Today is the big day we get to unveil the new C-Sharp Productions website!
Over the last few months we have been expanding our services to songwriters and independent artists.
We now offer recording and production AND songwriting coaching and lessons!
C-Sharp Productions is becoming a recording studio for new songwriters and singers, and creating some incredible new music.
Check out the new site here! C-Sharp Productions New Site
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Tags: Minneapolis Recording Studio, music, music producer, singers, Songwriting
I am excited to announced that I have launched a new website. This site features my new songwriting lessons that I am offering in Minneapolis.
Check it out at http://www.songwritingminneapolis.com
If you are a songwriter looking to grow your craft, you should check this out.
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Tags: Chad Shank, lessons, Minneapolis, Songwriting, Twin Cities
If you have not checked out Gary Ewer’s songwriting blog, you NEED to. Seriously, this blog will change your songwriting life. Are you struggling with writers block? Need some inspiration? Have songs that are lacking something? Gary is a songwriter and educator and writes very useful and inspiring blog posts. I have been inspired and impressed on a daily basis. I subscribed, so his posts get emailed to me. Since I am such a fan, I wanted to interview Gary and share some of his insights on my blog. Gary really is the MAN when it comes to songwriting. Please check out his blog here and read the interview below….
Gary Ewer Interview:
1. How did you get involved in songwriting?
I became interested in songwriting as a young teenager, back in the mid-70s. In those days, I played a bit of guitar, piano, and was playing trumpet in my school band. Any writing I was doing was mainly at the piano, but I don’t particularly remember strong influences at the time. But certainly progressive rock was an inspiration, so Genesis, Yes, and other prog rock groups were important. For me, songwriting was very much a solitary activity, and I didn’t play in a band until my high school years.
2. Who were some songwriters that inspired or currently inspire you?
Currently, I am very much into the music of Imogen Heap, and also love Adele, Sia, and am warming to the music of Sufyen Stephens. As a young musician, my favourite pop writers and groups were Robert Lamm (Chicago), Peter Gabriel, Joni Mitchell, Genesis and Yes.
3. How old were you when you wrote your first song?
I started writing songs (quite bad, they were!) around the age of 15. I remember entering a song contest with a song I had written, called “Back Again to Yesterday”. In those days, I did a lot of instrumental writing, as I was getting more and more into my trumpet.
4. Did you write songs before you had an official education?
Yes, but as I say, I don’t think they were very good. But I think it’s important for songwriters to stick with it, because bad songs are part of the process of cleaning up your technique and becoming better.
5. You are a busy writer and educator. How do you find time to work on your own songs?
(Sorry for this lengthy and round-about answer): I went to university in 1978, with a plan to take whatever I could learn and become a better songwriter. But as soon as I started my studies, I became fascinated with Classical music. In particular, I was amazed by how similar songwriting was to composing Classical music. That in a way, what Beethoven was trying to do is the exact same thing that Dylan, Springsteen, Cohen, and all great songwriters. I found that my “songwriting” modified considerably, and started to write lengthier, more classically-based music. So even though what I was writing strayed considerably away from mainstream pop-based music, I found myself studying all the ways that the two genres were actually very similar, with similar chord progressions, melodic construction, form, and so on.
So the problem became that writing longer instrumental works makes it rather tricky to keep writing, especially with my full-time job as a university instructor. For much of my career, writing takes place in the evenings, and on weekends. I have to keep reminding myself that I don’t need to complete an entire piece in one sitting. Sometimes the music I write will take months to complete, and that’s OK. I get a fair number of commissions to write choral music, and those are often arrangements of existing folk songs in the public domain. Those don’t take very long, and are often more in the folk-classical-pop genre (if that exists!)
So it’s hard to fit it all into my schedule, but as I say, that’s OK.
6. What are 3 things most songwriters could do today to improve their writing?
For sure, the first thing is to set a regular writing schedule. Even if you don’t write a complete song, or even if the writing is just working out a small bit of melody, regular writing leads to discipline, which leads to success.
