Category: Academy

Especially if you often write a lot of songs, it can be difficult to start a new song from scratch. But that is also possible if you don’t write that often and have become a bit rusty. There are many ways to start writing a new song. At the songwriting lessons at the Wisseloord Academy you will learn ways to get rid of this problem from many experienced songwriters.

We will present you with a few ideas so that you can already benefit from them!

To collaborate

Everyone has their own set rhythm, mannerisms, and routine. The same goes for songwriting and producing. It can help you with your work, but sometimes you get to a phase where it suddenly stagnates your creative progress. It can then be interesting to look and work with someone else. Ask another songwriter or producer if you can walk with him or her for a day and collaborate. Let them do their own thing and observe the creative workflow. Of course, you can cooperate, but don’t try to force your own mannerisms or workflow that day. The idea is that you end up in a different setting and see if you can get something out of it that you can use as an advantage for yourself in your own creative process. Even if it’s just a small detail you pick up on, every little thing can make a huge difference!

Make a remake

It can also provide a lot of inspiration to get started with a favorite song of yours or an old song of your own! For example, take your favorite song of the moment and choose a different genre at random. You are supposed to completely recreate that song in that style. You will see that this will lead to very interesting things!

Recreating your own song also has its advantages. Let’s say you’ve been into songwriting and producing for several years. You’ve probably gotten better over the years and made some progress in your accomplishments as a songwriter and/or producer. If you now look back at the songs you created a few years ago, your first thought is probably; that’s not good. But often there are still interesting ideas to work out again. Pull it to your level of now and who knows, a hit will roll out.

Especially if you often write a lot of songs, it can be difficult to start a new song from scratch. But that is also possible if you don’t write that often and have become a bit rusty. There are many ways to start writing a new song. At the songwriting lessons at the Wisseloord Academy you will learn ways to get rid of this problem from many experienced songwriters.

We will present you with a few ideas so that you can already benefit from them!

Use unknown instrumentals

If you often play an instrument yourself while writing new songs, you can get stuck. Especially if you often use the same kind of instrument. You soon start writing in the same key, the same chord progressions, and the same rhythms. That feels familiar, not crazy. You can then see if you can play another instrument, but you can also look up instrumentals of songs you don’t know. Perhaps even from genres that are unknown to your writing.

Put on such an instrumental and try to write a topline (vocal melody and lyrics) on it. Often you will find yourself in new chord progressions and rhythms, which you will probably subconsciously adjust your writing to. That way you end up with new and unknown melodies. New inspiration, new techniques. Win – win!

A different genre

Try writing a song in a different genre than you’re used to. Rest assured, you don’t have to expect yourself to nail this 100% right away or that a hit will roll out right away. It is even more likely that it is not even that good within that genre, but that is not necessarily the goal. Because you suddenly step out of your comfort zone, you end up with new techniques and there you can get small pieces of inspiration and experience that you can use in your ‘real’ songwriting!

The 10-minute challenge

The creative process of writing a song is one without limits. It has its advantages, but also its disadvantages. You can and may write about anything and nothing is too crazy, but that can also be extremely overwhelming. With all the limitless options in front of you, it can be very difficult to make choices and make decisions. In principle, you can take years to finish that one song, but you can also ask yourself whether that will benefit the song and your creative process. So, try the 10-minute challenge. Set a timer on your phone for 10 minutes and set yourself a goal. For example, writing a verse and a chorus. Because you only have such a short time, you will have to make choices quickly. In practice that is very short, and it will not always produce the best songs, but it does train you in one thing; make a decision. And that can be very important in a writing session to prevent you from getting stuck on something and eventually throwing the entire song into the trash in advance.

Especially if you often write a lot of songs, it can be difficult to start a new song from scratch. But that is also possible if you don’t write that often and have become a bit rusty. There are many ways to start writing a new song. At the songwriting lessons at the Wisseloord Academy you will learn ways to get rid of this problem from many experienced songwriters.

We will present you with a few ideas so that you can already benefit from them!

