Enhancing the Development of Songwriting Guitar Lesson

Chapter 1: (06:13) Economy of Language We talked at length last week about how to compose meaningful and poignant lyrics and about facets of poetry that can assist us in the composition process. Some of these facets we have discussed including metaphor and narrative perspective, but there are other important aspects of poetry that can assist us as well with the songwriting process. We'll discuss some of those today as well as practice the mastery of using some of the techniques that we've covered thus far. Ultimately, a good songwriter needs a toolbox from which to work, and all of the poetic devices that we have been discussing and will continue to discuss will become more and more familiar to you. The poetic master Ezra Pound was quoted to have said "...genius is the capacity to see ten things where the ordinary man sees one." You too can develop your composition skills to see different angles, different perspectives and a kaleidoscope of different metaphors in every situation and relationship that you choose to examine. Let's take a look at some more "tools" that you might be able to add to your toolbox!

Economy of Language

Economy of language can be defined as efficient, economical, concise use of word; direct, undeviating, not-verbose but matter of fact and straight to the point. This facet of writing can help the author to get his or her point across to his/her listener in the most economical fashion possible and in the fewest words possible. This can be an important feature of songwriting as you have a limited number of words and time to get your point across to your listener, as opposed to fiction where you have substantially more time to develop your story, characters, and plot. Metaphor is often used as the most efficient manner of expression as you will see in this poem by Pound:

A Girl

The tree has entered my hands,
The sap has ascended my arms,
The tree has grown in my breast -
Downward,
The branches grow out of me, like arms.

Tree you are,
Moss you are,
You are violets with wind above them.
A child - so high - you are,
And all this is folly to the world.

Ezra Pound

The title of the poem tells us immediately that the composition is written about (and perhaps to) a girl. The title is neat, concise, brief, and informs us that the poem is in fact about a girl. Pound leaves our minds to wander, at least for the moment, about the girl: whose girl, what girl, girlfriend, daughter, stranger, lover? The simplicity of the title leaves the imagination to roam, which allows the reader to create the reality that he/she chooses. Yet as we begin the first stanza of the poem, we are instantly made aware that the poem is also about a tree. The particular tree at hand seems to be invading his body, coursing through him and becoming him. Pound's economy of language sets the scene with the simple title and the lines following, which combine the two images inexorably: a girl and a tree. Clearly, the girl is the tree and vice-versa and both of them have invaded Pound's soul, and body as well. Despite the fact that Pound has only used 10 lines of verse and 40-50 words, he has expressed a world of sentiment and emotion in the most brief and concise manner possible.
Chapter 2: (08:28) Let's Write Let's Write

We'll use the following chords to compose our next set of lyrics:

Em
E_0_
B_0_
G_0_
D_2_
A_2_
E_0_

D6/9/F#
E_0_
B_0_
G_2_
D_0_
A_x_
E_2_

G6
E_0_
B_0_
G_0_
D_0_
A_2_
E_3_

Am11(no 3rd)
E_0__
B_0_
G_0_
D_0_
A_7_
E_5_

Get accustomed to the four chords using the strum "down down-up-down." Remember to relax your wrist and allow the pick to relax as well between your fingers. Don't relax it so much that you find yourself dropping it into the sound-hole of the guitar, but enough so that it flows over the strings of the guitar.

Exercise 1

Play the four chords and find a melody line or lines that you like. Once again, if you need to refer back to previous songwriting lessons about how to locate notes and melody within a chord, please do so at this time. The best way is to sing or hum notes over the top of the chords until you find something catchy. The progression that we're using now is an ascending progression, so you may want to have an ascending melody line to go with it. But, you may want to have a descending scale over the top of it instead. Or, you may want to have a combination of ascending and descending scales, which is the most common course of action. The decision, like all of them in this process, is entirely yours. I'll show you how to do all three in the video.

Exercise 2

Play the four chords with your new melody line and this time, listen for words that the melody may "sound" like. I know I've said this to you before and it may sound strange to some people! But, when you play around with the various chords using the rhythm that I've provided for you, listen carefully to what you're playing. I mean LISTEN, that is without others talking, without the television on and giving full concentration to the guitar! Finding the level of concentration necessary for you to find melodies will be up to you and can be difficult (for some) when there are too many distractions. Note: some people can actually concentrate and read and write with distraction, so find the right atmosphere for you.

Exercise 3

Once you have discovered some words to go with your melody line(s), go through the process of deconstruction that we went over in last week's lesson. In other words, tear your idea apart and attempt to look at it from all angles and all perspectives. You don't necessarily need to chart everything out as we did last week unless you feel you really need to. The charting process can be helpful if you're finding the ideas are just not coming quickly enough for you. This might be a good time to figure out what perspective you will be speaking from as well. Take another look at Pound's poem as well to refresh yourself on what each perspective might look like in verse form.



