together this manuscript. I’d also like to express gratitude to Maureen McGovern, Marvin Hamlisch, Jerry Herman, Lee Holdridge, Peter Bart, Phil Gallo, Ramin Zahed, Roger LaRocque, Mark Wyckoff, Lisa
McKinnon, James Brochu, Steve Schalchlin, Russ Regan, Frances Preston, Del Bryant,
Paige Sober, Michael Kerker, Rodney Mencia, Rob O’Neill, Madeleine and Richard
Desjardins, Evelyn Hirschhorn, Kevin Carter, Brent Carter, Derek Carter Jr., Arthur
Seidelman, Dimitri Logothetis, Aaron Meza, Emily Carter, Doreen Ringer Ross, Will
Jennings, Fred Karlin, Carole Bayer Sager, Alan Menken, Michael Gore, Paul Williams,
and Justin Tseng.
xxvi
Songwriters Sing the Praises of Joel Hirschhorn
and His Complete Idiot’s Guide to Songwriting
“Joel Hirschhorn has won two Best Song Oscars and has been nominated for two Tony
Awards and four Golden Globes. The writing principles he used and the secrets of his
amazing success are contained in these remarkable pages. Joel covers it all in absorbing
detail—from first demos to gold records—with practical, instructive chapters on finding
collaborators, writing Top 10 lyrics and melodies, and developing the knack of selling your
material. If you want to know how to write million sellers and award-winning songs, this is
the book for you.”
—Marvin Hamlisch, “The Way We Were,” “Nobody Does It Better,” A Chorus Line
“Anyone who has sold 93 million records, won two Oscars for Best Song, and been
nominated for two Tony Awards for Best Broadway Score has seen and done it all. In this
practical and fascinating book, Joel reveals all the secrets that brought him fame and recognition. These invaluable tips will benefit every songwriter and give him the keys he needs
for success.”
—Jerry Herman, Hello, Dolly!, Mame, La Cages Aux Folles
“Here’s a book that offers realistic, practical advice on how to tap your hit potential, from a
two-time Oscar winner who’s traveled every road—from the Brill Building to Broadway.”
—Carole Bayer Sager: Arthur, “Nobody Does It Better,” They’re Playing Our Song
“Here’s a great collection of tips for anyone interested in writing songs, film scores, and
stage musicals.”
—Paul Williams, “Evergreen,” “We’ve Only Just Begun”
Part 1
How to Write a Hit
If you love music and you’re determined to succeed as a songwriter, you have the potential to do it, even if you have no musical training. The first and most important step
is to learn everything you can about songwriting and what makes a song a hit. Part 1
begins with ways to go about getting this education by finding work that can finance
some musical training while also increasing your knowledge of the music business.
Understanding how historical events and social attitudes influenced which songs became
hits during the twentieth century sets the stage for exploring what hits are made of.
Yip (E. Y.) Harburg, who wrote the lyrics for The Wizard of Oz, once said, “It doesn’t
matter what else you have if you don’t have the idea.” You’ll discover how to find and
tap into all the great ideas around you. You’ll learn about the many ways that words and
music can come together and find out how to meet the right partner, establish a successful working routine, and keep the partnership going no matter what pressures arise.
Most of the major songwriters feel that their work is half done if they come up with
an exciting title. Why do some titles instantly grab the public’s imagination? I analyze hit titles, past and present, and determine which ones have built-in hit potential.
Chapter 1
Music Training:
Is It a Must?
In This Chapter
➤ How training helps
➤ Ways to learn while you earn
➤ How to preserve and submit what you write
I remember my mother standing over me, urging me to practice the Beethoven piece
my teacher had assigned me for that week. I was bored and rebellious, and finally I
shouted, “I want to be a songwriter. How can studying Beethoven help?” She shrugged
her shoulders and said, “How can it hurt?”
Years later, I’m grateful for my mother’s advice. Admittedly, formal knowledge of
music isn’t necessary to become a hit songwriter. Songwriting, as multimillion-selling
composer Barry Mann has said, is an inborn ability. You may hit Billboard’s top spot
without a single lesson of any kind. But a musical background can make songwriting
success easier.
Looking at the Hit-Makers
Songwriters can be trained by teachers or be entirely self-taught. The question is: If
you want to make a career of songwriting, how much training do you need? Let’s look
at some chart-topping writers for an overview.
These songwriters studied music from the time they were young:
➤ Sheryl Crow received a degree in classical music from the University of Missouri
and taught music at a St. Louis elementary school.
Part 1 ➤ How to Write a Hit
➤ Bo Diddley studied violin as a child at the Ebeneezer Baptist Church in
Mississippi.
➤ Ray Charles learned classical piano at St. Augustine’s School for the Deaf and
Blind in Orlando.
➤ Marvin Gaye was taught piano and drums at an early age.
➤ Quincy Jones, who scored the Oscar-nominated Steven Spielberg film The Color
Purple, was a master on trumpet by age 13. At 17, he won a scholarship to the
Berklee School of Music in Boston.
➤ Janis Ian, writer of the groundbreaking “Society’s Child,” started her classical
training at the tender age of 2, and Billy Joel began piano lessons at 4 and continued them until he was 14.
Hirschhorn’s Hints
More important than training and hard work is to believe in yourself and never give up.
Martika, who wrote and recorded the number-one hit “Toy Soldiers,” was two years old
when she begged to go to dance and ballet class. At age 11, she was combing the telephone directory for agents, and by 12, she landed a role in the film version of Annie.
On the other hand, many successful songwriters took
a different road:
➤ Pete Townshend of The Who admits to being a
self-taught guitarist, motivated by his desire to
“get girls.
Lyrical Lingo
Counterpoint is note against
note. This type of polyphonic
music weaves and fits two or
more together, or it weaves the
same melody around itself.
4
➤ Felice Bryant, who had numerous country hits
with her husband Boudleaux Bryant, couldn’t
play an instrument or read music. She sang all
her songs into a tape recorder or to her husband/collaborator, who then wrote them down.
➤ Barry White, whose melodies are now a recurring plot device on the hit series Ally McBeal,
claims he has a “fantastic rhythm ability” although he’s never had music lessons.
Chapter 1 ➤ Music Training: Is It a Must?
Is There Success Without Counterpoint?
You don’t have to be a walking textbook on theory,
harmony, and counterpoint to be a successful songwriter; any amount of musical training you pick up
will help. Carol Hall, composer/lyricist of Best Little
Whorehouse in Texas, was told by her music instructor at Sarah Lawrence that she would never be able
to write a Broadway musical because she didn’t do
her work in counterpoint. Carol later said, with satisfaction, “I went to New York and had a big Broadway hit without counterpoint.”
Producer/songwriter Chris Barbosa followed the
success of his first hit song with music lessons and
admits that they helped him to write faster. But
he also feels, as do many other instinctive writers,
that too many rules can get in the way of creativity. When that happens, he drops them and composes with spontaneous feeling.
Hirschhorn’s Hints
It’s never too late to learn music.
Jerry Herman, composer of
Mame, Hello, Dolly!, and La
Cage Aux Folles, disliked his piano
teacher and gave up lessons. It
wasn’t until after he wrote his first
Broadway hit, Milk and Honey,
that he decided to learn how to
read and write music.
As Marvin Hamlisch says, talent can’t be taught.
Still, geniuses such as Paul McCartney, who have
all the talent in the world, have expressed regret
that they didn’t receive more formal training.
(McCartney is the only one of the four Beatles
able to read music.)
Suppose a fantastic tune comes to you. Without
the ability to write music, you can’t notate either
the melody or the chords. By the time you get to
a studio or reach a tape recorder, you might forget
the tune altogether.
Prestige vs. Poverty
Some songwriters are able to enroll in a conservatory and gain their education at a prestigious
music academy. Burt Bacharach, son of syndicated
columnist Bert Bacharach, was one of these fortunate few. He took piano lessons in elementary
school; studied at McGill University in Montreal,
Canada; and acquired his training in the classics
from such distinguished teachers as Darius
Milhaud, Boguslav Martinu, and Henry Cowell.
Hirschhorn’s Hints
Whether you’re formally trained
or not, persistence and believing
in your product are essential. As
Diane Warren puts it, “Don’t give
up if you believe in your heart
that you’re meant to be a songwriter.” Diane admits that she
knocked on doors, ran after people trying to give them tapes,
and even followed people down
the street in her car.
5
Part 1 ➤ How to Write a Hit
Most aspiring songwriters lack Bacharach’s advantages. They have to struggle for recognition without financial aid and cope with parental objections to “such an insecure
business.” Starting out, composers can’t spend 24 hours a day expressing themselves
creatively; they have to earn money in order to eat and pay the rent. But just because
you need to work doesn’t mean your musical education has to stop. Working with
music in any capacity will teach you about the craft and business of songwriting.
Don’t Delay Your Dreams
I once had a girlfriend who said, “You’ll never make it in this business. It’s too hard.
If you love me, you’ll give it up and find a better job.” Her mother supported this
bleak view. The message was “Stop in the Name of Love.” Fortunately, I found the
strength to tune it out. Sweet satisfaction came when I won my first Oscar, and my
former girlfriend called to congratulate me.
The trick is not to panic and latch on to a tedious but necessary job from which you
might never escape. If your job seems like a dead end, remind yourself that it’s only
temporary. You can’t become so tired and discouraged by hours invested in uncreative
pursuits that you drop out, vowing to get back to songwriting “eventually.” Eventually
never comes. The only defense against this thinking is blind, persistent tenacity and a
reminder to yourself, no matter how much tension you feel, to keep writing!
Backstage Banter
Arnold Lanni, writer of the number-one song “When I’m with You” for Sheriff, shocked
his Italian family when he announced in 1979 he was dropping out of York University in
Toronto to join a rock-and-roll band. Parents, friends, and lovers (well-meaning and otherwise) often tell writers to give up their dreams. Ignore them; keep your eye trained on
your goal and go for it!
From the Harbor Club to Elvis
A person with solid background in music has dozens of exciting employment options
to embrace. When I realized that Elvis wasn’t going to record my songs immediately,
I decided to take a gig in a nightclub. It was far from paradise. I lived in Manhattan,
and the joint that hired me, the Harbor Club in Staten Island, could be reached only
by driving to a ferry and then driving another hour from the dock. The Harbor Club
was dingy and run-down and featured an over-the-hill stripper named Desiree.
6
Chapter 1 ➤ Music Training: Is It a Must?
My responsibility was to play standards (mostly Sinatra songs) until four in the morning. It wasn’t the setting my mother had envisioned for me. I was groomed from earliest childhood to be a concert pianist, and my parents never considered the possibility
that I would be playing “Someone to Watch Over Me” for an overweight stripper and
three drunks. Nevertheless, I was a skilled pianist, thanks to having studied my craft
and later attending Manhattan’s High School of Performing Arts.
The Harbor Club allowed me to pay my bills and, with careful money management,
eat cheeseburgers and tuna salads at a local dive called The Pink Cloud. I was able to
write songs and survive until my hit record, “Your Time Hasn’t Come Yet, Baby” by
Elvis Presley, made it possible for me to compose all day and get some sleep at night.
Make It Big Through a Local Gig
You can be formally trained like Burt Bacharach or self-taught like Pete Townshend,
but if you can perform—and particularly if you can perform your own material—
you’ll eventually be noticed by someone who can advance your career.
Where you play or how much you’re being paid is not the most important thing. The
head of Columbia Records might just possibly be a guest at a bar mitzvah you’ve been
hired for. If you’re playing at a wedding, you might find out that a Top 40 singing
star is a cousin of the bride or groom. The point is to get out there and gain exposure!
Accompany Your Way to a Hit
If you’re a pianist, you can become an accompanist for shows. Marvin Hamlisch was
the dance arranger for Funny Girl. The job gave him a chance to strike up a lifelong
friendship and working association with Barbra Streisand. Just as important, he
worked with dancers and got to know them. Marvin makes light of it by saying that
this experience made him “perverted every time he sees a leotard.” What the experience did, even more powerfully, was give him an understanding of how dancers
talked, danced, sang, and thought. When he wrote A Chorus Line, he had that wealth
of understanding and experience behind him. Dance arranging was the first step toward the Tony and Pulitzer Prize he won for that groundbreaking show.
John Kander, composer of Cabaret, Zorba, and Chicago recalls that he started playing
piano at age four. When he moved to New York from Kansas City, everything he did
to support himself was music-related. As John puts it, “The jobs I had were either accompanying, or coaching, or arranging; or later on, in summer stock, [I worked as a]
choral director and a director. I don’t think I skipped any stops.”
Play Sessions
Guitar players who read proficiently and have a creative grasp of country, blues, and
rock will eventually be noticed and hired for record sessions. The same is true if
you’re a percussionist. In addition to overall skill on every type of percussion instrument, sight-reading counts for a lot in session playing. If you’re an excellent player
7
Part 1 ➤ How to Write a Hit
but a poor reader, you can easily remedy that with practice. Playing by ear is something you’re born with; reading is a skill any student can master. Give it an hour a
day, and within a few months you’ll be astonished at what an outstanding reader
you’ve become.
Join an Orchestra
Not everything is rock. If you played oboe or flute in a high school or college orchestra, you might be good enough to play on motion picture dates or orchestral record
sessions. Did you study violin, viola, or cello? Even if you’re a little rusty, you might
be able, with practice, to polish your technique and do orchestra work.
Say Yes!
Sometimes, even with formal training, you’re not specifically trained for a particular
job when it comes along. If at all possible, if the offer comes, say yes. When the
chance to do dance arrangements presented itself, Marvin admits, “I had never done
a dance arrangement in my life. But I said, ‘Of course I have.’ You must seize the opportunity and know when it’s a break. You must recognize that a given situation is
important and then deliver!”
Put Your Musical Knowledge to Work
When I started working, I had two choices: become a typist at a law firm or work as a
typist at a music publisher’s office for half the money! I took the job with the lower
salary because the office was in New York’s Brill Building, home of countless music
publishers. While I was typing letters, I watched songwriters as they came up and presented their material. I studied how my boss took these songs and promoted them to
different artists. I went to the studio with him and observed how he made demos and
worked with demo singers and musicians.
My musical background came in handy at that time, because he wanted me to write
neat, correct lead sheets of songs he had in his musical catalogue. Between the typing
(always a valuable skill) and song arrangements I supplied, I was in the right position
to interest him in one of my songs: “I’ll Get You (If I Only Play Hard to Get),” by Jay
Bentley and the Jet Set. It didn’t set the charts on fire, but it gave me the impetus to
go on.
As this experience shows, you don’t have to be a performer to work in the music
field. You can use whatever skills you have to help you move that much closer to
your goal of being a songwriter.
Teach Me Tonight
If you have a vocal background, consider becoming a voice coach. Pianists and guitarists can usually find a host of eager pupils. The best aspect of teaching is that it
8
Chapter 1 ➤ Music Training: Is It a Must?
can be organized to give you mobility. You have no boss to answer to, so you can
allow yourself enough time to write songs and take them around.
Write What You Know
Do you have music background and a keen eye for
the music scene? Do you have a sense of contemporary trends and an instinctive understanding of
the record business? If so, you might want to consider a sideline as a music critic or commentator.
When I needed money, I became a columnist for
Songwriter magazine, analyzing songs and interviewing artists and groups. Not only did it supplement my income during lean days, it also gave me
the opportunity to meet industry people and raise
my profile.
Spin Some Tunes
Backstage Banter
A young and rising songwriter
named Neil Dorval found a creative way to earn money and
continue his songwriting career.
He became a music therapist,
working in hospitals and motivating mentally troubled individuals
with a combination of therapy
and music. This growing field offers valuable insight into human
emotions.
Being a deejay sharpens your instinct for what’s
current and what people respond most enthusiastically to. Chris Barbosa started out as a deejay spinning records at clubs and parties. With the money
he earned, Chris bought a drum machine, a Roland Bass Line, and later a synthesizer.
This new technology brought forth a tune, “Let the Music Play,” which went to the
top of the charts.
Let the Music Keep You Going
Sometimes finding work in the music world seems impossible. Kris Kristofferson was a
janitor at a Nashville studio, and no one paid much attention to him at first. But he
internalized everything he saw, and this education led to “Sunday Mornin’ Comin’
Down,” “Me and Bobby McGee,” and “Help Me Make It Through the Night.”
Country legend Tammy Wynette (“Stand by Your Man”) toiled in a shoe factory, a
hair salon, a doctor’s office, and the cotton fields. Allan Rich, who composed the
number-one hit, “I Don’t Have the Heart” for James Ingram, waited tables in Beverly
Hills and sold shoes in Venice Beach. Mariah Carey also waited tables and checked
coats, but said, “The music kept me going.”
Preserving and Submitting Your Songs
Whatever the extent of your musical training, you must have the right supplies handy
to preserve your ideas and ready your songs for submission. If a great idea comes to
you, you don’t want to have to start a hysterical search for paper and pencil.
9
Part 1 ➤ How to Write a Hit
Always have the following within easy reach:
Writing paper
A package of eight-stave music paper
Three sharpened #2 pencils
Cassette recorder
Two or three 120-minute audiocassettes
Dictionary
Rhyming dictionary
Thesaurus
Keep the Cassette Player Running
If you play an instrument, chances are you know basic chords. Some composers scribble down music without using the piano or guitar, but it’s perfectly fine to sit at a
keyboard and peck away before making note of the tunes you hear. You’ll be amazed,
as you write out your ideas, how quickly you become proficient at it. The added plus
is that writing down melodies and chords stimulates your mind and gives you a flock
of fresh ideas. You see what you have and are tempted to embellish on it.
Lyrical Lingo
A copyright is registration of your
work with the U.S. Government
Copyright Office to establish legal
ownership and prevent your songs
from being stolen. For information
and forms, write to Register of
Copyrights, Copyright Office,
Library of Congress, Washington,
DC 20559; or go to www.loc.gov/
copyright.html.
Whether you’re writing music down or just noodling
idly, turn on the cassette recorder and let it play. I
can’t tell you how many times I’ve just been playing
piano for relaxation and a great idea has popped into
my head, prompting hasty, frantic efforts to turn the
recorder on before the idea disappeared. Consider
every second you spend at your instrument composing time. If you wear out a few batteries by letting it
run, so be it. The best tunes and concepts may sneak
up unexpectedly. Spontaneous ideas don’t stick unless
they’re caught the second they occur to you.
When you’re ready to write out your song on the
music paper, follow these guidelines:
➤ Write your name clearly, along with your address, phone number, fax number, and e-mail.
➤ Never write in ink. Use a #2 pencil.
➤ Use a ruler when writing out the song’s title.
Don’t try for fancy lettering; keep the letters
plain, with even spacing between each one.
➤ Include a copyright notice.
10
Chapter 1 ➤ Music Training: Is It a Must?
Lead Sheet vs. Lyric Sheet
When submitting a song, many people feel that sending a lyric sheet (typewritten
lyrics with contact information and a copyright notice) and a recording of the song is
enough. This attitude assumes that most producers and artists evaluating your work
can’t read music. My feeling is that the more information you can send, the better off
you’ll be. Therefore, I recommend sending a lead sheet (handwritten sheet music with
melody, chords, and lyric) whenever you submit a song. For all those who can’t read
music, dozens can, and if they like the song, they’ll probably want to follow the
music as they listen in order to familiarize themselves with every aspect of it.
Preparing a Lead Sheet
To prepare a lead sheet, go through these steps:
➤ Define the style. Here are some examples:
Moderate gospel rock
With a heavy beat
Moderately bright
Slowly
Swing feel
Lighthearted rock
Folk-ballad style
Moderately slow with a double-time feel
Trouble Clef
Above everything, be neat. Many
composers labor to make their
songs perfect and then present
them in a sloppy fashion. Nothing
screams “amateur” more than
messy lead sheets.
Medium rock beat
Heavy backbeat
➤ Put in the treble clef.
➤ Don’t forget the key signature, whether it’s G, D, F-sharp, B-flat, or any other
key you choose. If you don’t specify the number of sharps and flats your key
contains, the person who plays the music will hear only a senseless cacophony.
➤ Specify the time signature: Is it 3/4, 4/4, 2/4?
➤ No crooked bar lines. Again, use a ruler.
➤ Don’t cram notes unevenly into each measure. Keep the spacing even.
➤ Write lyrics under the correct notes. Many beginners (and even those who
should know better) dash off words and don’t align them exactly with the
proper notes. When artists, producers, or publishers see this kind of sloppiness,
they usually throw the song into the discard pile.
11
Part 1 ➤ How to Write a Hit
➤ Use chord symbols properly. Like lyrics, they should be placed over the notes they
belong to. These are the correct chord symbols:
C major = C
C minor = Cm
C augmented = C+
C diminished = Co
C major 6th = C6
Hirschhorn’s Hints
A songwriter doesn’t have to be
an arranger. When you notate
music, it’s best to keep it simple.
A complicated, chord-packed
lead sheet will frighten off artists
and producers, most of whom
can’t read music. The melody
line and chord symbols are usually enough.
C major 7th = Cmaj7
C major 9th = Cmaj9
C minor 6th = Cm6
C minor 7th = Cm7
C minor 9th = Cm9
Dominant 7th = C7
Dominant 9th = C9
Dominant 11th = C11
Dominant 13th = C13
Diminished 7th = Co7
➤ When you’ve completed the lead sheet, play it as written and check for mistakes.
Go over it two or three times, because the eye frequently misses errors the first time.
➤ Don’t send out your only copy. Always keep one for yourself.
Remember, even if you never become an expert at music notation, it’s enough if you
capture the basic chords and melody for your own convenience, so each idea is preserved.
The Least You Need to Know
12
➤
Musical training is helpful, but many songwriters have written hits without it.
➤
Don’t let anyone or anything stop you from pursuing your dreams.
➤
Perform your music at clubs, weddings, bar mitzvahs, industrial shows—
wherever industry people might hear your material.
➤
Investigate off-beat avenues such as teaching music or being a deejay to
keep you going while you write.
➤
Have the supplies you need to keep track of your ideas on hand, and make
sure your lead sheets are neat, clear, and carefully organized.
Chapter 2
A Century of
Songwriting
In This Chapter
➤ From Jolson to Joplin
➤ Broadway’s golden age of songwriting
➤ Crosby, Sinatra, and the crooners
➤ Rock and roll takes center stage
➤ MTV changes the face of songwriting
Music has traveled a long way, from the ragtime of a hundred years ago to today’s rap.
But no matter how it changes, it never loses the power to bind people together in times
of crisis, to speak for dreamers who can’t speak for themselves, and to express heartache
in a way that allows a rejected lover the catharsis of a good cry. More than newspapers,
television, or movies, music reflects cultural change and represents society’s feelings.
Hey Mr. Ziegfeld, Here I Am!
To look at the popular songs of the twentieth century we have to reach back a little
way into the nineteenth. In 1865, Tony Pastor became one of the fathers of vaudeville
when he opened an opera house in New York City’s Bowery. But the figure from the
vaudeville era who is best remembered today is Florenz Ziegfeld. Ziegfeld spotlighted
such enduring stars as Fanny Brice, Eddie Cantor, and Marilyn Miller. He also produced George White’s Scandals and Earl Carroll’s Vanities.
Part 1 ➤ How to Write a Hit
Vaudeville was the first important venue for promoting hit songs. Unlike many music
forums to follow, it was pure escapism. It didn’t preach about social ills; instead, it
served mindless, opulent entertainment in the form of trained dogs, jugglers, and
dancing girls.
From the 1890s on, music publishers were centered in New York. Tin Pan Alley was
born, and a host of standards sprang from it: “Take Me Out to the Ballgame,” “Wait
Till the Sun Shines Nellie,” and “I Want a Girl.”
The year 1910 was meaningful for the freelance songwriter. Hits included “Let Me
Call You Sweetheart” and “Down by the Old Mill Stream.” People were purchasing
more inexpensive upright pianos and phonographs, and sheet music sales soared.
The Rise of Ragtime
Donald Clarke, author of The Rise and Fall of Popular Music (St. Martin’s Griffin, 1995),
offers a shrewd evaluation when he comments, “The history of modern popular
music may be seen as the repeated rescuing of a moribund scene by the music of
African Americans.” Certainly this statement was true when rock and roll exploded
in the mid-1950s, and ragtime was an early example.
Ragtime started in Chicago, St. Louis, and Louisville and spread like wildfire. Nearly
3,000 ragtime songs found their way into print, including over 100 ragtime waltzes.
Many of these songs were created by the legendary Scott Joplin, whose music was
adapted for The Sting by Marvin Hamlisch, who won an Oscar for it in 1973.
Joplin was born in Arkansas and began selling his early songs in 1895. “Maple Leaf
Rag” was his biggest hit. Fifty piano rags and dozens of ragtime waltzes established
Joplin’s reputation. He died in 1917 in a mental hospital, 59 years before his opera Treemonisha was
awarded a Pulitzer Prize.
Beyond Blackface
Lyrical Lingo
Ragtime is a style of music that
includes a series of 16-bar themes.
When this music is played on
the piano, the left hand provides
accompaniment, and the right
hand’s playing is generally syncopated. Scott Joplin, Eubie Blake,
and Jelly Roll Morton are the
ragtime figures best known today.
14
Some of the most popular vaudeville performers and
ragtime singers were Al Jolson, Sophie Tucker, and Bert
Williams. Al Jolson, who was famous for singing songs
in blackface, was an early commercial equivalent of
Elvis Presley and The Beatles: If he sang a song, it became a widespread smash. Unfortunately, Jolson was
also one of the early major performers to steal credit
from songwriters.
One significant performer who eventually refused to
appear in the demeaning blackface was Sophie Tucker.
Tucker built her identity as “the last of the red-hot
mamas.” Her signature song was “Some of These Days.”
Chapter 2 ➤ A Century of Songwriting
“Give My Regards to Broadway”
The golden age of songwriting kicked off in 1914
and lasted until 1955, the start of the rock era.
Early, still-admired figures include Rudolph Friml,
who had a big hit in 1914 with the show Rose
Marie, and Sigmund Romberg, composer of the
crowd-pleasing Maytime in 1917.
Songs reflected the first global conflict of the
twentieth century with such right-on titles as
“We’re Going to Hang the Kaiser on the Linden
Tree” and “We’ll Give the Stars and Stripes to the
Kaiser.” Other World War I tunes, such as Richard
Whiting’s “Till We Meet Again,” depicted the sadness of separation.
George M. Cohan
George M. Cohan can be seen as an early prototype for today’s performers. Before the 1960s, most
singers didn’t write their material or produce it.
Cohan, by contrast, was a composer, actor, dancer,
singer, lyricist, producer, and director. His song
“Over There” received the Congressional Medal of
Honor. Songs dramatizing World War I included
“The Man Who Put the Germ in Germany” and
“Someday They’ll Be Coming Home.” Cohan also
scored with such standards as “Yankee Doodle
Dandy,” later the name of a film based on his life.
James Cagney won a 1942 Best Actor Oscar for his
portrayal of Cohan.
Jerome Kern
Trouble Clef
Be cautious if singers, publishers,
or producers want to put their
names on your songs, even
though they had nothing to do
with writing them. Jolson claimed
authorship and royalties from
many standards he had no part in
creating, including “Me and My
Shadow,” “The Anniversary Song,”
and “Avalon.”
Lyrical Lingo
A libretto is the script, also
called the book, of an opera or
musical.
Jerome Kern was another pioneer. Prior to 1927,
when Showboat revolutionized Broadway, shows
had flimsy librettos and songs that entertained but had no dramatic, character-driven
value. World War I made people increasingly impatient with theatrical silliness, and
they were ready for realism, even in their musicals.
Showboat’s “Ol’ Man River” was a startling departure. Without spelling it out, the song
portrayed rootlessness, the plight of African Americans at that time, and an often
hopeless search for stability and happiness. Other tunes in the score, such as “Bill”
and “Can’t Help Loving That Man,” had the same gritty underpinning of reality.
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Part 1 ➤ How to Write a Hit
George Gershwin
Gershwin is remembered for such masterpieces as “Someone to Watch Over Me,”
“How Long Has This Been Going On?” and “But Not for Me.” But popular songs were
only one arrow on his musical bow.
In Gershwin’s heyday, the 1920s and 1930s, people typically made the snobbish assumption that popular music writers were not capable of creating “serious” music.
Gershwin changed that perception forever with
Rhapsody in Blue, An American in Paris, and Porgy and
Bess. The latter was a magnificent opera, arguably
Gershwin’s greatest achievement.
Trouble Clef
Never be afraid to take a chance
and stretch your talents. Like
Gershwin, Billy Joel and Paul
McCartney have both written
classical works.
Backstage Banter
In 1937, Cole Porter suffered a
crippling riding accident that
later led to the amputation of a
leg and sentenced him to being
an invalid for the rest of his life.
Despite this situation, he created
his Broadway masterpiece, Kiss
Me Kate, which opened in 1948.
Irving Berlin, a Man of the
People
Irving Berlin understood the man in the street. He
knew instinctively which of the public’s musical buttons to push, and he wanted to reach everyone. “God
Bless America” demonstrated how songs could tap into
a listener’s patriotic feelings. “White Christmas” and
“Easter Parade” reached millions and permanently
shaped the way that Americans have looked at those
holidays ever since. With “Alexander’s Ragtime Band,”
Berlin revived America’s love of ragtime music (though
there are those who question whether the song qualifies as an authentic representation of the form); ragtime pianists and orchestras became the rage.
The Elite Cole Porter
Cole Porter’s reign began in 1929 with his hit song,
“I’m in Love Again.” Unlike Berlin’s style, Porter’s musical and lyric voice was sophisticated, chic, and
risqué. It was what critics called “naughty,” and it
slyly furthered open sexuality. “Night and Day,”
“I Get a Kick Out of You,” and “Just One of Those
Things” sustained that witty tradition, although
Porter successfully tried his hand at down-to-earth,
accessible material with “Don’t Fence Me In.”
Songs of the Great Depression and World War II
E. Y. Harburg and Jay Gorney wrote a classic Depression song, “Brother Can You Spare
a Dime?” But upbeat, cheery songs that could distract Americans from their financial
16
Chapter 2 ➤ A Century of Songwriting
woes were more prevalent during that period. A definitive example was “On the Sunny
Side of the Street,” which told everyone that if they never had a dime, they’d be rich
as Rockefeller.
As in World War I, romantic songs (“I’ll Never Smile Again,” “I’ll Be Seeing You,” and
“Sentimental Journey”) flooded the market during World War II, expressing the hope
of enduring reunions between GIs and the women who waited for them at home.
Rodgers, Hart, and Hammerstein
The wit and polish of Cole Porter were also characteristic of Lorenz Hart’s lyrics, and
he paired up with Richard Rodgers to write “With a Song in My Heart,” “Mountain
Greenery,” “My Heart Stood Still,” “My Romance,” and many other standards. Rodgers
and Hart turned out some of the best songs ever written, but the shows that contained
them (Jumbo, The Boys from Syracuse, Babes in Arms) had weak, disjointed librettos.
Rodgers solved the problem of having his superb songs undermined by substandard
books when he teamed with lyricist/librettist Oscar Hammerstein, who was responsible for the dramatically powerful lyrics from Showboat. The Rodgers and Hammerstein
team made theater history with Oklahoma by integrating every song into the plotline.
No one broke into song without reason; everything had to fit naturally.
Rodgers and Hammerstein dealt with pressing social issues. After two World Wars,
theater audiences wanted songs that reflected the people and problems they knew.
Songs such as “You’ve Got to Be Carefully Taught (To Hate and Fear)” from South
Pacific centered on racial prejudice. The King and I stressed the importance of democratic change. Even the wholesome family story of The Sound of Music spotlighted the
encroaching threat of Nazism.
Crosby, Sinatra, and the Pop Singers
Opportunities for songwriters exploded when pop singers started to dominate the airwaves. Bing Crosby became record and box office gold in the 1930s, and by the 1940s
Frank Sinatra was in the limelight, along with Perry Como, Rosemary Clooney, Peggy
Lee, and Jo Stafford.
Equally popular was the velvet-voiced Nat “King” Cole, who sang “Mona Lisa” and
“For Sentimental Reasons.” His hit recording of the mellow and idealistic “Too
Young” demonstrated—to the delight of a teenage audience on the verge of taking
over the pop song market—that adults were clueless, and would discover The Truth:
Very young lovers could have a genuine and permanent relationship.
The Role of Rock
World War II had greatly influenced such bittersweet tunes as “I’ll Be Seeing You,”
“For All We Know (We May Never Meet Again),” and “P.S. I Love You.” After peace
17
Part 1 ➤ How to Write a Hit
broke out, these tender, genuinely moving hits gave way to such impersonal, bland
nonsense as “Shrimp Boats Are A-Comin’,” and “How Much Is That Doggie in the
Window?” Such safe, sexless tunes had no personality or cultural significance, and
they had no relevance to young people and their preoccupations. The stage was set
for a hard-driving, hostile takeover. Cleveland disc jockey Alan Freed was the first to
sense this dissatisfaction and act on it.
At the time, black music was played only on small Harlem stations, and these
raunchy, flesh-and-blood blues songs were referred to by Billboard as “race” records.
Freed knew they would create a sensation with white teenagers, and he was the first
disc jockey to play them for a white audience. Freed also championed integrated concert bills, a move that made civic officials and concerned parents apoplectic.
Rocking the Clock Forward
After the Korean War, the 1950s were a relatively calm period, a period during which
television spotlighted the perfect family and a Gee-Whiz-Dad-Can-I-Borrow-the-Car
attitude prevailed. It was also a time when rhythm and blues, so long suppressed,
could no longer be held back. Chuck Berry, Fats Domino, Buddy Holly, and Jerry Lee
Lewis (who announced, “This is the killer, baby”)
blasted all traces of sentimentality from pop music.
Trouble Clef
Songwriters of the 1940s, such as
Sammy Cahn, kept insisting that
rock was a passing fad and refused to write for it, figuring that
it would go away. This resistance
to new trends stopped their careers cold. A songwriter should
always keep an open mind and
move with the times.
Bill Haley’s “Rock Around the Clock” in 1955 turned
rock music into a lasting sensation when it thundered
over the credits of the film, The Blackboard Jungle.
Once it became evident that rock was here to stay,
squeaky-clean artists such as Pat Boone and the Crew
Cuts immediately released sanitized versions of the
funky originals. For example, “Work with Me Annie”
by Hank Ballard turned into the respectable “Dance
with Me Henry.”
Fans began to clamor for the original, sexually charged
versions of the songs Freed was broadcasting. Shaking
his way into the center of this national hunger was
Elvis Presley, protégé of Sun Records President Sam
Phillips, who wanted to promote “a white boy who
could sing black.” Presley unleashed a tornado of controversy, which only made him more popular.
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan was rock’s first major social spokesman. “Blowin’ in the Wind” became an
anthem for the growing civil rights movement. His subjects ranged from the evils of
war to the value of Christianity. Musically, he blended blues, folk, and rock, and his
lyrics were the first rock words to venture heavily into poetry. Most of all, he told other
18
Chapter 2 ➤ A Century of Songwriting
songwriters that they could speak about vital subjects, spew out their discontent, and
use music as a means of changing the world. Dylan’s messages were particularly inspiring to the songwriters who wrote of their anger and despair during the Vietnam War.
Sex in a Red Jumpsuit
A jumpsuit that James Brown wore had the word SEX stitched across the front. If you
didn’t catch the message from his clothes, you could hear it in his music: Sex was a
natural thing. Brown screamed, “I’m black and I’m proud,” and along with his blues
and gospel shouting, he demonstrated rock as theater with a live show that included
pirouettes, whirls, and splits. He let everyone know, “I Got You (I Feel Good)” and
“It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s World.”
The Beach Boys
The world continually seesaws between dark and light, yin and yang. There’s always a
need for sunshine to balance bitterness, and The Beach Boys supplied that sunshine.
Through the period of the assassination of the Kennedy brothers and the marches
against Vietnam, The Beach Boys offered an antidote with “Surfin’ USA,” “Be True to
Your School,” and “Fun, Fun, Fun.” The message seemed to be: No matter what horrors surround you, there’s a magic place, an Oz with palm trees called California.
The Beatles’ Artistic Fearlessness
Although Elvis was designated and remained “the King,” crushing competition arrived
in 1964 with The Beatles. The Beatles offered more than a performing alternative: They
wrote brilliant material. Lennon and McCartney (and occasionally George Harrison)
were tuneful, and beyond that, they were wildly inventive and experimental—a point
conclusively proved with their Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band album.
The Beatles’ run of hits began with “I Want to Hold Your Hand” and moved on to “A
Hard Day’s Night,” “Ticket to Ride,” and “Yesterday.” They were—and are—to aspiring
songwriters, an example of the power of versatility, and how much is possible if you
allow varying influences to affect your writing style. Lennon and McCartney digested
Chuck Berry, the Everly Brothers, and the Brill Building pop of Carole King and Gerry
Goffin, Leiber and Stoller, and Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil.
Lennon and McCartney jumped from sweet ballads (“Yesterday”) to gospel (“Let It
Be”); “Lady Madonna” and “Get Back” were tough and edgy. “Something” by George
Harrison was unabashedly romantic. There was no genre, no beat, The Beatles wouldn’t
try, and this artistic bravery made them unique.
The Beatles caused cultural change in small and big ways. A highly visible but minor
change was hair length; half the world imitated their haircuts and their clothes. They
also fostered the attitude that marijuana and LSD (“Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds”)
were the answer to social and personal problems.
19
Part 1 ➤ How to Write a Hit
From a writing point of view, The Beatles endangered the status of freelance songwriters by encouraging record labels to focus on singer-songwriters. As artists wrote more
and more of their own material, the freelance writer’s role was diminished until its rebirth in the 1990s (largely through Diane Warren), although such freelancers as Carole
Bayer Sager had continued success.
The classical establishment certified Beatles music as art, elevating them (and rock
and roll in general) to intellectual respectability. Journalists from Time, Newsweek, and
The New York Times treated The Beatles’ music with respect, and a major music critic
said that they were as talented as classical composer Franz Schubert.
The Rolling Stones
If The Beatles initially reassured parents with their clean-cut faces and Edwardian
suits, the Rolling Stones terrified them. Mick Jagger screamed, “I Can’t Get No
Satisfaction,” sang about “Honky-Tonk Women,” and ordered, “Get Off My Cloud.”
The Stones have represented rebellion throughout their career.
Motown Magic
Berry Gordy’s contribution to social change is reflected in the definition he gave his
company: “The Sound of Young America.” Berry, a former boxer and songwriter (“Reet
Petite,” “Lonely Teardrops”) was determined to reach the largest possible audience. His
combination of gospel and blues was exciting, unforgettably singable, and nonthreatening. More than any other label, Gordy’s Motown made pop R&B acceptable to
everyone, teenagers as well as adults.
Backstage Banter
When President Reagan used
Springsteen’s “Born in the USA”
as his basis for citing Springsteen
as a positive example of
American values, and conservative columnist George Will offered further endorsement,
Springsteen used his concert
forum to let audiences know that
he was politically poles apart
from Reagan and George Will.
20
The Supremes, Smokey Robinson and the Miracles,
Marvin Gaye, Martha and the Vandellas, Michael
Jackson, and Stevie Wonder turned out hit after hit for
Motown. Ross, in particular, was elegant, feline, a society belle who could appeal to people mingling at the
Copa and to those who didn’t know where the Copa
was.
Independent Women
While the girlishly enticing Diana Ross and the
Supremes sang of “Baby Love,” Atlantic Records’ explosively emotional Aretha Franklin stared down any man
who dared to oppose her, demanded respect, and told
her lover, “You make me feel like a natural woman.”
When the women’s movement arrived, its voice was
both reflected in the pop songs and amplified by
them. Helen Reddy’s “I Am Woman” was the most
heavily played. Loretta Lynn’s “The Pill” was also a
groundbreaker.
Chapter 2 ➤ A Century of Songwriting
Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Springsteen appeared simultaneously on the covers of Time and Newsweek, and
the world heard Jann Wenner’s proclamation, “I’ve seen the future of rock and roll,
and his name is Bruce Springsteen.”
The Rap Revolution
Originally dismissed as temporary, the way rock and roll was in 1955, rap is now
never out of the Top 10, and its influence continues to grow. Unlike other rock genres, rap isn’t something a songwriter can study.
It has to be in your blood and your culture.
Songwriters can wear multiple musical hats, as
Lennon and McCartney demonstrated; as Diane
Warren does today. But rap, whether you plan to
write it or not, should be listened to, because of
the power and awareness of the spoken words, the
Backstage Banter
pounding percussion and rhythm.
Listening to the controversial Eminem, Cuban
Link, Too Short, X-Con, and Dr. Dre provides a reminder that modern music is all about emotion.
Rap emphasizes the necessity of throwing your entire body and soul into writing today’s music. It
also paints a sharp, sometimes shocking, portrait
of inner-city life and problems.
With the arrival of MTV and
VH1, stars had to do more than
just sing; they had to have a
“look.” Suddenly, what singers
wore meant as much as what
they sang.
Michael Jackson and the MTV Explosion
Writing songs that offered visual experiences was always a good idea; when the 1980s
were in full swing and 24-hour music cable channels MTV and VH1 were launched, it
became mandatory.
Quick Cuts
Movies such as Flashdance featured the MTV style: The plot was minimal, the camera
never stayed still long enough to develop a character, and dance numbers were
chopped into fragments. Viewers hardly had time to decide whether they liked something before it disappeared from the screen.
The MTV approach, dramatic as it was, had a negative effect on the public’s attention
span. If a story wasn’t told with roller-coaster speed, viewers rejected it and switched
channels. Despite this drawback, superstar directors saw a new future, and luminaries
such as Brian DePalma and Sam Peckinpah did videos, respectively, with Bruce
Springsteen and Julian Lennon.
21
Part 1 ➤ How to Write a Hit
Videos Come of Age
The musical possibilities of MTV emerged forcefully when Michael Jackson became its
artistic spokesman. Jackson’s videos were short movies; for example, he employed
movie director John Landis to give dimension to his video for “Thriller,” which resulted in a mini horror picture with elaborate makeup
and dance sequences and vocal participation by horror king Vincent Price.
Hirschhorn’s Hints
When MTV’s Total Request Live or
VH1’s Top 20 Countdown is on,
tape it. Listening to radio or CDs
is not enough anymore. Music is
as much about the eye as the ear.
Videos continue to grow more imaginative, so if you
as a songwriter hope to keep up with changing trends
in commercial music, you should watch MTV or VH1
at least twice a week. Even overproduced videos or
theatrical flights that bear no relationship to the lyrics
sharpen the visual sense.
A Rock Genre Mini Guide
No music has ever splintered into so many groups and
spawned so many hybrids as rock and roll. Here are
some of the genres:
➤ Brill Building pop. Hit songs composed in two New York buildings housing
music publishers (1619 Broadway and 1650 Broadway). The Brill Building pop
era featured hits by Carole King, Gerry Goffin, Barry Mann, Cynthia Weil, Neil
Sedaka, Howie Greenfield, Neil Diamond, Burt Bacharach and Hal David, and Al
Kasha and Joel Hirschhorn.
Backstage Banter
Carole King sang the majority of her songs on demo tapes from the early 1960s to the
1970s. These tapes were so effective that hundreds of artists recorded her material. The
word around the Brill Building was that King sang her songs better than the performers
who cut them. She had one minor hit, “It Might As Well Rain Until September,” in 1962,
but she had to wait nine more years before full acceptance as an artist on her album
Tapestry.
22
Chapter 2 ➤ A Century of Songwriting
➤ Bubblegum. Nursery-rhyme melodies with a
rock beat. Some of the biggest bubblegum
records are “Yummy Yummy Yummy” and
“Sugar Sugar.”
➤ Disco. Dance music that started in the early
1970s and centered around clubs that provided recorded (rather than live) music,
lighted dance floors, and high-tech sound
systems. Donna Summer was disco’s undisputed queen.
Lyrical Lingo
A cappella is singing without
any instrumental accompaniment.
➤ Doo wop. A capella harmonizing of rock
groups.
➤ Folk rock. The marriage of folk music with a rock and roll beat. The Byrds were
closely identified with this style.
➤ Girl groups. All-girl singing groups were hugely popular in the 1960s. Some of
the best were The Crystals (“Uptown,” “He’s a Rebel”), The Dixie Cups (“Chapel
of Love”), Chiffons (“One Fine Day”), The Shangri-Las (“Leader of the Pack”),
and Angels (“My Boyfriend’s Back”).
➤ Gospel. A blend of black spirituals and Southern folk music. Gospel, folk, and
blues originally combined to create rock and roll.
➤ Hard rock. Music packed with bluesy riffs and distorted guitars.
➤ R&B (rhythm and blues). Pop and dance music derived from the blues of the
1940s, with a pounding backbeat.
➤ Rap/hip-hop. Spoken street lyrics over pounding rhythm, with frequent use of
sampling (using bits of music or rhythm from other records).
➤ Rockabilly. A blend of blues and country that evolved into rock and roll. Elvis
Presley got it rolling with his early Sun sessions in Memphis, and Jerry Lee
Lewis, Carl Perkins, and Johnny Cash continued the tradition until the form
lost momentum in the 1950s.
➤ Soft rock. Gentle, middle-of-the-road melodies by bands such as Bread, The
Carpenters, and Air Supply.
➤ Soul. Combination of rhythm and blues and gospel. Notable representatives of
soul are “Lady Soul” herself, Aretha Franklin (“I Never Loved a Man the Way I
Love You”), Don Covay (“Mercy Mercy”), and Wilson Pickett (“In the Midnight
Hour”).
Of all the musical genres in history, none has produced so many popular variations
as rock and roll. Today more than ever, a songwriter has to be familiar with every
kind of music, because rock forms overlap. From classical to tin pan alley, country to
soul and rap, they meld into a creative stew. That’s how pop/rock, folk/rock and
23
Part 1 ➤ How to Write a Hit
every other hybrid came about. Don’t just lock yourself into current hits or the current era. Influences that spring from a century ago, as well as last month, can be
blended into unique new forms of music.
The Least You Need to Know
➤ Vaudeville provided a forum for popular songs.
➤ During the first half of the twentieth century, many of the best songwriters
wrote for Broadway shows.
➤ The rise of radio and stars such as Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra increased opportunities for songwriters.
➤ Evolving from rhythm and blues in the 1950s, rock and roll appealed to the
rebelliousness of the young.
➤ MTV made the music business a visual world.
24
Chapter 3
The Idea Is King
In This Chapter
➤ Ways to banish writer’s block
➤ Studying people around you for inspiration
➤ Media sources for hit material
➤ Titles of every kind and color
➤ A song written as a four-minute screenplay
➤ The self-hypnosis highway to hit-writing
As Chapter 2, “A Century of Songwriting,” pointed out, hit songs are not created in a
vacuum. To some extent, they reflect the historical conditions and social consciousness of their time. It’s essential to be aware of the trends and currents that influence
what’s in the Top 10, but when the time comes to sit down and do the writing, ideas
are the support system of a song. Without them, lyrics, tunes, and arrangements mean
nothing. Before you begin thinking about embellishments, make sure you have a basic
concept that excites you and justifies all the hard work.
There’s a saying in the motion-picture business, “A great score won’t save a poor
film.” But a wonderful idea, even imperfectly executed, usually shines through. Ideas
are everything in songwriting. The tips in this chapter will help you generate them.
Part 1 ➤ How to Write a Hit
Banish Writer’s Block
Composers and lyricists all have the same emotional reaction when they start writing
a song: uneasiness, insecurity, and even terror. If you experience these feelings when
you’re trying to write, don’t panic. If you feel the need to walk around the house,
water the flowers, wash dishes, or hang a picture, do it! With each passing minute,
your subconscious is gathering the courage to start creating. Eventually, you’ll find
yourself in front of a piano, a guitar, or a computer.
Backstage Banter
Billy Joel on the writer’s block experience: “The thing you don’t have control of is writing.
You have to pull it out of yourself. You pace the room with something like the dry
heaves, having no control over the muse, horrified that it won’t come. All that’s out there
with you is the piano, this big black beast with 88 teeth.”
—Fred Bronson, The Billboard Book of Number One Hits, Billboard Books, 1992
Once there, tell yourself that it doesn’t matter what you write. Suspend all conscious
judgment. Never be a third party evaluating whether your work is good or bad. Just
jump in and get started. If the chords are ordinary and the lyrics are hackneyed, ignore it. Keep moving, and your sluggish creative engine will rumble into gear.
Dig Deeper
Once you’ve started writing, the next step is to find ideas that strike you as special.
These ideas generally surface with increased focus and concentration, but not always.
Sometimes you’re just not satisfied, no matter how much effort you put into the song.
Before indulging in self-flagellation (a typical response from writers), remember that
there are numerous methods to stimulate the brain and dig out worthwhile ideas.
Keep Your Eye on the Idea
When you have your story and you sit down to begin the lyric, it’s easy to lose sight
of the main idea and wander off in a dozen directions. Stephen Sondheim has a neat
trick to keep himself on course. He writes a synopsis of his idea at the top of the page
and keeps referring back to it. Sondheim is also known for writing down every detail
of his characters: how they dress, the cars they drive, their career aspirations. Keep
yourself rooted in the main premise by putting reminders of what it is on every page.
26
Chapter 3 ➤ The Idea Is King
Backstage Banter
The prolific songwriter Diane Warren had a friend who confided that her ex-husband still
hoped for reconciliation, even though she had met someone else she wanted to marry.
Diane’s friend had to tell her ex that the relationship was beyond salvaging. Diane recognized that this situation would make a great song and told her friend, “I hope you’re not
too mad at me, but I used your life.” That spark became the number-one hit “Look Away”
by Chicago.
—Fred Bronson, The Billboard Book of Number One Hits, Billboard Books, 1992
Satisfy Yourself
Country great Tom T. Hall warns against writing to please others rather than creating
what you personally want to write. “My blocks come when producers, publishers,
agents, managers, people are on my back,” he says. Don’t become too concerned with
the expectations of others, or your inner idea mechanism will get jammed.
Inspiring Characters
Hit songs always feature characters and conflicts
that are familiar and universal. The Eagles understood the “New Kid in Town.” Who hasn’t been
a newcomer, a fish out of water, breaking into
unfamiliar circles? Billy Joel showed us the chic
“Uptown Girl,” Madonna pointed out the
“Material Girl,” and Garth Brooks defined his
“Friends in Low Places.”
These songwriters developed an acute awareness of
individuals around them, a grasp of their hopes,
dreams, and tragedies; then they utilized that
knowledge to create interesting characters. These
characters are all around you. All you need to do is
develop your powers of observation: Study people
you’ve never noticed before or those you’ve taken
for granted. Once you’ve begun to look closely at
the people around you, make it a daily habit.
Hirschhorn’s Hints
Everybody has an image of
themselves that they want to
project. Often, however, that
image is their cover; it’s not the
real person. The trick is to notice
eccentricities that shine a light
on the true individual.
27
Part 1 ➤ How to Write a Hit
The trick is to allow your imagination complete freedom. You’re a hundred different
people inside. Think of yourself as an actor, prepared at any moment to assume roles
much different than your daily personality. The basic emotions exist in everyone, no
matter how different they appear.
The People on the Street
All people are colorful and unique. Go to a club, and you’ll encounter Abba’s
“Dancing Queen.” Look around on a bus, and you’re bound to spot the Allman
Brothers’ “Rambling Man.” Any beach in California will produce Brian Wilson’s
“Surfer Girl.” Lennon and McCartney created a wonderful portrait of a “Paperback
Writer.” And every high school student has met or observed Dion’s “Runaround Sue.”
Suppose you have a neighbor who always wears custom-made suits. Yet one day you
see him in a short-sleeve shirt and notice that he has tattoos. Or you’ve noticed an
elderly woman who wears her hair loose and flowing, like a young girl. These clues
define character. The conservatively dressed neighbor whom you know to be an accountant may once have been a Hell’s Angel. The elderly woman may live in the past
and wish she was still in college.
Some people want to be kind even if they act tough. Some seem shy, but are boiling
with aggression inside. Some are wildly sexual even though they present a bland, passionless front. Your job is to find out the real personality and write about it with
depth and compassion. Ask yourself: Is the tough person disguising the pain of a
childhood trauma? Is the shy person terrified of expressing his or her true emotions
because they may be violent?
You can be a lyricist who reaches millions if you break through that first, superficial
layer and uncover hidden truths. Just remember: Don’t take any person or situation
at face value.
Trouble Clef
Some songwriters, particularly new ones, are afraid to write what they feel because it
might touch upon other peoples’ lives. Don’t censor yourself. My first hit was called “Why
Can’t You Bring Me Home?” by Jay and the Americans, and it dealt with a girlfriend who
wouldn’t bring me to her house because she was ashamed of her family. She didn’t resent
the truthful lyrics, and the song put me on the charts for the first time.
28
Chapter 3 ➤ The Idea Is King
Loved Ones
That ”hit” character may be someone close to you.
Emilio Estefan Jr., Gloria Estefan’s producer and
husband, was inspired to write the touching
number-one single “Coming Out of the Dark”
after his wife nearly died in a bus accident. He
wanted to capture the pain and heartbreak of her
long rehabilitation and poured all his feelings into
a song that portrayed her struggle.
Your Own Life
Sometimes the one you want to study is yourself.
Maybe a relationship has gone sour, or the one you
love doesn’t return your feeling. R. Kelly, who had a
hit with “I Believe I Can Fly,” expressed his unrequited love for a girl through “Bump and Grind.”
Universal Themes
Hirschhorn’s Hints
Janet Jackson claims, “My mother
always said that ever since she
could remember, I’ve been concerned with other people before
myself.” You’ll be a much better
writer and observer if you get off
the subject of yourself and focus
on the needs and feelings of
others.
—Fred Bronson, The Billboard
Book of Number One Hits,
Billboard Books, 1992
Successful songs tap into the emotions that everyone feels. If you’re feeling depressed, suffering a
loss, being betrayed, ending a relationship, falling in love, feeling grateful to your parents, longing for the carefree days of youth, or wanting to ask forgiveness, there’s a
song for you. Thinking about these themes in terms of the characters you’ve observed
is a good way to generate ideas for songs that everyone can relate to.
The Blues
When you’re feeling depressed, you can do three things: give in to the despair, try
to ignore it, or write about it. Using your heartache creatively will get you over the
rough spots. John Lennon admitted that the song “Help” wasn’t just a lyric to fulfill
a movie assignment. He was expressing desperation because, “It was my fat Elvis period. I was depressed and crying out for help.”
The Tragedy Trigger
Personal tragedy, such as the loss of a friend, a spouse, a parent, or a child, can trigger
a great song. B. A. Robertson, in collaboration with Mike Rutherford of Mike and the
Mechanics, wrote “The Living Years,” a haunting story of a son who loses his father
before ever being able to express his love. Robertson’s father died immediately after
the first verse was written. Rutherford’s dad also passed away that same year.
29
Part 1 ➤ How to Write a Hit
Eric Clapton’s “Tears in Heaven” centered on the heartbreak of losing a child.
Clapton himself experienced this tragedy when his son, Conor, fell from a window
the maid had left open. Millions of parents experiencing similar tragedies could identify with Clapton’s grief.
Cheating Hearts
One painful but timeless theme is faithlessness. “Lyin’ Eyes,” popularized by the
Eagles, presents a portrait of a girl who can’t be true, a conscienceless climber who
uses friends and lovers in her quest for position and money. “Me and Mrs. Jones”
dramatizes sexual betrayal and the guilt involved. So does Elvis Costello’s “Baby Plays
Around.”
Breaking Up
Divorce is another increasingly relevant topic in today’s society. Cher took on the subject when she informed her family, “You’d Better Sit Down, Kids,” and “D-I-V-O-R-C-E,”
sung by Tammy Wynette, dealt with a young mother spelling out the D word so her
children wouldn’t understand what painful issue was confronting her.
Endless Love
Who hasn’t been so overwhelmed by consuming attraction that they could hardly
think straight? Write down these feelings, the way Billy Joel did in “Shameless.” The
song scored with Joel and then became a hit for Garth Brooks. Undying devotion has
always been a staple of songs in every genre. Examples are Faith Hill’s “Breathe,”
Marc Anthony’s “You Sang to Me,” Michael Bolton’s “How Am I Supposed to Live
Without You?” and Celine Dion’s “The Power of Love.”
Pride in Your Parents
Backstage Banter
Writing about intense, eternal
love has been one of the secrets
behind Diane Warren’s success.
She has had 63 Top 10 records,
and 300 artists have recorded her
tunes.
30
For those who believe that pop music revolves primarily around the seamier aspects of life, consider the
song “My Greatest Fan?” performed by the Backstreet
Boys. This memorable ballad is a tribute to mom, who
is always pushing her son to excel and believing in
him. Tributes to family are invariably songs that move
the public.
People will always warn you to avoid being sentimental and corny. Don’t listen. There’s nothing wrong
with sentiment if you do it with honesty. Axl Rose of
the band Guns n’ Roses feels that many rock bands
are too wimpy to have any sentiment or emotion.
Chapter 3 ➤ The Idea Is King
Traveling Back in Time
Nostalgia always touches the heart, from “The Way
We Were” to “Yesterday.” Al Kasha and I wrote a
nostalgic song with Charles Aznavour, “The OldFashioned Way,” that was a hit all over the world
because it externalized the longing people have to
re-experience a past when times were sweeter and
simpler and return to lost lovers and dreams that
have faded.
Close your eyes and let your mind float back, or as
a Diane Warren title wistfully expresses it, “If I
Could Turn Back Time.” All sorts of memories will
bubble up from your subconscious, and you’ll be
deluged with first-rate song ideas.
Hirschhorn’s Hints
Save everything you write. File it
away for future use. Felice Bryant
saves every scrap of paper, never
throws anything out. Rejects reexamined at a later date have
resulted in hits for numerous
composers who followed Bryant’s
pattern.
All Apologies
In love, people explode, say tactless things, and risk destroying their relationships. A
common theme in pop music is a request for forgiveness. Brenda Lee, John Denver,
and the Platters sang different songs titled “I’m Sorry,” and Connie Francis said, “I’m
Sorry I Made You Cry.” This approach is commercially successful because so many
people who are hurt long for an apology, and so
many others have difficulty offering one. You as a
songwriter can speak for them.
Mining the Media
Television, books, movies, newspapers, and magazines are rich avenues for ideas. Songwriting is
synonymous with emotion, and the ongoing conflicts portrayed in the media provide countless
sagas of love, hate, fear, rivalry, and rebellion.
Don’t forget the wealth of input available online.
The Internet combines information from every
possible source: news, movies, stage, music, and
biography. Let this electronic library fill your
mind with ideas, titles, and tunes.
Hirschhorn’s Hints
Using an overheard comment
creatively worked for Steven
Stills, but if you try it, always
make sure—particularly if the line
came from a fellow songwriter—
that you have full permission to
use it so you won’t be surprised
with a lawsuit later on.
Chance Encounters Lead to Hits
Johnny Cash went to see a film called Inside the Walls of Folsom Prison to kill time before
catching a plane and found himself captivated by the picture’s main character, a convict. During the flight, he wrote lyrics and then composed the melody for the composition that subsequently became a number-one country smash, “Folsom Prison Blues.”
31
Part 1 ➤ How to Write a Hit
Even something as simple as a chance remark might stimulate creativity. Steven Stills
was attending a party when he overheard another guest, Billy Preston, say, “Love the
one you’re with.” His ear latched onto that provocative phrase, and he asked Preston
if he could pinch the line. Preston consented, and “Love the One You’re With” became the title for a big hit.
I Am Woman
When you’re selecting ideas, try to tap into current attitudes. For example, women
used to be seen as sweet, demure, and helpless, embodied by Debby Boone and other
apple-pie heartthrobs one could take home to mother. Then in the 1970s, Helen
Reddy screamed, “I am woman, hear me roar.” Donna Summer and Barbra Streisand
gave men a double-barreled lecture with “Enough Is Enough.” Today, Cher clenches
her fists and shouts, “I’m strong enough to live without you,” adding “There’s no
more to say, so save your breath.” Celine Dion informs her lover that he was history
with the slamming of the door, and she’s never wasted any time on him since then.
Simple Starting Points
If no character intrigues you, offers any inspiration; the grand song themes leave you
cold; and the media is not inspiring you, start with something small, such as an interesting image, phrase, or title. The following sections provide examples of how
these small pieces can turn into big hits.
Devil or Angel
Religion is a fertile arena for ideas. George Harrison sang to “My Sweet Lord,” and
Brian Wilson told us that “God Only Knows.” Elvis Presley spent his time “Crying in
the Chapel,” and Madonna warned her dad, “Papa Don’t Preach.”
On the flip side of the spirituality coin are songs spotlighting the devil, from “Little
Devil” and “Devil Woman” to “The Devil Went Down to Georgia.” A sure-fire commercial contrast to these devil songs are angel songs, from “Angel Baby” to “How Do
You Talk to an Angel?”
“Barbara Ann” to “A Boy Named Sue”
Using names, male and female, has often been a direct route to the Top 10. Think of
how many name-based hits you’ve heard: “Barbara Ann,” “Delilah,” “Maybellene,”
“Gloria,” “Sara Smile,” “Jean,” “Mrs. Robinson,” “Little Jeannie,” “Michelle,” and
“Joanna.”
There aren’t as many songs on the male front, but we still have “Tommy,” “Daniel,”
“(Billy) Don’t be a Hero,” “Big Bad John,” “Hey Jude,” “Jesse,” “Sir Duke,” and even
“A Boy Named Sue.”
32
Chapter 3 ➤ The Idea Is King
Location, Location, Location
Chances are you’ve done some traveling. Even if you haven’t, you know the neighborhood where you grew up, nearby cities, a mountain resort where you spent the
summer. Use those backgrounds for a story. You’ve seen them, so you can depict the
details realistically. Places provide a wonderful framework for hits: “Creeque Alley”
and“California Dreaming” (The Mamas and Papas), “Detroit City” (Tom Jones),
“Down in the Boondocks” (Billy Joe Royal), “On Broadway” (The Drifters), “(Girl
from) Ipanema” (Astrud Gilberto), and “South of the Border” (Frank Sinatra).
Writers often conclude that song settings have to be exotic and far removed from
everyday reality in order to make an impact. They can be, as “Xanadu,” “Montego
Bay,” and “Jamaica Farewell” testify. But Dolly Parton made life in an office entertaining and colorful with her buoyant “9 to 5.” “Five O’Clock World” did the same thing,
as did “Take a Letter, Maria.”
The Songwriter’s Paintbrush
Colors are the key to many hit songs, such as: “Nights in White Satin,” “Blue
Suede Shoes,” “Purple Rain,” “Red, Red Wine,” “Crystal Blue Persuasion,” “Yellow
Submarine,” and “Brown-Eyed Girl.” A great way to sharpen your sense of color is to
become interested in art. Look at paintings, either in a museum or in a catalogue of
color reproductions. Study the cinematography in a movie rather than just immersing
yourself in the plot.
Animal Magic
Did you enjoy visiting the zoo as a child? Do you
have pets? Do you have an affinity for nature?
Draw upon those feelings and utilize animal imagery. These hit songs did: “Hound Dog,” “Let Me
Be Your Teddy Bear,” “When Doves Cry,” “The
Lion Sleeps Tonight,” “Muskrat Love,” and “Bird
Dog.”
Good Days and Bad Days
Backstage Banter
Birds figure in 24 of the Top 100
rock songs of all time. Dogs are
second, with 11, and cats are
next with 9.
How often do we say we hate Mondays, because we
have to go back to work? Do you love Fridays, because the weekend is coming up? Do you dread Saturday nights because you don’t
have a date? Do you resent Sundays, because the weekend is almost over? There’s a
wealth of material in free-associating about the seven days of the week. Hit songs do it
all the time: “Monday, Monday,” “Ruby Tuesday,” “Friday on My Mind,” “Saturday in
the Park,” and our own Top 10 hit by the Peppermint Rainbow, “Will You Be Staying
After Sunday?”
33
Part 1 ➤ How to Write a Hit
Questions and Answers
Madonna and Patrick Leonard asked, “Who’s That Girl?” and Frank Wildhorn and
Chuck Jackson were desperate to learn “Where Do Broken Hearts Go?” Questions are
excellent ways to intrigue and pull in the listener. A skillful writer can then answer
the question well enough to give listeners complete
satisfaction.
Holiday Songs
Hirschhorn’s Hints
Titles are more than subjects.
They also allow you to bend the
language cleverly. “Hurts So Bad”
became “Hurt So Good.” “We’ve
Got to Stop Meeting Like This”
was turned into “We’ve Got to
Start Meeting Like This.”
Because Christmas happens only in December, getting
a Christmas song recorded is not easy. If you write
one, be sure it’s completed early in the year, because
Christmas music is usually chosen and slated for albums by late summer or early fall. The advantage of a
Christmas cut is its longevity. If a yuletide number
catches on, it often turns into a perennial, such as
“Silver Bells,” “The Christmas Song,” or “White
Christmas,” which is one of the biggest-selling singles
in history. Christmas standards are re-recorded over
and over again. The payoff is high if you hit, so it’s
worth the gamble.
The Four-Minute Screenplay
When searching for subjects, you can express a straightforward emotion, as in Mariah
Carey’s “Vision of Love,” or you can create a story song so fully fleshed out that the
song is a miniature movie. Examples of this are “American Pie,” “Harper Valley PTA,”
~ Colada Song),” and “By the Time I Get to
“Ode to Billie Joe,” “Escape (The Pina
Phoenix.” A life-altering event can also be utilized for a dramatic story, whether it’s a
wedding (“Wedding Bell Blues”) or a funeral (“Green Green Grass of Home” and “He
Stopped Loving Her Today”).
Do you have the storytelling gift? If you do, you’re way ahead of your competitors.
Absorbing stories are always in demand, and most writers lack the talent to create
them. If you suspect that your talent lies in story songs, give them your full concentration. I guarantee that the effort will pay off.
When you have the story clearly etched in your mind, with a beginning, middle, and
end, the song will flow. To facilitate this process, you may want to emulate Stephen
Sondheim and work backward by devising the end first and then moving in reverse to
the beginning.
34
Chapter 3 ➤ The Idea Is King
Priming the Idea Pump
The process of developing ideas can be urged on
even more quickly with a method I employ: Close
your eyes and say to yourself, “I have dozens of
great ideas.” Do this over and over again, particularly before you drop off to sleep. To heighten
the effect, say it into a tape recorder, put on earphones, and listen to your own voice repeating the
thought, “I have dozens of great ideas.” Within
two or three days, your mind will be bursting with
fresh ideas and concepts.
