Were talking about space and songwriting and I was trying to write, a little idea with some space in it. And so I wrote this little thing and it literally just while the two minutes before we were waiting and I was thinking about how you use space in a song, and this is what I thought, just two chords. And I was going like, okay. And then I was just thinking, what’s the least amount of melody I could put in there to have some right, cool space.
So I went no lyrics as yet and not really a lot of, of melody. But then I thought if I do a riff in between the space, the the lyric, then it might be cool.
So I came up with like this. and I guess that’s one of the things we’re gonna talk about, today, which is that space and songwriting really means space between your melodies space, between your lyrics space, between your sections, and how to make that work for your song.
okay, so I’m gonna share my screen now. So hopefully, okay, can you guys see a slide? Hands up if you can see a slide.
Amazing space, The final frontier. Yeah, so that’s what we’re gonna talk about today. Basically space is very important in songwriting. This masterclass is gonna be in two halves. Firstly, we’re gonna talk about using space in our melodies and therefore space in our lyrics. And then we’re going to talk about using space and arrangements and our productions.
I dunno, if you are like me, but certainly for a very long time I wrote an awful lot of lyrics. Anyone else write an awful lot of lyrics to fit into their songs? Yeah, and they’re all good, aren’t they? So it’s really hard to get rid of some of them. I noticed often I was printing out my lyrics and they were on like three sheets and that worried me slightly.
I mean obviously there are great songs that have a load of lyrics, but I normally write in the kind of pop music sphere and I worried that sometimes some of these lyrics didn’t really need to be there. and some of those melodies perhaps didn’t, weren’t really helping my song. So over the years I’ve tried to get better at creating space in my songs.
so I want us to get better at identifying where our melodies need more space and being more aware of when our productions or arrangements are kind of too busy with too much going on. is such a common problem in our songwriting. And I’m hoping that we can find a few approaches to, to try and get better at at, at putting some space in our melodies and also some space in our productions.
So that’s what we’re here for. So, I think I’ve explained why melodic space matters, but it can really help your songs. It can add drama or tension. It’s funny what happens when there’s nothing happening. It allows the listener to think, did you all notice you?
’cause you stopped lit. I wasn’t saying anything. You had chance to think dramatic pause. Exactly. and we don’t use that enough in our songwriting. I don’t think it gives a listener really important chance to, absorb some important lyrical information. especially in the kind of choruses of our songs or the, where the title is in our song to give the listener a chance to take it in.
And also, it allows the, singer to breathe. I dunno if you’ve ever done written a song where you have to drop in for each section when you’re recording it, because there’s literally no space for the singer to breathe. Anybody ever done that? Okay. Yeah. Quite a lot of you raising your hands here.
Now, I think this should be seen as a bit of a problem. Do you not think that if you cannot sing your song without dying, then you probably need to have a little break somewhere, a little breath. so that’s another reason why, melodic space is really important. After listening to these examples, there may be some that you’re thinking there wasn’t a lot of space in that song. Am I right in thinking that some of you might have thought there’s not a lot of space in that, but it’s all relative to what else is going on in the song before and after.
So first of all, there was space to increase tension. I think most obviously in the Try Song by Pink, which I just think is an absolute genius song written by a guy called Busby who’s a songwriter who, I was lucky enough to write with. And, he’s no longer with us unfortunately, but he’s written some amazing songs and he has a, a podcast if he’s on the writer, his podcast, you should listen to that.
He’s written amazing songs. But I love the fact that the verse, it doesn’t have a pre chorus. it goes straight, it just does a lot of it basically. the guy was called Busby, sorry, Jeff, and, B-U-S-B-E-E. but it just goes, I dunno what key is in Just leaves this space, Four bars of nothing before the chorus.
And it’s just so effective. ’cause Greg Kirson, the producer, just builds in these things to increase the tension. and how much, how many of us would’ve been tempted to kind of fill a pre chorus with lots of stuff there. But the whole song is very sparse and very effective and I think owes a lot to bands like the Cars.
And also to Tom Petty, who obviously has a song in this, this section as well. In thinking Out Loud, I think it’s astonishing how much of a gap there is between like a what is it like, well then now How long is that gap between the top of the chorus and when it comes in that sets the, the next line.
And also there’s a huge gap after that, before the next line, the chorus. And everyone thinks Ed Shean is a really busy writer, but he is also really good at utilizing space where it needs to be. There’s so much there and there’s so much of a gap between those melodies. Did, did everyone hear that? That basically that chorus is mostly space and there’s not a lot of melody in there. It’s beautifully delivered and obviously owes a lot to get it on as someone, someone said, Marvin Gaye and in in Shape of You as well, there’s obviously the verse in Preco are really busy, you know, bar and n all of that stuff.
But then, there’s a big gap just before the chorus and a lot of songwriters say, you should always come into your chorus on the downbeat of the chorus. And sometimes the best place to come in is late because you build up this tension and people are wondering what’s gonna happen.
So he goes like, Ooh, I’m in love with the she who of you. That isn’t a huge gap, but in terms of what’s already happened in the song, it’s it’s, it’s really big. And obviously the OOO isn’t really a, a lead vocal anyway. So I think that gap’s really important as well. And the fact that the chorus comes in late is important. this is another great space usage.
Slow down the title. You want people to remember the title of your song. So free falling. it’s a two word chorus, isn’t it? with one and free, free falling. That is not a lot of melodic information in the chorus, is it? It’s like huge amount of gaps in in between those, those sections. And the same goes for the Louis Capoli song I played called Before You Go, which is, quite busy in the verses.
but then the chorus is a bit like you have this ability with space and songs to slow down time. So it goes, oh, that’s where the title is also worth spotting that.
that’s really good title usage as well. ’cause the title slows down at the beginning of the song and then he bookends the title by having it at the end of the, the chorus as well, which is a really good songwriter kind of, tool is to, if you want people to remember your title, perhaps you want it at the front of the chorus and the end of the chorus, kind of like a bookend of, of, of, of the title. Beginning with the title, ending with the title. And because that’s the title and that’s the important three words.
Oh, the, so Before You Go, so much Real Estate of the Chorus is given to that title. All the rest of the lyrics are kind of crammed in. I don’t actually know lyrics, I’m not really professional, but it slows down the title really effectively.
