Category Archives: Songwriter Demos

Songwriting Exercise: My Song with 1 Chord – “Smile and Blush”

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Yesterday I posted that I was going to write a song using just variations of 1 chord. Well, I did it. I decided to use Gb major as my chord of choice for this song. So what I did was make a track using Gb as the main chord…Here are the sections and what I used….

Intro/Chorus: Gb add9 chord

Verse: Gbmaj7

Bridge: Gb/Db   (Gb major with a Db in the bass…. fun inversion)

Once I had the track, I decided to look back on my blog and see if I had any lyrics that might work…..and I stumbled back on a song I wrote a while back called, “Smile and Blush.” These words seemed to fit the track pretty well, so I came up with a simple melody and melodic groove. If you want to see how I wrote the lyrics, click here.  Otherwise take a listen to ‘Smile and Blush,’ my 1 chord song this week…..I hope this inspires you to try writing your own song with 1 chord.

Smile and Blush

By Chad Shank

She fumbles with her necklace

With her hands reaching behind her head

She sprays on some perfume

She’s always loved that scent

She’s getting ready to see him tonight

Second date she wants everything right

When she thinks about the first it makes her….

Chorus:

Smile and Blush

Just floating on that moment

Heart dancing on emotion

Just a Smile and Blush

No words but the expression says enough with a

Smile and Blush

A fancy restaurant dinner

His little jokes that are making her laugh

The candlelight’s glowing

Their eyes locked in a glance

Looks like magic might be happening tonight

Her excitements getting hard to hide

When he looks into her eyes it makes her…

Chorus:

Smile and Blush

Just floating on that moment

Heart dancing on emotion

Just a Smile and Blush

No words but the expression says enough with a

Smile and Blush

Bridge:

At the end of the night as their saying goodbye

They both lean in for their very first kiss

It makes them both…..

Chorus Repeats

©2012 Chad Shank

“Better Than You Think” My Songwriting Assignment This Week

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Ok, so since my last video post, I worked on lyrics and melody and recording a worktape of my songwriting assignment for this week.
The result is a pop-dance song called, “Better Than You Think.” It has the same basic structure, rhyme scheme and tempo as The Wanted, “Glad You Came.” Give it a listen and see what you think….

Better Than You Think
by Chad Shank

Chorus:
You keep making wishes
For love delicious
Set your goal but will you hit it
Don’t blink you’ll miss it
Might not play out like you dream
Could be Better Than You Think

V1:
You set your standards high
Want just the perfect guy
Great body rockin’ smile
He has to be just right

V2:
But now you met someone
Not quite what you’d expect
But he seems super nice
I know you haven’t met, but
You should meet him for a drink
Might be Better Than You Think

Chorus:
You keep making wishes
For love delicious
Set your goal but will you hit it
Don’t blink you’ll miss it
Might not play out like you dream
Could be Better Than You Think

V1:
You set your standards high
Want just the perfect guy
Great body rockin’ smile
He has to be just right

V2:
But now you met someone
Not quite what you’d expect
But he seems super nice
I know you haven’t met, but
You should meet him for a drink
Might be Better Than You Think

Chorus

©2012 Chad Shank

Weekly Songwriting Assignment Results: ‘Human’

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This week I gave myself a songwriting assignment. I posted that assignment here.  I started off following my own assignment pretty closely….but then the song kinda of took a few different turns. Mainly in the number of lines in the sections and where in the measures the melody starts. Anyway, what came out was the start of a song called, “Human.”  It probably needs some work, but the whole point of these assignments and exercises is to keep myself writing. Not every song is going to be a smash hit, but even the  not-quite-there songs are very important, because you don’t reach the gold without digging for it.  So this is my songwriting ‘digging’ this week….. ~~ Chad

Human
by Chad Shank

He has beach blond hair with darker streaks
And he moves like a breeze across the beach
The sand sticks to his sweat
Beads of water on his skin
He’s free as the Caribean sun sets

Chorus:
He feels Human
In this place he likes to find his joy
Where he feels Human
Away from the stress
Away from the noise
He feels Human

Sometimes he paints to forget the pain
With a brush in his hand in a different state
Emotions on the page
Feelings in the scene
Art is what takes him away

CHORUS

Bridge:
He lets himself go
Lost in the taste, touch, sight, sound and smell
Where he can find himself
Find himself again

Chorus Repeats

Chords:

Verse: ||Cm   |Cm   |Ab   |Ab  |Cm  |Cm  |Fm   |Fm    ||

Chorus: ||Ab  |Bb  |Gm   |Gm   ||

Bridge: ||Bb  Fm  |Ab   ||

©2012 Chad Shank

A New Song I Co-wrote: ‘When She Puts On That Lipstick’