Just coming up with ideas isn’t enough, though.
You have to trust them and act on them and not
let insecurity prevent you from completing them.
You can conquer the fears that limit your creativity in these ways:
Hirschhorn’s Hints
If you blend inner motivation
and outward observation, I
promise you’ll never again say, “I
can’t find any ideas.” The problem will become, “I have too
many ideas. Which ones will I
use, and which will I discard?”
➤ Don’t put songs aside in the middle because you’re afraid of criticism.
➤ Don’t rewrite too much; you may lose the special quality the idea started with.
➤ Don’t automatically put ideas aside because someone you tell about them isn’t
enthusiastic about the premise.
➤ Don’t shelve a song because a recording of it didn’t turn out as well as you
moving. If the material is strong enough, record it again.
➤ Don’t drop an idea because you get the feeling that ideas by other writers are
superior.
Travel the Highway to Hits
Good songwriters are observant. Be a student of all you see around you. All too
often, we retreat into our private worlds, rarely gazing outward at the parade of
events moving around us. Developing an intense fascination for this parade will
guarantee the arrival of platinum ideas.
35
Part 1 ➤ How to Write a Hit
The Least You Need to Know
➤ Ideas are the support system of your song.
➤ Don’t let pre-work jitters intimidate you.
➤ Think of tragedies and triumphs in your own life and utilize them.
➤ Write about problems such as divorce, sexual betrayal, the loss of a child, or
tragic love.
➤ Explore universal themes such as love and religion; and use names, places, animals, colors, and anything that engages you for ideas.
➤ Keep your ideas flowing. Trust them and act on them.
➤ Study everybody around you as character material.
36
Chapter 4
What Comes
First, Words or
Music?
In This Chapter
➤ The importance of flexibility
➤ Writing for an artist
➤ Words vs. music for Rodgers, Rice, David, and Newman
Should music or lyrics come first? As a composer/lyricist who has collaborated and
also written alone, I can answer this question from both sides of the fence. There are
no fixed rules, despite the insistence of songwriters on all sides that one method is superior to the other. The only rules necessary are the ones you personally apply to each
individual partnership.
If you begin collaborating with a partner who demands that you adhere strictly to his
or her style of working, you should cut off the relationship immediately and search
for someone else to work with. You both have to function in a way that’s natural to
your basic style and personality.
Working Styles
Sometimes the songwriting process is extremely simple and friction-free: The lyricist
comes up with a complete set of words, and the tune writer hands his or her partner a
finished melody. Whether the words or music come first or second is irrelevant. The
division of labor in such cases can be clear to the point where each partner accepts
the other’s contribution without any suggestions.
Part 1 ➤ How to Write a Hit
Backstage Banter
An example of a clash between lyric and melody occurred when Carole Bayer Sager and
the late Peter Allen were writing a song called “Ah My Sister.” Carole had her own definite ideas about it, as did Peter. Peter was talking about his actual sister, and she was talking about a kind of sisterhood for women. The result disappointed her, and she referred
to it as a mixture of thoughts that sounded schizophrenic.
More often, though, writing roles vary. Even if the lyricist doesn’t contribute a specific note of music, he or she may have some strong ideas about how to strengthen
the tune. The melody writer might notice a cliché and feel that some word substitutions would make the line fresher and more original. Both people must remain open
to the other’s viewpoint.
My first encounter with the big what-comes-first question came when I was a teenager
and RCA signed me as a writer/recording artist. After being told to buy collegiate
sweaters, wear dark glasses, and get a crewcut, I sat down to write songs for my first
record session.
Hirschhorn’s Hints
Newscaster Ted Koppel became a stutterer because he was forced to write with his right
hand when he was a leftie, and the problem was solved when he did what his brain demanded. Forcing your thoughts along one channel when they ache to go in a different
direction is equally destructive. Be open-minded and receptive, especially if the person
giving advice has years of experience. But if the advice feels wrong, and you’ve weighed it
as objectively as possible, then don’t go along with it just because of your adviser’s seniority. Trust your instincts and remember that no one, no matter how confident he or she
may sound, has all the answers.
38
Chapter 4 ➤ What Comes First, Words or Music?
I had written some material (recorded by long-forgotten names such as Wayne Rooks,
Tony Cosmo, Bob and Joe, and Ellen Tracy), but I’d never given the process much
thought. Now I was told by an executive, “You’ll only have a hit if you write the
music first.” He seemed knowledgeable, so I tried it his way on a song called, “Will
You Stay in Love?” I found myself bursting to finish the lyric, but I repressed the desire and nearly drove myself crazy laboring on a tune instead of following my instincts. I missed my first deadline, and arranger Norman Paris, who was set to do my
recording session, asked what the trouble was. I told him, and he said, “Write the
lyric. That’s the way your mind works. It’s like forcing yourself to be a right-handed
pitcher when you’re left-handed.”
Preparing to Create Songs for Artists
If you’re creating material for artists who cut outside songs, you’ll want to do an
analysis of their previous work before you make a what-comes-first decision.
As a Composer
Study former hits of those artists for the following
elements:
➤ Chords they particularly favor. It helps to
buy sheet music and listen to records until you
become familiar with their signature chords.
➤ Chord progressions. Does this particular artist
like songs that frequently use C Am F G7 or
G Bm C C/D? If you study the catalogue of
any particular artist with care, you’ll begin to
notice progressions that keep resurfacing.
➤ Rhythm. Does the artist like waltzes? Bossa
novas? A Bo Diddley rhythm?
Lyrical Lingo
When an artist is willing to record
songs composed by other writers,
those songs are known as outside
songs.
As a Lyricist
Look for these lyrical elements:
➤ Recurring themes. Determining that the artist cuts love stories is not enough.
What kind of love stories? Does he or she lean toward the optimistic or the
tragic? Is the artist’s approach cheerful or cynical?
➤ Attitude. For example, does the artist lean toward middle-of-the-road conservatism or is he or she rebellious?
➤ Style. Does the artist prefer pop poetry, or is he or she bluntly straightforward?
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Part 1 ➤ How to Write a Hit
After doing this pre-work, you can move to the writing. You’ll have a sense of that individual artist, both personally and artistically.
Major Songwriters Weigh In
Examining the way skillful composers and lyricists handle the what-comes-first problem is the best way to clarify your own ideas on the subject. The following examples
describe how different songwriters work.
Was Richard Rodgers Wrong?
Those who claim that music must come first should think about Richard Rodgers.
One of our greatest melodists, Rodgers composed his immortal tunes after Oscar
Hammerstein had written the lyrics. This order was followed for such masterpieces
as Carousel, Oklahoma, and The Sound of Music.
Tim Rice
Tim Rice, lyricist for The Lion King, Aida, and Jesus Christ Superstar, recalls that while
working with Andrew Lloyd Webber …
“We had the tune first every time. He’d play it for me and I’d pick it up. If I
couldn’t pick it up quickly, obviously it wasn’t a very good tune. I’d tape it on
a recorder … or if not, I’d just have it in my skull.”
—Bruce Pollock, In Their Own Words, Collier Books, 1975
Hal David
Hal David always felt comfort and freedom in his daily writing routine with Burt
Bacharach, a routine that resulted in such classics as “Don’t Make Me Over,” “Close
to You,” and “Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head.” In the Bacharach/David relationship, neither words nor music came first; it was a constantly evolving, changeable
mode of working. David describes it this way:
“On occasion, I just think in lines, but most of the time the idea comes to me
with a title. And often it occurs in two lines. I see things in hunks, rather than
specific sentences. I’ll think of an eight-bar phrase. Burt and I would meet in
one room, and I was very hardworking, as he was. I was always writing lyrics; he
was always writing melodies. The question most repeatedly asked was, ‘What do
you think of this? What do you think of that?’ Either my lyric would set him
off to write a melody or vice versa.”
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Chapter 4 ➤ What Comes First, Words or Music?
Randy Newman
Randy Newman, composer of the scores for A Bug’s Life, The Natural, and Toy Story,
says that an inspiration might come to him in the middle of the night, but more
often it takes place while he sits at a piano.
“I hardly ever have the words first. A piece
of a melody or a figure of some kind will be
enough to get me going, and sometimes I’ll be
right there where you can see the end of it.
Sometimes I won’t, and I’ll change it and go
someplace different from where I thought.”
—Bruce Pollock, In Their Own Words, Collier
Books, 1975
Bob Dylan writes alone, and he starts out with
melody before words. The same is true of Paul
Anka, Stevie Wonder, and Paul Simon. Yip Harburg
agrees, although he overstressed the case when he
said, “The tune inspires. It must come first!” Charlie
Fox has done just fine writing music to Norman
Gimbel’s lyrics (“Killing Me Softly with His Song,”
“Ready to Take a Chance Again,” and “I Got a
Name”).
Backstage Banter
Marvin Hamlisch feels that
having lyrics first hems him in,
and when we wrote together,
he gave me the tune first.
Legendary composers from the
prerock era such as Jerome Kern,
Harry Warren, Harold Arlen, and
Arthur Schwartz agree that lyrics
as a starting point are stifling.
The Rhythm in Your Mind
If you’re a lyricist, hearing a tune before you begin can make things easier. The leaps in
the melody direct you in your emotional approach. The rhythm is also spelled out. In
any case, lyricists, even those who don’t write tunes, are generally musical. They hear
tempos in their heads. If they have dramatic thoughts, they can imagine a melody
swooping up or dropping down as they write.
Practice Wearing Both Hats
Although most composers and lyricists have a preference about whether music or
words come first, others easily slide back and forth, equally relaxed with any order
the process takes. Some writers, particularly those who handle all the music and
lyrics, do things only one way, but would prefer to be more flexible. My advice is to
take a musical track, either from an instrumental or a hit song, and write words to it.
Then try it the other way around, taking a famous lyric and providing your own
tune. Regardless of whether you wind up favoring one method over the other, you’ll
expand your musical perceptions, and the results will reflect that creative testing and
freedom.
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Part 1 ➤ How to Write a Hit
Backstage Banter
Stephen Schwartz, winner of two Oscars for Best Song, says, “I always get down as much of
the lyric idea as possible. I think music is much easier than lyrics, because lyrics are craft,
and music is an emotional response to a situation or a particular feeling. So I handle the
lyric first. It’s important that I get as much of the lyric done as possible, because once the
music is done, that’s it for me. I’m trapped in that form.”
No Borders
Without a melody to give a lyricist defined borders, he or she may occasionally wander.
The lyricist doesn’t need the entire tune; a verse is enough to provide structure. The
structure could be AABA (verse, verse, bridge, verse) or ABABCA (verse, chorus, verse,
chorus, bridge, chorus). It doesn’t matter what the structure is, as long as the lyricist is
given the basic foundation. (See Chapter 8, “Cooking Up Your Hit Ingredients,” for
more about common song structures.)
A melody writer might have the same problem as a lyricist and require words to organize his or her thoughts. In that case, lyrics, whether in fragments or fully conceived, are needed to bring out the melody writer’s best work.
Take This Song and Shove It
Trouble Clef
Alan Jay Lerner once told me, “If
you tell your partner you don’t
like something, be prepared to
say why. Don’t just say, ‘It doesn’t
appeal to me.’ If you’re putting
thumbs down on something,
have good reasons and be able to
express them.”
42
Certain titles proposed by the lyricist demand a direction from the tune writer. David Allan Coe’s “Take This
Job and Shove It” could never (let’s hope) be turned
into a Tony Bennett ballad. The thought compels a
tune writer to provide pulsating, angry music. “Colors
of the Wind” (Alan Menken/Stephen Schwartz) is reflective and spiritual and would be jarringly inappropriate
as a title for a pulsating rap song. “I Will Remember
You” (Sarah McLachlan) suggests a mood of nostalgia
and sadness.
If a tune writer plays lush, jazz-oriented chords, those
chords will lead a lyricist in a different direction than
if the chords are harsh and dissonant. Throbbing hiphop rhythms are emotional explosions; a slow ballad
pace cries for sensitivity.
Chapter 4 ➤ What Comes First, Words or Music?
Don’t Stick to Your Own Area
When partners are compatible, they’re totally open to input from each other. The
process begins with a single line, and then addresses issues of range, altered lyrics, and
rhythm. No one is saying, “That’s my area; stick to your own,” whether subtly or directly.
A lyricist may write four verses that make perfect sense, yet the words lack emotional
build. At that point, an astute partner might realize that the first and second verses, if
switched around, would make the song far more powerful. Or the lyricist will see that
the ending should rise for more impact.
Trouble Clef
When writers start out, they often oppose the idea of partnership and insist on writing
alone. If you find that your work is being rejected, don’t close your mind to the idea of
working with other people. Sometimes an individual who does words and music lacks objectivity. That second pair of ears will hear flaws and correct them so that a competent
song evolves into a fine one.
Positive Disaster
Each project follows a different path. When Al
Kasha and I wrote our Oscar-winning song, “The
Morning After,” for the 1972 movie The Poseidon
Adventure, we knew that a unifying concept was
mandatory before a single note or word was written. The producer Irwin Allen told us, “A ship is
turning over. People are drowning. The boiler
room is exploding. So make it positive!” In other
words, we had to convey a message of hope in the
midst of devastating catastrophe.
Once we landed on “The Morning After” as a title
and followed that line with “if we can make it
through the night,” our overall concept was nailed.
Then we worked together, line by line, testing
out alternatives on each other. The melody was
also achieved with this line-by-line approach.
Backstage Banter
Diane Warren wrote the “Solitaire”
lyric for Laura Branigan; the song
became Branigan’s first Top 10
record. Warren began at nine
o’clock on a Wednesday night
and had to have it done by nine
o’clock the next morning. She got
the B side, “I’m Not the Only
One,” too.
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Part 1 ➤ How to Write a Hit
We functioned as one person, one mind, and this intensely collaborative mental state
ensured that the song would be completed by the next morning in order to meet the
insane deadline Twentieth Century Fox had imposed on us.
For “The Old-Fashioned Way,” which became a worldwide standard with Charles
Aznavour, Al and I received a melody from Charles. He made it abundantly clear that
not a note, rhythm, or phrase was to be touched. Our job was to do lyrics only.
Fortunately, the tune was so beautiful that we had no desire to change anything.
Writing “Wake Up” with Marvin Hamlisch for the Chambers Brothers was another
case of here’s-the-music-write-the-lyric. On the other hand, Nelson Riddle gave us a
fragment of melody for a television movie starring Nick Nolte (The Runaway Barge),
and we were told, “Play around with the tune. Feel completely free.”
Hooked on a Feeling
Lyrical Lingo
A dummy line is one that uses
words to get the writer started, to
give him or her a sense of rhythmic or musical pattern. These
words are throwaways and rarely,
if ever, make it to the final draft.
In today’s rhythm-oriented world, a hit song can start
without melody or words: a “feel” (rhythmic pulse) is
enough. Once the tune writer supplies the beat, the
song is set in motion. When Al and I wrote with the
great Maurice White of Earth, Wind, and Fire, White
listened to me play a few chords and melodic ideas,
and then waved them aside saying, “Never mind that.
Give me the feel.”
The all-important feel or groove is the key to pop
songwriting today. The tune writer can play it on an
instrument or tap it out; a lyricist can come up with
a dummy line that conveys the needed syncopations
and tempo.
Backstage Banter
Hold on to your melodies if you can’t get the right lyric. Joan Baez, discussing her song,
“Speaking of Dreams,” says, “I had the luxury of having written the melody about a year
and a half before, and I bumbled around with it whenever I was in a piano-playing mood.
So I knew it was there, and I knew some day the words would come to claim it.”
—Paul Zollo, Songwriters on Songwriting, DaCapo Press
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Chapter 4 ➤ What Comes First, Words or Music?
Steve Tyler of Aerosmith also emphasizes the value of an instrumental riff in launching hits. According to Steve, “Walk This Way” started out as a Joe Perry guitar riff.
After that, Tyler put his rhythm licks, that stem from his early days as a drummer, on
top. The Rolling Stones’s “Start Me Up” also began as a Keith Richards riff. With that
as a basis, Mick Jagger wrote the rest.
Feel Your Way to Creativity
Rules are meant to guide, not to strangle. Thousands of composers and lyricists torture themselves in their efforts to do the “right” thing. Any composing system that
produces quality material is the right one. The right system is the one that can be
mutually agreed upon by two or three collaborators or even, as in the case of “Say
My Name” by Destiny’s Child—seven collaborators (R. Jerkins, F. Jerkins III, L.
Daniels, B. Knowles, L. Luckett, K. Rowland, and L. Robertson)! For composers such as
Jerry Herman, Randy Newman, and Billy Joel, who work alone, the right system is the
one that feels comfortable.
Lindsey Buckingham of Fleetwood Mac makes another point worth remembering. A
writer should exert a certain amount of craftsmanship and conscious control, but not
so much that a sense of spontaneity and inspiration are eliminated. Buckingham says:
“You may start off with a certain intent, and you start putting strokes on the
canvas, but because it’s so intuitive and one on one, the colors will lead you in
a direction you didn’t expect to go, or you may have a preconception of what
the song is going to be, melodically and otherwise, and you may end up in a
totally different place. And that is probably more the norm than the exception.
—Paul Zollo, Songwriters on Songwriting, DaCapo Press
The Least You Need to Know
➤ There are no rules written in stone about whether music or words come first.
What works best is the best way to work.
➤ If you’re a lyricist, have a rhythm in mind when you write.
➤ If you’re a tune writer, imagine words that correspond to the mood of your
melody.
➤ Be tactful, but truthful, about your collaborator’s contributions.
➤ Learn the craft, but don’t get so locked into it that you sacrifice spontaneity.
45
Chapter 5
Finding and
Keeping
Collaborators
In This Chapter
➤ The trials and rewards of partnership
➤ Work habits that need work
➤ Ways to find a partner
➤ International songwriting collaborations
One of the most remarkable partnerships in music history is the team of Jerry Leiber
and Mike Stoller. Their collaboration began in the early 1950s, and now, nearly half a
century later, they’re still together. Leiber and Stoller wrote Elvis Presley’s biggest hits,
as well as “Charlie Brown” for the Coasters and “Is That All There Is” for Peggy Lee.
From the theater world, we can see equally impressive evidence of durability with
John Kander and Fred Ebb, who composed Zorba, Chicago, and Cabaret. These collaborators are heartening proof that a songwriting partnership can endure permanently,
surviving all the inevitable stresses that arise in the course of day-to-day creativity.
A Roller Coaster Worth Riding
Partnerships don’t just coast along blissfully without traumas and trials. Even the best
of them take dedication, work, and compromise. But if you’re willing to put forth that
effort, the rewards are often emotionally and financially satisfying.
Alan Jay Lerner and Frederic Loewe enjoyed a harmonious partnership that began
with Paint Your Wagon and reached an artistic peak with My Fair Lady. They followed
Part 1 ➤ How to Write a Hit
Hirschhorn’s Hints
Some people look upon writing
as a grim, backbreaking chore.
Compatible partners don’t see it
that way. As John Kander says,
“Writing is never hard, even if it
takes a long time. Freddy and I
never don’t have a good time
when we’re writing.” His positive
approach is part of an overall attitude that sustains collaborations.
this with MGM’s Oscar-winning musical Gigi in 1958.
It was such a triumph that few remember its first, disastrous review from Time magazine. As Lerner put it,
“Fritz was in an oxygen tent at the time. When I read
that notice, I wished I was there with him.” Despite
that, the team’s bond didn’t fray under pressure. They
never shifted responsibility or blamed each other.
Lerner and Loewe went on to write Camelot and the
film version of The Little Prince.
Sometimes a partnership with lifetime potential collapses over an artistic disagreement. If you’re part of
a team that has tremendous personal and creative
chemistry, try to distance yourself from the emotional
crisis. If it builds, you may sacrifice something you’ll
later regret losing.
Songwriting partnerships are like marriages. They involve much more than the ability to turn out hit
songs. New writers are usually bewildered when they
see such a team as John Lennon and Paul McCartney
go their separate ways. But temperament, philosophy,
and long-range goals are as crucial to a partnership as creative ability. If the divisions
are too wide on these issues, the relationship comes apart.
Backstage Banter
Sheldon Harnick and Jerry Bock, creators of Fiddler on the Roof, The Rothschilds, She Loves
Me, and Fiorello had 14 years of uninterrupted success. Unfortunately, while in production
with The Rothschilds, they disagreed violently over the choice of the show’s director, Derek
Jacobi. Harnick felt that Jacobi, who specialized in dramas, couldn’t handle a musical. Bock
took the opposing view, and the clashing viewpoints provoked a rupture in their relationship that never healed.
If at all possible, heed producer Lynda Obst’s words when you sense that a partnership of value is threatened: “Resist all impulse to turn incident into drama.” Search
for areas of compromise. You’ll be glad you did.
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Chapter 5 ➤ Finding and Keeping Collaborators
Work Habits
Suppose you’re a night person and your collaborator is only able to think clearly during the day.
You have to ask yourself if you can adjust to a different time schedule. How about if you work together evenings for three days a week and early
mornings for the other four?
How Important Is the Job?
One of the most remarkable things about the creative brain is its ability to rise to the occasion on
demand. If you and your partner think you need a
minimum deadline of a month and someone says,
“have this for me in a week,” you’ll meet that
deadline—I guarantee it. Everything depends on
how much the job means to you.
Backstage Banter
When Al Kasha and I were asked
to do the song for The Poseidon
Adventure, producer Irwin Allen
and director Ronald Neame
wanted the material completed
in one night. We never thought
for a second that completing a
song in one night was impossible.
As Marvin Hamlisch says, “the answer is always yes.” Then you find
a way.
Punctuality Problems
One of the major difficulties in maintaining a partnership is punctuality. According
to legend, Larry Hart was always late (or didn’t show up at all), and it drove Richard
Rodgers to distraction. In the interests of the team, Rodgers swallowed his anger to
save the collaboration until it became an unbearable pressure and he turned to Oscar
Hammerstein.
The best you can do is try to convince your partner how much his or her tardiness disturbs you. Keep emphasizing it, without letting your feelings flare into open hostility.
After a while, if nothing changes, you have two choices: Break up the relationship or
live with it. Remember this fact: In any relationship, individuals rarely change when
someone else pushes them. They have to make the decision to change on their own.
Keep in mind that no partnership flows evenly without some bumps and bruises. You
probably have traits that annoy your collaborator, who also has to repress his or her
emotions for the greater good of your creativity.
Last-Minute Blues
Another common conflict between partners is the attitude toward deadlines. When a
team is given three weeks to complete a song, one person may want to work slowly
and methodically every day, analyzing and discarding dozens of different alternatives.
The other person might let two and a half weeks slide by, and then rush frantically to
complete the song.
Frequently you’ll hear the cry, “That’s the only way I can work!” Again, compromise
is called for. The person who functions only at the last minute is perfectly capable of
49
Part 1 ➤ How to Write a Hit
working on the music and lyrics throughout the allotted time given. Or the more methodical person could provide the last-minute person with a list of ideas to review
closer to the deadline.
Trouble Clef
Cy Coleman, the composer of Broadway’s Sweet Charity, Seesaw, and I Love My Wife
worked with a lyricist named Joe McCarthy. Together they wrote a Frank Sinatra standard,
“Why Try to Change Me Now?” But the work process, as Coleman admitted, caused him
constant frustration. “It took Joe days and days, and I hated it because you had to sit with
Joe. I didn’t want to sit with him while he contemplated.” Remember that excessive dependency and emotional neediness can undermine a partnership. Be independent.
Deferring to the Larger Ego
In most songwriting partnerships, one person is more extroverted, and the other is
more retiring. If your partner wants to grab and seize the limelight, are you content to
let him or her dominate, or do you need equal appreciation? Two people who want
dominant, highly public positions rarely maintain their creative connection for long.
If you’re the introvert, you have to decide whether you’re capable of or willing to
subordinate your personality to your partner’s. If you’re outgoing and your partner is
shy and subdued, you may want him or her to pitch in more and get more involved
rather than linger in the background. Ideally, your two personality types can blend,
but most teams shatter because one feels neglected or deprived of proper credit; and
resentments quietly escalate.
It’s the Song, Stupid
The key element of a writing partnership is the song! Don’t get too caught up in competition with your partner, or you’ll lose focus on the main issue. Competition, left
unchecked, poisons everything. Remember, success has many fathers, and failure is
an orphan. There’s plenty of glory to go around if the song hits the charts.
“Let’s Try It Another Way”
Sammy Cahn once told me that he never directly criticized a melody brought to him
or bluntly said he disliked it. Sammy was wise. If you criticize a collaborator, you
50
Chapter 5 ➤ Finding and Keeping Collaborators
should suggest alternatives and say something diplomatic, but you should never be
cruel and harsh. Your lack of tact will be resented and will undermine the partnership.
At the same time, you shouldn’t write lyrics to a melody you don’t care for or a tune
to words that fall short of your standard. Eventually a language evolves between cowriters, and their true feelings are clearly communicated by a word, a gesture, or a
joke. These tactful ways of expressing reservations don’t ever come across as attacks.
Stick to Your Guns
Be open to the opinions of your partner, but also
be willing to fight for a tune or lyric you passionately believe in. Listen without being defensive if
your collaborator doesn’t seem as enthusiastic as
you expected him or her to be. In the end, if you
reach an impasse and your collaborator is dead set
against a particular product, you have to capitulate. But try to defend your point of view if it’s a
strong one. Otherwise, you’ll hate yourself for giving in too easily.
I Do (but Sometimes I Don’t)
Trouble Clef
Voice your anxieties; don’t let
them fester. If you become a
walking mass of hidden agendas,
you’ll one day explode with accumulated resentment and destroy
the partnership.
People often say, “Don’t get too professionally
involved with your partner, and above all, don’t
marry her (or him).” Like all dogmatic, black-and-white statements, this one fails to account for differences in individuals. Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil are together after
more than 30 years. Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich divorced, but Alan and Marilyn
Bergman are still married and are more professionally active than ever.
Songwriting spouses can find life wonderfully satisfying and productive if they both
have the same goal. In a situation like this, work usually continues after the sun goes
down. Writing is the cornerstone of a composing partnership between husbands and
wives.
If you’re a person who lives and breathes work 24 hours a day, marriage to a partner
will be ideal. If you want to escape and tune out your musical career for large chunks
of time, major adjustments will have to be made. There is, however, great, unmatchable satisfaction in creating a bond that means so much to you both.
Part-Time Collaboration
The collaborations I’ve mentioned, as well as the partnership Al Kasha and I had over
25 years, were or are all exclusive. Even when we wrote with other people, Al and I were
both on the song. At different times, we partnered up with Maurice White of Earth,
Wind, and Fire; James Ingram; Marvin Hamlisch; Billy Goldenberg; and David Shire.
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Part 1 ➤ How to Write a Hit
Certain composers and lyricists like to work primarily
with one person while having the freedom to occasionally partner with someone else. This arrangement
is often an ideal way to avoid the sense of being confined.
Hirschhorn’s Hints
Whatever the structure of the
partnership, the vital thing is to
agree on the terms up front.
Your co-writer can feel threatened if you decide to write “just
one song” with another collaborator. His or her security may rest
in keeping your pact exclusive.
Carole Bayer Sager composed frequently with her
ex-husband Burt Bacharach (“That’s What Friends
Are For,” “On My Own”) while providing lyrics for
the late Peter Allen, Albert Hammond, and Melissa
Manchester. Johnny Mercer teamed up several times
with Henry Mancini, yet he also wrote with Harry
Warren and Marvin Hamlisch, among dozens of
others.
You might prefer to write rock with one person,
country with another, rap with a third, and a motion
picture theme song with a fourth.
How to Find Your Partner
You might be the kind of person who expects a partner to be a psychotherapist, a
mother/father confessor, or a pal. Or you may prefer a collaborator who’s all business.
Hooking up with a songwriting partner is very similar to finding a lover or a friend.
The right partner is out there if you keep searching.
Don’t wander around, praying that an elusive, ideal co-writer will magically appear. If
you choose to write with someone else, rather than alone, you have to conduct your
search in a thoroughly organized fashion.
Start Locally
Partners are everywhere. The logical place to start is to turn to those in your immediate vicinity. Consider members of local bands. Chances are that some of them have
songwriting ambitions. Go to clubs in your area and form friendships with performers. If they write, fine. If they don’t, they might put you in touch with people who
do. The musician’s union is another rich source of potential partners.
Look up the addresses and phone numbers of locally based publishers and producers
and try to meet them personally. You can mail in the material, but unsolicited songs
are generally disregarded and returned. A face-to-face encounter is always preferable.
If possible, look beyond local opportunities. Go where the action is in the main music
circles of Los Angeles, Nashville, New York, San Francisco, Chicago, and London. Write
to every publisher you can and set up appointments well in advance of your arrival.
Find out who reviews material in each firm and establish a running dialogue with him
or her, so you won’t be a complete stranger when you show up. Be prepared with lead
sheets and recordings of your songs when you walk in.
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Chapter 5 ➤ Finding and Keeping Collaborators
Advertise
If you’re a student, run an ad in your school newspaper. State your desire to team up
with someone and spell out your specific needs. On a broader level, Songwriter magazine
prints similar ads, and many rewarding collaborations have materialized through this
fine publication. Put up notices in music stores, churches, synagogues, and music clubs.
Your ads can be as simple as the following:
Young composer looking for lyricist in the
Chicago area. Ron Garvey, 124 Rosemont
Drive, Chicago, Illinois 00000
Lyricist seeks composer of Latin/rock music
for collaboration in Enrique Iglesias/Marc
Anthony style. 619 N. Kingsbridge Road,
Bronx, New York 00000
NAS (the National Academy of Songwriters) has a
collaboration service for its members, or you could
turn to SGA (Songwriter’s Guild of America) for
help in locating a partner. Mention the type of
music you specialize in (pop, R&B, rap, country),
specify whether you’re interested in a tune writer
or lyricist, and include information about how interested parties can reach you.
Hirschhorn’s Hints
Making contacts is rough at first.
A shortcut, if it’s creatively feasible, is to work with someone
who has more connections. It’s
also an asset if your collaborator
has a studio setup which will save
you a fortune in recording fees.
Establish Industry Contacts
Getting to top people in the recording industry isn’t easy. You can’t just stride into
the office of a record company president or Billboard’s number one producer of the
year. To establish a link, you need middlemen.
Never forget: One introduction leads to another. Chat with a gatekeeper, a secretary, or
an assistant. They may be forbidding and cold, but not always. Some are sympathetic,
friendly, and helpful. They might mention your name directly to the boss, but they
can also tell the vice president and the office manager, who are people in higher,
though still secondary, positions. Eventually, your name will filter upward to the person in charge.
Talk to background singers, arrangers, and copyists. Start a favorable buzz going.
Everybody in the industry is a possible contact, a possible lead, a possible partner.
Be in the Right Place at the Right Time
Sometimes just being on the proper turf is enough.
When I was 17, a famous songwriter named Charlie Singleton saw me wandering in
the hall of Manhattan’s Brill Building and took me to a well-known publisher, Robert
53
Part 1 ➤ How to Write a Hit
Mellin Music. Charlie’s compassion for a lost-looking newcomer brought me my first
record, “All About Love,” sung by Clyde McPhatter. After I was armed with an important cut, other, better-known songwriters wanted to write with me, and I started collaborating with a host of talented composers and lyricists.
Contact ASCAP, BMI, and SESAC
ASCAP (the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers), BMI (Broadcast
Music, Inc.), and SESAC (Society of European Stage Authors and Composers), the
three societies that log music around the world and pay writers for accrued airplay,
are supportive and helpful in making introductions. Put together a tape of your material and take it to these societies to evaluate.
BMI has many workshops for new, as well as experienced, writers. The Lehman Engel
Theatre Workshop has taught and encouraged such composers as Maury Yeston
(Titanic, Nine) and given them the background to achieve great success. Whether as
a member of a workshop or a member of a performance society, you’ll be provided
with opportunities to meet other writers searching for a partner.
Go for a Lucky Long Shot
Billboard lists the national hits weekly in all categories, along with names of their songwriters and producers. Make careful note of these names and study the styles they
compose in. Armed with this information, you can
try to get in touch with those you particularly admire.
When you do eventually connect, you’ll be sufficiently
well informed about them to see if a partnership is
possible.
Backstage Banter
Al Stillman wrote dozens of hits
for Johnny Mathis, including
“Chances Are.” My mother remembered that she had dated
Stillman in high school, so I
called him and reminded him of
their friendship. This call led to
our working together, and it
gave me a start in the industry.
54
If entertainment attorneys feel you have talent, they
can offer direct access to their illustrious clients.
Agents might also be coaxed into arranging valuable
introductions.
Work an Artist’s Muscle
On a practical level, writing with producers and artists
increases the chance of getting records. These people
have total control, and unlike publishers, they automatically supply the recordings. Working with an artist
(such as Bernie Taupin’s collaboration with Elton John)
can guarantee entire albums of your music or lyrics.
Chapter 5 ➤ Finding and Keeping Collaborators
Cold, Hard Business
As I mentioned, getting a partnership’s emotional ground rules worked out from the
beginning is vital. Just as important are the business decisions. Here are some questions that must be answered before you start working with a partner:
➤ Will you each get 50 percent of the royalties, or will one get the larger share?
Will the partner who accepts the smaller share feel resentful later on if the song
is a hit?
➤ Will you both co-own the song’s publishing? Again, there’s fuel for rage if one
person owns the entire copyright and has the power to sell it later on and collect the profits.
➤ If a song doesn’t succeed, will one writer or the other have the power to take his
or her lyric or melody back and find another writer to put fresh words or music
to it?
I’ve had writers say to me, “We began with a 50-50 split, but I wrote more. Don’t you
think it’s fair that the percentages be amended to 60-40 or 75-25?” My answer is a
thunderous NO! In an ideal partnership, there should be no list-making or toting up
of scores of who did less or more. In the long run, the contributions even out, and a
you-did-this, I-did-that attitude is the death knell for the partnership.
Trouble Clef
One arrangement that should never be made with a collaborator is agreeing to pay him
or her to put words or music to your material. True collaborators share royalties and operate on an equal basis. A similar situation may occur with a record company that the writer
or writer/artist pays for his or her session and pressing costs. Reliable, trustworthy labels
don’t function that way. If they like your work, they’ll shoulder the investment.
Inspiration from Across the Sea
Collaborators can be as close to home as the next room. But sometimes they can be
on another continent.
55
Part 1 ➤ How to Write a Hit
Hirschhorn’s Hints
Be prepared for strange ways of collaborating. Al and I discovered that when an opportunity came to write with Charles Aznavour, who gave us a melody and asked us to write
English lyrics. When we completed it, we had to sing it for him via a long-distance phone
call. From his den in Paris, he made the decision to cut the song, which ultimately became “The Old-Fashioned Way.”
Long-Distance Gold
“The Old-Fashioned Way” has had over 300 recordings to date, including those of
Charles Aznavour himself, as well as Petula Clark, Jack Jones, Liza Minnelli, and
Frank Sinatra. We had no idea when we collaborated with Charles on this romantic,
lilting (but completely nonrock) tune that it would take the world by storm.
Paul Anka probably didn’t suspect what an impact “My Way” would have on the
world when he co-wrote the lyrics (with C. François, J. Revaux, and G. Thibault).
Other Euro-American classics include: “Volare” (Migliacci, Modugno, Parish), “You’re
My World” (Sigman, Bindi, Paoli), “Yesterday When I Was Young” (Aznavour,
Kretzmer), “Never on Sunday” (Towne, Hajidakis), and “More” (Newell, Cioclolini,
Oliviero, Ortolani).
Traveling in Your Mind
Writing to foreign melodies allows the imagination to stretch beyond conventional
bounds. The flavor of different countries is a powerful influence. Music from Mexico
may inspire your thinking in a certain way; music from Germany may inspire you in
another direction. We all have images and impressions of exotic places, and these impressions shape how we react to tunes from far off shores. The same holds true if we
write music to words of a different culture.
Certain lyricists have practically based their entire careers on long-distance collaborations. The name Carl Sigman (“Losing You,” a hit for Brenda Lee in 1964; “You’re My
World”; and “What Now My Love”) is synonymous with long-distance composing. Al
Stillman, Buddy Kaye, Norman Gimbel, and Rod McKuen all recognized the value of
foreign collaboration early.
56
Chapter 5 ➤ Finding and Keeping Collaborators
Starting Out with a Hit
From a practical standpoint, songs written with collaborators from different countries
frequently are cover records. Generally, they’re already hits in their country of origin,
and this past success increases their chances of acceptance in the United States by
both the artist and radio.
Sometimes European material comes to an American lyricist with words already written in a different language. Two things may happen:
➤ The American writer may be asked to adhere,
verse by verse, to the ideas in that lyric.
➤ The American writer may be granted the freedom to conceive entirely new ideas of his or
her own.
European collaborators generally indicate a preference. Creating something new is less restricting,
but the alternative has advantages. Following a foreign lyric line by line, word for word, is impossible
because English words fall on different syllables.
You, as an author, must find fresh, interesting ways
of making the meanings come alive in your native
tongue. This challenge will sharpen your tools as a
lyricist.
Lyrical Lingo
A cover record is a new
recording of an already existing
cut. Cover records are valuable,
because the more a song is covered, the better chance it has of
lasting permanently.
Jerry Herman sums up the value of finding and keeping a collaborator when he says
that working by yourself is very lonely. He admits envying his composer-friends John
Kander and Fred Ebb because John can say, “Hey, Fred, what do you think of this?”
and vice versa. Partnerships provide the joy of sharing, and also the comfort of having a permanent support system when you’re forced to deal with disappointment.
The Least You Need to Know
➤ Try not to let the stress of conflicts pull apart a productive partnership.
➤ Organize a mutually acceptable work schedule and stick to it; don’t leave
assignments until the last minute.
➤ Increase your opportunities by writing with producers and artists.
➤ Decide on your royalty split with your partner in advance.
➤ Collaborate with international writers to increase your visibility.
57
Chapter 6
Title Power!
In This Chapter
➤ What makes a hit title
➤ Title characters, plots, and themes
➤ Words with universal appeal
Titles are so important that many composers can’t even begin to write without one.
Titles suggest a story, convey a mood, and establish a flavor. They imply or state outright what kind of characters the song is about. They spell out the conflict.
Most of all, intriguing titles attract people. It’s no different with songs than with
books or movies. When you have a choice between “I’m in Love” and “Let’s Get It
On,” which one would draw your interest right away? This chapter looks at title types
that have been successfully used for hits.
Titles That Tell the Story
The ideal title for a song is one that announces the entire plot. Hundreds of titles are
general, and they can be made to work, but your job is half done if the title reveals
your overall concept right away. Most hit titles tell you if the protagonist is happy,
angry, or frustrated.
Simple and Straightforward
In the beginning, try to write titles that deal with subject matter the public cares
about. As Frank Zappa says, “Basically what people want to hear is: I love you, you
Part 1 ➤ How to Write a Hit
love me, the leaves turn brown, they fell off the trees,
the wind is blowing, it got cold, you went away, my
heart broke, you came back, and my heart was okay”
(Pollock).
Lyrical Lingo
A protagonist is the main character, the one whose actions
move the story forward.
Lennon and McCartney’s “I Want to Hold Your Hand”
sets an easy, obvious direction. The music and rhythm
may vary, the words may be simple or sophisticated,
but the emotion is clear and direct. The song is not
going to be dark and convoluted; it’s an open, happy
expression of affection. “You Light Up My Life,”
Debby Boone’s Oscar-winning song by Joe Brooks,
forces the songwriter to be spiritual and romantic at
the same time.
“I Don’t Wanna Miss a Thing,” Aerosmith’s recording of a Diane Warren song, is another title that writes itself, as is Van Morrison’s “Have I Told You Lately?” Others in
this straightforward category include the following:
“Can You Feel the Love Tonight” by Elton John (E. John and T. Rice)
“Let Me Let Go” by Faith Hill (D. Morgan and S. Diamond)
“Please Remember Me” by Tim McGraw (W. Jennings and R. Crowell)
“You Don’t Send Me Flowers” by Barbra Streisand (Neil Diamond, A. Bergman,
and M. Bergman)
Title Characters
Hirschhorn’s Hints
Keep a title book and carry it
with you so you can jot down
provocative ideas or phrases
whenever one strikes you. Terry
Lewis, writer of Janet Jackson’s
hit “Escapade,” always checks his
book of titles to find something
appropriate. Anytime he hears a
phrase or a saying, he writes it
down as a potential song title.
60
Producers and artists love titles that draw a character.
Jim Croce introduced us to “Big Bad Leroy Brown,”
who’s “meaner than a junkyard dog,” and the characterization was so vivid that it became Croce’s first
number-one single. Mick Jagger and Keith Richard
sang a loving tribute to “Angie,” and Simon and
Garfunkel portrayed the adulterous “Mrs. Robinson.”
The Everly Brothers told the story of “Cathy’s Clown,”
and Michael Jackson sang an award-winning love song
to a rat, “Ben,” and then switched to the story of Billie
Jean, whom he tells, “the kid is not my son.” “Lucy in
the Sky with Diamonds” was about the hallucinatory
sweetheart (LSD) devised by John Lennon and Paul
McCartney. The Four Tops filled us in on “Bernadette,”
and we heard about a variety of different women from
the Four Seasons, when Frankie Valli’s falsetto sobbed
loudly about “Sherry,” “Candy Girl,” “Dawn,” “Rag
Doll,” and pleaded “C’mon Marianne.”
Chapter 6 ➤ Title Power!
Character studies can be light and adolescent, such as Rick Springfield’s “Jessie’s Girl,”
or have more depth, as in Don Henley’s “The Boys of Summer.” The character could
be someone we all know, such as Carole King’s “Jazzman” or Madonna’s sanctimonious father in “Papa Don’t Preach.”
Titles That Set the Tone
The common denominator that unites all titles is
exaggeration. Quiet, calm, mellow attitudes have
little place in a song that aspires to world acceptance. Motion pictures are not accurate reflections
of life, but distorted, heightened exaggerations of
it. Songs have three or four minutes to do what a
movie does in two hours. Unless your title is
strong, unless it explodes with violent, raw emotion and raises that emotion to fever pitch, few
listeners will become engrossed in what you have
to say.
Built-In Drama
Backstage Banter
You never know what kind of
competitors you’ll be faced
with as a writer. My first Oscarwinning song, “The Morning
After,” was pitted against “Ben,”
the story of a rat. My second,
“We May Never Love Like
This Again,” faced opposition
from a love song to a dog,
“Benji.”
Titles don’t always lay out the plot in detail, but
the best of them set an intriguing mood, provoke
curiosity, and contain built-in drama.
Paul Revere and the Raiders had two emotionallycharged hit titles, “Kicks” and “Hungry,” which
were both written by Barry Mann and Cynthia
Weil. We don’t know immediately whether the
kicks indicate sexual frenzy or drug addiction; we’re
not sure if they represent destructive rebellion or a
solid relationship. But the word “kicks” promises
excitement. The word “hungry” sounds urgent,
desperate. Both supply drama, and drama is something you should always consider when you make
a title list.
Another provocative title is “Coward of the
County,” sung by Kenny Rogers. What kind of
coward is he? Will he fight and redeem himself?
Is he battling for the love of a woman? Once these
questions occur to you, you’re hooked.
Backstage Banter
Songs that portray an era and
voice protest have to begin with
passion. Billy Joel’s “We Didn’t
Start the Fire” hit us with Harry
Truman, Doris Day, Red China,
and Johnnie Ray, all in the first
line. Rarely have four images
been so unrelated, yet they paint
an unforgettable picture and
draw you into the spell of Joel’s
vision.
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Part 1 ➤ How to Write a Hit
The following are examples of titles that signal a fascinating dramatic tale:
“Maneater” by Hall and Oates (D. Hall, J. Oates, and S. Allen)
“Gangsta’s Paradise” by Coolio featuring L.V. (A. Ivey Jr., L. Sanders, and
D. Rasheed)
“Wind Beneath My Wings” by Bette Midler (L. Henley and J. Silbar)
The Message in the Music
Titles aimed at changing society reached a peak in the 1960s with Bob Dylan, but
some composers are always eager to influence the masses and improve world conditions. If you’re politically conscious, the following examples should inspire you:
“The Times They Are A-Changin’” by Bob Dylan (B. Dylan)
“Give Peace a Chance” by John Lennon (J. Lennon)
“Give Ireland Back to the Irish” by Paul McCartney (P. McCartney)
Pleading, Hoping, Begging
In pop songs, lovers beg, get down on their knees, and cry out in despair. Michael
Bolton said, “How Am I Supposed to Live Without You?” Rick Astley vowed, “Never
Gonna Give You Up.” Little Anthony sobbed, “Take Me Back.” These titles also beg
you to listen:
“Don’t Be Cruel” by Elvis Presley (Otis Blackwell, Elvis Presley, Jerry Leiber, and
Mike Stoller)
“Please Don’t Go” by KC and the Sunshine Band (Harry Wayne Casey and
Richard Finch)
“Please Mr. Postman” by The Carpenters (B. Holland, R. Bateman, W. Garrett,
and G. Dobbins)
“Don’t Go Breaking My Heart” by Elton John and Kiki Dee (E. John and B. Taupin)
Hot-Blooded
Titles that are purely sexual automatically command attention from publishers, producers, and artists. Robert Palmer’s “Addicted to Love” falls into that group, as do the
following:
“Hot Stuff” by Donna Summer (P. Bellotte, H. Faltermeyer, and K. Forsey)
“Kiss You All Over” by Exile (M. Chapman and N. Chinn)
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Chapter 6 ➤ Title Power!
“D’ya Think I’m Sexy?” by Rod Stewart (R. Stewart and C. Appice)
“Do That to Me One More Time” by The Captain and Tennille (T. Tennille)
“I’m In You” by Peter Frampton (P. Frampton)
Hot blood also courses through angry titles, many
of which have risen to the top. “I Will Survive” is a
cry of rage and a declaration of independence that
has just as much relevance to this generation as it
did when it made the Top 5 in March of 1979.
Aretha Franklin demanded “Respect.” Jennifer
Holliday blended hysteria and vulnerability when
she cried out, “And I Am Telling You I’m Not
Going,” the standout song in the Broadway musical Dreamgirls. Jon Bon Jovi told his girl, “You Give
Love a Bad Name.”
Frank Sinatra let the world know that he did it
“My Way,” and Sammy Davis proclaimed “I’ve
Gotta Be Me.” Paul McCartney told us “I’ve Had
Enough,” and James Brown made his position clear
with “Say It Loud, I’m Black and I’m Proud.”
Hirschhorn’s Hints
Hit titles should never be passive.
When a singer stands up against
adversity, the public is put on
the singer’s side.
For All the Victims of the World
Powerful emotion in song isn’t only direct, confrontational, and angry. It can also
take the form of masochistic, long-suffering, pathetic cries from victims of love. Linda
Ronstadt portrayed herself as “Poor, Poor Pitiful Me,” and Little Anthony was on his
knees “Goin’ Out of My Head.”
Anyone who has tossed and turned or walked the floor till morning will identify with
Kris Kristofferson’s agonized plea of “Help Me Make It Through the Night” and Peter
Frampton’s “I Can’t Stand It No More.”
Titles that offer a cathartic release for people bruised by bad relationships will reach
millions. The important thing to remember as a writer is: Don’t be embarrassed by
what you feel. Be as frank with the world as you would be with your best friend or
your psychiatrist. The more self-protective you are, the less power your lyrics will
have. Say to yourself, “I’m not afraid to show myself, to be known.”
When Richard Marx wrote the heartfelt title, “Right Here Waiting,” he resisted putting
the song on his album. He felt it was far too personal and it would expose his innermost thoughts to the world, like writing a love letter to his wife and having it printed
in the tabloids. Later on, Marx realized that part of his job as a songwriter was to communicate with as many people as possible.
63
Part 1 ➤ How to Write a Hit
Title Triggers
Titles can come from anywhere. For example, your favorite book or a word may inspire your song. Some titles come from the subject of a song, anything from a move
on the dance floor to a visit to a small town. Wherever you get your titles from, make
sure you save the good ones; you never know when you might need them.
Go from Text to Title
Gone with the Wind was a book title that became the basis for a standard that Frank
Sinatra sang. Another book title was I Never Promised You a Rose Garden, a hit country
tune for Lynn Anderson.
Find the Right Word
Sometimes one word says it all. The following songs with one-word titles all made
number one:
“Emotions” by Mariah Carey (M. Carey, D. Cole, R. Clivilles)
“Romantic” by Karyn White (K. White, J. Jam, and T. Lewis)
“Shout” by Tears For Fears (R. Orzabal and I. Stanley)
“Runaway” by Del Shannon (C. Westover and M. Crook)
“Escapade” by Janet Jackson (J. Jackson, J. Harris III, and T. Lewis)
“Batdance” by Prince (Prince)
Dance to the Music
Songwriters frequently hit the jackpot when they write dance songs. Some wellknown dance titles are the following:
“The Twist” by Chubby Checker (H. Ballard)
“The Loco-Motion” by Little Eva (G. Goffin and C. King)
“Mashed Potato Time” by Dee Dee Sharp (G. Dobbins, R. Bateman,
W. E. Garrett, K. Mann, B. Holland, and F. C. Gorman)
“Vogue” by Madonna (Madonna and S. Pettibone)
“The Hustle” by Van McCoy and the Soul Symphony (V. McCoy)
64
Chapter 6 ➤ Title Power!
Cover the Country
You may be one of the writers who enjoys viewing stories from a geographic angle.
Those who feel as you do have created major standards:
“Penny Lane” by The Beatles (P. McCartney and J. Lennon)
“I Left My Heart in San Francisco” by Tony Bennett (Douglass Cross and George
Cory)
“Hotel California” by The Eagles (Don Felder, Don Henley, and Glenn Frey)
In addition, modes of transportation are always popular themes with writers and with
the public. The Monkees took “The Last Train to Clarksville,” and Peter, Paul, and
Mary soared to the skies with “Leaving on a Jet Plane.” Natalie Cole rode in a “Pink
Cadillac,” and Harry Chapin drove a “Taxi.”
Keep Your Titles in the Trunk
After you’ve written songs for a while, you’ll find yourself compiling lists of titles.
Place a star next to the ones you like best, but don’t throw out the others. Your composing priority one week may be a gentle country ballad, but six months later you
might want to produce an up-tempo R&B song. Some of your earlier titles (even unstarred ones) will be perfect at that time. George and Ira Gershwin, Cy Coleman, and
Cole Porter saved songs they didn’t use for future projects. Work that doesn’t strike
you one day could very likely excite you the next.
Backstage Banter
Sometimes a great title can have different meanings for different writers. Lyricists Phil
Galdston and Wendy Waldman both liked “Save the Best for Last,” but Galdston thought
it indicated a sad and cynical song, which it wasn’t. Waldman argued that the title was a
positive one. Over Galdston’s protests, Waldman prevailed, and the romantic “Save the
Best for Last” became a number-one hit for Vanessa Williams on March 21, 1992.
Words That Work
Some words have such strong universal appeal that songwriters use them over and over
again in titles. Hit titles are even sometimes used again for completely different songs.
65
Part 1 ➤ How to Write a Hit
“Come On, Baby, Light My Fire”
Candles have a particular attraction for writers. Al and I wrote a song called “Candle
on the Water,” which received a Best Song Academy Award nomination. Elton John’s
“Candle in the Wind” was a tribute to Marilyn Monroe and then to Princess Diana.
“Sixteen Candles” was a number-two smash for the Crests, and “(Lay Down) Candles
in the Rain” made it to number six for Melanie.
Letters
Everyone likes to receive mail, particularly love letters, so letters are frequently referred to in hit titles. Pat Boone sang about “Love Letters in the Sand,” and the Box
Tops told us “my baby wrote me a letter.” “Love Letters” also achieved popularity
with this theme.
Cry Your Way to the Charts
Certain words are commercial magic, and they unfailingly touch a universal chord. “Tears” is one such word:
“96 Tears” by Question Mark and the Mysterians
(R. Martinez)
Trouble Clef
You can’t copyright a title, so
many songwriters use titles that
have been hits in the past. Try to
avoid this if possible. It creates
confusion in the public’s mind.
Also, when identical titles are
being logged by ASCAP, BMI,
and SESAC, payments may go to
the wrong person.
“Tears of a Clown” by Smokey Robinson and
the Miracles and by Stevie Wonder (H. Cosby,
W. Smokey Robinson, and S. Wonder)
“Cry” works wonders as well:
“Cry Me a River” by Julie London (A. Hamilton)
“Crying” by Roy Orbison (R. Orbison)
“I Won’t Let You See Me Cry” by Trini Lopez
(A. Kasha and J. Hirschhorn)
A Taste of Sugar
Some words have an automatic appeal. “Sour” doesn’t work too well, but you can find
“sweet” all over the charts. In fact, it’s one of the most utilized words in popular music:
“Sweet Blindness” by The Fifth Dimension (L. Nyro)
“Sweet Caroline” by Neil Diamond (N. Diamond)
“Sweet Child o’ Mine” by Guns ’n Roses (Guns ’n Roses)
“Sweet Dreams Are Made of This” by Eurhythmics (A. Lennox and D. Stewart)
66
“Sweet Little Sixteen” by Chuck Berry (C. Berry)
Chapter 6 ➤ Title Power!
One Is the Magic Number
Numbers are always popular in titles: “Two Hearts” (Phil Collins); “Three Times a Lady”
(Lionel Richie); “Four Walls” (Jim Reeves); but none has the commercial impact of the
number “one.” The following are just a few of the chartbusters with “one” in the title:
“One Bad Apple” by The Osmonds (G. Jackson)
“One More Night” by Phil Collins (P. Collins)
“One More Try” by George Michael (G. Michael)
“One of These Nights” by The Eagles (D. Henley and G. Frey)
“The One That You Love” by Air Supply (G. Russell)
Only
Maybe because we all want to be someone’s “one
and only,” the word “only” has potent title appeal.
Neil Young summed it up best when he said, “Only
Love Can Break Your Heart,” and Roy Orbison
sang about “Only the Lonely.” The Platters, the
Hilltoppers, and Ringo Starr all sang “Only You,”
demonstrating the power of the emotion that
“only” expresses. Carole King concluded, “Only
Love Is Real.”
Kiss
Artists, publishers, and producers all respond when
they see the word “kiss” on a lead sheet or hear it
on a recording. Prince went to number one with
“Kiss,” and Charley Pride had a country smash
with “Kiss an Angel Good Mornin’.” Elvis Presley
told his lady friend, “Kiss Me Quick,” and the
Manhattans sang, “Kiss and Say Goodbye.”
Hirschhorn’s Hints
If you have a chance to write a
song for a film, fight for the title
you believe in. We were asked to
write a song called “The Poseidon
Adventure” for the film of the
same name. No song with “The
Poseidon Adventure” as a title
could have become a hit.
Fortunately, we convinced the
producer to let us use “The
Morning After” instead.
First-Line Fever
Titles and first lines are the lure, the come-on to draw the audience in. If they’re
bland or colorless, you’ve lost your listeners. In an age of diminished attention spans
and relentless bombardment by new stimuli, no one will give you more than a few
seconds to score an impact. Movies succeed or fail after one weekend. If ratings for a
television series are mediocre, it’s instantly yanked from the schedule.
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Part 1 ➤ How to Write a Hit
I’ve heard novice songwriters say, “I’m not going to be so blatant and commercial.”
This attitude is musical suicide in the rock world or even in theater, where Andrew
Lloyd Webber felt he had to dangle a monster-sized chandelier in front of his
Phantom of the Opera audience to guarantee its attention. Your title has to project
power in order to obliterate the competition.
A memorable tune, a rousing rhythm, or a superb vocal performance can break
through and hand the writer a hit, but spending some extra time and energy in creating an outstanding title and a mesmerizing first line will yield surprising and exciting
results.
The Least You Need to Know
➤ A title has to suggest a story or create a mood.
➤ Sexually oriented titles are always in demand.
➤ The best titles are powerfully emotional exaggerations of life that offer a
rich experience packed into a three-minute song.
➤ The audience’s diminished attention span and increased exposure to new
stimuli make captivating titles more important than ever.
➤ A dynamic title grips the audience, and a powerful first line mesmerizes them.
68
Chapter 7
The Visual
Songwriter
In This Chapter
➤ Concentrate on what you see
➤ Live the visual lifestyle
➤ Create drama with details
➤ Write with all your senses
➤ Connect colors and music
Lyrics have to be emotional. From the time pop music was new, they expressed such
feelings as “I Want You,” “I’ll Never Stop Loving You,” and “Be My Love.” Today those
emotions are just as valid, but in this MTV and video age, generalities aren’t enough
to draw the attention of producers and recording artists. To stand out from the pack,
you have to bring your words alive with visual images.
Boyz II Men don’t just say, “I adore you.” They sing “On Bended Knee.” We see their
emotional need through action. Titles such as “Black Cat,” sung by Janet Jackson, and
“Wind Beneath My Wings,” sung by Bette Midler, bring the story brilliantly alive. You
can improve your visual sense through awareness and practice.
A Unique Visual Personality
When I started, one of the first songs I brought to a publisher read like this:
Nothing matters but your love
Nothing matters but your kiss
Part 2 ➤ Dressing Up the Song
Without your touch my life is lonely
How can I go on like this?
The publisher studied the song and said, “It’s nice, but I see a hundred lyrics like this
every day.” When I pressed him for an explanation, he shrugged. “They have no special personality. How would I know if it’s you or someone else?”
It all comes down to seeing with concentration. The majority of us walk through life
with blinders on, more preoccupied with our private thoughts than with the external
stimuli blazing around us. You can develop a visual sense effectively and rapidly by
embarking on a whole new lifestyle.
The Visual Lifestyle
A visual lifestyle is a daily pattern, one that should kick off in the morning and be
part of your schedule all day long. Tell yourself:
➤ This visual lifestyle is a new and permanent existence.
➤ Developing a visual lifestyle means success and recognition.
➤ A visual lifestyle is going to make me a much better writer and change my
whole life.
Start with Cereal
As you’re eating breakfast, try to think visually. Nothing interesting there, you think,
just a plate of oatmeal with raisins and strawberries. But wait! The raisins and strawberries are much more like a painting than you ever imagined. The bowl is green and
gold. You never noticed it before.
Read the newspaper for visual images, not simply for information. If the statement is,
“President Bush stumbled off Air Force One, stooped forward with exhaustion, eyes lined
as he told the press about his Mideast Conference,” forget the Mideast Conference. Hone
in on “stumbled … stooped forward … eyes lined.”
As you peruse every page, circle the visual phrases. Within a few weeks, your lyrics
will gain color. Bland phrases will drop out of your writing, and everyone who hears
your language will relate more deeply to it.
Live in the Visual Landscape
Take a walk every morning. While appreciating the walk’s cardiovascular benefits, tell
yourself, “I see everything around me.” Notice the cars, trees, flowers, and the runners waving as they pass by. If you’re in a suburban area, observe the homes. Are they
one-, two-, or three-level? Are they painted in conservative black and white? Is the
trim blood-red or blue? Are kids in the front yard? What are they wearing? What
game are they playing?
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Now you’ve reached the park. Other walkers and runners have joined you. Old people
sit on the benches. What expressions are they wearing? Optimistic? Sad? Resigned?
You might notice a water fountain you’ve never been aware of before or a fence that
needs painting.
Backstage Banter
“Madonna described how the words of the number-one hit, ‘Like a Prayer,’ developed.
‘Originally, when I recorded the song, I would play it over and over again, trying to get a
visual sense of what sort of story or fantasy it evoked in me. I kept imagining this story
about a girl who was madly in love with a black man, set in the South, with this forbidden interracial love affair.’”
—Fred Bronson, The Billboard Book of Number One Hits, Billboard Books, 1997
If you live in a big city like New York, with an apartment in Manhattan, you’ll find
yourself awash in imagery if you bother to look around. Look beyond the obvious
high-rise buildings, speeding yellow cabs, and expensive restaurants and study the
gray-haired, overweight vendor on the corner selling salt bagels or the sax player
blowing his heart out while indifferent crowds push past him.
Twain and Conroy
Read incessantly, and not only the bestsellers. Today’s writing is fast, concise, and
stripped for action. Few books can, for example, match Mark Twain’s Tom Sawyer or
Huckleberry Finn for language. But if you want to see modern visual writing at its
finest, read Pat Conroy. The Prince of Tides, The Water Is Wide, Beach Music, and The
Lords of Discipline are definitive demonstrations of how words can achieve the height
of cinematic excitement.
The Drama in the Details
Film critic Pauline Kael once remarked in The New Yorker, “Do producers think we go
to movies for the sets?” Most of us don’t, but you, as a songwriter, should. Watch
movies for more than the car chases or the explosions. From this day forward, watch
how the characters dress, walk, talk, and gesture. Zero in on the set design, the architecture, and the furnishings of rooms ranging from the middle ages to today.
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Everything from the gardens of Venice to the ghettos of New York is in the movies,
and you should be studying it with an eye to recreating details.
In the end, lyric writing is all about the details that individualize people and situations. It’s often more vital to notice a food stain on a coat than the coat itself. A food
stain hints at the type of person you’re watching. This kind of observation protects
you from settling for clichés.
Songwriter Sol Marcus, who wrote a hit song for the
Animals, “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood,” once took
a new writer to task for saying, in one line: “I love the
morning sun and I wanna grab you, babe.” These lines
are certainly visual, but the same person would never
speak both of them, particularly in one sentence.
Hirschhorn’s Hints
Tom T. Hall says that some songs
require a mental picture of a
train wreck. Some others require,
melody-wise, a flower waving in
the breeze. Allowing random
mental pictures to float through
your mind not only produces
beautiful lyrics, but beautiful
melodies as well.
Brides and Brothers
Visual lyrics are just as vital for theater writing as they
are for rock songs. When Al and I were hired to compose the Broadway musical Seven Brides for Seven
Brothers, Alan Jay Lerner (My Fair Lady, Camelot) told us,
“If you want to write for Broadway, make sure the audience sees everything you say through visual action.”
We took Lerner’s advice seriously, and it worked. Our
music received a Tony nomination for Best Score and
has been playing to packed houses around the world
for the past 20 years.
Analyze Nonvisual Lyrics
A highly effective approach to jump-starting your visual sense is to analyze both good
and bad lyrics and rewrite them by deleting generalities and finding ways to make
them more specific. Many songs reach the top of the charts based on their wellproduced tracks, powerful vocal performances, or basic idea, but the lyric lines are
banal and clichéd. You’ll discover yourself improving quickly if you rework those
throwaway lines and make them visual.
Look for Consistently Visual Writers
Some lyricists have a much more visual flair than others. Study the market to find
out who these artists are and then give special attention to their work. Certain names
spring immediately to mind:
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Marilyn and Alan Bergman
Jimmy Webb
Garth Brooks
Sheldon Harnick
Chapter 7 ➤ The Visual Songwriter
The late Howard Ashman
Bob Dylan
Tim Rice
Bernie Taupin
Stephen Sondheim
Paul Simon
Paul McCartney
Chuck Berry
Dan Fogelberg
Jerry Leiber
Bruce Springsteen
Smokey Robinson
Billy Joel
Joni Mitchell
Bob Seger
Pete Townshend
Bob McDill
Describe Everyday Experiences Visually
Another process that expands your visual sense is concentrating on ordinary, mundane
activities. Paint them visually in ways that heighten the actions and bring them alive.
Think of small details that give them individuality and freshness. It’s been said that
you can take an orange and find dozens of characteristics about it worth describing.
These seemingly static situations can lead to interesting lyrics. For example, the following lines describe the act of waking up:
My legs were crooked, my top undone
My hair was in my eyes
My knees were stiff from too much sleep
The sun took me by surprise
Taking a picture off the wall becomes an emotional experience in these lyrics:
Tore your picture from the wall
The tears ran down my face
I stared into your evil eyes
and cursed your last embrace
Describing the ordinary act of picking up a child at school creates an image all parents
can relate to:
My six-year-old was bundled up
Shivering at the gate
He ran to me, leaped in the car
Angry I was late
Keep in mind what famed author and scriptwriter Adela Rogers St. John once said:
“Creative people have story reactions to the most average situations.” Make those
visual stories, and you’ll be on your way to becoming a visual songwriter.
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Part 2 ➤ Dressing Up the Song
Visual, but Not Verbose
Books sometimes have descriptions of sunsets, rivers, and mountains that are beautiful in themselves, but they slow the story down to a crawl. Expert writers use imagery
to dramatize emotions and events, but never at the expense of pacing. All visual details must serve a purpose in the song. If they don’t move the story and the emotions
forward, discard them.
The Other Four Senses
Most people are oblivious to their visual surroundings, and they’re even less aware of
the sounds, smells, tastes, and tactile experiences that fill every day. Only by responding to everything around you with all your senses will you reach your highest potential as a lyricist. Seeing is the firs but not the only step toward giving lyrics a pulse
and making them breathe.
Sound
Sounds roar from every direction. Cars don’t simply go by; they zoom, screech,
groan, and rumble. A bus comes to a sharp, squealing stop. Two people are having a
bitter argument. Someone yells across the street to a friend.
Life has a soundtrack, but most of us have the volume turned way down. Adjust the
dial and listen to everything. What you hear will make your lyrics more compelling.
Smell
Take a deep breath. Stop and smell the roses, a woman’s perfume, the chicken or
steak from a local diner, and the stench of garbage. Not every smell is pleasant, but
all of them help to set a scene and make your words more vibrant.
Taste
I used to have a bad habit, one I overcame with superhuman effort. I would gulp down my lunch or dinner,
and an hour later I wouldn’t even recall what I’d
eaten! All of us have been given the great gift of taste,
so chew slowly and savor your food.
Trouble Clef
Do not trust your memory! It will
let you down every time. You’ll
remember the broad outlines but
not the specifics, and specifics are
what make your lyrics magical.
Touch
The softness of our hand on another’s skin is one kind
of pleasure; the feel of the person’s hair and the
warmth of his or her lips are also pleasurable. Yet
touching is a sensual experience that extends far beyond contact between two human beings. We’re rarely
aware of all the things we touch. Consider the softness
of old blue jeans, the bristly stab of a beard, or the leathery texture of shoes. A tablecloth has a gentle coolness; the mahogany finish of a piano is smooth and pleasing.
