Tag Archives: Kenna West

Know The Row, Think Like A Pro, Write Like A Pro

Songwriting advice from hit songwriter, Jimmy Yeary!

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Here’s golden advice from a #1 songwriter.

Jimmy Yeary’s Lee Brice hit, “I Drive Your Truck” was awarded Song of the Year honors at the 47th annual Country Music Association Awards, as well as Song of the Year at the 49th annual Academy of Country Music Awards. More recently, he landed another chart-topper with David Lee Murphy and Kenny Chesney’s “Everything’s Gonna Be Alright.”

Yeary’s songwriting credits also include Kenny Chesney’s #1 hit “Til It’s Gone,” Rascal Flatts’ #1 single “Why Wait”, Jake Owen’s #1 “Anywhere With You,” and Martina McBride’s top 10 hit “I’m Gonna Love You Through It.” He’s also had songs recorded by George Strait, Leann Rimes, Troy Olsen, Heidi Newfield, and more.

Jimmy was a recent guest on Frettie.com’s “Know The Row,” and he shared some great, real-world advice for songwriters.  Here’s some of what he had to say.

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

_________________________________

Here is a bit of Jimmy’s advice (paraphrased):

You don’t necessarily need to write with the artist. It certainly helps, but the right song can overcome that. I’m a firm believer that the best song wins.

If I write with an artist, I generally let that artist lead and guide. Nobody knows what the artist wants to say better than the artist.

If I feel the emotion of the song, you (the listener) will feel it. If I don’t feel it, you won’t either.

It’s really important to be yourself- to do what YOU do. Expose that to other people and let them decide if the value you bring is something they want. And it helps to be a writer that people want to be around.

I go through a ritual every day to get my brain revved up. Reading, vigorous exercise and brain exercises get me ready to write. I can’t just wake up, hop in the truck and go write.

Get going early. Bring in ideas so you can find the idea quickly.  Then you have more time to work on the song.

I know what makes me be my best. And then I make sure I do those things that make me the best I can be.

If you want a Blake Shelton cut, you better have every Blake record and study ALL the songs. Because if you haven’t, other songwriters have. If you want to give yourself the biggest advantage, you have to study their music.

The key to everything I do is the prep I do. I have a healthy diet, I exercise, I read, and I study artists and the market- on a very consistent basis- to give myself the best chance for success.

I don’t want to write a good song. I want to write a great song.

What’s important between cowriters is not having ego. You can’t get easily offended. You have to be able to be honest with each other.

One of the worst attributes you can have as a new songwriter is thinking you’re really really good. You need humility to get better. The more stuff you can figure out that you’re doing wrong, the more stuff you can fix.  And that’ll make you better.

If you’d like to hear EVERYTHING Jimmy had to share, the full video replay is available in Frettie’s Member Area.  It’s right there along with full video replays of other events with hit songwriters, Byron Hill & Chris Lindsey, music publisher Scot Sherrod, artist/writer Aaron Goodvin, and more.

CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT MORE

If you want to join our next event live, “Know The Row” is a cool opportunity for us to hang out together (online) with a music industry pro.  It starts off with a brief conversation between me and our guest, as he or she reveals information YOU need to know about the music biz.  After that, we’ll open it up to YOUR questions.

This month, our guest is hit songwriter KENNA WEST!  Kenna has had over 31 #1 singles in the gospel and southern gospel markets.  She currently writes for Word Publishing.   He’s has been nominated for multiple Dove Awards, multiple “Songwriter Of The Year” nominations (AGM, SGM), and over twenty “Song Of The Year” nominations.  Artists who have recorded Kenna’s songs include Karen Peck & New River, Jeff & Sheri Easter, Marty Raybon, Brian Free & Assurance, and more.

This is something you do NOT want to miss!

This event will be on Thursday, November 29, in the evening.

Can’t make it to the live event?  Every “Know The Row” is recorded and added to the Frettie Members Area.  These videos are a resource for Frettie subscribers.

CLICK HERE TO GET ALL THE INFO.

God Bless and Enjoy the Journey,

Brent

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.

Know The Row, Think Like A Pro, Write Like A Pro

Songwriting advice from hit songwriter, Chris Lindsey!

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Here’s golden advice from a #1 songwriter.

Chris is a Grammy-nominated songwriter and producer, and his cuts include “Amazed” by Lonestar, “Every Time I Hear That Song” by Blake Shelton, as well as cuts by Carrie Underwood, Keith Urban, Tim McGraw, The Civil Wars and more.  He also has a great podcast called, “The Pitch List.”

Chris was a recent guest on Frettie.com’s “Know The Row,” and he shared some great, real-world advice for songwriters.  Here’s some of what he had to say.

Read on!

________________________________

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

_________________________________

Here is a bit of Chris’ advice (paraphrased):

You need to be writing edgy material, because it could be 6-8 years out from hitting the radio. “Every Time I Hear That Song” was 6 years old when it went #1 for Blake Shelton.

However honest you can be with yourself about your songs, that’s how far you can go in the music business. It’s key to honestly evaluate yourself and your music. Be vicious with yourself.

When you work with artists, you’re really trying to assist them.

If it’s not working, try something different- different cowriters, different style of writing, etc.

Songwriters tend to be precious with their songs- their babies. But if a producer passes on a song, it’s not personal. Your song just isn’t what they need at that time for that project.

No matter how much this town (Nashville) beats you up, if you can take a beating, you’ll come out of it… good. You’ll be a better writer.

If you just want to make money, there are easier businesses than the music business.

After your “finish” your song, play it in person for someone you respect. You’ll hear the song in a whole new way and find things you need to fix that you never noticed before. It’s hugely helpful.

