A Full Recap Of Songcraft Session 3

 

 

Here’s a full recap of our latest session on Friday night.

In a nutshell, it was great! I think we had a total of eleven attendees, and twelve songs were presented in total.

I thought the songs that were shared were really good. (My gut feeling tells me that our songs are getting better and better as we go along. I think everyone’s raising their game.) We had a good mix of different song genres & styles too.

As usual, we started slightly after 730pm at Classroom 1 of the Substation. We’re all beginning to get rather acquainted with that particular room by now, so it looks like we might call it our “home” for the near future. It’s a cool place. Nothing fancy, just the basic essentials. But it’s cosy and lends an air of intimacy, which is perfect for our sessions. 

Introductions 

And as per normal, we started with our introductions.

There was a mix of old and new faces.

The funniest part was when two girls realised that they were both regulatory pharmacists! Small world.

So after the customary introductions, we were faced with the age-old problem of “who’s going to present first?”

And being the organiser of the event, my “reward” was being arrowed to go first (I think it was Marcel who first arrowed me), since I was naturally the biggest and most obvious target in the group. Thus, I gamely accepted.

(I think I will mentally prepare myself to go first from now on.) 

My first song - ”A Better Little Life”:

As you can hear from the first few seconds of the clip, my valiant attempt at finding a brave volunteer to go first failed miserably.

Betty rose up from her seat enthusiastically…but then we realised that she was actually just going to the loo. (We’ve been had!)

So that’s why I ended up being the first presenter of the night, with my written-in-40-mins song called ”A Better Little Life”.

As I explained in the clip, I was probably subconsciously influenced a little bit by The Beatles’ “We Can Work It Out”, which probably gave rise to the theme of “reconciliation”. The whole idea was to write a song about how two people are always at loggerheads, but deep inside, they actually both want the best for each other.

Just a simple song, nothing much.

Firdaus did comment to me much later that he kinda liked the lines “if we could make up, if the walls inside could break up”, which was pretty encouraging. (Hey, a lousy songwriter like me has to take whatever compliments he gets!)

Betty commented that the chorus kinda reminded her of Fastball’s “Out Of My Head”. I take that as a neutral comment.

My second song - “Back Into The Arms”:

This is a song about being there for someone who’s going through a rough time.

My objectives when writing this song was to write a simple, catchy, sing-along kind of song. Nothing heavy, just something easy & breezy. And in the clip I also shared a bit about how the song was constructed and all that.

It’s hard for me to tell what my own songs sound like. But some people have commented that my songs are quite ”Beatles-ish”, which I probably should take as an encouraging sign.

Firdaus’s first song - “Special Girl”: 

Firdaus is a breath of fresh air, one of the most refreshing songwriters I’ve come across. I really like his breezy, catchy melodies coupled with his honest & witty lyrics. Good stuff! (He says they’re “childish”, but I don’t really think so.)

I like what he says about “it’s my song, so I can do whatever I want”. Indeed, I think this is precisely why songwriting is so liberating…cos you have full artistic control over every aspect of your song - the melody, the chord progression, the lyrics, the “feel”, the tempo, everything! (It’s a very powerful position to be in.)

This song induced quite a few chuckles from the audience, cos of the ticklish lyrics at certain points. I felt his lyrics were rather unique. (See if you can catch the references to “psychology degree” and ”KFC” in the song.)

The general consensus was that it was a fantastic song, and that Firdaus has a natural flair for melody.

Firdaus’s second song:

Firdaus calls this a “fake blues song”. As he explains, he wanted to try incorporating a wider range of chords into his songwriting, and hence this song makes use of a wider variety of chords than he normally uses.

I think it’s a cool song. The “blues” element in this song is created by the generous use of “7th” chords.

Firdaus’s third song:

Of Firdaus’s three songs, this was the most tender & romantic one. He didn’t think much about it, and thought that it was “boring”, but we actually liked it!

Betty was the first to comment and said that she loved the song, and that it “sounds like a lullaby”.

Marcel commented that it sounded like Coldplay, and I totally agree.

Hui Leng & Betty’s song - “By The Window”:

By The Window
Music & Lyrics by Hui Leng & Betty

Once a time, you promised me the stars and moon.
Once a time, you said you’ll heal up all my wounds.
Once a time, we used to camp out in your room,
Forgetting time counting the bright stars
By the window.

You and I, I thought our love was here to stay.
You and I, our lives were merry and so gay.
But one day, you said goodbye and went your way,
Left me alone by the window in pain.

How could you
Just cast our love away?
Why did you
Say all those words for my sake?
So you leave me all alone,
Left me to pick up broken pieces of my heart.

So for now, I’ve learnt to count the stars alone.
So for now, my tears have dried up on their own.
But somehow, I’d find myself by the window
Saying a little prayer just for you.