The second thing would be to listen to as many diverse styles and genres of music as possible. You’ll amaze yourself by how much those other styles will positively influence your own music, and make your music all the more unique.
And probably the third thing to ensure that you improve is to get your music out there, and perform it for others. And get opinions and thoughts from people you trust. Those opinions need to be true, not sugar-coated to make you feel good. You absolutely need to know what others are getting from your music.
7. On your blog you talk alot about how songwriting hasn’t really changed for many years. What would be 1 similarity and 1 difference between pop songs now and in the 80’s?
The main similarity between now and the 80s is the overall form of music. When all is said and done, we still see a mainly verse-chorus-bridge design to most hit songs. That design is actually centuries-old. In a way, when Classical composers wrote symphonies back in the 1700s, they did the same thing. They wrote a first theme, a second theme, and then a development section, which in many ways equates to the verse-chorus-bridge format, but on a much larger scale.
The main difference that most listeners would notice is the instrumental sound and production. Synthesized sounds in the 80s have a distinctive sound that would (badly!) date a song. Every era has its particular sound. I suspect that in another 20 years, we’ll listen to autotuned voices and wonder how we ever tolerated it. Let’s hope so, anyway.
8. Why do you write songs?
Sometimes the music I write is for another group of performers, so the easy answer to the question is, I write because I’m hired to write. But when I write for myself, I find myself thinking of a message that I want to send. Songs are comprised of lyrics, melodies, chords, and other elements. For me, I want all those elements to come together with the lyric on top – with people thinking about the text. I’m not a poet, so any time I write lyrics, I’m not trying to be profound. I just want people to think long after the song is done.
9. When you write, what instrument do you use the most?
The piano winds up being the instrument that shows up most often, but of course it depends on the people or group I’m writing for, since I don’t tend to perform my own music.
10. How do you keep track of all of your song ideas?
I work mainly on computer. The notation software “Finale” is my app of choice. So my computer has tons of partly-written bits of music that are either in various stages of creation, or are just little bits that I’ve written down because they sound neat.
11. For a new songwriter, maybe just starting out, do you have any words of wisdom?
The best advice I can give is to listen to lots and lots of music. Don’t limit yourself to the same old tunes that you like to listen to. Speak to other musicians about what they like, and do whatever you can to increase your musical experience. The more music you listen to, the more your own musical style develops in a unique way.
12. You have a lot of music theory knowledge. Do you feel songwriters need to learn music theory?
If for no other reason, music theory will allow you to put labels on all the neat musical effects you hear in other songwriters’ music. Music theory allows you to be, quite simply, literate. But more than that, a knowledge of the rudiments of music expands your musical mind. Some think that music theory will stunt your creativity, but in fact, the opposite happens. Your mind opens, and you’ll find that what you write will be more innovative and more cutting-edge. I can’t say enough about the power of music theory for developing a songwriter’s mind.
13. Are you a rewriter?
Any composer worth their salt is a rewriter. It’s highly unlikely that you’ll get it right the first time. My general way of writing is to work ahead, then look back and rewrite what I’ve done even as I work on the next few bars of music. So anything I write is in a constant state of rewriting, even as I am working ahead.
14. Do you like to cowrite?
In my genre of writing, co-writing is not usually done. That’s only because I tend to focus on music that’s highly personal, and probably more complex than typical popular songs. For the popular songs I’ve written in the past, they were always individual efforts. But I really believe that if pop song writing is someone’s gig, you can’t beat a collaboration with a good songwriter.
15. What song recently had you really saying, “Wow!?”
That’s a great question, because some songs lately have me listening over and over again, and I find it hard to know why. For example, Kascade’s “Dynasty” (sung by Haley Gibby) is a fairly basic song that I find myself listening to over and over again. I love it. Sia Furler’s “Soon We’ll Be Found” is a really great tune that’s really stuck with me. And definitely almost anything off of Imogen Heap’s “Ellipse” album, particularly “Tidal”, has me saying “Wow!”