First make a whole instrumental

If you normally work from songwriting as a songwriter before you start arranging, it can be interesting to work the other way too. Let go of the principle of the text, the story, and the vocal melodies. Open your DAW and start experimenting with creating an instrumental piece of music. In the beginning you don’t have to focus at all on applying a real song structure. It is important that you first let yourself go completely in arranging the music, let go of all your ideas and try everything that comes to mind. Once you’ve done that, you can take ingredients from all of this to create a song structure. Make sure you leave enough space in the verses, for example, to get creative with your songwriting for the lead vocals. Perhaps the newly created music will bring you new lyrics and melody ideas.

Painting

You can not only hear a well-written song, but also see it as soon as you close your eyes. Just listen to your favorite song in terms of lyrics. Probably the situation, the story is described so well and beautifully that you can just see it in your mind.

What if we did it the other way around? If you start looking at a random painting, you can start thinking about the story behind it. In fact, you can come up with your own story behind the painting. One image or painting can tell a whole story.

You come up with very nice stories and lyrics if you convert this into a song yourself. Find any painting, artwork, or image, write down the story you think is behind your chosen subject and later turn it into a song. An interesting story guaranteed, give it a try!

Movie or series

Almost every movie or series often has one specific song that functions as the title song or theme track. This song often conveys the essence of the play’s story. If you sometimes have trouble coming up with inspiration for a certain concept or story for your song, you could of course get the inspiration from a movie or series. The story is, of course, there for the taking. Take in the story, but also listen to the music that can already be found in it. That way you taste the atmosphere, and you know what fits well with such a storyline. Turn this into your own words and music, and there you go!

Backing vocals are often indispensable in productions and live performances. Many people often say about backing vocalists; those are the failed singers. But that is of course a total misconception. Being a backing vocalist is harder than you think and requires total control over your voice.

Backing vocals are a common part of arrangements and productions and can really enhance a song if they’re done right. At the Wisseloord Academy we will also pay a lot of attention to this subject while writing and producing songs during this music course.

Learn to dose

The biggest tip when using backing vocals is; learn to dose. Playing with backing vocals can be a lot of fun and really help take a song to a new level, but you can also quickly go too far. The rule often applies here; less is more. The focus is of course still on the lead vocal, not the background vocals. So, carefully choose the places where you will use backing vocals. For example, only briefly touch on certain words or melodies, instead of singing along the entire vocal lines.

Harmonize

If you are going to sing backing vocals, you will often have to deal with harmonizing. You can most easily think of this as singing an alternate melody from the lead vocalist, who sings different notes than the lead vocalist. Please note that you do not occasionally hit the same vocal lines or notes. Harmonizing comes very naturally to some vocalists; some have more difficulty with it. This is a matter of getting used to and practicing layering notes within a chord.

Choice of voices

In addition to dosing and harmonizing, there is another choice involved when recording backing vocals. Who’s going to sing it? You have the choice between the lead vocalist singing his own backing vocals to match his own sound, but you can also choose to add different colors for other voices to make the sound richer overall. Of course, it also depends very much on the genre, the song, and the production, but it is certainly worth the time and effort to think about and try it out.

Recording and production of backing vocals

A rule of thumb when it comes to producing backing vocals is to record a minimum of two takes per harmony. This way you can pan one to the left and one to the right to get a larger stereo image. You can also choose to process one slightly softer in the middle.

If you also want your lead vocals to sound bigger in the chorus than in the rest of the song, you can choose to double the lead vocal twice and pan to both sides of the stereo image.

As a songwriter, but also as a producer, it can be useful to be able to play an instrument. This gives you extra freedom within the creative process that is songwriting and music production. At the Wisseloord Academy we look at many different instruments and what we can do with them. What types and variations are there? And how can we combine and use them? For now, let’s look at wind instruments!

Two categories

Wind instruments can be divided into two categories. Namely the woodwinds and the brass. However, categorizing them is not about the material the instrument is made of. It’s all about the way you play.

The wind instruments in which the tone is produced by the vibration of a reed are counted as woodwinds. If the tone is produced by the vibration of the player’s lips, the instrument is classified as a brass instrument.

Woodwinds

There are several wind instruments that fall under the woodwind category. Think for example of the recorder, flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, and saxophone. A standard instrumentation of woodwinds within a symphony orchestra consists of two flutes, two clarinets, two bassoons and two oboes.

