Hey Music Mag - Issue 5 - April 2019
Hey! Grab your glitter, put fuel in your campervan and hit the road! With festival season on the horizon, our jam-packed Festival Special issue helps you make summer 2019 one to remember. Whether you want to ‘go big’ or ‘go boutique’, our UK festival guide will steer you to the best music festivals in good old Blighty. Or take flight with our pick of the coolest international festivals on the planet. What’s more, we chart the evolution of dancing in fields and there’s fun festival trivia with which to impress your mates. Elsewhere, we catch up with hot-right-now UK hip-hop stars Children of Zeus before they re-embark on their UK tour, get lyrical with songwriting genius Tim Fraser, and question whether 1989 was the best year for music – ever. Your summer planning starts here! Enjoy the issue.
Hey!
Grab your glitter, put fuel in your campervan and hit the road! With festival season on the horizon, our jam-packed Festival Special issue helps you make summer 2019 one to remember. Whether you want to ‘go big’ or ‘go boutique’, our UK festival guide will steer you to the best music festivals in good old Blighty. Or take flight with our pick of the coolest international festivals on the planet. What’s more, we chart the evolution of dancing in fields and there’s fun festival trivia with which to impress your mates.
Elsewhere, we catch up with hot-right-now UK hip-hop stars Children of Zeus before they re-embark on their UK tour, get lyrical with songwriting genius Tim Fraser, and question whether 1989 was the best year for music – ever.
Your summer planning starts here!
Enjoy the issue.
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4<br />
WRITING THE MELODY AND CHORDS<br />
As you experiment with different melodies and chords, this is a perfect time to use<br />
some sort of recorder on your phone or on your computer. Try simply singing your<br />
lyrics in different ways at least three times, then listen back to your recording and<br />
see if you have any keepers.<br />
You could also start with some chords instead. Play some chord progressions on<br />
guitar or piano and record those. Then try out some melodies against those chords<br />
using your lyrics. Or you could try both chords and melodies at the same time.<br />
If you’re having trouble coming up with a chord progression, you could always<br />
“borrow” one from another song. Choose a song in a similar style and tempo to<br />
yours and combine the chords with your own lyrics. Just make sure that you don’t<br />
copy the actual melody of your borrowed tune. Song melodies are protected by<br />
copyright law but chord progressions are not.<br />
5<br />
WRITING YOUR<br />
SONG’S TITLE<br />
Your song needs<br />
a great title! Many<br />
songwriters use the<br />
“hook” or repeated<br />
words from the chorus<br />
as the title of the song.<br />
Other songs use a<br />
descriptive term as<br />
the title that is not<br />
contained in the<br />
lyrics at all.<br />
6<br />
FINAL STEPS<br />
Once you’ve finished, set your song<br />
aside for a few days and don’t think<br />
about it. When you come back to<br />
it with fresh eyes and ears, you’ll<br />
be able to identify lyrics that need<br />
tweaking, chords that need adjusting<br />
or other small details to really make<br />
the song pop.<br />
Consider testing your songs out<br />
live. Performing in front of others<br />
— whether at an open mic night or<br />
simply in front of your music teacher<br />
— will help you iron out any kinks.<br />
Another great idea is to record<br />
your song. With technology today,<br />
it’s easy to record your own songs<br />
with the right software and a quality<br />
microphone. Publish your recordings<br />
online so potential fans, other<br />
artists and established<br />
people in the music<br />
business can<br />
hear your work<br />
and discover<br />
your talent.<br />
If you’re interested in honing your songwriting skills why not obtain professional instruction from tutors at takelessons.com?<br />
HEYMUSIC.COM<br />
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