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Songwriting

One Songwriter’s Trash Is Another Songwriter’s Treasure

Posted on by Corey Stewart

You would’ve guessed by now through reading my posts that I’m a real fan of the songwriting process and the many ways that a song can be created.

I’m also a great believer in not throwing any songwriting ideas away, no matter how small, bland, banal, silly or trivial you might think they are.

Now I know of songwriters who, like me, are pretty good at organising their ideas for future reference and that’s a great thing.

However, I know of others who have indiscriminately thrown away reams of paper and piles of notebooks filled with potential song fragments, possible song titles and bits and pieces of hurriedly scribbled phrases and sentences.

This really breaks my heart.

If you’re one of those songwriters who would rather clear the slate than organise your song snippets for later use, listen up… Have I got a deal for you.

Next time you’re feeling the need to sort out and purge or, if the temptation to chuck away all of your stuff you’ve held on for so long has become far too much to bear…

Just give your songwriting ideas to me.

That’s right, give them to me. I’ll gladly take your songwriting ideas off your hands and out of your life.

Think of me as a retirement home for all your old song snippets that you feel have stifled your creativity and have gotten you nowhere. I’ll give your stuff a new home and in the process, I might just develop some of them into songs of my own.

But here’s the thing…

Even though I’ll be in possession of your old ideas, I’m still very mindful of where these ideas have come from and will definitely give you credit where the credit is due.

So, the deal is…

If I create a song from anything that you’ve sent me, I’ll give you between 10% and 50% songwriting credit depending on how much of your idea I’ve used.

I think that’s a pretty good deal considering you were going to throw them away in the first place.

This is proof of how much value I personally put on songwriting ideas, no matter how large or small they are or, where they came from.

So before you throw your old stuff away and before you succumb to the urge to bin all of your old song fragments, think about my offer. Contact me and we’ll work out how I can offload these ideas from you.

I’m serious. What have you got to lose?

Peace,

Corey 🙂

Songwriting

The Illusion Of Songwriting Perfection

Posted on by Corey Stewart

I remember chatting to a songwriter friend of mine a while ago about the pain he was experiencing when writing songs.

He said to me that he was great at starting songs but really lousy at finishing them (well, aren’t we all).

He also told me his main philosophy for his songwriting process and to me, this was the main reason he wasn’t finishing his songs.

He said to me words to the effect of…

… if the song is not perfect then the song isn’t worth finishing.

WTF!!! No wonder he was experiencing the pain of songwriters block.

I think that the concept of having to write the perfect song is something that’s more common among us songwriters than we care to admit so, allow me to be a little blunt here.

This struggle for songwriting perfection KILLS PEOPLE.

It kills their creativity and kills their inspiration and sometimes (in extreme circumstances) the drive to perfection generally can kill a person physically.

There is a HUGE difference between being driven to write great songs and being driven to write perfect songs.

My reply to his philosophy was this…

… why don’t you try seeing your songwriting not as a means to an end (the hit song) but as a way of just letting yourself go?

As songwriters, how much pressure do we put ourselves under? A lot!

Is it worth it? NO!

You see, the notion of perfection in anything is but a mere illusion. It’s created by the ego and massaged into existence by insecurity, jealousy, doubt, low self esteem and shame.

Songwriting should be a celebration of life, of letting yourself go, setting yourself free and playing around with your creativity. It’s not about reminding yourself how inadequate you are through comparing yourself needlessly to other songwriters.

Always remember that there’s not another one of you on this planet so therefore your experiences, your thoughts, your insights, your feelings, your dreams, your desires, your observations and the way that you question life, universe and everything around it are uniquely yours, and yours alone.

What does that mean? A lot actually.

It means that…

  1. There is no point in comparing yourself and your songwriting to others as there is no one else but you to compare yourself to in the first place
  2. Being the one-of-a-kind and unique creature that you are, whatever you say is always very, very important.

The concept of perfection would only exist if there was something perfect to aspire to in the first place.

