Final Draft
Brandon Winecoff
Professor Maxine Patroni
ENG 111-46
Wednesday, January 23, 2013
Songwriting: A Trait that Saved Me
“When I get sad, I stop being sad and be awesome instead; true story.” It was Neil Patrick Harris who said this in the show “How I Met Your Mother”. I find this quote powerful, even though it was meant to be funny, since it can actually be true. When a person is sad, the can “be awesome” in that they can do something that they are good at and that makes them happy. This is how I feel about my Songwriting. While not necessarily a trait, I am extremely proud of the fact that I can write a song and it actually turn out well.
Rhyming, which is something that I have seen most people struggle with, is almost second nature to me, as I can compare words in my head before I even consider writing the song. Rhymes are something that come into the song later in development, but I can always come up with them even before the process starts. It’s always good to have them in my head, since when I initially put my feelings down, I can start to formulate them and compare lines that could go together. Songwriting requires a rhyme scheme, at least most of the time, and in most cases just trying to rhyme the words can be extremely fun. Coming up with connections in your head between sentences can be vary encouraging to start off writing a song, giving you ways to connect two parts of a song when you get writers block.
Songwriting, which is usually a trait that people use to express themselves, is no different in my case. Not only that, but it has really had a large effect on who I have become as a person. Had I not been able to get into songwriting, I most likely would have battled heavy depression more than I already did. Many times throughout my life, I felt depressed and I used songwriting as a way to get around breaking down and having to carry it with me in my day-to-day life. This, among many other emotions, has all been inspirations for me. Pain, sorrow, love, joy, issues that I felt strongly about in the world, and even minor issues like hunger or wanting to go to Carowinds have all been topics that I have discussed in my songwriting. No matter what happens in my life, it is only fuel to the already enormous fire that burns within me to express my feelings through song. But feelings and words aren’t the only things that make up a song.
Since I mainly focus on expressing myself, it’s not initially too large of a concern of mine to create the music behind it; however, this isn’t the case throughout the entire process. Musical talent must go beyond just being able to come up with lyrics. After the song is written, I usually come up with a guitar and drum part to back them up. This can be both fun and tedious. As per a personal rule, I usually try to come up with a unique sound to every song that I choose to finish. These songs, which are very few in number, aren’t really going to be performed, but rather I like to finish the ones I really like, just to add a bit of closure. Normally, I try to go for making two guitar parts, consisting of a lead and a rhythm. The Rhythm is normally not too complicated, just being a few power chords repeated for the singer to play, should it ever be performed. It gives the lead guitar a good basis on where it can go with the sound of the guitar. The lead guitar is much more complicated, using actual chords, as well as picking the strings at different frets. Most of the time, I keep both at standard tuning while writing, but sometimes I’ll deviate and tune them a whole step or half step down, as well as using Drop D tuning. This usually results in a much grittier sound, for songs that I want to sound more punk-like than others, or songs that I feel like exhibiting powerful emotions. Usually for ballads I will use a capo, which is a tool that presses down all strings on a certain fret, which allows for a more pure, happier sound. The song will sound higher pitched, allowing me to work toward conveying a message that would go with a ballad, which are usually very sentimental.
The next step is to write a drum part, which is actually the easiest part. There’s not a lot of uniqueness that can be put into the drum part, as all it has to do is carry the other parts, with a bit of deviation here and there. That’s not to say that the drums aren’t important to the song, but there’s not a lot of room to be unique with it. Next is the bass guitar, which is probably the hardest part, unless you have it mirroring the lead guitar. The bass is basically just finger picking, trying to support the song. This can be tricky, because it can be tough to come up with bass lines to go with an upbeat song.
This may not seem like a trait as much as a process, but it all adds up to one trait, which is musical talent. This is a trait that, if I did not have, I would be a much different person, as it is my most treasured and most used talent. I try to keep myself as well-rounded as possible, but in the end, I will owe myself to my songwriting and consider it my most treasured quality.
