Tag: Matthew Hawk Eldridge

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Songwriting

Creation as a Collaborative Gift!

I have to be honest: I have worked with bands for years and years, and while nothing feels more exhilarating than to stand in front of thousands of people with a loud five-to-seven-piece band playing behind you, I learned in my early years that I prefer to work alone. I idolized men like Lenny Kravitz and Dave Grohl of Foo Fighters. On their earlier albums, they wrote all the lyrics and played all the instruments recorded. They were a one-man band. They only needed a band for live shows.

For years, I’ve become the one-man band on my recordings. While I can brag that I played every single instrument on my last few albums—from guitar to piano, mandolin, bass, harmonica, percussion, slide, organ, vocals, and more, the process became rather lonely.  And while I have improved musically over the years, I don’t feel I grew very much as an artist. I produced the music myself as well. I often ask myself: But what if?

I feel that my strength is in writing songs. What if I worked with a band again? What if I worked with a band all these years? What if I gave them freedom to play what they want to play? What if I told the drummer to create his own beats and the guitar player to start a riff off that, in whatever tone he wanted? What if I approached the songs as the music was the storyline and my lyrics and melody the protagonist? Sure, I’ve done this with bands over the years, only to discover one or two pieces of the puzzle didn’t fit—meaning, one or two of the musicians didn’t seem to gel with the team. Even as a worship leader, every single team I led had at least one player that was rebellious and gave the team a hard time.

The incongruency can become exhausting, especially during songwriting, when you hold that precious baby forming in your hands. I think of the movie, The Wonders, starring Tom Hanks and Steve Zahn, where the drummer hijacked the song at a competition and did his own thing. Lucky for him, it worked in the band’s favor. But that isn’t always the case. So, I started writing songs alone. Then I started recording them alone. Then I started playing all the instruments alone. And when I started doing it all alone, I felt alone.

I had to remind myself… Why was I creating music? Because I must. Because God put it within me. God blessed me as a musician and a songwriter. But why? Why do any of us have gifts? To touch the lives of others. To bless others. To lift others up. I had to rethink why I created music: To touch and inspire. To offer hope. To encourage. To draw people closer to God, perhaps. And God has blessed many musicians with talent and giftings. There’s not a short supply of talent (regardless of what’s played on top 40 stations.) It’s a known spiritual principle that when we come together in prayer in the name of Jesus, miracles happen. The same can be true musically. When musicians come together and lend their God-given talent to one another, something magical can happen. It is symbolic of life. There will be rough edges. There will be personality issues. There may be a slight difference of musical tastes and styles coming together, but when you’ve been playing with the same band and you’ve truly gotten to know one another, there’s an incredible intimacy created that is surely divine. You know and feel what the other musician in your band is going to do. You understand what they are feeling and thinking. You feel their vibe. And sometimes there’s that one musician that just never vibes with you… you may have to replace that person. But don’t give up.

What’s my point? I think, looking back at life and the giftings God gave us, we were never meant to hoard our talent for ourselves, and we were never meant to be a one-man show. Whether musically or relationally. God created us for friendship. He created us for relationships and community. He created us to love one another and be there for each other. And as introverted as many of us artists are, we have to learn how to break through that, share our gifts with one another, and work together to see what amazing thing God will create through us as a team.

Have you been writing any songs lately? My suggestion to you—grab a friend. Get some coffee. Sit down. Get a guitar, a piano, or even a Ukulele. Start writing down ideas together. Scribble anything down, because anything can be re-written. Laugh together. Laugh at each other. Laugh at your song ideas. Share ideas with each other. Don’t hoard them. Build a friendship…and out of that friendship, create some amazing songs to share with others.

I have to brag on myself a bit. I was recently nominated for a Native American Music Award for Independent Artist of the Year. Being that I played all of the instruments on the album myself and produced it in my studio, my joy lasted but for a moment when I realized I had no one to really share the joy and the experience with. Imagine if it was a collaborated effort, I would be celebrating right now with a group of friends and planning our trip to New York together for the awards ceremony. Instead, I’m celebrating alone…okay, I’m celebrating with my cat, so I’m not exactly alone.

