Song Club #71: Box of Tricks
If you didn't already know, every songwriter has one.
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Here is an idea that came to me via a friend who has worked with a lot of famous, successful musicians1. It’s called a box of tricks. And everybody has one.
In any box of tricks there is probably:
your well-honed, winning techniques (go you!)
your preferred song structures and melodic motifs
your musical crutches and knee-jerk go-tos
a bunch of other things
Your box of tricks contains the creative choices you mostly tend to make—for whatever reason.
Btw, there’s nothing wrong with a box of tricks—not having one, nor using one. It’s how you show yourself to the world; it’s the honing of your voice. BUT it’s also how you start to sound stale.
Which is why this week I’m sharing a five ways to break the box.
Crack it wide open,
Lucy
‘Entry Points’
#1
Melody: Pay attention to how you construct melodies. What intervals do you tend to use? Do you tend to write long or short phrases? How often do you repeat melodic phrases in a verse or chorus? What’s your approach variation? Take note, and experiment with making the opposite choice.
#2
Structure: When and how to do you vary the length of your verses? Do you use pre- or post-chorusses? What are your instincts when ending a song? Do you write long or short intros? Notice your patterns and play with reversing some.
#3
Singing: How do you tend to sing? Using your upper register or lower? Breathy? Resonant? Big open mouth, or minimal lip movement? Try copying other singers with really different styles — it doesn’t have to be good. See what comes out if you let yourself sounds different, or even ugly.
#4
Pronouns: I write in the first person a lot. I sing to “You” a lot-usually to another, but sometimes to myself. Note your own tendencies here. Then, do the opposite.
#5
Instrument: Sometimes our box of tricks is tied to the instrument we write on. If you usually write on piano, try guitar. If you usually write in a DAW, use pen and paper and whatever instrument. Heck, what about just writing with voice for the first draft?
I’m pretty sure he cribbed it from one or both members of the 00s Australian super-duo, The Dissociatives.