Songwriting: How to Save a Helpless Song / Guide to Pwning Writer's Block

Being a songwriter, you’re going to encounter (sometimes more often than none) quite a few of those songs that are just not really THERE, you know? Songs that while you’re working on them you get that feeling inside telling you this is going down a different direction; bad different that is.

As difficult as it may be to really make a decision on keeping/pulling the plug on a song , a lot of things are worth considering. Check it out:

1. Is this song hopeless? 
2. If not ENTIRELY hopeless, where is the song taking a dive into obscurity? 
3. Is this song much too far from what is originally intended and you’d like to reapproach the original idea from scratch? 
4. If yes and you’d like to start from scratch, what are some of those riffs/bits that you’d like to preserve and use in future songs (if not the re-approached version even) 

As a budding songwriter I can tell you it’s quite difficult to let a song go, lots of hard work go into those. BUT hard work isn’t always pleasurably audible.

Let’s examine the above points in the bullets section…

IS THIS SONG HOPELESS?

I don’t mean this as a “Do you feel helpless about this song?”, this question is directed to the song itself (musician therapy posts may come later, I know I need those! Haha).

I’ll tell you this, I don’t think any song is hopeless. If you’ve got a couple taste riffs down with a basic structure in mind, any song can be saved. But you gotta be ready to throw some hard work down the bin, once again it’s important to note that songs aren’t measured by the hard work put into writing them but merely by how appealing they sound, I assure you that some of those big hits we’ve listened to for years might have been a spree-of-the-moment type songs, the raw factor in those is usually what makes them so electric to listen to.

DICOVERING WHERE YOUR SONG IS TAKING A DIVE INTO OBSCURITY

Listen to your song over and over from the beginning while doing nothing else, just listen to it and feel it out. Tune in to that feeling where you start to truly realize when and where the song just strays off the true essence that the rest of the song is conveying. This is not an easy step, but it’s not hard either; figure out when the song stops being fun to listen to, that’s usually where you need to take a closer look.

EXAMPLES OF WHY YOUR SONG IS TAKING A DIP AT THAT PARTICULAR MOMENT

This could be one of many, or a combination of a few things. Check out the below possibilities and examine those against your song:

• Too much repetition 
• Dangerously progressive; in a sense that it feels like you just started a completely new song with no relevance to the main one 
• Uninspired riff 
• An “Awesome” riff that you are trying really hard to throw into the song, but it’s leading to a bottle neck situation where it’s not fitting into any upcoming transitions 
• Maybe you need to rediscover this song’s true essence, it’s very possible that you are now inspired to write something completely different (What I usually like to do is, if something has inspired me to write in a certain direction, I don’t allow myself to explore any other source of inspiration until I’ve finished working on what I’m inspired to do. Mixing different sources of inspiration can be damaging as it’ll stray you off and divide your work’s essence into different feels that don’t complement each other) 

Those are just some of the things that are worth considering and that I’ve personally came across, the reasons could be much too many!

SIDE NOTE: THE DANGERS OF HAVING AN AWESOME RIFF

I hate those awesome riffs that get stuck in your head, and personally try to avoid them as best as I can. Here’s how I think about it:

A riff, no matter how great or bad, is meaningless unless placed in the right place and the right time within a song. What is an IMMENSELY amazing riff in standalone, could be the weakest link in your song; as on the contrary, the most uninteresting riff in standalone could be your game changer in a song, think about it.

ONCE YOU’VE FOUND THE WEAKEST LINK…

Once you’ve found your song’s current weakest link, get rid of it and just start writing from that leaves you off. This approach usually leaves me happy by the end of the songwriting process.

Above all, make sure you’re having fun, not rushing, and keeping it genuine. You should be able to enjoy the song with no regrets by the time it’s done.

Talk soon

Hadi

Album Blueprints: How Many Cylinders Are You Firing On?