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Chapter 7 ➤ The Visual Songwriter
Writing with the Five Senses
Writing is always more memorable when it encompasses the five senses. Consider this verse from
“Hearing the Wind”:
Eating cherry pie
Watching the sun in the sky
Waiting for love to let me in
Smellin’ the fries
Smoke in my eyes
Touching your hand—and hearing the wind
Every sense—taste, sight, touch, sound, and
smell—is engaged in this lyric.
Hirschhorn’s Hints
Make sure all your senses are functioning; don’t close any of them
off. Nuno Bettencourt, co-author,
with Gary Cherone, of “More
Than Words” by Extreme, was sitting on his porch when he wrote
the song. He heard the cars go by,
and that street sound inspired him.
Brushing your teeth is admittedly routine and boring. You’ve probably never bothered to ask yourself, what sensation am I experiencing when the
toothbrush moves across my teeth? The same goes
for combing your hair, buttoning your shirt, and tying your shoelaces. These are moments when your psyche switches to automatic, and you have to catch yourself and
pay attention.
Look at Who’s Talking
Pay attention to the way people talk. Both a forest ranger and a Philadelphia debutante speak English, but they might as well be speaking two different languages.
I worked twice with Shelley Winters, on The Poseidon Adventure and Pete’s Dragon, and
had this experience: She was telling me a story about an argument she’d once had
when, in the middle of the story, she lost track of her point and became acutely
aware of her gestures, the tone of her voice, and her body language. Actors respond
this way to what they hear; songwriters should, too.
Write It All Down
As the impressions mount, as your senses begin to feast on the barrage of input you
receive, one thing is absolutely crucial: Keep a record! You can do it the old-fashioned
way by writing in a notebook, or you can carry a tape recorder and speak about all
you see, touch, hear, taste, and smell.
When you listen to music, jot down every interesting, unusual, original word or
phrase you encounter. It sets the mental machinery buzzing. You won’t necessarily
use any of these lyrics, but they’ll stimulate you to think of your own. The same applies to magazines. The authors who contribute articles to Vanity Fair and GQ are masters of writing that employs all the senses.
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Music and Colors
Lyrical Lingo
Synethesia is the process by
which a certain color or colors
provokes the hearing of a certain
sounds.
Thinking in colors can stimulate musical composition.
Let waves of purple, red, blue, green, and black flood
your mind. Be receptive without straining for tunes.
Gradually, if you’re patient, the imagery will be accompanied by sound (this is called synethesia), such as
the tinkling of a distant piano, bells, a lone fiddle,
drums, or bagpipes. Every mind is individual, but before long your brain will explode with sound, and that
sound will channel itself into exciting melodies and
rhythms you can utilize.
To encourage musical creativity, listen to music before
you start to write and let your mind bring up imagery
in a free-floating way. Psychologist Chuck Loch says:
“Imagine hearing music that deeply affects you
emotionally. You close your eyes. A cloud or filmy
veil of color begins to billow. Spreading sheets of
color overlay each other. Bands or ribbons of color
develop and flow with the music.”
Hirschhorn’s Hints
Thunder, deep voices, and drums
often invoke dark images. The
imagery is light when people
hear squeaks from string instruments, flutes, or piccolos. High
pitch makes the colors more
powerful and vivid. If you see
red with middle C, C-sharp will
be a brighter red. You'll see a
more brilliant color if D is played
rather than C-sharp.
—Songwriter magazine, June 1979
Loch’s research revealed that high-pitched music tends
to produce small, sharp-edged images; low-pitched
music brought on dark, round images. Graceful lines
of color accompanied smooth music; syncopated
music yielded jagged lines.
Don’t be concerned whether your mental imagery
conforms to the majority. For half an hour, give yourself over to the sounds and let your mind choose its
own visual equivalents. After the power of your imagery dissipates, start to write. Your music will gain
richness, color, and freedom.
The Least You Need to Know
➤ Experience your surroundings visually.
➤ Even mundane events can translate into exciting and visually appealing lyrics.
➤ When you write, think with all five senses.
➤ Thinking in colors can stimulate musical composition.
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Chapter 8
Cooking Up Your
Hit Ingredients
In This Chapter
➤ Rhymes that work and rhymes that don’t
➤ Ways to build your rhyming skills
➤ Rhyme schemes and song structures
➤ Amazing alliteration and powerful vowels
Rhyme doesn’t seem like a controversial word. It’s love and above, moon and June,
and sing and spring. Or is it down and around, shine and mind, and laugh and pass?
It’s both. The issue that continues to rage is: Do rhymes have to be true or can they be
false soundalikes? If you ask the master craftsman of Broadway, Stephen Sondheim, if
false rhymes are acceptable, you’ll be hit with a resounding no.
I used to stand with the Sondheims and I still prefer the true rhyme, but I’m not as
dogmatic about it because attitudes toward rhyme have changed. But other lyric ingredients stay the same. As this chapter points out, learning structure will prevent you
from wandering formlessly and ensure that every thought comes across with emotional clarity. Alliteration (in which two or more words in a line start with the same
letter) makes the line flow easily and effortlessly. And using vowels such as “e” and
“o” helps singers to achieve greater vocal passion and power.
Rhyming Time
There’s more latitude in rhyming today than there used to be, but one thing is still
certain: On Broadway, where standards of craft are mercilessly strict, you have to
Part 2 ➤ Dressing Up the Song
rhyme perfectly. If you don’t, critics will pounce on you and probably close your
show before anyone gets a chance to see it. The pop world is different. Pop music is
not just for educated sophisticates, but for the masses, and the byword is honesty.
Singers and writers have to relate to the man (or woman) on the street. If the words
are too slick, they’ll be rejected as pretentious.
Types of Rhymes
Most rhymes fall into one of the following categories:
➤ Perfect rhyme. The sounds are exactly alike, as in day/play, joy/boy, blaze/craze,
and ease/knees.
➤ False rhyme. Still a matter of controversy among writers, this rhyme pairs words
that contain similar sounds, such as time/mine, down/around, and hard/car.
➤ Masculine rhyme. This rhyme involves a single syllable. That syllable may be
the entire word as in store/floor or the last syllable in longer word, as in venerate/segregate. In a masculine rhyme, the final syllable is accented, as in these
words: resound, avoid, reply, and consume.
➤ Feminine rhyme. In this two-syllable rhyme, the stress falls on the first part of
the word: walker/stalker. The final syllable of the word is unaccented, as in softness, careful, and fairest.
➤ Open rhyme. This rhyme ends softly as in flow/toe or sky/pie.
➤ Inner rhyme. “The wall is tall and close to the mall” illustrates multiple
rhyming within a single sentence.
A Hit Mixture
In most cases, professional songwriters know how to rhyme. But more often today
they go by what feels emotionally right, even if it means sacrificing the perfect, obvious rhyme word.
This combination of false and true rhyme is used in Celine Dion’s “The Power of Love”
as well as in “I’ve Waited All My Life.”
The morning sun is shining
We made love through the night
I pray the feelings still go on
When I look in your eyes
I’ve waited all my life for you
And if you leave, I’ll break
You’ve everything I’ve waited for
So stay here for my sake
“Night” and “eyes” don’t even sound alike, except for the vowel sound of “i.” Yet
“break” and “sake” would satisfy any purist. Your intuition has to tell you when such
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Chapter 8 ➤ Cooking Up Your Hit Ingredients
false rhymes as love/touch or again/rain best serve your thought and when a true
rhyme would make the point more effectively.
Endings That Set You Free
The following endings will give you maximum rhyming freedom:
-ay
-ee
-in
-ore
-ade
-eer
-ine
ot
-ain
-el
-ist
-ote
-ake
ence
-it
-ow
-ar
-ent
-ize
-ow (o)
-are
-ess
-ock
-ude
-ate
-ew
-oke
-y
-ean
-ide
-oom
-eat
-ill
-oon
These are by no means the only alternatives, but they make a writer’s life much simpler. I’m not a person who shuns rhyming dictionaries. But sometimes you’re in the
midst of a song, and no rhyming dictionary is available. Train yourself to automatically know as many rhymes as possible by using these sounds and writing as many
rhymes as you can think of.
Inner Rhymes
The best inner rhymes give lines rhythmic grace, smoothness, and professionalism:
I see your face—it’s everyplace
I hear you talk—I see you walk—when I close my eyes
The smile I wear is just a disguise
I’m gonna crack—’cause I want you back
The smile I wear is just a disguise
Listen to the classic record of “Ain’t Nothin’ Like the Real Thing” by Marvin Gaye
and Tammi Terrell, and you’ll see how perfectly the rhymes coast along, beautifully
integrated into the overall structure.
Wayward Rhymes
When you’re creating a rhyme, keep the word “flow” in mind. Whether a rhyme is
false or true, it must maintain a comfortable, natural flow. That’s the only thing that
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matters. Use words that offer dozens of rhyming alternatives and avoid lines that lack
any rhyme, unless you feel that your thought is so brilliant it can survive without
safety nets of craftsmanship.
Rhymes Without Reason
My advice is to learn to rhyme perfectly before you settle for false rhymes. If possible,
avoid words that aren’t rhymes in any sense of the word, such as new/knew or bare/bear.
Combinations like these call attention to themselves and sound amateurish.
Another amateurish approach is twisting a line unnaturally:
You’re all that I’ve been thinking of
Because I find, in you, my love
No one talks that way. Don’t wrench words like pretzels for a rhyme.
Trouble Clef
Cole Porter used puberty and Shuberty as well as flatterer and Cleopatterer. Show writers
often employ this device, distorting words out of shape and then pronouncing the result
witty, sophisticated, and playful. But we’re not in the age of Lorenz Hart and Noel
Coward. Unless you’re a brilliant wordsmith, an attempt to bend words this way might
sound more like a mistake than an inspiration.
Rhymes That Box You In
Although love is the main theme behind all songs, the word itself offers few interesting rhyming possibilities. Love/above was a dated combination in the 1930s, and
love/of always sounds clichéd. What’s left? Glove is not a pop word; shove sounds hostile rather than romantic; and dove sounds pristine in the rock era.
In Search of Colorful Rhyme Words
If you’re hitting a brick wall searching for interesting rhyme words, these sources can
sharpen your lyric writing:
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Chapter 8 ➤ Cooking Up Your Hit Ingredients
➤ Roget’s International Thesaurus. This invaluable resource was first printed in 1852
and has been a treasure chest of synonyms ever since.
➤ Slang! by Paul Dickson. This book is packed with expressions relating to fields
such as business, computers, the automotive industry, counterculture, the drug
trade, fantasy, the future and science fiction, food and drink, medicine, sailing,
performing, politics, real estate, sex, sports, and many other areas.
➤ The Dictionary of Clichés by James Rogers. Over 2,000 popular expressions, their
meanings, and origins are listed in this book.
➤ Instant Quotation Dictionary will spark your rhyming and lyric writing.
➤ Dictionary of Modern Quotations by J. M. Cohen and M. J. Cohen.
➤ The International Thesaurus of Quotations compiled by Rhoda Thomas Tripp.
➤ A Dictionary of American Idioms contains such expressions as “get down to brass
tacks,” “far-out,” “bolt from the blue,” and “zero in on.”
➤ Dictionary of American Slang compiled by Harold Wentworth and Stuart Berg
Flexner.
➤ 20,000 Quips and Quotes complied by Evan Esar.
E. Y. (Yip) Harburg, who wrote the songs for The Wizard of Oz, once said, “Rhyme,
schlime—it’s the thought that counts. The thought is more important than the
rhyme.” Another of his favorite lines was, “It’s all for naught without the thought.”
Fresh, original, interesting thoughts matter more than any surface craft. But craft can
provide the key that expresses those thoughts clearly, and rhyme is one crucial way of
achieving this clarity.
Rhyming Dictionaries
Many rhyming dictionaries are so detailed that they confuse rather than enlighten.
I like the pocket-sized Random House Rhyming Dictionary, edited by Jess Stein. In a
pinch, this tiny volume has never failed me.
These rhyming dictionaries are also useful:
➤ The Songwriter’s Rhyming Dictionary by Sammy Cahn
➤ The Complete Rhyming Dictionary by Clement Wood
➤ Dell’s Complete Rhyming Dictionary, Revised Edition
➤ The New Rhyming Dictionary and Poet’s Handbook by Burge and Johnson
➤ Songwriter’s Rhyming Dictionary by Jane Shaw Whitfield
➤ The Writer’s Rhyming Dictionary by Langford Reed
➤ The Modern Rhyming Dictionary by Gene Lees
➤ Penguin Rhyming Dictionary by Rosalind Fergusson
➤ Webster’s Compact Rhyming Dictionary
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Part 2 ➤ Dressing Up the Song
➤ The New Comprehensive American Rhyming
Dictionary
➤ Words to Rhyme With by Willard Espy
Rhyme Schemes
Trouble Clef
Don’t be too proud to use a
rhyming dictionary or feel that
this aid is a copout. Stephen
Sondheim never works without
one, and he’s considered by
many people to be our greatest
living lyricist.
Successful writers utilize a variety of popular rhyme
schemes. This section points out several important ones.
My Oscar-winning song, “The Morning After,” written
with Al Kasha, demonstrates the rhyming of lines 2
and 4:
There’s got to be a morning after
If we can hold on through the night
We have a chance to find the sunshine
Let’s keep on looking for the light
To add even more rhyme, you can rhyme lines 1 and 3 and lines 2 and 4:
You’ve broken my heart
Our bridges have been crossed
’cause he broke us apart
It hurts to know I’ve lost
Another hit rhyme scheme is to rhyme lines 1 and 2 and lines 3 and 4:
I want you more than I can say
So promise you won’t go away
If I can’t have your love I’ll die
So baby, please don’t say goodbye
Some writers rhyme all the lines:
Baby I’ll be there
You know how I care
There’s so much to share
Love beyond compare
Or a writer may rhyme the first two or three lines and leave the last one without a
rhyme:
I hate to sleep alone
It’s painful on my own
I want you back
I just want you to know
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Chapter 8 ➤ Cooking Up Your Hit Ingredients
I’ll never let you go
I only want to show
That I need you
Yet another popular rhyme scheme is to rhyme
lines 2 and 3:
I hate the rain
It just reminds me of my tears
How much I’ve cried through all these years
I hate the rain
Sometimes writers only rhyme the first line of
verse 1 and verse 2:
I’ll never be free
You’ve got me in chains
I’m praying that I can escape
You’re part of me
When I try to run
I never get far
Backstage Banter
Writers sometimes decide not to
rhyme at all. John Denver’s
“Annie’s Song” had no rhymes.
The sincerity and emotional honesty of the lyrics carried Denver’s
melody along and turned it into
a major hit. “I Got Rhythm” by
George and Ira Gershwin also
became a standard without
rhymes.
Or the last line of each verse rhymes, as in this example:
The minute we met
I wanted your love
And girl, I still do
With each passing day
This ache only grows
My whole life is you
These often-used, thoroughly dependable rhyme schemes can work for all writers.
If you’re a new songwriter, stick with them until they feel comfortable and natural.
When they seem automatic, stretch out and try others.
Other Hit Ingredients
Using rhyme effectively is basic, buy other hit ingredients such as structure, alliteration, and the right vowel sounds will add form, flow, and vibrancy to your songs.
Structure
Without structure, your song would be shapeless and sprawling. Within it, however,
there is a surprising number of variations.
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Bruce Springsteen’s “Born in the USA” uses this form:
A (Verse) A (Verse) A (Verse)
The most accessible and familiar form is this one:
A (Verse) A (Verse) B (Bridge) A (Verse)
“Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head” (H. David, B. Bacharach), “Saving All My Love
for You” (M. Masser, G. Goffin), and “Just the Way You Are” (Billy Joel) use the AABA
structure. Al and I also used the AABA format on our two Oscar winners, “The
Morning After” and “We May Never Love Like This Again.”
Another familiar form is the following:
A (Verse) B (Chorus) A (Verse) B (Chorus) A (Verse) B (Chorus)
“Killing Me Softly with His Song” utilizes the ABABAB structure, as does the driving
“Big Bad Leroy Brown.” This structure has no bridge in it, just two sections alternating
with each other.
B. J. Thomas used the following format in “Don’t Worry Baby”:
A (Verse) B (Chorus) A (Verse) B (Chorus) C (Bridge) B (Chorus)
A variation on ABABCB would be this structure:
A (Chorus) B (Verse) A (Chorus) B (Verse) A (Chorus)
Sometimes the verse is repeated four times or more, without any chorus or bridge.
Johnny Cash’s “I Walk the Line” uses this structure.
The Eagles demonstrated that basic forms can be stretched, extended, or molded into
any shape that makes sense. For “Lyin’ Eyes,” they did the following:
A (Verse) A (Verse) A (Verse) B (Chorus) A (Verse) B (Chorus)
This structure is daring because it delays the appearance of the chorus until nearly
halfway through. If you’re a new writer, it’s safer to stick with more familiar forms.
The Eagles were powerful enough when they recorded “Lyin’ Eyes” to experiment
and buck commercially conservative trends.
Alliteration
Nothing makes a line flow more smoothly than alliteration, as in this example:
Tell me you’ll be true
Trust my love for you
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Chapter 8 ➤ Cooking Up Your Hit Ingredients
Note the three T words: tell, true, and trust.
Alliteration is something to concentrate on. You
can overdo it, as in “How wonderful to walk with
you this Wednesday,” but if kept in check, it’s the
best friend any lyricist can have.
Vibrant Vowels
A, E, I, O, and U are the magic letters. Think how
often you hear big, powerful notes on words such
as go and say and me. Think how wrong it would
be to sock out a roaring note on the or but. When
you’re writing, stress vowels on your crucial notes,
and you’ll keep the singer happy. You’ll also increase your chances of having a hit.
Lyrical Lingo
A bridge (or release, as it’s also
called) is the mid-section of a
song. It’s completely different
from the rest of the tune.
Act Out Your Lyrics
When used properly, rhyme, alliteration, and vowels pay off the ultimate dividend: Your words will
talk. Whether sung or spoken, lyrics should never
sound stilted. After you’ve completed your lyric,
give it the talk test. Be an actor. Read every word
out loud, dismissing all music from your mind.
Pretend you’re speaking to a loved one or a friend.
Lyrical Lingo
Alliteration is the use of the
same first letter to begin several
words in the same line.
Is there any phrase that sounds awkward when
spoken? It will be equally awkward in combination
with music. Speak the lyrics two, three, or four
times. Your ear will latch onto the lines that sound
real and reject the ones that seem artificial. You’ll
notice right away which words are fillers, throwaways, or pieces of a first draft that should have
been discarded.
Once the talk test identifies your weak lines, be
ruthless and get rid of the verbal dead weight.
Don’t rationalize, as so many beginning writers do,
that the line “works,” that the overall feeling is
fine, or that it’s the best you can do. You may be
tempted to do that if you’re tired or discouraged or
bored by the process. If this is the case, stop working, and then return to the problem and deal with
it in a renewed frame of mind. An absolute truth
about all writing is: As good as something is, there
are always ways to make it better.
Hirschhorn’s Hints
Get sheet music of the Top 10
and speak the lines. You’ll begin
to see how the best ones sound
like natural human speech.
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Before you play your material for anyone, make sure that you’ve done as much as
you possibly can with your rhymes, alliteration, and vowels. When the lyrics talk to
you, they’ll talk to the listener as well.
The Least You Need to Know
➤ Try for pure rhymes first.
➤ Be constantly aware of inner rhymes.
➤ Keep in mind that the thought behind the lines counts most.
➤ Learn the basic rhyme schemes used by the pros.
➤ Alliteration gives your material a flow and polish.
➤ Lyrics have to sound like honest, colloquial human speech.
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Chapter 9
Repetition
and Hooks
In This Chapter
➤ Simplify your style with repetition
➤ Factor in the tempo
➤ Improve your hook consciousness
➤ Add magic with riffs and figures
The core of all popular music is repetition. A song may repeat only one note or one
lyric line or, more commonly, an entire section. The importance of repetition can
never be emphasized too strongly, because composers, particularly new ones, tend to
resist it. In their quest for originality, they drop basic form, as though adopting a
structure will compromise their art. They often come up with tuneful themes and
then replace them, never to return to the melody they started with!
When people complain that they can’t sing a song, it’s because the tune is difficult or
even impossible to remember. Repetition can make your songs more memorable and
more likely to become hits.
Styles of Musical Repetition
You can work miracles within a tight, organized framework. Some familiar ways repetition can be applied include the ones illustrated in the following figure.
Part 2 ➤ Dressing Up the Song
Samples of repetition.
(© Joel Hirschhorn)
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Chapter 9 ➤ Repetition and Hooks
Hirschhorn’s Hints
Don’t look at the few exceptions to the repetition rule. Yes, Bob Dylan’s “Rainy Day
Women #12 plus 35” never even gives us the title in the song, but most of Dylan’s hit
singles are repetitive and instantly memorable: “Blowing in the Wind,” “I Want You,” and
“Mr. Tambourine Man.”
As a new writer, I once told Irwin Schuster, an A&R (artists and repertory) man at Screen
Gems Music, that I was afraid I would bore the audience if I repeated the chorus too
much. His answer: “You can never repeat too much, not in pop music.”
The Strength of Simplicity
The late Irving Berlin is still one of the most performed composers in ASCAP history.
Reviewers often criticized Berlin for being too commercial and simple. But as Hello,
Dolly! composer Jerry Herman comments …
“That’s like saying the bride is too pretty. To me the ultimate compliment is to
be called commercial. I’m writing for the people out there, and if I can’t reach
them by having them hum something of mine, I’ve failed.”
Simplicity allows people to hum, whistle, and sing
songs after one or two listens. Simplicity equals
repetition. This formula pertains equally to a
Broadway standard and a rock song, whether the
song is Webber and Rice’s “Jesus Christ Superstar”
or an early 1950s hit such as “Maybe Baby,” with
this catchy opener:
Maybe baby, I’ll have you
Maybe baby, you’ll be true
Maybe baby, I’ll have you for me
Paul McCartney made sure listeners would remember his title when he sang the phrase, “band on
the run,” four times in a row!
Lyrical Lingo
Repetition can refer to one
note, full lines, or a complete
verse. When an entire section is
repeated, this section is known as
the song’s hook.
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Part 2 ➤ Dressing Up the Song
Repeat Hits
When repetition is skillfully utilized, it can produce songs that become hits two or
three times. Goffin and King’s “The Loco-Motion” was a gold record for newcomer
Little Eva (their daughter’s baby-sitter) and reappeared at the top of the charts with
Grand Funk Railroad. This rousing dance record kept repeating, “Come on, baby, do
the Loco-Motion.” Diana Ross and Phil Collins benefited from the repetition of the
title “You Can’t Hurry Love,” which was a number-one smash for both of them.
Repetition and Tempo
When a tune races ahead quickly, keep the lyrics simple. That’s why there are so
many repetitive sha-na-nas, tra-la-las, and doo-wop-doo-wops when tempos pick up
steam. On a tune such as “Staying Alive” by the Bee Gees, the rhythm plunges ahead
rapidly, so the words are simple, and the title repeats unceasingly. The words can be
more varied and sophisticated when the tempo is slow, because listeners have time to
digest them.
Hooking the Audience
It doesn’t matter if the material is pop, country, R&B, hip-hop, hard rock, soft rock,
punk rock, Latin, or adult contemporary: The lifeblood of a song is its hook. Hook is
a perfect word for pop writing. A pop song doesn’t seduce, coax, or invite; it hooks
people with an assertive, repeating demand.
You don’t have to open a song with a hook (hundreds of hits don’t), but for chart insurance, Berry Gordy, founder of Motown, used to urge his writers to jump in hook
first. Number One was Gordy’s goal, and he once referred to number 9 on the charts
as a major disappointment and number 28 as “dismal.” He took no chances.
A hook is often based on a sound, such as “Hi-De-Ho” by Blood, Sweat and Tears,
“Be-Bop-a-Lula” by Gene Vincent, and Al Green’s “Sha-La-La.” The ideal hook contains three elements:
➤ A danceable, pulsating rhythm
➤ A melody that sticks in people’s minds after one listen
➤ A lyric that propels the story forward
Hooking the Emotions
A hook line has to connect viscerally with all the senses. If you were to take a sentence such as “I should brush my teeth” or “It’s time to do the dishes” and base your
song around that phrase, no great performance or explosive orchestration could rescue it. An outstanding hook always puts across the song’s basic, overall point of view.
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Hooks should represent the most powerful part of
your lyric and melody. For example, “Dancing in
the Streets” by Martha and the Vandellas sought to
combine exuberance, a sense of celebration, and a
feeling of future hope; the pounding hook captured all three.
It doesn’t matter what kind of emotion you’re
projecting, as long as that emotion deeply affects
people. In Sting’s “Every Breath You Take,” the
hook line, “I’ll be watching you,” conveys suspicion and paranoia. The melody here is more lowkey and insinuating. It portrays the feeling of a
lover’s desperation and creates a strong setup for
the rest of the song.
“Killing Me Softly with His Song,” written by
Charles Fox and Norman Gimbel, is gentler and
more subdued than the previous two songs, but
the effect is just as forceful. The spare, guitardriven arrangement and Roberta Flack’s sensitive
vocal brought out all the emotions felt by someone
who finds herself falling in love at first sight.
Trouble Clef
Don’t let your focus on a hook
mislead you into thinking that the
rest of the song doesn’t matter.
Writers often give short shrift to
the second verse in particular, figuring the hook will compensate.
Keep this in mind: Every part of
the song has to be worked over
and made as strong as possible.
Lyricist Gimbel knew that the words in a hook had to be vivid. When Johnny Mercer
commented, after first hearing the song, that the word “killing” was too shocking and
tonally harsh, Gimbel obeyed his instincts and used the word he believed in. He had
enough confidence not to emasculate the hook and make it tame.
Hirschhorn’s Hints
Listen to songs in your car (or when you’re walking or riding the bus). Gerry Goffin felt he
could tell if a song had a hit hook and lyric if he listened to it on the car radio. He never
listened at home. It was just something about the resonance of the car that caught the
sound of a hit single.
Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Goin’ On?” is a definitive example of the hook as chant.
“What’s Goin’ On?” he cries over and over again, with increasing despair, to a world
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brimming with prejudice and hostility. Jackie De Shannon’s classic rendition of
“What the World Needs Now Is Love” is also a chant, but in a waltz tempo. The note
on the word “world” leaps up, underlining the intensity of her plea for tolerance,
love, and understanding.
The test of a Top 10 hook is its ability to exist without verses, bridge, or orchestral
icing. A good hook should have tremendous impact and stand completely alone.
If you write a hook first, you know right away if you have something special. You’ve
established the story, the rhythmic feel, and the song’s crucial repetitive element.
Developing Your Hook
Consciousness
Hirschhorn’s Hints
To emphasize and hammer home
the hook, writers like to attach a
strong, rising section right before
it begins. This section is called a
pre-chorus. It’s not mandatory,
but pre-choruses are riveting announcements that the big musical wave is coming. Whenever
you feel a pre-chorus works comfortably within your song’s context, you should consider using it.
Try thinking in hooks. As a practice exercise, listen to
the radio and ignore everything except the hook. Treat
the radio dial as you would your television remote;
stay on a pop station for a couple of songs, and then
switch to country for a few more. After that, move to
R&B. Scan an oldies program. Cover all genres. Do this
for an hour a day, listening to nothing but the hooks.
This exercise will develop and sharpen your hook consciousness. It will simplify any tendency you have to
wander and ramble. Then listen to CDs you have, one
or two in each style. Play the hooks over and over
again. Listen to them a couple of times, without analyzing anything. Once the general hook is in your
head, concentrate on individual notes and words.
What is repeated? How many times? If you can write
music, write the hooks down. If you can’t notate
music, write down the lyrics from each hook you hear.
Ask yourself what the hooks contain that catch your ear most powerfully. What, in
your opinion, makes them special?
Creating and Testing Your Hooks
Sing the hooks you’ve heard without backing yourself up on an instrument. Get a
sense of how simple they are and how little they depend on chords and arrangements
to be appreciated. In writing your own hooks, do the same thing. Never think this
thought: It may not sound perfect just now, but when it’s produced or an arrangement is added, it will be just right. If the hook doesn’t work without embellishment,
you need to re-examine it, rewrite it, or discard it.
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Chapter 9 ➤ Repetition and Hooks
Verse vs. Hook
The verse and the hook (chorus) are from the same family, but you must never make
them so similar that no distinction exists. It’s always better to hear the complaint, “I
can remember the hook, but not the verse,” than to hear someone express the opposite thought. Make sure the chords don’t fall in exactly the same places, and that the
rhythms differ. The lack of contrast between verse and hook will cost you a hit, even
if you’re lucky enough to land an important artist and get top promotion.
When you’ve completed a song, make sure there’s enough variety in story, lyric, and
melody to avoid tedium. Eager young songwriters often take the message about repetition so much to heart that they practically eliminate all the other song elements
needed. If you feel the slightest bit uneasy or bored, examine your tune again. The
trick is to be memorable without being monotonous.
Instrumental Breaks
Instrumental breaks allow musicians to let loose. Sometimes these breaks are spontaneous creations in the studio. Other times the composer works out every note with
care. But either way, the instrumental break allows room for another hook. It can be
utilized in the intro or repeated at the end. It can become part of a background chorus. When writing your song, keep its value in mind.
Sleep on It
In the rapturous rush of a completed first draft, you’ll tend to love what you’ve written. Your hook will seem like the next Number One. My advice is to get away from it
for a while and re-evaluate your masterpiece the next morning. You may still be impressed with your own brilliance; you may even feel that the work is better than you
originally thought. But you may also notice notes, words, or chords that could benefit
from rewriting. When that happens, don’t be depressed. With the clarity of distance,
you’ll be able to make the song far better.
What Hooks Your Friends?
When your friends listen to music, what hooks them? What do they respond to? Your
job, as a commercial songwriter, is to develop a keen awareness of what appeals to other
people. Even though you must stay true to yourself, you’re also writing for the public.
Keep in mind that before your song reaches the ears of the public, it has to win
the approval of radio program directors who decide what music will be aired and
emphasized. The song must be immediately singable or it will never be added to a
Top 40 playlist. Occasional exceptions are made for icons like Whitney Houston or
Madonna, but even superstars have a tough time if they don’t offer a memorable
hook. Today, more than ever, program directors are conscious of ratings. They were
never risk-takers, but in this era, the word risk is poison.
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Tell Yourself the Truth
Remember: Your friends and family are your public. So are your children and your
nieces and nephews. You don’t want intellectual reaction or analysis of your work;
you want to judge the emotional response. If you’re honest with yourself, you can always tell the difference between “It’s nice” and genuine excitement. Don’t be so selfprotective that you program your pals to react the way you want them to. Don’t start
out by saying, “I wrote a new song you’re going to love.” People, particularly family
members, take their cues from the need you project.
Criticism is tough to take. We all want our work to receive unqualified praise. I used to
think, after I won my Oscars, that I would have less difficulty accepting negative reaction, that success had insulated me against hurt feelings. My shell is a little tougher
now, but if friends give me a less-than-ecstatic reaction, I still feel as though one of my
children has been criticized. When that happens, I try to keep my main goal in mind:
I need the truth so I can improve my work and win world acceptance for my songs.
Instrumental Icing: Figures and Riffs
A song is a blend of melody and lyrics, and many songs have succeeded by coasting
on these two components alone. But the real magic comes when you add figures and
riffs. Publisher Irving Mills of Mills Music once referred to them as “the golden glue.”
Don’t make the mistake of saying, “Figures and riffs
aren’t my job. They’re the job of the arranger or producer.” Anyone who studies hooks and develops an
acute case of hook consciousness will be cured of that
attitude.
Lyrical Lingo
A riff is a short, rhythmic pattern
repeated with no melodic variation (ostinato, in musical language). A figure is a melodic
fragment repeated through the
song, often serving as an extra
hook.
Figure on Catchy Figures
Stevie Wonder’s “Superstition” supplies a rocking guitar intro that repeats after every line in the song. This
record wouldn’t have had half the impact without
Wonder’s superb guitar riff.
Lennon and McCartney based many of their early
tunes on riffs. Think of “Daytripper,” and you’ll hear
the repetitive 11-note riff in your mind before you
hear the melody. “You Keep Me Hangin’ On” achieves
immortality through its SOS figure.
These records all have unforgettable, built-in background figures:
“All Night Long (All Night)” by Lionel Richie (L. Richie)
“Fame” by Irene Cara (M. Gore and D. Pitchford)
“Live and Let Die” by Paul McCartney (McCartney/Eastman)
“Take My Breath Away” by Berlin (G. Moroder and T. Whitlock)
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Chapter 9 ➤ Repetition and Hooks
Write Cool Riffs
Rock fans treasure the wailing sax in Leiber and Stoller’s comedic Coasters recording
“Yakety Yak.” Whether it’s a movie tune such as “What’s New, Pussycat? (wa-wa-wa-wa)”;
or George Harrison’s “My Sweet Lord,” with its repetitive and romantic guitar riff;
added words, notes, and sounds become fresh, delightful hooks of their own.
In other words, you can’t have too many hooks!
After a while, it becomes an enjoyable game to see
how many you can include. Try writing a tune
that contains the following hook elements:
➤ The hook verse itself
➤ A vocal part that keeps repeating in every verse
➤ A bass part that repeats every other bar
➤ A guitar part that opens the record and then
repeats in every hook section
➤ A recurring piano figure
➤ The lead vocalist doing a high, recurring
falsetto part
Backstage Banter
A famous music publisher used to
give his staff writers an assignment:
to write a song and think of as
many hooks as possible, both
lyrically and melodically. He
wouldn’t accept less than 10, and
someone on the staff would occasionally come up with 15 or more.
The following figure illustrates how it can be done.
“Nobody Knows How Much” (Joel Hirschhorn). A 32-bar computer-generated song demonstrating
four hooks, a recurring piano figure, and a recurring falsetto part for the lead vocalist.
(© Joel Hirschhorn)
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Chapter 9 ➤ Repetition and Hooks
Always remember what people say when they like something: “I can’t forget it.” “I
can’t stop singing it.” “I heard it in my dreams.” “I found myself whistling it.” If you
can write unforgettable, repetitive hooks, your songs will always attract the attention
of artists and producers.
The Least You Need to Know
➤ Repetition of lyrics, notes, or whole sections of the song simplify the song and
make it more memorable.
➤ Keep the hook simple.
➤ When the tempo of the tune is rapid, keep the lyrics simple.
➤ Put as many figures and riffs in your songs as possible.
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Chapter 10
The Secrets of Hit
Melody Writing
In This Chapter
➤ The elements of an appealing melody
➤ Chord progressions of Top 100 songs
➤ Rhythms that drive the chords
➤ Prosody, the marriage of words and music
What is a good melody? Opinions and tastes vary, but a melody with popular appeal
is usually …
➤ Singable.
➤ Easy to remember.
➤ Based on a pleasing chord pattern.
➤ A combination of creatively arranged notes on top of a captivating rhythm.
➤ A blend of intervals that mix innovation with a sense of the familiar.
Successful popular melodies can be different, but not too different. Neil Sedaka, composer of “Breaking Up Is Hard to Do,” “Bad Blood,” and “Love Will Keep Us Together,”
used to say that he included at least one “oy gevolt” chord in his music, a chord that
was adventuresome and daring and took the listener by surprise. That chord was a
dash of color that made the melody special, but the rest of the chords in his songs
Part 2 ➤ Dressing Up the Song
were comfortably familiar to the listener’s ear. The same applies to rhythm. You can
slip in a 5/4 or 7/4 bar rather than the more typical 2/4 or 4/4. But put in too many
of them, and you have jazz, not pop music. Danceability is always a major factor in
commercial songs.
What Makes a Tune Singable?
A melody consists of intervals, which are the distances between one pitch and another. The choice of appealing intervals determines whether your song makes an impression with the mass audience. A major second (C to D) leaping to an augmented
octave (C to C-sharp) would be likely to alienate your public. But a major third (C to
E) moving to a perfect fifth (C to G) is something listeners can greet with enthusiasm.
Record buyers automatically embrace certain chord progressions. These buyers don’t
intellectually know why particular chord patterns draw them in; the response is emotional.
The following chord progressions are utilized in Top 100 songs. Without attempting
to analyze which songs they provide foundations for, write your own tunes over
them. Do this with other progressions you hear on the air or have on sheet music. It
will sharpen your commercial ear immeasurably.
➤ G Em Am Am C/D D7
➤ C C/Bb Am7 D7/F# C/G (F/G G7) C
➤ F F F/E Dm7 G7 C F F/E Dm7 G7 C
➤ Ema7 Ema7 F#m7 F#m7 C
➤ Ema7 Ema7 F#m7 F#m7 A B A B A B E
➤ Am Dm G Cma7 Fma7 Bm7-5 E7 E7
➤ C Cma7 F C Cma7 F
➤ C G (Am F) (C G) (F C/E Dm7 C)
➤ D D G A A7 A7 D
➤ Cma7 Cma7 Am7 Am7 A7 A7 D
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Chapter 10 ➤ The Secrets of Hit Melody Writing
➤ Cma7 Cma7 Am7 Am7 Dm7 Dm7 Fm7 F/G
➤ C Em7 Fma7 Fma7 Em7 Fma7 Fma7
➤ CCGGGGCC
➤ C7 F Bb C7 F
➤ Gm C7 F F Gm7 C7 F
➤ Eb F7/Eb Fm7 Bb7 Eb
➤ D D/F# G Bm Em D/F# C G
➤ G A7 D7 G
➤ Eb Fm7 Bb7 Fm7 Bb7 Eb
➤ D A7 Bm D/A Gma7
➤ C G7 C G7 C E7 Am E7
➤ C#m C#m B C#m
➤ F F Fma7 Fma7 Bb Bb C C
➤ Eb Ab Ab Gm Eb Ab Gm Ab
➤ D A/C# G A D
➤ F#m D A F#m D A
➤ Db F7 Bbm Gb Db Ab7 Db
Reliable Rhythms
Chords and intervals are two thirds of the puzzle;
rhythm is the support system that gives those
chords a groove and makes them pulse with excitement.
The following figures show examples of frequently
used, always reliable rhythms. These rhythms
should be studied, played, and internalized. When
you’re running through them, learn the range of
moods they can convey by picking varying numbers on a metronome and getting to know how
the rhythms sound in all tempos.
Hirschhorn’s Hints
A rhythmic groove can be utilized in a dozen ways. If you play
certain beats slowly, they convey
an entirely different mood than
if you play them in an upbeat
manner.
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Frequently used grooves.
(All © Joel Hirschhorn)
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Chapter 10 ➤ The Secrets of Hit Melody Writing
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Chapter 10 ➤ The Secrets of Hit Melody Writing
Prosody
Now you have a tune that incorporates all the vital elements. But how does it match
up with the lyrics? Prosody, the union of words and music, is like a marriage. When a
powerful emotion is being expressed, it makes no sense to drop the notes or to keep
them on one repetitive level.
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Music’s basic function in a song is to dramatize the
words that are being sung. When lyrics are put to a
melody, the same applies in reverse: The words dramatize the melody.
Lyrical Lingo
Prosody is the proper, seamless
blending of words and music.
Consider the song “When You Wish Upon a Star,” and
how effectively it uses octave leaps. The octave leap on
you has a plaintive, yearning quality. Then again, on
the word no in the phrase “Makes no difference,” the
octave leap appears again. The emotional level of the
song and the lyric is powerfully heightened by these
two perfectly chosen dramatic intervals. The following
figure illustrates some examples of logical, effective
prosody.
You Gotta Shop Around
What’s the most intense thought in a line? Make sure you emphasize that emotion.
Don’t place your most powerful interval leaps on undramatic words. For example, “I
went shopping today,” doesn’t scream out for melodic melodrama, unless, of course,
someone robbed the store while you were at the
checkout stand. Use common sense.
Hirschhorn’s Hints
Think of yourself as a singer at all
times. Imagine yourself on stage,
facing a huge audience. Unless
your words and music project excitement, you’ll quickly lose the
audience’s attention. Sing each
line individually when you’ve
completed a draft. Do it several
times. Each line is crucial to the
overall impact.
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There are no hard-and-fast rules in prosody, just your
own artistic judgment. Sometimes the sadness in a
heartbreaking line is dramatized best by going up,
rather than down. Other times, a sense of joy can
come across more vividly if the interval dips. The true
test is if the prosody moves you. If you’re not personally moved by what you’re writing, no one else will be
either.
Do a Prosody Search
Analyze all the current hits. How are the emotional effects achieved? After listening a few times, make note
of the most emotional lyrics in the song. How does
the melody highlight them? Do the notes go up or
down? Ask yourself why the composer and lyricist
made the choices they did. This exercise will help you
to improve your prosody with amazing speed.
Chapter 10 ➤ The Secrets of Hit Melody Writing
Examples of prosody.
(All © Joel Hirschhorn)
The Least You Need to Know
➤ The more interesting your chord progression, the better your chances are for a hit.
➤ Rhythm is just as vital as melody.
➤ Prosody is a key element to the overall emotion of the song. Develop a habit
of analyzing prosody whenever you hear a new song.
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Chapter 11
Rewriting
In This Chapter
➤ Overcoming your resistance to rewriting
➤ Becoming a better songwriter through rewriting
➤ Choosing the right rewriting environment and time
➤ Dealing with writing disappointments
Rewriting is just as much an emotional as a creative process. Songwriters recognize
how important it is, but they resist it.
Sometimes the resistance is conscious. Other times, a subconscious conflict makes
composers and lyricists put off rewriting as long as possible.
Every songwriter wants to feel that his or her music and words burst out perfectly
formed. I’m not saying it never happens, but ordinarily a first draft is just that: assembling ideas and lines that only suggest a final, polished product. Refusal to rewrite is
more than a mistake; it’s a catastrophic blunder that could prevent your career from
developing.
Bad Reasons to Avoid Rewriting
Songwriters use all kinds of weak reasons to resist rewriting songs that they know
need it. If you find yourself thinking any of the thoughts in the following sections,
recognize them as rationalizations for putting off the inevitable and think again.
Part 2 ➤ Dressing Up the Song
The Best Things Will Be Thrown Away
The danger of throwing good stuff away during a rewrite is greatly overestimated.
You’re in the driver’s seat. You have life-and-death control over what’s kept and what
gets discarded. Examine everything carefully, methodically, and slowly. If a line or a
musical phrase feels comfortable, keep it. Trust your intuition. If something isn’t
working, you’ll sense it.
Backstage Banter
Norman Gimbel, who wrote the lyrics to “Killing Me Softly with His Song,” has said, “Very
rarely do I get lucky and does it really explode. I usually have to work my ass off. Even
after all the things I’ve written, I have a lot of problems to be looser … to be freer. And
yet I think it’s valuable that I go through all that struggle. My songs aren’t as much written as they’re rewritten.”
Above all, believe you can make it better. Writers, new ones in particular, throw up
their hands and cry out, “I can’t do any better.” It’s a perfectly normal fear reaction.
You have to remind yourself that you can improve your song immeasurably.
The Rhyme Is Fine
Suppose the song is basically there, but a few rhymes feel like compromises. Don’t
tell yourself, “People won’t notice them. They’ll just react to the overall feeling.”
Even if nobody notices a specific compromise, listeners may know that you settled
for a less-than-perfect rhyme. Lots of things work, but is adequate enough for you?
It’s worth it to find a rhyme word with more color, more cleverness. Don’t say, “It’s
the feel that counts today. Rhythm is the main thing, and words don’t matter.”
Everything matters.
Let rhymes flow. As the late Harry Chapin said …
“Don’t force it. Don’t submit to what Robert Frost called ‘the tyranny of
rhyme.’ I know when I write a bad line or a bad rhyme, I’ve got to throw the
damn thing away. I’ve time and time again come up with a great line and I
can’t find another line that rhymes with it. So you try to change it around, you
do something else. You’ve got to work with practical realities and be tough with
yourself. I edit, I struggle, I throw away, and I resurrect.”
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Chapter 11 ➤ Rewriting
Second Verses Aren’t That Important
Just because people have a strongly positive initial reaction to melody or lyric doesn’t
mean they won’t notice if the second verse is comparatively boring. Discounting the
value of a second verse means that the lyricist doesn’t know how to develop the story
of the song. Melodically, the second verse usually repeats what the first verse does, so
it’s less of a concern for the tune writer.
The Bridge Is No Big Deal
When it comes to the bridge, resistance and rationalization take over powerfully.
Those who want to avoid rewriting bridges often say, “Lots of songs don’t even have
bridges today, so it’s not a big deal.” That attitude is fine if you want to eliminate the
bridge altogether. But if you plan to write one, it’s just as important as any other part
of the song.
I’m a big believer in bridges because they add a different color. You can launch into
an entirely new rhythm and a fresh chord progression. Sometimes you can just talk
the bridge rather than utilizing music at all. Even if you think you might not use a
bridge, write one and then make up your mind about whether you want to keep it.
It’s Just a Little Like Britney
It’s one thing to use a common chord progression. You can hardly avoid it. But if three
or four measures of your tune are exactly or almost exactly like the latest Britney Spears
single (or another hit), change them! In this case,
reluctance to rewrite can get you into big trouble.
You don’t want to find yourself in court like George
Harrison, forking over a fortune because you duplicated someone else’s work. (Harrison’s “My Sweet
Lord” ended up being the same tune as the 1963
hit “He’s So Fine” by The Chiffons, written by
Ronnie Mack.) Sometimes these things are unfortuHirschhorn’s Hints
nate accidents, but if you’re aware of the similarity,
If you write both words and
it would be madness to take a chance that “no one
music, and your first priority is
will find out.”
But the Rhythm Fits the Words!
Rhythm is the key to today’s music, but it has to
be the right rhythm. Is your melody written so
that the backbeat (emphasizing beats 2 and 4 of
the bar) is emphasized? Without that emphasis,
the tune won’t be danceable.
words at the expense of movement, listen to records and concentrate only on the bass and
drum parts. One of my earliest
publishers said it best: “Lyrics will
get a publisher interested, but
only a great track and feel will
make it a hit.”
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Part 2 ➤ Dressing Up the Song
Is your lyric wordy? Too many words hold down the rhythm. When I started, I was
too verbose and too concerned with an excess of poetic imagery, and publishers
would tell me, “It’s nice, but it doesn’t swing!” You can sacrifice words to preserve the
rhythm, but you can’t sacrifice rhythm to preserve the words. Keep the lyrics simple
and uncluttered; if they’re not, you’d be wise to rewrite them.
When you’re playing the song, do you find your body moving automatically? If
you’re playing it on piano or guitar, you won’t be able to keep still if the beat is right.
I’ll Fix It in the Studio
The problem with rewriting in the studio is that you don’t have enough time, and
the financial and emotional pressure is on. Yes, great ideas do sometimes spring up
during the recording process. But is it worth taking a chance on this possibility when
you can work out the kinks at your leisure?
Saying you’ll fix it in the studio is just another way of avoiding what seems like an
arduous and boring task. It’s like an actor saying, “If the audience doesn’t respond
properly, I’ll make up new lines,” because he or she doesn’t want to learn the scripted
dialogue.
My First Draft Is Always the Best
Some songwriters say their best work is “spontaneous.” Spontaneity is fine at the
beginning, and a few first-draft melodies (though rarely lyrics) wind up being the
final product. But this occurrence is so rare that it’s not worth considering. There’s
always a chord that can be improved or a lyric line that can be phrased better.
I Just Want It Done
Backstage Banter
Richard Sherman, co-composer
with his brother Robert of Mary
Poppins and two-time Oscar winner, says, “The key to our success
is that we both have to feel 100
percent about every word, every
note, every concept, before we
show it to a third party.”
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“I want it finished now,” say many songwriters, as
though speed were synonymous with artistic achievement. Unless you’ve been given a difficult deadline,
there’s no reason to rush. Everyone likes immediate
satisfaction, but how about total satisfaction? No one
is pointing a gun to your head. When you have the
luxury of extra time, take advantage of it. Strive for
perfection.
The Title Is Strong Enough
Suppose the song works and you’re satisfied with the
title. Yet that little voice is buzzing in your mind: “It’s
too ordinary … It’s good, but it’s not a grabber …
I think people will like it ….” If those inner thoughts
Chapter 11 ➤ Rewriting
keep returning, I can assure you that you’ll never be satisfied with that title. Weeks,
months, or even years later, you’ll say, “Why didn’t I change it?”
Backstage Banter
While you’re writing and rewriting, something mystical can happen. Barry Gibb of the Bee
Gees says, “We can’t think of something, and it just comes. We just leave it to the open
spaces … we play along and when it’s time to do that line, it’s not just a good line, it’s an
amazing line, and Robin and I look at each other and say, ‘Where did that come from?’
And we’ll sit there looking at each other numbly, especially when we find out that that
line connects all the lines before it, which wasn’t planned.”
Do you write down titles when they occur to you? Do you keep a title list? If you
don’t, you should. Even if you look over the list and nothing seems right, it will
spark dozens of other title ideas. Rewriting titles may seem like a threatening process,
especially when the song is completed. You can’t help worrying, “What if a title
change forces other changes? What if it changes the whole meaning of the song, and
leads to massive rewrites from top to bottom?” These changes mean only that the
song was not quite finished; those changes are needed.
The Ending Is Okay
When composers and lyricists don’t want to rewrite, they frequently rationalize that
the ending works perfectly. Even if it’s not quite as exciting as it should be, even if it
doesn’t put a powerful button on the production, they resist tinkering with it. Here
are just some of the rationalizations about endings:
➤ When the singer hits a big note at the end, it’ll be exciting.
➤ A dynamite drum fill will give it the impact it needs.
➤ All that’s needed are background singers in that section.
Nothing is more important than the right ending. The beauty of the song construction doesn’t matter if the proper payoff is missing.
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Part 2 ➤ Dressing Up the Song
It’s Not Worth Bothering About
Backstage Banter
“I battle over songs and work,”
says Burt Bacharach. “It takes me
a long time. I don’t write easily
now, and I didn’t write easily at
the beginning. I like to write and
then look at it the next day, then
a week later, and see if I can
come up with something better
than I’ve already got. Often I’ll
wind up back where I was.”
Suppose you show the song to a producer and he’s not
enthusiastic. Do you automatically toss the song into
the wastebasket? No! If you believe in it, if you think
it has something of value, re-examine and rewrite.
Granted, rewriting something when you don’t get a
positive response is hard. The temptation is to start
something new. This is like throwing out the baby
with the bathwater. If you, as a writer, felt the song
had something special, you might be more on the
mark than the person you played it for.
A star may turn to you and say, “I don’t feel this; it’s
not me.” This comment doesn’t mean that there’s
anything wrong with your work. Stars have an image
they want to project. They sing certain notes more
effectively than others. You may have written some
notes that are out of their range, that would force
them into uncomfortable registers that don’t do their
singing justice.
Remember, people judge subjectively. They have their own needs and their own prejudices. You may be showing the song for Mariah Carey when it would be perfect for
Christina Aguilera.
I remember showing a song to a Disney executive, and he said, “I can’t stand when
a writer uses so many major sevenths.” Fine, but someone else may love major sevenths. I had two options: Rewrite it and substitute some other chords for the major
sevenths, or show it the way it was to someone else.
I did rewrite it, but not by deleting the major seventh
chords; I created an entirely new bridge and ending.
The rewritten song was recorded by Maureen
McGovern and put into a television show.
Trouble Clef
Don’t be seduced by praise into
feeling you’ve written a masterpiece. Don’t rationalize by saying, “What do I know? I’m too
close to it. If they think it’s wonderful, it must be.” The final
voice, the only significant voice,
is your own.
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You’re a Genius
Who doesn’t love the sound of “Bravo!” when he or
she completes an artistic work? But don’t let compliments convince you that rewriting is unnecessary. As a
songwriter, your objectivity has to be ruthless. It’s not
enough that your mom thinks the song deserves an
Oscar or that your girlfriend feels Garth Brooks is an
amateur by comparison to you. Do you love the song
you’ve written? Do you feel that it’s in such perfect
shape that no rewriting is required?
Chapter 11 ➤ Rewriting
You Do It!
You may not want to rewrite, but your partner does. Don’t throw up your hands and
say, “Go ahead, then.” If your partner doesn’t feel you’ve nailed it completely, he or
she is probably right. Even if you think your partner is nitpicking, that no rewriting is
required, go along. Respect the person’s desire to improve the song, unless you feel
that his or her perfectionism is too extreme. In some cases, you can rewrite until
you’ve completely altered the product and removed the qualities that made it special
in the first place. Unless the song is one of these rare cases, though, don’t fight your
partner. A resistance to rewriting could backfire when the song is rejected or when
people pick up on the weaknesses in the record that you were too lazy to correct. At
that point, your partner is likely to resent you for not rewriting. He or she may say so
straight out or smolder inside; either way, unnecessary tension is created.
Starting the Process
If you have a partner, you may prefer to begin the rewriting process alone, and then
show him or her what you’ve come up with. Or your partner might want to come up
with changes and then show them to you. Find a rewriting approach that suits you
both best. It doesn’t matter how you accomplish it; it only matters that it gets done.
Hirschhorn’s Hints
When is the rewriting process done? When the work is right. As Jerry Bock, composer of
Fiddler on the Roof, put it, “[The song] ‘Tradition’ accumulated a bit here, a bit there. We
must have written 20 versions of it, and we worked with Jerome Robbins. We didn’t know
how the hell to open the show, so we tried things. Some worked; some didn’t. We’d have
to draw it out.”
When you complete a song, you always have special affection for particular notes or
lyrics. So you say to yourself, “I’ll work around these. I’ll correct other places and try
to match them up with the lines I like best.” That’s not total rewriting because it restricts creative freedom. If new ideas necessitate discarding old ones, don’t be afraid
to throw out the old stuff.
A big mistake is to come up with a sensational line and say, “I can’t use it, because it
will mean tossing something else out.” If the old line or tune has to go, send it on its
way without regret.
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Part 2 ➤ Dressing Up the Song
Take It from the Top
The best way to approach rewriting (especially if you’re fighting it) is to think of your
composition as a brand-new song. Look at it as though you’ve never seen it before.
It’s His Song, Not Mine
Another method for maintaining emotional objectivity is to pretend someone else
wrote the song. Tell yourself you’re rewriting the material for a friend. That way, you
won’t have such a violent need to defend it or to personalize the process so much
that you lose your grasp of the overall picture.
Tell Yourself It’s Fun
Part of the reason songwriters dread rewriting is the fear that they won’t be able to
solve the problems, no matter how hard they try. Comedic as it sounds, just tell yourself over and over again that the rewriting process is fun. View it as an enjoyable
challenge rather than a grim, deadly strain. Visualize the rewards that will come to
you as the song gets into tighter shape. Visualize higher royalties with each chord
and Grammies with each lyric change.
Create Your Own Time Patterns
If you’re like many composers and lyricists who fight the rewriting process, it’s best to
work on rewrites when your mind is clear. If working at night is a trial for you, don’t
start your corrections at 10 or 11 P.M. Doing so will only add to your reluctance. You
can often work through less-than-ideal hours when you’re hatching your first draft,
but when you rewrite, pick times you know you’re absolutely at your best.
When you sit down to rewrite, you don’t have to keep going until all the changes
have been made. Stop if you want to. Have a soda. Walk around the block. Call a
friend. Or maybe even put your music away and start fresh the next morning. You
can direct your mind, but you can’t exert tyrannical control over it. When you feel
your rewrites aren’t top-notch, that’s the time to quit for a while. Sometimes, even
with all the motivation and dedication in the world, the well runs dry. At other
times, creative ideas pour out in a monumental flow, and you can’t get them down
fast enough.
Choose the Right Environment
An office can become claustrophobic. Your room at home might seem too routine
and familiar to inspire creativity. Worse, some environments dampen initiative. If
you’re anywhere near a television set, you might use that as an excuse to slack off
and watch Survivor or Ally McBeal.
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Chapter 11 ➤ Rewriting
When the environment interferes with your
work, change it quickly. My first recorded song
was written on a park bench. You can sit in the
car with a notebook and finish a lyric. I know
writers who operate best while having coffee in a
restaurant. A writer friend of mine has done some
of his most successful work on a rooftop.
Rewriting, in particular, demands a new way of
seeing, a different point of view from what you’ve
already composed. New backgrounds and new
sights encourage that fresh perspective.
Staying with It
Jerry Bock once said, “Songs aren’t written.
They’re rewritten.” The initial burst of inspiration
is an emotional state; rewriting is the objective
phase. Don’t personalize rejection if you can help
it, and don’t get discouraged. You never want a
publisher to say, “This sounds like a first draft.”
Trouble Clef
The only danger of rewriting is
that you might use it as an excuse to avoid showing your work
altogether. At a certain point,
you just have to jump into the
deep end of the pool and let
the world evaluate what you’ve
done. Don’t be like a composer
friend of mine who’s been
rewriting a song for three years
and feels it’s “almost done”!
The Record Lost Its Bullet
You’ve written a song, a major artist has recorded it, and it gets on the charts. It starts
at number 100, and moves to 89—83—81—and then off! You can’t believe it. In your
despair and disappointment, you may want to throw the song into the trash. Don’t.
It was recorded and made the Billboard charts, so it has something special.
Let a little time go by and look at the song again. Maybe the reason it didn’t reach
the Top 20 is because of a weak line or lyric or a bridge that went on too long or not
long enough. Rewrite the song again and try to get it recorded by someone else.
Whatever attracted the first artist to it will inevitably attract another one.
If you’ve rewritten a lyric and left the melody alone, you can bring a singer back (or
get a new one) and do another pass at the vocals. If the tune has been changed, however, you’ll have to do another recording altogether. The thought of that may make
you groan (for artistic or financial reasons), but it will be worth it if the song is vastly
improved.
This Is Show Business
Writers are sensitive, and they frequently see critical response in a personal light.
Such thoughts flood in as, “He has something against me,” “She doesn’t like young
writers,” “He doesn’t like old writers,” “She’s old-fashioned and doesn’t like the fact
that I’m experimental,” and on and on.
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Part 2 ➤ Dressing Up the Song
Hirschhorn’s Hints
Rewriting isn’t always a pen-and-paper process. Suppose you do a recording of the song,
and it doesn’t capture the feeling you had in mind. If the song is strong enough, it’s
worth recording it again. Maybe it’s a question of overdubbing a few lines or adding a
background part. Possibly the singer is wrong, even if the track is great. Studio stitching
and pasting can bring the recording up to par in most cases.
The music business is a business. Or, as hit producer Peter Guber puts it, “This is not
show friend.” Most of the time, those evaluating your work are not judging you as a
person. They just want to know if you’re showing them something that will earn
them money. If they suggest a rewrite, it’s not because of the color of your shirt or
where you went to school. They want a commercial product. The fact that they’re
asking you to rewrite at all is a positive sign. It means they think your work has possibilities. If they didn’t like it, they would quickly dismiss you.
Try a Different Instrument
Backstage Banter
If you take Lamont Dozier’s
advice, you’ll never look upon
rewriting as a chore again:
“Writing songs is a 24-hour-a-day
job. You dream in it, you eat it,
you sleep in it. It’s my relaxation,
my fun, my everything.”
—Paul Zollo, Songwriters On
Songwriting, DaCapo Press, 1998
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If your rewriting isn’t flowing as well as you’d like,
you can trick your creative mind into submission.
Suppose you play both piano and guitar. If you’re trying to work the song out on the piano, try guitar instead. If neither feels comfortable, sing without any
accompaniment.
Another way to stimulate creative rewriting is to turn
on the radio or a favorite CD. Soak in the music without trying to relate it to what you’re writing. Richard
Rodgers was famous for listening to classical music for
at least an hour before starting to compose.
Let the Song Breathe
When you’re rewriting, you want the song to be as
tight and professional as possible. But you don’t want
to rewrite endlessly until the song starts to sound slick
Chapter 11 ➤ Rewriting
and bloodless. If you see the chords becoming too complex and lush, the lyrics too
self-consciously clever, catch yourself. Above all, no matter how much rewriting you
do, you want to retain that sense of honesty and naturalness.
Going in Reverse
When you rewrite, there are times when you realize your early stuff was better than
the corrections that came afterward. Be grateful when this occurs; it doesn’t happen
often. All it means is that you examined every alternative, analyzed it, tested new
tunes and lyrics, and discovered that you’d hit the bull’s-eye right at the start. You
won’t be any worse off for carrying the whole process through. Rewriting is a wonderful creative practice and a fine way to flex your musical muscles.
The Least You Need to Know
➤ Don’t rationalize your way out of rewriting a song that needs it.
➤ Overcome your resistance to rewriting by remembering that it can make you a
better songwriter.
➤ Take a positive approach and choose the most supportive environment and
time periods for rewriting.
➤ Don’t let disappointing results keep you from finding creative solutions.
➤ Look upon rewriting as a pleasure, not a chore.
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Part 3
Genre Gold
All good songs follow certain rules, but each genre has its own individual characteristics. This part shows you what elements go into an outstanding country, R&B, and
rap song, as well as tunes and lyrics for commercials, children’s songs, movies, and
theater musicals. You’ll also learn how to write the kind of film song that works
within the movie and functions as a hit outside the picture.
Chapter 12
Crossing Into
Country
In This Chapter
➤ Country goes pop
➤ Realism reigns
➤ Country’s chord patterns stay simple
➤ A country collection that holds everything from honky-tonk to rock
Country music, in its efforts to compete with rock for multiplatinum sales, has gone
partially, and in some cases completely, pop. Garth Brooks initiated the process with
his phenomenally successful songs, and records such as Faith Hill’s “Breathe” are so
completely pop that they’re causing country purists to cry foul. Objections still linger
about overuse of lush strings and synthesizers.
Pop hit-makers such as Diane Warren now concentrate on country songs as much as
they do on rock music. Warren’s acceptance by Nashville clearly announces that writers from Los Angeles, New York, or anywhere else can make their mark on the country
charts. Her “How Do I Live?” became a simultaneous smash for Trisha Yearwood and
LeAnn Rimes, and she has followed up with Mark Chesnutt’s “I Don’t Wanna Miss a
Thing.”
Nashville News
Nashville is no longer the somewhat insular city it used to be. At one time, the capital
of Tennessee was a tight little society of its own, not given to embracing writers from
out of town unless they made their Nashville moves permanent. Now the doors to
non-Nashville composers are wide open.
Part 3 ➤ Genre Gold
Barbara Mandrell once sang, “I was country when
country wasn’t cool.” Today, country is cooler than
ever, from both an artistic and a financial point of
view. If country music calls to you, keep in mind that
opportunities to write songs and have them recorded
have never been greater.
Backstage Banter
Tony Brown, producer of Reba
McEntire, Lyle Lovett, and Vince
Gill, doesn’t feel as though
Nashville will change greatly as a
result of the influx of New York
and Los Angeles writers. Brown
says, “We’ll change them!”
Lyrical Lingo
The Grand Ole Opry, which
started in 1926, is the longestrunning radio broadcast in history. An invitation to play the
Opry certifies country performers
or performer/writers as superstars.
Great names associated with it
include Minnie Pearl, Roy Acuff,
and Bill Monroe.
A Little Background
Scottish, Irish, and English settlers brought their folk
music to the South in the eighteenth and nineteenth
centuries, and these folk songs became the basis for
country music. The first country recordings were released in the 1920s. Radio stations recognized the
genre’s appeal and brought it to a wide audience,
courtesy of such artists as Jimmie Rodgers and the
Carter Family.
A pack of independent labels opened up in late 1940s
Nashville: Nashboro, Republic, Excello, Dot, Bullet,
and Tennessee. As recording activity proliferated and
the Grand Ole Opry achieved fame, booking agencies
and music publishers made the city their base of operations. The area on the southwest side of town that
spawned this accelerating country world got the name
Music Row.
Country sales were modest at first, and they sharply
diminished with the advent of rock and roll. Three
producers, Columbia’s Don Law, Decca’s Owen
Bradley, and RCA’s Chet Atkins, decountrified much
of the music by subtracting steel guitars and fiddles.
Vocal choruses, rhythm sections, and eventually
strings took the twangy edge off the sound, broadening country’s national appeal.
Traditional country stylings featuring honky-tonk and
mountain music still exist, but the pop influence,
spearheaded by Garth Brooks, is unlikely to disappear.
Nashville records always stayed firmly rooted on the country charts in the past. Now
dozens of them are represented on Billboard’s Top 100.
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Chapter 12 ➤ Crossing Into Country
Hirschhorn’s Hints
Garth Brooks was the first country artist to sell a million copies. He brought country to a
mass audience. Brooks’s album, Ropin’ the Wind, made its debut at the top of the pop
charts. But at the beginning of his career, every label in Nashville refused to sign him. He
had to make a living singing recordings of songs by other writers until Capitol Records recognized his potential. The message in his story is: Don’t give up. If you have something
special, it will eventually be recognized.
The Currents of Country
To write country, you should be as familiar with Merle Haggard, Johnny Cash, and
the Gatlin Brothers as you are with John Michael Montgomery, Jo Dee Messina, Tim
McGraw, and Vince Gill. You should also have a basic understanding of the many
ideas and emotions that make country what it is:
➤ Honesty. Whether pop-flavored or flat-out country, honesty is the key ingredient to Top 10 country music. This music is for the man on the street, without
pretension and slickness. Country artists have no interest in lyrics and music
that sound forced or fake.
➤ Raw reality. Country classics often reflect struggle. “Guitar Man,” by Jerry Reed,
follows the efforts of a guitarist to find success and the bitter rejections he receives. He sleeps in hobo jungles and bums a thousand miles of track. In another part of the lyric, Reed talks about nearly starving to death in Memphis,
having run out of money and luck.
➤ Down-to-earth drama. Country is no place for fantasies. Tim McGraw contemplates the question of aging with his memorable “The Next 30 Years,” and in
“Middle-Age Crazy,” the protagonist is 40 going on 20, with a “young thing beside him that just melts in his hands.” The man in Bob McDill’s “I May Be Used
but I Ain’t Used Up” strikes a positive note for older folks who still want to feel
the pleasures of youth.
There’s no self-delusion in country breakup songs, either. “Two Story House”
tells of a couple who achieved fame and fortune, but despite the surface splendor, “there’s no love about.” Love is no simple matter in “When She Cries,” because the protagonist has tried and failed to fulfill the dreams of his loved one,
and sometimes in the night, he hears her crying. He wants to be the man that
she deserves, and he dies a little each time she cries.
