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Songwriting
Workshop
The following blog is a presentation of the processes and reflections gathered from the Masters songwriting workshop at the University of the West of Scotland. It contains my workings, drafts and final versions of songs written both collaboratively and as a solo writer, alongside music and lyrics.
Collaborative Songwriting
Rebeka O'Rorke
My first collaboration was with Rebeka. The workshop we had in induction week with songwriter Fraser T. Smith really supported the way I approached this session; in the talk, Fraser told us that he will create a track with the artist in the session so that they have something to take away from their day together. You can then go back to the song and re-write and refine it, but a lot of the "bones" of the song so to speak are written on the day. I immediately identified this as a gap in my own songwriting practice with artists and from there on realised I wanted to develop this skill. A lot of my collaborations take place over zoom with songwriters across different time zones. This means that often we will schedule in 2 hour sessions, which can lead to songs taking a few months to write, if we schedule in a session every few weeks. Having the goal of producing a song in one day with an artist was therefore very helpful for me, and I enjoyed the challenge of producing work in a time-limited structure.
For the brief, we were asked to pick a theme from a random phrase generator, and to write in either an AAA or AABA structure. Rebeka and I both connected with the phrase "back to the drawing board", and so we spent time connecting on what that meant to us. Rebeka spoke of her concerns of what would happen on completion on the Masters - would she be able to continue making music? Would it be "back to the drawing board"? She spoke of the renovation work she was having done in her house, and we uncovered this idea as a metaphor for where her head is at. I tried out different chord sequences that matched Rebeka's artistic style, and when we had one that worked, Rebeka sang various melodies until we found one that felt hooky. When we had the melody, we started writing the lyrics together. For section B, we created a melody that really lifted in order to create a chorus, however on reflection, we could have written this in a more subtle and cyclical way, instead of writing a chorus. I found our session really effective and enjoyed collaborating with Rebeka. I do think we spent a lot of time of the concept and next time would perhaps start getting in to writing the music a little quicker, but overall i'm happy with the process and the outcome of the songwriting session.
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writing process
Lyrics:
Building a Home
My mind is a building
Bulldozers on site
These thoughts, i'll keep lifting
with all of my might
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Red tape all around me
brick walls crumbling down
these thoughts, i'll keep lifting
tell me, will I be found?
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Where do we go from here?
Where do we go from here?
I've gotta make my mind somewhere I can live
Where do we go?
I guess i'll never know
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These thoughts i'll keep lifting
but I won't do this alone
I'll keep sweeping up chaos
to make this building a home
Louise McLean
Louise and I really enjoyed our collaboration. We were given the brief by C. Duncan who asked us to write a strophic AAA structure where we could explore using the same melody in each of the three verses, but each section would change and develop. The lyrics would tell a story in chronological order, and we could create characters and scenes. Louise and I approached the songwriting session by first spending time connecting; a technique I have learned during my time with The Songwriting Academy (The Songwriting Academy, 2023), and from collaborating with songwriters such as Charlie Grant of music publishers Peer Music Germany and Alison Wheeler of The Beautiful South. We connected on our critiques of capitalism, how kindness isn't valued because it doesn't make money. This led us to discussing feeling stuck in the rat race; a cycle of everyone punching down at each other when they should be angry at the system of capitalism. In keeping with a narrative writing style, we explored the cyclical concept of writing about three different characters in a pub. Louise told me that she worked in an "old man's pub" and when, as a collaborative technique I asked her to describe it to me, she came out with such rich descriptions of the place that we knew we had to incorporate these in to the song. With these descriptions we could really "show, not tell" the story. Together we scoped out the three characters - a young queer bartender, a regular elderly customer and a middle aged singer, and discussed what we wanted each of their characters to say within the song. Louise started writing the lyrics and I started making the music. For me, this was the first collaboration I've been involved in where we don't work through the lyrics together, which is a part of the process I really love! However, it taught me a valuable lesson that not everyone works in the same way, and I can be adaptable in writing sessions and work to the strengths of those I am writing with. It was also really cool to see the way in which Louise and I were inspired by each other. One of the moments that stands out the most was when I introduced a synth pad on verse 2 which really added emotion to the piece. In turn, Louise wrote, in my opinion, the most vulnerable and heartfelt lyric of the song; "doin' alright, it's been years since anyone asked." For me, it was really fun to think about each verse keeping the same melody, but changing elements of the harmony to keep the listener engaged. I learned that so often when I'm in a time-limited writing session, i'll go to the chord sequences that I know work i.e I-V-vi-IV. (Cornell, 2022). During this session, I started thinking more about the instrumentation and what I could do musically to connect with the listener. It also taught me the value of having a strong melody which carries the song in a way that frees the instrumentation to change around. I asked Louise if she wanted to re-visit this song and write the chorus, however she embarked on working on the chorus alone.