I remember having a conversation with Sajid ‘Sarj’ Masood, Benevolent’s co-producer, (and one of the main factors that brought our sound to the shape that it came out through); we basically were talking about the upcoming Benevolent album and this was way early on in the writing process, months and months ago, and the idea of having a “blueprint” for the album came about. This would basically be like a rough mission statement of what we would like to achieve from the album as far as what elements are coming into play, and I believe this has truly served the write process well and definitely put things into perspective.

This was a great thing for me to have personally because I’m always anxious and stressing about the very little details going into the album’s writing process and what elements the songs are entertaining; is it too much? Is it too little? Is it just about right?

When we sat down and figured out a rough blueprint for the upcoming record it changed the game plan positively because I felt like I was writing with more purpose, I was writing songs for them to be included on the record instead of writing songs off the fly with little perspective or vision as far as how they serve the big picture of the album’s sound.

I remember us doing something similar unconsciously during the Divided EP sessions where Sarj came up and said “Alright, you’ve got a couple songs that have this specific feel; now you need another song that sounds a bit on that other send of your style and push things in that direction.” The best part of it all is that I find myself getting super inspired by things that those around me are saying about the music I’m writing, so it makes me consider things from a very broad view; although, I think a musician is truly able to get as close as possible to listen to his/her music for what it really is, rather than be stuck in a bubble thinking it sounds a certain way, much kudos go out to that person!

Keep producing!
Hadi

It's happening!

Hey guys!

So we [Benevolent] are getting ready to start tracking the new album, the final collection of songs going into the production is a fine mix of hard-hitting, melancholy, and progressive songs with lots of chugging and shimmering melodies; I CAN’T WAIT!

Basically, what’s going to happen is we’re going to get on with tracking down the bass to scratch MIDI drums. I really can’t wait to get down to designing the bass tone and getting on with tracking things up, I think the guys are gonna rip through this album and it’s going to be a very fun experience.

I am pretty sure we’re going to be experimenting with some of the song structure when need be, in addition to adding up some more enticing layers than there already is. It’s a whole lot like cooking, you’ve gotta have the right ingredients in there, but even with the right ingredients there has to be a control as to not have that stuff on there with an overload.

We’re going to start with the song with the working title of PODISBACK, which actually is probably my favorite song on the record right now. It’s as heavy as Chuck Norris’s beard and has a very cool overall drive with lots of textures and an interesting dreamy selection of sounds.

So yea, we start with tracking the bass, and then get on with doing guitars; while simultaneously working on the preproduction work for the vocal bits. It’s exciting, we’re nervous and excited!

STAY TUNED!!!!

Hadi

[PRESS RELEASE] Benevolent: "We are wrapping up the writing process for our debut full length"

Benevolent’s co-founder (guitarist/co-vocalist) Hadi Sarieddine has confirmed that the band is nearing the end of the writing and preproduction process for the debut full length album, which is the follow up to the highly toutedDivided EP (2010) which saw the band take the Middle East metal scene by storm, leading the Lebanese-founded metal band into the signing with Spellbind Records alongside Middle East metal icons Nervecell.

Hadi describes the material as “dramatic, technical, uneasy, and progressive” stating that the album is a step up from the bands’ previous work and pushes the band’s limits and boundaries ahead.

“This album’s definitely a fine blend of lots of dramatic moments, the songs are heavier than before and I think it’s an honest attempt at pushing our artistic limits further”

In talk about the songs in the album, Hadi had this to say

“The songs are longer, the soundscapes and textural backgrounds are there and there’s a whole new tuning on the album…I think there’s only one or two songs that share the tunings used on Divided EP and I’ve taken that as a conscious decision, I wanted to explore writing riffs in different tunings…it felt like uncharted territory for me and that definitely got the creative juices flowing!”

