how to write RELATABLE music

Summary

The video script offers three key insights for making music more relatable: write for one person to create a personal connection, be specific in your lyrics to resonate deeply with a niche, and balance memorable hooks with less memorable verses to encourage repeated listening. It emphasizes the importance of authenticity and specificity in storytelling, using personal experiences to convey broader truths. The script concludes with a song example and a promotional offer for a songwriting course.

Takeaways

• 🎵 Write for One Person: Focus on creating music for a specific individual who encourages and excites you about your creativity.
• 🤝 Communicate Through Music: Use your music to have a 'meta-musical' conversation, showing a part of yourself that is not commonly seen.
• 🔍 Be Specific: Aim to be relatable to a few through specificity rather than being vaguely relatable to many.
• 📣 Speak From Experience: Share personal stories and experiences to make your music more impactful and emotionally clear.
• 🎼 Specificity in Lyrics: Use specific details in your lyrics to express broader truths and evoke emotions, like the example from Sufjan Stevens' song.
• 🎶 Balance Memorability: Understand that not all parts of a song need to be catchy; a mix of memorable and less memorable parts can enhance the overall experience.
• 📚 Verse-Chorus Structure: Utilize the verse-chorus form where verses can be varied and less memorable, while choruses are designed to be catchy.
• 🔄 Versatility in Songwriting: Incorporate changes in verses to keep the audience engaged, while maintaining a memorable and 'hooky' chorus.
• 🐾 Personalize Your Music: Write songs with personal and specific details, as demonstrated in the short song written for the speaker's wife.
• 🎁 Offer Value: Provide a course for those interested in learning more about songwriting, with a special discount for a limited time.

Q & A

What is the main theme of the video script provided?

The main theme of the script is offering advice on how to make music more relatable to others by focusing on writing for one person, being specific in the content, and balancing memorable and less memorable parts in the music.

What is the first piece of advice given for making music relatable?

The first piece of advice is to write for one person, having a specific person in mind who encourages and is excited about your creativity, to create a meta-musical conversation with them.

Why is it suggested to write for one person rather than trying to please everyone?

Writing for one person helps to avoid the difficulty of predicting what many people will think and allows the music to feel more communicative and connected, while still being specific to the creator.

What is the second piece of advice for making music relatable?

The second piece of advice is to be specific, suggesting that it's better to be very relatable to a few people with niche tastes and experiences than to be just sort of relatable to many.

Why is specificity important in making music relatable?

Specificity helps people feel more connected to the music because it allows for the expression of broader truths through personal stories and experiences, making the music more impactful.

Can you provide an example of how specificity can make music more relatable from the script?

An example given is the story about the for-profit immigrant detention center in Lumpin, Georgia, which is specific and allows the creator to express a broader truth about the dehumanizing nature of immigration policies.

What is the third piece of advice for making music relatable?

The third piece of advice is to let the audience forget, suggesting that not all parts of the music need to be catchy or memorable, and that a balance of memorable and less memorable parts can make the music more engaging.

Why is it suggested to have parts of the music that are hard to remember?

Having parts that are hard to remember, such as verses with varied lyrics and melodic embellishments, can make listeners come back to the music to discover more, enhancing the overall experience.

What is the purpose of the chorus in music according to the script?

The chorus is meant to be memorable on the first listen and serves to make the listener remember that the song exists after they've heard it.

Can you provide an example of a song with a memorable chorus from the script?

The script includes a short song written for the creator's wife with a memorable chorus that emphasizes the promise of love and the best things imagined coming to life.

What is the final call to action for those interested in learning more about songwriting from the script?

The final call to action is to check out the course 'Getting Songs Done' at Ben L Music School, which is offered at a 25% discount for the spring.