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Here is a new song that I co-wrote with a great friend and songwriter, Janice Gilbert. I cut the demo at my place in Minneapolis. Check it out!  ~~ Chad

When She Puts On That Lipstick

by Janice Gilbert and Chad Shank

Verse:
She’s a foxy little vixen
With a wild look in her eyes
Wearing rich velvet lipstick
The way she moves should be a crime

The whole town’s been talking
About where she was last night
Was alone when she walked in
But walked out with a new guy

She had him on her hook
She was playing the game
No one can resist that kind of bait

Chorus:
When she puts on that lipstick
Boy, you better forget it
She knows she’s got ‘em watchin’
She can feel it in their looks
When they stare longer than they should
When she puts on that lipstick

This ain’t the first time this has happened
Feel sorry for the last guy
She used her body to trap him
and she took him for a ride

She was chasing dollar bills
She was playing the game
No one can resist that kind of bait

CHORUS

Bridge:
When she puts on
On that Lipstick
They forget their common sense
And get stuck with
Sorry regrets
But she knows just what she’s doin’

Chorus

©2012 Janice Gilbert and Chad Shank

New Song: ‘Summertime Lover’

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I wrote and cut a new song this past weekend. It is a fun -pop-country type track called, ‘Summertime Lover.’

LISTEN HERE

Summertime Lover
by Chad Shank

The sun
It burns my forehead
I take my shirt off
And hang it on the barbwire fence
I swig some Coca Cola
And set it on the fence post
You’re down on that blanket
I wanna get real close

I come down so we can snuggle
Kinda teasin’, kinda playful
We stare into each others eyes
We kiss, We sweat
Under a hot blue sky

Chorus:
You’re my Summertime Lover
You’re my Summertime Lover
You’re my Summertime Lover
You’re my Summertime Lover

Right on
Since this is the country
Ain’t no one gonna see us
There’s something I must confess
Baby you’re really smokin
We got too many clothes on
We’re not to far from water
We can get our splash on

You and me in the midst of nature
Little action, perspiration
We got the temperature on the rise
When we kiss, when we sweat
Under a hot blue sky

CHORUS

Bridge:
We got the birds and the bees
And the shack and the trees
And the bugs and the creek
And our barefeet
We got your and me and the summer heat
Uh Oh, Uh Oh
We got the birds and the bees
And the shack and the trees
And the bugs and the creek
And our barefeet
We got your and me and the summer heat
Uh Oh, Uh Oh

CHORUS

©2012 Chad Shank, Rowley Street Music, BMI

Song Critiques Are Funny Things

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I am a member of the Minnesota Association of Songwriters and I have a network of other songwriters that critique each other’s songs. It is always very interesting to me how people react to songs. Each person hears something completely different and gets something different out of each song. I critique other people’s tunes, so I throw out my 2 cents too. I am always entertained and sometimes pissed on how people react to my songs.

Many times, people have some good ideas on where I could improve, but sometimes I disagree completely. And I am not going to lie, sometimes it pisses me off, and can be a motivation killer. Especially if I really like what I wrote. But I guess that is what we open ourselves up to when we ask for people to review our work. We get what we want to hear and what we don’t want to hear. Some of the comments we should use, and others we should throw out. I have been writing long enough and getting critiqued long enough to know I should listen and ignore. LOL.

The one thing I know for sure is that I cannot chase the myth of having everyone like my songs. I can’t make every change that people suggest. I can’t listen to every tip. If I did I would never finish a song, and it would lose the qualities that make it all mine. That doesn’t mean I won’t take suggestions into consideration, especially if everyone says the same things. If everyone says the same thing, there could be something to it. I had some songs critiqued this week and got a very mixed bag of comments. The songs hit with some and flopped with others. I think that is natural, and means I am doing something right. I am not completely off.

How have you used songs critiques? What have your experiences been like?

How You Can Stand Out in Today’s Music World

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The music industry is in a very weird state right now. The power and money has shifted. The days of major record labels controlling what we hear and see are now gone. So are the days of selling physical music products like cassettes and CD’s….or records. This post is not about how the industry has changed, but we all know that it has. Everyone….EVERYONE, majors and indies are trying to find their footing on slippery roads. We all have access to sites like Facebook and Youtube…

In the past only artists with big budgets or recording deals could record commercially viable projects. The amount of music that made it to listeners and consumers was much smaller than today. Gone are the days of having to drop $20,000 to just record an album.  We are in a time where technology literally allows anyone with a computer to record and distribute music to a worldwide audience. This is a huge BLESSING and CURSE. The good news is that anyone can now record and distribute music. The bad news is that anyone can record and distribute music. The market is now flooded. Thousands, if not millions of new songs are out there at any given time. Everyone and their mother are releasing songs and videos now. How do YOU stand out from every other home studio warrior out there? The big answer, to me, is YOU HAVE TO HAVE KICK ASS SONGS!