Brass instruments

Instruments such as the trumpet, trombone, tuba, and horn are counted among the brass instruments. Within a symphony orchestra you see the most common horns, trumpets, tubas, and trombones.

Arranging wind instruments

A wind section consists of a group of musicians playing different wind instruments. This gives you a lot of choice and possibility for variation in arranging the horn section. It is obvious to play a lot of polyphony. However, be careful with this. If everything is played in multiple moods, this can get boring. Therefore, look for a combination between polyphonic and monophonic playing to keep it interesting. In the part of the arrangement where you want the horns to come forward more or give more impact, you can choose to apply polyphony.

Technic

Playing a wind instrument is more difficult than people think in advance. Firstly, it is music theory that you must master to function well as a wind player in a section, orchestra or as a session musician. But the technique of getting a stable and pure tone from a wind instrument at all is an achievement. These musicians spend a lot of time getting and keeping their blowing technique up to standard. Make no mistake about this if you are a beginner blower.

Now that you have the basic knowledge about wind instruments, you can start using them in your arrangement or even practice as a wind player yourself!

As a songwriter, but also as a producer, it can be useful to be able to play an instrument. This gives you extra freedom within the creative process that is songwriting and music production. At the Wisseloord Academy there is also the possibility to improve your skills on the drums, for example.

But if playing the drums is something completely new to you, it is nice to first know the ins and outs of this instrument.

Drum kit parts

There are so many different parts that you can use for your own drum kit. Every drummer has his own preferences. This also depends on the type of song and genre you will be playing. In this article we will zoom in on the most common parts of a common drum set.

Bass drum

The bass drum is also called ‘kick drum’ and is seen as the basis of a drum set. It is the largest drum, often positioned in the middle on its side in the center of the entire drum kit.

The bass drum owes its name to its sound, as it is the lowest pitched drum of the bunch and is played with the foot using a beater. The beater hits the head of the bass drum as soon as the drummer moves the beater with his foot via the corresponding pedal.

Snare drum

The snare drum is played with the hands by striking the head with a drumstick. The snare drum, also known as snare drum, consists of a resonance box, a striking head, and a resonance head. The batter head is at the top of the drum and the resonance head at the bottom, where a snare mat is often pressed against. The snare drum usually produces a loud, sharp, and short-lasting sound.

Toms

Toms are drums without a string, which makes the sound duller and (often) fuller when struck. The heads of a tom are attached by a hoop and tuning pegs. This allows you to tighten or loosen the heads and change the pitch of the tone. Toms are often used in so-called ‘fills’, often acting as a kind of transition in the game.

Hihat

The hi-hat consists of a stand with two cymbals mounted on top of each other. The upper pelvis is moved by means of a linked pedal that is controlled by the foot. As soon as the pedal is pressed, the upper cymbal is lifted away from the lower cymbal, resulting in an open hi-hat.

When you hit a closed hi-hat with a drumstick you hear high short sounds, where when you hit an open hi-hat you hear a longer open sound. This sound can then be cut off again by dropping the upper cymbal back onto the lower cymbal.

The hi-hat is often used to indicate the rhythm and play along in a song.

Crash cymbals

The crash cymbal is a thin metal disc that when struck with a drumstick gives a high, sharp, and long-lasting tone. This is often used to act as an accent, for example when the chorus “enters”.

Of course, there are many more different parts that you can add to your drum kit and there are countless variants of the parts already discussed. However, the above parts form the usual basic equipment of a drum set.

Now that you have the basic knowledge of how a drum kit is put together, you can start practicing!

As a songwriter, but also as a producer, it can be useful to be able to play an instrument. This gives you extra freedom within the creative process that is songwriting and music production. At the Wisseloord Academy there is also the possibility to improve your skills on the piano, for example.

But if playing a piano is something completely new to you, it is nice to first know the ins and outs of this instrument.

Types of Pianos

Pianos come in many different shapes, sizes, and brands. The most common variations are the grand piano, the upright piano, and the electric piano.

When people think of a piano, most people immediately think of the grand piano. What characterizes this piano is that the top can be folded open at an angle. The grand piano has its strings stretched horizontally in its case. It is also usually the largest piano there is out there.