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Part 3 ➤ Genre Gold
➤ Honky-tonk heartache. Stories of honky-tonk nightlife are Grand Ole Opry staples. In “Honky-Tonk Attitude,” we hear about “tight pants, line dance, Stetson
hats and cowboy boots” and the Friday nights when a man goes out with a
honky-tonk attitude. Hank Williams’s “Honky-Tonk Blues” tells of a man who
went to a dance, wore out his shoes, and then woke up in the morning wishing
he could lose the honky-tonk blues. As he concludes, “Lord, I’m sufferin’ with
the honky-tonk blues.”
➤ Turning to the Lord. Spirituality is a current that runs strongly through country
songs. Kris Kristofferson’s “Why Me? (Why Me, Lord?)” takes an unusual slant on
prayer; the protagonist is grateful for everything God has given him and now
wants spiritual help and a chance to prove he deserves all his blessings. Another
creative way to deal with spiritual strength is demonstrated by Merle Haggard in
“From Graceland to the Promised Land,” a touching story about Elvis Presley in
which Haggard sings about Elvis going from Memphis to a mansion in the sky,
keeping his faith in Jesus all along.
➤ Feelings that touch everyone. Many of us have loved someone only to have
them call us by the wrong name. “I’m Not Lisa” touches that chord in all people who can’t quite replace the person their lovers cared about before. Garth
Brooks reminds us about our capacity for revenge when he sings, “Friends in
Low Places,” in which a rejected suitor shows up at his former girl’s wedding
and proceeds to wreak havoc.
➤ Street poetry. Visual imagery is a characteristic that makes country lyrics shine.
A good example is “Rednecks, White Sox, Blue Ribbon Beer.” “Country State of
Mind” is a definitive example: The protagonist is chewin’ on a hickory twig,
asking someone to pass a bottle so he can have a swig. He ain’t got a lot, but
he’s got it made in the shade, because he’s in a “country state of mind.”
The majority of country songs are miniature motion pictures. You, as a country
writer, must draw every detail of the scene for the listeners so that they can see
cracked paint on the walls, hear the railroad whistle, taste the food, and touch
the people.
➤ Dramatic overstatement. Country lyrics don’t hold back. When you’re writing
them, be as vividly emotional as the following:
I was lying in the dark
Screaming to the wall
Praying I’d hear her footsteps in the hall
Dying for her touch
Aching for her smile
Desperately I grabbed the phone and I began
to dial
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Chapter 12 ➤ Crossing Into Country
➤ Exquisite simplicity. The greatest education
country can give you, as a writer, is to force
you into writing specifically. It can also teach
you how to edit out overblown phrases and
shave your sentences down to exquisite simplicity. “Going Going Gone,” “God Bless the
USA,” and “Got No Reason Now for Goin’
Home” are perfect examples of this kind of
simplicity.
➤ Spoken dialogue. When the words sound as
though they just sprang into the protagonist’s mind, you’ve reached the pinnacle of
country composing. With urgency and immediacy, people in country songs confess, confide, share intimate feelings, and open up
their souls to close friends or loved ones.
➤ Get loose and playful. The lyrics in country
music have a looseness and freedom about
them. Alan Jackson’s hit “Right on the
Money” uses free-flowing imagery with
“She’s a three-point jump shot” and “She’s
the best cook that ever melted cheese.” Tracy
Byrd’s “I’m from the Country” is verbally
playful when he talks about sleeping in the
hay because he’s from the country and he
likes it that way.
Many country titles have the same far-out
playfulness. Consider “I’m Gonna Hire a Wino
to Decorate My Home,” in which the protagonist tells her alcoholic husband that she’s
made this decision so he’ll be comfortable and
won’t feel the need to roam. Another product
of an inventive imagination is “God Must Be a
Cowboy.” These off-center, tongue-in-cheek
approaches are typical of much country
music. A country writer doesn’t say, “She’s
leaving me for him,” when he can just as easily say, “That ain’t my truck in her drive.”
Hirschhorn’s Hints
You can’t connect with country
publishers or the public unless
you dig deep down into yourself
and the sources of your own
pleasure and pain. Bob McDill,
writer of 28 number-one country
hits, says that country songs are
more about loss and hurt than
music, beat, or groove.
Trouble Clef
Just because country is frank,
don’t go overboard. A conservative, puritanical streak still runs
through the country world.
When Garth Brooks wrote “kiss
my ass” as part of a last verse for
“Friends in Low Places,” the
phrase was cut. “I’ll Try,” by Alan
Jackson, originally said, “We both
know damn well.” The line eventually became “We both know
too well.”
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➤ Turning clichés inside out. A characteristic of country lyric writing is taking
common expressions and bending them in a clever way. Dean Dillon’s “Nobody
in His Right Mind Would’ve Left Her” is a perfect example with its “right” and
“left” references. Another good example is “If I Said You Had a Beautiful Body
Would You Hold It Against Me?”
➤ Say it straight out. Country songs have an appealing, down-home directness.
When you’re coming up with ideas and titles and you want to break beyond
conventional thinking, remember these classics: “Please, Daddy, Don’t Get
Drunk This Christmas,” “Ruby, Don’t Take Your Love to Town,” and “You Make
Me Want to Be a Mother.”
Musical Elements of Country
Country music is a combination of different genres. You should be familiar with the
ones in this list:
➤ Honky-tonk. This music is what most people think of when country music is
mentioned; it uses steel guitars, fiddles, acoustic guitars, and vocals. Stars that
kicked off the movement were Ernest Tubb, Al Dexter, and Hank Williams. George
Jones and Lefty Frizzell were also highly admired practitioners of honky-tonk.
➤ Country gospel. This genre describes the sound
of traditional country wed to spiritual lyrics.
Backstage Banter
Honky-tonk king Jerry Lee Lewis
was enraged that Elvis Presley
was treated as “The King” while
he was treated as white trash. He
regarded himself as a nice guy,
and told the press that he
couldn’t understand why people
hated him.
➤ Bluegrass. The roots of modern country grew
out of bluegrass, a style of music that blended
fiddle, mandolin, and banjo with string bass
and guitar accompaniment. Bill Monroe kept
this traditional string music alive and flourishing. His band, The Blue Grass Boys, was responsible for the term “bluegrass.” Earl Scruggs,
Ricky Skaggs, and the Osborne Brothers are
other bluegrass performers.
➤ Hillbilly. This term was the first definition used
for country music derived from Tennessee,
Kentucky, Virginia, West Virginia, and Southeastern Ohio. “Fiddlin’” John Carson, Henry
Whitter, and Vernon Dahlert recorded hillbilly
songs.
➤ Western swing. This music is a combination of string band music, blues, folk,
jazz, and traditional pop melodies. Lyrics concentrated on the lives of cowboys
and reached a zenith with Gene Autry and Roy Rogers. This genre attained a
new popularity in the 1990s.
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➤ Rockabilly. This music is rock-and-roll in its earliest form. A combination of
rhythm and blues and hillbilly songs, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, Buddy Holly,
and the Everly Brothers made it popular.
➤ Country rock. Country played by rock bands, with pop melodies, a strong backbeat, and powerful amplification typifies this genre. Neil Young, Gram Parsons,
and the Byrds increased this genre’s popularity.
➤ Traditional country. This country music has a distinctive twang and uncomplicated instrumentation. Ernest Tubb, Eddy Arnold, Hank Williams, and Roy Acuff
played it and helped launch the Grand Ole Opry, the weekly radio program that
came to represent country music to the world.
➤ Country pop. Here’s a genre that consists of country-flavored rock-and-roll
songs such as “I Don’t Wanna Miss a Thing” sung by Mark Chestnutt and “How
Do I Live?” by Trisha Yearwood. The advent of rock and roll and its wildfire success encouraged country to absorb more pop influences. This pop Nashville
sound smoothed out the rough edges of the earlier country records, and by the
1970s, country recordings were more accessible to a wide noncountry audience.
➤ Outlaw country. David Allan Coe, Merle
Haggard, and Johnny Cash were representatives of this genre, which emphasized smaller
bands and acoustic instruments.
➤ R&B, gospel, and folk. These music genres
are mixed into the country brew for color.
➤ Old-time country. This style was heard in the
nineteenth century and first recorded in the
1920s. Originally British folk songs played
on the fiddle, the same folk songs were later
played on banjos, Spanish guitars, bass, dobro,
and washboard.
Lyrical Lingo
The dobro is a guitar with amplification made of steel or
wood. Musicians also know it as
the Hawaiian guitar.
Chord Patterns of Country
Country is simple, although not as simple as it used to be. But behind the new, often
lushly orchestrated country pop hits is a fundamental simplicity that can’t be sacrificed. The songs build excitement, but they don’t veer into strange, wild syncopations.
A look at current country hits confirms their chordal simplicity: Tracy Byrd’s “I’m
from the Country” begins with D D G G D D A A D D. The melody is buoyant and
infectious. “Wide Open Spaces,” a hit for the Dixie Chicks, has a hook based on four
chords that recur four times: E F#m7 A B.
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Trouble Clef
Remember, too many chords
weigh down a tune. Once you
find a pattern, stick with it as the
melody develops.
Trouble Clef
A prejudice against outsiders still
exists in Nashville. One studio
owner commented, “If you heard
a country record cut in L.A., you
knew it. It never seemed authentic.” Your chances of doing
recordings that inspire enthusiasm
in the country music industry will
improve if you go to Nashville
and stay there, at least part of
the time.
Musical progressions that move stepwise, up or down,
allow for driving rhythm. They also offer room for the
musicians to improvise. An uncomplicated but memorable progression underscores Vince Gill’s touching
ballad, “Kindly Keep It Country”: Bb Bb Bb Bb7 Eb Eb
Bb Bb. Looking at those chords, you might be tempted
to think that they’re dull or unimaginative. But when
you listen to Gill’s record, you encounter a rich, moving melody.
In the past, country chords rarely included major and
minor sevenths. Today, with pop so much a part of hit
country cuts, these chords are more acceptable. “For
You I Will,” sung by Aaron Tippin, features D Bm7
F#m7 A. “They’re Gone,” a smash for Diamond Rio,
has a prominent major seventh with Am Fma7 G Em7
F F G G.
“They’re Gone” also utilizes an augmented chord, a
chord much more frequently employed in show songs
than country tunes. It adds beauty and flavor to the
melody, even though the use of this chord in country
songs is still rare.
Here are other hit country chord progressions:
“Nothing But the Taillights”: D7 C G G D7 C G G
CCGG
“Husbands and Wives”: F F/E Dm7 F/C F F/E Dm7
F/C Gm7 C7 Gm7 C7
“Keepin’ Up”: E B C#m C#m E B C#m C#m A A B B
“Then What?”: A E B E A E B E
Keeping the Nashville Flavor
When you’re writing country songs, try to keep a sound and an arrangement concept
clearly in mind. Even though country and pop overlap somewhat today, the balance
still has to retain its Nashville tone. Think of those steel guitars and fiddles. Imagine
a country voice doing the song. It makes all the difference, because country phrasing
is altogether different from pop. Madonna and Faith Hill are both blond and beautiful, but musically they have nothing in common beyond the fact that they sing.
Another little exercise has helped me through the years. I do more than imagine
artists vocally; I close my eyes and picture them physically. How do they move? What
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are they wearing? What environment surrounds them? Seeing a country band with
your mind’s eye gives you a specific slant. This picture is your own, private form of
MTV or VH1, a video you run in your mind to fuel your creative ideas and keep you
on the right atmospheric track.
Recommended Listening
To get an overall feel for country, you must be familiar with a wide variety of artists.
This sampling of CDs will make you an all-around connoisseur of the music:
Garth Brooks (contemporary country): No Fences (1990, Liberty)
Brooks and Dunn (contemporary country): Brand New Man (1991, Arista)
Buffalo Springfield (country and folk rock): Buffalo Springfield Again (1967, Atco)
Johnny Cash (traditional country/rockabilly): The Sun Years (1990, Rhino)
Floyd Cramer (instrumental, Nashville sound): Essential Series (1995, RCA)
Diamond Rio (bluegrass/contemporary country): Diamond Rio (1991, Arista)
Dixie Chicks (contemporary country): Shouldn’t a Told You That (1993, Crystal
Clear)
The Eagles (country rock): Hotel California (1976, Asylum)
Merle Haggard (Western swing): Tribute to the Best Damn Fiddle Player (1970,
Koch)
Jerry Lee Lewis (honky-tonk): 18 Original Sun Greatest Hits (1984, Rhino)
The Oak Ridge Boys (country pop/country gospel): Y’All Come Back Soon (1978,
MCA)
Elvis Presley (rockabilly): The Complete Sun Sessions (1987, RCA)
Bonnie Raitt (country blues/rock): Nick of Time (1989, Capitol)
Linda Ronstadt (country rock/country folk): Heart Like a Wheel (1974, Capitol)
Merle Travis (traditional country): The Merle Travis Story (24 Greatest Hits) (1989,
CMH)
Ernest Tubb (honky-tonk): Country Music Hall of Fame (1987, MCA)
Hank Williams (traditional country): 40 Greatest Hits (1978, Polydor)
The pop world has become such a slave to technological advances that sounds and
theatrics take precedence over many of the songs. Fortunately, country music has
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never succumbed to this trend. The attitude in Nashville is “song first.” The guitars
and drums may thunder more loudly than they used to, but the meaning of the lyrics
and the tune predominate.
The Least You Need to Know
➤ If you write country music, avoid all pretension and slickness. Write with downto-earth realism and deal in universal problems.
➤ Country lyrics are rhymed dialogue that blend street honesty with visual color.
➤ Country styles include honky-tonk, country gospel, bluegrass, hillbilly, Western
swing, rockabilly, country rock, traditional country, and country pop.
➤ Chord progressions in country should be simple and uncluttered.
➤ Study all the country genres, from hillbilly and bluegrass to country pop.
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Chapter 13
R&B and Rap
In This Chapter
➤ R&B roots
➤ Blues, gospel, and doo wop
➤ Soul, Motown, and funk
➤ Rap and hip-hop
Atlantic Records President Jerry Wexler coined the term “rhythm and blues,” but the
best definition of rhythm and blues is the one offered by Screamin’ Jay Hawkins:
“Rhythm and Blues is music about the pain you have suffered. It’s about having
a good time, feeling passion, experiencing humiliation. It’s about your mother
dying, your woman walking off, even a bottle of wine. Rhythm and Blues is a
slave who picked cotton. It’s a black man who ran from a lynch mob. It’s something of pain, something of bliss, something of love, something of hate, revenge
or laughter. Whatever the emotion, all great music is based on things you actually experience through living.”
—Gene Busnar, The Rhythm and Blues Story, Jules Messner, 1985
Rap/hip-hop is dance music, featuring singers who speak in rhyme to pulsating
rhythms. It first caught on strongly in New York City’s African American neighborhoods, developing in the early 1970s and heating up to an explosive point by the
1980s. Sex, partying, and political statements are recurrent rap themes. Rap records
sample sections from other tracks, and edit pieces of different songs together as well.
Part 3 ➤ Genre Gold
Birth of the Blues
Heartache has always given life to great music, and the birth of the blues is a great
example of this truth. Black people were taken by force from their tribes and brought
over in chains to America. Many died; those who survived their ocean crossings were
sold as slaves upon arrival. Blues began as a music of despair, of slaves crying out for
liberation.
Music was the powerful bond that gave them strength to face their heavy burdens.
The rhythms and chants of African music were a means for people to communicate
with each other, a communication more eloquent than words. A call-and-response
style evolved as one person sang lead against a chorus. Modern R&B owes its existence to these pain-soaked blues.
From a musical standpoint, blues are marked by a hammering beat and a melody
built on flatted thirds, fifths, and sevenths. These slurred, flatted notes have built-in
emotion, a sobbing, prayerful quality. The standard blues form is a 12-bar blues.
Lyrical Lingo
A 12-bar blues consists of four bars of tonic (first chord of the scale), two bars of subdominant (fourth), two bars of tonic, one bar of dominant (fifth), one of subdominant, and two
of tonic. A modern example of 12-bar blues is Leiber and Stoller’s “Kansas City”: C (4 bars)
F7 (2 bars) C (2 bars) and G7 (1 bar) F7 (1 bar) C (2 bars). The jazz of Count Basie focused
on 12-bar blues.
A characteristic of all R&B music is hitting beats 2 and 4. Instrumentation generally includes a rhythm and horn section. The rhythm section has bass, piano, drums, and
guitar. Trumpets and saxophones are staples of the horn section, with trombones participating every now and then. Strings became part of many R&B records in the 1960s.
Minstrel to Motown
In the 1800s, whites were attracted to black minstrel songs. These upbeat songs and
upbeat tunes bore a resemblance to Anglo-American jigs and reels and utilized tambourines and fiddles. At the time of the Civil War, white minstrels gained great success in Europe and America playing these songs in a black style. White audiences
reacted enthusiastically to the watered-down performances.
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From the 1920s on, blues reached the masses through an ever-growing record industry.
Jimmie Rodgers established his reputation as the singing brakeman from Meridian,
Mississippi. The father of bluegrass, Bill Monroe, invested powerful blues feelings in his
playing. Country and blues music were blended in the performances of Western swing
bands.
Major labels rejected R&B, and newly formed independent companies such as Chess,
Modern, Specialty, and Atlantic rushed in to fill the gap. R&B records first reached a large
public in 1948 via WDIA, a radio station in Memphis.
The Johnson Influence
Singer, guitarist, and composer Robert Johnson was one of the greats of early R&B. His
contemporaries of the 1920s and 1930s claimed that his vocals, guitar playing, and
stomping feet had the power of an entire band. His early, primitive recordings (his first
recording was in 1936) featured the tinkling piano fills, driving bass line, and powerful
drum of a four-piece electric blues band. Following Johnson were Muddy Waters and
blues singing great B. B. King.
Jordan’s Jump
In the late 1930s, Decca Records got behind Louis
Jordan and promoted his group, The Tympany Five.
The Tympany Five specialized in a style that came
to be called jump blues. Jordan’s arrangements
strongly emphasized horn riffs that repeated, and
his hit songs such as “Choo Choo Ch’Boogie” found
favor with black and white record buyers alike.
Crooner Nat Cole showed the world a more mellow
blues form when he sang and played club blues.
Club blues also reached a wide audience, as did the
vocal sounds of The Ravens, The Ink Spots, and The
Mills Brothers.
Backstage Banter
One-verse songs with a song structure of AAA (the verse repeated
three times) caught on in the first
quarter of the twentieth century.
The AAA structure evolved into
AAB structure (verse, verse, chorus), which was called the blues.
The Gospel Truth
God-fearing African Americans regarded blues as low class. The deeply religious were
horrified when they heard “Honey Love” by The Drifters and “Work With Me, Annie”
by The Midnights.
Gospel music took a controversial commercial turn when secular lyrics were attached to
gospel melodies. In 1955, Ray Charles turned “This Little Light of Mine” into “This Little
Girl of Mine.” “I Got a Woman” was Ray’s rewrite of “My Jesus Is All the World to Me.”
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Doo Wop
In the 1950s, R&B songs started centering on the lives and problems of teenagers. In
“Charlie Brown,” the Coasters expressed an adolescent sentiment, “Why is everybody
always picking on me?”
The most popular form of R&B at this time was doo wop. The characteristics of doo
wop are medium tempos and close harmonies. These songs are doo wop classics:
“Story Untold” by The Nutmegs
“Come Go with Me” by The Dell-Vikings
“Silhouettes” by The Rays
“You’ve Got the Magic Touch” by The Platters
Backstage Banter
“Barbara Ann” by The Regents
Ray Charles says, “The blues and
gospel are pretty much the same.
The main difference is that in
the blues you’re singing, ‘Oh
baby,’ and in gospel you’re
singing, ‘Oh, Lord.’”
“Poison Ivy” by The Coasters
“Since I Don’t Have You” by The Skyliners
“Stay” by Maurice Williams and the Zodiacs
“In the Still of the Night” by Five Satins
“Little Darlin’” by Diamonds
Early R&B Hits
Backstage Banter
Parents weren’t sure that artists
such as Chuck Berry provided appropriate music for their children,
little dreaming that he would win
a Kennedy Center Award for
Lifetime Achievement in the
year 2000. Berry’s lyrics are
found in such hits as “Roll Over
Beethoven,” “Maybellene,” and
“Lucille Were Witty and Clever.”
He also cut quarter notes into
eighths, replacing the triplet that
defined previous styles of blues.
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Listening to and studying early R&B classics, which
were known as “race records,” will give you a basic
rhythm and blues background. All lovers of rhythm,
blues, and gospel should know these Top 10 R&B hits:
“My Song” by Johnny Ace
“3 O’Clock Blues” by Ruth Brown
“Lawdy Miss Clawdy” by Lloyd Price
“Hound Dog” by Willie Mae Thornton
“Crying in the Chapel” by Orioles
“Baby Don’t Do It” by 5 Royales
“The Things I Used to Do” by Guitar Slim
“Honey Love” by Clyde McPhatter and The Drifters
“Earth Angel” by Penguins
“Only You” and “The Great Pretender” by The
Platters
Chapter 13 ➤ R&B and Rap
“Long Tall Sally” by Little Richard
“Fever” by Little Willie John
“I’m in Love Again” by Fats Domino
“Rip It Up” by Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers
R&B’s approach to sex and relationships was raw and direct, and these sentiments
were reinforced by the blaringly sensual rhythm. Originally, the term “rock and roll”
was a euphemism for sexual intercourse.
The Motown Sound
Sam Phillips of Sun Records visualized how R&B could be expanded when he said, “If
I could find me a white boy with a black sound, I could make a million dollars.” That
boy turned out to be Elvis Presley.
Despite the fact that audiences were becoming more and more fascinated by R&B, the
small independent labels that produced R&B records still felt that they were a minority
enthusiasm. It took Atlantic Records and the Motown sound to change that thinking.
Lyrical Lingo
Rolling Stone’s definition of the Motown sound: “While the vocalists provided emotion,
the band mounted a nonstop percussive assault highlighted by a ‘hot’ mix, with shrill, hissing cymbals and a booming bass—anything to make the song jump out of the car radio.
With tambourine rattling to a blistering 4/4 beat, the music came to epitomize what
Motown called ‘The Sound of Young America.’”
The Many Faces of R&B
Jump blues, club blues, and doo wop led to soul, funk, disco, and hip-hop.
The Sound of Young America
With his company Motown, Berry Gordy softened the harder blues and gospel edges
of soul and made it accessible to everybody. The Holland Brothers, Eddie and Brian,
and Lamont Dozier (a team later identified as HDH) turned out exactly the kind of
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records Gordy wanted, with such stars as Diana Ross and the Supremes, Marvin Gaye,
Gladys Knight, Smokey Robinson, Martha and the Vandellas, Mary Wells, The
Jackson Five, and Stevie Wonder.
These Motown classics are a must-listen for any aspiring R&B songwriter:
“Can I Get a Witness?” by Marvin Gaye
“Baby I Need Your Loving” by The Four Tops
“Come See About Me” by The Supremes
“Uptight” by Stevie Wonder
“Ain’t Too Proud to Beg” by The Temptations
“What Becomes of the Brokenhearted?” by Jimmy Ruffin
“You Can’t Hurry Love” by The Supremes
“Ain’t No Mountain High Enough,” “You’re All I
Need to Get By,” and “Ain’t Nothin’ Like the Real
Thing” by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell
“I Heard It Through the Grapevine” by Gladys
Knight
Backstage Banter
Berry Gordy Jr. began as a prizefighter and then became a hit
songwriter, turning out Top 10
hits for Jackie Wilson such as
“Reet Petit,” “Lonely Teardrops,”
and “To Be Loved.” But he had a
bigger vision, a vision that led
him to form Motown and become the most successful owner
of a black label in record history.
“My Girl” (The Temptations) by Smokey Robinson
and the Miracles
“Twenty-Five Miles” by Edwin Starr
“ABC” by The Jackson Five
“If I Were Your Woman” by Gladys Knight
“Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)” by Marvin Gaye
“I Just Want to Celebrate” by Rare Earth
“Dancing in the Streets” by Martha and the
Vandellas
Chicago Soul
Chicago soul was defined by a gentle, sensitive musician named Curtis Mayfield.
Curtis and I wrote some songs in the early 1960s, and he confided his intention to
write music that inspired people. He and his group, The Impressions, contributed
such hits as “People Get Ready” and “Amen.” The Impressions gained recognition for
their memorable falsetto and for using strings on their records. As a solo artist in the
1970s, Curtis reflected the realities of inner-city life in such songs as “Freddie’s Dead.”
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Southern Soul
Ray Charles was the king of southern soul, a style spotlighted on Stax and Atlantic
Records. Isaac Hayes, Otis Redding, The Staple Singers, and Sam and Dave were major
Stax artists. Here are some of the best examples of southern soul:
“Theme from Shaft” by Isaac Hayes
“Cold Feet” by Albert King
“Knock on Wood” by Eddie Floyd
“Sweet Soul Music” by Arthur Conley
“In the Midnight Hour” by Wilson Pickett
“Hold on, I’m Comin’” by Sam and Dave
“Respect Yourself” by The Staple Singers
“B-A-B-Y” by Carla Thomas
“Walking the Dog” by Rufus Thomas
“Your Good Thing (Is About to End)” by Mabel John
Funk: Forerunner of Rap
James Brown scraped away any sweetness from R&B and spearheaded the funk movement. Funk subtracted melody and played up rhythm. Chords virtually disappeared,
and the rhythms became increasingly complex, knitting together a series of different
instrumental parts.
Listen to these funk classics:
“Shining Star” by Earth, Wind and Fire
“Ladies’ Night” by Kool and the Gang
“Flash Light” by Parliament
“I Wanna Testify” by Parliament
“Express Yourself” by Charlie Wright and the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band
“One Nation Under a Groove” by Funkadelic
“Funky Broadway” by Dyke and the Blazers
Disco and Dance
In the 1970s, disco went heavy on synthesizers and strings and was heartily embraced
by African Americans, as well as Latino and gay audiences.
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Listen to these disco classics:
“Staying Alive” by Bee Gees
“Dance, Dance, Dance (Yowsah, Yowsah, Yowsah)” by Chic
“Never Say Goodbye” by Gloria Gaynor
“Get Down Tonight” by K.C. and the Sunshine Band
“Love Train” by O’Jays
“Will It Go Round in Circles” by Billy Preston
“You’ll Never Find Another Love Like Mine” by Lou Rawls
“Car Wash” by Rose Royce
“We Are Family” by Sister Sledge
“Hot Stuff” by Donna Summer
“Boogie Oogie Oogie” by Taste of Honey
“I’m Gonna Love Ya Just a Little More Baby” by Barry White
“Play That Funky Music” by Wild Cherry
Disco put dance in the limelight, but dance has always been a crucial element of R&B
and rock. Who can forget kids on Dick Clark’s American Bandstand saying, “But can
you dance to it?” Now, videos have made danceability a must for most records; and
Michael Jackson’s MTV classics, “Beat It” and “Billie Jean,” underscored this musical
fact of life.
Rap and Hip-Hop
Like R&B, rap has taken the world by storm because it clearly conveys what African
Americans are thinking and feeling. Rap was launched in the South Bronx, a dangerous neighborhood. Disc jockey DJ Kool Herc introduced the basic sound. As rock
journalist Alan Light says …
“He would set up two or more turntables and mix only the hottest sections of
several records together, switching back and forth between isolated, hyperpropulsive beats. The earliest rapping consisted of simple chants and call-andresponse rhymes over the deejay’s cutting and scratching, and it became one
part of an emerging cultural phenomenon called ‘hip-hop.’”
—Anthony DeCurtis, James Henke, and Holly George-Warren, The Rolling Stone
Illustrated Story of Rock and Roll, Random House, 1992
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Bobby Robinson put it out on the grapevine that he was looking for the best rap acts.
Right away he was contacted by the Funky Four out of the Bronx, what he calls “a dynamite little group,” and became an instant rap hit.
Kids watched television, lusted after the better things in life shown on the screen, and
used rap as a vehicle to make their emotions known. Synthesizers and drum machines
made it easier and less expensive to do a rap record. No live musicians were necessary.
Hip-Hop to the Top
Hip-hop can be defined as a progression of events
including deejaying, emceeing, break dancing, and
graffiti that started in the early 1980s. Early exponents of the hip-hop form are Afrika Bambaataa
and Grandmaster Flash, and the music’s evolution,
in the words of the Chicago Tribune’s Michael
Kilian, “produced the remarkable rhyme schemes
of Rakim and Slick Rick, the feminist flavor of Salt
N’ Pepa (endorsed by no less an intellectual than
Pauline Kael), MC Lyte, Monie Love, and Queen
Latifah; the agitprop poetry of Public Enemy and
the gangsta sounding track of N.W.A.”
Backstage Banter
Donna Summer is known as the
female centerpiece of disco. A
brilliantly gifted singer, she turned
out hit after hit, including “Bad
Girls,” “MacArthur Park,” and
“On the Radio.” Today, she’s receiving equal acclaim as an artist.
Going to Extremes
Mos Def, age 26, a Brooklyn, New York rapper, told
Newsweek: “Sex, violence, the underbelly, with
junkies, prostitutes, alcoholics, gamblers … the new
trend is depravity.” Eminem’s “Kim” tells a story in
which he cuts his wife’s throat and locks her in the
trunk of a car. From the viewpoint of many, the
form is going overboard.
Fortunately, rappers concur with this assessment,
and there may well be some toning down to appease cries of outrage. But rap will survive because
it reflects the longings and feelings of a culture,
emotions that millions from different worlds also
share. It is, as Public Enemy proclaims, “black
America’s CNN.”
Lyrical Lingo
Legendary record executive Russ
Regan defines rapping this way:
“Rap depends on thinking at top
speed. Most of all you need a
breakneck, high-powered style.
You also have to know when to
forge ahead and when to keep
cool.”
Regan on Rap
Russ Regan did more than turn Elton John, Neil Diamond, Barry White, The Beach
Boys, Olivia Newton-John, Alan Parsons Project, Irene Cara, and the DeFranco Family
into stars. He operated a rap label (Quality Pecords) and became a devotee and expert
on the form.
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Part 3 ➤ Genre Gold
What Regan says about rap …
➤ “Beats. Great beats. Beats are the key to rap.
That’s why samples are so important.”
➤ Then the message—whether it’s a message
about love, about violence, if it’s real, it works.
Lyrical Lingo
A sample is the reuse (in all or
in part) of an already successful
track to serve as the foundation
for a rap vocal.
There’s a difference between rapping and
rhyming. Rhyming guys don’t make it. If you
try to do rhymes, trying to be poets, it’s phony
rhyming. Rap is a real art. It’s not something
you can just do in a false way. I equate it to a
lounge act and a recording act: a lounge act
comes off plastic; a recording artist goes into
the studio and comes off from the heart.”
➤ “Delivery—how the rapper delivers his rap. I think Dr. Dre is incredible; Eminem
is fabulous. Eminem is raw and real. I loved Tupac Shakur when he was alive.
Snoop Dog, also brilliant. LL Cool J is excellent.”
➤ “I think rap caught on because the urban community was ready for a new art
form. Most of the great musical trends have started in the urban communities.
The African Americans start the trends and are very creative. Now, 60 to 70 percent of the rap music buyers are white. The same thing happened when Motown
hit in the 1960s. A lot of rap talks about a way of life, what they see every day.”
Rapturous Albums
Here’s a list of some of the best rap albums you can listen to:
Age Ain’t Nothin’ But a Number by Aaliyah
Mary by Mary J. Blige
Forever by Bobby Brown
Born Into the 90s by R. Kelly and Public Announcement
Finally by Blackstreet
Greatest Hits by Toni! Toni! Toni!
In His Own Words by Tupac Shakur
My Soul by Coolio
Here Come the Horns by Delinquent Habits
Life in 1472 by Jermaine Dupri
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Chapter 13 ➤ R&B and Rap
My Homies/Me and My Homies by Scarface
Recognize the Mob by 5th Ward Boys
Mutations by Beck
Significant Other by Limp Bizkit
Evil Empire by Rage Against the Machine
Order in the Court by Queen Latifah
360 Degrees of Power by Sister Souljah
Code Red by DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince
Big Willie Style by Will Smith
Hard to Swallow by Vanilla Ice
Rhythm and Rap
If you write R&B or rap, just keep in mind that these genres are the musical result of
passion. The reason Fontella Bass’s “Rescue Me” is played over and over again in motion pictures is because of its urgent emotional cry. “I Will Survive” is the ultimate
survivor’s stance, an announcement by Gloria Gaynor that she won’t be destroyed.
The Least You Need to Know
➤ A 2/4 backbeat is the basis to rock; flatted thirds, fifths, and sevenths spell blues.
➤ R&B and rap are dance phenomena.
➤ Gospel tunes became hits when “Lord” was changed to “baby.”
➤ Rappers think of their music as black America’s CNN.
➤ R&B and rap is music of passion.
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Chapter 14
Commercials and
Children’s Music
In This Chapter
➤ A songwriter’s role in an ad campaign
➤ The importance of understanding the consumer’s psychic needs
➤ How to write a successful jingle
➤ Children’s music that adults will also enjoy
“Buy me! Buy me!” This cry, packaged in new jingles or classic hit songs, floods daily
into millions of living rooms. Many of these pleas are ignored. But if the commercial
has a memorable catch phrase, an unforgettable tune, or a captivating visual, we find
ourselves hypnotically drawn in.
Good jingles are simple, but writing them isn’t. Composers of commercials need an
intuitive understanding of human psychology, of common desires and dreams.
Companies are spending increasingly huge sums on commercials targeted to children,
knowing that if they can capture children’s lifetime loyalty to their particular soft
drink or toothpaste, the investment will pay tremendous dividends. More children’s
videos, CDs, and songbooks are also being sold every year, which means more work
for songwriters.
Writing commercial jingles and writing children’s songs are both areas rich with opportunity for songwriters who can master the brisk, compact style and uncomplicated
lyrics and chords that work best in these forms.
Part 3 ➤ Genre Gold
Composing Commercials
Before an ad agency hires a composer for an ad campaign, much of the planning has
already taken place. A typical national ad campaign includes the following steps:
➤ An advertiser contacts an ad agency to launch a national campaign for a new
product.
➤ The creative director (with input from his or her staff) decides what the
campaign’s objectives are.
➤ A storyboard is worked out, and if the advertiser approves, the campaign moves
ahead.
➤ Budget suggestions are presented, analyzed, and approved.
➤ The creative director puts out the word to production houses and asks to hear
demo reels.
➤ The casting director alerts actors for upcoming auditions and starts examining
videotapes.
➤ The composer is selected, and a recording date is chosen.
Getting Engaged
You’re hired for the campaign. At the first meeting, you get a general sense of the
product and what the client would like to put across to the public.
You make a bid, after ascertaining the following facts:
➤ How large an orchestra the client wants
➤ How much time you have to create and complete the spot
Even though you’re a songwriter, you might be given the following things to work with:
➤ A complete lyric
➤ A concept for words written to a known melody
➤ A copy line and the concepts of the spots
➤ A description of the mood that the client and
agency want to capture
Trouble Clef
Don’t bother to send unsolicited
material to ad agencies. You have
to come in through a connection
or an agent.
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Like film directors trying to explain to scorers what
they want in a scene, advertisers can’t always convey
ideas clearly. You have to be a detective and figure out
their needs. Just because they’re inarticulate doesn’t
mean they don’t have a sense of what they want. They
also know what they don’t want, and you need to listen with an unprejudiced ear.
Chapter 14 ➤ Commercials and Children’s Music
Hirschhorn’s Hints
Have you already written a Top 10 hit or two? If so, submit them to advertising companies. The appetite for chart smashes from the 1960s on is at an all-time high, and your
song may be just what they’re looking for. On your own, you might take the initiative
and write jingles about current, popular products; record the jingles and submit them.
Creative directors may be drawn to your work if it has freshness and imagination.
Pressing the Right Buttons
The product may be a new dot.com company, perfume, soap, or cereal. The viewer
may be a 35-year-old housewife, a high school senior, or a fourth-grader. There are
countless millions of people, but only a few needs are common to all of them:
➤ We need love, love, love. Why do we need a new perfume? Why is a new car
mandatory, when we still have a perfectly good one? Because television and radio
tell us we have to be more attractive and more able to impress people in order to
find love.
➤ D’ya think I’m sexy? As with love, we’re
never totally convinced we have enough sex
appeal. But if we had the right shoes, the
right earrings, the right suit, we would become, according to ads, irresistible to everyone who meets us. Buying someone the right
drink will ensure a lifetime of happiness. It
doesn’t matter that the conscious mind questions this message. On a deeper level, we
accept it—if the jingle is properly crafted.
➤ A safe harbor. No matter how much we pose
and swagger, we know it’s an act. Most of us
are insecure, and commercials remind us that
the right product can give us confidence. No
social situation will be threatening if we wear
designer jeans. If you tap into a person’s fears,
and subliminally let them know that these
fears can be conquered, you’ve made your sale.
Backstage Banter
Former New Yorker magazine film
critic Pauline Kael once asked
the question, “What person,
what creature, ever felt they
were loved enough?” The answer
is “No one.” We have that space
inside that never quite feels
filled, and jingles rush to tell us
that if we use a certain product,
we’ll find all the love we want.
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Part 3 ➤ Genre Gold
➤ I’m a big shot! Give people a sense that they can be famous and important,
and you have their attention and their dollars. If wearing an Armani suit will
bring a $50,000 raise, the suit will find its way to many a closet. We crave recognition; we want a top job that will knock out our friends (and every woman or
man who crosses our path).
➤ What’s in a name? Whatever the product, whether it’s Budweiser beer or
Tommy Hilfiger shirts, keep repeating the name! Repetition is the key to popular
songs, and the same is true of jingles. Your goal is to sell a product. Advertisers
pay billions a year to induce customers into stores, and a subtle, indirect commercial won’t do the trick.
Ready to Write
More and more, hit songs are being used to sell a product. To compete, your tune must
be compulsively catchy and singable. It must be one of those “I can’t get it out of my
head” melodies, such as “It’s a Small World” by Richard and Robert Sherman. Don’t
submit a melody to an ad company until you’re convinced it has a memorable hook.
Analyze the Objective
Before you start to write, analyze all the angles:
➤ What is the main theme of your commercial?
➤ What group of people is being targeted?
➤ What age are they?
Hirschhorn’s Hints
Don’t think of jingles as a stepchild of pop songs, something
you’re marking time with until
your songwriting career explodes.
Jingles and pop tunes are art
forms in their own way. A patronizing approach to writing
commercials dooms your efforts
to failure.
➤ Where do they live?
Give Me “Yesterday”
Suppose the client gets an inspired idea: He or she
wants to use a Beatles song. Fine, but the publisher
sometimes won’t allow those tunes to be cleared for
commercials, and if it does, the price may be exorbitant. But the boss is mentally married to the idea.
You’ll probably be called upon to provide a melody
that resembles the one the client favors.
Don’t Be Obscure
Dig for that one clear idea and hammer it home. With attention spans at an all-time
low (and remote-wielding viewers who click away from commercials whenever they
can), you have to state your case instantly. Don’t wander and don’t make people
guess or speculate about what you’re conveying.
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Chapter 14 ➤ Commercials and Children’s Music
Personality
You want your jingle to sound unique and original. What good is a jingle if it’s generic, bland, and
similar to every other commercial on the air?
You’re fighting to be heard above the pack, and
the way to achieve that is to offer a new sound, an
offbeat way of touting the product.
Play with Words
Trouble Clef
You can’t take a song such
as “Ain’t No Mountain High
Enough” and alter the tune without permission from the company
that owns the copyright.
One way to approach jingle lyrics is to find a wellknown cliché and turn it inside out. When Al and
I were hired to do our first commercial for Lloyd’s
Bank, we tested such phrases as “You’ll Love
Lloyd’s,” “You Can’t Avoid Lloyd’s,” and “Lloyds—
the Family Bank.” Finally, we came up with “You Can Always Bank on Lloyd’s,” and
it was enthusiastically accepted. With this one statement, we promised security, protection, and a family-type friendliness. We used the key word “bank” and found a
way to merge it with a well-known expression.
Think Showtime!
If you have a sense of theater, think of your commercial as a small musical show. If
the tone is comic, be playful with your piccolos and tubas. If it’s funky and streetoriented, let your bass and drum explode. It’s not enough to write the best jingle; you
need to emphasize its qualities with a theatrical,
flavorful arrangement. Every musician you hire
should be thoroughly professional and able to play
every rhythm and style. Make sure all of them are
expert readers.
Don’t Bury the Singer
In pop music, the “feeling” is what counts. How
many people do you know who love a song and
remember the lyric? Very few. The mix usually
covers up half the words. In a jingle, every word
counts. Let the singer be heard. This emphasis on
the singer sometimes upsets arrangers and songwriters, who hate to lose a precious note, but if it’s
a contest between a guitar solo and a lead singer,
the singer has to win.
Trouble Clef
Don’t make the mistake of being
too fancy. Use layman’s language.
Appeal to the guy on the street.
Jingles are not the area for complex, show-off rhymes or complicated chords. Avoid gymnastic
music leaps and keep the melody
within a sensible range.
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Part 3 ➤ Genre Gold
Offer a Choice
Trouble Clef
When a copywriter presents
words that don’t sing easily, you
must, with tact and diplomacy,
point out that the lyrics need
changing. Tell that to the client
right away; nobody likes surprises,
even when your substitutions are
an improvement.
Once you’ve worked out the idea and the jingle, do a
recording of it. Offer three different versions. If you
submit one, the client may love it, but like most people in show business, the client may be somewhat fearful of trusting his or her judgment. With three versions
to pick from, the client feels more secure.
Don’t Wing It
A lot of the work in pop music is spontaneous, even
with an arrangement. Such creativity is not welcomed
in the ad game. Pre-plan everything and get approval
for everything, or your recording date could turn into
a disaster.
What’s the Deal?
Budgets vary widely in the jingle world, from a mere thousand dollars to seven figures.
A deciding factor is whether the jingle is for cable, a local spot, or a national one. A
television advertiser who wants to keep costs low will acquire music from a stock
music house. These stock houses offer canned tracks for radio and television spots.
Unlike the conservative expenditures for local broadcast spots, national agencies frequently spend lavishly.
Publishing
Lyrical Lingo
A package deal is a fee paid by
a company that hires you which
covers all elements of a recording:
composing, scoring, conducting,
studio costs, mixing, and delivering the master tape to the client.
You’re totally responsible for accomplishing everything without
exceeding that overall payment.
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When Al and I did commercials, we were allowed to
keep the publishing rights. It was the late 1970s, and
nobody even voiced a mild objection when we requested full ownership of the copyright. But publishing
is now recognized, more than ever, as a huge source of
income, and agencies aren’t willing to automatically
surrender copyright. If you can’t get all the rights, negotiate for a split, but be prepared to give it up altogether in many cases.
Getting Paid
Most deals, whether for commercials, television, or
film, involve part payment up front and the remainder when the project is completed. If you’re fortunate,
you may get the whole payment up front, but this
kind of deal is rare. The agency may also want to divide your payment into thirds.
Chapter 14 ➤ Commercials and Children’s Music
Package Deals and Their Drawbacks
Like many composers, I’m not crazy about package deals because you often end up with
very little or no money at all. Say you receive $5,000 to handle everything: composing,
scoring, conducting, studio costs, mixing, and delivering the master tape to the client.
To walk away with more than artistic satisfaction, you have to budget down to the minutest detail. Your eye must be on the clock at all times so you don’t go overtime.
Even if you keep on top of everything, changes may be suggested at the recording
date. That’s where your skill is most needed. You have to execute the changes instantly and be able to explain to the musicians what alterations you want without
lengthy explanations.
Composers sometimes own music production houses. Their firms might offer a client
overall services of orchestration, text, and composition.
The Market for Children’s Songs
Opportunities to write for children are at an all-time high. Beyond writing for motion
pictures and television, you can compose for direct-to-video productions, an outlet
that continues to grow and surprise companies with its public acceptance. Videos featuring nursery rhymes, versions of classic stories, and sequels to hit films are racking
up gigantic sales. Children’s CDs and songbooks sell more each year.
Do Your Research
Check your local record stores and ask the salespeople which children’s videos and
CDs have recently sold the most. Buy them and study their form and structure. Then
immerse yourself in Saturday morning shows. Videotape and watch each series at least
three times. Note the fantasy and freedom of the programs on Disney, Nickelodeon,
Cartoon Network, Fox Kids, and Kids WB.
Educational Productions
Audiovisual (AV) productions are now being utilized in organizations and schools for
educational purposes. They take the form of videos, filmstrips, or slide shows and
offer numerous employment opportunities for scorers and songwriters. Colleges, libraries, and industrial firms are just a few of the available outlets.
Demonstrate your skill by doing an educational film of your own and write music
that shows off your abilities and highlights the key points of the subject under discussion. Let your local advertising agency see it. Connect with other educational outlets
in your area and get your video around. Familiarize yourself with AV houses by combing the Yellow Pages.
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Part 3 ➤ Genre Gold
Hirschhorn’s Hints
Interpersonal relationships and agents are always vital ways to let people know your abilities. But those who create a Web site that attractively advertises their specialties have a
distinct edge. A successful Web site does more than simply let clients know what you have
to offer; the site must also be individual, offbeat, and eccentric. Study the competition,
and make sure your Web site’s visuals and catch phrases are different and memorable.
You won’t get rich doing educational films, although your income may surprise you if
you do several. Fees for audiovisual work are in the $300 to $3,000 range. As your
reputation grows, the fees will become higher, and you’ll have the choice of freelancing or taking a full-time job for one company.
Respecting the Minds of Children
When films and shows are tailored for adults, the creators treat them with respect.
Why do kids deserve less? No one should write down to children or patronize them.
Three of my prime-time television family films, The Original Top Ten, The Magic
Paintbrush, and Dickens’s David Copperfield were presented on ABC. My children’s feature films were all done for Disney: The New Mickey Mouse Club, Pete’s Dragon, Freaky
Friday, Hot Lead and Cold Feet, The North Avenue Irregulars, and Happy Birthday Mickey
Mouse. When working on all of them, I kept a line by James Thurber in mind: “If a
story is good, it can be enjoyed by adults as well as youngsters.”
As a composer who has spent many years writing
songs, shows, and films for people below the age of
10, I’ve always tried to follow this rule. I’ve often
found that my own children and their friends catch
on to the subtleties of a story or a lyric before the socalled adults around them do.
Backstage Banter
Christina Aguilera and Britney
Spears appeared on Walt Disney’s
Mickey Mouse Club, which gave
them early training and put both
on the road to stardom.
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Make It Modern
No matter how young they are, kids are fully aware of
Christina Aguilera, Britney Spears, the Dixie Chicks, ’N
Sync, Toni Braxton, and Faith Hill. So don’t write oldfashioned, generic melodies. Kids want to hear the
musical sound of today.
Chapter 14 ➤ Commercials and Children’s Music
When Al and I did The Original Top Ten movie, we varied all the tempos, even including a rap chorus on Marilyn McCoo’s “All God’s Children.” Billy Preston sang an R&B
song, “Idols,” and Frankie Valli sang “L-I-E-S,” which was upbeat pop rock.
Keep It Moving
Would you write a ponderous, slow-moving musical for adults? Then don’t move sluggishly when writing for children. Attention spans today are a quarter of what they were
30 years ago. If a song, no matter how well written, slows down the action, remove it.
Create Characters, Not Caricatures
Characters, whether they’re animated or live action, should be real. If not completely
real, they should have certain human characteristics everyone can identify with.
Cartoon villains without dimension won’t scare anyone, and cartoon heroes make
kids yawn. When writing a children’s show or song, think of the characters as fleshand-blood people. Give them fears and frailties. No one is 100 percent courageous or
100 percent evil.
As a child, I remember a critic saying that Prince Charming in the Disney film
Cinderella was a bore because he was a handsome Mr. Perfect. On the other hand, the
zany, Disney-invented mice who loved and defended Cinderella walked away with
the picture.
Thou Shalt Not Preach
One of my most enjoyable and challenging assignments was to write an animated musical of the Ten
Commandments called The Original Top Ten. The
10 songs in the show had to have bite and a contemporary musical feeling, and they couldn’t be
preachy. No one, from toddlers to the elderly, will
tolerate being preached to for long.
For example, Al and I didn’t write a song called
“Thou Shalt Not Covet.” We translated the commandment into modern terms with an uptempo
Billy Preston rocker, “The Grass Looks Greener in
Your Neighbor’s Yard.” The commandment about
“Honor Thy Mother and Father” became “Respect
Your Mom and Dad” and was performed by
Frankie Valli.
Backstage Banter
There’s always a way to handle
delicate material. In The Original
Top Ten, adultery was the trickiest
subject, and some network people were worried about bringing
that commandment up at all. But
that would have changed the
Bible to nine commandments!
We worked on it and finally devised, “Be Loyal to the One You
Love,” which makes the point
without being heavy-handed.
Frame Your Story
In the case of The Original Top Ten, I knew that simply singing about virtue wasn’t
enough to create compelling drama. With the show’s producer, Squire Rushnell, we
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Part 3 ➤ Genre Gold
worked out a plot in which three youngsters had to find the first Top 10 records ever
made, records based on the Bible. Suspense was maintained when one of the kids
started using devious, unfair means of acquiring the records. The show won the kind
of accolades we had hoped for as an educational musical that entertained as well.
Match the Songs to the Story
Another of our prime-time animated musicals, The Magic Paintbrush, was based on a
popular children’s book and centered on a young boy with an ability to paint pictures that came to life. As in all animated songs, we made sure that every lyric line
could be translated into a visual scene. We also wrote a song called “Keep on
Believing” to express the theme of the show. It’s important to know what overall
point you’re trying to make and include a song that clearly conveys that point.
Some people feel that songs, no matter how effective, interfere with the action.
Disney’s Beauty and the Beast proves otherwise. Every Manken/Ashman song in Beauty
and the Beast propels the story forward. “Belle” defines the heroine’s character, and
“Gaston” comically points out the evil intentions of the villain. This movie has a perfect children’s score; it’s a textbook example to study when you’re writing for young
people. Nothing feels shoehorned in; the songs carry audiences along.
Don’t Be Afraid to Be Dark
Seen today, one of our earliest musicals, The Canterville Ghost, demonstrates what can
happen when children’s shows are overly farcical and without enough humanity.
When all the townspeople ran away from the Canterville Ghost, you wondered why.
The songs we gave him needed more danger and tension.
Hirschhorn’s Hints
As Disney has proved time and
again, children don’t mind being
frightened, and an extreme effort to protect their sensibilities
by being safe and cute will encourage a mass exodus to the
popcorn stand.
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When we did Copperfield on Broadway, we didn’t shy
away from the darker aspects of Dickens’s drama. As a
result, our score was nominated for a Tony award. But
an animated television adaptation was less true to the
piece and lost the Victorian flavor. For example, an eccentric supporting character, Mr. Dick, became Mr.
Polly because the censors were afraid of the word
“dick”!
Another point to remember: If you’re doing a children’s musical and basing it on a classic, resist altering
elements that made the classic famous in the first
place. It’s highly improbable that you, as the composer
or the librettist, can spin a better yarn than Dickens
did. You can make small changes, subtract a character
or two, but be sure the structure and the spirit of the
original are preserved.
Chapter 14 ➤ Commercials and Children’s Music
Free Your Mind
When you write for children, let your mind run loose. If you do, you’ll hit upon
zany, inspired titles, such as “I’m an Aardvark and I’m Proud” and “Captain
Vegetable” from Sesame Street. Or an offbeat term may occur to you, such as the
Turkish word “Pachalafaka.” In “The Alligator King,” by Donald Hadley and William
Luckey, a typically madcap line refers to seven statues of girls with clocks where their
stomachs should be. Children’s tunes also lend themselves to audience participation
and antics such as juggling, mime, and clowning.
Hirschhorn’s Hints
When writing for children, think of yourself as eight years old. Let your beats be buoyant and
your words have a playful spin. Concentrate on being funny whenever possible—whether
you’re doing “Supercalifragilistic Expialidocious” (from Mary Poppins) or “Passamashloddy”
(from Pete’s Dragon). When you’re done, test the songs on children, and you’ll immediately
know if they work.
The beauty of writing music for children is the room this audience offers for creativity. Before long, it will seem natural to think of a dragon in someone’s living room or
a bird that turns into a lion. The joy of composing for kids is how completely it allows you to shed adulthood and be a child again.
The Least You Need to Know
➤ Jingles and children’s music should be clear and direct, with a musical hook.
➤ Writing commercials is not demeaning work; it is a highly developed skill.
➤ To be successful at composing commercials, you must understand the consumer
and be open and receptive to the client’s ideas.
➤ Good children’s music also appeals to adults.
➤ Writing for kids can be a creative and joyful experience.
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Chapter 15
Movie Scoring
and Songwriting
In This Chapter
➤ Scorers can become songwriters
➤ Early jobs that can get you where you want to go
➤ The director and other key players
➤ Music that fits the needs of the movie
➤ How to build your scoring knowledge and experience
Scoring and writing songs for movies are two of the most artistically challenging and
commercially satisfying roads a composer can pursue. Sometimes, both score and
songs are most effective when they stay in the background. But when they’re the focal
point and need to dominate, the composer must be willing to serve the film. The key
to your success in motion pictures is knowing when you can be a star and when the
effectiveness of the piece depends on your willingness to remain a supporting player.
Scorers as Songwriters
Legendary composers such as Max Steiner (Casablanca, Gone with the Wind), Erich
Korngold (Robin Hood), Franz Waxman (A Place in the Sun), and Aaron Copland (The
Heiress) handled only underscoring during the 1930s and 1940s.
On rare occasions, scorers crossed the line into songwriting. Alfred Newman’s matchless melodic sense was utilized in such hit compositions as “The Best of Everything.”
Part 3 ➤ Genre Gold
But in most of these cases, the songs became hits outside the movie after lyricists added words to the tunes.
Lyrical Lingo
Underscoring is background
music that is meant to support
screen action. The purpose of it
is to heighten dramatic and
comedic sequences.
Backstage Banter
Max Steiner wanted to write his
own song for Casablanca;
Warner Brothers said no. “As
Time Goes By,” the song finally
used in the film and performed
by Dooley Wilson, was written by
Herman Hupfield.
The songs in MGM musicals such as Easter Parade, An
American in Paris, and Singing in the Rain were written
by Irving Berlin, George Gershwin, and Herb and
Nacio Brown. Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers also
danced to Berlin, Gershwin, and a host of other musical hit-makers. Rodgers and Hammerstein, Jule Styne,
Frank Loesser, Yip Harburg, Sammy Fain, Paul Francis
Webster, and Livingston and Evans supplied the tunes;
the scorer or orchestrator never did.
Henry Mancini, Michel Legrand, and Marvin Hamlisch
brought about a permanent change. Their melodic flair
was so extraordinary that they were allowed to compose songs for the picture in addition to their underscoring. Freelance songwriters found their positions
threatened after studios decided that many scorers
could handle both roles with equal skill.
As a songwriter, you have two alternatives to get your
songs in the movies. If you have arranging talent, you
can learn orchestration and scoring and thereby gain
greater power to put your own music into the movie.
The other thing you can do is to keep submitting your
songs for consideration, because a truly good song will
override politics and be recognized. In the end, producers are out to make money, and they’ll choose material that best promotes their picture. The fact is that
few scorers, no matter how well educated, have the
commercial musical flair of a Mancini.
Make It Happen
You must make yourself known and heard. Perform your material everywhere or play
your demos. Eventually, people will start to recognize you and admire your work.
Cut a CD of your best material and get it to all the producers in town. Heads of studios should be on your list, along with music supervisors and music publishers. Make
sure your CD features a variety of moods so people see how versatile you are. And be
a nuisance! The squeaky wheel gets the grease.
In addition, music agents are giving increasing attention to songwriters. These agents
include the Carol Faith Agency, Gorfaine-Schwartz Agency, and the Kraft-Benjamin
Agency.
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Hirschhorn’s Hints
Songwriters want more than hits; they also want to be acknowledged. That recognition
will never happen if you don’t make yourself visible. Harry Warren hated to attend parties, yet he expressed bitterness that no one knew him or credited him with his list of
great songs, a list as long as Irving Berlin’s. Warren wrote “The More I See You,” “An Affair
to Remember,” “The Atchison, Topeka, and the Santa Fe,” and “You’ll Never Know.” All
his life, he lamented his anonymity without doing anything to change it.
Read the Hollywood Bibles
Daily Variety, which was launched in 1905, is the bible of show business activity. It
lets writers know what pictures are being made, who the producers are, and which
studios are doing them. The Hollywood Reporter does the same. Study both papers and
make notes.
Memorize the names of every important person in
the music and movie industry. You can be certain
that your competition is thoroughly familiar with
all aspects of motion picture production. Variety
and the Reporter contain information about films
that are in pre-production. At this early point,
songwriters haven’t been chosen yet, and you have
a chance to jump in and volunteer your services.
Everything depends on being the early bird, getting
in on the ground floor before the job you covet has
become general knowledge.
The Fat Spy—No Jurassic Park
When you’re first making a name for yourself, it’s
unlikely that Steven Spielberg will call on you to
score one of his films. I’ve done big films such as
The Poseidon Adventure and The Towering Inferno,
but my first endeavor was titled The Fat Spy, a disastrous “comedy” starring Jayne Mansfield, Jack E.
Hirschhorn’s Hints
Pay particular attention to films
done by independent filmmakers
and other films being shot on a
reasonable budget. The producers
of these modest features would
prefer to hire someone whose
price hasn’t reached stratospheric
heights. If you’re relatively new,
your odds of being considered increase tremendously.
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Part 3 ➤ Genre Gold
Leonard, Phyllis Diller, and a group called “The Wild Ones.” The plot had something
to do with finding the fountain of youth in Florida, and my collaborator, Al, and I
wrote such numbers as “I’d Like to Be a Rose in Your Garden (but I’m Just a Thorn in
Your Side).” Pretty embarrassing. But experience helps a songwriter to improve. The
Fat Spy got us started. It gave us a chance to write 11 songs, and we were able to say
we were professionals and had worked in movies.
Respect Your Material
No matter how unpromising the movie material looks at first, you must do the best
possible job with it. Never slough off an assignment because it seems unimportant;
don’t treat anything as though you were slumming. You never know how the movie
will turn out in the end. Hollywood history is packed with films everybody figured
would fail, and these movies then turned into sleepers and won Academy Awards.
Our second film, Who Killed Teddy Bear? wasn’t in that category, but it was much better
than we expected it to be. The movie centered on a psychopathic killer, played by Sal
Mineo, with a sister obsession. At first, we weren’t going to do the film, but we then
changed our minds. Despite the movie’s sleazy subject matter, it had a fairly well-written
script, and our five songs attracted some notice. The cast, which also included Juliet
Prowse and Elaine Stritch, took ordinary lines and made them human and believable.
A Successful Disaster—on Spec
Unless you’re a recording artist who can guarantee a single, producers must hear the
songs for a movie in advance before they will hire you. Luckily, every time we tried
for something without the guarantee of a salary and a job, the attempt turned out to
be successful.
When a publisher friend of ours, Happy Goday, suggested we submit a theme for
Irwin Allen’s upcoming disaster blockbuster, The Poseidon Adventure, everyone we
spoke to said, “Don’t bother. They’re turning down the biggest names in the business.
If they don’t want Henry Mancini, they’re certainly not going to use a song by Kasha
and Hirschhorn.”
But as James Mason said to Judy Garland in A Star Is Born, a career isn’t just talent, it’s
timing. It’s knowing when to seize an opportunity. Something in my gut told me:
Take the chance. And my advice to all writers is: Take the chance. What have you got
to lose?
We showed up with dozens of other composers, and Irwin Allen said, “Go home and
write a love song. We’ll listen to it at eight tomorrow morning.” Again, a friend (?) of
ours commented, “Not enough time. You’ll never be able to do a good job.” But we
obeyed our instincts, stayed up all night, and wrote “The Morning After.” Maureen
McGovern’s magnificent rendition of the song became a worldwide number-one
song, and it won an Oscar.
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Hirschhorn’s Hints
No matter what the circumstances are, perform. With Pete’s Dragon, Al and I were handed
an outline of the story and told to write five songs, without pay, for evaluation. Fate almost sabotaged us when I broke my arm while ice skating and had to play the score with
one arm in a partial cast. But we performed for 40 people (employees were recruited from
all over the Disney lot to give their opinions). Miraculously, the reaction was positive.
We also had to write four songs on spec for Jane Powell and Howard Keel when the
touring stage version of Seven Brides for Seven Brothers first loomed as a possibility.
These songs led to a Tony nomination and a show that has toured for over 15 years
and is more popular now than when it began.
Taking a chance without firm promises is only one
aspect of a writer’s life. Another is simply this: Your
job, your passion, is to write no matter what the
circumstances. You write because you can’t help it,
because the desire to write is a relentless drive that
won’t let you rest.
Backstage Banter
Have a Strategy
Drive is essential, but so is working out a practical
strategy. If you’re a lyricist, it makes sense to link up
with the composers who score films. I recognized
the wisdom of this and made an effort to develop
relationships with motion picture scorers. These efforts resulted in fruitful, creatively stimulating collaborations with Nelson Riddle, Marvin Hamlisch,
Billy Goldenberg, Alex North, and many others.
Stephen King tells a story about
his young son Owen. Owen
studied the saxophone and
learned to be a competent musician, yet King and his wife decided to stop his sax lessons. It
became evident that the boy did
only what his teacher expected
of him, but had no sense of obsession about his music.
Underscoring
Many outstanding books have been written on the subject of underscoring. From my
point of view, Henry Mancini’s Sounds and Scores ranks at the very top. I learned to orchestrate almost entirely from this particular volume. Mancini supplies generous examples and explains things clearly. Best of all, his music is so tuneful and accessible
that the instrumental parts are easy to absorb at the first lesson.
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Part 3 ➤ Genre Gold
Another extraordinary orchestration book is On the Track by Fred Karlin and Raymond
Wright. These books are also good:
The Techniques of Orchestration by Kent Wheeler Kennan, Prentice Hall, Inc., New
Jersey, 1970
Music Arranging and Orchestration by John Cacavas, Bellwin-Mills Publishing
Corp., New York, 1975
Scoring for Films by Earle Hagen, Criterion Music Corp., New York, 1971
Modern Harmonic Techniques by Gordon Delamont, Kendor Music, 1971
In the Scoring Game
When you’re hired to write the score for a motion picture, you first have to understand
the relationship between the score and the film. You also become part of a collaborative
effort, which means that it’s essential to develop a good working relationship with the
film’s director and music supervisor.
I asked Carole Bayer Sager, Oscar-winning lyricist for Arthur, and one of the screen’s
finest and most prolific wordsmiths, what she considered the first priority in writing
for motion pictures: “Capturing the essence of the movie. If it’s going anywhere in
the body of the picture or the front, you have to be careful not to go ahead of the
film and give the story away. You can’t signal what’s to come.” She’s right, yet songwriters often tell the entire plot in detail. Leave that to the script.
Follow the Right Leader
In his classic book, The Season, novelist/screenwriter William Goldman stressed the
importance of finding the “muscle” in a production, the actual decision maker. That
may be the director, the producer, the editor, the executive producer, or the music supervisor. If you pay close attention, you’ll figure out quickly who has the final say;
then make sure that this individual’s desires are fulfilled.
Many directors have little or no musical knowledge and lack the vocabulary to convey
what they want. You can’t afford to be snobbish and tune them out because they’re
not educated musicians. They may still have an instinctively correct sense of how to
heighten the scene with music, and it’s your job to figure out what they mean.
Provide Reassurance
In the past, composers would write an entire score and neither director nor producer
would hear it until the day of the recording. That’s no longer true. Synthesizers have
made it possible to make recordings of cues and try them out before final orchestrations are written.
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Scorer David Shire says …
“On The Color Purple, with Quincy Jones’s
army of synthesists and keyboard players and
arrangers, Spielberg wanted a Synclavier mockup of every cue so that he could get a feel of
exactly what the music was going to do … But
one can get in trouble with them, I think, because the sound of a Synclavier imitating a
symphony orchestra is still not an orchestra.”
Nevertheless, this procedure protects against the
disastrous possibility of a director disliking the
music when it’s too late to change it. The composer, too, can feel more relaxed, knowing that his
or her work has been approved in advance and
won’t be thrown out, which has happened to even
the best scorers.
Backstage Banter
This music business story has now
become legend: A director, eager
to capture the correct atmosphere for his film, told his
arranger, “Use French horns so we
can get a French background.”
That’s about as sensible as using
English horns for an English background.
Ask Questions and Do Your Research
Directors have many ideas, some of which they don’t express. It’s to your advantage
to ask questions in order to pin down some of these ideas. Try to find out what instrumentation the director or producer favors. What does he or she want the music to
say emotionally? Avoid technical queries, such as “Would you like the chords to go
from C to E minor?” Such questions may only make the person feel uneasy or embarrassed and thus incur his or her resentment.
Marvin Hamlisch believes in research. When he was hired to score the James Bond
thriller, The Spy Who Loved Me, he watched every prior James Bond picture. His score
was totally original and representative of his delightful tongue-in-cheek approach, but
doing the research gave him an understanding of what had worked with earlier Bond
films.
Work Closely with the Music Supervisor
Music supervisors have gained tremendous power and influence in recent years. Their
responsibilities include the following:
➤ Devise the budget
➤ Find composers and lyricists and recommend them to producers
➤ Seek out recording artists and record producers
➤ Negotiate soundtrack deals
➤ Coordinate artists’ schedules with film release dates
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Part 3 ➤ Genre Gold
➤ Attend dailies
➤ Attend screening of the film prior to spotting
(Spotting is covered in detail in the following
section.)
➤ Be present at spotting sessions
Lyrical Lingo
A temp track consists of musical
examples cut and dubbed into
the film prior to scoring.
➤ Attend scoring sessions
➤ Function as liaison between composer and
director
Hearing the phrase temp track upsets many a composer. Composers often dread them because directors
fall in love with this temporary music and want it
kept or reproduced. Director and producer become used to hearing these cues wedded
to the scenes in their movie. Even when the cues are deleted and replaced with fine,
fresh material, some regret often lingers about the loss of the temp themes. Producer
Gerald Isenberg considers them counterproductive, but composer Charles Fox feels
that temp tracks are a valuable way to learn about the movie and the potential score.
The best you, the composer, can do if the director loves the temp music, and you
don’t, is keep an open mind about it and still carefully integrate musical themes and
thoughts of your own. If you’ve previously written music of your own that you can
incorporate into the temp track, you can achieve a partial solution.