16. What do you do when you feel stuck on a song?
My solution to a simple case of writer’s block is to leave the song for a few hours, and then return to it. Almost right away any blocks I have seem to go away. For more serious cases of writer’s block, I temporarily leave the piece, and give myself little writing tasks, such as seeing how many short melodies I can compose over a chord progression. I also do things like playing a melody “upside-down”: from the starting note, I play the opposite direction of the melody I’ve created. So instead of, say, playing a melody that actually moves up by step, I see what it sounds like moving down by step. I find that those kinds of little “games” open my mind and get me unstuck quicker than anything.
17. What do you write about the most?
Most of my writing these days is for choirs, and I’m usually either given a topic, or I am asked to do a choral arrangement of a folk song. But for my own compositions recently, the topics I’ve been asked to write about the most center on “peace” and “community.” I get a fair number of requests to write music for large choirs doing community events, and those kinds of topics are naturals.
18. Musical styles and trends seem to go in cycles. Right now we are in a kind of electro-pop phase. Where do you see pop music going next?
Wow, that’s really hard to say. I had a friend once who said that if we knew where we were headed, we’d probably be trying to do it now. I don’t necessarily agree with that. I think the only things we can be sure of is: 1) computers will remain a crucial part of music production (sound, recording, effects, and general precision of final production); and 2) we’re going to find that musicians are going to work even harder to marry computer technique with acoustic instruments. Beyond that, it’s anyone’s guess.
19. Do you ever write a song and not like it?
I remember as a student of music composition years ago that I wrote an elaborate piece for two singers, a percussion ensemble, piano, and small string ensemblee, called “Sun and Moon”. I hated it! By the time I finished it, I so despised it that I wouldn’t agree to have it performed. I got a mark for it as part of my composition course, but I don’t remember what the prof gave me! I’ve written other things that I didn’t like, but usually I just try to fix them.
20. What happens to those songs?
Music that I’ve written that just doesn’t work is usually music that I try to fix somehow. But I don’t spend a lot of time rewriting. If I can’t figure out how to solve the problem fairly quickly, the piece get’s “put in a box” (i.e., sits in a folder on my computer), and I have to confess that I don’t do much with them.
21. How has your writing changed over the years?
As I mentioned, when I first got into writing in my teenage years, I was trying to write music in the style of Genesis and other prog rock bands that influenced me. By the time I was studying music composition at university, I found myself influenced by contemporary “avant garde” composers such as John Cage, Steve Reich, Luciano Berio, and others. It probably wound up being an interesting mix! So I kind of went through a rather complex atonal style of writing before reverting back to a simpler harmonic language more easily singable by choral groups.
Awesome insights!! Thanks so much to Gary Ewer for doing this interview! Check out his blog for oodles more songwriting wisdom!
~ Chad
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Tags: Gary Ewer, interview, music theory, Songwriting
Listen to “Tonight We Dance” then read below.
This past weekend I wrote a song. I wanted to share the thought process and some of the “behind the scenes” workings of the song.
This new song is called, “Tonight We Dance.” The tempo is 132 bpm. The goal was to create a bridge that contrasted with the verse and chorus.
So I worked towards contrast in a number of ways.
First was the rhyme scheme. The verse is AABB. Chorus is TTTT. The Bridge is XAXA.
Harmonically there is contrast in both the chords used and also the Harmonic rhythm. The verse is in D mixolydian mode and the chords are basically 1 chord every 2 measures, except for the last two bars. Then, when you hit the chorus, I modulated to D Lydian mode and the chords come more frequently…contrast. Then in the bridge, I started on the Bm7 chord and the changes occur on every bar…again contrast. This change in harmonic rhythm makes momentum contrast.
