Subtle Aspects Of Great Songwriting

[@slimishshady]

Lyric Writing Tip: It's not about what you say but it's more about how you say it. Listen to all of the songs that have charted in the past 5 years, I'm willing to bet that more than half have lyrics in them don't necessarily have grammatical accuracy or accurate meanings of what is being portrayed but the words flow better so it sounds better. #justMy2Cents

[@tristanethiermusic8062]

I would argue that less popular NON charting songs would be better to look at, as those are almost always, ALMOST, more honest. Chris Stapleton for example writes HONEST country. Young the Giant has never had a top billboard 100 song but many of their songs I THINK are better written songs than most of the pop radio stuff you hear or see charting. Julia Michaels is a modern singer songwriter who i think is great however. Lady Gaga as well. But overall I have a hard time finding real honesty in the modern charting songs overall. NOT ALL of them but just in general i feel like listening to obscure "unpopular", for lack of a better word, music is more honest and IMO more helpful to analyze and get inspiration from. Also personal life experiences are ALWAYS good topics because no one can tell you what to say or that you are wrong and dishonest... the only thing you'd need to work on is HOW you are saying it. This is just my point of view... don't know if it helps or makes sense but.

[@rylanhudson9319]

Bob Dylan had horrible grammar in a lot of his songs

[@shhs1227]

@Angine Tristan did not say the same thing at all lol. Brevity is all well and good. But maybe you should learn to read before stealing quotes

[@heyhato]

In my opinion the first draft of the song is most of the time the best one and the most emotional one. You should always go back to your first draft after you've polished the song to check if you didn't lost the idea and emotions behind it. Rick Rubin talked about that issue on couple ocassions

[@squidwardstesticles5914]

I disagree. Expanding on the first draft is how you take your song from boring and generic to interesting and fresh. My first draft is usually just a chord progression with some little licks in there. But my final draft is a proper song with interesting ideas (or at least I think so)

[@joe8124]

Rick Rubin? Didn’t he produce the Chili Peppers for a while?

[@BoHorn]

I agree, seems like some build on a structure of cheap open chord and need to restructure, but if you have a real idea, there cant be a note out of place. Changing certain licks and motifs between the structure of the song is fine, but when the mekody is set it is set and changing it is changing the song. Clear as it gets, adapt what enhances the flow of your music, dont adapt what made it your music.

[@mister_matrix]

@@joe8124 he produced linkin park for a while as well

[@kravvall4869]

On the other hand there are pieces like dark side of the moon, that went through iterations through a whole year. PF adapted the songs, after seeing how the crowd responded. Just throwing it out there, as I don't agree with either/or purely. Theres a plus to raw emotion, there's a plus to intricate detail, it's just a question of preference and what the song needs.

[@alxndr2000]

HE was a boi, SHE was a gorl

[@infraredplayer]

COULD it be ANYmore OBVIOUS

[@just-a-me1168]

@@infraredplayer HE was a punk, SHE did ballet.

[@zayin493]

@@just-a-me1168 whAt mOre can I SEi???

[@just-a-me1168]

@@zayin493 HE wanted HER, SHE'D never tell, but secretly SHE wanted HIM as well.

[@shawn980]

cAN I maKe It ANYMORE OBVIOUS?

[@SingerSongwritingSchool]

Yes! Syllable placement is so important and something often missed. Hurts my ears when someone sings a line in a way vastly different than how it would be spoken. I'm glad you mentioned this. It's not often discussed!

[@betatree]

I now want to write a song going against all of these recommendations

[@Leveliciouz]

I Love your Videos. I started out playing Guitar 2.5 years ago and gear was so important to me. KZbin gave me the impression that this is the way how everyone approaches music. That's because KZbin is just filled with gear videos. Luckliy, after 6 months I realized that this path will never make me happy. I forgot that it's just about making music and having a good time. I still appreciate a nice instrument, pedals and amps, but your channel was one of the reasons I came to find a better way to approach playing the guitar. Your content is just great. You teach music. And the guitar is just one of the tools to create it. So there isn't much of an emphasis on the gear itself. Wether it is a hockey stick guitar (lol) or a special Gibson doesn't matter. Thank you so much and keep it up.

