Picking the right genre for what you want to say is much like choosing the right baking pan for...
Songwriting is about capturing a listener's attention, introducing them to new places, experiences or issues in the space of a few minutes. “Songwriting doesn’t have to be broad to connect with audiences, it just has to be genuine. Instead of writing about how you see the world, write about the world and let your finished product decide how you see it,” says Mayla Stith, winner of Best Lyrics in our Songwriting Competition.
Read on to learn more about the competition winners and their approaches to songwriting!
Mayla Stith, Best Lyrics:
In your winning song, you wrote about the struggle for identity in adolescence. Is this based on your own experiences, and how did you develop this idea?
Chameleon was based heavily around my personal experiences, but I tried to tell the story from a broader perspective so it would be easier for young people to see themselves embodied in the lyrics. When I started my freshman year of high school, I had the opportunity to befriend many people that were a lot older and more experienced than me in many aspects. I’ve always been around older people, but it always subsequently made me feel like I had to be more wise and mature to match my surroundings. The name “Chameleon” even comes from the idea of adapting to my surroundings and fitting in where I had to, and that process is especially stressful in adolescence when you’re made to believe that you should be as mature as your older company.
Guest Judge Chadwick Stokes praised you for doing "a great job of transporting the reader/listener." How do you transport your audience into the world of your song, whilst still discussing realistic and important issues?
First of all, I just want to state how much I respect and admire Chadwick Stokes. I grew up listening to State Radio with my dad and I loved how the writing was so vivid without ever feeling too obvious or obscure. In most of my songs, I try to take my personal experiences and turn them into stories that parallel the lessons that I learn from them, while also incorporating visual metaphors and other elements that the listener can imagine. I love exploring the 5 senses in writing, and I think adding sensory elements are integral to world-building in music. Chameleon, for example, tells the story of a young girl who learns to grow up quickly from “the tall men” and becomes a beast, eventually feeling like she has turned into a monster because of these experiences. I think most relevant and realistic issues come from a place of the preservation of humanity and morality, which can easily be seen on smaller scales. Most of my songs are written from the perspective of one or two people, but I try to incorporate themes that amass the problems and concerns of society as a whole. In my opinion, writing from a single perspective makes the message of my songs more easy to understand because people can picture themselves in those given situations.
Do you have any advice for young writers wanting to try songwriting?
I think it’s especially hard to dish out advice when, at times, I have no idea what I’m doing. Chris Baue is an incredibly gifted producer and a close friend of mine who gave me the line “winter time, my snowbird frame in transit—the friction keeps the warmth between my hands” for Chameleon, and I think it’s important to highlight his piece of advice that has guided me to every song I’ve written since. In the words of Chris Baue, “Write a song about a mailbox”. Of course, he wasn’t saying that writing a song about a mailbox is essential to your musical career, but I always took that sentence as a physical manifestation of a broader piece of advice. Nothing is ever too small or insignificant to write about, including a mailbox. There are too many beautiful things that are just waiting to be written about, and the best thing you can do is to start penning everything you see. Songwriting doesn’t have to be broad to connect with audiences, it just has to be genuine. Instead of writing about how you see the world, write about the world and let your finished product decide how you see it.
Zina Parker, Best Performance:
What was the most challenging part of writing your winning song, and what did you most enjoy?
Honestly, this song felt like it flowed out of my brain onto my notes app, so I most enjoyed the rush and overall ease of it coming together swiftly and more cohesively than I had anticipated. The most challenging part was figuring out how to begin the second verse differently from the first while sticking to the theme of the song, but once I established the first line, the rest of it fell into place.
The Guest Judge loved how "the melody dips and soars in a unique way". How does this reflect the themes or ideas explored in the song?
Melodies can be a really useful tool to emphasize one's lyrics, so I used louder and higher vocals in the chorus and bridge to evoke that feeling of triumph and realization that we are able to bring change and own our own futures. I used the "dipping" to further emphasize those "soaring" parts, if that makes sense.
Who are some of your musical inspirations?
My main musical inspirations are actually my friends and band members, Acelia and Lily Burris. Whenever they write a new song and I hear their astounding lyricism or interesting melodies, it makes me want to push myself to improve my own songwriting. I also take inspiration from musicians such as Phoebe Bridgers and boygenius, Brandi Carlile, and more.
Emily Brown, Best Peer Review:
How did you find giving feedback in a unique genre like Songwriting? Did you have to take a different approach than you would for other work?
My approach for all genres is very similar. First I read the piece through to get a feel for it, then I look at the things I like receiving feedback on: the actual words themselves, whether they make sense, how they flow together in the style and voice of the writer, and what could make the piece even better. I've found songwriting is actually an easier genre for me to give feedback in, because it's a genre I have more experience writing in.
Your winning peer review gave suggestions "nicely and pointedly," providing encouraging and specific feedback which gave the writer clear action steps for improvement. How did you achieve this?
I like to go through the piece as though I am sitting with the writer and talking to them about what they have written, and how it came across to me as a reader. I think good feedback should be a mixture of constructive criticism and encouragement, so when I give feedback I try to point out what I like in a piece as well as what could potentially be improved. I also try to provide a starting point or direction for editing, because as a writer myself I know how hard the editing process can be.
What are your writing or editing goals for the rest of the year?
My goals for the rest of the year are to write through to the end of a first draft of a novel, and get started on editing it. I would also like to work on my own singing and songwriting, so that I can eventually publish the songs that I've written. Further than that, I'd like to take every opportunity that I can to learn and improve as a writer - and I'd just like to thank everyone at Write the World for providing so many amazing opportunities. Thank you!
