Elizabeth Edwards
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Singer Songwriter Elizabeth Edward's Blog - Creativity and Spirit
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Friday, October 15, 2010
Where Do The Ideas For The Songs Come From?
I have been asked many times over the years where the ideas for the songs come from and to be honest, I don’t really know. I have been writing songs since I can remember. The very first songs that I wrote were “my versions” of the Christmas Carols. I gave them all new lyrics when I was about six years old and started writing full original songs when I was twelve or thirteen. I have written hundreds of songs, some I don’t even remember anymore but the best ones get recorded and shared.
Another question I get a lot is, do you write the words or the music first? I wrote a song yesterday that came to existence the way most of my songs do but even faster so while it is fresh in my consciousness I will describe my process.
First I get an image or an emotional impression of something that stands out and gets stuck in my mind. Then I sit down at the piano or with the guitar and start playing around with melodic phrasing until I find one that fits the idea. Then I doodle with what I call a word wheel. I put the words of the main idea in a circle in the middle of a blank page and I do a free association kind of thing and write down all the words and images that come to mind, sometimes this is the first thing I do and where I get the idea to begin with. I have hundreds of notebooks (I am sentimental and can’t bare to throw them away). From there I go back to the piano or guitar and play with chords and pull words and phrases from the word wheel. If I am open, what happens next is hard to explain, but if you have ever been fishing it is similar to that feeling you get when you are just sitting their relaxing enjoying the day and all of a sudden you get a bite. For me in songwriting it is usually a phrase that fits perfectly with the melody and it creates an emotion and I just know it is right. That is when I get excited and a little obsessed and I stay with the song as long as I can, it is like pulling that fish in. Except it is more like I am pulling the song out of me instead of toward me.
After I have pulled as much of the song out as possible, I walk away from it for a while; I come back to it again and again and see if there is anymore of it available to me. From there I start looking for anything that resembles a hook – no pun intended. The “hook” is the actual name of what you call the part of the song that you want to hear over and over again and the better you are at writing “hooks” the more successful a songwriter you will be so hopefully I find one. Then I start playing with the song structure, verse chorus, or verse refrain, rhyme patterns, rhythms and determining where the hook is going to live in the song. Once I have the hook, and I know where it lands in the melody, I start asking myself a bunch of questions like, what could this mean? What is the story? Is this first person, third person n other words, point of view, is it a conversation? Who’s talking? Why? Where is the jumping off place? What is the pay off – the landing place? What feeling do I feel when I sing this song and themn I try singing a bunch of different way looking for the emotional response that “hits” me and that I hope to generate. By this point it is almost like an obsession for me – I playing over and over again with different lines and lyrics, musical phrases. I call this part of the process “playing with the clay”. If you have ever taken a pottery class, you know you have to keep the clay wet while you are shaping your work; the same is true in writing a song. I don’t allow my self to get to attached to something until I get that intuitive “click”, and then I know, this phrase lives here in this part of the melody. How long does it take? Sometimes I write songs in a couple of hours, sometimes it takes me days and some songs get stuck and can take me weeks, months or years. I am usually chewing on more than one idea at a time, in fact I, like many writers I know have more ideas than they have the time or bandwidth to develop into finished work.
How do I know when it’s finished? There is a satisfaction level that I have to feel. When I get there or feel like it’s close, I usually play it for other writers or friends who will give me an honest constructive critique. This is an important step and at first it feels vulnerable to put your music out there especially at first, in fact it never stopped feeling vulnerable for me, I’ve just developed thicker skin and the ability to open my mind to hear constructive criticism. This is probably the most important part of the process really. Do I always make changes that are suggested, no but if not I have a clear understanding of why I am choosing what I choose. Sometimes I do find ways to improve it based on feedback and often the song is better when I take this extra step.
If you are interested in songwriting I would suggest joining a songwriting organization to learn more about the craft and business. The West Coast Songwriting Association and the Nashville Songwriters Association International are two outstanding organizations that support songwriters. I hope you have found this interesting. I would love to hear from you.
Enjoy
Elizabeth Edwards
Another question I get a lot is, do you write the words or the music first? I wrote a song yesterday that came to existence the way most of my songs do but even faster so while it is fresh in my consciousness I will describe my process.