The band will record the debut untitled full-length with Sajid ‘Sarj’ Masood who worked with the band on Divided EP and has been repeatedly cited as one of the main factors that allowed the band’s sound to be experienced in the manner that it did. Though the band has not set a date as to when the recording of the album will start, the album is expected to be out in stores through the spring of 2012.

Benevolent had previously announced the release of a single in 2011 prior to the end of the year, however, this had been changed and confirmed by Fadi (band’s co-founder and lead vocalist) that the song intended as a single will indeed be featured on the full length instead.

“We had a song planned for release as a single through Q4 of 2011 and though we haven’t released that song yet it will SURELY be featured on the debut full-length, it’s one of our favorite songs!”

On a final note, Hadi has been blogging on the progress with regards to the Benevolent album in addition to other things such as songwriting and production methodologies, do check out the blog at hadibenevolent.blogspot.com to keep up with all the updates!

Interview on Metal Music Production - Talking Divided EP's production

Hey guys!

Here's a really extensive interview talking about the production process of Divided EP with lots of info on gear and what not! It's pretty cool!

http://metalmusicproduction.com/?p=162

Cheers,
Hadi

Enjoyable Music & Inspirational Music: Are they the same?

I’ve been analyzing the patterns in which I listen to music and how different genres/styles make me feel during and after. My self-analysis of listening patterns has made me realize that I tend to categorize music into two main sections:

1. Enjoyable: Music that I listen to just for what it is, enjoy it, sing along, unwind to!

2. Inspirational: Music that acts as the catalyst to a complex chemical reaction eventually leading to anxiousness and self-inflicted violence if I don’t grab a Guitar, plug into Logic, load up Superior Drummer, and get to work!

So, what sets apart the two categories?

I guess that there are certain genres and styles that I listen to that don’t start a fire on the creative side of my brain, just for the sake of unwinding and to really capture the absolute listening experience that the song was intended to disperse (for example: acoustic rock, radio hits, etc). With such genres I find myself just at ease while listening, good music for driving, walking, post-work hours unwinding time; you know? Just music for the fun of it!

On the other end of the spectrum are genres and bands that, when I am listening to, give me a sensation of being injected with some sort of a substance that leaves me in a state where I just need to get a hold of a guitar right that second and start working on new song ideas. It’s an instantaneous sensation; actually, I don’t really go through an entire discography of a band to have to get the creative goggles on.

To be fair, there always is as cross-over period of time where the Enjoyable songs spark an inspiration and other times (lots of times) where the Inspirational songs are just being tuned to strictly for the fun of listening to them. I guess it also depends on what time of the year it is, am I working on new material at the time when I’m tuning in to the Inspirational songs? Am I opening doors for inspirational ideas to be absorbed?

The truth is, if you’re ever inspired about and toward something, you can never turn that inspiration on and even if you’re unaware that an absorption is taking place your senses may very well be soaking up a little of all the things that you are exposed to, be it music, art, movies, something you read, or whatever it may that triggers your senses.

Finally, here’s a list of bands that to me belong to each of the afore-mentioned categories. (Note that INSPIRATIONAL bands are REALLY ENJOYABLE too!)

ENJOYABLE	INSPIRATIONAL
Spock’s Beard Transatlantic Neal Morse Evanescence Adele Coldplay Woods of Ypres A Perfect Circle Muse Metallica Maroon 5 Katatonia* Kamelot Creed Alter Bridge* Linkin Park* Breaking Benjamin* Guns N Roses …LIST GOES ON…	Meshuggah Dream Theater Scar Symmetry Opeth Symphony X Lamb of God Stealing Axion Linkin Park* Killswitch Engage Katatonia* Metallica Fear Factory Deftones Alter Bridge* Breaking Benjamin* Porcupine Tree …LIST GOES ON…

*indicates bands that are on both sides 

Talk soon!

