Goals for 2020
I Want To Be A Songwriter
by Cal Hillan
4y ago
2019 was a tricky year, as mentioned in my year review, but I think 2020 will be a lot of fun. My plans have changed slightly since last year but the end goal remains the same. There are so many roads you can take to become a songwriter and I've decided to start releasing music myself as a way of getting songs I really believe in out into the world without relying on other artists to cut them. Some of my targets last year were really good at keep me on the road and I'll be using them again this year Songwriting/Artistry Complete 1 song a month either by myself or through collaboration Make ..read more
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Goals for 2019 Review
I Want To Be A Songwriter
by Cal Hillan
4y ago
2019 has been a tricky year. I've lost family, experienced burn out for the first and had a bit of a rut with work for a while. But a lot of good has happened. I've written some songs I'm really proud of, met some amazing people and achieved some great things at work despite the rut. At the start of the year I set myself a number of challenges to measure my progress which was split between songwriting and the blog. Here is how I got on! Songwriting Complete one song a month. This was a really good challenge to keep me focussed on music and I'm happy to say I completed over 12 songs over the ye ..read more
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Four Stages of Creation in Country Music
I Want To Be A Songwriter
by Cal Hillan
4y ago
There are four main stages when it comes to creating a song: Preparation - Plan your song and decide on an idea to work with as well as develop. Start with melodies or lyrics however you work best but try not to get stuck into either before fleshing out the point/story of the song and how you want it to flow Incubation - Come up with a second concept for the song e.g. Original idea = someone leaving home, second concept = moving away for new opportunities or to start a new life because they're running away from something. This is really popular in country music as their lyrics often tell stori ..read more
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Playlist of the Month - September 2019
I Want To Be A Songwriter
by Cal Hillan
4y ago
Every month I'll be creating a playlist of my favourite new/rediscoveries, new releases and any acts I saw live for that period. September 2019  "Will We Talk" by Sam Fender - Mr Fender has finally released his debut album full of political and storytelling songs which makes me want to describe him as a British Bruce Springsteen with a modern twist. "The Water" by Josh Vine - A new discovery via Spotify, Josh instantly grabbed me with his distinct and powerful vocals. He only has 4 tracks out at the moment but he has a lot of potential and I'm excited to follow his progress. "Liar" by Camilla ..read more
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Second Verse Hell
I Want To Be A Songwriter
by Cal Hillan
4y ago
Second verse hell occurs when you have said all you want to say in the first verse and chorus or you don't know how to develop the song in such a way that you're telling the listener something new. Here are some top tips to help you get over the issue I've picked up from reading books, cowriting and advice from professionals. Copy and paste, keep exactly the same melody for verse two and replace the lyrics Try writing the next verse from another angle. If you're writing from the first perspective but describe another character in your song why not discuss things from their point of view? Stick ..read more
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Playlist of the Month - August 2019
I Want To Be A Songwriter
by Cal Hillan
4y ago
Every month I'll be creating a playlist of my favourite new/rediscoveries, new releases and any acts I saw live for that period. August 2019 "Summer Girl" by HAIM - First single from the trio of sisters since 2017 with a groovy feel that is produced to perfection in my opinion. "Open Heart Surgery" by Kate Davis - I love the lyrics and the story this song tells. Such a unique way of writing a heart break song. Can't wait for the album! "Unsainted" by Slipknot - My favourite track from the latest album of the metal legends. The album is brilliant and flows beautifully through each song. If you ..read more
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How To Meet Other Songwriters
I Want To Be A Songwriter
by Cal Hillan
4y ago
Meeting other songwriters to collaborate with can be extremely difficult. Growing up not many people were into music like me and I studied Maths at university and certainly didn't meet anyone with the same passion for writing through my course! But fortunately there are a number of things anyone can do to go out and meet other writers, artists or producers. In Person (my preference) Open Mics and Live Concerts - Performing and attending open mics is a great way to meet small talent as well as show off your own this way you'll have an idea on how people work then go chat to anyone who impressed ..read more
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Collaboration Splits
I Want To Be A Songwriter
by Cal Hillan
5y ago
Throughout the history of pop music people have collaborated in order to create the best music possible from bands working together to "hit factories" such as Cheiron Studios that wrote vast number of hits during the boy band era of the 90's. I've been asked by a few songwriters, producers and artists how should royalty shares be split? The fairest thing to do is to split the shares equally between everyone who was involved writing the song be it lyrics, melody or composition. To avoid any copyright disputes agree a fair split between all writers before writing the song. Once you've agreed the ..read more
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Playlist of the Month - July 2019
I Want To Be A Songwriter
by Cal Hillan
5y ago
Every month I'll be creating a playlist of my favourite new/rediscoveries, new releases and any acts I saw live for that period. July 2019 "Stay Positive" by Ross Golan - The first single from the A List pop writer's band new concept album The Wrong Man which tells the story of a man who was falsely accused of murder. Worth a listen as it has been converted into a play! "My Journey To the Sky" by Sister Rosetta Tharpe - Sister Rosetta is a name most will be unfamiliar with but she is so important in the history of rock and roll and is often referred to as the Godmother the genre. "Heroes ..read more
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Lyrical Jargon
I Want To Be A Songwriter
by Cal Hillan
5y ago
I learnt some funky technical jargon recently when it comes to writing lyrics which I thought would be good to share. The words themselves aren't important but the definitions and examples will give you some good ideas to play around with. Anaphora - Repetition at the start of a line/section A great example is "I Will Wait" by Mumford and Sons. Throughout the song you see "And I…" as the first part of some lines in the verse, pre chorus and chorus this sets up the singer to express themselves through the lyrics. This occurs again in the chorus with "I Will Wait" highlighting the point and titl ..read more
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