Co-Writing With Yourself

Last week I mentioned Hawk Wolinski and touched upon the importance of reading music.
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I say Hey! If it's good enough for a Grammy Winning producer who has worked with greats like Prince, Michael Jackson, Chaka-Khan, & Quincy Jones, maybe it's not such a bad idea after all!  More on that another time…. 

Today? I wanted to talk about Hawks unique approach to songwriting called
Co-Writing with Yourself  What? Doesn't Co-writing MEAN writing with Another person??!?  
Yes, perhaps this seems confusing at first because co-writing does mean writing with someone else!
So, let's start with the idea that a lot of songwriters record while writing so that they can capture ideas/melodies/chords that emerge while they are creating. Then what happens is often they might only use pieces of these ideas for the song they are working on that day. Or sometimes a song won't emerge from that particular writing session. Lesson #1 - It is SO important to capture the thoughts and melodies that emerge during your work session. (Trust me, you won't remember most of them later...)

Then let's assume that you have archived your work via the recording or at least via notes. Time passes and you forget all about that work tape. It gets buried in the midst of life and other projects

Then a week, a month, a year later, when you dig up that same recording, you hear the words and melodies with fresh ears. It's like, "Hey I never heard that before! That sounds pretty good" Suddenly you are spinning with new creativity from discarded material from another session. You forget that YOU are the one who actually wrote it, and
IT FEELS LIKE Another person has walked into the room and is presenting all these new (and perhaps even fabulous...) ideas! What a wonderful co-writer that person is :)
But guess what? They all originally came from YOU. But it sounded like a different person because the you heard it differently the second time around.
What a marvelous way to add a whole new level to your songwriting process....
It's a tip that's definitely worth checking out.

ENJOY! And Write On with your Beautiful & Brilliant Creative self (but not on the walls, couch, or kitchen fridge – oops! My friend's 5 year old did that last week…)

Why do I need this Stuff Anyway?

I’ve spoken with a lot of musicians who have said something to the effect of “Well, if I learn to read music, it will hinder my creativity,” “If I learn music theory, my music will become boring and too academic.” Ok, I hear that, we all fear the result of what may happen if we bring an unknown quantity into our lives, especially something as sacred to us, as our music. Take a moment and look further…..
The famous composer, Igor Stravinsky, is considered the pioneer of 20th century music. Let’s take for granted, he could read, compose, orchestrate, etc, et al. One of his most famous works, “The Rite of Spring” debuted in 1913. On the evening of the premier, the audience went nuts (ummm, but not with cheers and applause), there was actually a riot in the theater, people threw things, chairs were toppled over and Stravinksky himself had to sneak out the back door for his safety (that’s pretty rock star-esque) WHY? The music was so innovative and unlike anything people had heard before, they violently rejected it. Then, nearly 10 years later the piece was played again and suddenly? People heard the brilliance of this unique work and it has become part of the foundation for modern composition.
(Lesson #1 Never stop walking on the path where your creativity leads you! Even if everyone else is a few steps behind!)
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Why am I telling you this? Aside from the fact that I am a nerd and like to talk about music, The point is that knowledge of music enabled someone to make his mark in the history of music, it did not prevent him from being brilliant. The opposite is true, his knowledge of composition enabled his ability to break barriers and to create unique music.

As we often see, the new ideas that people react harshly to today often becomes the leading trend of tomorrow. Take the hoopla that the Beatles created or Elvis’s hips – no one can deny the mark they made on music history. How? They had the ability to do something different!!! Confidence gives us this courage. How do we become confident? By being the very best we can be at our craft!! Simply put, when we can understand how music works, it makes us a better musician & writer.

AND Knowledge can enable us to break rules!!! Take another case. The 20th century composer John Cage is very famous for some pieces he wrote for what we call prepared piano. How in heck does one prepare a piano? Usually they call a tuner. BUT in Cage’s case…. It involves actually placing objects (aka preparations) inside of the piano strings, dampers or pedals (you can also do this to a guitar!) which changes it’s natural sound, overtones, and how it is played. Cool! Innovative! Although some people think this is way toooo crazy (maybe that’s why it makes me smile) No one can argue that it’s a unique approach to making music! Videos
OK, maybe you’re thinking….. the prepared piano is hip, but I’m a pop, country, blues, R&B, radio friendly artist/writer. So are….
Ben Folds who wedges an Altoid tin in the strings and plays his piano through a rat distortion to attain the unique sound for the song, “Free Coffee.” In Concert He demonstrates the preparation and performance of the piano
First, that’s a pretty nifty performance moment! & a cool way to make this song happen.
Although he is not a trained musician himself, Ben IS a strong proponent of music education, a generous supporter of both VH1 Save the Music Foundation & of The Nashville Symphony
His album A Cappella (May 2008) features college performers from acapella ensembles. In his own words regarding Acapella voice ensembles…. more here

“They (meaning acapella singers) have to have a fairly thorough understanding of western theory, harmony, arranging, voice leading and so on, just to get through a few measures. We pro's are rarely put through those kinds of paces, at least those of us in rock music, including the ones with the 'street cred'……”
We can always learn a lot from successful predecessors and no one can deny Ben Folds success (and talent!) as both a writer and a musician. So, perhaps it’s worth our while to be a part of his mission and to take the time to learn a little bit more about music…..
P.S.
Some Other Modern/Pop piano preparations…..
The Noah and the Whale song "Our Window" makes use of a piano prepared with "screws, ping pong palls and tooth picks."
"All Tomorrow's Parties" from The Velvet Underground & Nico (1967), John Cale prepared his piano with a chain of paper clips.

P.S.S.
if you don’t believe me about Stravinsky? Check out the movie “Coco & Igor” I think it’s a great flick overall (rated R not for the kids!). But all you need to do is watch the first 20 minutes to see the chaos that “The Rite of Spring” created. Amazing how art that’s innovative can have a such a grand impact …..