Category Archives: Songwriter
7 Tips for Instantly Better Lyrics | by Cliff Goldmacher, BMI
At its best, lyric writing is a magical mixture of creativity and storytelling that can bring your listener into a world you've created and hold them there for the length of your song. However, in order to create the perfect, tightly-scripted narrative that great lyrics possess, countless hours of writing and re-writing are often necessary. I've found it's just as important to know how to critically examine and edit a lyric as it is to write one in the first place. To that end, here are seven questions that songwriters can ask themselves during and after a songwriting session to make sure their lyrics are as effective as they can possibly be.
1. Is everything you're writing related to the hook/message of the song?
Given the truly limited amount of time you've got to make your point in a lyric, it pays to make sure each line serves the message of your hook so that the song's point is developed and driven home at every opportunity. Lines that just sound or feel good are, unfortunately, a waste of valuable space.
On a related note, if you're building your lyric around an overall metaphor such as the ocean, for example, stay away from expressions or images that don't relate. What I mean is that expressions about waves will work better than expressions like "putting on the brakes" which relate to automotive imagery instead. Each image and detail should relate to the overall metaphor in order for the lyric to be at its most powerful. Be careful, though, not to use so many metaphors that your song sounds contrived. Being conversational and not "too clever" is an important step in keeping your song believable.
2. Have you used details in your verses?
Verses are the place to tell the story and stories are best told with interesting details. The expression "A picture is worth a thousand words" is never truer than in your verses. To that end, really focus on the kind of imagery that will bring the listener into your song. Instead of saying "a woman gives a man at the bar a cold look," you could say "his beer was warmer than the look in her eye."
On the other extreme, be careful not to overdo it in your verses with the kind of minutia that makes a song seem too long or confuses your listener. The keys to great verse writing are being interesting and impactful.
3. Have you already said it?
One of the traps we fall into as songwriters is inadvertently coming up with different ways to say the same thing. Be certain in your verses that each line furthers the story and you're not simply repeating yourself line after line. Every line of every verse is an opportunity to move your story along with new details/information.
Artist Launch: Matt Boroff
Matt Boroff is an American born, Austria-based musician, singer, and songwriter whose passionate brand of music has excelled at luring audiences into new and exciting terrain. From experimental noise-rock to standard alternative-rock, Boroff, a talented multi-instrumentalist, creates an immersive work that feels cinematic in scope while conjuring images of Spaghetti Westerns and sweeping desert landscapes.
His musical career began in the Nineties, performing his own brand of experimental noise-rock across the northeast and playing solo gigs in New York City. In 2000, he relocated to Austria and formed the basis of what would become Matt Boroff & the Mirrors with drummer, Little Konzett. They released a self-titled debut album to critical acclaim in 2004. Once full-time bassist, Rolf Kersting, was added to the fold, the band punched up its sound with slabs of driving rock and roll, sun-bleached grooves and jittery evocations of West Coast punk on 2006's Ticket to Nowhere. As the band gelled and continued amassing a fervent following, it ventured even further into new realms with the release of 2008's Elevator Ride. Given Boroff's penchant for cinematic imagery, it was hardly surprising when five tracks from Elevator Ride appeared on the soundtrack to the 2009 film Little Fish, Strange Pond.
His 2009 solo debut, Reaching for Sparks weaved muted arrangements (guitar, piano, strings, horns and timpani), cementing Boroff's reputation for creating arresting music across a variety of styles. In 2012, he released the four-song EP Filling in the Cracks, a concise mini-album that connected the dots between the musical imagery of Elevator Ride and the atmospherics of Reaching for Sparks. In January 2014, Matt was introduced to Kevin Kelly through a mutual friend working with Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and soon after their introduction, while utilizing the services available through the Artist Launch platform, Kevin began managing Matt as he took things a step further with his second full-length solo album, Sweet Hand of Fate, which was self-released on January 14, 2014 on Kevin's independent record label Revvolt Records. The album features a guest appearance by alt-rock legend and former Screaming Trees frontman, Mark Lanegan, who displays his harrowing vocals on the track, Garbage Man.
Now, Matt Boroff breaks new ground as he enters 11AD Studio in Los Angeles, CA to collaborate with one of rock's legendary contributors, the amazingly talented Alain Johannes. The result will be an organically well-crafted and multi-dimensional follow up to Sweet Hand of Fate.
Mark Lanegan, who has collaborated with various artists and bands throughout his career, including the late Kurt Cobain of Nirvana prior to the release of the group's breakthrough album, Nevermind, returns to lend his distinctive baritone voice to a new track on Boroff's latest studio effort, while, drummer and 2012 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, Jack Irons (Red Hot Chili Peppers, Pearl Jam, Neil Young, Eleven, What Is This?) lends his powerful chops behind the drum kit! Read More…
Ken Hamilton's New Album 'Gulf Breeze' Is Available On iTunes & CD Baby!
We are excited to announce the release of Ken Hamilton's debut album 'Gulf Breeze', available on iTunes and CD Baby!
Gulf Breeze is a story about memories, coming home and revival with a Gulf Coast setting. "Gulf breeze, wash over me. Carry away all the clouds and rain". – Ken Hamilton, singer/songwriter
It has been a joy to be a part of the recording process with such a talented singer/songwriter.
Support Austin's local musicians and keep the music flowing!
‪For more information regarding Ken Hamilton, please visit: www.kenhamiltonmusic.com
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