Tag Archives: Connie Harrington

How deep do you dive into your song?

I hate to tell you this, but YOU are probably never going to write a hit.  But the good news is… the characters in your songs just might.

I recently spent a weekend at the Martha’s Vineyard Songwriting Festival teaching a songwriting workshop with multi-hit songwriter, Jimmy Yeary.  And, boy, I can’t wait to share some life-changing songwriting advice with you!

Read on.

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To BE a pro, you need to THINK like a pro, and this FREE ebook will help transform your thinking, your songwriting, and your success.  Get it today!

Click Here For The Book

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I re-learned something this weekend.

One thing I love about teaching songwriting is that it’s a great way for me to continue learning the art, craft and business of songwriting.  Preparing a workshop lesson forces me to thoughtfully consider a topic and put it into a framework that songwriters can actually use- a way of writing that you can apply to your own work.  This helps me to remember these lessons and apply them to my own writing.  Not a bad trade off.

I also learn from the professional songwriters around me.  That’s what happened at the Martha’s Vineyard Songwriting Festival with Jimmy Yeary.  Jimmy has written hits for Lee Brice (“I Drive Your Truck”), Kenny Chesney (“Till It’s Gone”), Jake Owen (“Anywhere With You”), Rascal Flatts, (“Why Wait”)  and more.  So, yeah.  He’s legit.  He’s also a great songwriting teacher.

Jimmy was my co-teacher for the weekend, and he kept hammering some important songwriting truths that I know, that I’ve used, but sometimes don’t teach enough.  And, honestly, I don’t always use them enough in my songs, either.  But it’s on my brain right now, and I’m fired up about it.  So let’s dive into some of those lessons today.

Dive deeply into your song.

It’s not enough to just “throw lyrics at an idea.”  It’s not enough to stand at a distance, consider a song idea, then start trying to rhyme it into a story.  No, that’s not enough.  Not if you want to write incredible, moving songs.

You need to really dive deeply into your song.  Dive into the idea.  Dive into the story.  Is it a story about heartbreak?  Go back into your memory and relive a heartbreaking experience you’ve had.  Is your song about a first kiss?  Then don’t just write about a first kiss.  Take some time to go back to YOUR first kiss in your mind.  See it again.  Feel it again.  Feel the emotions.  Then paint the picture.

It can be tempting to stop at the surface.  It can be scary to be vulnerable in your song, to tell the honest truth to your listeners, to your cowriters, and even to yourself.  But don’t stop at the surface.  Your best writing is waiting way down deep.

Become the character in your song.

If your song is a memory or part memory, really try and go back to that time and place in your mind and heart.  Feel those emotions again.

But what if your song isn’t a true experience?  What if you haven’t lived it?

You have to become the character in the song.  You have to imagine what it would feel like- REALLY feel like- to be that person in that situation.

I did not live the story of my top-5 Alan Jackson hit, “Monday Morning Church.”  But I kind of did live it for a little while.  I imagined being the character in the story.  I imagined what my house would look like if I lost my spouse, and I saw a Bible on the dresser.  I imagined how I would feel, and I pictured myself lying in bed and yelling at God.

Jimmy Yeary, Connie Harrington and Jessi Alexander didn’t live the story in their ACM and CMA Song of the Year “I Drive Your Truck.”  It was someone else’s story.  But they became the guy who lost his brother in Afghanistan and drove his truck as a way of coping with the loss.  They pictured the 89 cents in the ashtray.  They pictured themselves tearing up that field.  They brought themselves to real emotion, even though they hadn’t really lived it.

Being clever is fun, but it isn’t enough.  You have to bring “heart” and not just “head.”

Playing with words isn’t going to get you where you want to go.  You must really feel it.  So I want to challenge you to dive deeply into your next song.  Don’t float on the surface.  Dive down deep.  Feel it.  Become the character.  Then write what you see.  Write what you feel.  Be honest.  That emotion and that truth will make your song much more real and powerful.

Remember, YOU might never write a hit song, but just maybe the characters in your songs will.  So be that character.

