composition – Alternative Student

Just Do It

I haven’t dropped a singer-songwriter track since May of 2019. Since then I’ve been working on other projects, releasing videos, and finishing up my degree. It’s easy to use busyness as an excuse, but it doesn’t tell the full story. As someone who has watched six hours of Squid Game in one day, I can tell you it’s not a lack of time.

A couple of months ago I was planning to buy a new microphone specifically for my singer-songwriter EP. I had been using an MXL 990 to record my acoustic ($100), and I was excited to upgrade. An unexpected expense ate that money up and I was frustrated. I didn’t feel like recording the old way, and I even considered shelfing the project until I had better gear. Also, I was toying with the idea of turning my EP into an album, possibly recording a full band and having a bigger release.

These two excuses gave me the instant gratificaiton of being able to delay my work, and it came with the added bonus that I could imagine my work being better for it. So I didn’t have to do anything in the present, but on a far distant day, I would have something amazing.

The problem with this of course is that I continue to do nothing. There are some situations where perhaps it would make sense to wait, but in my personal experience, it’s never been justified. Regardless of the gear you have, the idea that waiting is going to help you make something better in the future is flawed. Making stuff is how you get better. You can always get new gear later on, but in the meantime you can be improving for free.

Your reservation might be that you have a really good song or concept that needs to be exactly right before coming out. If that’s the case, you can write and release other things. Just don’t let that be an excuse and lose momentum. Also, it’s worth mentioning that songs I wanted to save two years ago, I wouldn’t even release now. Your tastes evolve as you keep creating.

So, after countless roadblocks and excuses, I’m finally recording my EP. It’s already an improvement from my last project, but I still find myself making excuses. It’s not going to be perfect, but it is going to be done, and that’s enough.

Making a Song List

I’ve always considered myself a songwriter. It’s what excites me most about music! I love being creative and writing songs, but it wasn’t until 2020 that I started taking my craft seriously. I went from averaging one song a month to two a week. As I started writing more and more, I wanted to make a comprehensive list of my songs: a document listing the names and dates I wrote them.

What I did is simple, but effective. I used Google Sheets (which is free) and entered the names and dates of my recent songs. There were several open cells begging to be filled, so I included BPM, key, and genre.

Charting a song’s data was a great reward for finishing, and I never wanted to break my streak. Also, I noticed trends at a glance, like how much I loved writing in the key of C, that I wrote a ton of hip hop, and that I frequently used Bedroom Beats 2. These aren’t bad things, but if I felt like my sound wasn’t evolving or I wanted to do something new, I knew what changes to try.

Later on I started tracking what I offloaded, including where it was offloaded from, and the name of the sound if it came from a sample pack. You can go crazy with a list like this, adding chord progressions, modes, the alignment of the stars, and anything else you want to track.

If for no other benefit, I recommend keeping a list to hold yourself accountable. “Write more songs” is a hard goal to follow. “Write a song a month” is much better. You don’t have to quadruple your output, but you should challenge yourself and do more than you did yesterday. Going from a song a month to two songs a month is good progress. Don’t measure your progress against others, but only against yourself. Now working from a new list in 2021, I have a clear goal: write more songs than 2020.

Pre-save Summertime! Coming out September 10th:
https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/latenightluke/summertime

Creative Offloading

Today I’m going to talk about something I learned in music school. It’s called “offloading” and it’s one of the reasons I was able to write 50 songs in 2020.

In songwriting you have these creative tasks: chord progressions, melodies, basslines, drum patterns, lyrics, sound design, etc. Offloading means to take one of these tasks and rather than generate it creatively, you offload it to a different source. This happens when you take a chord progression from another song, use a drum loop or MIDI pack, or anytime you load a preset. That’s offloading too since you’re offloading the sound design.

This is incredibly helpful for starting and finishing ideas. When you offload a task, you free up time and energy to focus on the next step. If you’re feeling uninspired, a drum or melody loop can be the kickstart you need. Rather than trying to create every piece of your music originally, it helps to decide what parts you want to write and what parts you want to offload.

You might hate the idea of offloading if you haven’t heard it before. It might feel like cheating. I used to feel that way, too. One of my buddies used to Google “Awesome chord progressions” and write songs that way. He even stole a progression from a YouTube ad. He wasn’t afraid to take inspiration wherever found it.

Over the years, I softened to the idea. I didn’t realize it at the time, but my biggest problem was my ego. I enjoyed being “creative” more than I enjoyed making songs. Offloading to me is about letting go of my ego and realizing that if I want to make captivating art, I need all the help I can get.

If you haven’t offloaded before, try offloading your least favorite part to write. If you’re a drummer and you love writing drums, offload the melody. If you love melodies and struggle with drums, offload the drums. If you’re really focusing in on sound design, design the sounds and offload the chords. For lyrics, you can even borrow rhymes. There’s a lot of possibilities and room to experiment.

If you feel guilty or think that it’s cheating, realize that it’s a collaboration. Pretend that your friend sent you the drum loop. They want you to use it. That’s why they made it, and honestly, that’s not far from the truth. Producer Com Truise said that sampling is “Collaborating at a distance.” And the big difference between sampling and using a loop (other than the legal difference) is that the creator of the Splice loop wants you to use it.

If you try to be 100% creative in every area of your song, you’ll write a lot less songs. And honestly, no one cares if you do “everything yourself.” They’ll only know if you tell them, and if you feel the need to tell people, then maybe you don’t believe in the song to begin with.