[@fabianvanderelst9643]

Good comment! Also, I think you might like to check out Adam Neely, as he also a bit of a music teacher (the theory though), and he plays bass. :)

[@darrenr49]

dude you are literally exactly what I've needed. I literally just want to write a song that I am happy with and now i have some guidance on how to go about it. i've gone through half the video and i'm jotting down my notes. You have given me a path so I can actually take all my shit songs I've written over the past few years (100s of them) and start to revise them. i tried to revise a few months ago but I just couldn't find my direction. Now I can. I'm on point 4 and you've answerd many questions and your style of delivery is great for me. as a learning resource for somebody that plays music as a hobby but loves to do it, dude, this is incredibly helpful. You've probably saved me countless years with this knawwwledge. i cant thank you enough!

[@ScretchGA]

About the sixth point, I just recalled Alex Turner's lyrics on Bigger Boys and Stolen Sweethearts: in said song, the narrator starts by distancing himself from the person he's narrating, only to let it slip in the end, as the song closes, that the person he's been talking about all along was himself, though he pretended it wasn't. While it's not Turner at the top of his game - one could say it's a very simple song, and it sort of is - I still enjoy it quite a lot. It's a nice subversion of the point you invoke.

[@MrDirtydaves]

Perfect timing, right at the point of my journey into songwriting when I was feeling bogged down and didn't know what else to try.

[@TheDude-vx6wn]

Dude, thank you so much for the tip of starting on a different chord each section! Please make more videos on songwriting.

[@anasamin8227]

video idea: your top 10 greatest songs and why you think they are great

[@sergeydzema5569]

Winner of a video, I have been researching "steps to writing a song lyrics" for a while now, and I think this has helped. You ever tried - Honora Xenndrew Magic - (do a google search ) ? Ive heard some super things about it and my colleague got excellent success with it.

[@Messerschmidt_Me-262]

Cuz they are great

[@Marie-qv6on]

Sergey Dzema you have frightened me down to the bone. I am so scared that the website you sent me to is involved in something illegal. It just looks so shady.

[@Thesappysongwriter]

I think I may add another to that list. "Don't write predictable phrases or lines, or predictable melodies for that matter." When a listener hears something they didn't expect it often leads more appreciation for the song.

[@opequenobren]

But that's the exact opposite of what I see happening. Pop songs often make succesful because they sound all the same and that makes it easy for the listener to swallow. How many times have we heard that stupid crescendo drum line from Turn Down For What or the millennial whoop? Making something predictable is a very useful tool to get your listener's attention and then throwing in something unexpected can sound very sweet.

[@tristanethiermusic8062]

@@opequenobren Yeah But if you want to be your OWN artist and NOT Sellout then I would HIGHLY argue that Ryan Harper is correct. My favorite Genre Is alternative... stuff like Young the Giant. I reccomend checking their stuff out. I write stuff like that because I don't like listening to music where It feels like every song is the same as the last.

[@drpepper-c7p]

It's like punching someone during sex

[@cjaquilino]

One way Dylan differentiated himself was how he emphasized completely different words than most singers would. Even when people parody Dylan it's one of that's one of the key components. Honestly, I think that's actually part of the love it/hate it reaction his vocals get.

[@cjaquilino]

**it's one of the *things* that's a key component**

[@benaaronmusic]

There is much wisdom here.

[@atomicfriendo]

Those are great songwriting tips for pop music in general but if you follow them too closely the song will ultimately sound boring. IMO, great song writing includes not only understanding these tips but also realizing that if you bend these rules and ad a creative and unexpected element, such as syncopation, bizarre lyrics, offbeat timing, and signature and key changes, you end up with a song this is unique and memorable.