Here are the chords:
Verse: ||D |D |G |G |C |C |Bm7 |Am7 ||
Chorus: ||D F#m7 |E || x4
Bridge: ||Bm7 |E |D |Esus4 || x2
Melodically I worked toward contrast in both pitch and rhythm. The verses start on notes that are in the chord. Starts on A and works up to the C and D. The rhythm is quicker, with more lyrics. Then when the chorus hits, it revolves around the D and C# notes….with more space. There is the modulation that occurs that brings in nice contrast. Then the bridge has longer and higher notes…again creating contrast.
LYRICS:
Tonight We Dance
by Chad Sharp 4-23-11
Verse:
Let’s take a nap so we can stay up late
Then get dressed up and go out and play
11:30 we’ll roll in the club
We’ll be turning heads we’ll be having fun
Chrorus:
Tonight We Dance
Tonight We Dance
Tonight We Dance
Tonight We Dance
Verse:
The lights are swirling as we work up a sweat
The Bass is pounding as low as it gets
DJ’s mixing with all hands in the sky
Feels just like heaven found us tonight
CHORUS
Bridge:
So lose yourself
Let it all go
Ride the rhythm
It’s about to explode
CHORUS REPEATS
©2011 Chad Sharp – C-Sharp Productions
It is a fun dance song.
~ Chad
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Tags: Chad Sharp, Songwriting
If you want to write songs that are commercially viable, or at least in the realm of mainstream popular songs, you don’t have to reinvent the wheel every time you sit down to write. One way to write some pretty sweet songs is to really study songs that are already hits. Take what works for them, and incorporate those traits into your own songs.
First of all, using Hit Songs as a guide is not stealing or copyright infringement. There are qualities of songs that are not covered by copyright. Those things are Title, Chord Progressions and song structure. You are NOT allowed to copy lyrics and melody.
So how can you use a Hit Song to write your next hit? Follow these simple, yet powerful tips.
Step 1: What is the structure? — Is the song Verse, Chorus, Verse, Chorus, Bridge, Chorus, etc. Listen to the hit song and write down each separate section. How many measures are there in each section?
You can use this structure as a blue print for your song.
Step 2: What is the Rhyme Scheme? — Write down the lyrics, or find them online. What kind of Rhyme Scheme does the song have? The most common way to show scheme is applying a letter to each rhyme sound. An example would be ABAB, or AABB, or XAXA. “X” means the line does not rhyme. Also put a “T” for each line that includes the Title. Pay attention. Does the rhyme scheme change in each section?
Try to use the rhyme scheme for your song.
Step 3: Use the Chord Progression. — You cannot copyright a chord progression…So if you are stuck and looking for a way to write your next song, start with the chords from the song you are analyzing. What chords are used in each section? Where do the chords change…Every measure? Inside the measure? Every Two measures? Do the chords change in each section? How do they change? What does it sound like if you transpose the key? Now you can change a few chords, change the rhythm, or leave them as is….BUT be sure when you write the melody you do not copy the original song.
Step 4: Analyze the melodic contour. — What does the melodic pitch look like in each section? Does the chorus start higher than the verse? Does the bridge go even higher? Do the melodic lines go up or go down….do they do both? Pay attention to what the melodies are doing. Do not copy the melody, but you can try out the same contour and how the ranges move.
By analyzing each of these categories in hit songs, you will soon learn what makes these songs tick…AND the best part is that your songs will get better and better!
Here is an example of what your song plan may look like, feel free to use this for a song, if you wish. This can be a guide for you as you analyze your favorite hit songs.
Verse: 8 bars = chords: ||G |em7 |C |D || x 2
melody contour has lines that mostly go down
A
A
B
B
CHORUS: 8 bars = chords: ||Am7 Bm7 |Cmaj7 ||x4
Melody goes up
T
X
X
T
2nd Verse same as 1st
Chorus
Bridge: 8 bars = chords: ||D |Bm7 |am7 |D || x2
Melody goes up higher yet
A
A
B
B
Repeat Chorus
Have fun analyzing and writing!! Let me know if this helps you at all.