A smaller variant of piano is the upright piano. Unlike the grand piano, the upright piano has its strings positioned vertically, so that the piano takes up less space than its bigger brother.

The grand piano and upright piano are acoustic instruments that can be heard without amplification when played, unlike the electric piano. As its name suggests, it is fully electric, and the sound must be amplified to be heard. The advantage of this instrument is that you can often give many different types of sounds to the piano, so that you can vary a lot with it. They are also often much smaller than the ‘regular’ pianos.

The construction of a piano

The construction of a piano roughly consists of the keyboard, the strings, the hammers, the cabinet, and the pedals.

The skeleton of the piano is the cabinet. Inside you will find the strings and the hammers that ensure that you can hear the well-known piano sounds. The pianist plays the piano through the keyboard. The keyboard consists of the well-known white and black keys. As soon as a key is struck, the corresponding string in the cabinet is struck by a hammer. This causes the string to vibrate, eventually creating the piano sound.

The grand piano also has three pedals at the feet, each with a different function.

The right pedal ensures that the sound of a note sustains as soon as you hold down the pedal. When you press it, you lift the dampers of the strings, and the strings continue to vibrate.

The middle pedal has the same function as the right pedal, but you can use this pedal to make individual keys sound.

The left pedal shifts the hammers slightly to a different place when pressed, which changes the sound of the strings and the volume of the sound.

Now that you have the basics of how a piano works, feel free to start practicing!

As a songwriter, but also as a producer, it can be useful to be able to play an instrument. This gives you extra freedom within the creative process that is songwriting and music production. At the Wisseloord Academy there is also the possibility to improve your skills on the guitar, for example.
But if playing a guitar is something completely new to you, it is nice to know the ins and outs of this instrument first.

Types of guitars

First, there are many types of guitars. To keep it easy for now, we distinguish these into three different types: acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars.

Acoustic guitars have a sound box through which, after striking the strings, the sound, as it were, reverberates inside the wooden ‘body’ of the guitar and then comes out ‘amplified’ through the sound hole. If you play these guitars without amplifying them through a sound system, you can still hear them quite well.

In general, most electric guitars do not have a sound box, unlike acoustic guitars. We call electric guitars without a sound box solid body guitar. There are several exceptions, which we call hollow body guitars. But hollow-body guitars, if they are not amplified with a sound system, are almost impossible to hear when played, just like solid-body guitars.
Electric guitars are therefore often amplified via an amplifier to which the guitar is connected. Many guitarists also use a pedal board, which contains various effects that they can apply to the sound of their guitar. Most bass guitars also work according to this principle.

The construction of a guitar

The construction of an acoustic guitar roughly consists of 3 parts: the body, the neck, and the headstock. The resonance box is the large, shaped piece of wood to which the long piece of wood (the neck) is attached with the headstock at the end. From the headstock of the guitar, the strings are stretched all the way to ‘the bridge’ of the guitar. You can find this on top of the sound box just next to the sound hole.
As soon as you strike the strings, a vibration is created that is amplified in the sound box and the amplified sound escapes through the sound hole.
There is a tuner on the headstock of the guitar. Those are the six knobs to which the strings are tightened. With these knobs you can make sure that each string is tuned to the right note. By turning those knobs, you change the tension on the strings; the higher the voltage, the higher the pitch.

The six strings float above the long neck of the guitar. On this neck are frets, small iron bars. The spaces between these frets are called keys. Pressing a string on one of these keys temporarily shortens the length of a string, making the pitch of a string higher when you strike it. This way you can get different tones from the guitar.

When you hit the right strings in the right places, you can start forming chords. The most common tuning of a guitar is E – A – D – G – B – E. Easy to remember via the mnemonic: Eat All Dag Get Big Easy.

Now that you have the basic knowledge of how a guitar is put together, you can start practicing!