First I get an image or an emotional impression of something that stands out and gets stuck in my mind. Then I sit down at the piano or with the guitar and start playing around with melodic phrasing until I find one that fits the idea. Then I doodle with what I call a word wheel. I put the words of the main idea in a circle in the middle of a blank page and I do a free association kind of thing and write down all the words and images that come to mind, sometimes this is the first thing I do and where I get the idea to begin with. I have hundreds of notebooks (I am sentimental and can’t bare to throw them away). From there I go back to the piano or guitar and play with chords and pull words and phrases from the word wheel. If I am open, what happens next is hard to explain, but if you have ever been fishing it is similar to that feeling you get when you are just sitting their relaxing enjoying the day and all of a sudden you get a bite. For me in songwriting it is usually a phrase that fits perfectly with the melody and it creates an emotion and I just know it is right. That is when I get excited and a little obsessed and I stay with the song as long as I can, it is like pulling that fish in. Except it is more like I am pulling the song out of me instead of toward me.
After I have pulled as much of the song out as possible, I walk away from it for a while; I come back to it again and again and see if there is anymore of it available to me. From there I start looking for anything that resembles a hook – no pun intended. The “hook” is the actual name of what you call the part of the song that you want to hear over and over again and the better you are at writing “hooks” the more successful a songwriter you will be so hopefully I find one. Then I start playing with the song structure, verse chorus, or verse refrain, rhyme patterns, rhythms and determining where the hook is going to live in the song. Once I have the hook, and I know where it lands in the melody, I start asking myself a bunch of questions like, what could this mean? What is the story? Is this first person, third person n other words, point of view, is it a conversation? Who’s talking? Why? Where is the jumping off place? What is the pay off – the landing place? What feeling do I feel when I sing this song and themn I try singing a bunch of different way looking for the emotional response that “hits” me and that I hope to generate. By this point it is almost like an obsession for me – I playing over and over again with different lines and lyrics, musical phrases. I call this part of the process “playing with the clay”. If you have ever taken a pottery class, you know you have to keep the clay wet while you are shaping your work; the same is true in writing a song. I don’t allow my self to get to attached to something until I get that intuitive “click”, and then I know, this phrase lives here in this part of the melody. How long does it take? Sometimes I write songs in a couple of hours, sometimes it takes me days and some songs get stuck and can take me weeks, months or years. I am usually chewing on more than one idea at a time, in fact I, like many writers I know have more ideas than they have the time or bandwidth to develop into finished work.
How do I know when it’s finished? There is a satisfaction level that I have to feel. When I get there or feel like it’s close, I usually play it for other writers or friends who will give me an honest constructive critique. This is an important step and at first it feels vulnerable to put your music out there especially at first, in fact it never stopped feeling vulnerable for me, I’ve just developed thicker skin and the ability to open my mind to hear constructive criticism. This is probably the most important part of the process really. Do I always make changes that are suggested, no but if not I have a clear understanding of why I am choosing what I choose. Sometimes I do find ways to improve it based on feedback and often the song is better when I take this extra step.
If you are interested in songwriting I would suggest joining a songwriting organization to learn more about the craft and business. The West Coast Songwriting Association and the Nashville Songwriters Association International are two outstanding organizations that support songwriters. I hope you have found this interesting. I would love to hear from you.
Enjoy
Elizabeth Edwards
Friday, April 30, 2010
Everyone Is Creative
Everyone is creative. People often say to me, “You are so creative, I wish I were.” My answer to this is - creativity is part of human nature, it is not a matter of being creative or not, the question to ask is, how do you access your creativity and to what purpose do you use it? Albert Einstein said, “Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life's coming attractions.” We create our reality – how amazing is that!
Some of the best musicians I know are math geniuses and that makes sense because the musical part of song writing is very much related to timing, tempo structure and sequence. I am not alone in believing that great songwriting comes from a whole brain experience.
The left hemisphere of the brain is largely responsible for analytical, logical, sequential skills. People with left-brain dominance are detail oriented and good at reading and following directions. People with right brain dominance think and learn in visual, kinesthetic and audio images, there is a tendency to daydream in random thought patterns. Both of these qualities are needed to create great songs.
I took a tip from Eric Maisel – Dr. Eric Maisel is an author, family therapist and cultural observer and is widely regarded as America’s foremost creativity coach. He suggests that writers write in the morning and this really does work for me. I can edit anytime, but getting it out on the page the first time, that is the part I do in the morning. And when I mean write I am not talking about stopping to edit, I am talking about purging the content of my random mind onto paper (I am right brain dominant).
Some of the best musicians I know are math geniuses and that makes sense because the musical part of song writing is very much related to timing, tempo structure and sequence. I am not alone in believing that great songwriting comes from a whole brain experience.
