That means if a mistake was made, it was there forever! And mistakes weren’t uncommon–in fact, some listeners and producers find that mistakes add some raw emotion to a song and interest to a singer’s voice, though too many implies a lack of natural ability.

Now that we have technology to correct or control a singers’ pitch (how close they get to the right note), it’s hard to tell if a singer has any talent simply by listening to their CD. When you hear the artists you love for real, LIVE, it can be incredible or disappointing because they either live up to their product, or they don’t. Since tech-polished vocals are now the norm, and the real deal isn’t often as sweet.

I think that’s pretty unfortunate because there’s plenty of talent to choose from–talent that doesn’t require pitch correction in the studio and lip syncing during live performances.

Take Paula Abdul’s recent performance on American Idol: (skip the first part of the video)

Unwavering, polished vocals, even through all the dancing-an obvious lip sync and obvious overproduction. Paula’s performance is followed by No Doubt: (again, skip the front)

Gwen Stefani’s a crazy fool (read: awesome) jumping and dancing around the stage, yet she performs the entire song live (because that’s the meaning of a live performance), hitting all her Gwen-ish notes. Gwen and those like her definitely get the legitimacy award, but the way of the music industry is largely like Paula’s.

For studio recordings, listeners expect music to be perfect. The opinions swing all over the place about how much tweeking is too much for a particular genre of music. Often, songs with radio marketability are produced to perfection, leaving the listener with the idea of the song’s sound, but not its true quality (electronic music is the obvious exception).

There are plenty of musicians who record and produce their music independent of mainstream record labels so they don’t feel bound to false perfection. They’re happy with their own talent, and if they need more, they invite someone else to help out. That’s the honesty and camaraderie the music community once had, and it’s nice to see it retained somewhere.

I’m kind of a purist in valuing honesty in writing AND recording–I don’t want you to hear electronic Chelsie, just as I don’t care to hear electronic Paula. That approach doesn’t provide any honest feedback for me because it’s not an honest performance. Nothing separates the talent from the assumed talent like playing live and letting the listener be the judge.

This summer, dates and times TBD, I’m playing in the Nashville area and anywhere else I think might be fun. Hope you’ll come hang; it’ll be real. ;)

The clarity of song’s message depends on the same creative control–choosing a direction and sticking to it! Knowing what your song is about, where it ends up, and what it means will show through in your writing. Songs with a clear direction will make a lot more sense to listeners than a hodgepodge group of ideas.

Do you connect with songs you don’t get? Probably not. What about songs you can understand and relate to? Those are the keepers, aren’t they?

For a while, I liked to let my song run free even in its structure. I left a lot open to interpretation, which I thought was very multi-dimensional; however, listeners only found it confusing.

It can be tough to find and keep your direction; you get distracted by pretty (or ugly) thoughts along the way and soon enough you’re down some backroad you don’t remember turning onto!

At those moments, it’s helpful to put down my brain and write with feeling. Taking a few minutes to jot down ideas frees your mind to focus on what you’re really writing about.  I know if another paper doesn’t hold my ideas for me, I’ll waste energy trying to include them in my current writing–which ends up confusing my audience. But if I pause and empty my thought tank, I can track down my direction and write with purpose.

Simple Steps to Stimulating Songs (and anything else for that matter…)

Ask your brain:

-What is my purpose-why am I writing?

-What message or emotion am I expressing-what do I want to say?

-How do I want to convey my message/emotion? Should I use a metaphor? A story? Wit?

-How will the listener to respond? Do I want to endear my listeners or raise their eyebrows; stir up sadness or excitement; foster curiosity or awareness, etc…?

The essence of art weighs the shoulders of the artist, who without direction or goal will surely crumple under all his possibilities.

-Nola Forthwrite

Sure, it allows us to stay connected, market ourselves, etc; but how connected do you really need to be? And do people really need to be apart of your every thought? And do you need to be apart of mine?

I can read tweets on the computer, along with my emails, facebook crap, and RSS feeds, which already feels like too much to keep up with–so why have am I sending it all to my phone? So it can plague me 24/7?! Do I not have better things to do? Plans, housework, maybe even HANGING OUT with tweet-heads I follow? I think I do. </ RANT>
…
In all the madness, my frustration distracts me from writing because I get worn out. My personality resists processing so much stimulation. In a heavy-traffic lifestyle, it’s vital to stop and catch up with ourselves.
Do you remember breathing in your day? Probably not, since it’s something we do so involuntarily that we needn’t even consider it. But I tend to think about breathing a lot.

Here’s my reasoning:

Breath is life, right? You must inhale and exhale to live; you must inhale and exhale slowly not to stress your body.

Thought is apart of life, right? You must think to reason; you must control your thought not to stress your mind.

Anything that strips me of my breath control or mental control is probably something I don’t have energy for.

When you consider that breathing and thinking take up most of our time (because everything else kind of relies on them), doesn’t it seem silly that we don’t take time to think about our breath or mental state? Doesn’t it seem silly that we knowingly stress our bodies and minds by recklessly (and knowingly) plowing through life?

You’ll never appreciate what happens in a moment, and therefore never accurately describe it, if you never experience your own moments. Taking time to be still, breathe, and control your thoughts is essential to writing, focusing your mind and body on the moment’s task.

Songwriting is about expanding the physical senses and emotions of these moments so the audience feels like they’re apart of them. So chill out for a few and take it in. If it helps you to call it work, preparation for a future gig, or research, then you probably need to clear out for a spell (I suggest enjoying a tasty beverage somewhere serene!)… at least till play becomes pleasurable again. ;)

It’s so nice being together, just being together

Mellowed out under the clouds now

This world is full of wonders, but you’re my favorite color…

Favorite Color illustrates loving the moment and brings up an important writing asset called metaphor. The last line calls someone a “favorite color”…colors aren’t people, so how do you know what I mean?

Chances are you know what it’s like to have a favorite color; you buy clothes, paint walls, and choose products in that color because you love it and you can’t get enough. Right?

So if I’m talking about a person being my favorite color, I’m making a pretty strong statement without coming right out and saying “I like you best” (boring!).

In the world of language and literature, we call this type of statement “metaphor”. Metaphor is a tool used to explain ideas using experiences others can understand or relate to. Sometimes literal explanations are just uninteresting, or perhaps too confusing for the reader; in these cases, we use figurative language like metaphor.

Another metaphor to consider:

If I say words are puzzle pieces, I’m defining words BY puzzle pieces. And it works, because you assume I think words are tiny, hard-to-fit pieces that create a complete image when connected correctly. Even though words are not puzzle pieces, their characteristics match, so I can use one to explain the other.

If I have a busy week coming up, I might say, “I better batten down the hatches!” For sailors, to “batten down the hatches” means, “prepare the ship for a storm!” When I use this metaphor, I’m likening my busy week to a storm that I must prepare for. I don’t have to say anything literal about my week because this metaphor is commonly understood. Because others understand common phrases, idioms, and myths, writers often use them to make concepts easier to digest (or just make them prettier).

Metaphor makes language more interesting, so using it in writing can only help you engage your audience. Who doesn’t like stories better than a long, dry explanation of events?

As writers we aspire to forming our own metaphor to impart our thoughts to others because those common cliches are too burnt out for creative use. More than likely, you use metaphor all the time without realizing it. Can you catch yourself?

(Warning: Catching metaphor is addicting. You may never think the same again! ;))