Artist of the Week Josie Dunne reflects on songwriting and how her songs are created. Read what she has to say below:
Being a songwriter has got to be one of the weirdest jobs on the planet. I don’t think people talk enough about what the heck goes on in a songwriting session and what it means to be a songwriter. As many times as I tried to explain what a normal day looks like for me to my friends or family, I don’t really think they know what I do. Haha! So I thought I’d write a couple paragraphs to explain my personal creative process and what in the world a songwriter or artist does on an average day.
I usually write 4-5 songs a week and my process is pretty much the same every time. Each session typically starts by catching up with my co-writer(s). So, we talk about anything that’s on our mind: the weather, the industry, relationships. The unique thing about being a songwriter is that every day, we go into rooms with people we don’t know and spill our guts about anything and everything that’s been going on in our lives. It’s like a therapy session with a stranger!
The next step is to start on the music. For me, I always like to find the melodies first when writing. I think melody is the most important part of the song. Being born in 1996, I grew up on a lot of really awesome, tight pop songs with super catchy melodies. Max Martin was the mastermind producer behind most of the songs of that decade (Britney Spears, NSYNC, etc) and he’s known for being really meticulous about having the best, most catchy melodies. So, my co-writer and I will start with some kind of drum loop or instrumental riff. Then, I’ll start babbling notes over the chords. For me, these melodies are always sung on nonsense syllables like “la la” or “doo da”. If anyone who doesn’t do music ever sat in on the melody writing part of a session, they’d think I was a crazy person because I definitely sound like one! Haha! When we find melodies that we love, we record them in the ‘voicememos’ app on our phones because we don’t want to forget our favorite ones.
Once my co-writer and I have got all the melodies in place that we’re digging, we work on the lyrics. The lyrics are definitely the hardest part of songwriting. It’s hard to say something original, while also trying to not be too cheesy or too specific. Lyrics are also difficult because this is ultimately what people are going to attach to the most in a song. As an artist, it’s so important to always convey my message in my songs. I try to always tell honest stories about things I’ve gone through or things that I’ve seen my friends go through. I want to keep it all real because I think it’s easiest to relate to real stories as a listener. I am hugely influenced by artists like Amy Winehouse, who tell their stories with so much authenticity. That’s always the goal of songwriting- to be true to yourself. I try to keep a positive message in my songs because I personally believe that happy songs are the most fun to listen to. And because, I think life is good and we need more songs that remind us of that!
Like that, and abracadabra! You’ve got a song! All of the songs on my EP have been born like this. It always just starts with my co-writers and I talking about our lives and letting that become the lyrics or the musical vibe. The songs on “To Be The Little Fish” are all the stories of me growing up and discovering who I am. I hope you enjoy jamming even more now that you know how they were created!
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