Ok So after the deletion of my blog the hosting company can't get back the content so... I have most copies on my computer. Over the next several days I will be re-posting the content and maybe gain some new readers! So let's start learning how to write songs for Film & TV. One thing that Film & TV needs are lyrics that are Universal. So what is a Universal Lyric? In the book “Shortcuts to Songwriting for Film & TV “ by Robin Frederick, she defines Universal lyrics as: “A lyric that a large number of people can identify with or relate to.” “A lyric that will not conflict with the specific content of a scene” It took me a while to grasp the meaning of this and start incorporating it into my songs. Before I started writing for Film and TV I was writing a lot of story songs, or songs that have a lot of detail in them. When writing like this, the song paints the picture. In Film and TV, the show paints the picture and the songs helps bring out or supplement the emotion of the scene. For example: In one of my songs Just Who I Am! Here are my lyrics for the first verse: Just Who I Am! © 2011 Shell Sings Publishing Verse 1: I got dirty clothes on the floor A kit kat clock hangs on my door Sometimes my hair is red, or styled in dreads I like to wear sneakers with my Sunday best. Ok, so that is VERY detailed and descriptive, no emotional elements and you are visualizing in your head right now my room and how I might look. This would not work well for a TV scene. It is too detailed. The song is telling the story. Now as we move on into the Chorus That’s Just Who I am, what you see, is what you get That’s Just Who I am, I know I’m crazy, can’t change me baby I’m nobody else but me, Just Who I Am. The chorus is more universal… very general language, non descriptive and could be used in scenes displaying confident women. It is still a little specific however and would only be able to work in specific scenes. Now let’s take Ingrid Michaelson’s song Everybody Everybody – Ingrid Michaelson 2009, Cabin 24 Records We have fallen down again tonight In this world it's hard to get it right Trying to make your heart fit like a glove What it needs is love, love, love Everybody, everybody wants to love Everybody, everybody wants to be loved Oh, oh, oh Oh, oh, oh Happy is the heart that still feels pain Darkness drains and light will come again Swing open up your chest and let it in Just let the love, love, love begin These lyrics are very universal lyrics and they use imagery to represent certain feelings. This can and has been used in TV, Film and Commercials. It is being used for many different types of scenes that depict love and happiness. Is this starting to make sense? It takes a while to grasp it and to begin to incorporate it in your writing. But one mistake we don’t want to make is thinking that this type of writing is “dumbing down” the song. Robin Frederick says, “ A lyric that moves a lot of people is one that is original, vivid, and believable. Most importantly it communicates with listeners.” You want to create a mood for the audience, or an experience. The on screen action will take care of the telling the story and providing the details. For fun, (before your assignment below) Here are a couple of my songs that were used in an advertisement and a TV show. My song Everybody Smile! Was used in this advertisement http://youtu.be/DGuUXq1cq9Y?list=PL52E72E8B3BF5FE4D And my song with fellow writer Paul Otten, called Live, Laugh, Love in Color was used for a wedding show http://youtu.be/66OVlouVCys?list=PL52E72E8B3BF5FE4D Ok So now for your assignment: Write a Universal Verse and Chorus lyric for one of these two options 1. Pick a TV show you like, find a scene and mute the sound. Watch it for about a minute and a half. What kind of lyric might you write to express the emotions of the scene? 2. Here is a scene that I wrote for you. Scene fades in on a woman leaning against her dusty blue corvette. She is on the side of a dirt road that seems to never end. In the distance is a mountain range and the sun is just about to go down. The orange and red colors begin to transform the dessert into something of beauty. The woman is in her 30’s; long brunette hair is flowing a bit in the wind. She is wearing a plain blue T-shirt and jeans. She is looking toward the sunset and a tear rolls down her cheek. She goes to wipe it away but instead kicks the dirt with her boots, gets in her car and tears down the road toward the mountains. Write a verse and a chorus that is Universal and evokes the emotion of the scene Please feel free to ask me any questions and leave comments!
5 Comments
Richard Neumanm
1/14/2016 10:41:35 am
Hi Ms. Lockey,
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2/7/2017 10:20:03 pm
I always wanted to write a song, unfortunately, I have no idea why I can't do it. It really felt like I am out of words. I am not good in constructing ideas and putting your emotions into words, you see. But I don't want to give this up easily because I believe that I will be able to do it if I will just be determined enough. Anyway, the words that you have used are really amazing and deep. Thank you so much for sharing this one!
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Michelle
1/2/2017 07:42:48 pm
HI Marty! Thanks! I teach music licensing courses, and have a whole section on Universal Lyrics. I am having a new launch in January. if you are interested, and I also have a FREE checklist, 10 steps to sync success. You can opt in on my website here, under the Music Licensing page. www.licensingsongs.michellelockey.com I will send info about the course, the checklist, and I will be having a free webinar on Jan 12. As far as the singers. I am the singer on most of my songs, unless there is a male vocal ;) Those are people that are part of my co-writing team. So we are all contributing and split everything. If you need to hire someone to sing, Airgigs.com is a good place to find people to sing. You would treat it like a work for hire. They just sing, and get paid and sign all the rights over to you. If you have any more questions, opt in on the page above so I can email you. Thanks- Michelle
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AuthorMichelle Lockey is a multi-award winning singer-songwriter sharing the knowledge she has learned over the years writing for Film & TV. Like what you are reading? Please Sign up to receive a FREE Music Licensing checklist! 10 Steps to Sync Success
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