writing process
Lyrics: Sweet Delight
Turn on the lights and i'm mopping the floor
cannot be arsed with this place anymore
Sweet delight, he's the bain of my life
he'll be waiting when I unlock the door
Tobacco stained fingers and hair in his ears
No point explaining to him that I'm queer
All he wants is whiskey and beer
He's not even paid to be here
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No intervention, I live in the past
Stretch out my pension so this pint will last
Doin' alright, it's been years since anyone asked
Melted on makeup but still sounding great
Hitchin' her dress up, a shame she's a state
Well past her sell-by date, should'nee be paid to be here
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Workin' the night, setting up my own stage
didn't think i'd still be here at my age
But i'll use my voice so long as it still pays a wage
Look at the bar staff, they'll waste their best years
watchin' the punters just drown in their tears
it's all such a waste
why are we paid to be here
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Ali Tahir & Patsy Gillam
The third brief we were given was to write 16 bars using flow, a concept coined by psychologist Csikszentmihalyi (2008, p. 71) as the conditions necessary for creative work. We were asked to generate three random images and to find connection between them before heading in to the songwriting room. I suggested that we first have a coffee together to discuss the connection we had to the brief, thus finding something to write about together. Later, Ali said in the feedback session that when we came together, we took a break. I was surprised that in seeking connection with my co-writers, that this was viewed as a break! From this, I really learned that connection really is central to my practice because it's in the conversation as part of the process that you can come up with so much gold to write about. However, I did learn that while I feel relaxed in giving creativity time to develop, I understand that the feeling of not immediately coming up with a chord sequence for example could feel stressful when there's a deadline to work towards.
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When we returned to the writing room, Ali came up with a dissonant chord that he suggested we start with. Both Patsy and I didn't like the sound of this particular chord, and so I came up with a chord sequence and then put a beat over it. Patsy suggested listening to a reference track, and Ali shared one he liked the vibe of; Let You Love Me by Tinashe (Tinashe, 2012). The song he played used the same chords for both the verse and the chorus, and so although I had initially thought to change the chords, I let this song influence the way I wrote. Patsy and I then worked together on the instrumentation while Ali worked on the lyrics.
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When it came to the chorus, in keeping with the concept of flow (Csikszentmihalyi, 2008), I started singing a melody, and we kept the first part of the idea I came out with. This was a shorter session than previous days, so I really felt the impact of having less time. I started to draft some lyrics for the melody I came up with, where I would say a line and receive immediate feedback from my co-writers as to whether it fit the concept, a tool which is very helpful in the creative process (Lubart, 2001). The lyrics were thematically linked to the idea of the changing seasons. In this co-write, I felt like my lyrics were very cliche. On reflection I would liked to have written the lyrics for the verses together because I believe this would have helped me come up with more original ideas for the chorus as the overall meaning of the song. Even though we spent time working on the concept at the beginning, I don't think we invested enough time in this and this resulted in a disconnect in the lyrics between the verse and the chorus, which I believe is evident in the overall flow of the song. However, despite the lack of lyrical clarity for me, I think we wrote something with strong melodic ideas and I really enjoyed the collaborative instrumental focus between Patsy and I, and how we all managed to come up with something in a short space of time.
writing process
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Another day in from my head to my legs,
whole with the world’s weight.
Invisible forces blow wind a way I walk towards a path on which I question the essence of faith.
Fate... or any other word i can phrase... another meaning, another reason,
another season filled with word and word on page.
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Even though it’s winter now
I know summer’s comin’ ‘round
Wind’s rushing
My tears, they’re gushing
And hit the ground
Even though it’s winter now
I know summer’s comin’ ‘round
I’m done cursing
I’ve cried, I’m rising
I’ll make you proud
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Paths paved with pain, I never played safe.
I chose to be chosen, regardless of what they say.
Past paid in pain, I never played safe.
I spoke to be spoke, regardless of what they say.
oh, to the patient, the dedicated trait.
I know you in my heart and may our souls meet again.