[@kjtheproof]

Great advice and presentation bro, thank you!!

[@samuraiguitarist]

Embrace the wrinkle 2017

[@joaomarinheiro2630]

mr samurai you got to make a cover of lenny! such an awesome song with so much feel keep posting this awesome content

[@tkzsfen]

on the time tab next to your name of this comment it is written "3 weeks ago" - i just noticed it. as if your comment precedes the video by almost a month. youtube is being broken...again...

[@edyflak]

The wrinkle in time?

[@samuraiguitarist]

I uploaded this video and had it unlisted quite a while back, I probably put that comment in there shortly after. Hate to disappoint but I am not a time traveller

[@TiagoLageira]

Adam Neely also had a part of his video today about emphasis on words, so easy to overlook that as an instrumentalist!

[@srincrivel1]

`` Great job there Steve! `` LOL It was a good example though! It`s nice to see things in practice

[@superlunary2015]

I was expecting this to be a generic and trite songwriting video but it was actually really good and I learned a lot. Thank you!

[@MrKHOKOLAT]

Very usefull. I don't there is another youtube channel that explain this kind of stuff this well. Thank you.

[@radosawwalkowski5824]

3 stripes of slavness

[@Laura.K.]

We the Slavs accept the musical samurai

[@paulroldan6541]

Gopnik

[@hermit9168]

Slavmurai Guitarist

[@henryhardt5816]

I strongly appreciate this video! Thank you. And it came just at the very right moment with just the appropriate impulse/tip in order for me to complete some songs I'm writing to my fullest satisfaction. Though some of the concepts I've been aware of, and applying, for years, some obvious-sounding aspects I'd never even considered. Such as - case in point - the varying chord lengths. And that's what did the trick for me just a few days ago. I'll re-visit this. Keep up the great teaching!

[@carlospaz28]

I've totally spotted that 'Pat Pattinson vibe' into your speech, tho i got surpised the book recommendation at the end of video. Pretty useful stuff, enjoyed every minute. Rock On! P.D. Pat Pattison Rules! Such a master....

[@cubedomatic]

The spark notes for song writing! Thank you!!

[@racefrazier7998]

Tomas Kalnoky is an amazing song writer. Yet most of his songs are unsingable. Very wordy and fast with little flow yet this man makes it work. Streetlight Manafesto is one of my top bands.

[@racefrazier7998]

The Hand that Thieve is my favorite album

[@silent-trouble]

Sensei series is my favorite. Some cool aspects to think about. Especially on lyrics I used to spend a lot of time in the past. Some of my songs, I wrote over years, always putting them back on the shelf when I wasn't happy with them but couldn't find the right solution at the moment. Nowadays I write a little faster, also I try to keep things simpler. I have some songs uploaded (not good quality sadly). Maybe someone wants to take a listen. I'd really appreciate it. Kind regards.

[@currymurray7758]

Man this video was so unbelievably helpful

[@HotStrange]

Am I the only one that cracked up at the first iteration of ‘Friday Night and you’re sitting there’?

[@mystikmind7099]

no lmao

[@RockabillyRambler]

Oh gawd! I need to scrap all my lyrics and start ALLL OOVER!

[@georgioskaratsoris7350]

ありがとうございます、侍ギタリストさん！Seriously, these advices are very helpful and useful! Thanks again!

[@wilydingus]

We dont deserve this sensei. Thanks so much, the lyrical stuff I never specifically thought about!

[@adeptmage2293]

I love all the lyrical tips! Thank you.

[@weatherball1814]

Fantastic, just the kind of stuff I needed right now. Thanks so much, keep up the great work!

[@anthonyscott16]

I enjoyed this lesson and found the tips to be useful. Thanks Steve!

[@raulo9892]

Thank you musical element!!

