photo by Shandi-lee
A fellow songwriter (my dad!) mentioned this afternoon that it’s a challenge to write upbeat, energetic songs. They’re more difficult for me, too—my tastes run generally toward moody, introspective songwriting.
I’d prefer to have a more varied, interesting songbook. No listener wants to have an intense, reflective experience every time they turn on the radio, right?
Here’s the disconnection: songwriting itself is often an intense and reflective pursuit. It’s often undertaken alone, in an otherwise quiet room. You spend hours on a twenty- or thirty- second fragment of music, and it never comes out quite like you planned–and when it’s finally, finally done, you sometimes just end up scrapping the whole thing and starting over. It’s little wonder that writers like myself sometimes tend toward the bitter, the brokenhearted.
Our Solution
My dad and I feel that a little visualization can help with this. Imagine that you’re writing the tune specifically for a roomful of appreciative people. They can be anybody you want: friends, family, good-looking acquaintances, a group of regulars at one of your monthly gigs… the important thing is that you want to excite these folks and help them forget their troubles for a while.
For upbeat songs that you want to feel more intimate and personal, as though your listener were your confidante, try imagining one specific person in the room with you while you play your new song. What would you sing to make this person smile? Be sure to picture their expressions and body language in detail.
Now write. Let them cheer you on and see what comes of it.
Conclusion
No matter what kind of song you’re writing, you need to consider what kind of emotional effect you want to have on your audience. If you genuinely want to make them feel good, and you’ve studied well enough to make that happen through good song craftsmanship, everybody wins.
Just please don’t be all sunshine and rainbows. My stomach can’t take it. 😉