Hadi

My Method and Approach to Polyrhythms

Explaining Benevolent’s songs ‘Purgatory’ & ‘The Quantum Paradox’ 

So I wanted to write his one up for a while, the songs ‘Purgatory’ and ‘The Quantum Paradox’ off of Benevolent’s debut EP ‘Divided’ have a few of my favorite moments to play live, and those are the polyrhythmic bits where there’s an oscillation of two beats on top of each other (which is what a polyrhythmic beat is) and resolving together towards the end of the overall pattern. 

So let’s start with the basics, what does the term polyrhythm mean? 


A polyrhythm is when you have more than one rhythm on top of each other being played simultaneously. Though lots of instruments can contribute to a polyrhythm, the drums are what really set it apart and put it to the groove. Commonly in metal, you’d find drummers following the guitar pattern with the kick drum, that oscillating around straightforward cymbal work and with the snares sitting on regular 4/4 patterns. 

Let’s get into how those this was utilized in the songs PURGATORY and THE QUANTUM PARADOX; 

Purgatory 


The song Purgatory’s polyrhythm section takes place at 00:27, and is based on a very simple pattern in 10/16 (or 5/8) looping (or oscillating) over a 4/4 measure. The pattern is as follows: 

Notes explanation:

TWO 16th – ONE 16th REST – TWO 16th – ONE 16th REST – THREE 16th – ONE 16th REST

In simple, 2/2/3 (add a rest in between each note)

TIP:

How did I know it is a 10/16?

SIMPLE: We’re playing 16th notes over bpm 160. SO let’s count the number of notes based on that little breakdown I added up:

2 + 1 + 2 + 1 + 3 + 1 = 10

As you can see, the pattern on takes up 10/16 of a 4/4 beat.

So, what creates that cool groovy poly sound?

It’s pretty simple, in a complicated way; basically if the drums were playing a 5/8 beat over the 5/8 pattern then the entire band would be doing the same exact rhythm and that is no longer considered a polyrhythm. The simple fact that the drummer is entertaining a 4/4 feel to the rhythm is exactly what is creating this cool groove, is the rotation of the pattern around the simple 4/4 feel that’s giving it that really interesting mathematical sound.

Note that the pattern is broken up and both drums and guitars are in a synchronized rhythm at the 3rd beat of the 8th bar.

The entire pattern:

The Quantum Paradox

The polyrhythm in the song The Quantum Paradox takes place at 01:26, this one’s based on a little more complicated pattern (And a longer one); pattern is:


Notes Explanation:

THREE 16TH NOTES + ONE 16TH REST + TWO 16TH NOTES + ONE 16TH REST + TWO 16TH NOTES + ONE 16TH REST + FIVE 16TH NOTES + ONE 16TH REST + TWO 16TH NOTES + ONE 16TH REST + TWO 16TH NOTES + ONE 16TH REST

In simple, 3/2/2/5/2/2 (add a rest in between each note)

As you can see, this pattern is in 11/8 (or 22/16).

TIP:

How did I know it is a 22/16?

SIMPLE: We’re playing 16th notes over bpm 160. SO let’s count the number of notes based on that little breakdown I added up:

3 + 1 + 2 + 1 + 2 + 1 + 5 + 1 + 2 + 1 + 2 + 1 = 22

The pattern of 22/16 is, just as in Purgatory, looping and revolving around a 4/4 beat with the cymbals and snares falling exactly where an average-Joe beat would be like!

As explained in the Purgatory example, the oscillation of the two rhythms over each other is resulting in a very interesting mathematical groove.

Note that the pattern is broken and a “resolving” riff is introduced at the 8th bar as to give an indication of the end of this section and the beginning of the next in a more audible sense. (This is good news for us live as well since it allows us to be able to feel when to switch to the next bit together without the need of an accountant on stage) 

The entire pattern:

So, yea

Finally, I hope that this was a helpful little lesson! Hit me up if you’ve got any questions or comments!

I’ll do another piece in the near future on where you can draw inspiration for interesting polyrhythm ideas without overdoing the same feel or repeating your good old ideas.

Hadi