SongsByJimBurne

Was thinking yesterday about songwriting, about my awareness of different musical genres and about how best to be a songwriter in the future.

Here's the picture; when young you write and play the music that is 'yours'; it's obvious; it's what excites you; it's what your friends like. I.e., it's 1977 you like punk, you join a band and you play punk music and you write punk songs. Another generation grows up listening to dance or electronica or grunge or whatever - again if it's your music - that's what you play and write.

You get older - you still play music - your tastes change and you latch on to different forms of music that excite you; what you write and play changes accordingly. You get older still - and for whatever reason the notion of a particular type of music beng 'yours' diminishes. i.e., you don't have the emotional and cultural ties to a particular form of music you did when you were a teenager.

Now, assuming you are not writing music entirely in response to what you think the market wants; how should you respond to this change?

Do you put out CDs that contain a host of different genres - because you just write music intuitively - and don't worry about the style of the songs you write. Or do you decide to narrow your focus because you know nobody is interested in the jack of all musical genres (so to speak) - and intuition tells you that to do so would probably mean the end of playing and writing (no audience would be a good reason to stop)? Is it dishonest to decide instead to concentrate on a particular genre of music? Or is that the only reasonable response?

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My mum phoned to tell me that I'm featured in the local newspaper, The Clydebank Post. :-) The article is about the gig in Old Kilpatrick on Monday; a gig to raise money for a memorial garden for the people who have taken their lives by jumping from the Old Kilpatrick bridge.

These gigs are being organised by Ann Morgon; Anne's partner Hamish took his own life a number of years ago. The song, 'You can't catch the butterfly' - which you can hear on my Myspace player - was written by myself and Pat at Anne's request - to be played at the fundraising concerts.

If we can figure out how to do it - the plan is also to release it as a single with profits going towards the memorial garden. If you have expertise in this area and would like to help get in touch.

All the best,
Jim

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I was asked to write a song by Ann Morgan; a good friend of both myself and Pat. Ann is raising funds for a memorial garden in Old Kilpatrick to remember all those who have taken their lives by jumping from the Erskine Bridge. Ann's husband Hamish took his own life in that manner.

Initially I drew away from taking on such a responsibility; I wasn't sure I was up to the task - however with a bit of help from Pat this song appeared. The words were always going to the most important part of this song; hopefully we have been up to the task. I sent Ann a rough recording of the song and she said 'We love it' - so that's great to know.

Words and music by Jim Byrne and Pat Byrne

You can't catch the butterfly

Your life is short, but beautiful
you do not fear the dying day
flying free, warm summer breeze
from flower to flower your path is clear

You display your colours, for all to see
and it's nature's job just to keep you free
but fragile thoughts are just like a butterfly's wing
so easily torn, and with a troubled soul
there's the pain that brings

But you can't catch the butterfly
it's always on the wing
so don't shed a tear
your memories will keeps them near

An innocent, magic man
so many gifts, so full of charm
you heard him laugh and tell his tale
gave his family love
gave his friends the same

You can't catch the butterfly
it's always on the wing
so don't shed a tear
your memories will keeps them near

Your life was short, but beautiful

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I've uploaded a new song. It's are rough home recordings - so I aplogise that is not studio quality. It's just me playing my acoustic guitar and singing - while sitting in our living room.

The songs is called, 'You always look for the good in me'. I wrote about the process of composing this song on my first songwriting blog (January 11th 09). It has been through quite a few revisions since then - including a change of key and a change of Rhythm. It is a song from the point of view of people who have been together for a while - and who still love and support each other. Pat contributed to the writing of the lyrics on this song - and I have to say - I think she did a great job. :-)

I'd appreciate any feedback you have after listening.

Lots of gigs in the pipeline I've got quite a lot of gigs coming up over the next few months (full list at http://www.myspace.com/dexterslim). Gigs I'm particularly looking forward to will be the one's I'll be playing with Jan Byker and Kenton Hall. Jan is from Holland and Kenton is from England. I met both Jan and Kenton at a songwriting retreat over in Italy. I'm really looking forward to meeting up with them when they come to visit - and also looking forward to playing music with them.

Other things coming up include a redesign of my website (hopefully in the next few weeks) and some recording of new songs with backing from some talented people. I'll keep you posted if the plans come together.

All the best, Jim

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I'm always coming up with ideas for new websites, new businesses and new plans for a bright and shiny future. But - as everyone and their granny always points out; while you're busy planning - the stuff of life just happens - sometimes uninvited and mostly unexpected.