Talking About Titles
When you’re hired to write a song for a motion picture, you have a choice: to use the
film’s exact title or to come up with something more singable and commercial.
Certain titles present a challenge beyond the capabilities of any mere mortal: The
Rules of Engagement, Being John Malkovich, The Cider House Rules, and Drowning Mona
are just a few examples. Or going back a few years, how would one possibly incorporate Death of a Salesman, Breaking the Sound Barrier, or The Brave Bulls into a song title?
Suppose producer Irwin Allen had insisted our song be titled The Poseidon Adventure. It
would have killed any chance for a hit. The Towering Inferno wouldn’t have worked as
a title either. Breakfast at Tiffany’s is quite a mouthful, but Johnny Mercer and Henry
Mancini came up with “Moon River” instead.
Spotting the Picture
Once the placement of music in a movie is decided upon, the music editor writes up
a music breakdown, called spotting notes. He or she lists the cues and numbers them
so that the first digit represents the reel number and the next digits offer the cue
number within the reel. Therefore, 1M1 (or M11, or 1/1) means Reel 1, Cue 1.
Composers should make their own notes as well.
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Chapter 15 ➤ Movie Scoring and Songwriting
Common spotting abbreviations include the following:
BG
Background
CU
Close-up
Cut
Direct cut from one shot to
another
Dial
Dialogue
Ext
Exterior
FI
Fade in from black
FO
Fade out to black
Int
Interior
LS
Long shot
MS
Medium shot
MX
Music
O.S.
Off-screen (voice, sound)
Pan
Panorama shot, which means camera rotates, revealing sweep of
scene
Pix
Picture
POV
From the point of view of named actor
Super
Superimposing one image over another (a double exposure)
2-Shot
Two subjects in frame
3-Shot
Three subjects in frame
V.O.
Voice over, a voice that doesn’t lip sync with subject in frame
ECU
Extreme close-up
ELS
Extreme long shot
Zoom in
Effect of coming closer to a subject
Zoom out
Effect of subject receding
Lyrical Lingo
Spotting is watching the film
and deciding where music should
be placed.
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Part 3 ➤ Genre Gold
Practical Scoring Tips
Beyond knowing the intricate techniques of scoring, a scorer must heed certain general rules when writing music:
➤ Concentrate, first and foremost, on the central character. What are that character’s hopes, goals, and fears? Learn about the character until you understand him
or her as completely as you understand a member of your own family.
➤ Certain scenes don’t function well on their own. They may have undercurrents
the director or writer failed to clarify for an audience. That’s when a scorer
should ride to the rescue. Suppose a character is shoveling snow or pumping gas.
Your job is to get inside the person’s mind and musically dramatize his or her
emotions. The right cues can turn dead spots into exciting moments.
➤ Choosing the proper instrumentation is crucial. Insecure directors and producers
may want you to go crazy with a huge, crashing orchestra. That kind of overkill
can ruin a scene. If you sense that a three- or four-piece band or just a piano
would accomplish the job more effectively, point it out. Be sure to have an explanation justifying your idea.
➤ A character might be pretending to feel one emotion when he or she is actually
feeling another. If your hero is laughing but inwardly terrified, project that fear
through your music. If the heroine is pretending to love someone but actually
hates him, it might double the impact of the moment if you suggest it with your
cues.
➤ Sometimes it helps to play against the events occurring onscreen. Happy music
with bells and piccolos over a moment of horror can make the horror even
more intense. You’re skating on thin ice when you make these kinds of decisions, but they often heighten a scene’s power.
➤ Max Steiner, who scored Casablanca and Gone
with the Wind, was a strong believer in writing
individual themes for each character. Some directors favor that kind of musical emphasis.
Others consider it corny. Check with your director before proceeding.
Trouble Clef
When you score a love scene,
guard against sentimentality. The
right music can jerk tears, but
the wrong music can make people feel manipulated and can
turn off directors.
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➤ Writing a single melody and playing it endlessly
helps to sell the theme and frequently results in
a hit record. This is again a case of seeing how
your director and producer feel. They might prefer a score that catches a scene’s every nuance.
Requirements vary for each film. A love story
usually benefits from a beautiful tune constantly
featured with different instrumentation and
rhythms. A thriller might suffer from the same
treatment.
Chapter 15 ➤ Movie Scoring and Songwriting
Hirschhorn’s Hints
Will Jennings, lyricist for the Oscar-winning songs, “Up Where We Belong” (from An
Officer and a Gentleman) and “My Heart Will Go On” (from Titanic) agrees with Carole
Bayer Sager that a song should have an organic connection to the film, not just be placed
there for exploitation purposes. He also approves of a song being utilized at the end, if
the theme has been featured before. “That way it comes back with more emotional
power than if you’d never heard the tune.”
Get Into It
Learning orchestration is a combination of formal study and practical experience. The
following are some valuable roads to follow in pursuit of that goal:
➤ Play classical works and follow along by reading the orchestral scores. Memorize
every sound, color, and range. After you gain an overview with your first lesson,
zero in on one instrument at a time. Go through the entire violin part, then
switch to viola, cello, bass. Do this with each instrument involved. Copy the
parts until they feel like second nature, until you’re thoroughly familiar with
each instrument’s capabilities. Work with a copyist; learn to copy and transpose
parts yourself and consider it a temporary (or possibly permanent) career.
➤ Find a private teacher to teach you orchestration, as I did, or if you prefer, attend
a school like Juilliard. Pore over every arranging book you can get your hands on.
➤ Study conducting.
➤ Befriend film editors and watch them go through the process of editing a movie.
It’s the best education a potential scorer can have.
➤ Performing with an orchestra or band will help you to familiarize yourself with
arrangements. You’ll see what works and what doesn’t. Some instruments move
more quickly than others. You can’t move as rapidly on a bassoon as you can on
a piccolo. A bass isn’t as flexible as a violin. As a musician, you’ll automatically
absorb this information.
If you want to become an all-around movie orchestrator, study every conceivable kind
of score. Never restrict yourself to classical, jazz, or rock, or tell yourself that you’re
only good at certain kinds of things. If you decide, for example, that you can’t do a
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Part 3 ➤ Genre Gold
rustic, country score because your specialty is sophisticated city arrangements, this attitude will become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Remember that John Williams did Fiddler
on the Roof, The Reivers, and Star Wars—three scores that bear no ethnic resemblance
to each other—and he did a brilliant job with each one.
The Least You Need to Know
➤ Do whatever it takes to gain experience and opportunities in writing songs for
films and television.
➤ Bond with decision-makers.
➤ Learn to read the director’s mind.
➤ Stay close to music supervisors.
➤ Study conducting and orchestration and learn about every instrument.
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Chapter 16
Live and
Animated
Musicals
In This Chapter
➤ Capitalize on your main animated character’s unique characteristics
➤ Work with, not against, the book writer
➤ Create songs that nail your characters
➤ Place songs properly
➤ Look at the music from an arranger’s and choreographer’s point of view
As a two-time Tony nominee for Best Broadway musical and two-time Oscar nominee
for Best Song and Score of a musical movie, I can testify from personal experience that
creating a full musical is one of the most exciting and satisfying experiences a composer and/or lyricist can have. Emotionally, it’s not too different from an intense love
affair with its roller-coaster highs and lows, despair and joy. When a composer sees his
or her words and music beautifully interpreted on a stage or on film, there is a sense
of unmatchable triumph.
The process is not as mysterious as it may appear. Like every creative endeavor, musicals have their own set of rules and guidelines, as I learned while composing the
Disney musical, Pete’s Dragon. The first rule is: A musical has to have a strong, solid
premise that can shoulder all the embellishments placed upon it.
In this chapter, I use Pete’s Dragon, one of the earliest motion pictures to combine live
and animated characters, to explore writing a musical score for a film genre that is
today at its peak of popularity.
Part 3 ➤ Genre Gold
Not Eliza Doolittle, but a Dragon
When Al and I imagined writing a musical for film, we were stimulated by certain
mental pictures: Gene Kelly dancing in the rain; Barbra Streisand belting out “Don’t
Rain on My Parade” on a tugboat; Leslie Caron in Gigi, dancing to “The Night They
Invented Champagne”; or Kevin Bacon teaching his friend to dance in Footloose.
It never occurred to us that we’d be writing numbers for an animated dragon. In the
late 1970s, when Disney gave us the assignment to provide the score for Pete’s Dragon,
we had no idea that by 1990, most movie musicals would take the form of animated
features such as The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, and The Lion King. All we
knew was that the personnel involved were superbly talented: choreographer Onna
White (Oscar winner for Oliver), master orchestrator Irwin Kostal, and stars Mickey
Rooney, Shelley Winters, Helen Reddy, Jim Dale, and Red Buttons.
Keeping Up with Current Styles
After the success of Grease in 1978 and Fame in 1980, the MGM-style film musical, in
which characters sang songs onscreen rather than doing them through voiceover,
started to lose popularity. People began to say, “The musical is gone forever.” But I
kept in mind the words Gene Kelly said to me, “Nothing ever disappears. It just resurfaces in a different form.”
Animated musicals brought the musical back. In 1989, Disney released The Little
Mermaid by Alan Menken and Howard Ashman, and it caused a sensation. Suddenly,
the musical in animated form was bringing in record worldwide grosses. Characters
still sang to each other, even though they were cartoons. The validity of the form was underlined when
Beauty and the Beast and The Lion King went to
Broadway and were immediately successful.
Backstage Banter
Disney originally planned to go to
Maine on location to film Pete’s
Dragon. It decided instead to
build an entire city on its back lot.
Cast and crew were disappointed,
feeling that they couldn’t capture
the fantasy with artificial sets.
When it was done, however, the
city looked more magical than
any location you could find in the
real state of Maine.
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After 1989, all the guidelines that applied to the live
musical became equally valid for animated musical
films. If anything, animated replicas of live-action musicals were more popular than their counterparts.
Soundtracks reached higher chart levels, selling in the
tens of millions, and hit songs poured from all the
Disney musical releases, as they continue to do.
Television Musicals
Television, according to current perception, is the new
area for the musical, as exemplified by sky-high ratings
for television remakes of Annie and Gypsy. The unpublicized truth is more encouraging. Television has always
offered numerous opportunities for composers who
write musicals.
Chapter 16 ➤ Live and Animated Musicals
Early in my career, somewhat intimidated by the
prospect of Broadway, I trained my eye on television with the intention of developing and creating
musicals. My first breakthrough was an ABC version of The Canterville Ghost, followed by another
one called Old Faithful, which starred Zero Mostel
and Burgess Meredith. Encouraged by the network
reactions to these projects, I went on to do The
Magic Paintbrush, Charles Dickens’s David Copperfield,
and The Original Top Ten. The first two were liveaction movies; the next three were animated, in
the manner of the contemporary Disney films.
Music Behind the Scenes
Hirschhorn’s Hints
People are always saying, “Television’s only interested in doing
classics. No one will do an original.” I want to point out that three
of my five television musicals were
originals and so was Pete’s Dragon.
Saturday Night Fever, Footloose, and Dirty Dancing are
definitive examples of the modern voiceover musical. Saturday Night Fever is the work of one writing group—the Bee Gees—and Footloose
is the vision of Dean Pitchford, who did all the lyrics. Because both of these movies
were conceived by one mind, they have more musical unity than Dirty Dancing, which
recruited submissions from a dozen songwriters.
Dialogue vs. Music
Ideally, book writers want more dialogue, and songwriters want more music. In a musical, the book writer has to defer to the score, or the project won’t succeed. Crisp, character-driven dialogue is needed to keep the action flowing and provide setups for the
songs.
Musical book writers frequently resent this situation. They feel it renders them anonymous, and they’re right. The more successfully they do their job, the more they’ll be
allowing a composer to shine at their own expense. You, as the composer or lyricist,
must make every effort to work harmoniously with the librettist. Be open to his or her
suggestions and avoid a competitive situation. At the same time, make sure your lyrics
furnish as much information as possible, and don’t duplicate points the dialogue has
made.
Sometimes a generous book writer who looks at the overall show rather than at his or
her own ego needs will encourage you to use lines of his or her dialogue as titles or incorporate them within the lyric. If you maintain an appreciative and responsive relationship with the book writer, a gift like that will occur more often. In the case of Pete’s
Dragon, book writer Malcolm Marmorstein had the same priority we did: to make our
musical as fast-moving and enjoyable as possible. There were no ego clashes of any
kind.
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Part 3 ➤ Genre Gold
The Song’s the Thing
Nothing is more tedious than a succession of numbers that all sound alike. In Pete’s
Dragon, we included a waltz, a ballad, pop songs, and a country rocker.
Nailing the Characters
Hirschhorn’s Hints
When devising characters, always
consider the idea of giving them
characteristics against type. We
suggested that the songs about
Elliott the Dragon make him lovable rather than menacing, with
zany speech patterns and a language all his own. These eccentricities turned him into a more
popular, less conventional character.
What kind of numbers suit the different characters?
You have to ask yourself this question over and over
again. What defines each of the people (or the dragons)
involved? Your job, as composer and lyricist, is to bring
these characters alive, to let the audience see their
dreams, desires, and goals.
Pete’s Dragon centers around a young orphan who is
battered and exploited by his illiterate foster family.
Examining the villains, led by a monstrous Shelley
Winters, we took into account that they lived in poor,
rural surroundings. A country-flavored tune suggested
their upbringing and background, and we made their
signature song up-tempo.
The up-tempo drive conveyed the family’s heartlessly
aggressive behavior. A ballad would have been inappropriate for two reasons:
➤ It would have made the characters too sensitive
and caring.
➤ The up-tempo song, titled “Happiest Home in
the Hills,” was our opening number.
Trouble Clef
Opening numbers, with rare exceptions, have to grab viewers.
Otherwise, you’ll run into the
popcorn problem, when children
get up from their seats and rush
out to the refreshment stand.
Slow openings are a guarantee
that you’ll lose half your kid
audience.
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Another character song in the movie painted a picture of medical con man Jim Dale. We made his
phony miracle cures so outlandish and his claims for
healing so transparent that children knew he was
going to pose a danger to the dragon. With its barrage
of eighth notes, the tempo of the song was therefore
frenetic, to capture his fanatic personality.
Where Songs Belong
In the case of film musicals, songwriters are usually
called after a script has been written. Pete’s Dragon
was an exception. We were handed a 75-page outline
by author Malcolm Marmorstein. Frank Paris, head of
Disney’s story department, asked us to suggest where
songs would work most effectively.
Chapter 16 ➤ Live and Animated Musicals
Placing songs properly is one of the first and most vital aspects of creating a musical.
Numbers have to move the plot forward and not simply be tossed in at random.
They also need to move the story along. As Stephen Schwartz, composer of Godspell
and Oscar winner for Disney’s Pocahontas, says, “We all love our ballads, but sometimes they slow down the action.” Deleting a tune you’re attached to from a spot
you’ve already chosen can be painful, but objectivity has to rule.
Easy Does It
The late Lehman Engel, who started the world-famous musical workshop at BMI
(Broadcast Music, Inc.), always stressed the urgent need for what he called a “charm
song.” Charm songs are medium-tempo melodies that bridge the gap between gentle
ballads and rip-roaring production numbers. These tunes are meant to please rather
than electrify and induce a smile rather than uproarious laughter.
Hirschhorn’s Hints
Rodgers and Hammerstein had a unique way of creating step-out songs that became hits
on their own. They wrote opening verses to tell the story, and then moved on to a more
general lyric. An excellent example of this technique is “Hello, Young Lovers,” in which
Anna, the heroine of The King and I, reminisces about her lost love before switching to a
lyric that gives advice to every young lover in the world.
In Pete’s Dragon, the charm song is “It’s Not Easy,” a number in which Pete tries to explain to a skeptical heroine (Helen Reddy) that his dragon friend exists. It’s also a stepout song.
Our step-out song from Pete’s Dragon was called “Candle on the Water,” sung by
Helen Reddy and later nominated for a Best Song Oscar. The words were deliberately
chosen to work within the context of the story without being so specific that they
made no sense outside the film.
Stand Up to Stars
When one of your stars requests a song that you know will prove injurious to the
whole enterprise, you have to fight for the good of the show. Twice in my career, stars
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Part 3 ➤ Genre Gold
Lyrical Lingo
Step-out songs are designed to
work perfectly within the plot,
but they also function on their
own when lifted from the score.
These songs are the ones with hit
potential.
came to me, begging for songs that would “strengthen
their character.” The songs they wanted might have
strengthened their characters, but they would have
weakened the pace of the show and robbed the climax
of impact. Opposing your leading players is difficult,
and you have to do it with the utmost diplomacy.
Sometimes the battle can’t be won. But whenever possible, keep your focus trained on what will benefit the
overall result.
The Performers and the Song
Often the composer has little say in the casting of
a film. In the case of Pete’s Dragon, producers Jerry
Courtland and Ron Miller respected us and asked for
our opinion, and then pursued actors we wanted for
the roles. If you’re asked at the start of casting to venture opinions, don’t be shy or
deferential. Make up a list of superior candidates.
For the leading parts, try to choose people who can sing. Many people feel performers
without singing ability can “act” the songs, but nothing can match the pleasure of
hearing melodies sung well. Aside from the aesthetic satisfaction, the tunes have a
much greater chance of becoming hits. In today’s Hollywood, where soundtracks are
bigger business than ever, this consideration is tremendously important.
Trouble Clef
Richard Rodgers hated the fact that Gertrude Lawrence sang out of tune in The King and I,
even though she acted the role convincingly. Sammy Cahn, who wrote the music for the
Broadway musical Look to the Lilies in 1970, said, “We had Al Freeman Jr., and they kept
telling us, ‘He’s an actor.’ But I said, ‘Can he sing?’ Jule Styne answered, ‘What good is a
show if the book doesn’t come off? He’ll bring it off.’ But I figured this way: Let the book
writer handle the book, I’ll handle the songs.” Cahn was proved right when no successful
songs emerged from the score. Conclusion: Get someone who can do both if possible.
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Chapter 16 ➤ Live and Animated Musicals
Bring Out the Actor’s Best Qualities
After the performers have been chosen, you as a composer should think of ways to
capitalize on their unique characteristics. When Disney hired Mickey Rooney to play
Helen Reddy’s hard-drinking dad, we concentrated on writing a melody that packed
the manic energy Rooney had as a singer. The result was “I Saw a Dragon,” where
Rooney sees the huge, horrifying dragon that is invisible to everyone else. The beat
grows increasingly hysterical to convey the character’s overwhelming terror.
Vocal Ranges That Match
Vocal ranges are always vital, and when writing a duet, a wrong choice can lead to
disaster. Ask yourself right away: Who has the bulk of the number? In the case of “I
Saw a Dragon,” which teamed Mickey Rooney and Helen Reddy, Mickey sang the
tune, and Helen spoke the lyrics. Their keys were incompatible, and it was dramatically necessary for Rooney to do most of the singing. Helen’s singing voice was the
logical one to feature, yet the choice had to be based on what best served the story.
Helen had the better pop voice, but Mickey was the focal point of the scene.
Every Job Is Your Job
Never think: Choreography is her job; mine is to write songs. In writing a musical,
visualizing yourself as choreographer, director, or actor helps you gain a creative
overview that will make your songs come more brilliantly alive.
Arranger and Best Friend
When you work on a musical, the arranger is an incomparable ally. Songs are like
people. No matter how handsome or beautiful people are, their beauty is tremendously enhanced with the right clothes and the right hairstyle. Many outstanding
tunes have been distorted, weakened, or ruined by arrangers who don’t understand
how to do them justice or who have a concept that differs too widely from the composer’s.
Meet with the arranger beforehand and establish a strong personal rapport. Tell him
or her clearly what you’re trying to do with your tunes. If you see a guitar and a harmonica, make it clear that 40 violins would be a major mistake. You also should be
open to the arranger’s suggestions. A guitar and a harmonica might be too sparse and
might not give your song the emotional charge it requires.
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Part 3 ➤ Genre Gold
Think Like a Choreographer
Another song from Pete’s Dragon, “There’s Room for Everyone,” encouraged choreographer Onna White to create a huge dance, employing dozens of adults and children
and spreading them out over an entire town. When you write songs for musicals,
always check the lyrics afterward to see how danceable they are. An imaginative
choreographer will do wonders with your material,
but you can make the numbers twice as exciting by
putting yourself in his or her place and saying to
yourself, “How can I make this dance?”
Backstage Banter
The late Irwin Kostal was one of
the great unsung heroes of the
musical world. He orchestrated
West Side Story, The Sound of
Music, and Mary Poppins, winning Oscars for the first two and
a nomination for the third. He
was also known in music circles
as “the fastest pen in the world,”
because of his amazing speed in
conceiving and finishing arrangements.
Backstage Banter
The Oscar-winning classic song
“Over the Rainbow” at one
point was deleted from The
Wizard of Oz. Producer Arthur
Freed threatened to quit unless
it was put back in the picture.
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Arranger Irwin Kostal, a close friend and a cherished
mentor, once told me: “Give the choreographer visual
aids to work with. You can make her job much easier
and do your musical a world of good.”
I Just Want This Small Change
Just when you think your show is in perfect shape,
someone—the director, the star, the producer—will
have ideas about how to change it. Your best song
may be for a character that the director wants deleted;
or the show-stopper has been given to a minor character who outshines the star.
In Pete’s Dragon, we were given instructions to “avoid
rock” and write something “timeless.” This instruction
was vague, but Al and I came up with something
old-fashioned in a 1940s style. While congratulating
ourselves on our ability to meet the producer’s requirements, the order descended, “Make it a rock
song.” Thus, “Brazzle Dazzle Day” became perky
rather than poignant, rollicking rather than romantic.
An even more towering change came about when the
decision was made to eliminate Elliot, the dragon. The
reasoning? “Kids will be happy to see Shelley Winters,
Mickey Rooney, and Jim Dale. They won’t care about a
dragon. Let’s do it like Harvey, in which the main character imagines, rather than sees, an invisible rabbit.”
With no criticism intended of Winters, Rooney, and
Dale, it struck us that an animated dragon would have
far more appeal than a cast of adult live actors. We
were devastated. It was obvious to us that the movie
would have no chance of becoming one of Disney’s
classics if Pete’s Dragon became just the story of Pete.
Chapter 16 ➤ Live and Animated Musicals
We went to the head honchos and begged, pleaded. We played a duet written for
Elliot and Pete that finally caused them to relent, a comedy number titled “Boo Bop
Bop Bop (I Love You, Too).”
Once our animated hero was back in the ballgame, we gladly wrote songs to feature
him. I regard the battle for the dragon as the most important artistic fight I’ve ever
undertaken, no matter how much extra writing and rewriting it entailed. Be ready
and eager to work around the clock and make any alterations necessary for the betterment of the show.
Monetary Rewards from a Musical
If the musical you write becomes a success, it can give you a lifelong income, the kind
of income that provides a financial umbrella during lean times. Artists frequently
cover (record a version) songs from musicals. Band arrangements, music folios, and
choral arrangements also provide permanent income.
In the case of Pete’s Dragon, Al and I were relatively new to Disney, and the remuneration was comparatively small. Fortunately, Sammy Cahn said to us, “Take it! Even if
you have to pay them. It will put you on the map as musical writers, and besides,
think of royalties.”
Very soon after, the Pete’s Dragon soundtrack was
released, and we saw what Sammy meant. The
album went gold, and the single received enormous airplay. The best part of the picture was yet
to come. Through the years, songs from Pete’s
Dragon were placed in countless compilation albums, such as Disney’s Greatest Hits, Disney’s
Greatest Animal Songs, and Disney’s Top Ten. The
sheet music also continued to sell and still does
today.
Whether the songs are on voiceover or on camera, your goal in writing music for musicals
should be to highlight character, move the story
along, create a sense of drama, and deepen the
emotional meanings of the story.
Hirschhorn’s Hints
Gene Kelly once told me,
“Nothing ever disappears. In
show business, they write obituaries, and then the cycle turns,
and everything old is new again.
Never worry that a trend is gone
for good—it’s just taking a vacation.”
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The Least You Need to Know
➤ Cooperate, don’t compete, with the book writer.
➤ The key to show writing is understanding the characters.
➤ Write at least one song that is general enough to stand outside of the show.
➤ Pick the best possible ranges and keys for your singers.
➤ Be sure that your tempos vary to keep audience interest.
➤ Factor in the choreography while you’re writing your material.
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Chapter 17
Musicals for
the Stage
In This Chapter
➤ The illusion of reality in an abstract space
➤ Types of musicals
➤ Ways of getting your musical to the stage
➤ Special material for artists and performers
Most of the concepts that apply to film musicals are equally valid for the stage. But
theater has differences a composer should keep in mind.
Creating an Illusion of Reality
On stage you don’t have a camera moving freely around, capturing every detail of
lavish locations. Julie Andrews can spin across the hills of Salzburg in Robert Wise’s
Oscar-winning film version of The Sound of Music. On stage, her movements would be
comparatively restricted.
In the 1940s and 1950s, sets were large, often elephantine. They were usually opulent,
with every detail spelled out. Going from one sequence to another was more a feat of
heavy labor than a feat of the imagination. Today, such literal monstrosities arouse
the ire of critics. Sets that zip in and out or revolve quickly are much preferred. They
suggest a background or an atmosphere. So don’t conceive your theater piece as a series of short scenes, each with elaborate set changes.
Part 3 ➤ Genre Gold
Backstage Banter
Illusions are in the eye of the beholder. While spinning around on the frigid Salzburg hills
during the filming of The Sound of Music, Julie Andrews was suffering from a violent case
of the flu and from dizziness caused by the medicine she was taking. But being a trouper,
she made it all look easy. Gene Kelly had a temperature of 105 degrees when his memorable dance scene in Singing in the Rain was filmed.
Belting to the Balcony
Write songs that have energy, spirit, and that theater word commonly used today, an
“edge.” You have to reach viewers in the last row of theaters that are often huge.
Hollywood songwriters who set their sights on Broadway have been criticized for
writing songs that were too sweet, too pleasant. This assertion has some truth to it;
those who were used to the camera composed overly mellow music. After years of
working in film, they were accustomed to the ever-present camera doing the work for
them. Close-ups were able to furnish the necessary power, highlighting the tiniest expressions on the faces of the cast. That’s why a movie can carry the weight of more
ballads, whereas one or two are sufficient in a theatrical enterprise.
Lyrical Lingo
Minimalist refers to nondissonant, repetitive harmonies that
rarely modulate and focus on
simple scales and triads.
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When Al and I wrote Copperfield for Broadway, José
Ferrer and Otto Preminger encouraged us to compose
music with a cutting edge that was outgoing rather
than minimalist. Modern audiences want songs that
dig deep and penetrate outer layers of personality.
A score like Rent has a contemporary, powerful score.
Stephen Sondheim writes music and lyrics that go for
sharpness and truth.
Family shows such as The Lion King, Aida, and Beauty
and the Beast reach out expansively. The rhythms have
sweep and drive, and the music intervals allow a
singer tremendous latitude. Small people inhabit a big
stage, and they have to dominate through power and
personality. Your music must have the expansive passion to make them larger-than-life figures.
Chapter 17 ➤ Musicals for the Stage
Songs on Stage and Screen
In a film musical, songs are more sparingly utilized
than in stage shows. Film is a realistic medium,
and dozens of songs in a row produce boredom in
your viewers. The stage has a fundamental fantasy
element that makes it possible for listeners to
enjoy one tune after another. That’s why the
movie version of Evita, a rock opera, did only lukewarm box office despite Madonna’s presence. In a
theater, Evita captivates almost everyone.
Important Musical Categories
Musicals have always fallen into certain categories.
Some of the most well-known types are adult fairy
tales, revues, historical musicals, musical fantasies,
and musical biographies. Musical adaptations are
also popular; novels, plays, movies, works of
Shakespeare, and Bible stories have all been turned
into successful musicals. Some of the most memorable musicals, however, have been complete originals.
Hirschhorn’s Hints
Feel free to write as many songs
as you consider necessary when
composing for the stage. As you
start working on a show, you’ll
keep some songs, eliminate some,
and save some for re-evaluation
at a later time. You’ll be composing up to the last minute, because change and rewriting is the
name of the game in theater.
Adult Fairy Tales: Love Heals
For the romantic, sentimental composer who loves happy endings, adult fairy tales
are a fertile musical area.
➤ Beauty and the Beast (Menken and Ashman). Among Disney’s most popular
animated musical films, it is just as successful on the Broadway stage. A mismatched pair, a lovely young girl and a ferocious beast, discover that love transcends appearances and true beauty lies within.
➤ The Unsinkable Molly Brown (Meredith Willson). The road from rags to riches
is always romantic, and in this backwoods fable, Molly Brown rises from uneducated tomboy to society belle. She even rescues people on the doomed Titanic.
➤ Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (Hirschhorn, Kasha). Two different points of
view clash when a spunky waitress marries a chauvinistic mountain man and
teaches him how to treat a woman with respect. (A new score was written for
the stage version.)
➤ Annie (Strouse/Charnin). An orphan winds up as the cherished ward of a fabulously wealthy figure. This situation becomes plausible through Strouse and
Charnin’s buoyant, tuneful score and a need we all have to believe that love can
triumph over any adversity.
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A theme that links these adult fairy tales is personality transformation brought about
by the miraculous powers of love. In Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, for instance, all
seven men become courteous, considerate, well-mannered Prince Charmings.
Hirschhorn’s Hints
Audiences can be counted on to cheer for a hero or heroine who rises to wealth, conquers snobs, and winds up with the love of her dreams. In My Fair Lady, a guttersnipe
won over the shallow rich and married her professor. In Shaw’s Pygmalion, the basis for
My Fair Lady, Eliza didn’t land Professor Higgins; but Alan Jay Lerner understood that audiences would reject the work if the two didn’t get together. He went so far as to say
that Shaw’s ending was wrong.
Adult fairy tales are perfect properties for romantics. Within their wholesome borders,
they have a core of realism. Consider the song “You’ve Got to Be Taught (to Hate and
Fear)” from South Pacific, which features a romance between a naive American schoolteacher and worldly South Seas plantation owner. But an adult fairy tale must maintain its wide-eyed, optimistic viewpoint. The key to these beloved properties is that
they make people feel good.
The Revue
Revues are generally composed of vignettes and skits with an overall theme, whether
sexual, social, or political. Sometimes they’re compilations that define the life work of
a creative artist or a writer’s literary contributions.
➤ Cats (Andrew Lloyd Webber, T.S. Eliot). The longest running musical in history,
Cats is a series of T. S. Eliot poems set to Andrew Lloyd Webber’s music. The story
is just a slim excuse for Webber’s tuneful score, which includes the standard,
“Memory.”
➤ A Chorus Line (Marvin Hamlisch/Ed Kleban). A ground-breaking musical documentary, this show utilized the lives, hopes, and dreams of Broadway dancers as a
foundation for a Tony-winning musical revue.
➤ Fosse. Bob Fosse’s choreography was the focal point of this revue, with excerpts
from such shows as Pajama Game, Pippin, and Chicago.
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Chapter 17 ➤ Musicals for the Stage
Trouble Clef
If you’re attracted to a set of stories or poems, you might find it enjoyable and lucrative to
musicalize them as Webber did. Carole King’s Really Rosie musicalized the works of children’s
writer Maurice Sendak. But remember: Before you decide to use a property owned by someone else, get the rights! Carol Hall, composer of Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, admitted
that she never got rights to many properties she coveted early in her career. “I was totally ignorant,” she says. “I mean I’d just do a musical I had no rights to, if it struck my fancy.”
➤ Jerome Robbins’s Broadway. This show features most of Robbins’s dances from
such masterpieces as On the Town, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the
Forum, Fiddler on the Roof, Peter Pan, and West Side Story.
➤ Smokey Joe’s Café. Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller’s hits provided the pulsing rock
magic for this revue.
➤ Ain’t Misbehavin’. This revue consists of 30 songs written or performed by Fats
Waller.
➤ Sophisticated Ladies. This revue celebrates Duke Ellington’s big band classics
such as “Satin Doll” and “Mood Indigo.”
The Historical Musical
The historical musical allows composers and lyricists a chance to musically portray an
era and its people. When historical musicals succeed, they often become classics:
➤ Titanic (Maury Yeston). Maury Yeston’s musical depicts the 1912 tragedy of an
“unsinkable” ocean liner.
➤ Cabaret (John Kander, Fred Ebb). Pre-Hitler Germany, with its decadence and
let’s-live-as-though-there’s-no-tomorrow attitudes; and the film I Am a Camera provided Kander and Ebb with the basis for a bitingly harsh, realistic musical drama.
➤ Miss Saigon (Claude-Michel Schoenberg, Richard Maltby Jr., Alain Boublil).
This show reworks Puccini’s Madame Butterfly as a Vietnam War drama.
➤ Les Misérables (Claude-Michel Schoenberg, Claude Boublil). Utilizing the
French Revolution as background, Les Misérables (Les Miz for short), which was
based on the classic novel by Victor Hugo, told the tale of escaped prisoner Jean
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Part 3 ➤ Genre Gold
Valjean and the mercilessly moral policeman
Javert who pursues him. Les Miz and Miss Saigon
were two of the leading musicals to be throughsung and use recitative and leitmotif in a brilliant
and commercially successful manner.
➤ Pacific Overtures (Stephen Sondheim). This musical of Japanese and Western relations is told in
the traditional form of Japanese Kabuki theater.
Lyrical Lingo
Through-sung means sung in its
entirety, without dialogue.
Recitative is a talking style of
singing. Leitmotif is a musical
theme that recurs throughout a
show to refer to a specific event,
idea, or character.
The Musical Fantasy
Musical fantasies appeal to almost everyone, from
children to the most jaded adults. Other genres come
and go, but the commercial appeal of fantasies remains undiminished. If you’re a writer with a rich
imagination and a love of make-believe, this musical
arena could be right for you.
➤ The Lion King (Elton John, Tim Rice). A combination of wizardly stagecraft
and puppetry, this adaptation of the Disney film featured an Oscar-winning
score by Elton John and Tim Rice.
➤ The Little Shop of Horrors (Howard Ashman, Alan Menken). Based on the 1960
low-budget film of the same name, this show pitted a nerdy hero against a maneating plant and became the fifth longest running off-Broadway musical in history.
➤ Starlight Express (Andrew Lloyd Webber, Richard Stilgoe). This show anthropomorphized trains on a cross-country race that made unlikely, but effective
subjects for Andrew Lloyd Webber’s offbeat musical.
➤ Nine (Maury Yeston). Fellini’s film 81⁄2 furnishes the source material for Yeston’s
musical about a film director’s fantasies.
➤ Brigadoon (Alan Jay Lerner, Frederic Loewe). This musical tells a romantic tale
about two American tourists who discover a town that awakens only once every
hundred years. The premise seems far-fetched, but Lerner and Loewe’s memorable score (“The Heather on the Hill,” “Come to Me, Bend to Me,” and “Almost
Like Being in Love”) makes it believable and moving.
The Musical Biography
True-life heroes and heroines always make fascinating musical material. If you want
to musicalize a colorful personality (and can obtain the rights), it often results in box
office gold.
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Chapter 17 ➤ Musicals for the Stage
➤ Gypsy (Stephen Sondheim). In a daring, innovative approach that is typical of
Sondheim, this show concentrated on a vicious, conniving stage mother named
Rose who shoved her daughter (stripper Gypsy Rose Lee) into the limelight and
then felt abandoned after Gypsy’s success. In this case, the main character
wasn’t famous, although her children were. (Rose’s other daughter evolved into
actress June Havoc.)
➤ Barnum (Cy Coleman, Michael Stewart). This play about master showman
Phineas Taylor Barnum featured juggling, tightrope walking, and trampoline
feats by Jim Dale.
➤ The Will Rogers Follies (Cy Coleman, Betty Comden, Adolph Green). Beloved
humorist Will Rogers provided the centerpiece for a lavish revue/biography with
razzle-dazzle choreography by Tommy Tune and a glitzy production worthy of
Florenz Ziegfeld himself.
➤ Dreamgirls (Henry Krieger, Tom Eyen). The Krieger/Eyen score didn’t actually
say the three heroines were the Supremes, but Supreme Mary Wilson has confirmed that director Michael Bennett based his play on Motown’s most popular
trio. The composers cleverly located the drama of this story by focusing on
Florence Ballard, the tragic Supreme who died young after being ousted from
the group. It’s always preferable when you can take a known story and present it
with a fresh twist, as composers Henry Krieger and Tom Eyen did here.
➤ Evita (Andrew Lloyd Webber, Tim Rice). Audiences love glamour, and Evita is
one of the most glamorous of modern heroines. She’s a woman who rose from
poverty to become Juan Peron’s wife and a powerful Argentinian figure in her
own right. Her elegance and magnetism are emphasized when she tells a dress
designer, “Christian Dior me, Lauren Bacall me.”
Novel Adaptations
Shows based on classic novels are a Broadway staple. Al and I were nominated for a Best
Score Tony for Copperfield, our Broadway version of Charles Dickens’s David Copperfield.
Lionel Bart turned another Dickens’s classic, Oliver Twist, into the show Oliver! Rupert
Holmes was inspired by an incomplete Dickens work to create The Mystery of Edwin
Drood.
These great musicals all stem from classic books:
➤ Ragtime by Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty
➤ The Scarlet Pimpernel by Frank Wildhorn and Nan Knight
➤ Jekyll and Hyde by Frank Wildhorn and Leslie Bricusse
➤ Phantom of the Opera by Andrew Lloyd Webber, Charles Hart, and Richard Stilgoe
➤ Big River by Roger Miller
➤ Candide by Leonard Bernstein and Lillian Hellman
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Play Adaptations
Dramatic plays or comedies are often changed into musicals:
➤ Sweeney Todd by Stephen Sondheim is based on Christopher Bond’s The Demon
Barber of Fleet Street.
➤ Hello, Dolly! by Jerry Herman is an adaptation of Thornton Wilder’s The
Matchmaker.
➤ The basis of Do I Hear a Waltz? by Stephen Sondheim and Richard Rodgers is
Time of the Cuckoo by Arthur Laurents.
➤ Jerry Herman’s Mame comes from Auntie Mame by Patrick Dennis.
➤ 110 in the Shade by Harvey Schmidt and Tom Jones is a musical version of
Richard Nash’s play The Rainmaker.
Movie Adaptations
Movies have always been popular source material for composers, but now the trend
is stronger than ever. For example, John Kander and Fred Ebb have created several
shows from movies: Woman of the Year and Kiss of the Spider Woman are based on
the movies of the same names, Zorba comes from the
movie Zorba the Greek, and Chicago is based on the
film Roxie Hart.
These musicals are also examples of movie adaptations:
Backstage Banter
Frank Wildhorn is an established
pop songwriter who composed
Whitney Houston’s “Where Do
Broken Hearts Go?” Wildhorn
makes certain his tunes have a
life outside the musicals they’re
in by recording concept albums.
In 1992, one of these concept
albums, with songs from the upcoming Scarlet Pimpernel, featured Chuck Wagner, Dave
Clemmons, Peabo Bryson, and
Linda Eder.
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➤ The film Sunset Boulevard inspired Andrew Lloyd
Webber and Don Black to create the musical
Sunset Boulevard.
➤ The film Grand Hotel became the musical Grand
Hotel by Robert Wright and George Forrest, with
additional music and lyrics by Maury Yeston.
➤ Frank Loesser’s The Most Happy Fella is adapted
from the film They Knew What They Wanted.
➤ Promises, Promises by Burt Bacharach and Hal
David is based on the film The Apartment.
➤ Applause by Charles Strouse and Lee Adams is
based on the film All About Eve.
➤ The musical 42nd Street (music and lyrics by
Harry Warren and Al Dubin, additional lyrics by
Johnny Mercer and Mort Dixon) is based on the
film 42nd Street.
Chapter 17 ➤ Musicals for the Stage
Offbeat Adaptations
Ideas for musicals come from places as unexpected and diverse as cartoons, to famous
art, to opera. Annie was a comic strip called Little Orphan Annie. The Stephen Sondheim
musical Sunday in the Park with George was based on the pointillist art masterpiece
Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte. The rock musical Rent by Jonathan
Larsen came from the opera La Bohème.
Shakespeare and the Bible
Shakespeare’s plots are models of melodrama, action, and comedy, and songwriters have been turning to them for years:
➤ Two Gentlemen from Verona by Galt MacDermot
and John Guare is a musical version of the
Shakespearean play of the same name.
➤ Your Own Thing by Hal Hester and Danny
Apolinar is their version of Twelfth Night.
➤ The Boys from Syracuse by Richard Rodgers
and Lorenz Hart is an adaptation of The
Comedy of Errors.
Backstage Banter
Sarah Jessica Parker of Sex and
the City once played the lead in
Annie.
Nothing beats the Bible for musical adaptation. Stephen Schwartz launched his career
with Godspell. Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice have had much success with both
Jesus Christ Superstar and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolored Dreamcoat.
Originals
Many composers would rather do musicals based on original stories than adapt
proven properties. This approach is riskier, because producers usually seek protection
from tried-and-true materials. Still, brilliant originals have achieved great success:
➤ Falsettos by William Finn
➤ I’m Getting My Act Together and Taking It on the Road by Gretchen Cryer and
Nancy Ford
➤ The Magic Show and Pippin by Stephen Schwartz
➤ Bells Are Ringing by Jule Styne, Betty Comden, and Adolph Green
➤ Into the Woods by Stephen Sondheim
Get It on the Stage
Those who devote themselves to theater can’t get enough of it. Theater people rush
to see every possible production they can, musical or not. So should you. Don’t
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attend just the highly publicized, expensive productions; see shows presented in 99seat houses as well. College theater, community theater, high school and dinner theater can all provide exposure to a fine performance, an unusual orchestration, or a
score you’re not familiar with.
Once you’ve written a musical, you must get it on stage to analyze its virtues and
weaknesses. Never mind where: a living room, a roof, or a restaurant will do. Only
when you observe actors singing your words and music can you deepen your comprehension of lighting, costumes, scenery, and choreography. You’ll then be able to
rewrite without big money pressures and without temperamental stars to derail you.
Show Me the Money
Throughout theatrical history, composers have hired singers (or sung the material
themselves) and put on a backer’s audition. Sometimes studios or auditoriums are
rented; other times the material is performed in a
living room. Al and I raised money for both our
Broadway shows by performing them in a director’s
home for different angels.
Lyrical Lingo
Angels, also known as backers,
are those who write the checks
for theater productions.
Hirschhorn’s Hints
On the occasions when a show is
not professionally done, you can
sometimes learn more from the
mistakes and avoid them in your
own work. Try to pinpoint what
the problems are and study why
songs don’t work and why certain lyrics slow up the action.
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As a rule, however, you should hire a few other singers.
It added extra tension to our presentation when we
tried to play all the parts (especially with our Dickens
piece, because Dickens is known as a writer with
dozens of characters). The variety of voices makes
everything much clearer to your listeners, all of whom
are unfamiliar with your show.
Be sure you can explain the plot clearly and how your
numbers fit into it, but don’t interrupt the songs with
overly lengthy explanations. Rehearse the presentation
until it becomes second nature to avoid stuttering or
stumbling. Finally, don’t apologize for the lack of
scenery or lighting. No one expects a full physical production. People can imagine a great deal, especially if
your performance is simple, concise, clear, and to the
point.
Do a Local Production
It’s a mistake to think that local theater is consistently
inferior to the highly budgeted productions. If you
missed Dreamgirls the first time around, you’ll still
hear the songs and enjoy Michael Bennett’s original
concept in a converted garage. A Chorus Line in a relatively miniature format might gain intimacy that it
lacked on Broadway.
Chapter 17 ➤ Musicals for the Stage
Local theater is overflowing with talent. Exposure
to it will inspire you, as a composer, and also give
you a sense of how many modest avenues there are
that provide launching pads for your own work.
Talk to theaters in your area and present your material. Find out if they’re willing to put on a production of your show. If they will, you’ll have access to
a cast, musicians, director, and producer. Colleges,
drama clubs, high schools, church groups, and
dinner theaters are other outlets, and some of the
shows they present are extraordinary.
Be a Talent Scout
Try your songs at parties and clubs. Work with
singers who appear talented but haven’t landed
their first booking yet.
Trouble Clef
Never make the mistake of
thinking that great talent is only
on the Broadway stage. In doing
a local production, you may discover a future star, someone who
will excite high-level producers
and turn your show into an appealing package.
When John Kander and Fred Ebb discovered Liza Minnelli, she was a novice, despite
having Judy Garland and Vincente Minnelli as parents. Kander and Ebb created special songs for her, studied carefully what she did best, and helped her to spotlight her
individuality and move out from the long shadows of her mother and father. With
increasing fame, Oscars, and Tonys, Minnelli stayed with the composers who had
seen her potential in the beginning.
Hold a Workshop
Organize a workshop. Gather actors together and
develop your musical. Recently I workshopped a
new show and was reminded again of how effective
the process is. You can’t get an accurate impression
of the way the script plays or whether the songs
and script are cohesively integrated until you watch
it unfold before a live audience. Once you invite
people to see the workshop production, you’ll learn
further what scores a bull’s-eye and what needs correcting.
When you produce a workshop, watch for these
common problems:
➤ Be alert for slow stretches when the audience
begins to cough or squirm.
➤ Pay strict attention to a song that sounds
beautiful on its own, but brings the story to a
halt.
Trouble Clef
When a song doesn’t fit,
you can’t make it fit. Irving
Berlin wrote a song called “Mr.
Monotony” for the movie Easter
Parade. It slowed down the story.
Then he put it in Call Me Madam
and had to take it out when the
show went on the road. Finally, it
showed up in a compilation film,
That’s Entertainment III, and
didn’t work there either.
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Part 3 ➤ Genre Gold
➤ Study your characters. Is one character too dominant, another too passive? Is a
supporting player knocking out the audience with the best song, and your lead
losing ground because he has the weaker numbers?
➤ Make sure your ending feels right. Is it too happy or too optimistic for the story
that precedes it? Or is it too sad, leaving audiences depressed when they’d rather
be elated? If you’re honest with yourself, you’ll feel those vibes.
➤ Is the show song-heavy? Or is it too “talky,” in desperate need of a song or a
dance sequence? Whatever the problem is, don’t rationalize. Don’t blame it on
the actors or on a “bad” audience. Be open to problems and willing to fix them.
➤ Watch for second-act trouble. It usually means that the first act has failed to set
up interesting plotlines that need resolving, or the second act may simply go on
too long. Audiences grow more impatient as the evening wears on. Wind up the
act fast.
Take It on the Road
If your show gains interest, be willing to take it to other towns and cities. In this
video age, you should videotape all, or most of, the performances. Keep that video
camera going, much the same way you keep your cassette recorder going when you
compose. You may accidentally catch magic when one of your singers is practicing a
number. Magic can’t be predicted, so be ready to preserve it when it happens.
Cut a CD
Ideally, a well-produced CD of the musical’s material will convey even more than live
performance. You can do every song, but sometimes just recording the highlights is
better. Include your big ballad, a couple of songs that establish your main characters,
the opening of your show, and the closer. Make sure that your selections cover
enough territory to make the basic story clear.
As in your commercial demos, be mercilessly strict with yourself about the choice of
singers. This is not a time to let your friends participate (unless, of course, they’re on
a par with Audra McDonald or Brian Stokes Mitchell). Also, the singers should have
acting ability and bear a resemblance to the character they’re portraying.
Find Available Theaters
Theater Directory, published by Theater Communications Group, Inc., lists 335 not-forprofit professional theaters across the country. The listing includes address, business,
and box office numbers, fax numbers, e-mail and Web site addresses, performance season, key personnel names (such as artists, management, and board members), and
unit contract information. Underneath each listing is a heading, “Special Interests,”
which describes the kind of plays the theaters concentrate on. Target the ones that
specialize in the type of show you’ve written and send them your music and synopsis.
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Chapter 17 ➤ Musicals for the Stage
The Producer’s Viewpoint
Rob O’Neill, who has produced award-winning versions of Sweeney Todd and A Little Night Music, applies certain criteria when choosing a show to
produce:
“When I produced A Little Night Music, it was
relatively easy to sell tickets, because the
show had a specifically targeted audience,
women who were going to see Dale Kristien
and Amanda McBroom in the roles. I produced Fiddler knowing it would attract the
whole family. I look for broad appeal, what
the consumer is going to want in terms of
tickets. The show doesn’t always have to
reach everyone, but it should appeal to one
complete segment of the public.”
Hirschhorn’s Hints
Contact the Dramatist’s Guild in
New York for a list of important
producers. Many of them will
want your work to arrive through
an agent, so focus your agent
search with the same intensity.
Two excellent sourcebooks to
consult are The New York Agent
Book and The Los Angeles Agent
Book by K. Callan.
Here is Marvin Hamlisch’s opinion about the trend
of today’s theater:
“Very family-oriented shows. A child will go to see Beauty and the Beast and
want to see it again and again. So you’re talking about two tickets and repeat
business. But there’s also room, and there’s always been, for moving, important
theater as well.”
Hits from Shows
Broadway shows used to be an unending source of
hit songs. West Side Story spawned “Maria” and
“Tonight.” Shows like Guys and Dolls (“I’ve Never
Been In Love Before”), Funny Girl (“People”), Gypsy
(“Small World”), Oliver! (“As Long As He Needs
Me”), The Bells Are Ringing (“The Party’s Over”),
Pajama Game (“Steam Heat”), and dozens of other
hits could be counted on to produce at least two
or three chartbusters.
With the arrival of rock and roll, the kind of music
included in Broadway shows of the past received
less radio programming. But big hits can still
emerge from today’s Broadway musicals. Cats gave
us “Memory.” Dreamgirls produced “And I Am
Telling You I’m Not Going.” “Don’t Cry for Me
Argentina” came from Evita. “What I Did for Love”
Hirschhorn’s Hints
The road to Broadway is never
easy, but the rewards are worth it.
Marvin Hamlisch says, “There’s a
lot of money to be made from a
hit show. In terms of a composer,
tons more than a hit film. You get
a percentage of the gross each
and every week, in every town
and country. You rarely, if ever,
get percentages from movies.”
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Part 3 ➤ Genre Gold
was the showstopper in A Chorus Line. A Little Night Music introduced “Send in the
Clowns,” Stephen Sondheim’s biggest hit as a solo composer/lyricist.
If you’re writing a musical, try to create excitement about the score well in advance
by releasing singles or a soundtrack before the musical is produced. The score for Les
Misérables was first released as a best-selling double album. Andrew Lloyd Webber and
Tim Rice offer an excellent example of using hit songs to garner interest in a musical.
“Don’t Cry for Me Argentina” and “High Flying Adored,” two songs that later appeared in Evita, topped the charts before Webber and Rice approached Harold Prince
to direct the musical. When the show opened in London and New York, the popularity of the songs helped Evita to become a hit.
Singles are only a small part of royalties a successful Broadway show can offer you.
Hit soundtracks represent a lifetime annuity. Some recent hit soundtracks from
Broadway shows include Rent, The Phantom of the Opera, Les Misérables, and Big River.
Special Material
Writing for popular in-person performers offers top training for the theater. Al’s and
my theatrical development was aided by writing special musical material for Zero
Mostel, Charles Aznavour (including eight songs for Aznavour’s one-man Broadway
show), Ginger Rogers, Valerie Harper, and Liza Minnelli.
When you write such material, you’ll quickly learn that you can’t just string together
a lot of tunes; your job is to develop an act that will capitalize attractively on every
facet of the performer’s personality. In other words, you’re creating a character. You’ll
have to highlight their funny side, show their humanity, and give them numbers that
express their emotional depth. You’ll be forced to come up with specific, meticulously
tailored lyrics and wean yourself of any tendency to turn out generalities.
Cleverness and wit are required. Once you’ve honed your ability to write humor,
you’re more than halfway home as far as theater is concerned. Sheldon Harnick of
Fiorello and Fiddler on the Roof fame was told as a young struggling lyricist, “Don’t
worry about love songs or ballads. Anybody can write those. Write the special material, the comedy stuff, because that’s hard to come by.” Harnick heeded the advice,
searching for offbeat ideas, and by the time he wrote his first Broadway musical, The
Body Beautiful, he was a seasoned theatrical lyricist.
When you see stars in person or on television, get past the normal response of being
dazzled by their personalities. Listen to what they’re singing. Make note of the subject matter. Practice by writing tailored tunes and words for them.
If you know any local acts, submit your work. Up-and-coming performers desperately
need good material, and they need an image. Maybe you can supply it.
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Chapter 17 ➤ Musicals for the Stage
The Least You Need to Know
➤ Songs for the stage have to create the illusion of reality, whereas songs for the
screen have realistic settings.
➤ Musicals fall into 10 major categories.
➤ Showcase your musical at a local theater.
➤ Organize a workshop to learn where your musical needs improvement.
➤ Promote your musical with a CD, and take it on the road.
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Part 4
Showing It Off
Learning how to make the right demo is just as important today as composing a
smash song. You should cut demos so they have the impact of finished records.
Networking should be on your mind at all times. Everybody is a potential mentor, a
potential contact, or a potential ally. Never offend the “little people” and save your
charm for the people on top. Those little people are the ones who sometimes open the
door to success.
Record production in someone else’s studio or your own may seem mysterious and difficult at first, but it helps composers to become better at their craft.
Chapter 18
The Power of
a Hit Demo
In This Chapter
➤ Piano-voice, guitar-voice, and other demo approaches
➤ Ways to locate the best vocalists and musicians
➤ How to make the most of your time in the studio
➤ Practical home equipment
➤ The demo package and presentation
Writing a song isn’t enough. You have to convince others that it’s a hit, and the only
way to do that is by producing a strong demonstration record, or demo. A few composers still fight the idea of demos. They harbor the mistaken notion that they can
present their songs in person to a publisher, producer, or artist. Unless you happen to
be at a party or a social event and you have the opportunity to sit down at a piano
and spontaneously showcase the material, in-person presentations won’t yield desired
results. Your chances of getting a record are much greater with demos than through
in-person performances.
Even if an artist or producer listens to a personal performance of the song, that person
will probably say, “I like it. Now do a demo so I can really hear it.” In past decades,
people trusted their ears. They had the imagination to envision a final record without
every bit of musical and rhythmic detail spelled out. Few people have that sense of security anymore.
Part 4 ➤ Showing It Off
Publishers don’t want the psychological discomfort of facing an eager songwriter and
having to express their opinions directly. With a demo, they can play and replay the
material, soaking it in and mentally working up production possibilities. From your
point of view, a demo can also be a positive. You can embellish on your work in the
studio and paint on the musical colors it needs.
Choosing Your Musical Approach
On the off chance that you do get to perform your songs in person, be well rehearsed.
Don’t stumble, say you have a cold, or clear your throat incessantly. Make sure the
publisher, producer, or artist has a clear copy of the lyrics to read. Don’t do more
than three songs, preferably two. Don’t try to force reactions before they’re offered,
and don’t get defensive if the verdict is negative.
Hirschhorn’s Hints
Remember, all responses are simply opinions, although some are more educated than others. Al and I performed a song called “Will You Be Staying After Sunday?” for a major
publisher, and he said, “I’m sorry. It’s definitely not a hit.” After the song became a Top
10 record and sold a million copies, we ran into him on the street. He just shrugged and
said, “We all make mistakes.”
Demos can be sparse and simple or detailed enough to merit release as a master (a
finished record). The kind of song you’ve written often dictates your demo approach.
Piano-Voice Demos
If you’ve written a beautiful ballad and hired a superb singer to perform it, the pianovoice demo will sometimes be enough. In a song of this kind, people want to hear the
melody and words with complete clarity. Few ballads cry out for complicated production values. Remember, though, the piano has to be the whole orchestra. Whether
you’re doing the playing or you’ve recruited a studio pianist, the keyboard work must
have as much body and dimension as possible.
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Chapter 18 ➤ The Power of a Hit Demo
Guitar-Voice Demos
Another simple demo approach is the guitar-voice demo. Again, this approach is best
when you feel you’ve written an outstanding tune or lyric, and you want it to be
strongly spotlighted. Guitars are naturally funkier than pianos; they convey a rhythm
and blues or country feel more effectively than keyboards.
Voice with Piano, Guitar, Bass, and Drums
A guitarist, bassist, drummer, and pianist with a
powerful lead vocalist and expert background
singers are ideal for many demos. A setup of this
kind offers clean, simple strength and will give
you any groove you feel you need.
Cover Your Bases
When you make a demo, you want to be sure it
has the broadest possible appeal. Yes, your main
goal is to persuade Whitney Houston to do your
tune, but Houston receives thousands of tunes,
and your chances are slim. Why not open up new
vistas in case she turns you down? One way to do
that is to write a lyric that can be sung by both
men and women. You can also use a solo singer
for one version of the demo and a group of singers
for another version.
Trouble Clef
A tastefully produced demo is
preferable to an overproduced
one. Don’t get so caught up in
the icing that you forget the
cake. Your first priority is to show
off the song, not to cloud it with
too many instrumental figures or
vocal parts.
Finding the Singer and Musicians
Everyone has a different idea of what matters most in a demo. To some, it’s the orchestration; to others, it’s the bass line. Drum parts are the lifeblood of demos to
many. My feeling is that the singer must fit the tune and project what you hear, or
the rest is irrelevant.
Choosing the Singer
Writers are remarkably careless when it comes to singers. Half the time they’re considered as an afterthought. However, when we first presented our Oscar-winning “We May
Never Love Like This Again” to the producer, he was so put off by the shrill Broadwaylike interpretation of our singer that he nearly rejected the tune.
Fortunately, fate was on our side. He asked his secretary her opinion, and she said, “I
think it’s kind of pretty.” He reluctantly accepted her evaluation and got the song in
The Towering Inferno. This anonymous secretary rescued us and made our Oscar possible, but it was a close call.
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Part 4 ➤ Showing It Off
➤ Don’t be fooled by a live performance. Do not pick a singer on the basis of
hearing him or her live. The visual impact of the singer’s presentation may
deafen you to how his or her voice sounds. Physical impact, expansive gestures,
and personal charm can misguide you, no matter how keen an ear you have.
Someone who prides himself or herself on holding big notes probably doesn’t
know how to let the microphone do the work. Insist on getting a tape or CD of
your potential vocalist’s voice.
Trouble Clef
Every singer excels in certain categories. A demo singer who specializes in country may not be
able to rap or sing Latin-oriented
rock with the authenticity of a
Marc Anthony.
➤ Stars aren’t everything. Don’t think you can
have a hit only with stars. My own career is a
case that proves the opposite. Two of our biggest
hits were with unknowns. Our song, “Will You
Be Staying After Sunday?” was composed with
Gary Puckett in mind, and when Puckett turned
us down, I was crushed. Shortly afterward, I was
told that the Peppermint Rainbow was set to do
the song. The Peppermint Rainbow? I mentally
said good-bye to any success with the song, only
to see it hit the Top 20 a few weeks later. Why?
Because the record was superbly produced by
Paul Leka, who later produced the number-one
record, Green Tambourine.
Picking the Right Musicians
The care you take in choosing a singer must be extended to musicians as well. As
with vocalists, everyone has a specialty. Some musicians play brilliantly, but they
can’t read music. Others read parts at a glance, but they lack creative ideas and the
ability to improvise. Some musicians want full lead sheets. The majority of musicians
are content with just chords.
When possible, pick musicians who have played together in the past. You’ll benefit
immeasurably, both creatively and in terms of time saved, from the chemistry they’ve
established and the unspoken communication and shorthand they’ve developed.
Locating the Best Players
If you’re new to making demos and you need to connect with superior musicians,
check out these places:
➤ Your local musician’s union. The union will be more than happy to suggest
people. In an era when live players are being supplanted by electronic music,
the union is eager to get its members booked as often as possible.
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Chapter 18 ➤ The Power of a Hit Demo
Backstage Banter
Maureen McGovern had never cut a record when she did “The Morning After.” Her version
won an Oscar, went to Number One, and gave us the opportunity to compose a second
Oscar-winning song. The key element to a hit song isn’t getting a known star (although that
can shorten the journey to chart status); it’s having a great record to promote. And the
route to a great record is a great demo that isn’t so meticulously specific that any other performer is shut out.
➤ Recording studios. Get in touch with recording studios around town and learn
whom they recommend. As you develop relationships with producers, studio
owners, and engineers, ask them if you can sit in on their sessions. Not only will
you become familiar with the finest players, you’ll absorb invaluable studio procedure.
➤ Visit clubs. Speak to musicians and get their tapes.
➤ Study CDs. Comb the backs of CDs for musicians’ names. All the players are listed there,
with detailed information about their particular specialties. Look at the acknowledgements. In these sections, recording artists cite
further useful information about guitarists,
synthesizer players, drummers, or other individuals who have made a significant contribution to the record.
When You’re the Artist
Many composers, such as the amazingly prolific
Diane Warren, have no interest in becoming
recording artists. Their main priority is writing the
best possible songs with the greatest hit potential.
You may be a freelancer like Warren, or you may
have singer-songwriter aspirations. If so, demos are
an excellent place to hone your skills and assemble
a tape for presentation to a record label.
Backstage Banter
Garth Brooks started as a demo
singer and is now one of the
best-selling writers/artists we
have. Bobby Darin’s demo
singing turned him into an international star, and Ronnie Dante
(one of New York’s busiest demo
singers in the 1960s) became
lead singer for the Archies and
had a worldwide Number-One
hit with “Sugar Sugar.”
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Part 4 ➤ Showing It Off
Figuring Costs
A few publishers exist who might like your work and be willing to foot the demo bill,
but chances are more likely (unless you’re already established and signed as a staff
writer to a firm) that you’ll have to invest in the demo yourself.
Trouble Clef
I once worked with someone
who felt that we should split the
demo costs 30-70 because he
had more experience in the business. Our collaboration didn’t last
very long. Be wary of suggestions
like these. When you’re writing a
song together, 50-50 should be
the split if the contributions are
equal.
If demo costs are coming out of your own pocket,
you’ll probably be keeping close watch on what you
spend. But if you’re cutting a demo for a publisher
who’s paying for it, you need to watch costs as well.
When you exceed the allotted budget the publisher
has given you, the money you spend will be subtracted from your royalties if the song is eventually
recorded.
Royalties: Targeting Elvis
In the late 1960s, Al and I made up our minds to get a
record by Elvis Presley. With consuming determination, we wrote song after song, submitting them to
Elvis’s publisher Hill and Range and gaining permission to do demos that Elvis and the Colonel would
later evaluate. We spent freely, our minds trained on
one thing: pleasing Elvis! We finally did it when Elvis
came out with “Your Time Hasn’t Come Yet Baby”
and made it a worldwide hit. We waited for the royalties to pour in. Imagine our astonishment when the checks arrived, and a huge portion of our earnings had been subtracted to pay for the demo costs.
From that day forward, we watched our studio costs carefully. Every now and then we
slipped because the studio atmosphere is hypnotic and seductive, but for the most
part, we kept our demo budget within reasonable costs.
Prepare Now or Pay Later
Many writers prefer to “wing it,” letting the creative process guide them when they
get into the studio. Naturally, you’ll fall upon fresh ideas and try new approaches
when the session gets underway. But certain basics should be handled in advance to
keep in-studio costs down:
➤ The singer’s key. A surprising number of songwriters base the performer’s key
on his or her previous recordings, rather than making sure the key is absolutely
perfect in the specific piece of material. Don’t be satisfied if a singer says, “I’m
always fine in the key of C.” Each song is different.
Sometimes, when the sound isn’t quite right, writers ask musicians to transpose
the key. Many musicians are skilled at transposition, but others can do a good
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job only if the right chords are written out.
That forces you, as the writer, to scribble out
a new lead sheet with the altered key, and
this process eats up studio time, which means
money.
➤ Nonprofessional vocalists. When you have a
Lyrical Lingo
limited budget, you may be tempted to compromise by using a friend or family member
To transpose is to take a key and
to sing your demos, but you have to be
change it to another one; to take
a song written in the key of C, for
tough-minded. The reason why certain demo
example, and write or play it in D.
singers are repeatedly hired by successful
songwriters is because these singers have studio savvy. They’re quick, adaptable, and thoroughly professional, and they save time. Any money you save hiring a
nonprofessional will be swallowed up by their lack of recording experience.
Making the Demo
After you’ve planned the music for the demo, found the vocalist and musicians you’ll
be using, and figured your costs, you’re ready to record your demo in a studio or at
home. (If you have a home studio, see the section called “Demos at Home” later in
the chapter.)
Choosing a Studio
Before picking a studio you haven’t used before,
ask for samples of other albums it has recorded.
Analyze the sound it gets on its vocals. Sometimes,
demos produced by the most highly praised studios can sound surprisingly thin or simply not
right for the concept you have in mind.
Enlisting Creative Support
When you get the right musicians, you want to enlist their creative support. If possible, rehearse the
singer beforehand. Never rule with an iron hand.
Encourage a free, easygoing atmosphere. The record
business is studded with instances in which a spontaneous solo turned the song into a smash.
Hirschhorn’s Hints
A tiny studio without any reputation might give you exactly
what you need. Ask for recommendations from friends and fellow songwriters.
As nervous or impatient as you may become, don’t be overly critical. If someone
makes a mistake, treat it lightly. Never go on the attack. If someone does a competent
take that could still be improved, simply say, “That’s terrific, but I’d like to give it one
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Part 4 ➤ Showing It Off
more try.” When talented people are appreciated in the studio, they rise to unexpected
heights. If they feel criticism, resentment will set in, and the results will be mediocre.
Staying Creatively Focused
In addition to being warm and open about suggestions, keep sharply focused on your
own artistic vision. If you’re new to making demos (and sometimes even when you’re
not), you can be swayed by experts into abandoning your original concept.
Remember that even experts are just volunteering opinions; nothing is written in
stone. Even if you’re recording your first demo, you may be on to something others
don’t grasp.
Holding Your Ground on Tempo
Never settle for a tolerably satisfying tempo. Don’t accept a rhythmic pulse or groove
because the engineer, the background singers, or even your own partner says it’s okay. If
you have that uneasy feeling in the pit of your stomach, listen to it. Otherwise, you’ll
find yourself at home a day later in a state of despair because the feel doesn’t swing.
We once accepted a tempo that lost excitement, paradoxically, because it was too fast.
Both the producer and the star were totally satisfied with it. The song was due for release a week later and represented a big opportunity for us. We pleaded, begged, cajoled. In the end, the producer agreed to try it our way, with the proviso that we were
to shut up completely if the substitute tempo didn’t work. It did, and the song was a
Top 10 R&B hit.