Matthew Hawk Eldridge is a coffee addicted, calico-cat loving Renaissance man. When he’s not passionately penning screenplays or stories rich in musical history, he’s writing songs on his guitar or working on a film as an actor, double, songwriter, or musician. He was recently nominated for Independent Artist of the Year with the Native American Music Awards.

 

Categories
Songwriting

Songwriting 101 by Matthew Hawk Eldridge

If you read my previous article, I hopefully convinced you to try songwriting. There are a few basics to help get you started, if you’ve never written a song before. I’ve met a few people who tell me, “I want to write a song, but I can’t carry a tune or play a musical instrument.” That’s okay. Your job isn’t to sing or create the melody. Leave that to the musicians. But you do need to understand timing and rhythmic patterns. If you are working with a musician, they can help you with this. Your job is to create powerful, unforgettable, believable, inspiring lyrics. Your instrument is the pen. The instrumentalists will put the paint on the musical canvas. Your words will make the musical painting come to life.

So how do you start? If you don’t have any musical background, this can often be the hardest part. Do you start with the words or the music? It’s the chicken and the egg syndrome. Sometimes I write the music first. Sometimes I have words I want to put to music. I have been in a number of bands where I brought in a raw poem and someone already had an idea for a melody. In a simple hour or two we stripped and shaped that poem into an inspiring song. Other times, I brought in music I had with no lyrics, and someone added lyrics to what I wrote musically. I remember one specific night writing a poem called No Identity. Our keyboard player grabbed it out of my hands and right away started playing chords on the keyboard to match it, followed by developing a sweet lyrical melody. Although he and I both sang in the band, his musical version of my poem became his baby to sing. A few months later we were singing that song for thousands of people on a huge stage at a Christian music festival. Hands were raised all around the stadium as he belted out the chorus. “And I—I don’t know who I am, I have no identity in me. I’m laid bare with no more cares, I only know the face of the one who embraces me—in my mind…” This is the breakdown of No Identity that started from a simple poem.

Verse 1

I’m standing small / I start to fall down on my knees /

Begging please break me

I cry, I crawl / Beneath your grace in weakness I stumble /

My heart it crumbles

Chorus

And I don’t know who I am / I have no identity in me /

I’m laid bare with no more cares / I only know the face of the one who embraces me /

in my mind

Verse 2

So take the weight off my chest / the heavy burdens that steal my rest /

I’m trying desperately to see / Who are you to me /

And who I am to you / and Lord, what can I do to / For you bore my sin /

And gave me life within so I could win / you wipe the tears away / and all my pain…

Sing chorus again

Bridge

Never let me fall again / Never let my life be sin / Come and take this life away /

And give me a new name / Paint it in the stain / of the innocent blood you shed /

for I am dead, but alive in you—

repeat final chorus

The first step in songwriting is to understand the importance of the chorus. The chorus in songwriting is the plot to storytelling. It’s what the song is about. The chorus is often a theme or a point that you are trying to make. If you were to make a logline for your song, it would be obvious by your chorus.  So let’s come up with a logline for No Identity: The song (No Identity) is about a humble, broken man who has lost his identity and only wants to find it in God. Choruses are usually the only part of a song that is repeated to make that point.

While there is definitely not a “one-size-fits-all” way of songwriting, there are some simple guidelines that can help. There are definitely no “you can’t do that in songwriting” rules, although some people may try to tell you differently. When our band attended GMA’s (the Gospel Music Association) conference week, one of the top producers (Reed) in Nashville at the time said, “You can’t do that in your bridge… you can’t put a calypso rhythm in the middle of your song there. Take the bridge out, it doesn’t fit for radio.” Reed was polished, experienced, and older/old school. But we felt strongly about the bridge, so we ignored his advice. As we started playing that song out in public, show after show after show, we received letters from fans that told us how No identity really spoke to them. And several said the funky bridge lifted them up. In fact, we had more fan mail over No Identity than any other song.

My suggestion? Start writing. Don’t worry about rules. Be poetic. Be powerful. Listen to a lot of acoustic-based storytelling songs on Youtube for growth. Yes, there are a few guidelines—I will share some of those next month! In the mean time, think about your chorus—what is it you want to say? Build your song around that!

Matthew Hawk Eldridge is a singer, songwriter, musician, film actor, and author, sleeplessly living in Atlanta, GA. His most recent works include playing guitar in Pitch Perfect 3, his novel, The Pan: Experiencing Neverland, and his album Overcome releasing March of 2018.

