tonight, several of my good friends from the crossing--joe, darnella, bil and myself--sat down together and each shared a song we'd written individually with the group. i'm hoping this is the first of many such gatherings because the songs shared were stellar. the end result was a collective sense that our God is up to something special in us, as a team of writers, and we're really excited to see where the wind blows!
the format was pretty simple, we shared a little bit about how we got into songwriting, then shared a song (either on recording or live with a guitar). after listening to the song as a group we'd all give feedback about what we liked, and where we could see the song finding an audience i.e. at a coffee shop, on the radio, for a worship service etc.
we left with a challenge to write a new song for the next time we meet, in july. i can't wait to hear what everyone comes up with!
also got to share some cool stuff i've been reading about the craft of songwriting, which i'll share with you too. maybe it'll spark your creative juices:
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*predominant theme of love, with an average length of three minutes to three minutes and thirty seconds, leaning toward mid- to up-tempo, in 4/4 time and in verse-chorus-verse-chorus-bridge-instrumental-chorus form. songs were conversational first-person lyrics, heavy on humor and irony, packed with ear-catching details. the average introduction to the songs was 13-seconds, and took the listener to the title of the song in 60 seconds (or less) with the title repeating no more than seven times.
*all of the songs also created an expectation for the listener in the verse through story, situation, emotion or plot, and delivered on the expectation created with a more than satisfying chorus.
in short, ralph murphy's advice to all songwriters was to "create something so simple that the listener gets it immediately yet so complex that it holds his or her attention for a lifetime."
sounds like advice that can be applied to any creative venture, doesn't it?
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