For example, in the last few weeks (as I've mentioned before - maybe I mention it too often) I've found out that a song I co-wrote will be included on Marti Pellow's next album - and in the last few days I've co-written a song with a fantastically talented and well known singer songwriter. None of these were in any plans I'd ever made.

I love writing songs; I love the process of creating something when nothing existed before; and I love developing songs so that they have strong personalities. A brand new song can be like the wine a cook pours into a saucepan to make a sauce; developing a song is like putting the heat on the wine; making the flavour more defined and stronger. A Tenuous analogy I know, but I've been watching too much Masterchef on the telly lately - and I expect you get the idea.

In truth, writing with other people is a relatively new thing for me - but it's definitely something I'll be doing more of; for example, many of the songs I've written recently have been co-written with Pat. This includes a simple Lullaby written a few nights ago - and the song I wrote about in my last songwriters blog; hopefully I'll get some of these songs recorded soon.

If you read my last post - you will know I'm going to be appearing on the Mary Kathleen Burke show on Sunday (Celtic Music Radio 7pm till 9pm). I intend to play the new songs and give my co-writers a name check - so be sure to listen in.

Please get in touch and say hello while I'm on the show - via the email studio@celticmusicradio.net and if you know any of my tunes feel free to send a request. I'll be very happy to hear from you.

Put the date and time in your diary: this Sunday evening between 7pm and 9pm. You can listen to the show on the web via http://www.celticmusicradio.net or 1530AM. :-)

After the show I'll be going along to the Butterfly and Pig to play a set. This wasn't a gig I planned - but Callum, who runs the Sunday evening session asked me to fill the slot as someone had canceled at the last minute. I'm happy to play - in particular as also playing that evening will be Fiona Cuthill and Stevie Lawrence - a couple of great musicians we met when we were up in Colonsay at the Colonsay Folk festival. I'm looking forward to meeting them and catching up with their news.

That's all for now.

All the best,
Jim

------ Buy the album On these dark nights by Jim Byrne

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What have I been up to since my last update? Well in terms of playing I've been taking a rest as I seemed to have overdone the guitar picking lately; resulting in a very painful and stiff couple of finger on my left hand.

I had been planning to practice a couple of new songs this week - for the gig tonight at the Woodend Bowling Club (with Scott MacDonald and Jay Brown). I'm looking forward to the gig - but I don't think I'll be playing anything new - unless I have late burst of practice today. However, I'm expecting it will be a good gig - as both Scott and Jay are experienced performers and songwriters.

Talking of songwriting - I'd been writing a stompy kind of blues song recently - which when I've practiced it for 3 months solid will include percussion; played with my legs - one with an egg shaker down my sock (taking the job of a snare) and the other making use of the foot stomper type noisy thing that Seasick Steve uses (i.e. to simulate a bass drum). That's the idea - if it ever happens it will be a miracle.

Apart from injuries - there have been a few other interesting things going on. On Sunday evening Pat was the guest of Ciaran Dorris on his Celtic Music Radio Show - the show is based around the 'Desert Island Disk' idea - but called, 'The Dorris Island Experience'.

Luckily for me Pat choose a couple of tracks from my CD to take with her - which meant both 'The Holiday Song' and 'The handle's broken on my cup' got played on the radio (cunning eh!). I was in good company as the other tracks she chose where one by Kris Drever who is a current favourite of ours and a track by the Buena Vista Social Club. The books Pat mentioned she would take with her to the island included, 'Along the Great Western Road' by Gordon R. Urquhart and a book by Denise Mina (I didn't catch the title of the book). Denise Mina is one of Pat's favourite writers. The choice of the book by Gordon Urquhart is related to the fact that Pat runs the Glasgow West End community website - so it was an appropriate choice.

After the radio show, Pat, with all the Celtic Radio presenters in tow, turned up to see me at the Butterfly and Pig gig later that evening. It was a busy - and noisy gig. The noise didn't bother me too much (anyway, I was having my own internal battles playing through the pain in my hand) - but Mary Kathleen Burke who was also playing that evening - found it quite difficult to concentrate on her singing with such a racket going on.

Other things of note included being the guest blogger on the Spiral Earth website (Thanks to David Kushar http://spiralearth.co.uk/) and having my CD reviewed by the singer and songwriter Helen McCookerybook:

"I have been listening to Jim Byrne's CD, On These Dark Nights and have been enjoying his guitar pickin', especially on the track Weather Girl, which has a sparkly old-timey feel. I also particularly like the countryish Tenderness, but the best track (I'm a sucker for the catchy ones) is Sunday Morning, which has a strong riff and a sing-along chorus, and a dark little twist to the lyrics. "

Thanks Helen, very generous and nice of you to say.