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Genre Songwriting

Introduction to Creative Songwriting by Matthew Hawk Eldridge

When we think of creative writing, we often think of novels, short stories, poetry, or even screenplays. But perhaps one of the most memorable forms of creative writing is often forgotten: songwriting.

The art of songwriting is not just a style of writing in itself, but is an eclectic mix of lyrical forms or ideas. From the sad, descriptive country songs of the balladeer, to the urban hip hop crooning comprised of rhythmic angry poetry, to the raw, unprocessed, rebellious rioting of the rock and roller, to the religious melodic praise and prose of the psalmist, all great, memorable songs revolve around one thing: a remarkable lyricist.

I mean, sure, a great song is not a song at all until there is a melody put to it. Perhaps that’s what makes songwriting one of the most incredible, elevated forms of creative writing. An unforgettable song that connects with people and survives the decades is either a collaborative effort by brilliant people, each gifted on his or her own instrument (including the pen), or it’s the genius brainchild of someone who speaks both the languages of music and lyrics, such as Lenny Kravitz and Dave Grohl of the Foo Fighters—talented multi-instrumentalists who also write with passionate lyricism.

Like a great novel, a carefully crafted song is not only memorable, but will speak to multiple generations for years to come. Bands like Aerosmith, that were popular during my father’s generation, impressively maintained their popularity with chart-topping hits during my generation, followed by my children’s generation as well. They’re one of the few bands who have a fifty-year span of incredible music. Their well-written songs are catchy melodic stories with deeply flawed characters who are hard to forget.

But, what gives a song lasting appeal? There have been a number of prevalent songs over the decades that have topped the charts with little longevity—songs that I would call trivial and trendy. Trendy songs often fit the sounds of the current culture, but lack lyrical substance. So why are they so popular? Is it because of a catchy hook? A mesmerizing melody? While these traits may help songs hit the charts, powerful, creative, lyrical imagery is what makes a song truly unforgettable.

Some of the songs I most cherish were written in the 1990’s, because the nineties were all about raw emotion—writing words with zealous fervor and honest passion. One of the most underrated lyrical storytellers of the nineties has to be Adam Duritz from the band, Counting Crows. I remember listening to their first album, August and Everything After, and being blown away by the mystical allure of Duritz’ lyrics. The way he fused his feelings to the music made them an instant treasured classic.

 Step out the front door like a ghost into the fog where no one notices the contrast of white on white / In between the moon and you, angels get a better view of the crumbling difference between wrong and right / I walk in the air between the rain through myself and back again / Where? I don’t know / Maria says she’s dying / Through the door I hear her crying / Why? I don’t know… 

The words alone to his song, Round Here, are so poetic, the music isn’t even necessary to appreciate the imagery involved. Add the warm, escalating sounds of the strings and the off-plucking rhythm of the electric guitar and the song becomes a well-rounded gem loved by people for almost thirty years.

So what are you waiting for, my creative writing friend? Are you ready to pen your first song? Perhaps you are reading this and saying, ‘But I don’t know how to play an instrument.’ But the truth is, there are people who are musically gifted but can’t write lyrics. And there are lyricists who are gifted at writing words but can’t play music. Your pen is an invaluable instrument in the songwriting circle, as much as the guitar, the piano, or the drums. Most drummers can’t play guitar or piano, and vise versa. I often think of the movie, Music & Lyrics, starring Hugh Grant and Drew Barrymore, where Grant plays a gifted has-been musician who can’t write lyrics. Barrymore, a poet, is drafted by Grant to help him write a song and they become a best-selling songwriting duo.

Find a friend gifted on the guitar and suggest a songwriting session. If you can’t sing, you can bring in a vocalist to join you as well. What a treat it is to hear someone else singing your words crafted on paper. So what are you waiting for, writer? Who knows, you may just have a gift for songwriting!

What aspect of songwriting would you like me to discuss?

Matthew Hawk Eldridge is a sleepless, coffee addicted, Renaissance man currently working in the film industry. His latest novel, The Pan: Experiencing Neverland, can be found on Amazon or at Barnes and Noble. Catch him playing guitar in the new film, Pitch Perfect 3.