Professor Maxine Patroni
ENG 111-46
Wednesday, January 23, 2013
Songwriting: A Trait that Saved Me
“When I get sad, I stop being sad and be awesome instead; true story.” It was Neil Patrick Harris who said this in the show “How I Met Your Mother”. I find this quote powerful, even though it was meant to be funny, since it can actually be true. When a person is sad, the can “be awesome” in that they can do something that they are good at and that makes them happy. This is how I feel about my Songwriting. While not necessarily a trait, I am extremely proud of the fact that I can write a song and it actually turn out well.
Rhyming, which is something that I have seen most people struggle with, is almost second nature to me, as I can compare words in my head before I even consider writing the song. Rhymes are something that come into the song later in development, but I can always come up with them even before the process starts. It’s always good to have them in my head, since when I initially put my feelings down, I can start to formulate them and compare lines that could go together. Songwriting requires a rhyme scheme, at least most of the time, and in most cases just trying to rhyme the words can be extremely fun. Coming up with connections in your head between sentences can be vary encouraging to start off writing a song, giving you ways to connect two parts of a song when you get writers block.
Songwriting, which is usually a trait that people use to express themselves, is no different in my case. Not only that, but it has really had a large effect on who I have become as a person. Had I not been able to get into songwriting, I most likely would have battled heavy depression more than I already did. Many times throughout my life, I felt depressed and I used songwriting as a way to get around breaking down and having to carry it with me in my day-to-day life. This, among many other emotions, has all been inspirations for me. Pain, sorrow, love, joy, issues that I felt strongly about in the world, and even minor issues like hunger or wanting to go to Carowinds have all been topics that I have discussed in my songwriting. No matter what happens in my life, it is only fuel to the already enormous fire that burns within me to express my feelings through song. But feelings and words aren’t the only things that make up a song.
Since I mainly focus on expressing myself, it’s not initially too large of a concern of mine to create the music behind it; however, this isn’t the case throughout the entire process. Musical talent must go beyond just being able to come up with lyrics. After the song is written, I usually come up with a guitar and drum part to back them up. This can be both fun and tedious. As per a personal rule, I usually try to come up with a unique sound to every song that I choose to finish. These songs, which are very few in number, aren’t really going to be performed, but rather I like to finish the ones I really like, just to add a bit of closure. Normally, I try to go for making two guitar parts, consisting of a lead and a rhythm. The Rhythm is normally not too complicated, just being a few power chords repeated for the singer to play, should it ever be performed. It gives the lead guitar a good basis on where it can go with the sound of the guitar. The lead guitar is much more complicated, using actual chords, as well as picking the strings at different frets. Most of the time, I keep both at standard tuning while writing, but sometimes I’ll deviate and tune them a whole step or half step down, as well as using Drop D tuning. This usually results in a much grittier sound, for songs that I want to sound more punk-like than others, or songs that I feel like exhibiting powerful emotions. Usually for ballads I will use a capo, which is a tool that presses down all strings on a certain fret, which allows for a more pure, happier sound. The song will sound higher pitched, allowing me to work toward conveying a message that would go with a ballad, which are usually very sentimental.
The next step is to write a drum part, which is actually the easiest part. There’s not a lot of uniqueness that can be put into the drum part, as all it has to do is carry the other parts, with a bit of deviation here and there. That’s not to say that the drums aren’t important to the song, but there’s not a lot of room to be unique with it. Next is the bass guitar, which is probably the hardest part, unless you have it mirroring the lead guitar. The bass is basically just finger picking, trying to support the song. This can be tricky, because it can be tough to come up with bass lines to go with an upbeat song.
This may not seem like a trait as much as a process, but it all adds up to one trait, which is musical talent. This is a trait that, if I did not have, I would be a much different person, as it is my most treasured and most used talent. I try to keep myself as well-rounded as possible, but in the end, I will owe myself to my songwriting and consider it my most treasured quality.