Happy 2013! Tips From Others

I was flipping through my most recent copy of SOCAN's Words and Music and found some interesting songwriting tips from Matt Mays, a Canadian songwriter who finds himself on the road quite a bit. 

Check out his website.

Here is his list of tips:

1. "One thing that has really helped me is to be moving - whether it's on a train, boat, or car, or even walking around my apartment while I'm writing, instead of sitting in one spot."

2. "Try writing lyrics on newspaper.  It rather distracts you because there are other words underneath.  That means yours don't seem so final.  The words underneath may spark something else too."

3. "Always change the key up.  Learn the song in other keys, and that helps keep you from getting bored."

4. "Change instruments.  I'll go to a ukulele, or piano, or try open tuning."

5. "There is one tip from John Lennon:  never leave a song until it's done.  You may never get that spark, that excitement, back.  If you get an idea, finish the song, even if you have to miss your best friend's funeral.  Finishing that song is more important than anything else."

Some excellent tips here...some of which I've encouraged myself, but some new ideas too.  The newspaper idea is a good one, I'll have to try that some day!

On a more personal note, I have come back to my old way of writing;  on paper and without any technology (i.e. a computer) around.  This was my "old" way of writing and it seems to be working again.  Also, I've moved around the house to write in different places;  not quite the idea of being on a moving train or boat as Matt suggests above.  But changes places seems to have helped me too!

Best wishes to all of my blog followers for the New Year!

IJ

McCartney: The Consummate Showman

 

All the way to the Paul McCartney concert in Vancouver BC last week, my family listened to old Beatles and Wings songs in the car.  That was when it occurred to me that this one person has the song catalogue of a thousand of us menial songwriters out there, and not only that, but SO MANY of them were hits and became classics over almost six decades of writing and performing.  And even beyond that, at the age of 70 he can still go out there and outperform even the youngest and spryest of artists and bands.  The guy barely stopped for a full 3 hours.  He continually and genuinely appreciated and acknowledged each and every one of the 40,000 or so of us there who were equally as thrilled to see him come to Vancouver for the first time since 1963.  It was an epic and unforgettable experience.