Ralph Murphy's Law

Songwriting veteran, Ralph Murphy, recently gave a few eager songwriters some writing tips at his recent talk during ASCAP's Expo in Hollywood. Here they are:

•  The importance of writing for women: "Women physically buy 50% of all records made -- and make men buy the other 50%," joked Murphy.
  

• Seeking feedback from unbiased listeners: "Your friends and family are your worst critics because they love everything you do. Forget you even have a family."
  

• The power of pronouns: "You" is a trigger word that really pulls in the audience and makes the song relatable to them." Murphy cited Zac Brown Band's "Keep Me In Mind," for example. "The first line is: 'How come all the pretty girls like you are taken baby?'" Murphy highlighted the strategic use of 'you' and 'pretty.' "It isn't rocket science you know!"
  

• Ease of singing: "All the first songs you grew up loving as a child were easy to sing."
  

• Don't leave things unexplained: "If you start out a song with 'Driving through Oklahoma,' you better address why you are in Oklahoma. Don't say you have a loaded gun in the car and then never tell the listener what you do with it."
  

• Rhyme scheme as a tool: "Don't change your chord till you change your thought. Avoid contrived rhymes."
  

• Expectations: Establish the premise of the song early on and fulfill the listener's expectations. Make the song believable and write for the singer. Don't write a song about children, for example if the artist you are pitching it to doesn't have kids. It won't be believable when they sing it."

  Before heading out to do a signing of his "Murphy's Law of Songwriting" book, Murphy bestowed his "best bets for going forward" upon the crowd, divulging the recipes that would give his students the best chance of selling a hit:

• Pop song: 100 bpm or more featuring a woman as the artist; an 8 second intro; use the pronoun 'you' within 20 seconds of the start of the song; hit the bridge middle 8 between 2 minutes and 2 minutes 30 seconds; average 7 repetitions of the title; create some expectations and fill that expectation in the title.
  

• Country: 100bpm or less for a male artist; 14-second intro; uses the pronoun 'you' within the first 20 seconds of the intro; has a bridge middle 8 between 2 minutes and 2 minutes 30 seconds; has 7 repetitions of title; creates an expectation, fulfills it in 60 seconds.
  
  Certainly some things to think about, even if you don't believe in "rules"!
  
  IJ

 

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.