Last night we went along to see 'Drever McCusker and Woomble', i.e. Kris Dever, John McCusker and Roddy Woomble, at the ABC as part of the Celtic Connections programme. As I mentioned I'm a real fan of Kris Drever - he's just seems to be a natural music maker and communicator when he sings. I can't put it into words what it is that makes him so good (arpart from the amazing voice, great songs and fantastic guitar playing) - he's just got it - whatever 'it' is. I'm also a fan of McCusker's fiddle playing - and his general musical genius like behaviour.

Any I'd better stop there and get some practice in for tonights gig, without overdoing it and exacerbating my current injuries.

All the best, Jim

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Millie McTernan emailed me after listening to my CD to say that - as a songwriter herself - she is interested in hearing about the process other songwriters go through - and suggested I should write a songwriting blog.

Hmm - this might - or might not - turn out to be that blog. For now though, I'll give it a go.

Thinking about the last song (a very very simple song based on a fairly traditional chord progression) - this is how I remember it evolving:

Writing a song: the first thirteen steps

1. Picked up the guitar and played - with no intention of writing anything - just messin'; at some point an interesting rhythm and feel caught my ear.

2. I developed a basic chord progression that seemed consistent with the style of the rhythm.

3. I played through the chords absent-mindedly - over and over again. When my brain decided to spit out a line of nonsense lyrics, I scribbled them down. I'm not trying to make any sense of anything or trying to write a song about anything in particular - just waiting to see what comes out - with little sense that I'm in control of the process.

If I was being airy fairy I'd say I'm trying to open the door to my sub-conscious mind - in the hope that it does the work or writing this song for me. Or perhaps it's that classic idea that I've heard other songwriters mention; trying to capture as song that already exists out there - and just transcribing it.

4. I forgot about those first lyrics (I usually lose them) - and repeated step three for a few days - scribbling down different lines.

5. Kept banging away at the chords until I seemed to be singing the same couple of lines - lines that somehow feel good in my mouth - and reflect the feel of the chords and rhythm. Wondered what the song was about - I didn't know at this point.

6. Came up with a few more lines that seem to follow on from those I have. Looked at them - still didn't know what it's about.

7. Let my wife Pat hear my idea for a new song. She asks me 'what is it about?'; this helps me focus more on the subject matter of the song. I often use Pat as a sounding board for new song ideas.

8. Pat - being a 'let's get it done' kind of a person encourages me to do more work on it - and we start to work on the lyrics together.

9. At this point in every song I have ever written I go through a period of 'is this a crap song or a good song, is this song worth writing, does it have any magic in it, should I stop wasting time on it right now.' I go through a period of liking it, not liking it, thinking it's crap, thinking It's got potential, thinking I don't like the words, thinking there are some words I do like and so on ad-infinitum. I also think - 'would I sing this song live and would I record it - is it in a style that is consistent with who I am - is it in a style I'm comfortable playing and putting my name to.

10 At this point - many songs hit the skids and I don't take them any further - say 1 in 10 or more - don't get past this stage. As we are talking about the last song written - clearly this one got beyond stage 9.

11. Play it over and over again - getting a clearer sense of the song - and changing the words accordingly. Also changing the words so that it feels nice to sing, has words that I'm happy to have written (or co-written as Pat is now helping with words for this particular song) - and are stylistically consistent throughout the song.

12 While this a going on I was developing the chords and the melody. I never think about developing a melody; the melody is just whatever I sing; it's formed by the words, the style of the song; the chord structure; my likes and dislikes; my singing style. None of this is done consciously - the melody just develops as the song is written. The chords usually arrive - as I develop the idea of what type of song this is - and what chord progression is consistent with this type of song.

My 30 years of playing my guitar and writing songs - probably comes in to play here. The building of tension, releasing tension idea, that is part of blues music (which I listened to and played a lot when I was younger) probably plays a part in helping develop the chords. So does a knowledge of chords that go together in a particular key; which from my point of view is drawn from experience not from any technical knowledge or musical study.

13 I know that forever more there will be lyrics in this song (and every song I've ever written) that I will never be completely happy with, and bits of the music that I'll never be happy with. But - there comes a point when I'm no longer writing the song, no longer changing the lyrics and no longer developing the chords. The creative tension that led to writing the song has dissipated; the song has been written; it's finished.

The song this blog describes is not at this point yet - it's still being written - though it's nearly finished; most of the words are written and all the melody and chords are done. I'll post a rough demo of it when it's finished; after what I've written above I'm sure it will be an anti-climax to hear this particular song - as I said it's the simplest of songs; and quite light in tone and subject.

All the best,
Jim

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