The template for being a contemporary singer/songwriter?

[johnlewitt]

So I thought I'd try and write and record a song that might be considered in the contemporary singer/songwriter style. In reading the listings it seems like they're always looking for songs from the likes of Jason Mzaz, James Morrison, John Mayer, James Blunt, Joshua Radin, etc. and since my first name starts with a J too I thought I'd give it a shot.

So I listened to a selection of songs and came up with these guidelines to follow. Feel free to critique them, confirm them, or add to them. So in no particular order...

1) It seems to me that a lot of these guys use capo's on their guitar in order to get a more delicate guitar sound.
2) All of the vocals are dry and lack any touch of reverb.
3) No one over sings a note. Everything is tightly controlled.
4) Harmonies are used only sparingly.
5) The piano lines are always simple and used as a colouring & foundation.
6) The lyrics are very conversational.
7) The sound is very modern. And by this I mean it is making use of modern technology to present the cleanest sounding guitar, vocal, piano, etc. possible.
8) Very simple instrumentation, even on more upbeat songs.

Am I missing anything? If so, feel free to add.

So here is my first attempt at doing this. I've held back on my instincts to add guitar and bass to this because every time I start building up songs they start heading towards a more classic sound. Feel free to be brutally honest here as I'm trying to learn a thing or too!

https://soundcloud.com/john-lewitt/work-of-art

I thought I'd try a simple arrangement, so I used these two tunes as a reference (and I realize the GL song picks up half way thru, which I'm still contemplating for this track).

Joshua Radin: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2muto1kBPFg&feature=kp

Greg Laswell: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pEFxfVyz4Uc&feature=kp


BTW, here's a current listing I was looking at.

ACOUSTIC-BASED, HEARTFELT, SINGER/SONGWRITER SONGS in the stylistic ballpark of artist like Greg Laswell, Katie Herzig, Joshua Radin, etc., are needed by an A-List Hollywood Music Supervisor working on a Top-Rated, Major Cable Network TV series. He's on the prowl for Down-to-Mid-Tempo Songs with Male OR Female vocals.

The Music Supervisor wants to hear TV-Friendly Songs with universal lyric themes that focus on life, love, life's journey, friendship, etc. Common, everyday, conversational themes will work best for this pitch. Please avoid references to specific names, dates, times, brands, etc. You don't have to come up with anything too clever, unique, or outside of the box for this one. Songs with simple, memorable, well-focused lyrics in the chorus will help you grab the attention of this show's Music Supervisor. Please do NOT submit Songs that are sweet, sappy, or have a sugarcoated Pop feel. Quoting the source: "We want Songs with a simple, honest, and DIRECT feel. We're looking for great songs, with great vocal melodies, performances, and storylines. We're NOT interested in anything that's cliché or trite." Give them the kind of acoustic-based, contemporary Singer/Songwriter Songs that you'd hear featured on some of today's biggest Network TV shows. It's okay if your Song is a stripped-down acoustic guitar or piano version, OR if it's supported by a small ensemble/band vibe. The key for this pitch is that your instrumentation adds color and emotion to the vocal performance, and it's NOT distracting or overpowering in any way. Please do NOT submit anything that's stiff, dated, or MIDI-driven

Thanks for reading this exceptionally long post!

John

[NathanNasby]

Hey John,

I really like your approach to analysing songs like this. You have an awesome voice as well. Very sincere and you are sounding very conversational which is I know what you are going for.

Depending on how similar to specific songs you get, you can def keep this simple. In my head I could hear shaker and at some point maybe a second guitar playing an alternate line. Just a thought, but I know what you mean that building often takes a lot of restraint in not making things to busy or distracting in this style. It's all about being tasty, as I say it (Tasteful )!

Couple little things. I think you have gone a bit far in using pitch correction. I think it's a fine wire to balance on, but right of the start in your vocal I heard very quick correction timing and it quantized those notes very noticeably. That can hurt the organic natural feel that you want to achieve in this S/S style. Also could still relax your vocal much more. Really listen back and forth between those reference songs and yours. Radin really uses a breathy softer natural tone in his vocal delivery. Even when he does push a note it has much more air in it and he never feels like he's over singing anything, and the same is true with Greg, though he sings a bit cleaner. Both sound very relaxed in their songs. When you get to the first chorus you vocal starts to sound much more polished and almost countryish. It's not a bad thing and from that sound I'm guessing you could ace a country vocal.

My recommendation would be to just stand in front of your mic and sing your song and try to really loosen up and relax your vocal. Maybe even try letting a bit more air slip out with each note and see if that helps. You don't want to do things that make you sound really unnatural, but you could definitely try to not push those notes as much.

All this is just academic haha. I love your voice and even in this song I think you did an awesome job, I love the song. Just getting nit picky with ideas, and hope you don't take offense.

Good luck with this journey. I think you are doing awesome work, and putting the time into understanding this style and doing it well will pay off. You already have a great sound and loads of talent!

~ Nathan

[eeoo]

Really nice tune and I think it is sounding pretty current style wise, nice job! I agree the pitch correction is a bit too audible in spots and i thought I heard a couple of hiccups in the guitar part, little rhythmic hiccups. Overall it's sounding really nice, i think you're onto something!

eo

[songmaster]

Bravo John

To me, it is very real and heart felt and also contemporary and your voice is perfect for this singer/songwriter style. Sometimes less is best because we all lean in to hear a whisper

Great job

Tom

[Bliciouz]

Hey John,

Great song man, it really reminds me of Jason Mraz songs.
Tom is definitly right there, in this case less is more.
The way you disected the song style is really interesting, I think you're definitly on to something!

Grtz Bert

[cassmcentee]

Nice John!
Turn off the autotune for the opening, didn't hear any problems with it afterwards.
I kind of wanted the piano to fill the gap (around 1:40ish) with a little riff leading into the next vocal.
And I heard two hard "k's" towards the end in the vocal, but that's just nitpicking!!!
This to me is the best I've heard from you, keep it up!!!
Cass

[johnlewitt]

Thanks everyone for listening.

Ethan, I went thru and fixed the guitar hiccups to the best of my abilities. I think I got them all.

Cass, I added in a piano line in between the chorus and the 2nd verse. I originally had something there then I removed it - it was too much of a Norah Jones riff. Hopefully this simple line works to fill in the space.

As most mentioned, I had treated certain lines with too much auto tune, so I've removed and/or lessened the effect.

And Nathan, I'm still pondering trying to record an alternate, breathier version like you'd PM'd me. It's just a matter of time...

John