[@metamancritics8757]

best series for everything that you want👍 keep it up sensei we will be expecting more😁

[@HenryMoon]

I agree with the book plug %100

[@robert9754]

I like your no nonsense content, subbed

[@dylanschad7207]

Immediately had to pick up my lyrics notepad and obsessively make sure I didn't do any of these too much.

[@Gotinha123]

Dude you should have so much more subscribers

[@dehanvonsolms2943]

Always love your videos! 🖒

[@polmorvan]

助言ありがとう小野寺さん! 歌詞を書くのに役立つでしょう👍

[@tinyb69]

How about changing time signature after each note? 🤔

[@chromaticswing9199]

Ahh, the glory of djent...

[@naiboimuhinyi]

I wouldn’t.

[@osgbenny486]

yes

[@amazoncustomer2344]

Oh gosh. Drummer: Ok guys what’s the signature? Guitarist: Umm... 2/4, 4/4 5/4 9/8 6/8 13/16 19/16 and 6/4. Drummer: Are we Djenting? maybe

[@ethanmorrow4241]

Then the time signatures would be only 1/2, 1/4, 1/8, or 1/16.

[@swagmundfreud666]

As far as the first tip goes, there is actually a reason why those sounds [oʊ ɔ u] all sound good. It's because they are all made at the back of the mouth and you round your lips when you make them.

[@NoNoseVoldemort]

one tip for songwriting is use your ears, you need no theory whatsoever. If it sounds good keep it, if it sounds bad change it to something else. Its all about using your ears, rather than following rules, thats how you'll make your most original stuff!

[@silverhandle]

Sure, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t practice good “rules” of tried and true songwriting techniques. Just don’t be imprisoned by them. Understand as much as you can about what makes a song truly wonderful.

[@12fishez]

Love the vid man!! Canada rocks

[@TomBartonTunes]

This is great advice. Thank you so much. You are a very smart dude.

[@ian.scaltritti]

I enjoy lyrical advice, but I thought that the video would cover more music-oriented advice of songwriting

[@richardhunter9779]

It did.

[@jessiehermit9503]

Lyrics are part of the sound, too.

[@jaydee7579]

1:50

[@Vortexafternoon]

I did one that is specifically on the musical side of things... kzbin.info/www/bejne/b4C3epV7gst7eKc

[@lifeguard212]

Thanks Hanzo

[@inigo137]

This are legit great advises, nice

[@monsterk7603]

Wow! Great great insight here. Things I'd never have thought of.

[@jeremyacton4569]

Excellent advice. Thanks.

[@andrejz8954]

Great tips here, thank you!

[@LyudmilaÖdi]

I can imagine this song is about a lost Samurai drifted from across the sea, he finds himself in the western world and adapts in the art of quick draw!

[@ProcolHarum1967]

Green is the Colour by Pink Floyd has that thing where the tense keeps changing but it kind of works.

[@kasares17]

Arigato Sensei. I love your videos!

[@George-gg4pb]

Yeah, good job Steve. **pats on back**

[@Bad_Phil]

I bought that book, time to spend some time with it!

[@giorgoskavourakis349]

good work mate....

[@slimishshady]

Does this specific video display spanish subtitles automatically for any one else?

[@andrejz8954]

3:40 Californication - end of the melanholic break part - chords progression :) Not in key tho!

[@steampilot2255]

Thanks a loto for the Amazing Slowdowner

[@mardugeneral7813]

2:21 that could work quite good as an introduction to modal music

[@guitardev9399]

Hope you could be in Guitcon next year. Cheers!

[@DonPasquale_]

"Nailed it Steve" LOL

[@mirmarq429]

My band and I made up a song that uses only 2 chords: open G and open G an octave up. It has (and is called) 100 lyrics, but they're very similar and repeat over and over.

[@jdchd]

Thank you Sensei

[@andreasahlers-dummer1574]

Great stuff!

