Comments on: Songwriting essentials: Sloan Wainwright chats about co-writing

By: penny nichols

penny nichols — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 14:37:41 +0000

I was part of that 5 way co-write weekend with Sloanie and Mae Robertson, Craig Carothers and Terry Allard. A great memorable time was had by all and a great song, Meet the Sun Halfway, was written. Remember that you don't have to be "together" to co-write. In LA, we mostly sent each other fragments of songs on cassette and then worked on the frags independently, only getting together occasionally to hammer out the details. Another important point: all co-writes are equally split among the writers. ie.. if there are 2 writers; 50/50 if there are 3 writers 33/33/33%. Don't fall into the trap of trying to figure out who wrote the most important part. Your song and your friendship will not survive the experience.
love, Pen

By: Thomas Boyd

Thomas Boyd — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 19:20:44 +0000

My song "Company" is a kind of co-write. Originally a power ballad by Belle Schneiderman, it came to me in a song swap / writing class led by my longtime pal Janie Barnett. Trade songs, she urged us, and do something different. I chopped away at the lyrics, countrified it, and
turned it into the version on my CD. With Belle's OK and suggestions, of course. A lovely process because she's a lovely person. I've started down the co-write road with Teri, Tom Ryan, Ina May Wool, et al, but have not produced anything yet. My appetite is whetted thanks to your Q and Sloanie's post and other folks' experiences and ideas. Thanks!

By: Sharon Goldman

Sharon Goldman — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 18:01:35 +0000

Thanks so much for your comments! Wow, a Swedish-based songwriters retreat…now there's something I could get into, Markus. And a formal assignment seems like it could be a good ice-breaker. Meg, you're one of the most prolific co-writers I know, very inspiring!! And Lauren, yes, I think we're going to have to get going on a song together…we must take the leap!

By: Lauren

Lauren — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 14:34:19 +0000

I have never co-written – but would love too! Like you, Sharon, songwriting is a solitary activity (I even make my cats leave the room.) In general, my brain just seems to function better when there's no one else around – in any capacity, not just music. However, I would like to take that leap and try co-writing – because I think it's a really important step to developing songwriting skills (and the results are often awesome!) Sharon – I think we should co-write sometime(since Sloan's advice is work with a friend you admire – I would love to work with you!)

And kudos for another great article – so nice to hear Sloan's inspiring words!

By: meg

meg — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 14:13:08 +0000

With one exception, my experience with co-writing has been a positive one. What I love is that the end result is usually a song that neither writer would have written on their own. I have also found that it helps me in my own "solo" writing because I learn how someone else approaches a song. One person I wrote with really needed to write the bass line first--that was a huge jump for me, and ultimately lead to a phase where I was really paying attention to bass lines and how they could move a melody and lyric forward in my solo writing.

The one piece of advice I would give, is make sure that who gets the "credit" is established and revisited while writing. It can save a lot of resentment in the end.

But mostly it has always just been really fun...

By: Markus Rill

Markus Rill — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 14:08:52 +0000

Hey Sharon,
I recently participated in a wonderful songwriters retreat in Gotland/Sweden. There were 20 of us, the atmosphere was very friendly. We were paired in twos every day to write a song. Any awkwardness was overcome because we always had an assignment to get us started. It was an all-around great experience where I made new friends and came up with some wonderful songs.
Recommended!
Markus
PS: I blogged about the retreat at myspace.com/markusrill