Even if you come out of the gate with a hit, it doesn’t get easier. It’s always competitive. Even if you’ve written a hit, you have to write today’s song TODAY. You have to get today’s cut TODAY.

I tend to reject a song idea if there’s no “service” in that idea. As songwriters, we should be trying to add value to people’s lives. If a song doesn’t seek to serve others or add value, I’ll reject it. Value could be giving someone a smile after a hard week at work. Or value could be validating someone’s love. We make the most money by serving the most people.

Instead of being so focused on “writing up” (writing with big-name hit songwriters), you need to find YOUR people. Write together, stay together, form a wedge and bust through as a group.

If you’d like to hear EVERYTHING Chris had to share, the full video replay is available in Frettie’s Member Area.  It’s right there along with full video replays of other events with hit songwriters, Byron Hill & Jimmy Yeary, music publisher Scot Sherrod, artist/writer Aaron Goodvin, and more.

CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT MORE

If you want to join our next event live, “Know The Row” is a cool opportunity for us to hang out together (online) with a music industry pro.  It starts off with a brief conversation between me and our guest, as he or she reveals information YOU need to know about the music biz.  After that, we’ll open it up to YOUR questions.

This month, our guest is hit songwriter KENNA WEST!  Kenna has had over 30 #1 singles in the gospel and southern gospel markets.  She currently writes for Word Publishing.   He’s has been nominated for multiple Dove Awards, multiple “Songwriter Of The Year” nominations (AGM, SGM), and over twenty “Song Of The Year” nominations.  Artists who have recorded Kenna’s songs include Karen Peck & New River, Jeff & Sheri Easter, Marty Raybon, Brian Free & Assurance, and more.

This is something you do NOT want to miss!

This event will be on Thursday, November 29, from 7:30pm-8:30pm Central time.

Can’t make it to the live event?  Every “Know The Row” is recorded and added to the Frettie Members Area.  These videos are a resource for Frettie subscribers.

CLICK HERE TO GET ALL THE INFO.

God Bless and Enjoy the Journey,

Brent

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.

Think Like A Pro, Write Like A Pro

Each music genre has its own secret code. Are you a code-breaker?

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Are you a music-genre code-breaker?

I’m a pretty good country lyricist.  I’ve gotten several cuts, and I’ve had a hit or two on the radio. My wall has some cool stuff on it. But how much does that mean when I’m writing for a non-country genre?

Not much.

Why is that? Is it because I’m not “known” or “respected” or “connected” in that other genre? Nope. It has nothing to do with that.   Is it because that genre is just much harder, and I’m not a good enough writer?  Nope.

So how can a songwriter be really good in one genre, but completely miss the mark in another?

Let’s dive into that today. .

________________________________

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

_________________________________

Each genre has it’s own language – even if they all sing in English.

As a matter of fact, that’s what makes it so tricky to jump from one genre to another. Your song may sound (to you) like a hit for that other genre, but have you cracked the code of that genre?

Each genre each has its own code. And because you’ve cracked the code in your main genre, it’s natural to think things operate the same way across the street. But they don’t.

For example, I’ve started writing with a couple of pros in the gospel, CCM & southern gospel markets- Kenna West and Jason Cox. Together, they’ve had a ton of #1 singles in that world.

Me, well… I love Jesus. And I’m from Arkansas and think I write a pretty good country song. And many southern gospel and gospel songs have a lot of country in them.  And it’s a smaller market than my “big boy” country market.  Surely, I should be able to write some southern gospel #1s with my eyes closed, right?

Wrong.

This world has its own set of artists, and each of those artists know what they want to say. They also know what they don’t want to say. And they have a different audience than the country market. And that audience knows what it wants to hear from its artists- and that audience knows what it doesn’t want to hear.

Thankfully, I know enough to know that I don’t know enough. So I turn to my co-writers in humility.

“Guys, I’m here to put the lyrical hammer down. But y’all gotta keep me from running us off the road, ok?”

And that’s how it’s gone so far.  The general population may know the artists who’ve cut my songs more than most of the artists who’ve cut their songs.  But, again, that doesn’t mean anything when we set out to write a song for THEIR market.

Songwriters fail in writing for another genre when they don’t respect that genre and it’s “code.”

Kenna and Jason are the experts- the code-breakers – and I’m the novice.  I certainly have skills to apply, value to bring… but it needs to be focused in the right way, in a way that fits the gospel market.

It’s fun to stretch myself by writing for a different genre. But it’s also humbling. And challenging.  Will these songs get cut? I don’t know. We’re only a couple songs in, but my co-writers seem to like them, and they keep letting me back in the room.  So I hope I’m not wasting their time.

I hope you will approach different genres with respect and humility.

The people who are successful in those genres definitely take it seriously. They’ve put in the work to crack the code, to learn the rules and to write songs that fit those rules.

It’s foolish for a songwriter to assume that skills in one genre will easily translate to another genre.

Are you interested in writing for a different genre? Are you interested in branching out into the gospel, CCM or southern gospel market? Or are you already writing for that market, but you want to connect with one of its most successful songwriters? If so, I have a great opportunity for you.

On Thursday, November 29, 2018, I’m hosting Frettie’s “Know The Row” online event with hit songwriter, Kenna West.  She’s written over THIRTY (30!!!!) #1 singles in various Christian / gospel markets.  She’s helping me learn those markets, and she can help YOU, too.  This is your chance to hang out with Kenna and ask her YOUR questions.  And this event is online, so you can join us from anywhere in the world.

CLICK HERE TO GET ALL THE INFO.

God Bless and Enjoy the Journey,

Brent

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.