I like this song very much, even though the first few chords totally remind me of Debbie Gibson’s “Lost In Your Eyes”. (That’s just a neutral statement. It’s not meant to be negative. Hui Leng, please don’t get angry with me!)  

During the 2nd session held in May, Hui Leng presented a piano piece entitled “By The Window”, which was a great piece. (I remembered it quite clearly because her title was almost identical to my song, which was entitled “At My Window”. Talk about a coincidence!)

So what transpired after the 2nd session was that Betty collaborated with Hui Leng by being her lyricist, and she came up with a full set of lyrics for Hui Leng’s piano piece…which they both presented on Friday.

Initially I thought to myself “nah, adding lyrics to Hui Leng’s piece wouldn’t do it any good…cos Hui Leng’s piano piece is good enough as it is”, but after hearing them present it on Friday, my mind was changed.

Betty has the makings of a very good lyricist.

I felt that the lyrics made the song even more moving. I was deeply touched when I heard the song. It gives the listener a sense of longing. There’s something about the wistful lyrics, coupled with the pensive melody, which makes it such a touching song. I can imagine it being played at the most poignant scene in a romantic movie…and everyone would just burst into tears.

I like it! 

Hui Leng’s piano piece:

Hui Leng has a gift for composing beautiful piano pieces. Perhaps we might have been a bit mean in the past (jokingly, of course!) and have not done her songwriting talents enough justice by teasing her that her pieces sound like “Korean drama songs”, cos I actually think that her compositions are deeper than that.

Hui Leng has presented one new piano piece every session, and this is her third piece so far. I remember her first two pieces to be more on the melancholic side. Her piece today is much more uplifting and optimistic.

I think she makes good use of a variety of chords to interesting effect, and her arrangements are really neat too.

If only I could compose piano pieces like her!

Marcel’s first song - ”Running In Circles”:

I like this song. I think it’s well-written and has got a very catchy chorus. It reminds me of something else…but I can’t really put a finger to it. (That’s not a negative statement, by the way.)

But overall, I think it’s a pretty solid song. Uplifting, feel-good stuff. I think this song has a natural pace to it, and it ties in nicely with the theme of “running”. 

I especially like the “la la la” part towards the end. Very nice touch!

Marcel’s second song - “27 And Nothing” (Part 1 of 2):

Marcel’s second song - “27 And Nothing” (Part 2 of 2):

Lyrically, I thought this was the most profound & well-crafted song of the evening. The premise of the song is very interesting indeed. As Marcel explains in the clip, “27″ is one of the most significant ages in rock music, cos that was the age that many prominent rock heroes died, e.g. Hendrix, Cobain, Joplin.

The song has a very raw, blues-rock feel to it. With the backing of a full band and studio production, I believe this could be a really solid track. 

I’m sure Marcel had put in a lot of time & effort into this song, especially the lyrics. It’s a gem of a song.

Kah Loong’s first song - “I Love Her (This Pretty Girl)”:

As I mentioned before, Kah Loong’s songs are painfully personal & sincere. I guess this is what they call “bearing your soul”. This song is about a guy’s intimate conversation with God about his liking for a girl. See Kah Loong’s blog for more details.

His lyrics are probably more personal than most of ours, hence I could really sense the pain in his music. Whatsmore, I think Kah Loong has a very sincere-sounding voice, which makes the song even more touching.

Personally, I believe this song could benefit from studio production work. Sometimes certain songs are at their best when there’s production work given to them. A single guitar/keyboard accompaniment might not do the song enough justice. A very good example would be Kah Loong’s other song “She’s Too Young” (coming up next).

Kah Loong’s second song - “She’s Too Young”:

This title can be interpreted in a few ways, but let’s not think too crookedly.

It might sound like I’m exaggerating, but I really really like this song. As I’ve mentioned above, this song works PERFECTLY when you hear the full studio production version, which can be found here (see Track 4).

I think this song has a great melody. I found myself humming this song in my head many times over the last few weeks, ever since I first heard it…which is why I specially requested for Kah Loong to play this song “unplugged” on Friday.

Thanks for obliging, Kah Loong! 

Chin Hon’s song:

I was glad that Chin Hon turned up, cos by around 830pm he still had not arrived and I thought he wouldn’t be coming that night. But in the end, I was glad that he came and that he also presented his new song.

Like Kah Loong, Chin Hon’s song lyrics are also pretty personal. Because of the nature of his guitar-strumming, there is a catchy, sing-along quality to his songs.

Unlike my generic, aimed-at-no-one-in-particular songs, Chin Hon’s songs are more sincere, and are usually based on real life experiences…which make them more special.

Conclusion

In conclusion, I’m once again very encouraged by the number of great songs being presented on Friday. I could definitely sense the enthusiasm and the passion for songwriting in everyone. I’m also glad to know that our Songcraft songwriting sessions have ignited the songwriting flame and spurred people on to writing more songs, as well as move them to write even more songs in order to hone their songcraft.