SongCrafting

Most songs are written in the point of view of the first person. An example of this is Otis Redding and Steve Cropper's, 'Dock of the Bay.' "Sittin' in the morning sun, I'll be sittin' when the evening comes. Watching the ships roll in, I'll watch 'em roll away again." I'll bet most your song's are written in the 'First Person' POV, mine are. 'Second Person' POV shifts the storytelling to 'you.' Same example with the new POV. 'Dock of the Bay.' "Sittin' in the morning sun, You'll be sittin' when the evening comes. Watching the ships roll in, you'll watch 'em roll away again." See how it dramatically changes the vibe of the line? 'Third Person' POV has the storyteller as 'he' or 'she.' Same example. 'Dock of the Bay.' "Sittin' in the morning sun, she'll be sittin' when the evening comes. Watching the ships roll in, she

4-Rhyming Patterns To Improve Your Song Crafting When crafting a song, it's a good idea to choose a rhyming pattern early in the process. The rhyming pattern determines the structure of your song. There are many patterns to choose from. The good news is that you may choose one and stick with it throughout the song or you may mix and match. Although there are many more, here are 4-patterns that you may want to try in your next creation. ABAB In a four-line verse, an ABAB rhyming pattern has the last word of the first and third lines rhyming and the second and fourth lines rhyming. Here's a sample of ABAB rhyming: It's a matter of the heart A feeling deep inside Like the piercing of a flaming dart Something you just can't hide AAAX This rhyming pattern has the last word of the first three-lines rhyming with the last word not rhyming. It doesn't need to rhyme If you give it a little time It'll all be fine If that's the way it's meant to

In my last post, I tasked you with this exercise, 'Describe a man watching a beautiful woman walk into a room. Then, get creative with it. Do it again. Make it better.' Hopefully, you've had a chance to give it a shot. Here's what I came up with. 'Dimly lit and full of smoke, the room grew loud as people spoke. Her silhouette filled the door, I knew that I must see more.' The beauty of song crafting is that there are many ways to say the same thing. Many ways to convey a moment or a feeling. Why not try it again? Tap into your creative self.

Don't write a song, craft it. The art of your storytelling lies in your ability to paint a picture in your listeners mind using imagery. Here's a great example from the first line of the Shawn Mullins song, 'Gulf of Mexico.' "She cooks him ham and ho-cakes, 5:30 every morn." He could have said, "She makes him breakfast early every morning." By referencing the actual food, Shawn creates an image that draws the listener closer. Try this... Describe a man watching a beautiful woman walk into a room. Then, get creative with it. Do it again. Make it better. That's songcrafting. I'll share with you what I came up with in this exercise in my next edition of SongCrafting.