Canadian Musician - March/April 2017 | Page 58

PHOTO : JEN SQUIRES

WRITING

Andrea Ramolo , one half of acclaimed Canadian folk-pop duo Scarlett Jane , is a singer-songwriter and three-time Canadian Folk Music Award nominee based in Toronto , ON . She is currently touring in support of her third solo album , NUDA , produced by Michael Timmins ( Cowboy Junkies ). The album includes a companion version of the same songs , Da Sola , stripped down to their barest form and produced by Faye Blais . www . andrearamolo . com .
By Andrea Ramolo

The Songwriter ’ s Survival Guide

Most , if not all , of us songwriters have found ourselves on many a sleepless night , tossing and turning over our runaway muse , praying that she come back to us . It ’ s a tricky thing for our types who don ’ t rely on anyone pressing us for a deadline and it becomes even more challenging when the desire to write a new song is there , but the muse has left the building . The career of a songwriter can sometimes seem disenchanting and even futile , but there are a handful of ways to reignite the muse , keep the creative juices flowing , and develop a healthy and positive routine with your craft . Here are a few tips in what I like to call “ The Songwriter ’ s Survival Guide .”

Keep Writing Creativity is like a muscle that needs to be exercised daily , so it ’ s important to find some time every day to devote to your craft . Take out your notebook as soon as you have your morning coffee and write . If you recall dreams from the night before , start with those . If there are pressing things on your mind , get them on paper . If you heard a great lyric the day before , riff on that . Write about the news , about the world falling apart , about how you miss your ex and hate being broke . It doesn ’ t matter what you write about ; just write . Allow your subconscious to guide you and don ’ t worry about structure . It doesn ’ t even need to make sense . Allow thoughts , ideas , and images to flow out as a stream of consciousness . Try keeping your pen on the paper for a steady 10 minutes . This will help you establish a healthy routine and best of all , you will have all this evocative material that you may be able to draw from and piece together in a composition down the road .
Read Avid readers tend to be avid writers . You don ’ t necessarily need to read fine literature ; just get your daily intake of reading . Immerse yourself in how other people use language and imagery to convey a message effectively and how they play with prose and rhythm . Read a book , a newspaper , online news – even Facebook updates and Twitter feeds may trigger or inspire some sort of response . Fill your mind with words , ideas , and new and old vocabulary . It will be that much easier to find the words you need when sculpting a tune of your own .
Listen to Music Good music , shitty music , it doesn ’ t matter . Make it your job to consume as much of it as possible . In order to write a good piece of music , you need to know what a good piece of music feels like and sounds like to you . I recently asked Ron Sexsmith what he thought would be good advice to give songwriters and he said : “ Know your history and do your homework .” I feel the same in that it only benefits us to know about some of the great poets of our time and times before us . There is a lineage of greats from Cohen ( may he rest in peace ) to Dylan to Townes Van Zandt that have inspired and shaped music and the writing of songs for generations to come . I think it ’ s important to at least be familiar with some of their writings .
Find a Partner This is probably the most challenging but most rewarding thing a songwriter can do . I used to have this stigma attached to co-writing and I realize now that it only grew out of my lack of confidence as a writer . There was a time I thought I wanted to protect my words , ideas , and melodies and believed that I was the only one that could craft my own voice and story into a song . I now know that was an excuse . Songwriting can be painful – alone or alongside another writer . In many cases , you struggle to find the precise string of words and the perfect melody to tell your story , to connect to listeners , to communicate . Collaborative songwriting is no different except that two writers are now part of this alchemic process in hopes of delivering one powerful message . Working in my duo project Scarlett Jane alongside Cindy Doire for the past five years helped me break down all those fears and restraints I had about collaborating in writing . It took hard work and practice but we both got better and better at letting go of any preconceived notions of what a song should be and worked a song back and forth until both of us could own it . On my most recent solo album , NUDA , I collaborated with a handful of different Canadian songwriters to bring diverse colours to the project . It was an enriching process and I was so grateful for it . It was especially helpful in certain situations when I felt stuck on a melody or had a verse but no chorus or vice versa .
Play Around with Your Approach to Writing You can start with the music . You can start with the writing . Sometimes you can develop both simultaneously . But , if you are inspired first on your instrument , challenge yourself to maybe take out a different instrument – even if you don ’ t play it that well . Its tone and sound may carry you in a different direction . I used to only write on my Gibson acoustic but on my latest album , I used my baritone guitar . The songs transpired into deeper and darker pieces and they forced me to sing in a lower register and explore a different aspect of my voice .
Live A rich life in the real world translates to a rich life in art . I ’ m a firm believer that in order to connect with people and write about meaningful things , you need to experience meaningful things in life . We need to go out and make mistakes and mess up ; get our hearts broken and kill the ideas we have of ourselves . Collect lint and bring home bruises . Only then , when we ’ ve been broken and vulnerable and seen the world , can we really start to dig into our best work .
And one more thing from Ron : “ Don ’ t be afraid to fail … and always follow the music , not the money .” Happy songwriting !
58 • CANADIAN MUSICIAN