Wednesday 22nd March, 2023
Getting this week written early in the day, before the lovely meetings begin!
Last week we talked about character, archetype, & how I’m planning my final year project around the idea that you can treat artists as characters in stories. Their narratives need to be told within the shorthand of architypal semiotics. Basically, the artists you already know & love, took shortcuts into your heart & soul, by being similar to charactes you already knew. (is the theory anyways)
This week however, is for the songwriters! (& maybe for people who collaborate in general, but…)
I’ve been struggling wonderfully with a really great piece of a song. The melody & chords are gorgeous (E,B… E, F#, G#m… E,B, F#). The lyrics are lovely too…
I wonder why my heart keeps beating
Is it ever gonna stop believing?
I wonder why the world keeps trying to move on
Cause love is just a pain I’m feeling
It doesn’t make a life worth living
I wonder why the world keeps trying to move on
My issue has been… how do I write something that lives up to this part?
Section after section, I wrote things that act like verses, bridges, middle 8s, but I’ve not been able to write a chorus to it. (I’m not the best at writing poppy choruses) It then stands to reason, that I bring someone in to make up the skill difference. Which means… COWRITING. (que big scary organ music here)
Co-writing isn’t my strong suit, I’ll be honest. It used to be when I began & I had no confidence as a writer. Then I started thinking I knew better, & my ego started to build. THEN I leashed my ego, but I’ve been left with a standard that’s crazy high. Most people (in a co-writing capacity) fall short of what I’d consider singable. So I’ve had a few sessions with other writers, & not taken any of their edits or advice… which is a shame because they do try, & just to restate: this is not a judgement of their ‘objective’ quality. It’s just what I like & what I don’t. (a lot of the time, my taste needs to be reigned in by Brian when I’m backseat producing.)
But with this song… I’ve suddenly become quite receptive to people’s suggestions. I met a writer in college, showed them the song, & instantly they had an insight that I was too close to see… the ‘chorus’ I wanted, was too complicated. It had to be the verse. (which meant more work & chorus writing) So I tried, & failed to impliment their suggestion… but the suggestion felt right, so I persisted.
Then, like two days ago… I show the song to ANOTHER songwriter in my college, & they too had some great & unfortunate insights into the song. Similar to the last person. The chorus I wanted, was a verse… etc. Again, I couldn’t ignore their advice, so I went home & tried again. This time, my dearest reader, it worked! I now have the bones of a great chorus!!!!!! So the song is well on its way to become the big #1 hit that I so need to establish a career proper.
So what. Do these songwriters deserve credits on the song? Or a share of the song? No… unfortunately for them, suggestions don’t usually merit percentages. That’s usually the realm of lyrics, or melody. (& in my case with Brian, production) What we value as ‘contributions’ to a song changes between folk. If you’re the artist & sole songwriter of your project, people will advise you to keep as much of your songwriting as possible… & to avoid complicated & vague splits (which is good advice for anyone really)… but a lot of this advice leaves you kinda paranoid & protective of your ideas. It can also lead you to reject ideas that might really help, just because you don’t want the hassle of a songsplit agreement… cause that split will follow you around for the rest of your life… or the song’s life… you get what I mean.
What are the tips then, for tackling the collaboration elements? I’ll start with some general advice for all collaboration… cause honestly, I collaborate much better with other artforms & capacities. (my self perceived ‘expertise’ with songwriting limits my ability to collaborate effectively with this…) Actually, that’s a good #1 tip.
1. YOU’RE NOT THE EXPERT ANYMORE…
I don’t care how long you’ve been doing it. How much success you’ve had. Or whatever way you’ve pegged your identity to the skill in question. For the collaborative moment, you are at best an equal to your partner, & at worst, humbled by their skills. This might be a lil over-platitudinous (pause for applause)… but I’m getting at the idea that your ‘knowing what works’ will limit you to what else could work.
2. IF YOU’RE NOT SURE (which should be most of the time) SAY YES TO ANYTHING…
This is the classic improv cornerstone: “yes, and…” A general philosophy of accepting ideas & then adding to them. You might then rebut: “but Nathan, what if the idea is fu*king terrible!?” To why I say: “go with it… shit ideas sink to the bottom & are forgotten.” So really, when you say yes to a bad idea, you’re playing the long game here. EVENTUALLY the idea won’t work, OR… you might see how it does work when some extra bits are added on. Basically, be open to where it all goes.
2.b - a lil caveat here… if the collaboration is for a specific project (like a Nathan Mac song for instance). There’s already some ideas that I can rule out because I’ve figured out over time that they usually don’t work. So I’ll generally advise against literal lyrics: the “let’s dance all night” or the “hold my hand” type lyrics. (but if the lyric is strong enough, it should override everything)
3. LEAVE YOU’RE HEART AT THE DOOR
This one’s mostly for the newbies. If you’re new to collaborating it can be so easy to get your hopes up, & have all these expectations for what’s gonna come from this. Keep in mind that your initial few attempts at collaborating can be really sticky, & weird feeling. Find someone, or becoming someone with a good flow can take a while. Don’t expect too much of yourself, & just power through… (he says, not taking his own advice… whatever.)
I’ll collaborate more soon I’m sure. Most of my time is precious these days, so we’ll see. I am the lone wolf, I am the pillar of the DIY attitude… right?! RIGHT?!? Pfft…. maybe I need some help. Just a bit.
Okay, I’m rambling now, & being anti-social.
Talk to you next week!
Nathan
