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by Michael Laskow
I had a good chuckle at myself last night, and thought I'd
share it with you.
As many of you know, I used to be an engineer/producer. I
was fortunate to have engineered for Neil Young for an extended
period in the late seventies. I had already been a fan before
I worked with Neil, but became an even bigger fan as I got
to know him personally, and musically. I got his "vibe."
Neil is one of those rare people who can just do what he
loves, and it almost always comes out right. He goes for "feel,"
not convention. I don't remember him ever being too concerned
with things like song structure, or singing in tune, for that
matter.
If you've been a TAXI member for any length of time, you
know that I strongly endorse writing songs that use accepted
structures. You might even say that I'm a bit of a zealot
when it comes to writing "in form."
I recently heard a demo from a young man who had just moved
to LA from Austin. His music wrapped itself around my heart
in a way that was similar to the way Neil Young's music affected
me. As a matter of fact, this guy's music feels like Neil's
in some respects.
I called the young man to tell him how much I enjoyed his
music. We've begun a relationship, and I've dusted off my
producer's hat. I don't know where this will ultimately lead,
but for the time being, I'm helping him in any way I can.
Here comes the funny part. Late last night, we were going
through his songs in my office. One of the songs is incredible
but it has a four line verse, followed by a four line pre-chorus,
followed by the chorus. The pre chorus sounds like a really
well-written bridge, but it appears after each verse.
I suggested that we try to use the pre chorus as a bridge,
and have it only appear once in the song. He started to get
squirmey on me. I used my producer skills to gently guide
him in to the obvious conclusion that the song needed a bridge,
and that he'd already written an excellent one.
But, no matter what we tried, the pieces didn't fit. No transition,
passing chords, walk-ups, walk-downs, turn-arounds, or any
other rocket science made it work.
I decided to call my old friend, and friend to all songwriters,
John Braheny. He literally wrote the book (The Craft and Business
of Songwriting.) I had John listen to the song, and his response
was, "I think it's great the way it is."
I had to laugh, mostly because I knew that thousands of you
out there would get a laugh at my expense. That's okay. I
can take it! But just enjoy the moment gang, because I still
stand staunchly behind the fact that far more hits have been
written in form, than not. go to the TAXI website to see the
results of a study conducted by ASCAP's Ralph Murphy (in conjunction
with Belmont University) on that very subject.
Structure in the world of songwriting is not unlike structure
in architecture. There are rules that you can follow that
will give you a stronger result. Of course, you can break
the rules. Nobody's ever been shot for writing a song that
didn't follow standard song form (I can think of a few songs
I've heard where somebody should have been shot, though).
In songwriting, as in architecture, people come along who
shake things up, and break the rules. Sometimes they succeed
in ways that are staggering. But, most of the time, it's best
to be so proficient at working within the rules, that you
eventually become masterful enough that you can bend or break
the rules. Few people are born with that level of innate songwriting
talent.
Nearly every great painter, songwriter, athlete (fill in
the blank with almost any skill) had to learn the rules before
they could break them, or improve upon them.
My advice — laugh at me, but become a master, then write
whatever you want, and laugh at me again whenever you have
a hit. I'll be thrilled to share a good laugh with you then.
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