We were taking a chance. By pressuring a producer we wanted to work with, we
risked alienating him. But it’s a worse risk to settle for something you know in your
heart is a terrible mistake. If you believe in something, you’ll never go wrong, in the
long run, by fighting for it. So give the tempo your utmost attention whether you’re
making a demo or a master. The tempo is the lifeblood of commercial music.
Handling Studio Disasters
Creative leadership in the studio means more than
making proper artistic decisions. It means keeping
your cool when problems arise.
Lyrical Lingo
A master, unlike a demo, is a
completed record ready for release.
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Occasionally a musician you’ve hired won’t show up.
Stay calm. If it’s a missing guitarist, the piano player
might be able to fill in the part. A livelier bass line
could compensate for the missing drums.
In this era of synthesizers, the absence of a musician
is less serious, unless you’re determined to do all the
parts live. Of course, no synthesizer is going to replace
Chapter 18 ➤ The Power of a Hit Demo
a singer (at least not yet), so you might consider singing a temp track yourself until
you can book someone to come in and do the part. Somehow, if you maintain a calm
state of mind, the difficulty will resolve itself. With increasing expertise, you’ll be surprised how capably you handle crises when they erupt.
Demos at Home
More and more, writers are purchasing their own equipment and recording songs at
home. Obvious creative advantages include the luxury of working out parts by yourself by testing drum fills, guitar licks, or a piano line. You also have innumerable instruments at your disposal.
Suppose you’re doing a rock record, but it suddenly occurs to you that a bassoon
might lend something fresh and interesting: A lush woodwind section is one button
away. Even if you decide to do the demo in a large studio later on (or finish it after
recording basic tracks in your garage), you’ll have a great head start, and you can test
ideas without being stressed out by a ticking clock and escalating studio costs. For
more about home studios, see Chapter 21, “Home Studio.”
Upgrade Slowly
The trick with a home studio is to keep a sense of
financial proportion, at least at the beginning.
Once you enter the seductive synthesizer world,
you’ll want to continually upgrade your equipment. Countless composers have invested in machinery they can’t afford, locking themselves
further and further into debt.
You don’t need every state-of-the-art computer.
You don’t need to duplicate the setups of John
Williams or Danny Elfman. Take it slow. As money
and recognition trickle and, you hope, pour in,
you can buy more synthesizers, sequencers, and
drum machines.
Equipment changes with dizzying speed. Attend
seminars, browse through stores, and ask questions. Study the equipment you see in studios or at
the home studios of your friends.
Hirschhorn’s Hints
Don’t think that because a synth
isn’t new that it’s not good. If
you’ve done great things with
your M-1, you don’t have to give
it away because something new is
on the market. I still use most of
my early equipment.
Who Uses What
Gino Robair, journalist, author, musician, and specialist in setting up recording studios, points out that Roland’s VS-1680 modular hard-disk recorder is capable of recording eight tracks simultaneously. “It can store 16-tracks of compressed audio or 8 tracks
of uncompressed audio,” says Robair, “and you can have up to 256 virtual tracks.”
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He also praises the following equipment:
➤ The Yamaha EX5. This keyboard waystation
features 256 preset sounds, a 16-track sequencer,
a 4-track arpeggiator, and reverb effects.
Hirschhorn’s Hints
Let a day or two go by and listen
to your mixes again minus the
emotion of immediate recording.
You’ll know clearly at that time
what needs to be subtracted or
built up.
➤ The Mackie 1-402-VLZ pro. This unit features
14 input channels, as well as aux sends for effects and 3-band EQ on each channel strip.
➤ Korg’s D8 digital recording studio. This
8-track, hard-disk recorder comes with a digital
mixer and effects.
➤ The Alesiss Q20 multieffects processor. It includes four types of effects: EQ, reverb, pitch,
and delay.
These descriptions are guidelines only. Equipment is a matter of taste and money. It’s
also a constant learning process.
Be a Maniac About the Mix
Once you mix a record, don’t be immediately satisfied with it. The balance of ingredients in a studio, with the volume turned up to ear-splitting levels, can excite and fool
you. Play a few different mixes in your car, on a boom box, or on a tiny tape player.
You may suddenly notice that the vocal is buried or too loud, or the drums are overshadowing more delicate details such as a flute part.
Demo Presentation
When showing your demo to a publisher, producer, or artist, use these basic tips:
➤ Make sure your lead sheet looks professional. A sloppy, illegible lead sheet
brands you as an amateur.
➤ Be meticulously careful in notating melody, chords, and rhythm. Don’t write
notes too close together, making lyrics crowded and unreadable.
➤ Never select a key that requires the use of numerous ledger lines. Making a reader
follow the tune in C-sharp (which contains seven sharps) would be foolish.
➤ Write lyrics directly under the notes they belong to. Use a ruler and divide the
measures evenly to prevent the possibility of mistakes.
➤ Use a dark pencil rather than a pen for the lead sheet.
➤ Always remember to include the key signature.
➤ If you feel insecure about writing the lead sheet, consult a copyist, musician,
arranger, or friend who has the skill to do it right.
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➤ Make sure you’ve included the copyright information.
➤ While the demo is playing, be quiet! Don’t attempt to point out the song’s virtues.
➤ If you’re mailing the demo package, make sure you’re sending the material to
the right person at the company. Enclose a cover letter describing the songs. In
the letter, let the producer or A&R person know your background, especially if
you’ve had songs recorded.
➤ Label your CD or cassette properly.
➤ Target your material. Don’t send the head of A&R a selection of your best work
without including the singers the songs are for. Find out in advance which performers are heading to the studio and send them the songs prior to their sessions. It does no good to send a hit to Enrique Iglesias if he completed his
album two weeks earlier and doesn’t intend to record for another year.
➤ Make sure you enclose a stamped self-addressed envelope. Otherwise, the songs
won’t be returned.
➤ Include your name, address, telephone number, fax number, and e-mail address.
➤ If financially feasible, put the songs on CD rather than on cassette.
➤ Don’t leave too much leader between songs, or your listener might get restless.
➤ In choosing the songs to spotlight, pick the ones you feel are the most powerful.
Your first song should be the one you believe in most. It’s no good if the third
song is a hit; your listener won’t get that far. Never include something you feel
others “might like.” You must be passionately
convinced that each tune is the next big
Grammy winner.
➤ Don’t pressure your listener for an answer.
➤ Don’t submit the only demo you have. Tapes
are frequently misplaced or lost. Producers
and artists expect you to have copies.
➤ Follow up a few weeks later. If you don’t get
an answer, wait two or three weeks more and
then call again.
Lyrical Lingo
Leader is the word for empty
stretches between songs on a
cassette.
Songwriters of the past who presented their work
on a piano or a guitar never had to dig deep into
themselves to make a song more theatrical. They turned that responsibility over to an
arranger. Today, you’re required to be an arranger, a producer—a person who creates
a whole musical canvas. Because you’ll want to show off your song, you’ll become
more aware of rhythms, figures, vocal parts, and arrangements; and you’ll learn more
and more about how to put a song together. The exciting creative dividend of the
modern music business is that it ensures that you will continue to grow as a composer and lyricist.
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The Least You Need to Know
➤ Piano-voice and guitar-voice demos are often enough when the song is
sufficiently strong.
➤ Budgeting carefully and preparing for studio time will save you heartache
later.
➤ The best demos are made when a producer invites creative output from all
participants.
➤ Making demos at home will give you extra time for producing, mixing, and
experimenting with sounds.
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Chapter 19
Becoming a
Great Song
Salesman
In This Chapter
➤ Write for attainable artists
➤ Understand the artist’s personality
➤ Know what a good publisher does
➤ Choose whether to freelance or sign with a publisher
As a freelance songwriter who has made my living and my reputation writing for performers, I watched with dismay when singer/songwriters established dominance in
the middle 1970s because freelancers found less and less opportunity to place their
songs. But the pendulum swings back, and I’m delighted to say that freelance writers
are regaining an enormous amount of the ground they lost.
To a great extent, this gain is due to the amazing efforts of one woman, Diane Warren.
Warren is not a singer and has no interest in becoming one. She simply wants to have
her material cut and to see her songs zoom to the top of the charts. Now on the verge
of becoming the most successful songwriter in history, she has blazed a trail for freelancers everywhere.
Country outlets have always offered tremendous openings for freelance composers
and lyricists (as Warren proved with “How Can I Live Without You?”). Now pop, R&B,
and even rap are following suit. Whether you write freelance for artists or sign an exclusive contract with a publisher, you have more opportunities than ever before to sell
your songs.
Part 4 ➤ Showing It Off
Casting Your Songs
Finding an artist to record your work can be complicated. Phil Collins is popular, but
he’s also a waste of time from a songwriter’s standpoint because he records only his
own songs. Madonna, who co-writes her material, is a remote possibility. If your material starts to circulate and gain acceptance, you might get a chance to write with her
or with other stars who team up with writers they consider talented.
Your chance is best with an artist who takes outside
material. Search Billboard’s Hot 100, and you’ll come
up with something like this entry:
Lesson in Leavin’
Jo Dee Messina
Producers: B. Gallimore, T. McGraw
Writers: R. Goodrum, B. Maher
Trouble Clef
Do your homework and study
available performers and the
kinds of songs they’re recording,
or you’re asking for rejection.
Worse, once a producer sees that
you’ve submitted illogical material to his or her artist, you can
expect a pass on what you send
later, even when it’s ideal.
The entry would tell you that Messina is an artist
who’s available to you if you have the right song.
Make sure any material you send artists is appropriate
for their style. If you wanted a recording by country
superstar Tim McGraw, for example, you wouldn’t
send him a rap song more suitable for Eminem. Seems
obvious, doesn’t it? But new writers send material to
wildly inappropriate people. Half the time, they just
ship it out to a dozen artists without regard to the
artists’ specific needs.
Ricky Martin Is on Tour
There’s no point in writing for Ricky Martin if he’s just finished an album and won’t
be cutting a new one for the next eight months. You have to investigate who’s coming up for a date and needs material immediately by calling record companies and
checking out tip sheets such as the following that announce this information:
➤ New on the Charts
1501 Broadway
New York, NY 10036
212-921-0165
➤ Parade of Stars
The Chellman Bldg.
1201 16th Avenue South
Nashville, TN 37212
615-320-7270
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Chapter 19 ➤ Becoming a Great Song Salesman
➤ Song Connection
12390 Chandler Blvd. #C
N. Hollywood, CA 91607
818-763-1039
➤ Song Placement Guide
Marcia Singer
PO Box 189
Pacific Palisades, CA 90272
213-850-3606
➤ Songwriter’s Market
➤ The Los Angeles Showcase Musepaper
➤ Billboard’s Talent and Touring Agency
➤ The National Academy of Songwriters Newsletter
➤ Nashville Songwriter’s Association International
Combing Billboard with care will also give you a good idea of the artists’ schedules.
Meeting producers is another route to artists because producers frequently write for
their artists and often collaborate.
Listen to the Artists’ Records
After you’ve selected your artists, listen to at least three of their CDs and all of their
singles. Try to find common denominators in their material. Are there intervals they
always seem to favor? Octave leaps? Blues notes such as flatted thirds? What rhythms
seem to predominate? Do their tastes run mostly to ballads?
As for personality, are they victims, or do they take over? Are the themes of their
songs more often heartbreak, or are the songs about free spirits who don’t get tied
down? Once you make these determinations, you don’t have to follow them with
clinical precision, but they will give you a sense of what the artists are like, what they
try to express, and what their musical capabilities are.
When you first listen to their songs, don’t study them. Listen a second time and then
a third. At that point, start your analysis. Without a single fact about an artist, without knowing where he or she was born or went to school or whether he or she has
any sisters, you’ll discover the essence of that person through his or her music. Music
reveals just as much about individuals as facts do.
Personal Casting That Worked
My career has been amazingly diverse. I didn’t plan it that way; I was a freelancer, and
my success depended on getting many songs recorded, so I recognized the necessity of
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being versatile. The following is a list of artists who cut my songs and a description of
how the recording happened.
My first approach was always to pretend I was the artist. Anyone with imagination
can do it. No matter how superficially people may differ on the surface, all of us have
universal needs, dreams, and feelings in common.
➤ Taj Mahal: “Give Your Woman What She Wants”
I knew that my lyrics had to have a raw, funky, bluesy edge. Slickness would
have turned this artist off immediately. He also projects a natural sexuality,
which I capitalized on with these lines:
Give your woman what she wants
and she’ll never leave your side.
Give your woman what she needs
And she’ll be satisfied.
➤ The Chambers Brothers: “Wake Up”
In 1970, when this song was recorded, the civil rights movement was at its
height. Marvin Hamlisch and I felt that tapping into that problem was timely
and important. Marvin wrote a gospel-oriented tune and I provided a lyric that
urged everyone to wake up to society’s injustice.
➤ Julian Lennon: “Is There Anyone?”
Julian, despite rock and roll aspirations and his father’s image, has a soft, sensitive voice, and Al and I thought of him when writing this ballad. It was the
kind of song we had a hunch he’d be drawn to, and he was. He recorded it in a
television special, David Copperfield.
Backstage Banter
To our surprise, Al and I were told that Fred Astaire was planning to cut an album. We
knew, as longtime fans of Astaire’s movies, that he was smooth, polished, and elegant, and
that any material we submitted would have to correlate with that persona. We submitted
“The Old-Fashioned Way,” an adult, romantic song we had co-written with Charles
Aznavour, and we had the thrill of hearing Fred Astaire do it on his album, Attitude
Dancing.
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➤ Maureen McGovern: “We May Never Love Like This Again”
Maureen had just scored a number one with “The Morning After,” and Al and I
knew, without being told, that she would want to cut another big, passionate
ballad.
➤ David Allan Coe: “You Can Count on Beer”
Anyone who could sing “Take This Job and Shove It” would, we felt, be receptive to a good-old-boy, tough-talking, hard-driving song, so we tailored one, and
Coe sang about telling all his troubles to those bright golden bubbles.
As you can see, we didn’t just send out tunes indiscriminately to publishers. We concentrated intently on who the artists were, what they represented to the public, and
what message they were trying to convey.
Selling to a Publisher
A publisher who believes in you and has a passion for your music is worth his or her weight
in gold. The fact that the publisher takes care of
the business leaves you with time to do what
you enjoy most: create.
The Right Publisher
Just because publishers are listed in books or
trades, don’t assume they can get records easily.
Some publishers are extremely active in approaching artists and securing recordings, but
many just acquire catalogues and let performers
or film companies come to them for the use of
the old material. Check to see what the publisher is doing with current songs written by
others and whether any well-known composers
and lyricists are on staff.
Lyrical Lingo
A publisher is the firm or individual you enlist to promote
your song or song catalogue to
record producers and artists. The
publisher also handles synchronization licensing, which includes
placing your material in films, on
television, or in commercials.
Publishers collect the money for
songs they license and split the
royalties with their writers. The
split is generally 50-50.
Staid, older, wealthier firms are unlikely to hustle the way that hungry new firms do. There’s
no point in allying yourself with a publisher
who won’t promote your work.
Good publishers always know what’s going on. Naturally, they’re aware of when
Shania Twain plans to record, but they also know about sessions with newcomers.
These performers are the ones you might not notice in your zeal to get a cut by
Enrique Iglesias. Remember, hit groups and artists were once beginners too, and they
smashed through with talent, dedication, and promotion.
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In our catalogue, we had our share of forgotten artists, such as Bobbe Norris, Rochelle,
Wayne Rooks, Bob and Joe, and the Peppermint Trolley Company. We also had newcomers who hit it big like The Peppermint Rainbow and The Glories. Also keep in
mind: Records released by new people, even when they don’t make it, still garner airplay, and your BMI and ASCAP checks will reflect that.
Publishers with Production Companies
A publisher who also produces has a quicker, more direct route to getting records.
Early in my career, I was a staff writer for Bob Crewe, producer of such Four Seasons
hits as “Rag Doll,” “Let’s Hang On,” and “Dawn.” Bob had the power, if he liked something, to put it on the recording date. Within the first month, Al and I had a recording by Lesley Gore, and many others followed. We also worked with Phil Kahl and Joe
Kolsky, publishers who produced Ronnie Dove. Phil and Joe cut “Let’s Start All Over
Again” and “One More Mountain to Climb” with Ronnie, and both became hits.
What Good Publishers Do for You
Publishers who get things done are tireless. They have a list of contacts, and they
phone them constantly. When they’re not shopping songs, they’re having lunch with
producers and forging relationships. They attend recording dates even when their
own songs are not being cut, and they develop a street feel for what producers want.
A good publisher does these things for you:
Hirschhorn’s Hints
Don’t pay attention only to the
publishers themselves; study the
people they have working for
them, such as their general professional manager and others on
their staff. They may be the ones
who cover the street and service
your songs.
216
➤ Picks the song. The publisher’s role, first and
foremost, is to choose songs he or she feels can
be recorded and turned into hits. You’ll know
fairly quickly if the individual you’re meeting
with has a particular enthusiasm for your material. If he or she says, “This stuff isn’t for me,
but bring me more,” look upon that as a highly
promising sign. Keep submitting. Listen to the
publisher’s viewpoints. Find out the type of material he or she prefers to promote. Keep your
ear open for the kind of demos he or she considers effective. Good publishers meet with their
staff at least once a week, go over the material
in their catalogue, decide which songs are to be
pushed, and then concentrate on those particular tunes.
Chapter 19 ➤ Becoming a Great Song Salesman
➤ Follows up on holds. When artists and
producers like a song, they ask for a hold.
Publishers generally grant this request, but
the hold has to be reasonable. After a few
weeks or a month (or longer when the
artist is exceptionally hot), publishers have
to keep checking to see whether the song
is going to be recorded. If no definite plans
have been made, a publisher will ask for
the tune back in order to send it to other
singers. You want someone who will keep
on top of the song and not drop the ball
until all enthusiasm for the material has
waned.
Lyrical Lingo
A hold is a period of time
requested by the producer to
consider the song, with the understanding that it will not be
shown to anybody else during
that period.
➤ Nurtures contacts. To be effective, publishers need a list of contacts, a list they’re
constantly adding names to. The best ones know that there are hundreds of outlets for songs beyond those that seem obvious. These lists are compiled through
years of bonding with producers, artists, and arrangers. Hustling publishers will
fly to Philadelphia or Miami or Rome on a moment’s notice to hear an artist
perform, if that artist has done the publisher’s material in the past. Relationships
are nurtured and tended. If an artist is demanding and has a habit of calling at 3
in the morning just to talk, your publisher must listen to the artist’s nocturnal
ramblings and express an interest, no matter how exhausted he or she may be.
➤ Gets your song on the radio. Say you have the record. Now you need to get it
played. Publishers promote their songs with program directors, and after a record
is on the air, publishers chart its progress. Often, they struggle to persuade stations to keep the records on because newer ones (possibly by bigger artists) are
competing fiercely for a few choice slots.
➤ Promotes covers. Good publishers don’t forget songs once they’ve been recorded.
If your record by Mo McGuire doesn’t hit, your publisher will take the song to another artist, and if that cut doesn’t score, and he or she truly believes in the song,
the publisher will shop it to a third artist. Some publishers get a dozen recordings
of a tune before the right record catapults it to the top.
➤ Handles subpublishing. Rarely does a writer think beyond the United States,
but good publishers do. They have subpublishing deals with other firms in
England, France, Germany, and Japan. They’ll work a song until cuts start showing up in other languages. Their efforts will lead to printed editions of your
work where the sheet music is released individually or as part of a songbook.
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➤ Shows you the money! Through contacts and experience, publishers are able to
collect the mechanicals due you (and them). This collections expertise is an important consideration, because record companies would always rather pay later
rather than right away; a good publisher has the clout to speed up the process.
Should a publisher choose to accept your song, he or she may either pay for a
demo, give you an advance, or both. When Al and I began, we lived off advances of $200 here, $300 there. To be able to live off our advances, we had to
write three or four songs a week. Poverty makes a writer prolific.
Working for a Publisher
Lyrical Lingo
Mechanicals are royalties that
come from the record company
and are for record sales only, not
for performances.
I’m a speed typist and former court reporter. I didn’t
want to make that my life’s work, but the skills came
in handy when I got a job as assistant/writer for Ivan
Mogull Music. Between my clerical responsibilities,
I turned out such tunes as “You’d Better Know What
You’re Getting Into,” an early record for Patti Austen.
I had an opportunity to study the business firsthand
and see how it worked, and I was able to pay my bills.
You don’t have to be an assistant. If you have the
right assertiveness and personality, you can be a professional manager, taking songs around to artists and
producers. You won’t necessarily be promoting your
own material, but you’ll meet everybody who counts
in the business.
Sign with a Publisher or Freelance?
Security is attractive, and if a publisher offers to sign you to an exclusive contract,
you might be tempted to grab it. “Just think,” you may say to yourself, “with no
money worries I’ll be able to create in a relaxed, pressure-free atmosphere.” Yet publishing your songs yourself also has advantages.
Signing Up
Signing with a publisher sounds good, but before you put your name on the dotted
line, examine the long-range implications of the arrangement, good and not-so-good:
➤ R-E-S-P-E-C-T. You don’t have to love your publisher, but you do have to respect
him or her. Is the person in tune with the current tastes and trends of the market?
You don’t want a publisher to say, as one did to me when I was considering an exclusive contract, “These kids today are just making noise. Give me Jerry Vale.”
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➤ Your own headquarters. Being signed gets you off the street. You have an office
of your own and access to musical instruments, computers, stationery, phones,
fax machines, and e-mail. That’s a tremendous advantage, if it doesn’t offer so
much structure that you lose your cutting edge. If you do accept such a setup,
be sure you get out where your fellow writers are. When you’re building a career, stability isn’t your prime goal.
➤ Musical siblings. When Carole King, Gerry
Goffin, Barry Mann, Cynthia Weil, Howie
Greenfield, and Neil Sedaka were signed to
Don Kirshner at Screen Gems Music, an atmosphere of friendly rivalry existed. It was a
rivalry Kirshner did nothing to discourage.
This competition drove everyone in the office
to greater heights. The presence of other
songwriters pursuing the same artists will
give you extra incentive.
➤ Who gets the publishing? A conflict may
arise when someone offers you a movie job
but tells you that they have to have all the
publishing. Motion picture companies are always reluctant to surrender a piece of their
copyright, and the same goes for television.
The publisher who pays your salary certainly
isn’t going to let you do a project that doesn’t
bring the firm any revenue. So you’ll very
likely be forced to turn down the opportunity.
Factor this potential conflict into your decision before signing any exclusive agreement.
➤ Typical deals. When a new writer is signed,
$200 to $400 is a typical weekly stipend offered. Hit songwriters earn a good deal more.
This money is not a salary, but an advance
against future earnings. If you do write a hit
record while you’re signed with a firm, the
advances will be subtracted from record sales
(not BMI or ASCAP airplay), and you’ll be
paid the remainder.
Trouble Clef
In what area has your publisher
had success? If most of his or her
contacts are with middle-of-theroad artists and you’re interested
in country, it won’t make sense
to sign with that publisher. Make
certain your priorities are the
same.
Backstage Banter
Publisher Michael Brettler of
Shapiro, Bernstein, and Company
says that he looks for quality,
someone who’s prolific, and
someone who’s aggressive and
will make additional connections.
If you’ve signed a song over to a publisher, don’t sit back and decide that it’s the publisher’s job to sell the song and there’s no need for you to pitch in. Writers have to
help themselves. There’s never a time when you should place total responsibility on
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someone else when you have the energy and resources to push your material. Try to
imagine the assertive Diane Warren taking a back seat and giving all the power to
someone else. Publishers, in general, appreciate your help, but you should be in constant touch with them so you don’t see the same people they do and create confusion.
Doing Your Own Publishing
If you’re a good promoter, with a talent for casting
and pitching, you may not need a publisher. Many
songwriters find they have the ability to get records
on their own steam. If that’s the case, you’re in a far
stronger financial position than songwriters who are
signed to publishers.
Hirschhorn’s Hints
Once a producer or artist makes
a firm commitment to record the
song, it’s customary to take the
song out of circulation until after
the record has run its course.
As your own publisher, you have a perfect right to
show your song to as many people as you choose to.
You also get to keep your publishing rights, which
doubles your income. It places you in a far more flexible position. A major artist usually wants a piece of
the publishing, and if you own it yourself, you’re in a
position to give it to the artist or at least negotiate a
split that’s mutually agreed upon.
Creative Selling
Paul Jabara, who wrote the Donna Summer/Barbra Streisand number-one duet
“Enough Is Enough” and Streisand’s “The Main Event,” was determined to sell his
songs. When ordinary routes failed, he went to extremes. Reputed to have locked
Donna Summer in the bathroom so he could play her a song, he also said, “You have
to have a plan of action. That may mean finding out what plane he (the producer) is
flying on and booking yourself on that flight. If you’re that aggressively into wanting
to make it, you’ll pursue that moment and find it.”
Whether you sign with a publisher or freelance, if you believe in a song, keep pitching it. The Everly Brothers’ “Bye Bye Love” was turned down by 30 people before the
duo cut it.
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The Least You Need to Know
➤ Target artists who are available.
➤ Study every facet of the artist’s records.
➤ You must respect the publisher you sign with.
➤ Choose a publisher with wide and varied contacts.
➤ Self-publishing is fine if you’re a good promoter.
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Chapter 20
The Singer/
Songwriter
In This Chapter
➤ What to look for in an agent, manager, and entertainment lawyer
➤ A legendary record executive’s view of what makes a successful singer/
songwriter
➤ Ways to get the media behind you
➤ Major and minor record labels
➤ A career in cabaret
Do you have singing talent along with a gift for writing? If so, it’s worth developing.
Freelance songwriters, even writers as prolific and successful as Diane Warren, always
have to depend on others to cut their material.
The Elton Johns and Billy Joels of the world have the luxury of writing and enjoying a
guaranteed outlet for the work. Even though their labels or their producers might voice
objections from time to time, these singer/songwriters basically hold the power to immediately put new songs on CDs and take pleasure in guaranteed releases.
If you’re convinced that you can be a successful singer/songwriter, and you’re ready to
dedicate yourself to a recording career, start lining up a support system that will help
you reach the top. You may not find the right agent or manager immediately. While
searching, book yourself as many gigs as you can. It will give you a chance to work
out the kinks in your act, polish your presentation, and find out which songs work
best with an audience. By the time agents or managers see you, you’ll be the kind of
total professional they’re eager to sign.
Part 4 ➤ Showing It Off
What Makes a Good Agent?
When you sign with an agent, be sure that agent’s commitment to your career is
total. A half-hearted representative who pushes you only when others have already
expressed excitement is no asset.
Trouble Clef
If you suspect that your singing talent is minimal, don’t push yourself as an artist simply
because you want an outlet for your songs. Be committed to singing for its own sake. Not
all songwriters are star vocalists. Observe with as much objectivity as possible the reactions
of those around you. Ask yourself: Do I have what it takes to be a singing star? Am I willing to make the required sacrifices?
There’s a cliché that says “Don’t depend on an agent to get you a job.” I don’t buy
that. Nor do I buy the old bromide “Agents don’t get you work, but they can negotiate a deal for you.” When you’re starting out, you need someone to hustle and land
you gigs. You can help, of course, and you should help. But you shouldn’t have to do
it alone, not if you’re shelling out 10 percent of your earnings. After you’ve gained
recognition, there will always be people who can negotiate contracts. You can be sure
that Marty Erlichman, Barbra Streisand’s representative of over 35 years, didn’t get
that position without working up a sweat to help his client. Nor did he sit back after
she made it.
Whether you go with a small or a big agent, make sure your agent won’t be insecure
and undersell you so that you’re knocking yourself out for practically nothing. If the
agent accepts jobs that pay too little, there should be a specific reason. Possibly the
exposure is important, and people who count will see you. You also want somebody
who knows how to pace your career without burning you out by overbooking you.
Your agent has to view you as a human being, not a machine he or she can use to
make a few extra bucks.
Small Agencies
The advantage in signing with a small agency is that its client list is not so extensive
that you get lost in the shuffle. If you’re heckling your agent and so is Will Smith,
who will be listened to first? Your agent might be just as new and hungry as you are,
and even though he or she hasn’t established all the contacts in the world, a powerful desire to promote you will compensate.
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The Big Enchiladas
The large, major agencies have more contacts,
more money, and more power. Major agencies represent artists in every field: films, television, commercials, concerts, and records. They have close
relationships with record labels, and a single call
from them can get you the attention you need.
Managers
Personal managers handle different functions than
agents. Unlike the agent who books you, a manager isn’t expected or legally permitted to get you
jobs. Only your agent can do that. But the manager handles just about everything else: contracts
and promotion, the shopping of CDs and cassettes,
and a marketing strategy. Above all, a good manager should supply an overall approach to your career. You’ll have ideas of your own, of course, but
you and your manager should work together to
conceive and act on a workable plan.
Hirschhorn’s Hints
Try to find a manager who’s
good at discovering your various
other gifts and wants to develop
them. Many singers and writers
can also act, write scripts, produce, direct. A manager should
never be shortsighted. You want
a person who pulls things out of
you that you never even knew
were there.
Mutual Obsession
If a manager has sufficient belief in you, you could literally become his or her life and
vice versa. An intense bond based on the mutual need to succeed could form. These
relationships are a combination of friendship, desire, and a dedication that obliterates
everything else in your lives. A manager who makes you such a top priority will attend performances he or she considers crucial to the building of your reputation.
Count yourself lucky if you find someone with a drive that matches your own, a
drive that centers on you.
I Just Want to Be Your Everything
Daylle Deanna Schwartz, author of The Real Deal, quotes an excellent definition of
managerial participation by Peter Ciaccia (PC Management):
“A manager winds up being everything to the acts … the A&R person, the publicist. A manager has to make good judgment calls for the band. He is the liaison
between the artist and the record company. When a band is unsigned, he works
with them from the beginning to find a home for them. He’s out there selling the
band, selling the image and music of the band. He has to have a good sense of
what the market calls for, what would interest people, and how to get to the people. He creates a realistic buzz about the band … he has to be tied to the street.”
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Part 4 ➤ Showing It Off
A Lawyer You Can Trust
Although the multitudes of lawyer jokes would have you believe otherwise, many
hardworking, honest, effective attorneys exist. Just don’t jump for the first one you
meet. Attorneys are necessary because they have more
information and experience than you do, and the old
saw “A man who represents himself has a fool for a
client” is still valid.
You Gotta Shop Around
Backstage Banter
For total involvement in advancing your career, managers usually
earn between 15 and 25 percent. Contracts are often for 3
years, but they may run for as
long as 5 or even 10.
Even if you meet an attorney who impresses you and
whose expertise is in entertainment law, check him or
her out (just as you would a doctor). Find out how
much the attorney knows about the following areas:
➤ Publishing
➤ Performance rights, foreign rights, and recording
➤ Current copyright laws
Don’t Be Frightened by Fees
When I started in the music business, I met an attorney who quoted me fees that almost provoked cardiac arrest. But the attorney saw potential in me. I had just signed
a contract with RCA as a recording artist, and four of my songs were about to be
recorded. This situation was no guarantee of a Beatles-type explosion, but it indicated
the possibility of an enduring future.
He and I decided on a percentage of future earnings. My records sold minimally at
first. Yes, I could have made 10 million and given away a huge chunk of income, but
it was just as likely (or more so) that I wouldn’t even get on the charts at all. Settling
on a percentage was a gamble, but it removed my initial anxieties about costs and
made it possible for me to have good representation when I needed it. He also had
strong industry contacts and arranged introductions that furthered my career.
Do You Have What It Takes?
Do you have a target audience? A certain style? Charisma? Enough songs to attract a
top record label?
Who Are Your Future Fans?
Are your targeted audiences made up of 13-year-olds? Do you covet the college
crowd? Or is your music tailored to 30-somethings? It’s not enough to say, “I want to
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Chapter 20 ➤ The Singer/Songwriter
appeal to everyone.” Dr. Dre has his public, just as Clint Black, Christina Aguilera,
and the Dixie Chicks have theirs. They’re not the same.
You may have a clear, fully formed concept of how
you want to be perceived. If not, you have to invent yourself. Bruce Springsteen was a more passive, folk-oriented performer before he became a
forceful, physical, sexual “boss.”
What Do You Look Like?
In today’s visually oriented music world, appearances count. You don’t have to be handsome or
beautiful in the classic movie star sense, but you
do need an individual look, an offbeat style of
dressing. Depending on the audience you hope to
attract, you might want to wear big hats or suspenders. Or you might wear dark glasses, green eye
shadow, or a nose ring. Regardless of how conservative or far-out your garb is, you need a look to
distinguish you from your competitors.
Hirschhorn’s Hints
When you make a video, think it
through carefully. You must
come across as colorful, fascinating, and idiosyncratic. If you’re
an excellent dancer, work that
in. Find a unifying theme, rather
than just going through a bunch
of unrelated images.
Russ Regan’s Rules
Producer/record label president Russ Regan discovered and promoted Elton John, Neil
Diamond, and The Beach Boys to super stardom. Regan has the following to say
about the careers of singers/songwriters:
“Singers/songwriters have to have charisma. And intelligence! I love an artist
who has charisma and is smart, because if he’s smart, he can handle success.
Those qualities were obvious in Elton John. He was electrifying on stage, a combination of great songs and a fantastic stage presence.
“When you’re just a songwriter and you go to a publisher, you don’t want to
overwhelm him with songs. You’re selling the music, not yourself. But a singer/
songwriter is different, because you’re being judged as a potential album artist.
When a singer/songwriter comes to me, I want to hear at least five songs. You
can’t really judge an artist on one or two anymore, you’ve got to hear five.
“And the other thing is, the more you write—if you have talent in the first
place—the better you become. As for demos, I personally don’t mind piano-voice.
I can hear a song, because I’m a song person. But a lot of people like full-blown
demos. I’m an exception. It would be wiser and safer for a new singer/songwriter
to do a demo that gives a complete idea of what the record will be like.”
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Feed the Media Monster
Certain singers/songwriters have an innate sense of how to handle the press. They
know when to be outrageous, when to be humble, and when to be controversial.
Madonna went from sexual shock tactics to spirituality and motherhood. Elvis was
a master in his day, doing raunchy bumps and grinds on stage and talking offstage
about his beloved mom and his ties to the church.
Until you become the next Elvis or Madonna, though, you’ll have to continually feed
the media:
➤ Do interviews. Prior to any performance, advance pieces should be set up to
tout club or concert appearances. These pieces are often more effective than reviews at drawing public interest, especially if the reviews don’t turn out to be
raves. Meeting journalists face to face is preferable, but most of the time you’ll
be doing phoners, telephone interviews that rarely last more than 15 minutes. As
you grow more adept at phoners, you’ll become skilled at packing in the relevant information. Pertinent facts will roll off the tip of your tongue.
Hirschhorn’s Hints
Utilize theatricality in your press
releases and press kits. Demos,
videotapes, articles, reviews, and
pictures should be included. All
newspapers and magazines, as
well as deejays and heads of
radio programming, expect these
materials.
➤ Use exclusives. Depending on how far along you
are in your career, you might land an exclusive, a
highly visible spot in The New York Times, for example, or one of the other major newspapers.
Press conferences also have value, although they
generally only allow for sound bites and provide
sketches of a performer’s personality, rather than
a full portrait.
➤ Hire a publicist. Good publicists are expensive
and hard to find. You can’t judge one by all the
coverage he or she secured for the Backstreet
Boys. A publicist once proudly told me (with a
straight face) that he had gotten layouts all over
the country for Paul McCartney. This is no
achievement. When publicists are able to take
relative unknowns (or just-rising singers) and get
them impressive spreads, it shows that they
have clout with the press.
➤ Go national. Don’t discount the need for publicity, however, if you can’t afford
to hire a PR person or firm. Don’t just don’t settle for the Podunk Herald or a television station in a small Nebraska community. Unless you’re seen and promoted
in the big cities, publicity won’t do a thing for your profile.
➤ Try for top billing. Your manager will always fight for better billing, and
should. People do raise their estimation of your worth as your billing escalates.
But don’t insist on being a headliner right away; being an opening act for a
major star also reflects favorably on you.
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Chapter 20 ➤ The Singer/Songwriter
Backstage Banter
Elvis Presley was asked to do A Star Is Born and he refused because he couldn’t bear to be
billed second to Barbra Streisand. At the time, his film career was foundering. As the
burnt-out rock star, he would have been superb and would have given the picture a hot,
gritty realism. Always ask yourself: How good is the gig, how big is the booking, how instrumental will it be to your career?
Signing with a Label
There’s no doubt that a singer/songwriter gets less personal attention from a major
label than from a minor one. The major label compensates by having more resources
at its disposal. The obvious one is large amounts of money to spend on promotion.
Their distributors are more powerful. Staffs are
larger, and video budgets are handsome by comparison with the independents.
The Majors
A major-league label has many advantages to offer:
➤ Marketing department. Publicity, promotional videos, in-store displays and album
cover artwork are the responsibilities of this
department.
➤ A&R department. This group decides which
artists to sign after listening to their demos or
seeing them in person. They supervise record
projects and suggest or select producers for
their acts.
Hirschhorn’s Hints
Make extensive use of the
Internet by visiting Web sites and
getting information about the labels you’re interested in signing
with. Be sure you know the
names of the A&R people responsible for acquiring new
artists.
➤ Sales department. This department’s job is to
get records into stores.
➤ Promotion department. This department follows the record when it’s released
and makes sure that it has maximum airplay.
➤ Business affairs. Their priority is contracts between the singer/songwriter and
record label, but also with record clubs and foreign distributors.
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Even if you prefer to sign with a large company, though, that company may not be
eager to sign you before they see early signs of success. Local hits or hits stemming
from smaller labels will attract them.
The Minors
A minor label will see you as more of an individual human being. The purse strings
will be tighter, but it’s entirely possible that the financial output, though more selective, can accomplish just as much.
Suppose your manager gets an offer from one of the lesser labels and tries to talk you
into signing. Receiving the offer might thrill you so much that you want to sign that
afternoon. Think twice. Is your manager suggesting this deal because he or she has
contacts with this company, and the negotiation is easy? If you have dreams of being
with Columbia, take your time before committing to Nobody Records.
Come to the Cabaret
When we think of singer/songwriters, rockers are generally the images that come to
mind. But other singer/songwriters represent a fast-growing and hugely popular
genre. They don’t get mentioned in Billboard, but they have die-hard fans in small
clubs around the country. They are cabaret artists.
Cabaret performers appeal to the more sophisticated
segment of the population. They do Cole Porter,
Lorenz Hart, Noel Coward, and Stephen Sondheim.
Very often they write their own witty and brilliant
material.
Backstage Banter
Michael Feinstein’s career
demonstrates what going the
cabaret route can achieve.
Feinstein became an assistant
and personal confidante of Ira
Gershwin and a protégé of
Rosemary Clooney, establishing
himself as a highly admired interpreter of the Gershwin classics. A
worldwide cabaret performer, he
has now opened his own cabaret
club, Feinstein’s, in New York.
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Amanda McBroom, who wrote the million-selling standard and Golden Globe winner “The Rose” for Bette
Midler, has become one of the key cabaret performers
of the new millennium. She starred in Jacques Brel
Is Alive and Well and Living in Paris at New York’s
Village Gate and has seen her songs recorded by Judy
Collins, Anne Murray, Harry Belafonte, The Manhattan
Transfer, and Betty Buckley. McBroom’s CD, Portraits,
contains such beautiful and definitive cabaret songs as
“Best Friend,” “Errol Flynn,” “Whoever You Are,” and
“Ship in a Bottle.”
The progression of McBroom’s career is a textbook example of a cabaret singer’s/songwriter’s climb to fame,
as you’ll see by the following interview I did with her:
Chapter 20 ➤ The Singer/Songwriter
Q. How did you become a cabaret artist?
A. I had been a theater singer, done a lot of musicals, folk singing throughout high
school and college. I wanted to do songs that would express my personal feelings and have them performed. A friend of mine who had an act at the Bla Bla
Café sang some of my material, and I got it into my head to do a nightclub act.
Q. How would you define a cabaret singer?
A. There are two different kinds. One is a preserver of the tradition, which is the
people who sing Jerome Kern, George Gershwin, people like Julie Wilson. Then
there are the others, like me, those that write for the theater, or intend to, and
find the cabaret a perfect forum for their work. The modern sophisticated balladeers are cabaret songwriters.
Q. How do you feel about rock and roll?
A. I love it, but I feel cabaret suits me better. Cabaret material is what I write best.
Q. Do you play an instrument?
A. I play three: piano, drums, and guitar.
Q. What’s the advantage of being a cabaret singer/songwriter?
A. It’s very spiritually rewarding. If you’re a cabaret singer, my advice is, “Don’t
put a label on yourself.” Write what your heart believes. It will find its niche,
whether cabaret, rock, garage metal.
Q. What’s your writing process?
A. Carry around a pencil and a piece of paper. Write down what comes to you at
any time. Don’t ignore things and wait for them to come back to you later.
Q. Does your work have a theme?
A. My life is my theme. I write about all my feelings. And remember, there are
many places open to a cabaret performer. There’s the Cinegrill in Los Angeles,
Davenports in Chicago, Arci’s Place in New York.
Performing your songs in a cabaret forum helps you to become a better actor. McBroom
drew rave reviews for playing the demanding role of Mrs. Lovett in Stephen Sondheim’s
Sweeney Todd.
In addition to McBroom, if you listen to the highly regarded team of Karen Benjamin
and Alan Chapman, you can learn a tremendous amount about cabaret writing.
Chapman’s hilarious satire, Everybody Wants to Be Sondheim (But Me), is cabaret at its
best. Anyone interested in learning how to write humor will gain immeasurably from
exposure to McBroom, Benjamin, and Chapman.
Cabaret writing is show writing, and it’s an ideal way to improve your skills and eventually arrive on Broadway. At their best, cabaret lyrics are clever and witty. But they
also have tremendous emotional depth.
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The Least You Need to Know
➤ Agents, managers, and lawyers are necessities for becoming successful as a
singer/songwriter.
➤ You must have, or develop, an audience concept and a look to advance your
singing career.
➤ A carefully orchestrated publicity campaign helps build your audience and attract the best professional support.
➤ It’s not the size of your record label that counts; it’s the promotion they do for
your album.
➤ A cabaret career can take you to Broadway.
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Chapter 21
Home Studio
In This Chapter
➤ Key synthesizer definitions
➤ The impact of sequencers
➤ Computers and music
➤ Basic home-studio setups that won’t break the bank
➤ The magic of mixing
Home studios are an ideal environment for you to create songs and demos. In the privacy of your own world, you can spend days and nights developing tunes and arrangements without the pressure of mounting hourly costs. The majority of composers today
opt for this solution.
Writing songs and recording them may remain your sole objective in having a home
studio. But for many composers, the home studio is a starting point on the road to a
career as a record producer. The productions can be your songs with you as the artist.
Or, as your equipment expands and improves technologically, you might wind up
recording other artists.
One of the most inspiring record industry stories centers around LaRock Sound, a successful studio that started in a tiny bedroom with a few pieces of primitive equipment.
The composer/engineer was a young Canadian-born drummer named Roger LaRocque.
Roger was one of the industry’s leading percussionists, until he saw that live drums
were being replaced by drum machines. Faced with the threat of drastically diminished
wages, Roger purchased a Linn drum machine and the Linn 9000 and put them in his
Part 4 ➤ Showing It Off
bedroom. That was the beginning. Within a few years, such stars as Julian Lennon,
James Ingram, Frankie Valli, Billy Preston, Nell Carter, Quincy Jones, Tony Orlando,
Irene Cara, ZZ Top, Sheena Easton, and hundreds of others were recording albums,
television shows, and feature films in his studio.
Embracing the Technology
Some people feel that digital doesn’t sound as warm as analog did in the past. Possibly
not, but nobody has huge rooms like the old Capitol Studios did with $15,000 microphones. Analog sound means having soundproof control audio rooms with padding, a
feature most composers don’t have in their living rooms. Control rooms cost $100,000
to $300,000 when they’re built properly, so go digital. You can achieve your goal to
record music, write songs, and get your compositions across with quality good enough
to serve your purposes.
Equipment Choices
Equipment alternatives change as quickly as the weather. The trick is not to feel you
have to buy the latest gadget as soon as it hits the market. Advertising will make you
insecure if you let it; the message advertisers convey is always: You’ll lag behind; you
won’t be able to come up with great material unless it’s composed on one of our
state-of-the-art keyboards. Just remember this: No one cares what kind of equipment
the song was written on. No one is interested in whether a bridge was composed on a
synthesizer costing $1,000 or $100,000. The key is still a great song.
Roger LaRocque’s Experience
Roger LaRocque remembers when electronic keyboards
first showed him the future of the music business:
Trouble Clef
Avoid buying equipment that
puts you in tremendous debt.
Young composers have bankrupted themselves in their rush
to acquire the latest gear, and
the mental strain of the debt
makes it impossible for them to
concentrate on writing.
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➤ Vintage keyboards. “Certain ones, like the
M-1, were creating excitement,” he recalls. “The
DX7 when it first started. The GX8P and D-50.
They’re vintage keyboards, and we still use them
today.”
➤ Sequencers. Roger explains the impact of the
sequencer on his home studio and the power of
experimentation that led him to sell a song and
get an important record:
“I moved from 4 to 8 to 16 tracks, but I
didn’t do it quickly. I got a bigger mixing
board and more outboard gear until I was
able to reproduce the full quality of the
Chapter 21 ➤ Home Studio
orchestra. It’s not just a question of overextending myself to buy equipment. It’s learning what you have, understanding it all thoroughly. You
have no time to learn the simpler equipment if you rush to add new things
before you’re ready.”
As it was with Roger, the M-1 was my keyboard
of choice, and it served me well. Suddenly I had
strings, bass, drums, woodwinds, brass, and an
organ at my fingertips. I composed a score for a
primetime musical special on the M-1, and when I
presented the cues to the network, the reaction was
wonderful. I still use my M-1 even though so many
new keyboards are in fashion. I also blend my M-1
with other keyboards to make it sound bigger.
In common with many engineers/producers who
have made a success by operating a home studio,
Roger accepted the value of experimenting. We all
want a tried-and-true roadmap so we can avoid
mistakes, but the beauty of technology is the opportunity it gives you to try new things. Don’t be
afraid to turn knobs or move faders.
Hirschhorn’s Hints
Embracing manuals, rather than
resisting them, was Roger’s first
lesson. At first glance, manuals
seem incomprehensible. The
temptation is to rip them up and
toss them in the trash. Don’t do
it. The answers are there if you
don’t panic.
Ease into the Manual
The trick is to read your manual for your equipment the first time without any attempt to learn it. Your first reading is an overview. Absorb the language and make a
passing note of general information, without forcing yourself to grasp specifics. Take
time out, perhaps a day, before reading it again. This time, pay closer attention. It
won’t seem so strange and terrifying. If you have to pore over individual chapters
three or four times, be open to the idea. You’ll be startled, after a while, to realize
how clear the information becomes.
Equipment Terms
You must know a few terms before getting your feet wet in the home studio arena.
➤ Analog. Machines made with analog electronics controlled by linear voltage.
➤ Assign switches. Controls that route signals to various locations.
➤ Bouncing tracks. A procedure by which tracks are combined on the multitrack.
This way, you can open up tracks on the tape machine.
➤ Chorus. A stereo effect that can be created with a delay unit.
➤ Compressor. A piece of outboard gear that controls level.
➤ Delay. An outboard unit that creates time-dependent effects. These effects include multiple hits, chorus, and such effects as flanging.
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➤ Digital. A system controlled by numbers (digits).
➤ EQ (equalization). A process by which frequencies are cut or boosted, influencing the timbre of the sound.
➤ Frequency. A term that defines cycles per second. The higher the frequency of a
sound, the higher its pitch will become.
➤ Interface. A general term describing how different pieces of equipment are
working together.
➤ Input. Where signals go into a piece of equipment.
➤ Internal sync. A sequencer mode in which the sequencer is being driven by its
own internal timing pulse.
➤ Level. Volume.
➤ Limiter. A device that controls level.
➤ Monitor. Anything you use to listen with.
➤ Monitor amp. An amplifier used to drive a speaker system.
➤ MIDI (musical instrument digital interface). A system in which sounds generated by a group of keyboards can be combined and recorded into a keyboard/
sequencer/controller.
➤ Mixer. The audio command center that processes incoming signals for tone and
level. It takes signals, whether they are instruments or voices, and blends them
cohesively to create a good overall sound.
➤ Output. Where signals come out of a piece of equipment.
➤ Patch bay. A device used to bring all inputs and outputs in a studio to one central location.
➤ Sampler. Sounds created by a digital recording system, including instruments
and sound effects.
➤ Saturation. A point at which a tape won’t accept any more level. Above the saturation point, tape gets distorted.
➤ Sequencer. A device that records MIDI information.
➤ Signal. An audio source flowing through a system.
➤ Signal processors. Equalizers, limiters, compressors, echoes, reverbs, and amplifiers that alter timbre and tone.
➤ Sync mode. A mode of operation on a tape machine in which the machine is
reproducing what is on the tape at the record head.
➤ Sync track. The track on a multitrack machine where the sync pulse is
recorded.
➤ Synchronizer. A device that locks two machines together.
➤ Synthesizer. A machine, such as a sampler or a digital piano, that gives you all
the existing orchestral and pop sounds.
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Chapter 21 ➤ Home Studio
Where to Buy
Retail stores are an obvious place, but you can find excellent second-hand equipment
in the Recycler or in your local edition of The New York Times, which has a special section on equipment that can be purchased. Friends in the same business may have
suggestions or may be selling off some of their equipment at a reasonable price. Also
check bulletin boards at music schools.
Computer Software
One of the best ways to go is with a computer, whether a Macintosh or a PC. After
you’ve bought your computer, you’ll want software. Cubase is popular. I recommend
it because it allows you to manipulate and edit your performance. It comes complete
with digital mixing boards and effects. Cubase also possesses a live, human feeling on
playback and quantizes well.
Cubase allows editing, which is also a feature of other programs such as Vision,
Performer, and Logic. You can go into the performance itself and change notes and
correct poor pitch. If you want to add a seventh to
your chord, you can do it.
The cost for Cubase is in the neighborhood of
$500 to $700, depending on the options, and it
contains everything. It offers plug-ins, such as digital reverbs, delay, chorus, processing effects, EQ,
doubler, compressors, and full automation. You
also can purchase independent plug-ins to add
to your collection. It includes free MIDI synths
(synthesizers). All you need to purchase is one
keyboard/controller.
Lyrical Lingo
Quantizing is computer autocorrection of musical performances and rhythm mistakes.
Equipment Recommendations
There’s a dazzling range of equipment you can buy to set up a home studio, and new
items are being added every day. This section provides some advice to help you make
sense of it all.
Roger’s Picks
Roger LaRoque gives the following advice on what basic equipment to buy:
➤ “You can buy a synth, say a Kurzweil 2000, a Roland JV 80 or JV 90, or a D 50—
any of these. One keyboard, one computer, either PC or Mac. I recommend a
Mac for music—it’s simpler to use.”
➤ “You’ll need to purchase a mixer, as well as an audio card if you want to record
more than two channels at a time in the computer. The Motu 2408 Mark of the
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Part 4 ➤ Showing It Off
Unicorn has a lot of great equipment and is MIDI interface, so you can record
MIDI in your computer. The audio interface records analog to digital, like guitars,
vocals, drums, through a microphone or through line-in inputs or XLR inputs.”
➤ “There are other sound cards in addition to the Motu on the market. Local
music stores will recommend alternatives. Some programs and some computers
already have them.”
➤ “Self-powered speakers are the next priority. They’re modestly priced (only a few
hundred dollars each), and you have a lot of good products from Yamaha, Fostex,
Tascam, Mackie, Alesis to choose from. Now you’ve got the computer, music program, card interface, MIDI interface, audio interface, audio mixer. You have your
speakers. As for microphones, Shure is one of the best, an SM57 or 58.”
➤ “You must have a little mixer to make DAT copies and cassette copies, return
audio into the computer, and control levels. You’ll also need them for mixdown.”
Memory
The entire setup Roger described is in the range of $1,500, without the synthesizer,
which is amazingly reasonable when you realize the far-reaching implications of what
you can do. But the more tracks you use on the computer, the more memory your
computer must have. You’ll need extra storage room to record more audio files,
which take a great deal of computer space. I have 512K of RAM in my G-4 with a 500
megahertz processor. You’ll need 350 to 500, but most current computers have that.
You’ll also need a hard drive of about 30 to 50 gigabytes. Keep a separate hard drive
for your music files; you need one that is anywhere between 10 to 30 gigabytes.
Workstation
Hirschhorn’s Hints
Spend a little more money on
microphones if you can afford it.
AKG has fine mikes for $200
or $300, as does Alesis, Shure,
Electrovoice, Audiotechnica, or
Rhodes.
Machines are continually improving. An example is a
digital music workstation with 8 or 16 tracks. It contains digital tracks and digital editing. You don’t need a
DAT player, because you can mix inside the machine.
The workstation also has a mixing board. Unlike the
past, when items were separated, today everything is
included in one box, except the microphone. All you
need to do is get a microphone, speakers, and a set of
headphones. Get two headsets, because you’ll need a
couple when you’re recording a singer.
Other Inexpensive Approaches
Another inexpensive approach is to buy a Fostex 16track, half-inch tape machine. I recommend half-inch
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30 IPS. These machines usually operate at 15 and 30 IPS. You’ll get less noise at 30
IPS, although it will take double the tape. But the speed really improves the quality of
the recording. You can buy one of these machines for $500. (They used to cost $5,000.)
Many M-1s and Kurzweil 2000s come with internal sequencers. Most Roland and
Yamaha dealers have keyboards with sequencers. All you need is a keyboard and an
old 16-track machine and a synchronizer, monitor, and mixer. You can shop around
for old analog boards, although I have a digital board that is much more compact
and has several other features: automation on each channel and compressors and gates
on each channel that are also automated.
If you’d rather go the warmer analog route, check the market for older analog machines. They’re still available. The problem with old analog machines is the possibility
that some of the recording heads will be worn out. If you don’t know how to evaluate
them, bring someone in who knows how to analyze recording heads or playback heads.
Once you’ve purchased your gear for your home studio, close your mind to technological improvements and create! There’s time enough to expand on your basics as
you go along.
Making Music
Because synths sound infinitely better than they
did in the past, the music world has become a
blend of both live and synthesized orchestration,
sparking a wave of fresh creativity. Mixing is a
tricky business, but you can avoid some common
pitfalls by following the advice in this section.
Live vs. Synthesizers: No Conflict!
Lyrical Lingo
Automation is a system that
records all your moves. You can
put more vocals on the chorus,
feature an instrument, or ride
vocals among limitless other possibilities.
When MIDI exploded onto the music scene, it had
immediate opposition. Live musicians, the protests
rang out, would never be used again. For a while,
this danger seemed real. Now producers want to
utilize both, so synths and live players are combined. This arrangement satisfies both sides of the
argument: There’s nothing as beautiful as a live sound, and it enhances whatever orchestrations you’ve conceived for your synthesizer. On the other hand, electronic
sounds are improving daily. Furthermore, the synthesizer is able to do more than contribute literal reproductions of acoustic instruments. It offers creative mixes of sound
that often don’t resemble anything the public is familiar with.
Economically, the blending of live and electronic music is a logical solution for producers. They get the reality of a live trumpet without having to pay for a full trumpet
section. They may request a cello solo against synthesized string accompaniment. In
any case, this kind of integration produces beautiful results.
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Keep It Short
Some composers, enjoying the luxury of limitless recording time and experimentation, cut demos and masters in their home studios that drone on for six or seven
minutes. Don’t fool yourself that your material is so
brilliant that no one will care about the length.
Overlong tunes are also impractical. You can do two
songs in place of one that runs on and on. The short
song is easier to mix, costs less when you hire musicians, and doesn’t burn out your singer. Also, long
songs take up twice the space on your hard drive.
Trouble Clef
Don’t overuse strange sounds and
combine them with your track
just because they intrigue you.
What you choose has to make
sense and integrate properly with
your overall track and concept.
The sound of wind rustling delicately through the trees would
probably be odd in a hard-driving
rap song.
Mixing
Roger LaRocque offers this basic advice on mixing:
“If you don’t experiment with simple gear, you
won’t have a basis for what comes later. The important priority is learning how instruments work
together, how rhythm sections blend. In mixing,
you have to be able to divide your frequency so
everything doesn’t land in the extreme low end,
high end, or mid range. Some of this information
can be taught, but much of it is the result of moving faders, trying things out.”
Trusting the first mix you hear in your headphones is
a mistake. Mixes always sound better in headphones,
but the only true way to evaluate them is to hear the
music on your speakers.
Hirschhorn’s Hints
If you’ve written a song for
Madonna, and you’ve matched
your mix to the songs on her
album, you’re approaching the
situation logically. But suppose
Madonna doesn’t take the song
you’ve submitted. With a home
studio, you can remix it to suit
someone else, whether it be
Enrique Iglesias or Whitney
Houston.
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Mixing for yourself is an easier matter than mixing a
record for others. If your studio turns into a paying
proposition and you have a stream of artists cutting
demos or masters, study their previous records carefully. Try to match their sound. If your singer has
done records that feature bass, drum, and guitar, you
can’t give him or her too much keyboard or horns.
That might be your taste, but it’s not the singer’s.
Keep an ear out for these potential pitfalls when
you’re mixing:
➤ Just because you’re a drummer … If you’re a
drummer, your temptation in the mix will be to
feature drums. If you’re a pianist, you’ll often
get keyboard-heavy. Keep an overall perspective.
Chapter 21 ➤ Home Studio
A mix is like a painting. Impressionists use millions of colors, but they know
where to put them to create one overall effect.
➤ Rhythm overboard. I’m a keyboard player, and I pride myself on having an impeccable sense of rhythm. But nobody is so tight rhythmically that they don’t
go over the rails from time to time. Don’t settle for an imperfect rhythm. It may
sound like a minor glitch at first, but rhythmic mistakes magnify and become
intolerable the more you listen back later on. Let MIDI rescue you immediately
with quantization.
Old vs. New Arranging
When I started arranging, I had to write out the orchestration, go to the recording
date, and pray. If it worked, I breathed a sigh of relief. If it didn’t, there was no way
to make major changes, and I would have to face a disgruntled producer or director.
The beauty of today’s technology is hearing your work in advance. The downside, of
course, is being expected to show every cue as it’s written. When you have producers,
directors, or artists who can’t make up their minds, you’ll find yourself rewriting
these cues over and over again. However, this method is still preferable to showing up
at a date and not having the power to make major changes because the clock is ticking loudly, expanding a budget everyone thought was too high in the first place.
All instruments have specific characteristics. As a keyboard player, I had to learn not
to write guitar parts that were keyboard in nature. Don’t forget that a flute doesn’t
possess the range your piano does. Trumpets sound terribly peculiar three octaves
below middle C. Make sure a live instrument can play the part you’ve written for it
on your synthesizer, or the results will be artificial and annoying.
Engineering a Session
Plan carefully for recording sessions. I’ve assumed many times that my equipment
was fine and have been shocked to discover that one thing or another wasn’t working
properly. Think of the 16-year-old who checks his car incessantly, even neurotically.
Adopt his mindset. You don’t want mishaps during a session, especially if you’ve
hired other people.
Write up a questionnaire and ask yourself before the date if all the pertinent points,
such as the following, have been covered:
➤ Will your master be mono or stereo?
➤ How many tracks do you want to use?
➤ Are all your instruments in perfect working order?
➤ Do you have sufficient head cleaner?
➤ Do you have enough tape and the right kind of tape available?
➤ Do you have extra cables?
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Last, organize your tapes. Nothing is worse than needing a tape and not being able to
find it. Multiply that dismay when an artist or a publisher has paid you to engineer a
session, and you don’t have the tape to give them. Or you’ve written a song that a
publisher suddenly shows interest in, and you can’t find the demo. Label everything!
And put a date on it, too. Make copies of everything you send out.
One last psychological point: A home studio is totally yours. Your emotions are
deeply invested in it. Going to other studios, even ones you trust, is a less powerful
commitment. The home studio becomes an extension of your creative self. You live
in it; you stay up all night trying new things; you rush to get there in the morning.
For this reason alone, consider establishing your own private recording domain. It
could give you great personal satisfaction along with topflight creative results.
The Least You Need to Know
➤ Manuals are your friends, not your enemies.
➤ You don’t have to get into debt for years to come to set up a fully
functioning home studio.
➤ Synthesizers and live instruments blended together make a beautiful arrangement.
➤ Mixing is the most important part of production.
➤ Advance preparation is essential for a productive recording session.
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Chapter 22
Producing Your
Own Hit Songs
In This Chapter
➤ Learn about producing
➤ Choose the right material
➤ Cut the best track
➤ Try a different musical approach
➤ Have a productive attitude in the studio
Songwriters may enjoy the triumph of having their work recorded by major artists, but
they rarely retain artistic control over the final product. However, if you produce your
own material, you can shape it to your vision.
From the time you make your first few demos, you’ll be able to sense whether you have
the talent for record production. You won’t be satisfied with an acceptable demo. You’ll
keep reworking it, making sure it competes favorably with records you hear on the air.
If you feel you have the gift, my advice is to pursue it. You’ll enjoy increased financial
rewards as well as the satisfaction of hearing your songs exactly as you conceived them.
How Do You Learn to Produce?
Some people love the studio and would live in one if they could. Others are impatient
and eager for rapid results. The nuts and bolts of record production strike them as tedious and time-consuming. Unless you absolutely adore every intricate phase of studio work, don’t consider being a record producer simply because you want to control
Part 4 ➤ Showing It Off
how your songs are done. You won’t do as capable a job as a producer who is totally
committed to every facet of the process.
Record producing isn’t something you generally learn in school. You learn it only by
watching and doing. Go to every session you possibly can and study producers in action. You’ll decide by observation what you want to emulate or avoid. Listen to
records of every kind. Set aside your personal tastes and prejudices. No one ever
learned a craft selectively. Many movie directors had to do low-budget horror movies
before they did high-budget epics. Absorb everything.
Backstage Banter
Burt Bacharach began producing out of self-defense to protect his songs. As he puts it, “I
just thought that my songs were getting changed from the way I heard them … there was
a really good song that had a three-bar phrase, instead of the standard four-bar phrase,
and the A&R man convinced me that it would be better with a four-bar phrase, making
that song out of proportion and ruining it. I didn’t want that to happen again.”
—Eric Olsen, The Encyclopedia of Record Producers, Billboard Books, 1999
Producer Mike Clink (Guns n’ Roses, Sammy Hagar) says, “I used to spend all my
money on records. I’d read the backs of album covers, listen to the music, and try to
figure out how they were made.” If you don’t have much cash, save it for CDs rather
than extra shoes or clothes (Anastasia Pantsios, The Encyclopedia of Record Producers).
To learn by listening, see the list of recommended records in the “Top Producers” section at the end of this chapter.
Ask for help, especially at the beginning. Don’t be ashamed of not knowing something. Only fools pretend to be brilliant when they don’t understand important facts.
Many producers have a mentor side to their personality and are glad to answer your
questions.
Every person alive starts out with a sense of insecurity. Some are just better at hiding
it. Keep telling yourself that you’ll gain more and more confidence as you go along.
After you’ve gained some skill as a producer, you may be offered the opportunity to
work for a record company as part of its production staff. Being a staff producer offers
the security of a weekly salary and projects that are directly assigned to you by an
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A&R man at the record company. As a staff producer, you have to accept the fact that
you won’t have much input about which artists are signed and which you’ll be expected to produce for the company. An executive producer finances the session and
provides the final word on when he or she feels it’s completed.
As you build your reputation, you have the choice of being an independent producer
who doesn’t work for a record label. If you’re a maverick who doesn’t want to function under strict conditions, this is the better way to go.
A Producer’s Job
A record producer chooses the artist, finds the material, supervises the recording, and
mixes the final product.
Backstage Banter
Producer Rhett Davies (Brian Eno, The B-52’s) advises getting to work early:
“I would get to the studio about 10 in the morning and I would set rhythms up—get
interesting grooves going, weird things happening, and have a keyboard hooked in,
ready to go. Bryan (Ferry) would saunter through the door at about one o’clock,
and this vibe would be happening already.”
—Eric Olsen and Dawn Darling, The Encyclopedia of Record Producers
Techno or No?
Some producers love every facet of technology. Others feel it inhibits them. Either approach is fine if it works for you. All that matters is the result, no matter how it’s accomplished.
Neil Kernon (Jon Anderson, Kansas) starts his day this way:
“The first thing I do in the morning is switch on my computer, clean my teeth,
and put on coffee. Computing is integral to everything I do. I’ve been on e-mail
for 14 years. Before the Internet, I was on IMC, a music industry e-mail system.
In the studio, I’ve worked with SSL or Neve computerized boards. I do sequencing work with a Mac.”
—Anastasia Pantsios, The Encyclopedia of Record Producers
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How Involved Will You Be?
People sometimes look critically at creators who want to assume huge responsibility.
The assumption is, “He’s an egotist … he’s taking too much on … it’ll never work.”
Only you know, in your heart, how much responsibility you’re capable of assuming.
In movies, Woody Allen tackles all phases of his films. On records, Walter Afanasieff
(Mariah Carey, Celine Dion) does the same. Afanasieff creates the arrangements,
writes the songs, and records all the backing tracks.
Be a Director
When you produce, be decisive, but don’t try to do everyone else’s job. Don Cook
(Brooks & Dunn, Lonestar) claims he wouldn’t “dare touch a knob” of the engineer’s,
although he makes suggestions about mixes. “He’s so good I wouldn’t tell him how
to do what he does anymore than he would tell me how to do what I do.”
On the other hand, you must express yourself with clarity. You’ve chosen to handle
three or four roles, and your personnel will look to you for final answers. Even if
you’re not absolutely positive about something, don’t seem nervous and doubtful.
You don’t necessarily have to run a “totalitarian dictatorship,” as Snuff Garrett defines it, but you should always be perceived as a leader.
You have to see the whole picture and visualize the end result. But don’t become impatient with details. As Michael Cuscuna (Dave Brubeck, Dexter Gordon) says, “Most
of the fun is in the details, whether it’s horn obbligatos, a very tasteful slide guitar
part, or a wonderful organ chord.”
Planning a Recording Date
Whether you’re recording a solo singer, a group, or yourself, you need to follow certain organizational steps. Most vital is picking the right material.
What Are the Songs?