Perspective

You can see that Pound's use of perspective changes as he seems to be using the first person narrative in the first stanza (using the word "my") and second person in the second stanza (using the word "you" and addressing the girl directly). You can do this as well in your song lyrics if you feel compelled to although be aware of how this changes the overall feel of the song, and the message that you are trying to convey to your listeners.

Exercise 4

Using the words that you have chosen (at least for now) for your melody line think about how you might be able to express the same idea in simpler terms. In other words, find a way to express the same idea or sentiment using metaphor. This can be a little challenging especially at first and if you need to peek back at both of Pound's poems (one from this week and one from last week) then do so. Chapter 3: (03:54) More Metaphor Metaphor as Figurative Language

We've defined metaphor now, but haven't talked about the nature of speaking figuratively. The word figurative can be defined as "expressing one thing in terms normally denoting another with which it may be regarded as analogous" (Merriam Webster, 10th ed., 1993. Springfield, Mass p. 434). If you are attempting to use a metaphor in your composition, then you want to make sure that you are speaking in a figurative fashion. Here's a way to check and see if you are indeed speaking figuratively and forming a metaphor:

1. Is your statement figurative and not literal?

2. Take the statement "love is oxygen" and ask yourself, "is love actually oxygen?" The answer is a resounding "no!" so your statement is figurative and therefore passes the first requirement.

3. Are the two things you are comparing being made to appear as equal in essence?

4. In the above statement, love and oxygen are indeed being made to appear as equal on some level so your statement has passed the second requirement.

5. Can the idea you are presenting expand metaphorically? In other words, can your metaphor be elaborated, developed beyond the literal? This might be the toughest qualification to define but looking at the statement "love is oxygen" one can look at the overall implications of the words. Love nurtures like oxygen, and is essential for humans to survive and thrive, and some see it as integral to human welfare just as oxygen is to the organism. Hence, our initial statement has passed the final test and is indeed a metaphor. Chapter 4: (05:41) Your Turn Let's go through the process again. This time, let's use some new chords:

Dm
E_1_
B_3_
G_2_
D_0_
A_x_
E_x_

Play this chord by placing your first finger on the high-E string 1st fret, your second or middle finger on the G-string 2nd fret, and your third or ring finger on the B-string 3rd fret.

Cadd9sus4
E_1_
B_3_
G_0_
D_0_
A_3_
E_x_

Play this chord the same as you would play the Dm chord above but on this chord move your second finger onto the A-string 3rd fret.

Bb
E_1_
B_3_
G_3_
D_3_
A_1_
E_x_

F major
E_1_
B_1_
G_2_
D_3_
A_1__3_
E_1_

Once again, familiarize (or re-familiarize if you need to) yourself with these chords and get comfortable with playing them. We'll use an alternating strum pattern with these chords where the first and the third chords will get strummed "down down-up-down," and the second and the fourth chords will get "up-down-down." The first down stroke on the second and fourth chords will be a transition strum of sorts as you will see in the video.

Exercise 5

Play the chords and locate some nice melody lines. Again, sing or hum to find any lines that strike you and keep track of them. You may want to pick one that you especially like so that you can focus on that one alone.

Exercise 6

Using your "new" melody, write some lyrics that sound like the melody you're playing. Over time this process should become second nature to you and you'll automatically hear melody when you strum chords.

Exercise 7

Again, deconstruct the concept that you have found in your new words and explore, examine, dissect the idea to gain more familiarity with it.

Exercise 8

Find a metaphor that works for you. Go through the checklist that we discussed previously to make sure that you are indeed employing a metaphor in your lyrics. Continue to match lyrics to your melody line while experimenting with different combinations and different metaphors.

Exercise 9

Once you've gone through all of the exercises above, find some chords that go with the chords you've been playing in the last five exercises. See if you can discover a chorus that works with the chords you're playing and then find some lyrics that work over the top using the method we've been working on. You should probably stick to the same metaphor that you've been using although you could modify it, or use the initial one and develop a different angle or aspect of it.

Please note that the process which we've been working on so arduously is not set in stone and it may behoove you to skip a step or two if lyrics are coming to you! In other words, if you find that you're playing some chords and you're really getting a great lyrical flow, and the metaphors are coming to you fast and furious, then go with it! The process that we've been discussing can simply help to generate ideas and assist you in finding some great starting points if you need them.

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