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Even though it’s winter now
I know summer’s comin’ ‘round
Wind’s rushing
My tears, they’re gushing
And hit the ground
Even though it’s winter now
I know summer’s comin’ ‘round
I’m done cursing
I’ve cried, I’m rising
I’ll make you proud
Lyrics
Ali Tahir
Co-write for
Professional Music Brief
For PMB, Ali and I were tasked with writing to a song set in summer which celebrates the diverse community and resilient spirit of the people of Glasgow. Due to the time-limited nature of the brief, we decided to collaborate over zoom. We both spent time thinking about thematic ideas before joining the call - I initially thought of the Kenmure Street Protests of 2021 encapsulating the Glasgow spirit (Niamat and Uygun, no date), while Ali spoke of the joy of children in a neighbourhood. Since we had been given summer as part of the concept, Ali suggested that I played guitar on this track. In turn, I had just learned how to play Here Comes the Sun (The Beatles, 1969), and used the same chords but in a different order to start our song. We began talking about the area we both live in the summer, and the fragrant smells of the fruit shops; the beloved Pollokshields mango. We talked about sitting in Queen's Park with iced coffee and hanging out with friends. Ali then spoke about the community spirit in the local area - that it was normal to ask the shopkeeper, "Uncle, have you got any fresh mangoes in?", even though you weren't related. We realised as we connected on the topic that the local people are the heroes we wanted to lift up in this song. We imagined two friends getting together on a summer's day, wandering about the neighbourhood greeting these locals - from the uncle selling mangoes to the queer bookshop creating a safe space for the LGBTQ+ community. (Lorenzato-Lloyd, 2022)
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Once we had a chord sequence for the verse, I came up with a melody, then Ali and I wrote the lyrics together for that first verse. We bounced back and forth on the development of the ideas until we were happy with each phrase, and upon completion of verse 1, went straight in to writing verse 2. We focused on the songwriting technique of painting the picture using sensory language, so that we would "show, not tell" (Tran, 2023) the story. Once we had the verses, we went on to the chorus, and after a few lyrical drafts, settled on; "When i'm with you i'm home. When i'm with you, i'm home. As long as you are here, i'm not alone." For the verses, we used very specific ideas, and for the chorus a universal meaning in order to successfully write our song. The track was written in around 4 hours in one sitting, and I believe the way we connected to both the thematic ideas, and how that enabled us to connect with each other on a shared love of Glasgow. I suggested coming back together to re-write any sections of the song that didn't feel quite right, and Ali suggested changing a word in the very last line from: "Friend you sit and tell me about the places you've seen but I am interested in how you've been".In this phrase we changed "but" to "and" to create a warmer feeling between the two friends. This re-write was done after the deadline to record the piece for PMB so is not included in the recording attached. Although I think there was scope to re-write some of the other lines in the song, Ali felt it served the purpose of what the brief required and were happy with the song.
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Upon completion of the song , I recorded the guitar and vocals at home, then produced the track by adding backing vocals, drums, percussion, keys and bass. I then sent the tracks to Ali, who mixed them, ready for the showcase at The Dream Machine. Although we recorded a version of Mangoes, We decided that it would be effective if I performed the song live to balance out the number of performances and recorded tracks. Overall, I was really pleased with how successful this collaboration was, with thanks to the concise brief and the connection built between Ali and I with regards to the thematic ideas in the writing process.
Lyrics: Mangoes
You opened up the shutters for the day
Bringing in the morning sunshine rays
Lighting up the neighbourhood with your smile
A pillar of community like tenement tiles
Uncle, have you got any fresh mangoes in?
We’re going to the Bando gathering
I’ve always felt such warmth here in the city
Cos Southside strangers become your family
When I’m with you I’m home
When I’m with you I’m home
As long as you are here I’m not alone
Browsing through the shelves in Category Is Books
This place; a real safe haven
A sweet, comforting nook
You’ll see what you’ve created if you stop to take a look
Let’s go get iced coffee from Short Long Black
And lay down on a blanket on freshly cut grass
Friend, you sit and tell me about the places that you’ve seen,
And I am interested in how you’ve been
When I’m with you I’m home
When I’m with you I’m home
As long as you are here I’m not alone
When I’m with you I’m home
When I’m with you I’m home
As long as you are here I’m not alone
writing process
Solo Songwriting
For day one of solo week, the focus was on melody. We were first given the task to create a melody using a choice of phrases as inspiration - I chose "To love and live happy is my desire with my love." We were to think about how the melody builds on the concept of what you're trying to say, as well as working on the conceptual intent behind the structure. I began by picking the most hooky section from my melody, and started harmonising this with chords. I came up with the thematic idea of "Not everything you think is true." The initial idea was to address overthinking - the thought process that happens when you feel like someone has "looked at you differently", which makes you wonder if they still like you. For me, this song was a classic example of the song essentially showing itself to you. As I spent time thinking about this concept, I thought of a time that I actually wasn't overthinking - a situation in which a family member was silent when I came out as gay to them. About 10 years later I asked them why they responded in the way they did, they told me they were heartbroken. I wasn't overthinking - I knew they weren't ok with it. As I wrote the lyrics, the way I sang and the rhythm of the melody matched that feeling of spiralling upwards, where everything feels out of your control. In this way, my melody would be representative of the thematic ideas. I also decided to use irregular time signatures to reflect the anxiety being depicted in the song, however I like to use this tool subtly so that the listener knows something "weird" is happening but is not necessarily aware of why they feel this way.