Now granted, there have been some amazing songs written in the past and there will be amazing songs that will be written in the future, but none of those songs are “perfect” and they never, ever will be.

We, like our songwriting, are all works in progress so embrace those imperfections and just concentrate on writing songs without getting in your own way.

Peace,

Corey 🙂

Soul Trader Podcast

The Soul Trader Podcast – S01E09 – Our Songwriting Process

Posted on by Corey Stewart

As I mentioned in a recent blog post, I’ll be linking to the latest episode of The Soul Trader Podcast every Saturday and of course, this Saturday is no exception…

This week’s episode has Simon and I chatting about our songwriting processes and how they are different when we write songs by ourselves as opposed to collaborating with others. There are some nice pearls of wisdom in there if I say so myself.

Click the play button above, check it out and let me know what you think.

Peace,

Corey 🙂

5090 ChallengeSongwriting

50 Songs In 90 Days… Can I Do It?

Posted on by Corey Stewart

With today being the 4th of July I’ll again be participating in this years 50/90 Songwriting Challenge as I have done for the last 11 years.

Sometimes I do think that I’m batshit CRAZY.

For those of you that have no idea what I’m talking about, the 50/90 Songwriting Challenge (also known as 50/90) requires the participant to write 50 songs in 90 days starting from July 4th until October 31st.

50/90 has been likened to a marathon for songwriters and if my maths is correct, I would need to write one song every 1.8 days to complete the challenge in full.

I can do that, I mean I have done it before in 2017, 2018 and 2019 (not in 2020 thanks to COVID-19) but I am going to approach 50/90 a little differently compared to the FAWM Songwriting Challenge (14 songs in 28 days) that I completed in February.

This time around, instead of doing complete band arrangements of my songs I’ll be stripping them back to a more acoustic vibe to ensure that the songs don’t get bogged down in over-instrumentation.

The more limits I place on myself the more I’ll be able to write and besides, if time permits I can always go back to the songs and embellish them later on. It’s important that I make the song idea-recording-uploading process as efficient as possible.

I’ll also put more of an emphasis on collaboration with other 50/90 participants. It’s one of the really cool things about being involved.

Don’t get me wrong, 50 songs in 90 days is a daunting task and I am going to have my work cut out for me but there’s nothing like a goal or a deadline to get my creative juices flowing.

Just like I’m doing with the songs I wrote for FAWM, I’ll  be releasing them on a playlist through my SoundCloud account.

I might even need your help to choose the best ones.

As with previous years, 50/90 will be the ninja warrior of songwriting endurances for me. YES! It’s a challenge but it will also be a lot of fun too, as the 50/90 website clearly states…

“During these 90 days, participants will encourage each other, collaborate, give and gain feedback on their new creations and push themselves to practice and refine their skills in songwriting. Whether long time vets of songwriting or picking up the pen for the first time, participants will grow their skills in making music… and just might have some fun along the way.”

That’s what I intend to do… I will again be walking the walk and talking the talk by putting all of my songwriting knowledge to good use and allowing my songwriting process to do its thing.

Who knows, there might even be some cracker songs written along the way.

Wish me luck guys,

Corey 🙂

Soul Trader Podcast

The Soul Trader Podcast – An Update

Posted on by Corey Stewart

Since the last time I posted about The Soul Trader Podcast (with good mate Simon James Betts), there have been five more episodes all done and dusted for your aural pleasure.

Go on, have a listen. You’ll find them all below…

Of course the beautiful thing about a podcast is that you can still read this post while you’re listening to Simon and I chew the fat on a number of topics.

Who says that guys can’t multi-task?

Anyways, on a more serious note though, I have learnt a hell of a lot through my involvement with The Soul Trader Podcast but I have distilled what I’ve learnt into two main areas.

Firstly, the process of podcast creation from start to finish and secondly, all of the marketing and promotion techniques that goes with it.

I mean if no-one listens to your podcast, does it really exist?

