Paul Hankinson has been writing songs since he was a small boy. Music, he says, was his “first language”. Throughout Paul’s lifelong musical exploration, he’s put an emphasis on creating pieces that are inclusive and accessible to a wide range of people. Indeed this past April Paul’s arrangement of Ed Sheeran’s “Perfect” resonated with thousands—over 500,000 to be exact!—of listeners all over the world. Today, in our Songwriting Competition Guest Judge Q&A, Paul shares more on his songwriting methods and how you too can use music to connect more deeply with others…whoever and wherever they may be.
How is songwriting different to other forms of writing? What makes songwriting a powerful art form?
The combination of words and music is what sets the art of songwriting apart. There are certain things that music ‘wants’ to do in order to have flow and form. It’s the same with words; the trick is navigating and negotiating both so that they work well together. You might have a great melody in mind but when you put words to it you realise it has to change; or you might have the perfect word to describe a feeling but then when you put it in the song it feels wrong somehow…it might have too many syllables, or it doesn’t rhyme with anything.
Of course it’s a creative process but it also requires a lot of objectivity and…a lot of decisions. In the end, what you want is a kind of alchemy—where the music enhances the words and the words enhance the music. You want it to feel as if it’s inevitable—as if it couldn’t be any other way—as if you didn’t make any decisions at all.
In a master class once, the professor said to me, “Just bring me the soup, don’t show me the messy kitchen”… I often think of that. ☺
The other thing with songs is that they are short. Concise. Most songs are around three to five minutes long. That’s not a lot of time with which to tell a complete story or create an arc. That also requires discipline and a lot of self-editing. That’s why some of the best songs are ‘simple’ and have one great idea or memorable phrase which is the heart of the song—a musical ‘hook’ which is catchy. Sometimes to make something ‘simple’ is the most difficult thing of all. ☺
What makes songwriting powerful is connection. Most people have a favourite song. I’m not an anthropologist but I’m pretty sure that every culture in the world has songs. Human beings like songs. We like singing them, we like listening to them, we like dancing to them. Songs are everywhere in our lives. On the radio, in the café, in the elevator, in our headphones, in our tv shows and movies. I think it would be almost impossible to go through a day and not hear a song. There are songs we choose to listen to and songs which are simply in our environment. I think the reason we like songs is that they connect us. They connect us through empathy. They make us feel less alone because we relate to them. We think “yes I am madly in love with someone too” or “I’m also feeling really sad” or “I want to throw my work out the window and dance” or “I want to fly into my future on a dragon.” Songs unite us. They encourage community. They promote empathy. Songs are wonderful!
[Paul’s piano arrangement of Ed Sheeran’s “Perfect”]
What makes a wonderful song?
It’s hard to say exactly what makes a song ‘work.’ You might feel like you have all the right ingredients; you might feel like the melody is soaring and you found great chords and you wrestled with the words until they felt just right. But you won’t know if the song works until you set it free into the world and share it with people and find out if they connect with it. I have often been surprised by which songs I have written which people connect with the most. Other people’s favorites are very rarely mine. I often think “Really?? That one?” I have learned that it’s impossible to judge your own work. Of course you need to work hard and to feel that you did the best job you could and that you made the song how it wants to be—how it feels right—but then you have to let it go and see what happens. Be curious, be open.
A song can only become wonderful if other people decide it is!
I think a good song is a good song—it doesn’t matter if it’s “Ave Maria” by Schubert or “Jolene” by Dolly Parton—it doesn’t matter if it’s a folk song, an operatic aria, a rap, hip hop, pop, soul, jazz, blues, country, or death metal. If the melody, the harmony, the rhythm, the lyrics all work together AND if people LOVE it, then it’s a good song.
You have been writing songs since you were a little boy. How would you describe your music?
I have always felt like music is my first language. I connected with it very early in my life and I’ve always felt grateful that I knew that music was my ‘thing’. I wrote my first song when I was six. As a child a lot of my songs were about nature (they still are). I guess I have always loved the feeling of being fascinated by the world around me. I also noticed very young that people really love songs. I would often ask people what their favourite song is and then play it for them, if I knew it…or ask them to sing it to me. I realised that songs are a magical way to connect with people—with their heart—with their emotions.
On my wall above my desk I have written in big letters “WHO IS IT FOR?” That’s the question I ask myself before I write anything. I want to have people in mind—friends, family, even the idea of strangers who might enjoy this music, or who might even need it in their lives. I’m not interested in making music which is alienating or inaccessible. I want to make music for people. I think the role of the artist in the community is ultimately one of healing. There are all kinds of ways to do this—making people laugh, or even cry, helping them relax, providing a moment of peace, or giving them power to help them get up and chase their dreams, to help them realize they’re not alone—to give that feeling of connection which music, and especially songs, can achieve.
So, in my music there are many influences. I love classical music—Beethoven and all those guys—they are an influence for sure. But I also love pop music and film scores and country songs and TV themes and old dusty jazz. I love words—I have a great love of poetry and wordplay—so that’s an obvious influence too when it comes to writing songs.
You are originally from Australia but have lived in Berlin for many years. Has living in two places given you insights or perspectives that make you a better songwriter?
Definitely. Unbedingt. Yes. Ja!
I think experiencing other countries and cultures is one of the most inspiring things we can do—as songwriters yes but also just as human beings. Noticing little differences can be fun and fascinating, but more importantly noticing how we are ALL similar is what’s important and wonderful.
Learning another language is a challenging and delightful experience, and of course it makes you think about your own language in new ways. When I first arrived in Berlin, I couldn’t really speak German at all—it’s very humbling. I realised how much I rely on my sense of humour to connect with friends. It was strange to not be able to make jokes, or to think of them too late.
Also I think I became much more of an observer. If my German friends were all having a conversation, I would love to just sit and listen to them—understanding which words I could but not really keeping up—I would watch them, watch their faces, and listen to the music of the conversation rather than the meaning.
I highly recommend travelling to any aspiring artist of any kind. Learning a language is wonderful too. Of course these days we don’t even have to travel in order to discover wonderful things about other cultures and languages. The internet is amazing. Don’t just look at cats! Explore! ☺
What are you looking for in a songwriting entry from our young writers?
Of course it’s not possible for me to choose the ‘best’ song. It will only ever be my opinion. Competition in music is a strange thing. What’s good about it is that it means that you will all be writing and finishing a song! These are songs which otherwise might not have existed.
What I’ll be looking for is that feeling of inevitability—does the song feel as though it couldn’t be any other way?
If it feels like that then I know, no matter what style of song it is, that you have made good decisions along the way.
Of course I’m looking for creativity, strong ideas, good harmonies, rhythms, melodies, lyrics—that all goes without saying.
Having said that, I’m looking for choices that are right for the song. You don’t need to impress me. If you put every ingredient in the kitchen into a cake, it would taste terrible, and wouldn’t rise! Some of the best meals only have three ingredients. Sometimes putting 22 amazing chords in a song which only needs four isn’t right for the song—it breaks it. Or using the word ‘ginormous’ just to show that you’re clever when the word ‘big’ would fit better—you need to always take a step back and think “Okay song, how do you want to be?”…a bit like a sculptor.
Sometimes, when it comes to songwriting, less really is more. That’s the challenge—how to say everything you want to say by not using too much information or taking too much time.
