by Kara Johnstad

To be a great songwriter you have to accept your right to be "you."

Be original. Innovate and don't imitate. Although we can not re-invent the wheel and a love song will normally have two people falling in or out of love, it is important that you tell the story through your eyes and your experience and use your words to express what moves you.

Trees are trees. Flowers are flowers, and we are all stuck on this planet together; yet fact is, everyone has similar experiences and everyone is divinely unique.

when you try to be someone you are not.

So in songwriting you are looking for striking a balance between forms and colors your audience is familiar with and adding your unique signature. The familiarity makes it easier for your listeners to appreciate your uniqueness.

Think of it like this, when you meet someone who is wonderfully hip or a misfit, even though their clothes may be wild and their ideas out in left field, they still do have a nose, two eyes, ears, and a smile.  This makes them one of a kind and one of us.

Dancers like Twyla Tharp and Martha Graham still choreograph new pieces using pli� and relev�, painters like Pablo Picasso and Paul C�zanne still use canvas and paint to create art and songwriters like Pat Metheny and Phil Collins originally from Genesis, still used scales and rhyme and familiar elements of songwriting while creating new styles of music.

Here are 5 ideas to play with
when you are composing and learning to innovate instead of imitate. 

SONG INTRO

Grab your audiences attention by adding an innovative song intro. Experiment with sound effects, percussive sounds, speaking and so forth. Intros to Pop songs are generally 4-5 seconds. Don't be worried about being too bold or too experimental. It will catch people's attention and the few seconds will pass quickly.

One of my favorite song intros is Laurie Anderson's Superman. I never forgot it. One example of a long song intro is Sting's Brand New World.

INSTRUMENTATION

Be daring and add an instrument that your audience might not expect. Synthesizers have a zillion of sounds to try out, but you can also try adding acoustic instruments that are more rare to the pop music scene. What about a hung drum or adding an oboe or doing the bass line with a tuba. Try bagpipes or adding of  xylophone. In my song Carousell I added an accordion. Make a statement with innovative instrumentation.

SONG FORMS

Most pop songs are written with a verse - chorus - bridge design. Having songs with unrelated sections or verses with varied melodies can be interesting.

I remember being in studio for my song "Searching for An Angel"; the song has 4 parts. The studio engineer and a producer I was working with at the time said that I had to cut one of the parts to make it more radio friendly.

I took out the ax and cut out a big section of the song. Then I recorded it. I felt like I had amputated a part of my body. One limb less I walked out of the studio with my recording.  After two sleepless nights and a week of mobbing, I let go of the producer and went back into studio.

ODD TIME SIGNATURES

Most of the songs that we know use 4/4 time. Sometimes we have a waltz in � time. But what if we tried using 5/4 - like the famous Jazz Standard Take Five, or think about Peter Gabriel's Solsbury Hill where he alternated between � and 4/4. Play with the time signature and your song might just gain a whole new facet.

LYRICS

Take your lyrics to another level by adding another language, or odd rhymes and phrases. In my song Journey Me Home, I was inspired to incorporate Pig Latin, in other songs such as Adel's Pluck, she adds a bit of French. If you really don't know where to go, and know that your melody is powerful and the song form is working well, you can always work in a great collaboration team.

Message Of Hope was created in this way, Fabrizio Pigliucci composed the music and I wrote the lyrics. Also my song Song Of India was a collaborative work.

I love working in a powerful team. 

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Finding a great lyricist
is a way to add a new sound to your music.

Don't kill yourself by trying to appeal to everyone.

learn, work hard and be real.

The mere fact that you exist means that the universe wanted to create something exactly like you. Nobody else. There is room for a zillion artists. And the thought of it makes me dizzy with happiness.

You arrived on earth against all odds. Innovate and leave your mark on this world.

P.S. Share with us your experience, and feel free to join the Voice Your Essence™ Community over on Facebook: www.facebook.com/voiceyouressence. I'm really excited to hear what you have to say.

 

Thank you, as always, for tuning in, reading and contributing.

 

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Kara Johnstad is a creative visionary, transformational catalyst and a powerful voice in the time and age of transition. She is a singer / songwriter, founder of the Voice Your Essence™ Community  and creator of the Voice Your Essence™  and Voice Your Biz™ Programs.  If you are ready to take your voice and your world to the next level, you can sign up for a F.R.E.E. subscription of her weekly eZine, at www.karajohnstad.com