Something for Everyone

June 12, 2008

Welcome, new visitor! My name is Ari, the man behind Aries9. Here I share my thoughts on music and life, so you can get to know me and my music. Thanks for visiting!

This is the ideal that I strive to with my songwriting/composition:

Something for everyone.

Now, that doesn’t mean that I’m trying to write songs that appeal to everyone who listens to it. Not in the least. I write songs that I fall in love with.

But the kind of music I fall in love with, often has layers. Not layers as in how many instruments are playing in the song — layers, more in terms of creative depth.

A better way to describe may be that the music will grab my attention the first time I hear it. But then, it doesn’t get tiring after repeated listens, because there is so much to listen to.

And that’s what I mean when I say “something for everyone.” An ideal song, to me, appeals to both casual listeners who just want to some groovy tunes to play when they’re driving or exercising or whatever, to people who want to sit down and listen intensely to music.

Not many people achieve this, but it’s certainly possible, especially if you intend to make your music this way.

This is a product more of arranging and production than pure songwriting. Like someone famous said, a good song is a good song even if you sing it alone with just an acoustic guitar. (this rule doesn’t apply to metal, though)

With arranging and production, you can spread your creativity to every corner of the recording. So that each time someone listens to it, there are new aspects, pieces to discover and appreciate.

This feat becomes possible when you realize that being sophisticated isn’t mutually exclusive from being catchy and/or accessible.

Look at the Beatles, or Led Zeppelin. These guys made incredibly adventurous and experimental music. When you call some music “experimental” though, you almost expect it to be something weird and inaccessible. Not so with those guys. They messed with song structures, employed radical production techniques, used weird instruments (playing the electric guitar with a violin bow, anyone? Or a theremin?)

All without ditching great melodies, riffs, and hooks.

Again, they all start with great songs. It’s gotta sound good in its simplest forms.

But then you cook it with loads of dares. Throw in little spices, hidden layers, subtle effects. Experiment in little pieces — add an extra beat here, splash echoes there, have instruments drop in and out, etc. But make sure they don’t get in the way of the core song.

For example, let me point out some details of my songs that may not be obvious on the first listen:

• Diamond Sleeps Tonight, 2nd verse — the drums are playing differently from the 1st
• Tiny Toon, last chorus — what new elements get added there?
• Empire, the guitar solo — listen to it with headphones. Can you hear it moving?
• Half Step’s choruses — good luck trying to figure out what the “choir” is singing
• Throwing Away the Key — the verses are full of little twists, especially the bass

These are the little details that make repeated listens fun. I love listening to music in different settings (different speakers/boomboxes, headphones, etc.) and discovering things I didn’t hear before. The music remains like a chest of hidden treasures — you keep opening it back up to see what you dig up this time.

When I was young, I used to listen to Michael W. Smith a lot. Beneath his catchy pop tunes, he was incredibly adventurous with his music. I remember watching his tour video, and his band mate describing how Smitty’s music is actually quite progressive. Little extra bars that come and go, keys changing, complex vocal harmonies, etc. I learned to play some of his songs on piano, and discovered all these sophistications myself, and this excited me to no end.

Don’t get me wrong, some songs, you serve up straight. Some folk songs or more classic rock n roll are better that way. Death Cab for Cutie’s “I Will Follow You into the Dark” is brilliant in its simplicity — just a voice and a guitar. To add anything would take away from the performance’s immediacy, intimacy and starkness.

And that’s what’s exciting about making music. Not one approach works for every song. I think cooking metaphor is appropriate. You get a great, fresh, raw material — and need to cook it in its own perfect way.

This part of making music, you can learn. I don’t know if I can teach anyone how to come up with an amazing melody. I don’t know if I can come up with one on the cue, either.

But this is a skill, a craft that you acquire. You can pick apart great masters and figure out how they did it. and make it your own.

This is part of my passion, and I’ve gotten pretty good at it. Throw me a raw song and I immediately hear how I can cook it. It’s become effortless.

I’m a good chef. I can cook something for everyone.

And have fun doing it.

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This post was included in the Carnival of Rock and Roll, July 1, 2008.   Check out more fascinating posts about our favorite music!

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