So in the last two tips on song selection for recording artists, I noted the significance of content and vocal range. Those two tips are good starting points to proper song selection. However, to be a hit recording artist, you must also have the next ingredient as noted below.
Tip #3 - the songs you choose should be heart-felt. Heart-felt songs are timeless. They touch us at the most sensitive times. They are universal in that they transcend gender, race, religion, genre, ethnicity, etc. They simply tell the story that we have all had to deal with at some point in our lives. When people hear a heart-felt song, they tend to react. Somehow that song becomes their favorite song and they want to hear it over and over again. Why? The song touched them.
To determine if a song that you are considering is heart-felt, ask yourselves some questions: Does the song move you? Does it make you laugh? Or cry? Does it make you think? Or does it make you remember, feel, hurt, reminisce, regret, or love? Does it help you express your anger? In other words, do you have an emotion after hearing the song? If so, then the song may be heart-felt.
If the song causes you to have an emotion, next ask yourself whether you can convey that feeling when you sing it? How do you know for sure if you can convey that emotion? Before you record the song, sing it for others and see if the song moves them when you sing it. Usually when a song moves the audience, they will come up to you and say, I like most of your songs but I really like that one song (unstated: the heart-felt one). The audience may not be able to fully explain why they like that song but they know that that song really said something to them. So if you get positive feedback, then there's a good chance that the song you selected was a hit song.
But if you get no response and no feedback, there is a possibility that the song was not right for you or right for your targeted audience. Ask yourself: Did your listeners really not "get" the meaning behind the song? Are there blank stares when you perform the song? Do people tend to listen to the song or treat your performance like it's background, i.e. elevator, music? If any of those latter things occur, the song may be good but it's probably not a hit song, not right for you, or not right for your targeted audience. Choose a different song to record.
Finally, if you are the songwriter, does your song really convey what you were feeling at the time you wrote the song? Did you as the songwriter really tell the story so that others can feel the way you felt when you wrote the song? If so, that's great! You have properly wrote and selected the right song(s) to record! But, if you really can't put into words what you were feeling , then consider using a hit songwriter to help you write the song. You can always come up with the concept for the song by telling the ghost writer what you want to sing about. Remember, concept is just as important. The ghost writer can then in turn, help you find the right words to convey the right emotion so that you can sing your song. But not just sing the right notes, but sing an original heart-felt, heart-inspired song with passion and conviction!
Thedy B, Esq., Hit Songwriter
Hits A Million, LLC
Hitsamillionmusic.com - for more information about Thedy B & Hits A Million, LLC
myspace.com/hitsamillionmusic.com - to hear, buy, and download current hits of Thedy B
hitsamillion.ning.com - to meet, find, locate, and network with other hit songwriters
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
Song Selection for Recording Artists - Tip #2
Again, I can't stress enough that song selection for recording artists is extremely important! Picking the perfect songs is half the battle in becoming and remaining a top-selling hit-recording artist. So how do you choose which song to record? Remember in tip #1, content is key: Pick a song with great lyrics! Second, in trying to decide which songs to record for your upcoming CD release:
Tip #2 - Make sure the hit song you choose to record suits your vocal range. In fact, you want a song that shows off your vocal range. This tip is true even if you are a soprano and have a very high singing voice or you're in a rock band or gospel group that does a lot of belting: you don't want a song that starts at a high pitch or at a high point because then you have no where to "take" your voice or the song itself. Mariah Carey and her very first single, Vision of Love, is a perfect example of a top-selling artist, who knowing her range and voice, recorded a song that beautifully showcased her range and introduced us to notes we never knew we wanted to hear, or could hear before. Mariah Carey's success is built on picking the right songs for her amazing voice. The same is true for you: every song you record should build and be perfect for you.
Note that you also don't want to have a "flat" sounding song either: one that starts low and simply stays low with no peaks and flows in the melody and background vocal arrangement. The song should challenge you vocally, and the listener, audibly. There are certain notes that our ears just naturally want to hear.