�If you, as a producer or artist, want to record something with several musicians at the same time, you will sooner or later have to deal with a music studio. A music studio is especially equipped to provide optimal acoustics for an audio recording. Unlike a home studio, no expense has been spared to record the sound of instruments or singers as properly and consistently as possible.�

A good recording starts at the source.�

It sounds like an open door, but the saying exists for a reason. Singers or instrumentalists need to be warmed up and relaxed in order to perform at their peak level. Instruments, from grand pianos to guitars, must be tuned. Even a drum kit has to be tuned to match the kit with the track.�

Acoustics�

Many studios have asymmetrical walls and ceilings. This is to avoid reflections and build-up of low frequencies. 90 degree angles are often filled with bass traps. The walls also often have special acoustic panels or acoustic treatment to reduce reflections and to get the purest possible sound delivery. Some larger studios have different spots in their studio for either a more lively sound with more reflections, or a dead end, where the sound will be as dry as possible for a clean recording. The placement of the instrument is important for the final sound.�

Microphone Selection and placement�

A good studio has a collection of high-end microphones that the home producer or studio will never have. Large diaphragm microphones, tube mics, ribbon mics. All microphones with their own sound and characters. It’s important to have a good idea of how the track will eventually sound. With the microphone selection you can already steer the instrument in a certain direction.�

Perhaps even more important than the microphone choice is how they are placed. It often helps to stand next to the instrument when the musician is playing on it. Where it sounds best to you, it will also be the same for a microphone.�

Do you move closer for a close mic�d sound, or do you back further away so you can better hear the studio acoustics.�

Patching and signal flow�

Larger studios generally use patch panels. Via these panels you can determine where the recorded signal goes. You can send the signal directly to the console, but you can also choose to use external preamps or outboard gear such as compressors.�

Console�

Before the sound ends up on the studio computer, it has to run through the console. The console has its own effects and control section, from preamps, to gates, compressors and EQs. With the preamp you determine how loud the signal will go into the console in. You can use high quality preamps to color the signal. You do this by turning up the gain so that the preamps will saturate the signal slightly. With the gates, compressors and EQs you can edit the sound before you record it. Often you try to keep the choices subtle, because there is no possibility of going back once recorded.�

And then�

When the track is finally recorded, the actual work on the track has yet to start. You have ensured that the source sound has been transferred to the DAW in the best possible way. It is now up to the producer or mixing engineer to turn it into a track.�

To read more about Music Studies and how to improve the process of developing, creating and refining recorded music visit our knowledge base page about�Music Studies Education.

�Good pop songs are easy to listen to and sometimes seem very simple, but nothing could be further from the truth. Writing a good pop song is not that easy. It really is an art to make a song sound ‘easy’. It’s the right combination of lyrics, hooks, and production.�

Text�

Needless to say, well written lyrics are needed to come up with a good pop song, everyone understands that. But how do you write it? First of all, it is important to write in a language that you feel comfortable with. Not knowing what to say is extremely annoying. For example, if you really want to write a French song, but you don’t have a good command of the language yet, you might consider writing the lyrics in your native language first. Once the basics are in place, you can try translating it back to French.�

In addition, it is not a superfluous luxury to avoid clich�s. They are things that you have heard too often in songs, if you also start using them, people can quickly get tired of them. So, make sure you are original. Do you have trouble with that? Then read the tips and tricks in the article about ‘Lyrics’.�

Hooks�

Hooks are specific parts of a song that keep haunting the listener’s mind and make them not easily forget the song. Hooks can be different things, lyrical tricks, melodic delights, recognizable rhythms or innovative productions.�

A lyrical hook is sometimes called a �tagline�. This is a word or phrase in the chorus that often stands out. It can be repeated throughout the chorus, or just close the chorus at the end. You regularly find that ‘tagline’ as the title of the song.�

Other types of hooks include Phil Collins’ drum solo in ‘In The Air Tonight’ or the piano in Robbie Williams’ ‘Angels’. Hooks don’t necessarily have to be hidden in the lyrics or vocals.�

Production and arrangement�

When writing a (pop) song you must think carefully about the structure. The most used structure is �Verse � Pre � Chorus � Verse 2 � Pre 2 � Chorus 2�, possibly followed by a bridge and a closing chorus.�

Nowadays you don’t hear many intros, and if there is one, it is very short. Experience shows that today’s consumer no longer has the patience to listen to the intro and often skips to the next song if it takes too long. So, make your point quickly. Also often said: ‘don’t bore us, get to the chorus’.