Another thing that I wanted to mention is that Simon and I are actively looking for guests to appear on the podcast so, if you are a musician, artist or you work in a creative field (it doesn’t necessarily have to be in the the music industry) and you’re not intimidated by two guys throwing questions at you then drop me a line or contact Simon here.

From now on, I’ll put out a post every Saturday with a new Soul Trader podcast episode for you all to check out so in the meantime, have a listen to the podcasts above and let me know what you think.

Any feedback is most welcome.

Peace,

Corey 🙂

Songwriting

Recording Old Songs With New Ears

Posted on by Corey Stewart

While going through my song archives some time ago I noticed that I have a lot of songs written in the very early days of my musical journey that would never see the light of day. However, I still remember how these songs go in my head as if I’d written them yesterday.

I thought to myself… Now that I’ve got my home recording studio setup and I’m feeling comfortable with the process of recording music, why not record these old songs (angst ridden teen lyrics and all) with my fresh set of ears plus accumulated musical experience and knowledge.

This would be a great exercise to see how good these old songs really are plus, find out if they can stand up against the new songs that I’m currently writing.

Or, am I just being blinded by nostalgia.

Another thing for me to consider is that this exercise would give me lots and lots of Logic Pro X music production practise and it would be a good thing to do if I’m feeling a bit blocked creatively.

I thought I’d start things off with a recording of one of the first songs I ever wrote called Snow.

The song is pretty much about two people getting it on while it’s snowing outside but lyrically and dynamically I think it’s much more dreamy than that and personally, I’m quite chuffed with how it’s turned out so here it is for you to check out.

Snow
© C. Stewart 1989

Tonight, tonight, tonight we kiss
The rain is cold and so is the air that I breathe

Snow, it settles from the sky
Into the trees, when it’s cold outside
Snow, lovely snow

Tonight, tonight, tonight we embrace
Hostility has gone without a trace

Snow, it settles from the sky
Into the trees, when it’s cold outside
Snow, lovely snow

Guitar solo

Tonight, tonight, tonight we complete
We both are one from our head down to our feet

Snow, it settles from the sky
Into the trees, when it’s cold outside
Snow, lovely snow

Feel free to contact me and let me know what you think, all feedback is welcome.

Peace,

Corey 🙂

BuddhismLifePhilosophy

Alan Watts – Life And Music

Posted on by Corey Stewart

According to renowned Zen Buddhist and interpreter of Chinese and Indian philosophies to the West, Alan Watts (1915-1973), the correlation between life and music is a closely knit and intertwining one.

Through his lectures and his vast audio archive, he was known for his ability to unravel the complexities of life for the layperson through his eloquence and humour.

A series of videos created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone of South Park were made from some of Alan’s famous audio recordings. The one I’ve included below is for one of the videos that has resonated with me the most.

It’s simply called Life and Music. Enjoy.

Some timely life lessons from Alan Watts. Let me know what you think.

Peace,

Corey 🙂

FavouritesMusic

King Crimson – Three Of A Perfect Pair: Live In Japan (1984)

Posted on by Corey Stewart

This video I’m about to share with you is for me, the single most inspirational piece of media I have ever witnessed.

I would go so far as saying that if I hadn’t stumbled across this video then my musical journey would’ve turned out a lot different to what it is now.

I can remember where and when I saw this just like it was yesterday.

I was still attending Northfield High School at the time when I saw the beginning sequence of the video played on the classic ABC music show Rock Arena (do you remember that program) and I experienced the what could be described as the closest thing to a religious epiphany.

This video literally blew my mind. I had never heard music like this before and I was hungry for more.

I hunted down the video and once I had it in my hot little hands I went over to my music teachers house and we both watched it in awe of the music and the musicians that played it.

To put things into some sort of perspective I want to give you some background as to what was happening for me at the time as I was in a world of confusion and pain regarding where I was going in my music.

I was studying music composition and clarinet (as well as everything else) at High School and I was being groomed by the school to go to the Adelaide Conservatorium Of Music to get my Bachelor of Music degree and become either a music teacher or, an orchestral clarinet player (music teacher was looking the most likely path).