On the other hand, this tip also means that you don't want a song that is too high for you that you sing a lot of falsetto notes at the very peak of the song or is too low for you that you sing inaudible notes or words. There are some exceptions to every rule (e.g. some R & B male artists such as Robin Thicke and Justin Timberlake to name two, sing most of their songs in falsetto). However, in general, hit songs that MAKE an artist and hit songs that are recorded over and over are songs that have range, color, build, and resolve (terms which will be discussed in another blog). It's these songs, the right songs, i.e. hit songs, which show off an artist's vocal abilities, that will be chosen not only by you but by many other artists as cover tunes. These are the types of hit songs that songwriters strive to write and artists should strive to find and record.
Stay tuned for my next tip on song selection!
Thedy B, Hit Songwriter
Hits A Million, LLC
Hitsamillionmusic.com
Tip #2 - Make sure the hit song you choose to record suits your vocal range. In fact, you want a song that shows off your vocal range. This tip is true even if you are a soprano and have a very high singing voice or you're in a rock band or gospel group that does a lot of belting: you don't want a song that starts at a high pitch or at a high point because then you have no where to "take" your voice or the song itself. Mariah Carey and her very first single, Vision of Love, is a perfect example of a top-selling artist, who knowing her range and voice, recorded a song that beautifully showcased her range and introduced us to notes we never knew we wanted to hear, or could hear before. Mariah Carey's success is built on picking the right songs for her amazing voice. The same is true for you: every song you record should build and be perfect for you.
Note that you also don't want to have a "flat" sounding song either: one that starts low and simply stays low with no peaks and flows in the melody and background vocal arrangement. The song should challenge you vocally, and the listener, audibly. There are certain notes that our ears just naturally want to hear.
On the other hand, this tip also means that you don't want a song that is too high for you that you sing a lot of falsetto notes at the very peak of the song or is too low for you that you sing inaudible notes or words. There are some exceptions to every rule (e.g. some R & B male artists such as Robin Thicke and Justin Timberlake to name two, sing most of their songs in falsetto). However, in general, hit songs that MAKE an artist and hit songs that are recorded over and over are songs that have range, color, build, and resolve (terms which will be discussed in another blog). It's these songs, the right songs, i.e. hit songs, which show off an artist's vocal abilities, that will be chosen not only by you but by many other artists as cover tunes. These are the types of hit songs that songwriters strive to write and artists should strive to find and record.
Stay tuned for my next tip on song selection!
Thedy B, Hit Songwriter
Hits A Million, LLC
Hitsamillionmusic.com
Song selection for recording artists - Tip #1
As I mentioned in my previous post, song selection for recording artists is extremely important! As I mentioned in that blog, choosing the right songs is half the battle in becoming and remaining a top-selling hit-recording artist. In order for the recording artist to be a hit recording artist, one of the first tips is to realize content is key! As a renown author named Jawar, author of the Music Industry Connection book series, told me, content is key. In other words, pick a song with great lyrics!
That tip applies to all pieces of written work, such as books, poems, and spoken word, but it is ESPECIALLY true for songs! Too many recording artists forget to seriously consider the content of their songs, specifically their lyrics. Lazy lyrics and song titles have a much harder time becoming a hit. Hit songs that make millions of dollars are usually originals. Hit songs that span decades and genres are songs that touch the heart in some way. Artists looking for longevity in the music business - ones who don't want to be one-hit wonders - should carefully evaluate the content of the songs they sing before spending all their time and money in recording, mixing, mastering, distributing, marketing, advertising, and touring and then having their CD or single flop because they forgot: content is key.
ThedyB, Hit Songwriter
Hits A Million, LLC
Hitsamillionmusic.com - for more information about Thedy B & Hits A Million, LLC
myspace.com/hitsamillionmusic.com - to hear, buy, and download current hits of Thedy B
hitsamillion.ning.com - to meet, find, locate, and network with other hit songwriters
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