The left hemisphere of the brain is largely responsible for analytical, logical, sequential skills. People with left-brain dominance are detail oriented and good at reading and following directions. People with right brain dominance think and learn in visual, kinesthetic and audio images, there is a tendency to daydream in random thought patterns. Both of these qualities are needed to create great songs.
I took a tip from Eric Maisel – Dr. Eric Maisel is an author, family therapist and cultural observer and is widely regarded as America’s foremost creativity coach. He suggests that writers write in the morning and this really does work for me. I can edit anytime, but getting it out on the page the first time, that is the part I do in the morning. And when I mean write I am not talking about stopping to edit, I am talking about purging the content of my random mind onto paper (I am right brain dominant).
There are a couple of reasons this works for me. If I don’t access my ideas before I start problem solving and organizing I might not be able to access it later in the day. The other reason I purge my thoughts every morning is because I can then come back later in the day and refine and hone my ideas and marry the lyrics with the music (this is all left brain stuff).
One more reason and probably the most important reason to write in the morning is that if I don’t write first thing, my day is likely to slip by me with out writing at all. Writing is important to me, but it is an easy thing to push to the side when life makes its demands. Its like the principle of saving money – pay your self first. Do the thing that is important but not urgent first and then you will have more of what you want in life. Steven Covey is on to something with that one – if you have never read the book 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, you might want to – it’s a good one.
So this right brain, left brain thing fascinates me. There is a meditation program that I have recently tapped into called Holosync and according to it’s developer’s at Centerpointe Research Institute the sound waves taken in by stereo headsets create brain waves and connections in the brain that encourage whole brain activity. I find this helpful in meditation and creative writing.
We live in such a fast paced society, in my experience it is easy to get caught up in the day but not so easy to slow down. For me it is when I can slow down that the songs come to and through me.
One more reason and probably the most important reason to write in the morning is that if I don’t write first thing, my day is likely to slip by me with out writing at all. Writing is important to me, but it is an easy thing to push to the side when life makes its demands. Its like the principle of saving money – pay your self first. Do the thing that is important but not urgent first and then you will have more of what you want in life. Steven Covey is on to something with that one – if you have never read the book 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, you might want to – it’s a good one.
So this right brain, left brain thing fascinates me. There is a meditation program that I have recently tapped into called Holosync and according to it’s developer’s at Centerpointe Research Institute the sound waves taken in by stereo headsets create brain waves and connections in the brain that encourage whole brain activity. I find this helpful in meditation and creative writing.
We live in such a fast paced society, in my experience it is easy to get caught up in the day but not so easy to slow down. For me it is when I can slow down that the songs come to and through me.
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Discipline is the path to freedom. As a writer without a boss leaning over my shoulder barking out orders and providing me with deadlines, the level of my productivity is left entirely up to me.
One of the most important habits I have had to develop over the years is the habit and the practice of discipline. One of my friends who works for a large government agency pointed out that it would take a tremendous amount of discipline to be a writer or musician because the motivation has to come from within. I was glad she pointed this out because I can, at times beat myself up for not getting enough done. In the past I would have blamed it on a lack of discipline when in reality the problem is probably one of perception and determining how long it really takes to accomplish any given task or project. I was happy for her kind reminder.
As a project based creative person I have to build in the structure to my days and into the projects I want to create or nothing will happen. I have more ideas than I have time to create them so I have to pick and choose; I have to plan out the work. Sometimes when I sit down to write a specific song, blog post or marketing piece I come up blank. It helps to just start with a general direction of an idea and eventually my mind and fingers will find their way. I think writers block is simply a resistance to action and a lack of action is really just a lack of discipline. I never publish the first draft of anything so what does it matter what comes out first. Every writer I know, especially songwriters continually work their writing over and over until they get it right. So start, that is the key. If you wait for inspiration you might be waiting forever so start writing and if you are lucky, inspiration will show up.
One of the most important habits I have had to develop over the years is the habit and the practice of discipline. One of my friends who works for a large government agency pointed out that it would take a tremendous amount of discipline to be a writer or musician because the motivation has to come from within. I was glad she pointed this out because I can, at times beat myself up for not getting enough done. In the past I would have blamed it on a lack of discipline when in reality the problem is probably one of perception and determining how long it really takes to accomplish any given task or project. I was happy for her kind reminder.
As a project based creative person I have to build in the structure to my days and into the projects I want to create or nothing will happen. I have more ideas than I have time to create them so I have to pick and choose; I have to plan out the work. Sometimes when I sit down to write a specific song, blog post or marketing piece I come up blank. It helps to just start with a general direction of an idea and eventually my mind and fingers will find their way. I think writers block is simply a resistance to action and a lack of action is really just a lack of discipline. I never publish the first draft of anything so what does it matter what comes out first. Every writer I know, especially songwriters continually work their writing over and over until they get it right. So start, that is the key. If you wait for inspiration you might be waiting forever so start writing and if you are lucky, inspiration will show up.