[@nathanbotha1199]

Great lesson! I'm wanting to write instrumental guitar pieces for my own amusement. So far I've written 5 of them and have put them in AABA form, and I've extended them to a kind of "Rondo" structure (AABACA) to make them a bit more interesting. I just wish I knew more of the "rules" of musical form for writing my parts...I have so many questions...Like can an instrumental piece simply be a collection of 8 bar sections strung together in whatever order, with some sections repeating? Would be awesome to know...

[@fearofnot]

Sound advice brother!

[@Music-el7if]

Decent little primer

[@gregorylengala8290]

Hey bro the secret of getting great songs consistently is working hard, write alot and write even if your not inspired, but i gat a question on how you go about this, so is it better to write alot of songs different songs and choose the best from the many songs you have written or work on one song till you get it right in short rewriting the melody the lyrics. Which way is better cuz i'm having a hard time deciding which is the best way to go, please assit me.

[@CarnivoreIntelligence]

The best way is to write a song from start to end. Do it as well as you can and go on the next when you are done. You can always go back to your songs and listen to how much you have developed yourself and rewrite the song.

[@Rockelement]

the background music gives it a Chernobyl effect.

[@kneecaprat]

That book is amazing

[@geburahsworld2050]

Top post! 👊🏻

[@ca_me_yo]

this was super helpful!!!

[@thesuncollective1475]

Bottomline for me is does the song have repeat value if you wanna hear the track 20 times in a row its probably a winner!

[@barryzito5721]

Current pop doesn't change chords between sections, only melody/phrasing. Might be nice to address in how to maintain interest without relying on harmony in a future video.

[@tristanethiermusic8062]

What if the 1 chord is E minor? How do you make the Tonic minor and fill in the rest of the chords around it?

[@sjb1957]

That's a great question, deserving of a great video answer.

[@marvelman6968]

5:24 sounds like Chandler Bing

[@svendlundby3638]

Haha, it does

[@724Core]

Could you BE any more lyrical??

[@guitarreilly]

Friday Friday gotta get down on Fridayyyyyyyy

[@SoundMindMusicStudio]

Gotta, gotta get down damn it! The late great Murray Saul from Cleveland !!

[@Light4248]

0:37 You totally described all American Football album :D

[@matthewvorberg2508]

Love that band!!!😂😂😂

[@thepadenshow1945]

You should make a video of the better writing lyrics book give your own review about it :)

[@outlawcountrymusic1261]

Willie Nelson, one of the greatest, always wrote a song with one draft.

[@allancerf9038]

samuraiguitarist - good video! there's always a "yeah, but" from jerks like me. Yeah, but... you and i write from HARMONY. chords remind us of harmonic relationships which we then use as the top line, the melody. whereas Mozart and McCartney and Schubert for 3 examples - hear the top line independent of the chords. this is an extraordinarily rare gift; an aptitude and no, it can't be learned. a weird kind of 'faking' it can sort of, be accomplished. there are a number of books that show you how. even they say there's no substitute for this rarefied gift. ...so the bummer about truly great song-writing is this ephemeral gift - Bacharach concedes he utterly lost his, comes and goes. But it has to be there to begin with... are there great songs without great melodies? yeah, there are. but I can't think of any all-time song list which has a riff or chord-based melody with a song near the top 100 (I'm including all music, not just rock/pop).

[@mirmarq429]

I'm so confused. Aren't chords just sound filler under the melody so it sounds polished? Pretty much every choral arranger in history sets one voice (usually Soprano) as the melody, then fills out whichever random chords seem to work with the Altos, tenors, and Basses. Hearing the top line independent from the chords is an orchestration choice; whichever you write first, you need to make the other one up and give the musicians instructions as to how to layer them-- chords should be played by a strummy such as acoustic guitar or mandolin, and lead/melody should be played/sung by a human voice, electric guitar, or violin. Riffs and chords are useful-- riffs especially-- but what do you mean, a song without a melody? Melody is music! Riffs are little melodies! Chord progressions are melodies that have been enslaved to lazy composers who don't know how to use them! You say it's a rare gift, but maybe lots of peole have it, they just don't want to use it. Or something. That's all i got.