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For the re-write, I wanted to focus on making sure that the thematic ideas were cyclical, and so I focussed on the idea of thoughts throughout the piece. I created a second prechorus, where the thoughts is spiralling both lyrically and melodically. I also edited the chorus lyric to get my point across more of how devastating the experience was for me. I think this song really speaks to my vulnerability in how I approached the lyrics - I said it how it was instead of shielding my truth behind metaphors.
writing process
Lyrics - first draft
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A - I can breathe easy
everything's ok
Some days don't feel like this
I think today's the day
I can breathe easy
Everything's ok
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B - Until I walked through the kitchen door
You don't look at my face anymore
Tell me have I done something wrong?
Cut the carrots up, julienne
Told you that boy was only my friend
Is the person I am just wrong?
When you expected a little joke
I gave you a smile that never broke
She can't think that, maybe i'm wrong.
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C - Not everything you think is true
but when it is
your chest turns blue
When Will I tell you
this truth about me?
I think you're cool with it,
but words come nervously
I can breathe easy
everything's ok
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Until I walked through the kitchen door
You don't look at my face anymore
Tell me have I done something wrong?
Cut the carrots up in julienne
Told you that boy was only my friend
Is the person I am just wrong?
When you expected a little joke
I gave you a smile that never broke
She can't think that, maybe i'm wrong.
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Not everything you think is true
but when it is
your chest collapses through
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I can't get up from the bedroom floor
I thought you'd just tell me you adore
who I am and always have been
how could I have been so f*cking wrong?
Can we ever truly get along
if you think of me in this way?
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Not everything you think is true
but when it is
your chest collapses through
Lyrics - Not everything you think
For day two of solo week, Tamara Schlesinger tasked us with taking on a character, and using song structure in a way that supports the story you're telling, without conforming to the normal way of writing a song structure. Thematically, the listener might not necessarily know the content of what you're writing about, and we could create feel and mood through the melody and structure of the song. I was really excited about this brief, and after taking some time to think, I came up with the idea of writing about Claude Cahun; a queer writer and artist, born in 1894 who is understood to have been non-binary. (Jackson, 2023). Their story has always interested me, having been gifted a zine (Drusilla and George, 2020) about their life; they had a difficult upbringing and faced all sorts of challenges, including the anti-semitism they faced and how they fought against nazis during the war, personally taking on an anti-facist campaign with their partner Marcel, encouraging troops to rebel and give up. I wondered what it would be like to encapsulate this story, both lyrically and through mood. I researched more of their story, and thought about the different sections I could have in the song, creating an unconventional structure. I spent time coming up with three separate sections and planning out a storyboard of the song. The first draft was as
such:
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A - Childhood trauma
B- Resistance against gender roles
C - Queer love
B - Resistance against war
C - Queer love
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I set out to create these different sections musically, and once completed, began crafting the melody for each section. I wanted to create juxtaposition in each section, and used time signature as a tool to do this. For the section about resistance, I wanted it to feel very disjointed so this section is in 3/4, with three phrases to emulate the irregular feeling of 9/8. This section would have tension, but the listener would find release in section C, a soundscape created with synth pads to feel romantic and soothing, representative of queer love. The feedback I received for this piece was to make sure there was flow between sections, which was really valuable. I think that I was so focussed on making distinct sections which spoke to the mood of what I was trying to say, that the song started to feel too disjointed. I addressed this in a re-write. I was really pleased in feedback to hear that without any prior knowledge of what the song was about, the lecturer guessed correctly as to the meaning. This shows me that the process of learning to write music alongside the creation of thematic ideas and lyrics has strengthened over the course of the songwriting workshop, for which i'm really grateful.