Finish Your Songs

A few years back, I had a ton of musical ideas floating around my head. I wanted to write it all: hip-hop, EDM, singer-songwriter, lo-fi, dubstep. I wanted to release albums in every genre I loved, multiple albums. I wanted to be as prolific as Andrew Huang and Steve Aoki. Songs for days.

This, of course, takes a lot of work, and I used to be pretty ADHD when it came to writing. I’d finish a singer-songwriter track one day and be working on a house song the next. I’d think, “I’m so versatile!” Before that next song was finished, I’d be messing around on another beat, and after that a third one. Eventually, none of these got finished and I’d start something else.

It’s pretty easy to get side-tracked if you don’t have a focus. I’ve found it helps to have a goal. For instance, over the Summer I made “Lo-Fi July.” During the month of July, I had to write three lo-fi songs. Having this clear objective helped me focus my time and actually get it done. For the next month, I had a new genre to write in.

Whenever I was writing and came up with something cool that wasn’t in the genre, I would shelf it for later. It did wonders for my productivity.

It’s great to be prolific, to write a lot and make a lot. Just don’t fall into the trap of being a kid in the candy store when it comes to writing. There’s a lot of great sounds, ideas, and styles to pick from, but don’t jump around so much that nothing gets done. Be disciplined enough to finish. One completed song will teach you more than 10 unfinished beats.

Semester Wrap Up – Final EP

Well, this semester is coming to a close. Although I was only in three classes this year, I’ve grown a lot. I have an arsenal of new writing techniques, a better knowledge of production, and a higher standard for my own material. The greatest change in my writing is the increased use of layers, both for instruments and vocals. I always knew about the importance of instrument layers, but I never applied them as much as I could. Layering instruments can really fill a track out and bring it to life. Vocal layering is another great tool I hadn’t been utilizing. Because of my own struggles performing and recording, I shied away from it. I’ve found that simply adding a unison vocal or singing up an octave can do wonders and is well worth the effort.

My industry class was a one hour a week lecture. It focused on current trends in the industry, music news, and other things we should be excited about. The big take away from class was to pay attention: follow successful people on Twitter, read the news, and keep yourself informed. Solid advice, and if the class itself wasn’t all that informative on it it’s own, it sure was a nice pick-me-up. Professor LeGere’s enthusiasm is contagious, and hearing his lectures made you share his optimism.

Here is my final EP submission for Songwriting 1. Originally, three songs were required, but that was later changed to two. According to the teacher, this was because some people had submitted “dumpster fires” as their first songs. I wish I had re-recorded the vocals for “Lights,” but I had a cold and ran out of time.

“Let Go” was recorded at the school’s studio, but “Lights” was recorded at home. The guitar and bass in “Lights” were recorded directly into my interface and processed using Guitar Rig. The solo for “Let Go” was recorded using a Stratocaster into a tube amp.

An Introduction

I’ve recently found myself in the unique position of being back in school at 27. I’m not pursuing anything reasonable like most adults who go back, but instead I’ll be going after my Bachelor’s in Music Industry. In this blog I’ll be documenting the experience and showcasing whatever projects or songs result.

But first, let me give you some backstory.

In 2011 I was a composition major at McNally Smith College of Music. My parents and I had taken out a loan for the first semester, but due to the high cost they decided I couldn’t go back. I wasn’t able to take out a loan that large by myself, so I had to dropout. I knew I could afford to go to MSU Mankato, or Winona or somewhere, but I was enamored with McNally Smith. At the time it was the only school I knew of where you could study and write in contemporary genres. They had rock and metal ensembles; you could even get a hip-hop diploma. I loved the integration of production, and that composition majors like myself could work in the studios once we passed a competency exam. Teachers played gigs all around the Twin Cities, and amazing local acts would perform right in our cafe. It all seemed so relevant. Unfortunately, all that charm came with a price tag, and even once I was able to get a loan, I couldn’t justify it. McNally Smith was just too expensive.

316538_2363414725460_940573175_n — My first day of school (2011).

Over the years, I did music on the side: performing live, writing songs, and learning production along the way. I released singer-songwriter EPs, electronic side projects, remixes, and experimented with videos. All the while I flirted with the idea of going back to school. One of my issues was not be able to choose between audio production and composition; I wanted a degree that taught both.

In December 2017 McNally Smith announce they’d be closing their doors due to lack of funds. I was shocked. (I won’t go into how they handled it or what it did to students, but I mention it here because it was a turning point for me). What this did was eliminate an option I had been subconsciously clinging to. McNally Smith was out. I could either give up on music school or go somewhere affordable. The choice was easy.

11082727_10152770101754646_1721221568_n — Performing at the Contented Cow, Northfield, MN (2015).

That month I began scanning the music programs page of MSU Mankato, and I came across something new: a major in Music Industry with a focus on Songwriting and Production. This would be a combination I hadn’t seen before and exactly what I wanted. I learned that you can write in any genre you want, that Mankato was building studios for students over the Summer, and that the school didn’t care what DAW you used (most schools make you use Pro Tools, but I’m an Ableton man so this was good news). In January I took Music Theory II and I liked it a lot. This semester I’ll be taking a couple more classes. Stay tuned for updates and song demos!

(I should’ve started writing this during my first semester, but as I’ve learned with all creative pursuits, it’s better to start late than never start at all).