[@paisley_pearson]

So if you listen to a song and can hear the highest part of each chord, it is rare? (I'm confused it you couldn't tell : P)

[@mirmarq429]

@@paisley_pearson yeah either this guy is tone-deaf or you and I are extremely lucky bois, being able to actually tell whether notes go up or down in pitch across semi-fixed time intervals. It's almost like chords are made out of notes or something! Someone should maybe make a system for figuring that stuff out...

[@paisley_pearson]

@@mirmarq429 lol, it would be cool if we really are lucky

[@carlozaccaro7492]

@@mirmarq429 The point is basically you get two different approaches to writing the top line: either you "hear" it in your head independent of any harmony or rhythm (and this is where it sounds "melodic") and then you work out the rest downwards OR you get a chord progression and a beat and start to hum over it and that doesn't sound very melodic but it can get much more interesting groove-wise. The perfect thing would be a combination of these two methods but getting ONE right is hard enough1 Does that help?

[@osgbenny486]

What's the geetar

[@petthehomeless]

Wish you touched more on the song structure and less on the lyrics. I think most people dont really listen to lyrics enough to have it make a difference. Although you do make good points on the emphasis which you should place on syllables

[@TheRoneZone]

Started my own songwriting tutorial series on my channel. Best advice I could give to anyone whether it's songwriting, music production, composition, and even improvisation: Analyze/Transcribe/Recreate your favorite pieces of music. It's as simple as that.

[@theystoleitfromus]

1:05 IIII DID IT MYYYYYY WAAAAAAAAYYYYY

[@johnmarcelino9620]

@ 7:21 *thinks of Shinji from Neon Genesis Evangelion*

[@MichaelSheaAudio]

I think changing pronouns is a good thing if done well. I have a song called "Written in Captivity" (you can hear it on my channel) And it changes between 1st and 3rd person. It describes a murder from the perspective of the shooter. First verse starts in the moment of the murder, then switches to the future in prison. The second verse is back in the moment, but diving into the situation the victim's family will go through when he's gone. The final part is from within prison, saying he feels no remorse for what he did. One of the more interesting concepts I've attempted.

[@graysonwilson-cacciapalle7989]

As an intentional method of telling a story that sounds like a neat idea. I think he means inadvertently shifting the pronouns- I have done this in the past after reviewing lyrics I wrote for certain songs, and realized I had accidentally shifted who I singing to. I can't remember a specific example unfortunately, but it really didn't make sense the way it had changed.

[@MichaelSheaAudio]

Yeah I'm picking up what you're putting down. I've probably made the mistake in the past as well. :P

[@bog_grrrl]

is there any reason he wrote minor chords like Emi rather than Em in this video?

[@Zakk_Ross]

Probably just to make sure newer guys don’t mix it up with major

[@ajciccar3]

Well, I think I'm a pretty good songwriter but I thank you for the tips any way.

[@AdemolaAdeniyi]

Thanks for sharing. I just won a New subscriber

[@leonsubbotsky6087]

"If you present me with the samr idea over and over again" Gucci gang Gucci gang Gucci gang Gucci gang Gucci gang Gucci gang Gucci gang Gucci gang Gucci gang Gucci gang Gucci gang Gucci gang Gucci gang Gucci gang Gucci gang Gucci gang Gucci gang Gucci gang Gucci gang Gucci gang Gucci gang Gucci gang Gucci gang Gucci gang Gucci gang

[@TheMclesc]

Pat Patterson the wrestler?

[@3CreatureOfDarkness3]

i don't think so xD

[@SweetBerryVibes]

at 6:03 I actually prefer the first version

[@Zombie_Problem]

Think my lyrics need some work know! Cheers Samuraigutarist.

[@christopherkinsey4894]

Fucking love this video you’re the shit thank!!!

[@samlee2562]

Samurai......Steve.....!?!?