Even when the songs to be recorded are yours, you need to be ruthless about your
choices. Unless you feel the song is one of your masterpieces, don’t include it in the
session. Of course, objectivity is harder to achieve when you’re assuming the multiple
responsibilities of writing, producing, and possibly singing.
Consider everything from the record company’s point of view (the people who have to
promote the record) as well as your own. Yet if the record company expresses a preference for some of your songs, and you feel that you’ve written better material, fight for
your point of view. You won’t always win, but if you feel passionate about it, you have
to try.
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Try Different Studios
You may love a certain studio, such as a studio you’ve built and assembled yourself.
Remember, though, studios offer uniquely different sounds. David Z. (Sheila E. and
Jody Watley) favors recording in different studios because you work a lot harder.
There are a lot of records out there that sound the same because they’re done in the
same room. David likes to stretch a little by using closets, bathrooms, and hallways.
Backstage Banter
Andy Johns (Bon Jovi, Van Halen) has this to say about studios:
“The room where the instruments are has to sound good. The mixer is not important
as long as it’s not horrible and doesn’t break down. The monitors have to be good.
Tape machines can be analog or digital. As years go by, I find that stuff is less and less
important. I don’t use drum machines or samplers. I get the sound from the room. If
the sound isn’t right, the guy’s got the wrong gear—wrong guitar, wrong amps, wrong
drums.”
—Anastasia Pantsios, The Encyclopedia of Record Producers
The Engineer
Make sure your engineer sees things the way you
do. Sometimes engineers are aspiring record producers, and they can have a strong sense of the
final artistic goal that may clash with yours. The
engineer you work with is a crucial ally. Be sure
you communicate well with the engineer, both artistically and personally. Above all, make certain
the engineer excels at mixing.
Up-Front Budgeting
When you’re working on an independent master
and the studio is your own, you can afford more
freedom with time. But if you’ve been hired by a
record label to produce, work out your budget
Hirschhorn’s Hints
Try to know as much about engineering as the engineer does,
even if you don’t do the engineering yourself. Ask questions.
That way, you’ll have a stronger
grasp of the overall process.
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carefully right from the beginning and adhere to it.
Your budget will include prices for the amount of session time needed, musicians, your engineer, an
arranger, and background vocalists.
Lyrical Lingo
Cross collateralization occurs
when a producer cuts a record for
one artist and has a hit and cuts
another for someone else and it
flops. The company is allowed to
take the royalties from your hit
and use them to pay off the losses
on your unsuccessful project. That
way, even though you have a big
record, you never see the money.
Earnings
Producers work for the love of music, but they also
have to eat. The best way to ensure that you earn
some income from producing is not to allow cross
collateralization.
Ask for increases in points for your production contributions as sales escalate. Be sure after advances have
been recouped that you get royalties from the first
record sold.
Rehearsal
To save time during the recording session, rehearse
your material as thoroughly as possible beforehand.
Make sure the singers’ keys are perfect and try out several, rather than taking your
artist’s word for it. Even if you’re the artist, don’t quickly pick a key that seems comfortable. Often, comfortable keys don’t offer the maximum impact. Stretching for a
high note, pushing, or wailing might be more effective. When deciding on that final
key, the depth and power of emotion should be your overriding priority.
Mike Stoller, one half of the legendary Leiber and
Stoller partnership, describes a regimen worth remembering when he discusses rehearsing the Coasters:
Hirschhorn’s Hints
Everything is negotiable, but a
typical royalty rate for producers
is 2 to 4 points. Superstar producers have a good chance of
getting 5 to 6 percent on sales.
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“The most important time was the weeks of rehearsal before the recording session. I would sit at
the piano and work with them on setting background harmonies. Jerry would work with the lead
singers. We would outline the general concept and
the ideas for the arrangement would come. I
would write out the charts and play piano on the
sessions.”
—Carlo Wolff, The Encyclopedia of Record Producers
Chapter 22 ➤ Producing Your Own Hit Songs
In the Studio
Before you think of performance, train your eye on the track. Zero in on vocals, percussion, and guitar. Work on your drum sound until it’s just right; the main goal is to
find a drum sound that matches up well with the other instruments.
Be sure your groove falls right in the pocket—not too fast, not too slow. Keep in
mind that excessive speed doesn’t guarantee excitement. Don’t work out a tempo by
intellectual means. Just because another, similar hit with a similar groove uses a certain metronome beat doesn’t mean that same beat will work perfectly on your tune.
Each number has highly individual rhythmic requirements.
One Hundred Ways to Confuse Yourself
The Beatles recorded “Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” on four tracks,
with no loss of artistic quality. Today, you can easily work with a hundred. Even
though you’re confronted with so many possibilities, try to decide what you want to
feature in the beginning. You can test other alternatives after you do the basics, but
be aware that the amount of available tracks can be a trap. Some producers become
so overwhelmed by choices that they don’t finish the record on time, and if they do,
they’re still not sure they made the right decisions.
Engineer Jeffrey Norman recalls that Creedence Clearwater Revival’s John Fogerty
knew where every part was going to be. For example, in the thirteenth bar on the
seventh eighth note, he knew there was going to be a little “yeah,” and it sounded
completely spontaneous, but it was all planned.
Artists Are Only Human
If your singer starts to flub notes and lyrics and looks exhausted during the recording
session, don’t come on like a Simon Legree. The same goes for your engineer and any
other personnel. If you drive people too hard, you’ll get diminishing results. Curb
your anxiety and all-consuming desire to get things finished. When the personnel
you’re working with get the breaks they need, they’ll give you much better work.
Musical Approaches
There are as many musical approaches as there are producers, but they all have the
same object: to capture the attention and imagination of the audience.
Soul Power
“As a producer,” says Jim Dickinson (Frankie Paul, Sanchez), “what I’m looking for is
soul. The cliché about the natives in the jungle is they won’t let you take their pictures because you’re capturing their soul. Capturing the soul of the moment, the
spirit of the performance is exactly what you’re doing as a producer” (Carlo Wolff).
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Potent Performances
Without an emotional, exciting vocal, your record won’t soar. As Rod Argent (Nanci
Griffith, The Zombies) says …
“The performance is everything. If you’re recording a singer, then everything
should stem from that. We try to get the master vocal at an early stage so that
everything being played reacts to the vocal as in a live situation.”
—Ben Cromer, The Encyclopedia of Record Producers
What you don’t want is to write a smash song and then ruin it with an uninspired
vocal, either your own or the artist’s you’re producing.
When analyzing takes of a performance, you may find that one take is technically astonishing and another is flawed but more dramatically affecting. Go with the one
that moves you and the other people listening. Dozens of singers have expressed regret that they went for technical perfection at the expense of a certain feeling. Some
performances tap into emotions and can’t be duplicated; they’re just one-time miracles. Don’t let any of those get away.
Good Goofs
Musicians and singers are human, and they make mistakes. I can’t tell you how many
times a guitarist or a singer hit a supposedly wrong note and started rushing to correct it when I called out, “Wait! That’s terrific. Can you do it again?” Turns out their
goof was much better than what I’d originally written. Don’t be so focused on your
original concept that your mind is closed. It could cost you a hit.
Experiment
In pre-synth days when acoustic orchestras and bands reigned supreme, experimenting and coming up with new, offbeat sounds was a minor priority for artista, writers,
and musicians. Today, with electronic access to so many sounds, noises, and iinstrumental combinations, experimentation is a key factor in hit recording.
Be Weird If It Works
David Z. says …
“The theory was to do anything we needed to sound different. We even talked
about putting guitars under water at one point, just to see what it would sound
like. We just did all kinds of weird things—multiple source recordings, which I
still do a lot of—especially with guitars. I take it from one amp and split it into
another one; that way you can basically make sandwiches of sound.”
—John Farinella, The Encyclopedia of Record Producers
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Play with the Atmosphere
Kurt Bloch (Fastbacks, Sicko) likes to set up, as he
calls it, an “artistic vibe”:
“Sometimes it might be appropriate to have
incense and candles burning and the lights
down. Sometimes it works better to have all
the lights on and have everybody going
‘eahhrrgghh’ and drink a lot of coffee and be
screaming at each other and all revved up so
they rip through their songs or whatever.
Everybody is different. Every session is different.”
—Dennis Dikek, The Encyclopedia of Record
Producers
Trouble Clef
Dave Bascombe (Depeche Mode,
Tears for Fears) advises against
mixing a track so much that you
lose perspective. He feels that it’s
hard to mix your own work if
you’ve lived with it a long time
and you’ve pushed the fader up
every day, over and over again.
Retaining freshness is vitally important.
Vary Your Themes
When you’re in the studio and you want to sell
yourself as a songwriter and producer, make sure
the songs you pick are highly varied. Utilize different rhythms. Follow a ballad with something uptempo. Lenny Kaye (Patti Smith, Suzanne Vega)
likes to have many different styles within an
album because that gives an artist a chance to
move into whatever his or her next album will be,
and it will make sense. He doesn’t believe in
monochromatic records. He will, for example,
place a song with a little string quartet next to a
piece of avant-garde noise. Kaye has never been
one for pure music. He likes mongrel music,
“where styles copulate with each other and form
some weird child that sounds different.”
Voice First
Never mind how other record producers do
things. We all have a unique way of hearing.
Trouble Clef
Songwriters frequently have a
compulsion to change the demo
that got everybody excited in
the first place. They tinker and
embellish to a point where the
charm and specialness of the
original is lost. If the demo
worked beautifully without a
mass of strings, keep the strings
out. If it was magical with
acoustic guitar, don’t substitute
an electric one. Maintain that
original magic.
Jack Clement (Johnny Cash, Charley Pride) views
his role of producer as orchestrator. He finds a
voice, and then finds out what works with that
voice, what instrumentation. “Sometimes it’s heavy with piano, sometimes it’s
heavy with guitars, and sometimes it’s heavy with fiddles and steel guitars
(Deborah Evans Price, The Encyclopedia of Record Producers).
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You Have to Love It, Too
When you’re getting close to the end of a recording date, you may tell yourself, “I
don’t love it, but the people will.” This thought is a recipe for disaster. Unless you
love the record and it satisfies you in every conceivable way, the public will probably
not respond. If you don’t love the record, try to figure out why. Is there something in
the lead performance or the arrangement that seems lacking? Have you talked yourself into something that you don’t really feel? Search for clues. Ask those around you,
but don’t show something unless you’re convinced of its worth.
You can labor over a production until it becomes overcrowded. Too many ideas cancel each other out. Hearing a superb guitar solo, a brilliant piano lick, and a wonderful vocal note simultaneously is a waste. Choose your spots and feature them so that
they stand out and count for something.
Top Producers
The following producers are among the best in their field. This list provides a small
sample of their records as a guideline to expert producing talent.
➤ Walter Afanasieff
Michael Bolton: Time, Love, and Tenderness (Columbia, 1991)
Mariah Carey: Emotions (Columbia, 1991), Hero (Columbia, 1993)
Natalie Cole: A Smile Like Yours (Elektra, 1997)
Barbra Streisand: Higher Ground (Sony, 1997)
➤ Brian Ahern
Johnny Cash: Ghost Riders in the Sky (Columbia, 1979), The Essential Johnny Cash
(1955–1983) (Legacy, 1992)
Emmylou Harris: Portraits (Warner Bros., 1996)
Anne Murray: The Best … So Far (EMI, 1994)
➤ Rod Argent
Nanci Griffith: MCA Years: A Retrospective (MCA, 1993)
The Zombies: Time of the Season (Date, 1969)
➤ Burt Bacharach
Patti LaBelle: On My Own (MCA, 1986)
Dionne Warwick: Greatest Hits—1979–1990 (Arista, 1989)
Dionne Warwick: Golden Hits Part 1 (Scepter, 1967)
➤ Dave Bascombe
Depeche Mode: Music for the Masses (Sire, 1987)
Erasure: Pop, the First 20 Hits (Sire, 1992)
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Chapter 22 ➤ Producing Your Own Hit Songs
➤ Howard Benson
Blue Meanies: Pave the World (Beach, 1996)
Pretty Boy Floyd: Leather Boyz with Electric Toyz (MCA, 1990)
➤ Tchad Blake
Crowded House: The Very Best Of (Capitol, 1996)
S.E. Rogie: Dead Men Don’t Smoke Marijuana (Realworld/Caroline, 1994)
➤ Joe Chiccarelli
Lone Justice: Shelter (Geffen, 1986)
Oingo Boingo: Nothing to Fear (A&M, 1982)
➤ Robert Clivilles and David Cole
James Brown: Universal James (Scotti Brothers, 1992)
Aretha Franklin: Greatest Hits, 1980–1984 (Arista, 1994)
➤ Michael Cuscuna
Luther Allison: The Motown Years—1972–1976 (Motown, 1996)
Dave Brubeck: Time Signatures: A Career Retrospective (Columbia, 1992)
➤ David Z.
Fine Young Cannibals: Finest (MCA, 1996)
Jody Watley: Greatest Hits (MCA 1996)
➤ Rhett Davies
Legend Soundtrack (MCA, 1986)
King Crimson: Three of a Perfect Pair (EG, 1984)
➤ John Fogerty
John Fogerty: Willy and the Poor Boys (Fantasy, 1969)
John Fogerty: Blue Moon Swamp (Warner Bros., 1997)
➤ Snuff Garrett
Cher: Gypsies, Tramps, and Thieves (MCA, 1971)
The Brill Building Sound: Singers and Songwriters Who Rocked the Sixties (Era, 1993)
➤ Andy Johns
Van Halen: Best Of—Volume 1 (Warner Bros., 1996)
Rod Stewart: Storyteller: The Complete Anthology (Warner Bros., 1989)
➤ Quincy Jones
Michael Jackson: Thriller (Epic, 1982)
Michael Jackson: Bad (Epic, 1987)
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Part 4 ➤ Showing It Off
➤ Lenny Kaye
Patti Smith: Masters (Arista, 1996)
Suzanne Vega: Solitude Standing (A&M, 1987)
➤ Robert John “Mutt” Lange
Shania Twain: The Woman in Me (Mercury, 1995)
Billy Ocean: Greatest Hits (Jive, 1989)
The Least You Need to Know
➤ The way to learn producing is to study every hit record.
➤ Cut only the songs you truly believe in.
➤ Figure out which instruments you want to feature.
➤ Be confident about learning new technology.
➤ Always experiment.
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Part 5
Finishing Touches
When you write a hit song, you want to be paid fairly, and ASCAP, BMI, SESAC, and
the Songwriter’s Guild of America will help you collect every dollar you’ve earned.
You’ll also want to utilize the vast resources of the Internet. Read about some inspiring success stories that the Internet made possible; these stories show what you can
accomplish with creative use of this powerful new tool. Finally, look at imaginary lists
of songs in several of 2001’s major Grammy categories. They point to the fluidity of
genres and the inclusiveness of today’s popular music, signaling an era of unparalleled
opportunity for songwriters.
Chapter 23
Royalties and
Guilds
In This Chapter
➤ The history of ASCAP, BMI, and SESAC
➤ Royalties and payment procedures
➤ How guilds log performances
➤ Copyright basics and caveats
➤ The Songwriter’s Guild of America
Songs are an art form, but sooner or later, you’ll want to get paid. Royalties are aptly
named because it can be a royal pain if you don’t receive them, or you can feel like financial royalty when they show up in your mailbox. The beauty of royalties can be
summed up in the words of a dancer friend of mine: “When songwriters get old, they
have an annuity whether they work or not. I don’t.”
Assuming you’ve built a songwriting catalogue that contains compositions that are
continually replayed, you’ll be able to live (moderately or handsomely, depending on
the case) on checks you receive every three months. This is a goal well worth striving
for. BMI, ASCAP, and SESAC monitor performances of your songs in all media and
make sure that you get the royalties due you.
SGA (the Songwriter’s Guild of America) offers a completely fair writer’s contract, reviews the publishing contracts of its members, supplies a copyright renewal service,
helps writers to find collaborators, and campaigns in Washington, D.C., for its members’ rights.
Part 5 ➤ Finishing Touches
The Big Three: ASCAP, BMI, and SESAC
From the point of view of any songwriter who has had hit songs or songs recorded
by important artists, ASCAP (the American Society of Composers, Authors, and
Publishers), BMI (Broadcast Music, Inc.), and SESAC (Society of European Stage
Authors and Composers) are the most important organizations in the music business.
Recorded material doesn’t always enjoy large sales, but the songs show up often on
radio and television just the same. BMI, ASCAP, and SESAC collect those monies and
send them to members every three months.
BMI, ASCAP, and SESAC are sympathetic and supportive of songwriters and publishers. I can state quite
simply, as a long-time insider, that I might not have
had the satisfying career I’ve experienced without
BMI. Friends of mine from ASCAP confirm the importance of their ASCAP affiliation.
Hirschhorn’s Hints
New writers who feel alone, who
haven’t quite found their bearings, should know that the societies are their second homes. All
three are endlessly helpful in
making calls for writers, pairing
them up with collaborators, or
suggesting them for projects.
By offering a brief background on my evolution as a
BMI composer/lyricist, I can clearly point out many
encouraging facts to newcomers in the music business. Two wonderful BMI executives, Stanley Catron
and Ron Anton, first made me feel special by inviting
me to lunch and agreeing to give me advances when I
desperately needed them. Although my early records
were recorded by such people as Anthony Newley,
Buddy Greco, and Nancy Ames, they didn’t get on the
charts, and no airplay income was garnered.
Ron Anton and Stanley Catron helped me financially
anyway, because they believed in my ability and fully
expected me to have hit singles. In return, I worked like a madman to justify their expectations, and the breakthroughs did come with singles by Jay and the Americans,
Ronnie Dove, Clyde McPhatter, and Elvis Presley.
Later in my career, I co-wrote a musical that I intended for Broadway, Copperfield, and
BMI gave me a theater advance against future royalties from the show. I was also privileged to attend a workshop they funded, conducted by the late, brilliant Broadway
musical director Lehman Engel.
Ron and Stanley eventually left BMI, and I received the same backing from Doreen
Ringer Ross, Del Bryant, Paige Sober, and BMI’s superbly effective President Frances
Preston, a woman who understands songwriters and is driven by a desire to help
them achieve their due, artistically and monetarily.
Basic Functions
BMI, ASCAP (the two largest, with the majority of songwriter membership), and
SESAC license songs for performance on radio, television (broadcasting networks as
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Chapter 23 ➤ Royalties and Guilds
well as cable), and the Internet. Nonbroadcast
sources of revenue include restaurants, colleges,
orchestras, airlines, skating rinks, theme and
amusement parks, arenas, and anywhere music
is publicly performed.
Clubs and hotels generally sign a one-year blanket
license. The agreed-upon rate is predicated on the
following:
➤ Live music weekly budget
➤ Seating capacity
➤ Whether the venue charges admission
The greatest amount of performance income stems
from radio and television, with approximately 15
percent coming from hotels, clubs, and arenas.
Backstage Banter
Esquire magazine singled out BMI
President Frances Preston as “the
most influential and powerful
person in the country music business.” Ladies Home Journal cited
her as one of the 50 most powerful women in America.
Distribution of Royalties
It has become increasingly common for writers from different societies to collaborate,
and the royalty amounts often differ. In the case of Al and I, Al belonged to ASCAP,
and I was a BMI member. Fortunately, when we compared checks, we found that both
societies were totally fair, and the amounts, over a period of time, were roughly equal.
ASCAP
ASCAP, a nonprofit organization formed in 1914,
made it clear that musical works were copyrighted
and owned, and anyone who wanted to use the
songs had to obtain the owner’s permission. This
organization was formed in reaction to the unjust
treatment received by Stephen Foster, who wrote so
prolifically and died without a penny to his name.
Music users objected violently in the beginning,
and there is, even today, reluctance by some clubs,
hotels, and restaurants to pay for use of music.
That they do is a tribute to Frances Preston, president of BMI; Marilyn Bergman, president of ASCAP;
former presidents Ed Cramer (BMI) and Hal David
(ASCAP); BMI senior vice president Thea Zavin, and
a host of others that preceded them.
Backstage Banter
A small group of writers, including
Irving Berlin, Victor Herbert, John
Philip Sousa, and James Weldon
Johnson, formed ASCAP in 1914
with the intent of collecting public performance fees and dispersing these payments as royalties to
the society’s members.
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Part 5 ➤ Finishing Touches
Works registered with ASCAP (and BMI) become part of their repertory. The process of
collecting your performance money is done through a blanket license. Most users of
ASCAP pay a yearly blanket license fee for the right to use any song or cue in the organization’s catalogue. Operating expenses are deducted, and all the rest of the money
received is sent to members.
Approximately 25 percent of ASCAP’s income comes from agreements with foreign licensing societies. Roughly one half is the result of performances from networks and
television stations. Radio accounts for 25 percent of total royalty collections.
ASCAP collects from these organizations:
ABC, CBS, and NBC television networks
PBS (public television)
Cable television
Other commercial television networks: Warner
Brothers (WB), Fox, and Paramount (UPN)
Backstage Banter
Many of the ASCAP board members are songwriters or scorers.
Along with Marilyn Bergman, a
three-time Oscar-winning lyricist,
they include John Bettis, Cy
Coleman, Arthur Hamilton, Hal
David, James “Jimmy Jam” Harris
III, John Mandel, David Raksin,
and Jimmy Webb.
Background music services (Muzak, airlines)
Local commercial radio stations
NPR (National Public Radio) and college stations
Over 2,000 colleges and universities
Over 1,000 symphony orchestras
Nearly 6,000 concert presenters
Theme parks, Internet service providers, restaurants, hotels, bars, skating rinks, and circuses
Membership
Until the 1940s, ASCAP’s members were principally Broadway, film, and pop composers. Today, members are accepted on the basis of one published song or a song
that has been commercially recorded. The society has a board of 12 writers and 12
publishers, which is voted in by its membership.
Showcases and Awards
In addition to collecting and distributing royalties, ASCAP presents film scoring workshops and workshops in R&B, pop, country, musical theater, jazz, Latin, and concert
music. The organization also provides sponsorship for showcases, giving members the
chance to show their talents before important industry people. The ASCAP Foundation
offers scholarships, awards, and grants to composers.
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Chapter 23 ➤ Royalties and Guilds
Payment Procedure
To track down what musical works are receiving
performances, ASCAP utilizes cue sheets furnished
to them by broadcasters or directors of programming. In addition, they take computer-based program schedules and network or station logs into
account.
The major television networks submit program
logs, as well as cue sheets. Nonnetwork television
surveys encompass TV Guide and cue sheets and
information provided by TV Data and Tribune
Media Services. Cable television’s performance data
is derived from program guides and contributed to
by cue sheets and cable services.
ASCAP’s surveys consist of a random sampling of
local commercial television airplay; a sample of
local commercial radio airplay; a complete count
of performances on the major television networks;
a sample of performances on airlines, ice skating
shows, and some circuses; and a sample of performances on wired music performances (Muzak).
Hirschhorn’s Hints
Annual dues of $10 for writers
and $50 for publishers were established in 1914. These dues are
still the same. You can obtain
membership applications, sample
contracts, and other information
by writing or phoning any of the
ASCAP offices listed at the end
of this section or visiting the Web
site at www.ascap.com.
Cue sheets contain specific information about the
writers, composers, and publishers who contribute
music to a show and the type of music usage. A
music cue sheet includes the following information:
Title of musical composition
Timing of music used
Type of usage
Names of composers/lyricists
Publisher
Affiliation
Payment System
Payments are sent to members every three months.
Writer royalties are sent out in October, January,
April, and July. Publishers receive their checks in
September, December, March, and June.
Hirschhorn’s Hints
Try to help fellow writers whenever you can. You’re in a fraternity where that help will come
back to you when you need it.
Composers are almost always
supportive of their own.
Bequests have been contributed
to ASCAP by such successful
composers as Michael Masser,
Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller, and
the estates of Yip Harburg and
Richard Rodgers.
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Part 5 ➤ Finishing Touches
The majority of publishers and writers are paid on what ASCAP calls the 100 percent
current performance plan. This means that they receive 100 percent of their royalties
in the distribution of all performances in a specific performance quarter. You can get
more information about this plan by calling Member Services at 1-800-95-ASCAP or
by e-mailing MemberServices@ascap.com.
ASCAP Locations
ASCAP has the following offices:
Los Angeles
7920 W. Sunset Boulevard,
Third Floor
Los Angeles, CA 90046
Phone: 323-883-1000
Fax: 323-883-1049
London
8 Cork Street
London W1X1PB
Phone: 011-44-207-439-0909
Fax: 011-44-207-434-0073
New York
One Lincoln Plaza
New York, NY 10023
Phone: 212-621-6000
Fax: 212-724-9064
Chicago
1608 West Belmont Avenue,
Suite 200
Chicago, IL 60657
Phone: 773-472-1157
Fax: 773-472-1158
Nashville
Two Music Square West
Nashville, TN 37203
Phone: 615-742-5000
Fax: 615-742-5020
Miami
844 Alton Road, Suite 1
Miami Beach, FL 33139
Phone: 305-673-3446
Fax: 305-673-2446
Puerto Rico
510 Royal Bank Center
255 Ponce de Leon Avenue
Hato Rey, PR 00917
Phone: 787-281-0782
Fax: 787-767-2805
BMI
BMI, also a nonprofit organization, was formed in 1940 by 480 broadcasters. BMI’s
stockholders comprise its board of directors. The company’s president and executive
committee devise company strategy and handle daily decisions. Stockholders receive
no dividends.
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Chapter 23 ➤ Royalties and Guilds
BMI was formed in reaction to ASCAP’s closed-door policy against composers who
wrote R&B, country, gospel, jazz, and folk music. Today, no such prejudice exists, and
ASCAP is welcoming of all genres, as BMI is.
Like ASCAP, BMI utilizes a blanket license system.
It collects license fees from each user of music that
BMI licenses and distributes to its writers and publishers all the money collected. Through cue sheets
and computerized data, BMI pays its members for
all performances on network, syndicated, and
cable television on a true census basis, keeping
track of over 6,000,000 hours of programming annually. BMI operates on a nonprofit basis. Aside
from operating expenses, every penny is sent directly to its writers and publishers.
Backstage Banter
BMI has 175,000 writers and
more than 75,000 publishers
who receive earnings when their
works are performed.
Membership
After you get something recorded, it’s vital that you join one of the societies. Tracking
airplay on your own is virtually impossible and you’ll lose income if you don’t affiliate. For BMI information, sample contracts, or a membership application, go to their
Web site, www.BMI.com, or write or phone one of the BMI offices listed at the end of
this section.
Seminars, Workshops, and Showcases
BMI’s seminars and workshops to help songwriters include the following:
The BMI-Lehman Engel Musical Theater Workshop
Sundance Composer’s Lab
BMI TV/Film Composer’s Conducting Workshop
Film and Television Composer’s Workshop
BMI Jazz Composer’s Workshop
BMI showcases include the following:
New Music Nights. A showcase series held every other month, featuring the best
emerging bands and artists. Most often held in Los Angeles, but sometimes produced in San Francisco, Portland, Seattle, Arizona, and Colorado.
R&B Showcase. Held in Los Angeles and Oakland. Unsigned talent showcase in
R&B music genre.
BMI Music Connection Showcase. Nashville. A weekly music showcase held at
the legendary Exit-In. Features today’s hit songwriters, as well as the hit writers
and stars of tomorrow. Contact BMI Writer/Publisher Relations.
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Part 5 ➤ Finishing Touches
Collaborator’s Connection. Held at BMI offices on the second Wednesday of
every other month from 6:30 to 8:30 P.M., this is a forum for songwriters to network. Contact Samantha Cox at scox@bmi.com.
Pitch-A-Thon. New York City. Songs being pitched to an A&R representative.
Held every other month at Eureka Joe (168 Fifth Avenue, between 21st and
22nd streets).
Payment Procedure
Monitored stations send BMI all the information about the music performed. Known
as logs, this information is put through an elaborate computer system that multiplies
each performance listed by a factor that reflects the ratio of the number of stations
logged to the number licensed. BMI monitors approximately 500,000 hours of commercial radio programming annually.
In addition, 50,000 hours of noncommercial college radio programming are tracked,
and separate payments are made for these performances. Television feature, theme,
and cue music performed on networks, cable television stations, and local television
stations are reported to BMI on music cue sheets, which list all music performed on a
program. Performances are logged using such sources as TV Data, cable program
guides, and local television station logging reports.
BMI has constructed a sampling procedure. Once a year, individual stations are sampled for three days. This technique adds up to 440,000 sample hours from commercial stations and 50,000 sample hours from college stations annually. The stations are
not told when they’re being logged.
ABC, CBS, and NBC Network Television Rates
Primetime
Performance (7:00 p.m.
Type
to 10:59 p.m.)
Late Night
(11:00 p.m.
to 1:59 a.m.)
Overnight
(2:00 a.m.
to 5:59 a.m.)
Morning-Day
(6:00 a.m.
to 6:59 p.m.)
Full feature
(45 sec.
minimum)
Theme
(per show)
Background
(per minute)
Logo
(per show)
$11.50
$9.00
$5.00
$6.00
$5.00
$3.32
$0.58
$1.00
$1.10
$0.72
$0.52
$0.60
$0.30
$0.24
$0.22
$0.28
© Joel Hirschhorn
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Chapter 23 ➤ Royalties and Guilds
Local Television Rates
Performance Type
Full feature
(45 sec. minimum)
Theme (per show)
Background (per
minute)
Logo (per show)
Daypart A
(4:00 P.M. to 10:59 P.M.)
Daypart B
(All Other Times)
$3.00
$1.50
$1.60
$0.76
$1.00
$0.42
$0.18
$0.16
© Joel Hirschhorn
Networks send BMI cue sheets of all the music they use, which includes scoring cues,
theme music, and songs. With the rise of performances, bonuses begin to accrue,
from 25 percent to 100 percent. All works that have had more than 25,000 logged
U.S. feature performances are paid at bonus rates.
The bonus rate has four levels:
➤ Super (S) Bonus Payment rate. This rate is
four times the base rate. It is given for those
works with the highest cumulative history
whose current quarter’s performances together constitute approximately 10 percent of
the current quarter’s radio feature performances of all BMI works.
➤ Upper-Level (U) Bonus Payment rate. This
rate of two-and-a-half times the base rate is
given to those works with the next lower cumulative history whose current quarter’s performances together constitute approximately
15 percent of the current quarter’s radio feature performances of all BMI works.
➤ Mid-Level (M) Bonus Payment rate. Two
times the base rate. Those works with the
next lower cumulative history whose current
quarter’s performances together constitute approximately 25 percent of the current quarter’s radio feature performances of all BMI works.
Hirschhorn’s Hints
Keep in mind how valuable it is
to aim for motion pictures and
television. A “film work” written
for a full-length motion picture
or a made-for-television movie
receives BMI’s Upper-Level
Bonus Payment rate if it’s utilized
as a featured work of not less
than 45 consecutive seconds or
as the main title theme or closing credits work.
➤ Entry-Level (E) Bonus Payment rate. All other works with a history of 25,000
or more performances receive one-and-a-half times the base rate.
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Part 5 ➤ Finishing Touches
Payment System
BMI Royalty payments are sent out in January, April, July, and October. Live concert
royalties are distributed every six months in April and October for pop concerts and
annually in July for classical concerts.
The payment procedures for radio, public television, and cable television are as follows:
➤ Radio. Payment is made for a local commercial radio performance based on the
license fee paid to BMI by the station broadcasting the performance. If the station’s BMI license fee is among the top 25 percent of license fees paid by radio
stations in the previous year, each performance of a popular song on that station will be paid no less than 12 cents total for all participants. Two songwriters
will receive three cents a performance (six cents if they wrote the song alone),
and the publisher will receive the other six cents. If the station’s BMI license fee
is among the bottom 75 percent of license fees paid by radio stations in the previous year, each performance of a popular song on that station will be paid at
the rate of at least 6 cents total for all participants.
➤ Public television. BMI receives compulsory license fees for performances of
music on public television broadcasting stations and distributes the fees from
this source to those songwriters, composers, and publishers whose music is
broadcast on public television stations. Rates vary from quarter to quarter, depending on the amount of the license fee collected and the base value of BMI
performances tabulated during a quarter.
➤ Cable television. BMI collects license fees from both pay cable networks (for example, HBO, Cinemax, and Showtime) and basic cable networks (for example,
MTV, USA Network, Lifetime, Discovery Network, VH1, TNN, and so on). The
list of cable licensees changes from quarter to quarter.
BMI Locations
BMI has offices in the following locations:
266
Los Angeles
8730 Sunset Boulevard,
3rd Floor West
West Hollywood, CA 90069-2211
310-659-9109
Miami
5201 Blue Lagoon Drive,
Suite 310
Miami, FL 33126
305-266-3636
Nashville
10 Music Square East
Nashville, TN 37203-4399
615-401-2000
Atlanta
PO Box 19199
Atlanta, GA 31126
404-261-5151
Chapter 23 ➤ Royalties and Guilds
New York
320 West 57th Street
New York, NY 10019-3790
212-586-2000
Puerto Rico
255 Ponce de Leon
East Wing, Suite A-262
Royal Bank Center
Hato Rey, PR 00917
787-754-6490
London
84 Harley House
Marylebone Road
London NW1 5HN, England
011-44171-486-2036
SESAC
The Society of European Stage Authors and Composers (SESAC) was founded by Paul Heinecke in
1930. SESAC, unlike BMI and ASCAP, is a for-profit
organization. The corporation’s owners, Freddie
Gershon, Ira Smith, Stephen Swid, and the merchant banking house of Allen and Company, distribute 50 percent of the firm’s income and retain
the other half.
Backstage Banter
When people thought of SESAC’s
catalogue in the past, they
thought of gospel and Christian
music only. It now includes Latin,
new age, television and film
themes, jazz, and pop.
SESAC consults music trade publications, such as
Billboard, Radio and Records, The Gavin Report, and
College Music Journal to determine how much music is being played. It also gathers information from affiliates. Its major sources of information are radio playlists, the
Billboard information network, network and cable programming service logs, regional
editions of TV Guide, program syndicators, and a census of movie performances from
TV Data.
SESAC offices have two locations:
New York
421 West 54th Street
New York, NY 10019
212-586-3450
Nashville
55 Music Square East
Nashville, TN 37203
615-320-0055
Copyright Basics
The duration of copyright protection is for the life of the author plus 70 years. It may
be extended if you have a co-author who outlives you; in that case, the copyright
lasts until he or she dies. Lyrics and melody are the items covered; rhythm and harmony by themselves are not.
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Part 5 ➤ Finishing Touches
When two or more songwriters collaborate, all the writers own the copyright equally
unless specific contractual stipulations are made to the contrary. In states with community property laws, rights to the song are divided
between the writer and his or her spouse.
Copyright Registration
Trouble Clef
When I first started taking my
songs around the Brill Building,
one publisher made an offer to
publish a song of mine for $200.
In my anxiety to be a professional and get my career going, I
almost agreed. This arrangement
is not acceptable under any circumstances. You don’t pay a
publisher to take your song.
A composer and/or lyricist should obtain the proper
form from the Copyright Office in Washington, D.C.
Send it with the filing fee ($30) and submit a copy of
the work for registration. If the song is unpublished,
one copy is sufficient; if the song is published, two
copies are expected. Although the Copyright Office
doesn’t demand them, it’s a good security measure to
send lead sheets and cassettes or CDs.
For information and forms, contact the Copyright
Office:
Copyright Office, Library of Congress
Washington, DC 20559-6000
202-707-3000
lcweb./loc.gov/copyright
Watch Out!
When you make a deal with a publisher to assign copyright of a song, be aware of the
following:
➤ Make sure there’s a reversion clause. Possibly you’ll be willing to grant a publisher two, three, or even five years of ownership, but somewhere down the line,
the song should revert back to you if no records have been attained.
➤ Don’t accept a contract that doesn’t have an organized royalty schedule, preferably payment every three months. Six months is maximum.
➤ Don’t leave the issue of “future advances” up in the air. A publisher once told
me, “I believe in a handshake arrangement. Don’t you trust me?” Questions like
that are pure intimidation. Business is business. The publisher may seem like the
most honest person in the world, but if so, why should he or she be reluctant to
verify specific terms by signing an agreement?
➤ Ask for 50 percent of the publisher’s income on all licenses the company issues.
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Chapter 23 ➤ Royalties and Guilds
The Songwriter’s Guild of America
The Songwriter’s Guild was formed in 1931 by writers Billy Rose, George M. Meyer,
and Edgar Leslie to rectify a system of payment that often omitted royalties or paid
them on only 1 percent of sheet music sold. The rate for mechanical royalty rights,
from 16.66 to 25 percent on piano rolls and records, was equally unjust.
The Guild’s Creed
Since 1976, the Guild has taken firm stands on
source licensing, home taping, derivative rights,
author’s moral rights, the deductibility of business
expenses, and compulsory license and copyright
registration fees. In their words …
“Our president and board members spend
considerable time and energy talking to the
media, lobbying, negotiating, and coordinating with other industry groups and raising
the funds needed to get the songwriter’s message through. The Guild maintains its efforts
to advance, promote, and benefit the profession of songwriting.”
Lyrical Lingo
Mechanical royalty rights
(those pertaining to sales rather
than royalties for airplay) allow
usage of your material by others
on records or CDs, as long as they
give notice to the copyright owners and pay them.
The Popular Songwriter’s Contract
The Guild’s contract provides maximum protection for songwriters assigning copyrights
to publishers, and it is not necessary to be a member of the SGA to use one. If you’re
signing any publishing contract other than the one supplied by the Songwriter’s Guild
of America, take it to an attorney. Granted, the fee may be a rough pill to swallow, but
if your song goes Top 10 and you find yourself with barely enough money for lunch,
you’ll regret not having an expert look the papers over in advance.
To obtain an SGA membership application, sample contract, or other information,
contact one of the following offices:
New York
1560 Broadway, Suite 1306
New York, NY 10036
212-786-7902
Hollywood
6430 Sunset Boulevard, Suite 705
Hollywood, CA 90028
323-462-1108
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Part 5 ➤ Finishing Touches
Copyright Act of 1976
Known as the “author’s bill,” the Copyright Act of 1976 offered writers the following:
➤ Term of copyright. Unlike the old act, which required songwriters to obtain
copyright renewal after an initial term of 28 years in order to get a second 28
years of protection, this one offers a single term: the author’s lifetime plus 70
years. The writer of any song composed after January 1, 1978 can rest assured
that his or her work will not fall into the public domain until the copyright expires.
➤ Contract termination. A contract can now be terminated as to United States
rights after a specific period of years (usually 35).
➤ Statutory mechanical rate. The new rate structure, which began January 1,
1998, is as follows:
January 1, 1998
7.1 cents
January 1, 2000
7.55 cents
January 1, 2002
8.0 cents
January 1, 2004
8.5 cents
January 1, 2006
9.1 cents
The Least You Need to Know
➤ ASCAP, BMI, and SESAC collect royalties for your airplay performances.
➤ ASCAP and BMI have showcases and other services for their writers.
➤ ASCAP and BMI pay songwriters four times a year.
➤ If you don’t use the SGA’s Popular Songwriter’s Contract, be sure to get legal
advice before you make a deal with a publisher.
➤ Publisher contracts should provide for payment every three months, six months
maximum.
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What’s
Happening in
Songwriting?
In This Chapter
➤ The Internet miracle
➤ The ups and downs of Napster
➤ Ways to make the Internet work for you
➤ What the Grammys reveal about songwriting’s future
When rock came in, many pop songwriters dropped out. When synthesizers and sequencers made their initial impact, nervous devotees of the acoustic world let their
careers fall apart. Now the Web site world has taken over, and the same resistance is
being expressed.
Don’t be part of the group that retreats at the first sign of change; there are always
those who protest, “It’s a fad.” In motion pictures, talkies were pronounced a passing
fad, too. History keeps proving that some fads have a way of sticking around. If you
look at the Web in a positive light, you’ll find an amazing new world that can further
your career.
To keep on top of what’s happening in songwriting, study the songs that are nominated for and win Grammy awards. They clearly spell out what top producers, artists,
and executives like and want to hear, but they do more than exemplify current public
taste. The Grammys tell the observant songwriter what musical and rhythmic trends
are on the way.
Part 5 ➤ Finishing Touches
The Good New Days
Are you one of those people who asks, “Why not go back to the good old days, when
times were simple?” The “good old days” is an illusion; times were never simple, love
was never without problems, high school was frequently torture, and being part of a
teen rock band posed as many problems as being a professional on a session does
later on. Doing a first demo certainly causes novices as much anxiety as professionals
have when they’re arranging for a full CD.
If you’re uncomfortable with computer technology or
have lingering doubts about whether the Web is a
good thing, try to put your feelings aside and read on.
This chapter is full of information about the many
ways the Web can help songwriters, beginning with
how it changed composer Steve Schalchlin’s life.
Hirschhorn’s Hints
Get a laptop and immediately
adopt it as a friend, your writing
alter ego. You can write in the
car, in an airplane, or on vacation. Carry a spare battery.
Steve Schalchlin’s
Internet Miracle
Perhaps the most inspiring and instructive story the
Web has ever produced centers on composer Steve
Schalchlin. He wrote the songs for a Broadway musical,
The Last Session, which drew raves across the country.
In 1996, before the success of The Last Session, Steve had been diagnosed with AIDS
and told he had very little time to live. He began an online diary as a good-bye letter
to the world, and he channeled all his feelings into The Last Session, which he cowrote with life partner Jim Brochu. It told the tale of a songwriter who plans to cut
his final album and then commit suicide. This story reflected Steve’s mindset, but he
defied all medical authorities and began to recover, aided by experimental medicines
and the surging creative drive to share his dramatic experiences with the world.
According to Steve …
“The biggest hurdle for any new theatrical production, especially in a crowded
market like New York City, is attracting publicity. When our musical The Last
Session debuted off-Broadway in 1997, it was during the busiest theatrical season
in 25 years. Hundreds of new works—The Lion King and Ragtime among them—
were jostling for attention.
“Yet The Last Session landed an impossible-to-obtain full-page story in The Sunday
New York Times “Arts and Leisure” section, became the world’s first major production to be broadcast over the Net, and got me an invitation to speak at Harvard
University. The Internet helped our production complete a successful New York
run with subsequent productions all over the country, including a Los Angeles
production that garnered Best Musical, Best Book, and Best Music and Lyrics
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awards from the L.A. Drama Critics’ Circle,
Backstage West Garland Awards, and many
others.”
The AIDS Crisis and the Internet
When Steve began his Web site in March of 1996,
most of the people he knew didn’t even have
e-mail addresses, and the word Internet was met
with a puzzled response. But he was immediately
intrigued with the idea of having a page that could
be accessed by anyone on earth.
“The AIDS turned deadly at this time,” Steve recalls.
His decision was to keep an AIDS diary online. He
confided all his pain and comfort on the Internet.
One month after going online with the Steve
Schalchlin Survival Site, www.bonusround.com,
he received an e-mail naming it “Cool Site of the
Day.” His hit counter suddenly registered in the
thousands. E-mails flooded in from all over the
world from students, doctors, nurses, other patients
with various diseases, teachers, and from theater enthusiasts who had become deeply involved in his
struggle and in the positive way he chose to battle
the disease.
“But I was dying,” Steve said. Everything turned
around for him when he was given a new, experimental drug called Crixivan:
“Diary readers went from mourning my death
to celebrating with me. I changed the name of
the site to Living in the Bonus Round. I
started dividing the diary into chapters and
books because what had been the journal of a
man dying was now a journal of a man coming back from the grave, relearning how to
live, and making miracles happen.”
Backstage Banter
In 2000, another show, Bare,
gained increased awareness
through e-mail and chat groups.
Some of the show’s songs were
being played on the Web site
www.barethemusical.com, and
Napster featured a bootleg version of the score.
Backstage Banter
Steve was offered a chance to
do a small workshop production
in Los Angeles. The Internet
changed his life again when a
diary reader from El Paso named
Don Kirkpatrick came to see the
show and contributed $10,000
for a staged reading in New
York. This reading turned into
an off-off Broadway production
down on 29th Street at the
Currican Theatre.
An online arts reporter for The New York Times, Matt Mirapaul, had been monitoring
Steve’s site, looking for a story angle. He had become a fan and an admirer based
solely on the Internet site without hearing one note of Steve’s music. When the show
was in rehersal, Mirapaul sent a photographer, saw the production, and wrote a flattering feature online in his arts@large column at nytimes.com, comparing it to Rent
and Angels in America.
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More Online Miracles
“The diary affected people in New York and across the country,” says Steve. “Today we
have a fanbase that stretches across the country. I created e-mail lists at egroups.com
(all free), where fans of the musical and readers of the diary interact with each other.
I have stayed involved in all the discussions, and when new people stumble onto the
site, I direct them to the lists where they become a part of the community.”
“Example: A producer at a theater in Baltimore wrote me and said they were interested in a small production of The Last Session. So I was able to encourage him to join
the fan list where he promoted his production and interacted with Last Session fans.
When he started his local version of the show, we organized a weekend where fans
flew in from all over the country and supported it.”
Schalchlin says, “The Internet allows me freedom to write anything I want, stay involved with my fanbase, promote new works, and support local productions by bringing much needed publicity to cash-starved theaters.”
Hirschhorn’s Hints
Steve’s story should open your mind to the vast possibilities stemming from the Internet.
Songwriting communities are being created all over the Internet on Web sites, chat rooms,
e-mail lists, IRC, and newsgroups. The Internet is a communication device that gives the
songwriter more power than ever before in history. An additional measure of the Internet’s
influence comes from an English instructor in Norfolk, Virginia, who says, “[The Steve
Schalchlin diary’s] message has, to put it bluntly, made me want to be a better person.”
As Steve concludes …
“At one point in my life, I was managing director of the National Academy of
Songwriters, where my job was to help young or aspiring writers break into the
business. The one thing I learned was that the ones who really made it were the
ones who integrated their art into every facet of their lives.”
Napster
Napster offers people the chance to trade copyrighted music without having to pay
for it. This controversial music miracle (or monster, depending on your point of view)
was created by 19-year-old Shawn Fanning.
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Fanning’s background conforms to Hollywood legend. Raised in Brockton, Massachusetts, he lived on welfare and had no biological father at home. Fortunately,
John Fanning, his loving uncle, bought Shawn a computer when he was a high
school sophomore and hired him as an intern during summer vacations. Shawn
learned how to program computers while working at NetGames, John Fanning’s
online-gaming site.
As soon as Shawn Fanning began work on the Napster software, he and his uncle saw
the far-reaching possibilities. In January 1999, Shawn left college to give Napster his
complete attention. He alerted his friends in chat rooms, and they were hooked.
Fund-Raising
Yosi Amram, a Harvard University MBA, was the first Napster investor, contributing
$250,000; and $100,000 came afterward from tech entrepreneur Bill Bales. Bales was
hired as vice president of business development. When students across the country
developed a Napster obsession, the funders’ faith in the enterprise was justified. It rapidly passed the 1 million download mark, and many colleges banned it. At Grinnell
College in Iowa, networking specialist Michael Pifer complained that Napster was eating up all available bandwidth.
The inevitable RIAA (Recording Industry of America) lawsuit came on December 7,
2000. Heavy metal stars Metallica also sued for copyright infringement. John Fanning
expected a positive verdict for his company and was horrified when the U.S. District
Court in San Francisco ruled against him, ordering all copyright-infringing musical
content removed.
The Future of Music Downloading
Just when it looked as though Napster was down for the count, it formed an alliance
with Bertelsmann, a globally formidable company as well as the owner of BMG music.
As a representative says, “Over time, and as we gain industry support, we’ll work to
transform Napster into a membership-based service that preserves the Napster experience. There will always be a free, promotional file-sharing element to Napster.”
Bertelsmann and Napster recognize the importance of working with record labels,
songwriters, artists, and music publishers. The involvement of Bertelsmann should
encourage this dialogue. Napster insists that it wants to pay artists fairly for the use of
their creative efforts. At the same time, it also claims that free service will be continued, although it adds …
“For a small membership fee, we feel that we can facilitate an enhanced service
that you’ll find even more valuable and that will allow us to generate revenues
to be able to make payments to artists and songwriters for music files that our
users share with each other.”
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Backstage Banter
Napster claims that it has been searching for a system that compensates artists when their
music is shared over the Internet. It found an ally in Bertelsmann, the first publisher to
market books directly to people in addition to selling them in bookstores. At present,
Napster remains independent. Bertelsmann gave the company a loan and was then permitted to buy future shares in the company.
According to John and Shawn Fanning:
“We will be working with other major labels, music publishers, independent labels, artists, songwriters, and other interested parties to gain acceptance for our
membership-based service, and we will be developing a technology that will enable us to evolve in that direction.”
One way to co-exist with music companies is to sell a certain amount of shares to
record labels and split the advertising, sponsorship, and subscription profits. In any
case, as one executive says, “The grassroots emotional response to Napster can’t be
stopped.”
Despite all efforts to repress downloading music from the Web, it seems unlikely that
anything can permanently stop it. The same sort of controversy resulted when videos
first hit the scene, and companies feared that the consumers’ ability to tape shows off
their televisions would cut into profits and violate copyright laws. In the end, companies and proponents of Web sites supplying free music will be forced to come to
terms and work out an arrangement that is mutually beneficial to them and to the
songwriter. It won’t be easy, however. As of February 2001, the Ninth Circuit Court of
Appeals had ruled against Napster, sabotaging the efforts of John and Shawn Fanning
to keep the major labels from shutting it down. Napster insists that its users are not
copyright infringers, and says it intends to continue discussions with record labels.
Shawn Fanning is developing a Napster service that would offer additional benefits to
members of the community and, more important, make payments to artists.
Working the Internet
When I started out on my tentative, cautious Internet journey, I asked myself what
career opportunities the Web offered me. At the time, I had written a book, Titanic
Adventure, based on my wife’s experience as the first woman in history to lead a
seagoing expedition and bring up artifacts from the legendary ship. Just as someone
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would promote a song or a musical, I wanted to promote the book; the same principles apply.
In searching the Internet, I discovered hundreds of Web sites devoted to the Titanic. I
e-mailed most of these people and developed friendships with them. Our mutual fascination with the Titanic cemented the bonds, and before long my book sales had
tripled.
But He’s Too Important!
Making cold calls, especially to number one producers or CEOs of major corporations,
is tough. But if you write to the same individuals on the Internet, the prospect seems
less threatening. You’re more philosophical if they don’t respond; the rejection isn’t
as direct or personal.
Through the Internet, I’ve had the privilege of forming valued relationships with film
and television scorer Lee Holdridge and novelist Pat Conroy, among others. After a
while on the Internet, you’ll begin to feel that everybody is one large family, and
most of them can be contacted.
Tonos
Three musical giants have pointed out the incalculable value of the Web with their
new songwriter’s site, Tonos. Tonos supplies tremendous opportunities to writers. Its
purpose is to “seek out undiscovered talent.” It defines itself as “a global community
of musicians within every style and level of accomplishment.”
The towering trio who launched Tonos are Carole Bayer Sager, lyricist for number-one
smashes with Marvin Hamlisch, Burt Bacharach, and Leo Sayer; David Foster, one of the
best and most successful producers in the history of the music business; and Kenneth
“Babyface” Edmonds, who has written 95 hits.
Carole Bayer Sager described to me her vision and overall aspirations for Tonos this way:
“What David, Kenny, and I are attempting to do is change the way music can be
created, and the way people can be discovered. Most important is changing how
people can collaborate with each other, because the Internet is tearing down all
geographic boundaries.
“Let’s say someone has written a song and has a keyboard, but now he or she
wants to find a producer for that song. The person might search through our
database to find a vocalist who sounds like Brandy, say, or Stevie Wonder.
Whatever this writer is looking for, we have a community that puts up samples
of what their work sounds like. The writer can actively search for a project to
join, or wait for someone to spot his or her sample and call to offer a project.
“We have people collaborating from everywhere. We want to give people access
to talent that never gets to hear them. If I get a song in the mail, all of us at
Tonos can listen to it, and all the hitmakers at Tonos can listen. We can also
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collaborate. Carole King and I put up a lyric and thousands of people wrote
tunes. One girl wrote a tune that was so good that Kenny is recording it with
Faith Hill! We give people an opportunity to collaborate with us, and each other!
“Sometimes we’ll put up a song which is half complete, and have people take a
shot at it. Sometimes we’ll put up a track. Or put up our hits and have people
sing to them. So it’s constantly allowing people to interact, and giving them the
tools. To do that, on the Internet—that’s what the Internet is all about. A giant
swap meet online. it’s very empowering to mentor people, give them advice, so
they can either learn keyboard or guitar on the site. A community that’s been
formed around music.
“I found a girl on Tonos, and I’m writing with her. We’re going into the studio,
and I’m delighted.”
So bring up www.tonos.com and become part of what Carole calls “a place for new
voices, new artists, new creators—a new frontier.”
Two Tonos projects are …
➤ Road to Fame Challenge. Singers are invited to submit their demos. One talented vocalist will win an all-expenses-paid trip to Los Angeles, and a chance
when he or she arrives to do a demo at Capitol Recording and meet an A&R executive at a major record label. This vocalist will also receive round-trip airfare
and three nights of hotel accommodations.
➤ Demo Derby. A weekly Web site showcase platform of upcoming talent that
hasn’t been signed to a record label. The Demo Derby features new and developing artists who the Tonos A&R team deems exciting and worthy of inclusion.
As Tonos puts it, “Want to work with one of our hitmakers? Join one of our Hitmaker
projects and add your track to one created by some of the biggest names in the music
industry.”
Record Labels
Every record label has different requirements, and you can study these requirements
on the Web. Familiarize yourself with the record labels’ needs, their personnel, and
the artists on their rosters. Billboard at www.billboard.com is the perfect place to
begin, but it’s only the tip of the iceberg.
Workshops
There are two ways to learn engineering and technology in a studio: You can experiment and feel your way by studying manuals and trying out things until you begin
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to comprehend the mysteries of your equipment.
Or you can study with experts. A multitude of studio engineering and technology programs is available. Surf the Web and evaluate them to see which
ones meet your special requirements.
Publishers
Hirschhorn’s Hints
You’ll want to put together a list of all the best,
most active publishers, and the Internet is the
ideal place to start. Once you compile your list of
names from the Web, your immediate priority will
be to separate the ones who only promote full catalogues they’ve already acquired, such as a catalogue by Rodgers and Hammerstein or The Beatles,
from those who are eager to take on new material
and new songwriters.
Through the Internet, you have a
better chance to understand and
market your material than songwriters ever did in the past.
Armed with this information, you
won’t make the kind of mistake
I did as a newcomer by sending a
Bobby Vinton–type ballad to
Atlantic Records—not exactly
their type of thing.
The Importance of History
As a songwriter, you want to hear every conceivable kind of music. Just because your
preference is R&B or pop doesn’t mean you should close your mind to information
about other musical harmonies and beats.
Hirschhorn’s Hints
Listening is just one way to internalize music. Carefully read all the Web sites that give
musical background and history about the giants in each field. Learn what drove them to
excel in their chosen areas and what their music means to them. From blues legend Taj
Mahal to Jimmy Webb, Savage Garden to Sisqo, biographies of fellow composers and lyricists always prove to be an inspiration. Read about Jewish music, Irish music, jazz, blues,
and classical music. Search for stories, interviews, and historical information.
Whenever I’m not working, I’m reading about other writers and identifying with their
dreams and aspirations. The Internet makes me feel I’m part of a huge, artistic fraternity, and when I pull up stories about other people in the music field, it stimulates my
own creativity, gives me new ideas, and gets me writing.
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The Simon Syndrome
Paul Simon was a folk-oriented Jewish boy from Queens, New York. Yet he opened his
mind and heart to African rhythms and influences with the groundbreaking Graceland
album. He didn’t simply say, “My specialty is folk rock” and slam the door on awareness of other musical styles. Bob Dylan wasn’t playing gospel music when he first appeared in Greenwich Village, but think of the gospel flavor that distinguished “Slow
Train Comin’.”
Incorporating other styles believably doesn’t come only from using your ear; it’s a
total commitment of mind and emotion as well. You must absorb other worlds both
mentally and psychologically in order to recapture their flavor with conviction.
Other Opinions
Look no further than the Web when you want to know what appeals to others and to
understand the relative merits of what’s being done. Whether it’s general music criticism (rec.music.reviews, alt.cd-rom.reviews) or extensive Billboard coverage, the Internet
fills you in on contemporary music culture.
Lyricists can always benefit by reading and studying the words of others. If you want
to practice writing tunes, take words from already existing tunes and write your own
melodies. See if you can make the lyrics scan as comfortably as the composers of the
original tunes did.
Looking Ahead
When history books refer to the golden age of songwriting, they usually mean the period before 1950. Few will argue that Richard Rodgers, Larry Hart, George Gershwin,
Cole Porter, E. Y. Harburg, Harold Arlen, Oscar Hammerstein, and Jerome Kern wrote
immortal melodies and lyrics. But golden ages take different forms. If diversity is a
definition of a creatively rich time, the twenty-first century is a golden age that offers
new, unprecedented opportunities for songwriters.
When I first started out as a Brill Building composer, the avenues for songwriters were
sharply divided. Pop writers didn’t go to Nashville, and if they did, they were looked
upon with suspicion. R&B writers rarely crossed onto the pop charts. Country writers
stayed on the country charts; a crossover to the Hot 100 was almost impossible unless
the song was redone with a pop star. Today there are no hard-and-fast lines separating songs, artists, or types of material.
Reading the Grammy Tea Leaves
A study of various Grammy categories shows how many areas a songwriter can venture into. For a broad overview of the whole of music, listen to every song on the following lists. It’s the best possible way to keep up with a market that’s constantly
changing, and to identify future trends.
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Song of the Year
Song of the Year is a broad category that embraces
all genres. The only requirement is quality. A sample list of titles and authors demonstrates how
open, all-embracing, and democratic the category
is. These songs are not the Grammy nominees;
they’re my own choices of representative samples
of different moods and styles.
“After Tonight” by Mariah Carey, David
Foster, and Diane Warren
“Arms of Jesus” by Clay Crosse and Regie
Hamm
Hirschhorn’s Hints
You’ll find several sites that
provide lyrics for your study
and enjoyment. Check out
alt.music.lyrics. After you display
or print the lyrics, go over them
line by line.
“Asi Quiero Vivir” by Rodeundo Lima
“Been There” by Clint Black and Steve Wariner
“Boyz-N-the Hood” by O’Shea Jackson, Eric Wright, and Andre Young
“Friends Never Say Goodbye” by Elton John and Tim Rice
“Our Affair” by Carly Simon
The Freelance Writer’s Heroine
Diane Warren pulls off miracles, and most of the time she does it without co-writers.
In 2000 Warren again demonstrated that a freelance songwriter can dominate without singing or producing. She had the following songs in contention:
“After Tonight” (with David Foster and
Mariah Carey)
“Can I Come Over?”
“Can’t Fight the Moonlight”
“Can’t Take That Away” (with Mariah Carey)
“Could I Have This Kiss Forever?”
“Give Me You”
“I Learned from the Best”
“I Turn to You”
“I Want You To”
“I’ll Be”
Backstage Banter
Winning a Grammy has the same
positive effect on songs that
Oscars have on movies. Bob
Dylan’s album, Time Out of
Mind, shot from 122 to 27 on
the charts after it won a Grammy
award in 1997.
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“Need to Be Next to You”
“Painted on My Heart”
“Please Remember”
“Por Siempre Tu”
“Spanish Guitar”
Best Rock Song
For those who write with a harder, tougher edge, this category contains rock, hard
rock, and metal songs such as:
“Again” by Lenny Kravitz
“Desperation” by Rick Denzien
“Girl from the Gutter” by Robert Hawes, Sascha
Akonietzko, and Tim Skold
Hirschhorn’s Hints
When writing a lyric, make sure
that your hero or heroine is in
the grip of a powerful emotion.
As Diane Warren puts it, “I’m always attracted to songs with
strong characters.”
“Hell on High Heels” by Mick Mars, Vince Neil,
and Nikki Sixx
“Last Resort” by Papa Roach
“Sour Girl” by Dean DeLeo and Scott Weiland
“Where Did You Go?” by Full Devil Jacket and
Malcolm Springer
Best R&B Song
The following list features a sampling of the best new R&B:
“Coming Back Home” by Allstar, Joel Campbell, Joe Thomas, and BeBe Winans
“Dance with Me” Richard Adler, Debelah Morgan, Giloh Morgan, and Jerry Ross
“He Wasn’t Man Enough” by Lashawn Daniels, Fred Jerkins III, Rodney Jerkins,
and Harvey Mason Jr.
“Incomplete” by Anthony Crawford and Montell Jordan
“Side by Side” by Lamont Dozier and Spencer Proffer
“Thank You in Advance” by Shep Crawford
“Try Again” by S. Garrett and T. Mosley
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Best Country Song
Give a listen to these hot country sounds:
“Breathe” by Stephanie Bentley and Holly
Lamar
“Feels Like Love” by Vince Gill
“I Hope You Dance” by Mark D. Sanders and
Tia Sillers
“If I Should Fall Behind” by Bruce
Springsteen
“Kiss This” by Philip Douglas, Aaron Tippin,
and Thea Tippin
“Prayin’ for Daylight” by Steve Bogard and
Rick Giles
“She’s More” by Rob Crosby and Liz Hengber
“We Danced” by Chris DuBois and Brad
Paisley
Trouble Clef
Don’t ever say to yourself, “I’m
just a country writer, or an R&B
writer” or any other kind of
writer. You’re a songwriter. Bruce
Springsteen isn’t known as a
country composer, yet he wrote
“If I Should Fall Behind,” which
was placed in the Grammy country category.
Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television,
or Other Visual Media
From Elton John to Bob Dylan, the following movie songs show how diverse motion
picture songs are today:
“Don’t Say You Love Me” (from Pokémon: The First Movie) by Jimmy Bralower,
Marit Larsen, Marion Ravn, and Peter Zizzo
“A Fool in Love” (from Meet the Parents) by Randy Newman
“Friends Never Say Goodbye” (from Elton John’s The Road to El Dorado) by Elton
John and Tim Rice
“I Need You” (from Jesus, the epic mini-series) by Ty Lacy and Dennis Matkosky
“Things Have Changed” (from Wonder Boys) by Bob Dylan
“When She Loved Me” (from Toy Story 2) by Randy Newman
“Yours Forever” (from The Perfect Storm) by George Green, James Horner, and
John Mellencamp
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Other Categories
The Grammys also honor the best dance recordings, which are albums filled with
songs that sweep people out of their chairs and onto the dance floor. Some of the
best in 2001, by title and performer: “You Wanna Be a Star” (Alisha), “When I Get
Close to You” (Jocelyn Enriquez), “Love Is the Healer” (Donna Summer), and
“Jumbo” (Underworld).
You can write for albums whether they’re Latin jazz, rock gospel, pop/contemporary
gospel, Latin pop, merengue, salsa, blues, contemporary folk, Native American music,
world music, instrumentals, or even polka albums!
Grammys 2001
The Grammy winners for 2001 are an exciting rhythmic and melodic mixture, well
worth studying:
➤ Song of the Year: “Beautiful Day” by U2, sung by U2
➤ Rock Song: “With Arms Wide Open” by Scott Stapp and Mark Tremonti, sung
by Creed
➤ R&B Song: “Say My Name” by LaShawn Daniels, Fred Jerkins III, Rodney
Jerkins, Beyonce Knowles, LeToya Luckett, LaTavia Roberson, and Kelendria
Rowland; sung by Destiny’s Child
➤ Country Song: “I Hope You Dance” by Mark D. Sanders and Tia Sillers, sung by
Lee Ann Womack
Common Denominators
The exciting array of alternatives is enough to make a songwriter dizzy, but as different as these alternatives appear, they still demand the same rules of craftsmanship:
➤ An unforgettable hook
➤ A memorable title
➤ A dynamite idea
➤ Powerful visual imagery
➤ A vivid beat
➤ An interesting chord progression
The future promises more and more technological innovations, such as thousands of
new sounds and additional tracks (the mind boggles at how many tracks studios will
eventually offer). But remember: State-of-the-art isn’t the same as art! You can have
all the technology at your fingertips, but it means little if you can’t come up with an
infectious tune and a lyric that connects emotionally with your listener.
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Chapter 24 ➤ What’s Happening in Songwriting?
You can have the biggest star in the country sing your song, but it won’t reach the
Top 10 unless the song has most of the hit ingredients in the preceding list. I’ve had
superstars sing my songs, and they’ve languished at Number 50, and I’ve also seen
my other tunes reach number one with newcomers.
There’s a truism about motion picture scores: A great score will improve a bad movie,
but it won’t save it. Never rationalize that great productions, fine arrangements, and
brilliant vocals will turn your tune into a hit. When you think of the word hit, think
of the following words:
H
Hook
I
Idea
T
Title
Say the word “hit” over and over again, and then keep reminding yourself what the
letters stand for. Go to sleep repeating, “Hook, idea, title,” followed by “hit.” Your
songwriting will improve dramatically within two weeks. Within four weeks, you’ll
have commerciality permanently embedded in your psyche.
Funkadelic’s George Clinton once proclaimed, “Funk is the future.” Then rock critic
Jon Landau told the world, “I’ve seen rock and roll’s future, and its name is Bruce
Springsteen.” But the future isn’t any one thing; it’s a constant flow of evolution and
change. There will always be some new, unexpected future, and that future could be
you.
The Least You Need to Know
➤ You can use the Web to promote songs and shows.
➤ You can find publishers, producers, and potential partners on the Internet.
➤ The Web has hundreds of music-oriented sites.
➤ The way to keep on top of the market and gain a broad overview is to listen
to Grammy nominees and winners in all genres.
285
Appendix A
Glossary
Singing without instrumental accompaniment.
a cappella
A&R (artists and repertoire) director
artists and chooses songs for them.
acoustic instrument
administration
Record company executive who signs new
An instrument that is neither amplified nor electronic.
Handling of financial and contractual matters relating to songs.
Money paid up front to writers and later deducted from their royalties.
advance
AFM (American Federation of Musicians)
AFTRA
AGAC
Union for musicians and arrangers.
American Federation of Television and Radio Artists.
American Guild of Authors and Composers.
Group of words in which the first letter is the same.
alliteration
alternative music
techno, and punk.
Music that goes against the mainstream, including grunge,
analog recording
particles.
Recording medium in which the sound is made up of magnetic
arrhythmic
Music without rhythm or rhythmic change.