If your songs are not at the level or better than what the pros are putting out, you will get lost in the sea of so-so songwriters. So you have to study the craft of songwriting. You have to study hit songs. You have to learn how to write like that. Most artists and songwriters think they can just write whatever comes out. They do not think they need to craft their writing. They do need to craft it, they need to make sure they can compete with the best of the best. Song craft is more than drum loops and production libraries. The song is the lyrics, melody and harmony.

So YOU as writers need to write the best damn songs you possibly can. You need to out write the competition. You need to study like most other writers do not. What do you study? Hit songs. Study their lyrics, melody, harmony, production, rhyme schemes, note ranges, topics, tempos, everything. I think if you work your ass off, you will start to stand out from the other millions of writers that happen to have Garage Band. Singers are a dime a dozen. Songwiters are even cheaper. You need to make yourself more valuable. You have to write awesome songs to stand out in today’s music world. Great songs get attention, and they last forever. If you don’t have great songs, people won’t really care.

So why not sign up to follow this blog. I don’t have all the answers, but I will help you get songwriting tips and inspiration. Hell, email me if you want your songs critiqued or if you are interested in songwriting lessons. I can help you get some direction in your writing, so you start cranking out hits and getting more downloads.

~ Chad

Maybe It’s Not Your Recording, Maybe It’s Your Song

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Here is a little story that gets replayed over and over again in the songwriting world:

A songwriter writes a song that they think is the next big thing. It would for sure be a hit, and some artist or publisher would be stupid to pass on it. So they get a little digital recording rig and cut a nice little rough demo at home. The recording sounds good, not alot of effects, but OK. Then they play it for some people and those people say, “It’s Ok. Not bad.”

Then the songwriter scrounges up some money and goes to a mid sized studio in their neighborhood. They add a few more bells and whistles. People say, “Eh, It’s Ok. Not bad.”

So now the songwriter books studio time at the most expensive studio in Nashville. Hires the best musicians around and cuts another demo for the song. This time for sure this song is going to really make it. How could it NOT!? So they get the nice shiny mix back and the quality sounds just like anything on the radio….maybe better. So they play it for people and they say, “It’s OK. Not bad. Not too bad.”

WHAT!? How can this be? There is no possible way to make the recording any better. Why aren’t they going nuts for this song?! There in lies the problem….It is not the recording that people aren’t flipping out over….it’s the song.  Don’t make this mistake. Make sure you write great songs that get the point across and make people flip out no matter what they are recorded on.

Writing Songs if You Are Not a Musician

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If you are a songwriter or singer, but not a musician, does that mean you are hosed if you want to write cool songs? NO!  If you can talk, and/or sing you can write songs! You do not have to be a musician to write some great stuff.  I think everyone has some singing ability, and pretty much everyone can talk….so you can definitely write lyrics and even melodies!  Sure, it could…..COULD be harder for people who are not musicians, but you have options…..

Options for people who want to write songs but don’t play an instrument:

1. Find someone DOES play an instrument. – You can collaborate with them in coming up with chords and melodies to your lyrics. If you both come up with words and melody, you both own the song. If you write the words and they do the music….you both own the song.

2. Write to Karaoke tracks of songs you don’t know – Yes, that is right! Use other song tracks….BUT make sure you do not know the song that you are using. You do not want to copy the melody or lyrics.  Basically songs without the melody and lyrics are just chord progressions, and you cannot copyright chord progressions, so you can use them for your song! This is a great way for singers who want to write songs, but don’t have access to musicians.  You can’t use the same recording, but if you do ever want to cut a demo of your song, you can have the studio use the same chord progressions., and BAM you have an original song!  Look on Spotify and Youtube for tracks. Pick songs you have never heard. Write your own words and melody to the tracks. Again, DO NOT use the same melodies and lyrics…

3. Hire demo studios that put your words to music – Maybe you wrote some lyrics, and just want someone else to put them to music. There are many demo studios that do this. Some will want part ownership of the songs, some will do it as a work-for-hire and you would own the song at the end. Make sure they have an agreement that you sign that specifies who owns what at the end.  I put client’s words to music quite a bit. Email me for the details on doing a demo with C-Sharp Productions.

See….just because you don’t play an instrument doesn’t mean you’re screwed when it comes to songwriting.

~ Chad

Email me if you have a song you would like me to critique…