The Secret Life of a Song
by Lisa McCormick
Welcome to The Secret Life
of the Song. In this audio
program, we’ll go backstage
and behind-the-scenes to find
out what really makes a good
song tick - from the bare
bones song structure, to the
creatively inspired musical
moves that give it its magic.
All songs originate as
something simple - a lyric
and some guitar chords, or
maybe an instrumental
groove or riff that popped
out of nowhere.
But ultimately, when the
song is developed and
arranged to be played by a
band or to be recorded, it
gets built out to become
something much much
bigger and more complex.
In this process, many intentional musical decisions are made. And it’s these decisions that make
the song unique. Of all the possible sounds, notes, tones, moods and lyrics in the Universe,
which ones were chosen to flesh out the song, and why?
When creating an arrangement for a song, the musicians and producer will consider:
• Which instruments will be used?
• What will their tone and mood be?
• How will they relate with one another throughout the song?
• What is the structure of the song - and how do the various sections unfold?
• What’s the overall arc of the song arrangement?
• What makes this song unique and different from every other song out there?
Learning to play a song as a cover is more than just learning where to put your fingers on your
instrument. What’s a cover? A ‘cover’ is the term used for a song that you did not write yourself.
You may be learning to play it in the style of the original artist’s performance or recording, or
you may be creating your own arrangement. Either way, when learning to play a cover songyou’ll want to pay attention to how your part relates to every other musician’s role in the song.
You’ll want to pay attention to how the song unfolds dynamically - where is the drama, where
are the quiet parts, where are the loud parts? How does your instrument interact with the bigger
picture of the song as a whole?
In this program, we’ll look at three fully-produced songs, and reveal the underlying sensibilities
that went into making the song work as a whole piece. We’ll put each song into a musical x-ray
machine and find out what it’s made of.
Specifically, let’s take a look at:
• The overall personality of the song (What’s the point of the song? What’s the mood? Genre?
Musical influences? What’s the mission?)
• The structure of the song (verse, chorus, bridge, etc.)
• Any repeating musical motifs within the song. How and when do they occur, and re-occur?
Which instruments play them, and when, and how?
• “Characters” (individual instruments and their personalities) and interactions between them
within the song. What are the instruments, and what is the tone and feel of each one? How do
they interact with one another throughout the song?
After listening to this program, ask yourself these questions as you learn to play your part in a
song:
• What is the song structure and overall arc of the song?
• When does my instrument come in, and how?
• What range of dynamics will I be using?
• How does my instrument relate with the other instruments in the song arrangement?
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TRACK LIST:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
The Secret Life of a Song
The Building Blocks of a Song
The Cast of Characters
Guided Tour: A Wing and a Prayer
Guided Tour: This is a Kiss
Guided Tour: Cassie’s Inner Circle
What’s Next?
A Wing and a Prayer (full track)
A Wing and a Prayer (instrumental track)
This is a Kiss (solo acoustic track)
This is a Kiss (full track)
This is a Kiss (instrumental track)
Cassie’s Inner Circle (full track)
(3:12)
(8:45)
(3:21)
(6:32)
(6:22)
(7:17)
(2:12)
(5:07)
(5:07)
(4:45)
(4:38)
(4:38)
(4:51)
***********************************************
All songs, words & music, written by Lisa McCormick
Engineered and produced by Julian McBrowne
Excerpted from the CD Talisman Groove, by Lisa McCormick
Wing & a Prayer
Vocals & guitar: Lisa McCormick
Drums: Michael Tate
Bass: Tim Thrasher
Percussion: Steve Leicach
Electric guitar: Danny Blume
Trombone: Dan Dewalt
Acoustic guitar: Julian McBrowne
Special guest vocalist: Jonathan Edwards
This is a Kiss
Vocals & guitar: Lisa McCormick
Drums & percussion: Allison Miller
Bass & slide guitar: T-Bone Wolk
Cello: Sabine Rhyne
Cassie’s Inner Circle
Vocals & guitar: Lisa McCormick
Drums: Michael Tate
Percussion: Steve Leicach, Julian McBrowne
Guitar & keyboards: T-Bone Wolk
Sax: Erik Lawrence
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