Monday, February 1, 2010
Blessing or a Curse?
There is a fascinating conversation going on these days and if you are a musician, author or performing artist I hope you are participating. I have recently been involved in blogging about the concept of giving away free content in order to build a relationship with your audience or to even create an audience in some cases.
The internet has had a major impact on the music world as most people know. The debate is about "free music" vs paying for music online. Some people think recorded music should be free online ( the radio model) and simply used as a way to promote the artist. Other people see music as a product that should be sold and feel that the people who are giving it away diminish the value of music in general. Some people are even saying that it all depend on the quality of the music but I see this dilemma from a couple of perspectives. First as a musician and secondly as a marketer.
I have been writing songs and singing since I was thirteen - I have been recording music since the mid eighties and I will continue to write, record and perform. And I will continue to sell my musical products online and from the stage.
Additionally, I have worked on 5 national (print) magazines over the past twenty five years, some of them music industry focused. What has changed so dramatically has been the way EVERYTHING is marketed and sold, not just music. This is not a question of "good or great" music, Music is a matter of taste, some people love broccoli and some people hate it, it's the same with music. Besides, if it were simply a question of quality what do you say to the substantial history of products in any given industry that suck but sold well? Explanation ... great marketing!
This is clearly a marketing issue and the marketing paradigm has shifted for EVERYONE, not just people marketing music. It has changed dramatically because of this thing called the internet. With any massive change there will be losers and winners. The losers are the people who own and are heavily invested in the old way of selling and won't or can't adapt and the winners will be the people who figure out how to use the new technology to win. And I mean win financially because without financial success nothing is sustaianable.
As far as I am concerned there has never been more opportunity to create an audience in the history of mankind and whenever you create an audience you can make money. So when it comes to creating a relationship with an audience yes I think you should give something to them for their time and attention. It is naive to expect people to give you their time and attention if you are not giving them anything - we live in a world full of information and there is a lot of competition fighting for that attention. Attention is worth a lot, this is what the media companies are selling and if you don't believe me, google the cost of a Super Bowl advertisement.
I really appreciate the people who have and continue to follow my career and take the time to listen to my music and rad my newsletters and blogs and I am touched that people buy my CD's and add it to the "sound track" of their lives. Wow - what a compliment!
Elizabeth
The internet has had a major impact on the music world as most people know. The debate is about "free music" vs paying for music online. Some people think recorded music should be free online ( the radio model) and simply used as a way to promote the artist. Other people see music as a product that should be sold and feel that the people who are giving it away diminish the value of music in general. Some people are even saying that it all depend on the quality of the music but I see this dilemma from a couple of perspectives. First as a musician and secondly as a marketer.
I have been writing songs and singing since I was thirteen - I have been recording music since the mid eighties and I will continue to write, record and perform. And I will continue to sell my musical products online and from the stage.
Additionally, I have worked on 5 national (print) magazines over the past twenty five years, some of them music industry focused. What has changed so dramatically has been the way EVERYTHING is marketed and sold, not just music. This is not a question of "good or great" music, Music is a matter of taste, some people love broccoli and some people hate it, it's the same with music. Besides, if it were simply a question of quality what do you say to the substantial history of products in any given industry that suck but sold well? Explanation ... great marketing!
This is clearly a marketing issue and the marketing paradigm has shifted for EVERYONE, not just people marketing music. It has changed dramatically because of this thing called the internet. With any massive change there will be losers and winners. The losers are the people who own and are heavily invested in the old way of selling and won't or can't adapt and the winners will be the people who figure out how to use the new technology to win. And I mean win financially because without financial success nothing is sustaianable.
As far as I am concerned there has never been more opportunity to create an audience in the history of mankind and whenever you create an audience you can make money. So when it comes to creating a relationship with an audience yes I think you should give something to them for their time and attention. It is naive to expect people to give you their time and attention if you are not giving them anything - we live in a world full of information and there is a lot of competition fighting for that attention. Attention is worth a lot, this is what the media companies are selling and if you don't believe me, google the cost of a Super Bowl advertisement.
I really appreciate the people who have and continue to follow my career and take the time to listen to my music and rad my newsletters and blogs and I am touched that people buy my CD's and add it to the "sound track" of their lives. Wow - what a compliment!
Elizabeth
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