Michael Anderson – Collaboration – Just Write A Song

Collaboration – Just Write A Song

By Michael Anderson – http://www.MichaelAnderson.com
© 2010 All Rights Reserved. Used By Permission.

I had a very interesting and enlightening classroom experience the other day that may help you in just writing a song.

I teach songwriting at Musician’s Institute in Hollywood and in one of the classes we have a workshop on writing. The other day I was working with two students who were to collaborate on writing a song in class.

I have written songs with other writers many times – sometimes set up by the writers, sometimes set up through a publisher or label. Usually in those situations everyone involved tries to find people as similar and sympathetic as possible – in an effort to make the process go smoothly.

But these two students were very different. One was a girl from Sweden – outgoing, very pop oriented, English is a second language. Her music is singer / songwriter, acoustic based pop – and very melodic.

The other student was a guy, sort of quiet, reserved, maybe even edgy – a strong guitar player whose influences are more Ramones than light pop. But in the class situation they decided to write a song together.

“Just do it” is more than a Nike ad – it is actually a very valuable piece of advice. Sometimes we (I) tend to procrastinate – wait, stall, think about, conceptualize, and over analyze something rather than just doing it.

I watched and moderated as the two students interacted – somewhat cautiously and reserved at first – then gradually more comfortable, giving and taking.

We started with the idea – what was the general idea that would be developed?

Well, he had a guitar riff that was on the fast side and didn’t leave a lot of room for melody vocally – and the development he proposed had a lot of sections that were difficult for someone outside to conceptualize.

She threw out a simple chord progression – and hummed a melody that was nice – he liked it – they decided to go with that idea.

I though since he was a guitar player it might be cool to have him play the chord progression – and sure enough, when he played it the feel changed just enough to be even more interesting.

But more importantly, when he played the guitar and started trying different things, she started humming along really nice variations on the original melody. I recorded everything, and we went back and listened to the different approaches after about 10 minutes of just jamming.

We were able to find a strong beginning melody, a transition melody, and a very good top end, soaring sing a long chorus type melody.

When we broke it down, they decided to use the transition melody as a possible bridge melody approach – it was different but fit the overall concept.

While she was humming the melodies he was able to adjust the dynamic build and flow of the chord progression just enough to lead and support her melody ideas – it was really fun to watch and be a part of.

After listening to the whole thing back they came up with a rough structure with chords, dynamics and melody for a verse, bridge and chorus.

Bang – one hour – and a very good beginning of a song, from two people who didn’t know each other, had never worked together before, and probably couldn’t be more different in musical approach.

I learned some things from that.

First is, you need to have respect for your writing partner, put your ego aside, and listen to what is going on. It is very important to find common ground – everyone has strengths and weaknesses – both writers need to have an awareness of the dynamic that is going on in the room – a willingness to try new things, try different approaches, and find a new way of doing something.

I was very pleased with what they came up. But I was even more encouraged by the attitude and vibe in the room. They seemed pleased and excited about the possibilities not only in that particular song, but also in the process of writing in collaboration.

There are certain things every writer probably wants to do on their own – certain ideas or feeling that are so personal you would want to develop it with a singular vision.

But there is a chemistry to writing with someone else that can not be found any other way – just look at Lennon / McCartney, Jagger / Richards, Elton John / Bernie Taupin, Lieber / Stoller, or any number of very successful writing teams that never had quite the same success apart that they had together.

I would normally advise writers to find collaborators that share your same interests and approach – but after this experience I wonder if similarities may be overrated. I might even challenge you to write with someone who is totally different in approach.

As a sidelight to all this creative enthusiasm there is also a business side. Any time you sit down to write with someone, work out how you are going to divide the finished product in terms of credits and copywrite – there are a lot of resources for information on that – but I have found nothing works better than a clear understanding going in.

Michael Anderson: Award-winning Artist/Songwriter who wrote the #1 Country hit, “Maybe It Was Memphis,” for Pam Tillis. Michael also has cuts with John Fogerty, Juice Newton, and many more. As an artist, he released two albums on A&M, and has five #1 Contemporary Christian singles. Check out “Michael Anderson’s Little Black Book of Songwriting” available at michaelanderson.com.