Everyone else had my musical life planned out for me, except for ME.

I was just starting to learn guitar at that stage and I didn’t know what I should do but once I saw this video, I made my choice and for the first time in my life I knew exactly what I wanted to do.

I wanted to do what THEY were doing.

This video has been long lost from my possession but I was beside myself when I recently stumbled across the full version of it on YouTube so here is King Crimson – Three Of A Perfect Pair: Live In Japan in its entirety just for you.

Enjoy…

I’ve always considered the King Crimson “Discipline” trilogy of albums, starting with Discipline in 1981, Beat in 1982 and lastly (my all time favourite) Three Of A Perfect Pair in 1984, as my most favourite albums of all time.

It’s influenced my playing style on both guitar and bass as well as shaped my musical approaches and attitudes in more ways than I can imagine and I’m so glad that I can share this video with you all.

Peace,

Corey 🙂

Home Recording

My Home Recording Studio Love Affair

Posted on by Corey Stewart

Right now I’m sitting in front of my computer typing out this blog post and on the other screen is an open project on Logic Pro X and I’m really, really torn between completing this post and just doing some more recording.

However, there was a time not that long ago, that I couldn’t have imagined this scenario because back then, the thought of setting up some sort of home recording studio absolutely terrified me.

But what was I really scared of? I suppose I was scared that…

  • My music would sound crap and not sound like what’s on the radio
  • I couldn’t do it (record from home)
  • It would take too long for me to learn
  • My end product would be judged harshly by others
  • People won’t like my music (and therefore, not like me)

Of course, these irrational and illogical fears were a result of an unhealthy combination of way too much perfectionism, not enough confidence and a dash of low self esteem thrown in for good measure

I remember when I purchased my first iMac way back in 2009, I had included in the purchase a copy of Logic 9 (I had some experience using Logic 4.2 – before it was purchased by Apple from Emagic) and when I installed it onto my new system I left it sitting there all alone on my desktop, unopened for a very long time.

Eventually, curiosity got the better of me and feeling a bit brash one day, I opened it up and started to muck around with it.

The more I used it, the more I gained confidence in my ability to learn about and operate a piece of software that was almost like learning a foreign language. Then I discovered that YouTube had heaps of Logic 9 tutorials that enabled me to integrate more knowledge that I could use in my recordings.

It was around about this time that my decision to start collaborating with other songwriters in a big way took place and my new found knowledge of recording music at home had some sort of outlet.

Then Logic Pro X came onto the market. When I got that onto my system everything had changed. Now I’m a home recording studio junky and there’s no stopping me now.

The main thing I love about recording from home is the sheer convenience of thinking of a songwriting idea and then being able to flick on a switch and have everything at your disposal at a moment’s notice.

Don’t get me wrong… I still use and work in other recording studios big and small, professional and amateur, and feel that these facilities provide a much needed service however, with my home recording setup I am no longer at the whim of somebody else when it comes to recording my songwriting ideas and developing them towards a completed product.

Through this website, I’ll be sharing with you my home recording experiences, what I’ve learnt from taking a leap of faith into the land of home recording plus curating some fantastic content that I’ve found that has helped me along the way so watch this space.

Okay, now I’ve got that out of my system, I’m getting back to my recording…

Peace,

Corey 🙂

Songwriting

Songwriting Tips – 10 Of The Best From David Foster

Posted on by Corey Stewart

When accepting his BMI Icon award in 2010, songwriter David Foster gave a speech which was more like a ten commandments for all songwriters to live by.

Here are those ten songwriting tips in a nutshell:

  • Save your money
  • Don’t get married
  • Learn an instrument
  • Don’t be too precious about your songs
  • Be genuinely happy for someone else’s success
  • Phone people back
  • Give your career everything that you have
  • Be on time
  • Make every creative decision as if you have a million dollars in the bank
  • Save your money

Enjoy…

I especially liked numbers 3, 4 and 9 on the list. Which one(s) resonated with you? Let me know, I’d love to hear from you.

Peace,

Corey 🙂