What about you?  Do you have the habit of diving deeply into your songs, or do you tend to stay near the surface?  Have you done both, and can you tell a difference between the two?  I’d love to hear from you, so please leave a comment!

God Bless and Enjoy the Journey,

Brent

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To BE a pro, you need to THINK like a pro, and this FREE ebook will help transform your thinking, your songwriting, and your success.  Get it today!

Click Here For The Book

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Brent Baxter is a hit songwriter with cuts by Alan Jackson, Randy Travis, Lady Antebellum, Joe Nichols, Gord Bamford, Ruthie Collins, Ray Stevens and more. He’s written a top 5 hit in the US, a #1 in Canada, and a top 10 in Texas.  His songs appear on 5 industry-certified gold & platinum albums & singles… so far.  He also hosts a top-rated songwriting and music business podcast called, “The C.L.I.M.B.” which can be found on iTunes or your favorite podcast app.SWP 4

How To Make Your Ballads More Radio-Ready

It seems like every songwriter writes more ballads (slow songs) than uptempo songs.  But MOST ballads will NEVER get recorded.  Of the few that do, most never get on the radio.  But a few slow songs beat the odds and not only become hits, they become MASSIVE HITS.

Today, I want to discuss one way YOUR ballads can beat the odds and have success.

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To BE a pro, you need to THINK like a pro, and this FREE ebook will help transform your thinking, your songwriting, and your success.  Get it today!

Click Here For The Book

_________________________________

I’m a lyricist, and I don’t write melodies. I leave that to folks who are great at that. However, I know from experience and observation that MELODY MATTERS. It’s huge.

Let me be clear- a song with a great melody and average lyric will get cut a lot faster than a song with a great lyric and an average melody.

(Of course, the real winners have BOTH great melodies AND great lyrics.  So don’t think you can be lazy on lyrics, because you’ll probably get beat out by songs that are great at both.)

Your melody has to fit your idea, simple as that. This is not to say that sad songs HAVE to have “sad” melodies (I’ll touch on that later), but if your lyric is angry, your melody probably shouldn’t be too “sweet.” Likewise, if your idea is for a tough guy, the melody should be one that a tough-guy artist would sing.

In general (there ARE exceptions), if your song has a slower tempo, it probably needs to have a bigger, more rangy melody. There just aren’t many slow songs with soft melodies getting cut these days. You put your song at a disadvantage when you frame it that way.

If you’re going to go ballad, go big.

A good example of this is “I Drive Your Truck,” written by Jessi Alexander, Connie Harrington, and Jimmy Yeary and recorded by Lee Brice. It’s a sad ballad. But it doesn’t FEEL like a ballad because of the power in the chorus. Lee just sings his backside off.  


If they hadn’t CHOSEN to go the power ballad route, I don’t think the song would have worked as well- and I definitely don’t think it would’ve been a #1 hit country single.

Not only was this ballad a #1 hit, it was named the CMA and ACM “Song Of The Year.”

If the tempo had been too fast, it might have trivialized the subject matter. If they had given it a soft, flat melody, I think the singer would’ve come across too whiney.

Again, if you go ballad, go big.

If you’re interested in writing commercial songs- if you want to give your songs their best chance to succeed, I have a great opportunity for you.  In May, I’m hosting Frettie’s “Know The Row” with one of the writers of “I Drive Your Truck,” Jimmy Yeary!

This is your chance to sit down face-to-face (online) with a real-deal professional, hit songwriter.

You and I BOTH want to learn what Jimmy has to share.

Here’s the deal.  You can join us online from anywhere in the world on Thursday, May 24, 2018 from 7pm-8pm Central time.  And this special event is FREE to members of Frettie.com!  (But don’t worry- you can still purchase a ticket even if you don’t want to take advantage of all of Frettie’s membership benefits.)

CLICK HERE TO GET ALL THE DETAILS & MEET HIT SONGWRITER JIMMY YEARY.

Brent Baxter is a hit songwriter with cuts by Alan Jackson, Randy Travis, Lady Antebellum, Joe Nichols, Gord Bamford, Ruthie Collins, Ray Stevens, and more. He’s written a top 5 hit in the US, a #1 in Canada & a top 10 in Texas… so far.