Well, allow me to begin by apologizing to anyone who actually is following this thing of mine. It's finals week as of next week, and things have been getting hectic. Thankfully, after this upcoming week, this semester will be over with. Then, it's off to Jersey I go. Hopefully, a good dose of underground hip-hop and some home town reality will give me a musical boost like Popeye and his spinach. So, since this semester is coming to a close, and the next semester starts on the 3rd of January, I figure why not wrap things up with some things that I've learned about song writing as a whole.
To start....it's complicated. Sometimes, when I'm sitting at my piano, I think everything I'm coming up with has already been done before, either by myself or someone else. Which leads me to believe that I still have a lot to learn. That's beside the point, however. My point is that song writing is hard...well...GOOD song writing at least. The slightest change in rhythm or tone, could ultimately define the genre of your song. Instrumentation is another huge aspect. Depending on what sounds you have, you may have a pop track, R&B, hip-hop, or even a symphonic piece.
I've also learned that it's very easy to stray away from what you initially sat down to do in the first place. You can't sit down to write a pop song, and start playing some classical piano piece, expecting it to sound nice with lyrics. I mean, sure...it happens. It's awesome when it does happen. Unfortunately, it's not what you sat down to do. So, the question rises...should I continue down this new avenue I've taken my song? Or should I record something like that really quick so I don't forget it, and then get back to the original project? Normally, I go with whichever piece I happen to like more at the time. Unless, of course, it's a project that was assigned to me and is due in two days.
I believe I'm babbling.... everything within the song matters a great deal. The chord progression, the length of the progression, the key it's in, what instruments you're using, the rhythm...everything. Even which snare, kick or hi hat to use makes a huge difference between genre's. The audience is another huge factor.
It really is amazing to know how important everything about the song really is. I've learned that certain chords, used in a certain way, tend to sound good only with certain genre's. Which is probably why I feel that everything I'm doing sounds like a duplicate of something else...I think I really only know how to do things one or two different ways. BUT, that's what I'm here for.
So, in conclusion, here's my stat sheet so far...all A's in all of my classes. Any performances I've had to do were super awesome, and the grades reflect that. I've written two song projects for one of my classes, and both got great reviews. In fact, one of those and another one that I just recently recorded will soon be on a friends mix tape, and I believe he's signed with Capital Records (which I can see out of my living room window, by the way). Hopefully, that ship hasn't totally sunk just yet. I've also scored a three minute clip for my scoring for film class, and that shit was pretty awesome, too. Got great reviews as well. I can also write music using roman numerals now. Yes...roman numerals. It's actually not that complicated at all, but it sounds really cool, right?
So, that's where I'm at, in a nutshell.
My only words of wisdom this time....
Peace
See you in January...