~ Chad
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Tags: Harmony, hit songs, lyrics, melody, rhyme scheme, song structure, Songwriting
Bill EB Good Wins 18th Annual Billboard Song Contest with Song Demo Produced by C-Sharp Productions
I am always excited when some of my clients start to see some success with song demos that I produce for them. This year, I got the news from one of my clients in Connecticut that his song, “Come to Me” had won the Billboard Song Contest, first place in the Dance genre! The client is William Brennan, aka Bill EB Good. He has written quite a few songs over the years and has been working with me and C-Sharp Productions over the last year or so. It is an honor to have something I worked on win a contest like this. William had some kind words that he said I should share on my site….so here goes…
“Working with Chad Sharp is truly rewarding, under his direction and influence, especially his expertise in demo production my song “Come To Me” earned or garnished me an award, as a matter of fact I came in First Place Top Award on the 18th annual Billbboard’s Song Contest in the genre of Dance songs. Chad Sharp was the brain and the musical talent that allowed me to win such an award. I wrote the lyrics but Chad worked the music and the vocals into an intricate vital song. Chad’s work on Come To Me was astounding and immensely gratifying for me as the songwriter of the award winning song. I want to thank Chad for his undying love of his craft and his perserverance at getting the song just right and made Come To Me a success. ” — William Brennan (Bill EB Good)
Thank you, William, for working with me and C-Sharp Productions Song Demo Studio! Chad
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Tags: Bill EB Good, Billboard Song Contest, C-Sharp Productions, Chad Sharp, Songwriting demos
Songwriters are not usually recording engineers or music producers, so they need someone else to record their demos. They need someone to make the song come to life in the hopes it lassos in some kind of deal or better yet, money! BUT, I think too many songwriters make a simple mistake when choosing who they want to record their song demos.
What mistake do they make?
I think they choose their studio by looking only at price. They see $X on one website and then see another price and instantly want to spend less. Well….this works if you are buying groceries, but song demos are not groceries. They are not created equal. Same price does not mean same quality. Yes, I am in the demo production business, so I hope you choose me, BUT I want you to go with your ears. I want you to really choose your producer because of the quality of what they do. Your product will be better if you let the producer produce.
So how do you choose the right demo producer for you?
You need to ask some questions….
1. Does the style of the producer match what you are looking for?
2. Do the previous works sound professional?
3. Does the studio or producer offer a critique or song consulting service? – What do they think of your song?
4. Will the producer be honest about deadlines and what they can do?
5. Does the studio list testimonials from previous clients?
6. How much do they charge? Does it fit into your budget?
7. Are you willing to save up to afford the best demo you can?
8. Again, the most important question to ask is…DOES THIS STUDIO HAVE THE SOUND I AM LOOKING FOR?
If you ask these questions, you will be on the road to getting a great sounding song demo. Will it be the cheapest? Maybe, maybe not….but remember you should be able to use this demo for years and years to come. Demos are not groceries, you should shop for quality, not price. If it takes a little bit to save a bit more money, it would be worth it in the long run.
~ Chad
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Tags: demos, Recording, Songwriting Demo Service, studio
I have been hearing some buzz about an indie artist that is starting to make some waves. I love the stories of artists that get somewhere without a big time label writing checks behind them.
~ Chad
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Tags: indie music, Ryan Jordan
I simply love the passion and drive behind Panic at the Disco’s singer and his songwriting. He says he is basically addicted to writing songs. He does it every single day. I love that! I aspire to be more like that.
Read more.
~ Chad
I write music to your lyrics
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Tags: Panic at the Disco
In the music business, the crowd of people that work together is quite small. People work with people they know, and they hire people they know have the skills to get results. It always amazes me how many hit songs are written by established artists who moonlight doing songwriting. Gaga is getting her write on.
Read some more ’bout it, bout it.
What do you think about artists writing for other artists?
~ Chad
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Tags: Lady Gaga, Songwriting
C-Sharp Productions: Independent Music Blog 