ASCAP (American Society of Authors, Composers, and Publishers)
societies responsible for collecting royalties from airplay.
atonality
augmented
Music without a key or tonal center.
Raising the tone half a step.
One of three
Appendix A
bitonality Music composed in two separate keys that are played simultaneously,
which often produces a dissonant, jarring effect.
Flatted thirds, fifths, sixths, or sevenths that project a distinctive blues
blue notes
sound.
BMI (Broadcast Music, Inc.)
Society that collects royalties for airplay.
bridge
Section that follows the hook. Also known as the release.
chord
Three tones or more struck at the same time.
Repeated section of a song.
chorus
Contemporary hit radio.
CHR
chromatic scale
A scale built totally on half steps.
Device that limits sound and keeps it more consistent and even.
compressor
Ownership of publishing rights to a song by two or more individuals.
co-publish
copyist Individual who copies and often transposes a musical score. This work is
also known as music preparation.
copyright Protecting your work from being stolen by registering it with the U.S.
Copyright Office.
cover record
The release of a re-recorded song.
Airplay garnered for a record in two or more markets.
crossover
cue Musical segment written by composer or orchestrator to back action or dialogue
sequences in film, television, or videos.
Digital audio tape.
DAT
digital recording
numerical value.
diminished
engineer
Person skilled at operating studio equipment for record or film sessions.
enharmonic
and G-flat.
flat
Lower a note a half step.
Electronic mail.
e-mail
fader
Two same-sounding notes with different names, for example, F-sharp
Control used to alter sound levels.
Lowering of a note by a half step.
Harry Fox Agency
headset
288
Recording medium in which the sound source is turned into a
Organization that specializes in collecting mechanical royalties.
Earphones.
Glossary
A musical genre that blends R&B, disco, and rap.
hip-hop
hook A catchy, repetitive section of a song, which is generally required if the song
is to become a hit.
Dance music incorporating samples from other tunes.
house
Distance between two tones.
interval
A composer’s self-written sheet music that includes the tune, lyrics, and
lead sheet
chords.
Blank sections of tape separating one song from another.
leader
Device that minimizes peaks of sound.
limiter
manager
Person who supervises the development of a performer’s career.
Completed song pressed into a record.
master
mechanical royalties
Earnings from CD and cassette sales.
mix Balancing and blending separate tracks into one or two channels and highlighting the instrumental and vocal parts for dramatic effect.
modulation
MP3
Changing from one key to another.
Small file format designed to store audio files on a computer.
music library A library of canned music, available to film, television, radio, and
commercial producers for use in their shows.
music publisher Individual or company that specializes in acquiring commercial
songs and placing them with artists or on film and television. The publisher collects
royalties generated by its catalogue of songs.
National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences.
NARAS
NAS
National Academy of Songwriters.
new country music
Interval between the first and eighth note of the diatonic scale.
octave
overdub
ing.
pitch
Country with strong rock influences.
Recording of vocal or instrumental parts onto a basic multi-track record-
Presenting your material to a publisher, a producer, or an artist.
polyrhythm
Two rhythmic patterns played at the same time.
producer Individual who handles all aspects of a project: choosing the artist, finding the material, supervising the recording, and mixing the final product.
professional manager Staff member of a publishing firm who evaluates and acquires material and then promotes it to producers, artists, and film and television
companies.
289
Appendix A
Person who decides which records will be added to a radio sta-
program director
tion’s playlist.
public domain
Works that are not copyrighted or whose copyrights have lapsed.
residuals Compensation to singers and musicians for their participation in a television show or a commercial.
rate
Agreed-upon royalty percentage.
RIAA
Recording Industry Association of America.
scale
Minimum union wage.
self-contained artist
One who writes his or her own songs.
SESAC (Society of European Stage Authors and Composers) Like BMI and ASCAP,
a performing rights organization that collects airplay royalties for writers and publishers.
SFX
Sound effects.
SGA
Songwriter’s Guild of America.
sharp
Raising of a note by a half step.
SOCAN (Society of Composers, Authors, and Music Publishers of Canada)
Performing rights organization that collects Canadian airplay royalties.
soundtrack
and music.
Audio portion of a motion picture or videotape that includes narration
split publishing
publishers.
storyboard
Division of publishing that can encompass two, three, or more
Sketches illustrating scenes for film, television, or video.
synchronization
film.
Timing procedure of a musical soundtrack to action on video or
synthesizer Electronic instrument that can emulate any orchestral sound and that
contains unusual sounds of its own.
tonic
The first note of a scale.
trade magazines
up-front payment
urban
verse
290
Publications that deal with the music industry.
Money given before a job is completed.
Dance, rap, and R&B.
First portion of a song, prior to the hook.
Appendix B
Resources
Music Publications of Special Interest
American Songwriter
1009 17th Avenue South
Nashville, TN 37212-2201
1-800-739-8712
R & R (Radio & Records)
10100 Santa Monica Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90067
310-553-4330
Billboard
5505 Wilshire Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90036
323-525-2300
Rolling Stone
5750 Wilshire Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90036
323-930-3300
Music Connection
4731 Laurel Canyon Boulevard
North Hollywood, CA 91607
818-755-0101
Songwriter’s Market
F & W Publications
1507 Dana Avenue
Cincinnati, OH 45207
1-800-289-0963
Music Magazine
49 Music Square West
Nashville, TN 37203
615-321-9160
Motion Picture Publications
Daily Variety (New York)
245 West 17th Street
New York, NY 10011
323-965-4476
Daily Variety (Los Angeles)
5700 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 120
Los Angeles, CA 90036
323-857-6600
Appendix B
The Hollywood Reporter
5055 Wilshire Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90036-4396
323-525-2000
The Hollywood Reporter Blu-Book
Directory
5055 Wilshire Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90036
323-525-2150
Organizations
Academy of Country Music
6255 West Sunset Boulevard #923
Hollywood, CA 90028
323-462-2351
Broadway on Sunset
10800 Hesby, Suite 9
North Hollywood, CA 91601
818-508-9270
This organization promotes country
music, and its membership includes
songwriters, producers, recording
artists, and other participants in the
music industry.
This organization offers composers the
opportunity to test their musical theater material in front of audiences.
Workshops, lectures, interviews with
successful writers, and consultation
services are included.
American Federation of Musicians
(AFM)
7080 Hollywood Boulevard, Suite 1020
Los Angeles, CA 90028
323-461-3441
This union protects musicians by establishing fair wage scales and working
conditions.
American Federation of Television
and Radio Artists (AFTRA)
260 Madison Avenue
New York, NY 10016
212-532-0800
This union was established to protect
announcers, narrators, and vocalists.
The Dramatists Guild, Inc.
1501 Broadway, Suite 701
New York, NY 10036
212-391-8384
This organization protects composers,
lyricists, and playwrights.
Gospel Music Association (GMA)
1205 Division Street
Nashville, TN 37203
615-242-0303
This organization is for gospel publishers, writers, and recording or performing artists.
American Society of Composers,
Authors and Publishers (ASCAP)
www.ascap.com
The Harry Fox Agency, Inc.
711 3rd Avenue
New York, NY 10017
212-370-5330
Complete contact information for
ASCAP is in Chapter 23, “Royalties
and Guilds.”
This agency protects publishers by collecting mechanical royalties and auditing record labels.
Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI)
www.bmi.com
Complete contact information for BMI
is in Chapter 23.
292
Resources
Nashville Songwriters Association,
International (NSAI)
1701 West End Avenue, 3rd Floor
Nashville, TN 37203
615-256-3354
National Association of Music
Merchants (NAMM)
5790 Armada Drive
Carlsbad, CA 92008
760-438-8001
This organization promotes songwriters worldwide.
This organization promotes the music
products industry.
National Academy of Popular Music
(NAPM)
330 West 58th Street, Suite 411
New York, NY 10019-1827
212-957-9230
National Association of Recording
Merchandisers (NARM)
9 Eves Drive, Suite 120
Marlton, NJ 08053
609-596-2221
This organization includes songwriters,
producers, publishers, and record executives.
This organization specializes in the interests of distributors, software suppliers, and retailers.
National Academy of Recording Arts
and Sciences (NARAS)
3402 Pico Boulevard
Santa Monica, CA 90405
310-392-3777
National Music Publishers
Association (NMPA)
711 3rd Avenue
New York, NY 10017
212-370-5330
Everyone involved in making records,
including songwriters, producers,
singers, musicians, and recording engineers, belongs to this organization.
This organization offers workshops and
newsletters to its publisher members.
National Academy of Songwriters
(NAS)
6430 Hollywood Boulevard, Suite 705
Hollywood, CA 90028
323-462-1108
This songwriter protection organization offers evaluation of material, a tip
sheet for song placement, workshops,
and a collaborator network.
National Association of
Composers/USA
PO Box 49256
Los Angeles, CA 90049
310-541-8213
This society promotes and publicizes
songwriters.
Pacific Northwest Songwriters
Association
PO Box 98564
Seattle, WA 98198
206-824-1568
This organization offers monthly
workshops, a quarterly newsletter, and
contact with producers, publishers,
recording artists, and labels.
Recording Industry Association of
America, Inc. (RIAA)
1330 Connecticut Avenue, NW,
Suite 300
Washington, DC 20036
202-775-0101
This nonprofit organization is
dedicated to promoting the interests
of record labels.
293
Appendix B
SESAC (Society of European Stage
Authors and Composers)
421 West 54th Street
New York, NY 10019
212-586-3450
One of three organizations (along with
BMI and ASCAP) that log airplay internationally for writers and publishers.
Southern Songwriters Guild, Inc.
PO Box 52656
Shreveport, LA 71136-2656
318-798-1122
This organization holds a “Song of the
Year” contest, and its goal is to promote the craft of songwriting.
Songwriter’s Guild of America (SGA)
1560 Broadway, Suite 1306
New York, NY 10036
212-768-7902
Toronto Musicians’ Association
101 Thorncliffe Park Drive
Toronto, Ontario M4H 1M2
Canada
416-421-1020
This organization protects songwriters
in their dealings with publishers and
offers a fair, up-to-date contract.
You must be a Canadian citizen or
show proof of immigrant status to join
this organization.
Music Publishers
Almo Music Corp.
360 North La Cienega Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90048
310-289-3080
Big Fish Music Publishing Group
11927 Magnolia Boulevard, #3
North Hollywood, CA 91607
818-984-0377
BMG Music Publishing
1540 Broadway, 39th Floor
New York, NY 10036-4263
212-930-4000
Chrysalis Music
8500 Melrose Avenue, Suite 207
Los Angeles, CA 90069
310-652-0066
Disney Music Publishing
500 South Buena Vista Street
Burbank, CA 91521-6182
818-569-3228
DreamWorks SKG Music Publishing
9268 West 3rd Street
Beverly Hills, CA 90210
310-234-7700
294
EMI Music Publishing
1290 Avenue of the Americas,
42nd Floor
New York, NY 10104
212-830-2000
Famous Music Publishing
Companies
10635 Santa Monica Boulevard,
Suite 300
Los Angeles, CA 90025
310-441-1300
Fricon Music Company
11 Music Square East, Suite 301
Nashville, TN 37203
615-826-2288
Sellwood Publishing
170 North Maple
Fresno, CA 93702
559-255-1717
Sony Music Publishing
550 Madison Avenue, 18th Floor
New York, NY 10022
212-833-4729
Resources
Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
10585 Santa Monica Boulevard,
3rd Floor
Los Angeles, CA 90025-4950
310-441-8600
Zomba Music Publishing
137-139 West 25th Street
New York, NY 10001
212-824-1744
Online Resources
ASN (All Songwriter’s Network)
www.tiac.net/users/asn/index.htm
Lyrical Line
www.lyricalline.com
Billboard On Line
www.billboard.com
Seattle Songwriting Workshop
www.knab.com
Harmony Central
www.harmony-central.com
Steve Schalchlin’s Survival Site
www.bonusround.com
Jeff Mallett’s Songwriter Site
www.lyricist.com
Online Thesaurus
www.thesaurus.com
Jeff Jackson Songwriting and Music
Business Page
www.mindspring.com/~hitmeister
Words in over 400 dictionaries
www.onelook.com
Latin Music
Billboard’s International Latin Music
Buyer’s Guide
Billboard Directories
575 Prospect Street
Lakewood, NJ 08701
1-800-363-7119
BMI Miami
5201 Blue Lagoon Drive, Suite 310
Miami, FL 33126
305-266-3636
Contact: Diane J. Almodovar
ASCAP Miami
209 9th Street
Miami, FL 33139
305-673-3446
Contact: Vanessa Rodriguez
295
Appendix C
Contests and
Competitions
Entering contests seems like a long shot, but writers are often surprised and delighted
to find that they’ve won money as well as recognition. The following are contests that
offer both.
American Songwriter Magazine Lyric Contest
American Songwriter Magazine
1009 17th Avenue South
Nashville, TN 37212
615-321-6096
European International Competition for Composers
226 East 2nd Street, Suite 5D
New York, NY 10009
212-387-0111
Great American Song Contest
PMB 135
6327-C SW Capitol Hill Highway
Portland, OR 97201-1937
503-515-9025
The John Lennon Songwriting Contest
459 Columbus Avenue, Box 120
New York, NY 10024
Fax: 212-579-4320
National Songwriter’s Network Contests
3870 La Sierra Avenue
PMB #101
Riverside, CA 92505
909-422-3539
Appendix C
Pulitzer Prize in Music
709 Journalism
Columbia University
New York, NY 10027
212-854-3841
Richard Rodgers Awards
American Academy of Arts of Letters
633 West 155th Street
New York, NY 10032
212-368-5900
USA Songwriting Competition
Dept. AW98, Box 15711
Boston, MA 02215
781-397-0256
Words By
332 Eastwood Avenue
Feasterville, PA 19053
215-953-0952
298
Index
Symbols
12-bar blues, 136
42nd Street, 188
110 in the Shade, 188
20,000 Quips and Quotes,
83
A
a capella, 23
Academy of Country
Music, 292
accompanists, gaining
training through
employment, 7
acting out lyrics, 87-88
adult fairy tales
(musicals), 183-184
advertisements (writing
jingles), 150-153
altering existing
tunes, 150
analyzing the objectives, 150
avoiding obscurity,
150
budgets, 152
getting paid, 152
package deals, 153
publishing rights,
152
commonalities among
viewers, 149-150
figuring out needs of
the company, 148
jingles with personality, 151
keeping the emphasis
on the singer, 151
offering three different versions, 152
playing with words,
151
pre-planning everything, 152
seeking a partner, 153
thinking of commercials as mini musicals, 151
typical ad campaign,
148
Afanasieff, Walter
(producer), 252
AFM (American
Federation of
Musicians), 292
AFTRA (American
Federation of
Television and Radio
Artists), 292
agents, singers/
songwriters, 224
major agencies, 225
small agencies, 224
Ahern, Brian (producer),
252
AIDS online diary, Steve
Schalchlin, 273
Ain’t Misbehavin’, 185
Alesiss Q20 multieffects
processor, 208
All Songwriter’s
Network. See ASN
all-girl groups, history of
songwriting, 23
alliteration, 86-87
Almo Music Corp., 294
altering existing
tunes, writing
advertisements/
commercials, 150
American Federation of
Musicians. See AFM
American Federation of
Television and Radio
Artists. See AFTRA
American Society of
Composers, Authors,
and Publishers. See
ASCAP
American Songwriter
Magazine, 291
Lyric Contest, 297
analog electronics,
home-studio equipment, 235
The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Songwriting
analyzing
nonvisual lyrics, 74
objectives, writing
advertisements/
commercials, 150
angels, theater production backers, 190
animals, as songwriting
inspiration, 33
animated musicals, 172
charm songs, 175
choosing performers,
176
bringing out the
actor’s best qualities, 177
matching vocal
ranges, 177
dialogue versus music,
173
keeping up with
current styles, 172
modern voiceover
musicals, 173
television musicals,
172
making changes,
178-179
monetary rewards,
179
nailing the characters,
174
placing the songs,
174-175
standing up to the
stars of the show,
175
300
step-out songs, 175
visualizing yourself as
a choreographer,
177-178
Annie, 183
apologies, as universal
songwriting theme, 31
appearances,
singers/songwriters, 227
Applause, 188
approaches to demos,
200-206
choosing a studio,
205
choosing the musicians, 202-203
choosing the singers,
201-203
combination-voice
demos, 201
enlisting creative
support, 205
figuring costs, 204
keeping in-studio
costs down, 204
royalties, 204
guitar-voice demos,
201
handling studio disasters, 206
maintaining tempo,
206
piano-voice demos,
200
solo singer demos,
201
staying creatively
focused, 206
unisex singer demos,
201
when you are the
artist, 203
Argent, Rod (producer),
252
artists, creating songs
for, 39
as a composer, 39
as a lyricist, 39-40
ASCAP (American
Society of Composers,
Authors, and
Publishers), 54,
258-260, 292
locations, 262
membership, 260
payment procedure,
261-262
showcases and
awards, 260
ASN (All Songwriter’s
Network) Web site, 295
assign switches, homestudio equipment, 235
attitude toward deadlines, partnerships,
49-50
audiovisual productions.
See AV productions
automation systems,
239
AV (audiovisual) productions, children’s educational music, 153
avoiding obscurity,
writing advertisements/
commercials, 150
awards, ASCAP, 260
Index
B
Bacharach, Burt
(producer), 252
banishing writer’s block,
26
focus and concentration, 26
satisfying yourself, 27
Barnum, 187
Bascombe, Dave
(producer), 252
Beach Boys, The, 19
Beatles, The, 19-20
Beauty and the Beast, 183
begging titles, 62
Bells Are Ringing, 189
Benson, Howard (producer), 253
Berlin, Irving, 16
Bible adaptations
(musicals), 189
Big Fish Music
Publishing Group, 294
Big River, 187
Billboard, 291
International Latin
Music Buyer’s Guide,
295
On Line, 295
biographies (musical),
186-187
Blackboard Jungle, The,
18
blackface, history of
songwriting, 14
Blake, Tchad (producer),
253
bluegrass (country music
genre), 130
blues
12-bar blues, 136
as universal songwriting theme, 29
R&B, 136
Chicago soul, 140
controversial gospel
music, 137
disco and dance,
141-142
doo wop music, 137
funk movement,
141
Louis Jordan’s
Tympany Five, 137
minstrel songs, 136
Motown classics,
139-140
Motown sound, 139
Robert Johnson
influence, 137
Southern soul, 141
top hits, 138-139
BMG Music Publishing,
294
BMI (Broadcast Music,
Inc.), 54, 258-266, 292
locations, 266-267
membership, 263
payment procedure,
264-266
bonus rate levels,
265
cable television,
266
public television,
266
radio, 266
seminars, workshops,
and showcases,
263-264
bonus rate levels (BMI
payment procedure),
265
book titles, as inspiration for song titles, 64
bouncing tracks, homestudio equipment, 235
boxing in rhymes, 82
Boys from Syracuse, 189
breaking up, as universal
songwriting theme, 30
bridges, 87
Brigadoon, 186
Brill Building pop era,
22
Broadcast Music, Inc.
See BMI
Broadway on Sunset,
292
Brown, James (funk
music), 19, 141
bubblegum records, 23
budgets
advertisements/
commercial jingles,
152
getting paid, 152
package deals, 153
publishing rights,
152
producing songs, 247
301
The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Songwriting
built-in drama, titles,
61-62
business decisions, partnerships, 55
buying home-studio
equipment, 237
C
Cabaret, 185
cabaret artists, 230-231
cable television, BMI
payment system, 266
Candide, 187
candles, as word in song
titles, 66
cassette recording, 10
casting your songs, 212
creative selling, 220
finding common
denominators in an
artist’s work, 213
personal casting,
213-215
publishers, 215-218
being your own
publisher, 220
signing with a
publisher, 218-220
what publishers do
for you, 216
with production
companies, 216
researching who
needs new material,
212-213
categories of rhyme, 80
Cats, 184
302
cautions, copyrights,
268
century of songwriting,
15
Berlin, Irving, 16
blackface, 14
Cohan, George M., 15
Cole, Nat “King,” 17
Crosby, Bing, 17
Freed, Alan, 17
Gershwin, George, 16
Great Depression, 16
Hammerstein, Oscar,
17
Hart, Lorenz, 17
Kern, Jerome, 15
MTV and VH1, 21
movies, 21
videos, 22
Porter, Cole, 16
ragtime, 14
rap revolution, 21
rock and roll, 18-24
all-girl groups, 23
Beach Boys, The, 19
Beatles, The, 19-20
Berry Gordy’s
Motown, 20
Brill Building pop
era, 22
bubblegum records,
23
disco era, 23
doo wop era, 23
Dylan, Bob, 18
folk rock era, 23
gospel era, 23
hard rock era, 23
Brown, James 19
R&B era, 23
rap/hip-hop era, 23
rockabilly era, 23
Rolling Stones, 20
soft rock era, 23
soul era, 23
Springsteen, Bruce,
21
women’s movement, 20
Rodgers, Richard 17
Sinatra, Frank 17
vaudeville, 13
World War II, 16
chance encounters,
generating ideas, 31
characters
musicals, capturing
essence of the
character in the
songs, 174
titles, 60-61
Charles, Ray (Southern
soul), 141
charm songs, 175
Chicago soul, 140
Chiccarelli, Joe
(producer), 253
children’s music, 153
doing the research,
153
educational productions, 153-154
Index
respecting the minds
of children, 154
avoiding preaching,
155
creating real characters, 155
framing your story,
155
freeing your mind,
157
including darker
aspects, 156
keeping the song
moving, 155
making it modern,
154
matching the songs
to the story, 156
chord
patterns, country
music, 131-132
progressions,
melodies, 102-103
chorus, home-studio
equipment, 235
Chorus Line, 184
Chrysalis Music, 294
clichés, bending (country music current), 130
Clivilles, Robert (producer), 253
club blues, 137
Cohan, George M., 15
Cole, David (producer),
253
Cole, Nat “King,” 17
collaborators (partnerships), 47-48
attitude toward deadlines, 49-50
business decisions, 55
competition, 50
cover records, 57
egos, 50
expressing reservations, 50
foreign/American,
55-58
importance of the job,
49
part-time, 51
punctuality problems,
49-50
seeking a partner,
52-54
songwriting spouses,
51
sticking to your
passion, 51
work habits, 49
colors
as songwriting
inspiration, 33
thinking in colors, 78
combination-voice
demos, 201
commentators, putting
your knowledge to
work, 9
commercials (writing
jingles), 148-152
altering existing
tunes, 150
analyzing the objectives, 150
avoiding obscurity,
150
budgets, 152
getting paid, 152
package deals, 153
publishing rights,
152
commonalities among
viewers, 149-150
figuring out needs of
the company, 148
jingles with personality, 151
keeping the emphasis
on the singer, 151
offering three different versions, 152
playing with words,
151
pre-planning everything, 152
thinking of commercials as mini musicals, 151
typical ad campaign,
148
competition among
partners, 50
competitions, 297
Complete Rhyming
Dictionary, 83
composers
creating songs for
artists, 39
Newman, Randy, 41
compressors, homestudio equipment, 235
computer software,
home-studio equipment, 237
303
The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Songwriting
contemporary music
culture, Internet, 280
contests, 297
Copyright Act of 1976,
270
Copyright Office, 268
copyright, 10
basics, 267
cautions, 268
registration, 268
Napster, 274
fund-raising, 275
future of music
downloading,
275-276
costs, figuring for
demonstration records,
204
keeping in-studio
costs down, 204
royalties, 204
counterpoint musical
training, 5
country gospel (country
music genre), 130
country music
chord patterns,
131-132
currents, 127
bended clichés, 130
down-home directness, 130
down-to-earth
drama, 127
dramatic overstatement, 128
304
honesty, 127
honky-tonk
heartache, 128
loose and playful
quality, 129
raw reality, 127
simplicity, 129
spirituality, 128
spoken dialogue,
129
universal feelings,
128
visual imagery, 128
genres, 130
bluegrass, 130
country gospel, 130
country pop, 131
country rock, 131
folk, 131
gospel, 131
hillbilly, 130
honky-tonk, 130
old-time country,
131
outlaw country, 131
R&B, 131
rockabilly, 131
traditional country,
131
western swing, 130
history, 126-127
Grand Ole Opry, 126
Nashville, 125,
132-133
recommended listening, 133-134
country pop (country
music genre), 131
country rock (country
music genre), 131
cover records, partnerships, 57
creating
hooks, 94
songs for artists, 39
as a composer, 39
as a lyricist, 39-40
creed, Songwriter’s Guild
of America, 269
criticism
hooks, 96
partnerships, 50
Crosby, Bing, 17
cross collateralization,
248
cry, as word in song
titles, 66
Cubase, 237
cue sheets, 261
currents in country
music, 127
bended clichés, 130
down-home directness, 130
down-to-earth drama,
127
dramatic overstatement, 128
honesty, 127
honky-tonk
heartache, 128
loose and playful
quality, 129
Index
raw reality, 127
simplicity, 129
spirituality, 128
spoken dialogue, 129
universal feelings, 128
visual imagery, 128
Cuscuna, Michael
(producer), 253
cutting the best track,
producing songs, 249
D
Daily Variety, 161
Los Angeles, 291
New York, 291
dance
music, 141-142
titles, 64
David, Hal, 40
Davies, Rhett (producer),
253
days of the week, as
songwriting inspiration, 33
deejaying, putting your
knowledge to work, 9
delay, home-studio
equipment, 235
Dell’s Complete Rhyming
Dictionary, 83
Demo Derby, Tonos Web
site, 278
demonstration records
(demos), 199-209
choosing a studio,
205
choosing the musicians, 202-203
choosing the singers,
201-203
enlisting creative
support, 205
figuring costs, 204
keeping in-studio
costs down, 204
royalties, 204
handling studio disasters, 206
home demos, 207
equipment, 207-208
playing different
mixes, 208
presentation,
208-209
upgrading equipment slowly, 207
maintaining tempo,
206
musical approaches,
200
combination-voice
demos, 201
guitar-voice demos,
201
piano-voice demos,
200
solo singer demos,
201
unisex singer
demos, 201
staying creatively
focused, 206
when you are the
artist, 203
dialogue versus music in
musicals, 173
dictionaries
Dictionary of American
Idioms, 83
Dictionary of American
Slang, 83
Dictionary of Clichés,
83
Dictionary of Modern
Quotations, 83
Modern Rhyming
Dictionary, 83
New Comprehensive
American Rhyming
Dictionary, 84
New Rhyming
Dictionary and Poet’s
Handbook, 83
rhyming, 83
Songwriter’s Rhyming
Dictionary, 83
Webster’s Compact
Rhyming Dictionary,
83
digital
music workstations,
home-studio equipment, 238
systems, home-studio
equipment, 236
disco
era, 23
music, 141-142
305
The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Songwriting
Disney Music
Publishing, 294
Do I Hear a Waltz? 188
dobro, 131
doo wop
era, 23
music, 137
down-home directness
(country music
current), 130
down-to-earth drama
(country music
current), 127
downloading music
(Napster), 274
fund-raising, 275
dramatic overstatement
(country music
current), 128
Dramatists Guild, Inc.,
292
Dreamgirls, 187
DreamWorks SKG Music
Publishing, 294
dummy lines, 44
Dylan, Bob, 18
E
earnings, producing
songs, 248
Edmonds, Kenneth
“Babyface,” 277
educational productions,
children’s music,
153-154
306
egos, partnerships, 50
elements of a melody,
101
prosody, 107-108
reliable rhythms, 103
singability
chord progressions,
102-103
intervals, 102
EMI Music Publishing,
294
emotional connection,
hooks, 92
employment, gaining
training while
employed, 6-7
accepting offers, 8
accompanists, 7
joining an orchestra,
8
local gigs, 7
session playing, 7
endings, rhyme, 81
endless love, as universal songwriting theme,
30
enlisting creative
support for demos, 205
Entry-Level (E) Bonus
Payment rate (BMI),
265
EQ process (equalization
process), home-studio
equipment, 236
equalization process.
See EQ process
equipment (home
studios), 234-235
analog electronics,
235
assign switches, 235
bouncing tracks, 235
chorus, 235
compressors, 235
computer software,
237
delay, 235
digital music workstations, 238
digital systems, 236
EQ process, 236
frequency, 236
inexpensive
approaches, 238-239
input signals, 236
interface, 236
internal sync, 236
levels, 236
limiter devices, 236
memory, 238
MIDI system, 236
mixers, 236
monitor amps, 236
monitors, 236
output signals, 236
patch bay devices, 236
reading the manuals,
235
recommendations,
237-238
samplers, 236
saturation point, 236
sequencer devices,
236
Index
sequencers, 234
signal processors, 236
signals, 236
sync mode, 236
sync track, 236
synchronizers, 236
synthesizers, 236
where to buy, 237
European International
Competition for
Composers, 297
Evita, 187
experimentation,
producing hit songs,
250-252
choosing a voice first,
251
playing with the
atmosphere, 251
varying themes, 251
extremes, rap music, 143
F
fairy tales, adult musicals, 183-184
faithlessness, as universal
songwriting theme, 30
false rhymes, 80-82
Falsettos, 189
Famous Music
Publishing Companies,
294
fantasies (musical), 186
feeding the media,
singers/songwriters,
228-229
fees, lawyer, 226
feminine rhymes, 80
figures, 96
figuring costs, demonstration records, 204
keeping in-studio
costs down, 204
royalties, 204
first lines, titles, 67-68
Fogerty, John
(producer), 253
folk (country music
genre), 131
folk rock era, 23
foreign/American partnerships, 55-58
cover records, 57
Fosse, 184
Fostex 16-track, 238
four-minute screenplays,
as songwriting inspiration, 34
Freed, Alan, 17
freelancers, Diane
Warren, 281
frequency, home studio
equipment, 236
Fricon Music Company,
294
Friml, Rudolph, 15
fund-raising, Napster,
275
funk music, 141
future of music downloading, 275-276
G
Garrett, Snuff (producer), 253
generating ideas, 32
animals, 33
banishing writer’s
block, 26
focus and concentration, 26
satisfying yourself,
27
colors, 33
days of the week, 33
four-minute screenplays, 34
holidays, 34
inner motivation, 35
inspirational characters, 27
loved ones, 28-29
people on the
street, 28
your own life, 29
location backgrounds,
33
media, 31
chance encounters,
31
current attitudes, 32
names, 32
questions and
answers, 34
religion, 32
universal themes, 29
apologies, 31
blues, 29
breaking up, 30
endless love, 30
faithlessness, 30
nostalgia, 31
307
The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Songwriting
pride in parents, 30
tragedy, 29-30
genres of country music,
130
bluegrass, 130
country gospel, 130
country pop, 131
country rock, 131
folk, 131
gospel, 131
hillbilly, 130
honky-tonk, 130
old-time country, 131
outlaw country, 131
R&B, 131
rockabilly, 131
traditional country,
131
western swing, 130
geographic titles, 65
Gershwin, George, 16
GMA (Gospel Music
Association), 292
Gordy, Berry (Motown),
20
gospel
country music genre,
131
era, 23
music, controversy
with the blues era,
137
Gospel Music
Association. See GMA
Grammy Awards, studying the categories,
280-284
308
Best Country Song,
283
Best R&B, 282
Best Rock Song, 282
Best Song Written for
Motion Picture,
Television or other
Visual Media, 283
Diane Warren songs,
281
Song of the Year, 281
Grand Hotel, 188
Grand Ole Opry, 126
Great American Song
Contest, 297
Great Depression,
history of songwriting,
16
guilds
ASCAP, 259-260
locations, 262
membership, 260
payment procedure,
261-262
showcases and
awards, 260
BMI, 262
locations, 266-267
membership, 263
payment procedure,
264-266
seminars, workshops, and showcases, 263-264
copyright basics, 267
cautions, 268
registration, 268
SESAC, 267
locations, 267
Songwriter’s Guild of
America, 269
Copyright Act of
1976, 270
creed, 269
songwriter’s
contract, 269
guitar-voice demos, 201
Gypsy, 187
H
Haley, Bill, 18
Hammerstein, Oscar, 17
happenings in songwriting, 271
Internet, 272
contemporary
music culture, 280
other miracles, 274
record label’s
requirements, 278
researching publishers, 279
Steve Schalchlin’s
miracle, 272-273
studying other
artists, 279-280
Tonos, 277-278
working the
Internet, 276
workshops, 278
Index
Napster, 274
fund-raising, 275
future of music
downloading,
275-276
rules of craftsmanship, 284-285
studying Grammy
categories, 280-284
Best Country Song,
283
Best R&B, 282
Best Rock Song, 282
Best Song Written
for Motion Picture,
Television or other
Visual Media, 283
Diane Warren
songs, 281
Song of the Year,
281
hard rock era, 23
Harmony Central Web
site, 295
Harrison, George, 19
Harry Fox Agency, Inc.,
292
Hart, Lorenz, 17
Hawaiin guitar, 131
Hello, Dolly!, 188
hillbilly (country music
genre), 130
hip-hop music, 143
historical musicals,
185-186
history
country music,
126-127
Grand Ole Opry, 126
R&B, 136
controversial gospel
music, 137
doo wop music, 137
Louis Jordan’s
Tympany Five, 137
minstrel songs, 136
Motown sound, 139
Robert Johnson’s
influence, 137
top hits, 138-139
songwriting, 15
Berlin, Irving, 16
blackface, 14
Cohan, George M.,
15
Cole, Nat “King,”
17
Crosby, Bing, 17
Freed, Alan, 17
Gershwin, George,
16
Great Depression,
16
Hammerstein,
Oscar, 17
Hart, Lorenz, 17
Kern, Jerome, 15
MTV and VH1, 21
Porter, Cole, 16
ragtime, 14
rap revolution, 21
rock and roll, 18-24
Rodgers, Richard, 17
Sinatra, Frank, 17
vaudeville, 13
World War II, 16
holds, 217
holidays, as songwriting
inspiration, 34
Hollywood Reporter, 161,
292
Hollywood Reporter
Blu-Book Directory, 292
home demos, 207
equipment, 207-208
playing different
mixes, 208
presentation, 208-209
upgrading equipment
slowly, 207
home studios, 233
equipment, 234-235
analog electronics,
235
assign switches, 235
bouncing tracks,
235
chorus, 235
compressors, 235
computer software,
237
delay, 235
digital music workstations, 238
digital systems, 236
EQ process, 236
frequency, 236
309
The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Songwriting
inexpensive
approaches,
238-239
input signals, 236
interface, 236
internal sync, 236
levels, 236
limiter devices, 236
memory, 238
MIDI system, 236
mixers, 236
monitor amps, 236
monitors, 236
output signals, 236
patch bay devices,
236
reading the manuals, 235
recommendations,
237-238
samplers, 236
saturation point,
236
sequencer devices,
236
sequencers, 234
signal processors,
236
signals, 236
sync mode, 236
sync track, 236
synchronizers, 236
synthesizers, 236
where to buy, 237
310
making music
keeping it short,
240
live versus synthesized music, 239
mixing, 240-241
old versus new
arranging, 241
recording sessions,
241-242
honesty (country music
current), 127
honky-tonk (country
music genre), 130
honky-tonk heartache
(country music current), 128
hooks (repetition), 91-92
awareness of what
appeals to others, 95
connecting with
emotions, 92
consciousness of
hooks, 94
creating and testing,
94
criticism, 96
instrumental breaks,
95
re-evaluation, 95
versus verses, 95
hoping titles, 62
hot-blooded titles, 62-63
I
I’m Getting My Act
Together and Taking It
on the Road, 189
ideas, generating, 32
animals, 33
banishing writer’s
block, 26-27
colors, 33
days of the week, 33
four-minute screenplays, 34
holidays, 34
inner motivation, 35
inspirational characters, 27-29
loved ones, 28-29
people on the
street, 28
your own life, 29
location backgrounds,
33
media, 31-32
names, 32
questions and
answers, 34
religion, 32
universal themes,
29-31
apologies, 31
blues, 29
breaking up, 30
endless love, 30
faithlessness, 30
nostalgia, 31
Index
pride in parents, 30
tragedy, 29-30
illusion of reality, creating for stage musicals,
181
including as many
songs as desired, 183
writing songs with
energy and an edge,
182
in-studio costs, demonstration records, 204
industry contacts, seeking a partner, 53
inexpensive approaches,
home-studio equipment, 238-239
inner motivation, generating songwriting
ideas, 35
inner rhymes, 80-81
input signals, home
studio equipment, 236
inspirations
characters (generating ideas), 27
loved ones, 28-29
people on the
street, 28
your own life, 29
titles, 64
book titles, 64
dances, 64
geographic titles, 65
one-word titles, 64
Instant Quotation, 83
instrumental breaks,
hooks, 95
interface, home-studio
equipment, 236
internal sync, homestudio equipment, 236
International Thesaurus
of Quotations, The, 83
Internet happenings,
272
contemporary music
culture, 280
other miracles, 274
record label’s requirements, 278
researching publishers, 279
Steve Schalchlin’s miracle, 272
AIDS online diary,
273
studying other artists,
279
Simon, Paul, 280
Tonos, 277-278
Demo Derby, 278
Road to Fame
Challenge, 278
working the Internet,
276
workshops, 278
intervals, melodies, 102
Into the Woods, 189
J
Jeff Jackson Songwriting
and Music Business
Page (Web site), 295
Jeff Mallett’s Songwriter
Site (Web site), 295
Jekyll and Hyde, 187
Jerome Robbins’
Broadway, 185
jingles with personality,
writing advertisements/commercials,
151
John Lennon
Songwriting Contest,
297
Johns, Andy (producer),
253
Johnson, Robert, influence on R&B music,
137
Jolson, Al, 14
Jones, Quincy (producer), 253
Joplin, Scott, 14
Jordan, Louis (Tympany
Five), 137
K
Kaye, Lenny (producer),
254
Kern, Jerome, 15
kiss, as word in song
titles, 67
311
The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Songwriting
Kiss Me Kate, 16
Korg’s D8 digital recording studio, 208
Kurzweil 2000s, 239
L
labels, signing with a
label as a singer/
songwriter, 229
major-league labels,
229-230
minor labels, 230
landscapes, visual
lifestyles, 72-73
Lange, Robert John
“Mutt” (producer), 254
Latin music, 295
lawyers’ fees, 226
lead sheets
preparing, 11-12
versus lyric sheets,
submitting songs, 11
leaders, 209
leitmotif musical theme,
186
Lennon, John, 19
Les Misérables, 185
letters, as words in song
titles, 66
levels, home-studio
equipment, 236
libretto, 15
limiter devices, homestudio equipment, 236
Lion King, 186
Little Shop of Horrors, 186
312
live music versus synthesized, making music
in home studios, 239
live musicals, 172
charm songs, 175
choosing performers,
176
bringing out the
actor’s best qualities, 177
matching vocal
ranges, 177
dialogue versus music,
173
keeping up with
current styles, 172
modern voiceover
musicals, 173
television musicals,
172
making changes,
178-179
monetary rewards,
179
nailing the characters,
174
placing the songs,
174-175
standing up to the
stars of the show,
175
step-out songs, 175
visualizing yourself as
a choreographer,
177-178
meeting with the
arranger, 177
location backgrounds, as
songwriting inspiration, 33
locations
ASCAP, 262
BMI, 266-267
SESAC, 267
loose and playful quality
(country music current), 129
lyric sheets versus lead
sheets, submitting
songs, 11
Lyrical Line Web site,
295
lyricists
creating songs for
artists, 39-40
David, Hal, 40
Rice, Tim, 40
lyrics
acting out, 87-88
versus music (what
comes first?), 37-43
attention to titles,
42
creating songs for
artists, 39-40
defined borders, 42
feeling your way to
creativity, 45
major songwriters,
40-41
practicing lyrics
and melodies,
41-43
rhythm in your
mind, 41
rhythmic pulse, 44
Index
M
Mackie 1-402-VLZ pro,
208
Magic Show, 189
major-league labels,
singers/songwriters,
229-230
Mame, 188
managers, mutual obsession, 225
manuals, home-studio
equipment, 235
masculine rhymes, 80
masters versus demos,
206
Mayfield, Curtis
(Chicago soul), 140
McCartney, Paul, 19
mechanical royalty
rights, 269
mechanicals, 218
media (generating
ideas), 31
chance encounters, 31
current attitudes, 32
melodies
elements, 101
prosody, 107-108
reliable rhythms,
103
singability, 102-103
figures, 96
riffs, 96-99
melodists, Richard
Rodgers, 40
membership
ASCAP, 260
BMI, 263
SGA, 269
memory, home-studio
equipment, 238
message in the music,
titles, 62
Mid-Level (M) Bonus
Payment rate (BMI),
265
MIDI system (musical
instrument digital
interface), home-studio
equipment, 236
minimalist harmonies,
182
minor labels,
singers/songwriters, 230
minstrel songs, 136
Miss Saigon, 185
mixers, home-studio
equipment, 236
mixtures of rhyme,
80-81
Modern Arranging
Techniques, 164
Modern Rhyming
Dictionary, 83
modern voiceover musicals, 173
monetary rewards, writing scores for musicals,
179
monitor amps, homestudio equipment, 236
monitors, home-studio
equipment, 236
Most Happy Fella, 188
motion pictures, publications, 291-292
Motown
classics, 139-140
Gordy, Berry, 20
history of songwriting, 20
sound, R&B history,
139
movie
adaptations (musicals), 188
scorers, 159-161
adjusting to titles,
166
asking questions
and doing the
research, 165
capturing the
essence of the
movie, 164
combining formal
study with practical experience,
169-170
following the right
leader, 164
making yourself
known and heard,
160
preparing songs
ahead of time, 162
providing reassurance, 164-165
respecting the
material, 162
rules, 168-169
313
The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Songwriting
spotting notes, 166
studying publications, 161
underscoring,
163-164
working out a strategy, 163
working with music
supervisors,
165-166
MTV, history of songwriting, 21
movies, 21
videos, 22
music
bringing up imagery,
78
children’s. See
children’s music
country. See country
music
critics, putting their
knowledge to work,
9
Latin, 295
making in home
studios
keeping it short,
240
live versus synthesized music, 239
mixing, 240-241
old versus new
arranging, 241
recording sessions,
241-242
314
organizations,
292-294
publications, motion
pictures, 291-292
publishers, 294
R&B. See R&B
rap. See rap music
versus dialogue in
musicals, 173
versus lyrics (what
comes first?), 37-43
attention to titles,
42
creating songs for
artists, 39-40
defined borders, 42
feeling your way to
creativity, 45
major songwriters,
40-41
practicing lyrics
and melodies,
41-43
rhythm in your
mind, 41
rhythmic pulse, 44
Music Arranging and
Orchestration, 164
Music Connection, 291
Music Magazine, 291
musical instrument digital interface. See MIDI
system
musical repetition, 89
hooks, 91-92
awareness of what
appeals to others,
95
connecting with
emotions, 92
consciousness of
hooks, 94
creating and testing, 94
criticism, 96
instrumental
breaks, 95
re-evaluation, 95
versus verses, 95
repeat hits, 92
simplicity, 91
tempo, 92
musical training, 3-4
counterpoint, 5
preserving ideas and
submitting songs, 9
cassette recording,
10
lead sheets versus
lyric sheets, 11
preparing lead
sheets, 11-12
prestige versus
poverty, 5-6
putting your knowledge to work, 8
deejaying, 9
letting the music
keep you going, 9
Index
music critics or
commentators, 9
teaching, 8
while employed, 6-7
accepting offers, 8
accompanists, 7
joining an orchestra, 8
local gigs, 7
session playing, 7
musicals
adult fairy tales,
183-184
Bible adaptations, 189
biographies, 186-187
fantasies, 186
historical, 185-186
live and animated,
172
charm songs, 175
choosing performers, 176-177
dialogue versus
music, 173
keeping up with
current styles,
172-173
making changes,
178-179
monetary rewards,
179
nailing the characters, 174
placing the songs,
174-175
standing up to the
stars of the show,
175
step-out songs, 175
visualizing yourself
as a choreographer, 177-178
movie adaptations,
188
novel adaptations,
187
offbeat adaptations,
189
original stories, 189
play adaptations, 188
revues, 184-185
Shakespearean plots,
189
stage, creating illusions of reality, 181
writing songs with
energy and an edge,
182
getting your musical on stage,
189-194
writing for popular
in-person performers, 194
N
names, as songwriting
inspiration, 32
NAMM (National
Association of Music
Merchants), 293
NAPM (National
Academy of Popular
Music), 293
Napster, 274
fund-raising, 275
future of music downloading, 275-276
NARAS (National
Academy of Recording
Arts and Sciences), 293
NARM (National
Association of
Recording
Merchandisers), 293
NAS (National Academy
of Songwriters), 293
Nashville, country
music, 125, 132-133
Nashville Songwriters
Association,
International. See NSAI
National Academy of
Popular Music. See
NAPM
National Academy of
Recording Arts and
Sciences. See NARAS
National Academy of
Songwriters. See NAS
National Association of
Composers/USA, 293
National Association of
Music Merchants. See
NAMM
National Association of
Recording
Merchandisers. See
NARM
National Music
Publishers Association.
See NMPA
315
The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Songwriting
National Songwriter’s
Network Contests, 297
new arranging, making
music in home studios,
241
New Comprehensive
American Rhyming
Dictionary, 84
New Rhyming Dictionary
and Poet’s Handbook, 83
Newman, Randy, 41
Nine, 186
NMPA (National Music
Publishers Association),
293
nonprofessional vocalists, 205
nostalgia, as universal
songwriting theme, 31
note against note. See
counterpoint
novel adaptations (musicals), 187
NSAI (Nashville
Songwriters
Association,
International), 293
numbers in song titles,
67
O
offbeat adaptations
(musicals), 189
Oklahoma, 17
old arranging, making
music in home studios,
241
316
old-time country
(country music genre),
131
one-word titles, 64
online resources, 295
Online Thesaurus Web
site, 295
open rhymes, 80
orchestras, gaining training through employment, 8
orchestration. See scorers
organizations, 292-294
original stories (musicals), 189
outlaw country (country
music genre), 131
output signals, homestudio equipment, 236
outside songs, 39
P
Pacific Northwest
Songwriters
Association, 293
Pacific Overtures, 186
package deals,
advertisement/
commercial
jingles, 153
part-time collaborators,
51
partnerships, 47-48
attitude toward deadlines, 49-50
competition, 50
cover records, 57
egos, 50
expressing reservations, 50
foreign/American,
55-58
cover records, 57
importance of the job,
49
part-time collaborators, 51
punctuality problems,
49-50
seeking a partner,
52-53
advertisements, 53
ASCAP, 54
BMI, 54
business decisions,
55
establishing industry contacts, 53
local, 52
long shots, 54
SESAC, 54
working with an
artist, 54
songwriting spouses,
51
sticking to your
passion, 51
work habits, 49
patch bay devices,
home-studio equipment, 236
payment procedure
advertisement/
commercial jingles,
152
Index
ASCAP, 261-262
BMI, 264-266
bonus rate levels,
265
cable television,
266
public television,
266
radio, 266
Penguin Rhyming, 83
perfect rhyme, 80
performers, selecting for
musicals, 176
bringing out the
actor’s best qualities,
177
matching vocal
ranges, 177
personal casting, selling
your songs, 213-215
Phantom of the Opera,
187
piano-voice demos, 200
Pippin, 189
placement of songs in
musicals, 174-175
play adaptations
(musicals), 188
pleading titles, 62
Porter, Cole, 16
powerful emotions
titles, 63
preparing lead sheets,
11-12
presentation of home
demos, 208-209
preserving ideas,
supplies, 9
cassette recording, 10
lead sheets versus
lyric sheets, 11
preparing lead sheets,
11-12
pride in parents, as
universal songwriting
theme, 30
process of rewriting, 117
choosing the right
environment,
118-119
creating your own
time patterns, 118
outlook as a brand
new song, 118
pretending someone
else wrote the song,
118
telling yourself it’s
fun, 118
process of songwriting,
37-38
creating songs for
artists, 39
as a composer, 39
as a lyricist, 39-40
music versus lyrics, 43
attention to titles,
42
defined borders, 42
feeling your way to
creativity, 45
major songwriters,
40-41
practicing lyrics
and melodies,
41-43
rhythm in your
mind, 41
rhythmic pulse, 44
producers, 252
Afanasieff, Walter, 252
Ahern, Brian, 252
Argent, Rod, 252
Bacharach, Burt, 252
Bascombe, Dave, 252
Benson, Howard, 253
Blake, Tchad, 253
Chiccarelli, Joe, 253
Clivilles, Robert, 253
Cole, David, 253
Cuscuna, Michael, 253
Davies, Rhett, 253
Fogerty, John, 253
Garrett, Snuff, 253
Johns, Andy, 253
Jones, Quincy, 253
Kaye, Lenny, 254
Lange, Robert John
“Mutt,” 254
Z., David, 253
producing hit songs,
243-245
being a director, 246
choosing how
involved you will be,
246
cutting the best track,
249
experimentation,
250-252
317
The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Songwriting
choosing a voice
first, 251
playing with the
atmosphere, 251
varying themes,
251
job of a producer, 245
musical approaches,
249
potent performances, 250
soul power, 249
usable errors, 250
planning a recording
date, 246
budgeting, 247
choosing the songs,
246
earnings, 248
rehearsal, 248
trying different
studios, 247
working with your
engineer, 247
top producers, 252
Afanasieff, Walter,
252
Ahern, Brian, 252
Argent, Rod, 252
Bacharach, Burt, 252
Bascombe, Dave,
252
Benson, Howard,
253
Blake, Tchad, 253
Chiccarelli, Joe, 253
318
Clivilles, Robert, 253
Cole, David, 253
Cuscuna, Michael,
253
Davies, Rhett, 253
Fogerty, John, 253
Garrett, Snuff, 253
Johns, Andy, 253
Jones, Quincy, 253
Kaye, Lenny, 254
Lange, Robert John
“Mutt,” 254
Z., David, 253
Promises, Promises, 188
prosody, melodies,
107-108
protagonists, 60
public television, BMI
payment system, 266
publications, motion
pictures, 291-292
publishers, 294
researching on the
Internet, 279
selling your songs,
215-218
being your own
publisher, 220
publishers with production companies, 216
signing with a publisher, 218-220
what publishers do
for you, 216
publishing rights,
advertisement/
commercial jingles, 152
Pulitzer Prize in Music,
298
Q
qualities, singers/
songwriters, 226
appearance, 227
Russ Regan’s rules,
227
quantizing, 237
questions and answers,
as songwriting inspiration, 34
R
R & R (Radio & Records),
291
R&B (Rhythm and
Blues)
Chicago soul, 140
country music genre,
131
disco and dance,
141-142
era, 23
funk movement, 141
history, 136
controversial gospel
music, 137
doo wop music, 137
Louis Jordan’s
Tympany Five, 137
Index
minstrel songs, 136
Motown sound, 139
Robert Johnson
influence, 137
top hits, 138-139
Motown classics,
139-140
Southern soul, 141
“race” records, Alan
Freed, 18, 138
radio, BMI payment
system, 266
ragtime, history of
songwriting, 14
Ragtime, 187
rap music, 142-143
extremes, 143
hip-hop, 143
recommended listening, 144-145
revolution, history of
songwriting, 21
Russ Regan, 143-144
rap/hip-hop era, 23
raw reality (country
music current), 127
reading the manuals,
home-studio equipment, 235
reasons to resist
rewriting, 111-117
best will be thrown
away, 112
bridges are not significant, 113
chord progressions
similar to hit songs,
113
criticism from partner,
117
desire to finish, 114
ending is satisfactory,
115
first draft is always
best, 114
planning to fix in the
studio, 114
received a poor judgment, 116
received praise, 116
rhymes are like compromises, 112
rhythm fits the words,
113
second verses are not
important, 113
title is strong enough,
114
recitative singing, 186
recommended listening
country music,
133-134
rap music, 144-145
record labels, requirements, Internet
research, 278
Recording Industry
Association of America,
Inc. See RIAA
recording sessions, making music in home studios, 241-242
re-evaluation, hooks, 95
Regan, Russ (rap expert),
143-144
Register of Copyrights,
10
registration, copyrights,
268
rehearsals, producing
songs, 248
releasing hits, getting
your musical on stage,
193-194
reliable rhythms,
melodies, 103
religion, as songwriting
inspiration, 32
repeat hits, repetition,
92
repetition, 89
hooks, 91-92
awareness of what
appeals to others,
95
connecting with
emotions, 92
consciousness of
hooks, 94
creating and testing, 94
criticism, 96
instrumental
breaks, 95
re-evaluation, 95
versus verses, 95
repeat hits, 92
simplicity, 91
tempo, 92
319
The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Songwriting
researching children’s
music, 153
resources
online, 295
organizations,
292-294
publications, 291
motion pictures,
291-292
revues (musicals),
184-185
rewriting
reasons to resist
rewriting
best will be thrown
away, 112
bridges are not
significant, 113
chord progressions
similar to hit
songs, 113
criticism from
partner, 117
desire to be
finished, 114
ending is satisfactory, 115
first draft is always
best, 114
plan to fix in the
studio, 114
received a poor
judgment, 116
received praise, 116
rhymes are like
compromises, 112
rhythm fits the
words, 113
320
second verses are
not important,
113
title is strong
enough, 114
starting the process,
117
choosing the right
environment,
118-119
creating your own
time patterns, 118
outlook as a brandnew song, 118
pretending someone else wrote the
song, 118
telling yourself it is
fun, 118
sticking with it, 121
changing your
instruments, 120
critical responses
from business
persons, 119-120
when a record lost
its momentum,
119
rhyming
boxing in, 82
categories, 80
dictionaries, 83
endings, 81
inner, 81
mixtures, 80-81
schemes, 84-85
without reason, 82
Rhythm and Blues. See
R&B
rhythmic pulse, 44
rhythms, as element of
melodies, 103
RIAA (Recording
Industry Association of
America, Inc.), 293
Rice, Tim, 40
Richard Rodgers Awards,
298
riffs, 96-99
Rise and Fall of Popular
Music, The, 14
Road to Fame
Challenge, Tonos Web
site, 278
rock and roll, history of
songwriting, 18-24
all-girl groups, 23
Beach Boys, The, 19
Beatles, The, 19-20
Berry Gordy’s
Motown, 20
Brill Building pop era,
22
Brown, James, 19
bubblegum records,
23
disco era, 23
doo wop era, 23
Dylan, Bob, 18
folk rock era, 23
gospel era, 23
hard rock era, 23
R&B era, 23
Index
rap/hip-hop era, 23
rockabilly era, 23
Rolling Stones, 20
soft rock era, 23
soul era, 23
Springsteen, Bruce, 21
women’s movement,
20
rockabilly
country music genre,
131
era, 23
Rodgers, Richard, 17, 40
Roget’s International
Thesaurus, 83
Rolling Stone, 291
Rolling Stones, 20
Romberg, Sigmund, 15
royalties
ASCAP, 259-260
locations, 262
membership, 260
payment procedure,
261-262
showcases and
awards, 260
BMI, 262
locations, 266-267
membership, 263
payment procedure,
264-266
seminars, workshops, and showcases, 263-264
copyright basics, 267
cautions, 268
registration, 268
demonstration
records, 204
SESAC, locations, 267
rules
craftsmanship,
284-285
scoring a film,
168-169
S
Sager, Carole Bayer, 277
samplers, home-studio
equipment, 236
saturation point, homestudio equipment, 236
Sayer, Leo, 277
Scarlet Pimpernel, 187
Schalchlin, Steve,
Internet miracle, AIDS
online diary, 272-273
schemes, rhyme, 84-85
scorers (orchestration of
a film), 159-170
adjusting to titles, 166
asking questions and
doing the research,
165
capturing the essence
of the movie, 164
combining formal
study with practical
experience, 169-170
following the right
leader, 164
making yourself
known and heard,
160
preparing songs ahead
of time, 162
providing reassurances, 164-165
respecting the material, 162
rules, 168-169
spotting notes, 166
studying publications,
161
underscoring, 163-164
working out a strategy, 163
working with music
supervisors, 165-166
Scoring for Films, 164
searching colorful
rhyme words, dictionaries, 82-83
Seattle Songwriting
Workshop Web site,
295
seeking a partner, 52-53
advertisements, 53
ASCAP, 54
BMI, 54
establishing industry
contacts, 53
local, 52
long shots, 54
SESAC, 54
321
The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Songwriting
working with an
artist, 54
selling your songs, 212
creative selling, 220
finding common
denominators in an
artist’s work, 213
personal casting,
213-215
publishers, 215-218
being your own
publisher, 220
signing with a
publisher, 218-220
what publishers do
for you, 216
with production
companies, 216
researching who
needs new material,
212-213
Sellwood Publishing,
294
seminars, BMI, 263-264
senses, developing visual
lifestyle, 76-77
paying attention to
how people talk, 77
recording impressions,
77
smell, 76
sound, 76
taste, 76
touch, 76
322
sequencer devices, homestudio equipment, 236
SESAC (Society of
European Stage
Authors and
Composers), 54,
258-267, 294
sessions, recording, making music in home studios, 241-242
setting the tone, titles,
61
built-in drama, 61-62
hot-blooded, 62-63
message in the music,
62
pleading, hoping, and
begging, 62
powerful emotion, 63
Seven Brides for Seven
Brothers, 183
SGA (Songwriter’s Guild
of America), 294
Copyright Act of
1976, 270
creed, 269
membership, 269
songwriter’s contract,
269
Shakespearean plots
(musicals), 189
Showboat, 15
showcases
ASCAP, 260
BMI, 263-264
signal processors, homestudio equipment, 236
signing
labels
major-league labels,
229-230
minor labels, 230
publisher, 218-220
simple and straightforward titles, 59-60
simplicity (country
music current), 129
Sinatra, Frank, 17
singability, melodies
chord progressions,
102-103
intervals, 102
singers/songwriters
agents, 224
major agencies, 225
small agencies, 224
cabaret artists,
230-231
contracts, Songwriter’s
Guild of America,
269
feeding the media,
228-229
lawyers’ fees, 226
personal managers,
mutual obsession,
225
qualities, 226
appearances, 227
Russ Regan’s rules,
227
signing with a label,
229
Index
major-league labels,
229-230
minor labels, 230
Slang! 83
smell, attention to use
in lyrics, 76
Smokey Joe’s Café, 185
Society of European
Stage Authors and
Composers. See SESAC
soft rock era, 23
solo singer demos, 201
songs
charm, 175
placement in musicals, 174-175
producing, 243-245
being a director,
246
budgeting, 247
choosing how
involved you will
be, 246
cutting the best
track, 249
earnings, 248
experimentation,
250-252
job of a producer,
245
musical approaches,
249-250
planning a recording date, 246-247
rehearsals, 248
top producers,
252-254
working with your
engineer, 247
step-out songs, 175
submitting, 9
cassette recording,
10
lead sheets versus
lyric sheets, 11
preparing lead
sheets, 11-12
Songwriter’s Guild of
America. See SGA
Songwriter’s Market, 291
Songwriter’s Rhyming, 83
Songwriter’s Rhyming
Dictionary, 83
Sony Music Publishing,
294
Sophisticated Ladies, 185
soul era, 23
sound, attention to use
in lyrics, 76
Sound of Music, 17
South Pacific, 17
Southern Songwriters
Guild, Inc., 294
Southern soul, 141
spirituality (country
music current), 128
spoken dialogue (country music current), 129
spotting notes, scorers,
166
spouses as partners, 51
Springsteen, Bruce, 21
stage musicals
creating illusions of
reality, 181
including as many
songs as desired,
183
writing songs with
energy and an
edge, 182
getting your musical
on stage, 189
angels, 190
cutting a CD, 192
finding a theater,
192
local productions,
190-191
organizing a workshop, 191-192
producer’s viewpoint, 193
releasing hits from
the show, 193-194
taking it on the
road, 192
talent scouting, 191
writing for popular
in-person performers, 194
Starlight Express, 186
step-out songs, 175
Steve Schalchlin’s
Survival Site (Web site),
295
323
The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Songwriting
structure, 85-86
bridges, 87
studios
choosing for recording demos, 205
home. See home
studios
studying Grammy categories, 280-284
Best Country Song,
283
Best R&B, 282
Best Rock Song, 282
Best Song Written for
Motion Picture,
Television or other
Visual Media, 283
Diane Warren songs,
281
Song of the Year, 281
submitting songs,
supplies, 9
cassette recording, 10
lead sheets versus
lyric sheets, 11
preparing lead sheets,
11-12
Sunset Boulevard, 188
Super (S) Bonus
Payment rate (BMI),
265
supervisors, music,
scorers association
with, 165-166
supplies, preserving
ideas and submitting
songs, 9
324
cassette recording, 10
lead sheets versus
lyric sheets, 11
preparing lead sheets,
11-12
Sweeney Todd, 188
sync mode, home-studio
equipment, 236
sync track, home-studio
equipment, 236
synchronizers, homestudio equipment, 236
synethesia, 78
synthesized music versus
live, making music in
home studios, 239
synthesizers, homestudio equipment, 236
T
talent scouting, getting
your musical on stage,
191
taste, attention to use in
lyrics, 76
Techniques of
Orchestration, 164
television musicals, 172
temp tracks, 166
tempo
maintaining for
demos, 206
repetition, 92
testing hooks, 94
Theater Directory, 192
theaters, locating for
your stage musical, 192
thinking in colors, 78
through-sung, 186
Titanic, 185
titles, 59
characters, 60-61
first lines, 67-68
inspirations, 64
book titles, 64
dance songs, 64
geographic titles, 65
one-word titles, 64
setting the tone, 61
built-in drama,
61-62
hot-blooded, 62-63
message in the
music, 62
pleading, hoping,
and begging, 62
powerful emotion,
63
simple and straightforward, 59-60
storing, 65
words that work, 65
candles, 66
cry and tears, 66
kiss, 67
letters, 66
numbers, 67
only, 67
sweet, 66
Index
Tonos (songwriter’s Web
site), 277-278
Demo Derby, 278
Road to Fame
Challenge, 278
top producers, 252
Afanasieff, Walter, 252
Ahern, Brian, 252
Argent, Rod, 252
Bacharach, Burt, 252
Bascombe, Dave, 252
Benson, Howard, 253
Blake, Tchad, 253
Chiccarelli, Joe, 253
Clivilles, Robert, 253
Cole, David, 253
Cuscuna, Michael, 253
Davies, Rhett, 253
Fogerty, John, 253
Garrett, Snuff, 253
Johns, Andy, 253
Jones, Quincy, 253
Kaye, Lenny, 254
Lange, Robert John
“Mutt,”254
Z., David, 253
Toronto Musicians’
Association, 294
touch, attention to use
in lyrics, 76
traditional country
(country music genre),
131
tragedy, as universal
songwriting theme,
29-30
training (musical), 3-4
counterpoint, 5
preserving ideas and
submitting songs, 9
cassette recording,
10
lead sheets versus
lyric sheets, 11
preparing lead
sheets, 11-12
prestige versus
poverty, 5-6
putting your knowledge to work, 8
deejaying, 9
letting the music
keep you going, 9
music critics or
commentators, 9
teaching, 8
while employed, 6-7
accepting offers, 8
accompanists, 7
joining an orchestra, 8
local gigs, 7
session playing, 7
transposing, 205
Tucker, Sophie, 14
Two Gentlemen from
Verona, 189
Tympany Five, Louis
Jordan, 137
U
U.S. Government
Copyright Office, 10
underscoring, 160-164
union of words and
music. See prosody
unisex singer demos, 201
universal feelings (country music current), 128
universal themes (generating ideas), 29
apologies, 31
blues, 29
breaking up, 30
endless love, 30
faithlessness, 30
nostalgia, 31
pride in parents, 30
tragedy, 29-30
Unsinkable Molly Brown,
183
Upper-Level (U) Bonus
Payment rate (BMI),
265
USA Songwriting
Competition, 298
V
vaudeville, history of
songwriting, 13
verses versus hooks, 95
325
The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Songwriting
VH1, history of songwriting, 21
movies, 21
videos, 22
videos, history of
songwriting, 22
visual imagery (country
music current), 128
visual songwriters, 71
attention to senses,
76-77
paying attention to
how people talk,
77
recording impressions, 77
smell, 76
sound, 76
taste, 76
touch, 76
listening to music, 78
thinking in colors, 78
visual lifestyles, 72
analyzing nonvisual
lyrics, 74
avoiding verbose,
76
concentrating on
ordinary activities,
75
landscapes, 72-73
noting drama in
details, 73-74
read incessantly, 73
326
starting with cereal,
72
studying consistently visual writers, 74
voiceover musicals, 173
vowels, 87
W
Warner/Chappell Music,
Inc., 295
Warren, Diane, 281
Web sites
ASCAP (American
Society of
Composers, Authors
and Publishers), 292
ASN (All Songwriter’s
Network), 295
Billboard On Line,
295
BMI (Broadcast Music,
Inc.), 292
Harmony Central, 295
Jeff Jackson
Songwriting and
Music Business Page,
295
Jeff Mallett’s
Songwriter Site, 295
Lyrical Line, 295
Online Thesaurus, 295
Seattle Songwriting
Workshop, 295
Steve Schalchlin’s
Survival Site, 295
Words in over 400
dictionaries, 295
Webster’s Compact
Rhyming Dictionary, 83
western swing (country
music genre), 130
Will Rogers Follies, 187
women’s movement,
history of songwriting,
20
Words By (contest), 298
Words in over 400 dictionaries Web site, 295
words that work
(song titles), 65
candles, 66
cry and tears, 66
kiss, 67
letters, 66
numbers, 67
only, 67
sweet, 66
Words to Rhyme With, 84
work habits, partnerships, 49
working styles (songwriting process), 37-43
attention to titles, 42
creating songs for
artists, 39
as a composer, 39
as a lyricist, 39-40
defined borders, 42
feeling your way to
creativity, 45
major songwriters,
40-41
David, Hal, 40
Newman, Randy, 41
Index
Rice, Tim, 40
Rodgers, Richard,
40
practicing lyrics and
melodies, 41-43
rhythm in your mind,
41
rhythmic pulse, 44
working the Internet,
276
workshops
BMI, 263-264
Internet, 278
workstation, digital
music, home-studio
equipment, 238
World War II, history of
songwriting, 16
writer’s block, banishing, 26
focus and concentration, 26
satisfying yourself, 27
Writer’s Rhyming, 83
X–Y–Z
Yamaha EX5, 208
Your Own Thing, 189
Z., David (producer),
253
Ziegfeld, Florenz (vaudeville), 13
Zomba Music
Publishing, 295
327
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