Songwriting

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I have a songwriting itch. A creative hole in my pocket. I want to fill it up with new musical ideas and songs but I’m worried that nothing will stick. I want to do things in a different way. At the same time, I’m a stickler for processes and methodology. This brings me to part two of this blog series. In this edition, I’m giving you a gift – my songwriting parameter generator! Hopefully somebody out there in internet land will find it useful. If you do, please get in touch. 🙂

The Songwriting Parameter Generator

I’ve spent the past month or so concocting some ideas on how to streamline the songwriting process. My idea – Randomisation. But I didn’t just want to make the process simpler by randomising elements of an unwritten song. I also wanted to force myself to implement elements/parameters that I wouldn’t usually include/use. Enter, the songwriting parameter generator.

Like many creators, I am forever at the mercy of my past experiences. In this case, those are listening experiences. We create things similar to that which we have absorbed; either subliminally or consciously. At the same time, many of us very easily fall into the safe notion of comfort. There is nothing wrong with comfort. There is, however, an issue with embedded repetition. I’m talking about the kind of repetition where excitement, innovation and exploration have been replaced with expectation and routine.

In later posts, I’ll go into more depth, detailing my (fast evolving) process and how this generator fits into the puzzle. In the meantime, feel free to give it a go. Here’s how it all looks:

songwriting parameter generator
Songwriting Parameter Generator

Basic instructions:

  1. Open the file and select ‘Enable Macros’.
  2. You can choose to generate one parameter at a time or do the whole lot with one click.
  3. I’m not exactly a ‘programmer’. This is the first thing that I’ve coded (besides aspects of this website) since high school. If you encounter any issues or bugs, feel free to either get in touch using the contact form or make a comment on this post.
  4. Make music!

The parameters that I’ve made available for selection as part of the randomisation are:

Songwriting Parameters for randomisation

Unfortunately, I’m unable to share Macro-enabled Excel Spreadsheets in WordPress. Here’s a link to the file from my Google Drive:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1tq-u7FR_Om7_WtQNVafO1ClmkKAJLjyG/view?usp=sharing

Any feedback or suggestions? Let me know.

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These past 18months have been really difficult. Like all musicians, the pandemic has affected me and my creative output. Gigs were cancelled; creativity and motivation at an all time low. I also had COVID about a month ago, which wasn’t devastating. But wasn’t pleasant either. In fact, as I write this post, my lingering cough and course voice won’t seem to go away…
Further from above, I am also currently extremely time poor. I’m working a full time (demanding) job with a young family but my musical and creative needs yearn to be satisfied. These issues are snowballing alongside a deep-down longing to do something different, innovative – at least as far as my own creative processes go.

I’m currently shaping a songwriting process. One that is more reliant on the DAW, which seeks to use it as an instrument, as a tool. To support this process, I’ve also worked some magic in Excel and created a random parameter generator. Here’s a screenshot:

I’ll go into more depth about this process and attach a copy of this file in case anyone is keen to use it in their own songwriting with a post later on. For now, I just had to get the ball rolling… Had to get some of these thoughts out into the open.

Stay tuned.

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My new album ‘Stare Into The Dark’ is now out everywhere.

Sam Newton - Stare Into The Dark

Recorded live at Blue Sky Recording Studio in the Blue Mountains of NSW over three days, Stare Into The Dark is my third full-length release and includes many of the songs written during my 100 songs in 100 days songwriting challenge.

Like my previous album, Violet Road, the creative powerhouse Chris Gillespie lent a heavy hand in producing, engineering and mixing duties. Michael Carpenter from Love Hz also did a fantastic job mastering this record.

Adam Collins at Antidote Creative illustrated and designed all of the visuals. Such a talent.

Finally, the following musicians deserve special mention, having played on the record and collaborated in song arrangement: Cameron James Henderson, Emma Stephenson, Nick Henderson and Oscar Henfrey.

The Stare Into The Dark team

You can purchase Stare Into The Dark at the following websites:

Not into buying stuff over the internet? Thanks to distribution from MGM, if you’re in Australia or New Zealand, you can also order in the physical copy from your favourite record store.

The album is also available in limited format (6 tracks only) via streaming:

If you have any questions about the record, don’t hesitate to drop me a line or get in touch with the legendary Stuart Coupe, who is currently organising the publicity end of this release.