Writing Tips - Writing For A Singer
Did you just get your first song writing gig as a staff writer? Suddenly you’re given a project to write Kelly Clarkson’s next hit? Who’s Kelly Clarkson you ask? The following tips may save your life when it comes to writing for a specific artist.
If you’re lucky enough to actually get a job writing songs for a living, such as a staff writing position with a big company, you are inevitably going to get hit with the all loved and at the same time dreaded assignment of writing for a particular singer. What do you do?
For example. Let’s say you’re given an assignment to write a song for an upcoming CD by Kelly Clarkson, the first American Idol(https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/bubbly-american-idol-contestant-gushes-giggles-and-kills-it_us_5aba09b2e4b0decad04d9ff9) winner. How do you begin? Let’s assume that you’re even capable of writing any kind of song in the world, of any style. What kind of a song do you write for Kelly Clarkson?
The following tips will not only work very well for Kelly Clarkson but for any singer that you are given an assignment for. By following these suggestions you give yourself the best chance of writing something that the artist will be more than proud to sing.
The first thing you need to do is to listen to everything this artist has ever done. Either buy or borrow every CD. Get a feel for what kinds of songs the artist likes to sing. Artists, like songwriters, have preferences both personally and in that their voice may be best suited to certain kinds of music. For example. In a recent American Idol, contestants sang songs done by Queen. Freddie Mercury had one of the most unusual voices in pop history and not many people could pull off his material. Writing for Freddie Mercury would be easy. But writing for somebody who has a country twang in their voice is going to limit you somewhat. Because of this, you might want to paperial.com, instead of being tormented yourself. But it is this experience that will give the biggest boost in quality. So get a feel for what they like to do and note the general style of songs.
Also, when listening to the artist’s material, you want to note the vocal range. Some singers, like Freddie Mercury have amazing ranges that are almost limitless. Others, like Bob Dylan, have very small ranges. You want to note this so that you write a song that is going to be within the singer’s range. If you write a song with very high and low notes in it and the person has a one octave range, the chances of the artist singing the song at all, let alone well, are remote at best.
Another thing you should do is sit down with the artist if you get the chance. If you can’t do this in person then get the artist’s contact address. Ask questions. Try to find out what direction the artist wants to go with the new CD. Even if the artist has done ballads up to this point, there is a very good chance that they may want to try something a little more upbeat. If this is a new artist who has never recorded anything before, then sitting down with them is critical as you won’t have any reference points for writing. The last thing you want to do is guess. You could end up writing a song for a hard rocker when this person wants to do a Gospel tune.
A lot of this is probably common sense for the seasoned pro, but if you’re a new songwriter these may be things that you haven’t thought about. Hope these tips make it a little easier for you to write that next hit song for Kelly Clarkson, or whoever.