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This song was perhaps the hardest for me to write during the course. Having spoken with Becci, this was maybe down to the fact that it felt like an important song for me to write, so when it came down to it, it felt quite challenging. On reflection, there's something around the narrative language that I want to develop in my writing. When I look at writers I admire such as Lucy Dacus, she writes in a way that feels so personal, using language that is emotive (Dacus, 2023). I recognise this as a gap in my writing and want to develop this skill, finding more of my own voice in narrative writing. For my song, I poured over the lyrics, and was encouraged after listening to a podcast called Hitmakers Exposed (Sutton, 2023), where songwriter Paddy Bryne talks about reaching in to that place in you where you connect with the subject matter . This really helped the way I approached the re-write in thinking about writing in a way where I humanise the character, since my inspiration Claude Cahun lived, breathed and felt. I imagined the feelings they would have encountered as they gathered the strength to create anti-facist propoganda and slip it in to the pockets of German soldiers, such a brave act of resistance. For me, it also felt important to quote Cahun in these lyrics, in their resistance to gender roles:
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"Masculine? Feminine?
Depends on the situation.
Neuter is the only gender
that always suits me." (Reznick, 2022)
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Musically, I noticed that I used the same note at the start of the verse as I did with the chorus. In order to create some contrast, I changed the melody in the chorus. I also felt that the section in 3/4 felt too out of place to have a whole section dedicated to it, and so I used this as a motif to represent disruption in the song; the disruptive nature of the art Cahun created which challenged gender norms, as well as the disruption they faced when the island they called home was occupied by Nazis in World War II. (Drusilla and George, 2020) This song became a nod to resistance, and a celebration of queer love, where no matter what you face, you are grounded by the love you share.
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Day two
writing process
Lyrics - first draft
A - Mother was a made up word
Father acts like God above
Heaven sent to everyone
apart from his babe
She was chained up out of sight
Oh, the impact of her plight
found me in the arms of one who always saw me
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C - Marcel, you hold
hold my gaze
hand on my back
nothing I lack,
Marcel, you know
know my ways
the flesh on my cheeks
like thumping heartbeats
Marcel, you know
Lyrics - Hold my Gaze
Paint a love heart on my cheek
Watch the way my body speaks
Telling tales as old as time
That we’ve always been here
“Masculine? Feminine?
Depends on the situation.
Neuter is the only gender
That always suits me.”
Marcel, you hold, hold my gaze
Your hand on my back
There’s nothing I lack
Marcel, you hold space
Let the courage percolate
Bite the bullet, raise the stakes
Could there ever be more reason to
Put up a fight?
Lift a pen to paper, then
Even if we’re trembling
Slip an act of resistance in
To their pockets
Marcel, you hold, hold my gaze
Your hand on my back
There’s nothing I lack
Marcel, you hold space
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Cornell, R. (2022). 5 essential pop chord progressions and how to use them. Available at: https://blog.native-instruments.com/pop-chord-progressions/ (Accessed: 11 October 2023).
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Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2008). Flow. The psychology of optimal experience. First Harper Perennial Modern Classics Edition. New York: HarperCollins Publishers.
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Dacus, L. (2023). Boygenius: 'the rest' EP, Tour and Balancing Solo Careers. Interviewed by Zane Lowe for Apple Music, 19 October. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0ghVhf9WO4. (Accessed: 20 October 2023)
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Drusilla, L. and George, A. (2020). Another Mask. Zine. Available at: https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/824226682/another-mask-a-zine-about-claude-cahun (Accessed: 20 November 2023)
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Jackson, E. (2023). Gender and Identity in Claude Cahun's Work. Available at: https://www.artandobject.com/news/gender-and-identity-claude-cahuns-work (Accessed: 7 November 2023).
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Lorenzato-Lloyd, A. (2022) The Great Glasgow Bookshop at The Heart of The LGBTQIA+ Rights Movement. Category Is Books. Available at: https://secretglasgow.com/category-is-books/. (Accessed: 21 October 2023)
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Lubart,T. I. (2001) 'Models of the Creative Process: Past, Present and Future.' Creativity Research Journal, 13(3-4), pp. 295-308.
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Reznick, J. (2022) Through the Guillotine Mirror: Claude Cahun's Theory of Trans Against the Void. Available at: https://artjournal.collegeart.org/?p=17309 (Accessed: 15 November 2023).
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Sutton, M. (2023) Paddy Byrne Pt. 1 of 2 | Paloma Faith, Ella Eyre, Olly Murs, Tom Grennan, Will Young, Gabrielle, Joy Crooks. Hitmakers Exposed. 1 June. Available at: https://open.spotify.com/episode/1IZWfK9mX8uTkeAG25Lk88 (Accessed: 19 November 2023).
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Tinashe (2012) 'Let You Love Me', Reverie. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=41eWTM0vCZA. (Accessed: 12 October 2023).
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Tran, K. (2023) Show Don't Tell: A Key Ingredient in Songwriting. Available at: https://blog.lyricstudio.net/2023/04/22/show-dont-tell-a-key-ingredient-in-songwriting/ (Accessed: 19 October 2023)