Gestalt Song Writing
Gestalt Song Writing is a term I have coined in having many arguments/discussions with my friend Tom who is majoring in music.Gestalt: a perceived, whole pattern/a series of such patterns "Gestalt is a German word that does not translate easily. It means a complete pattern or configuration. The catch is the word 'complete.' There are three parts to a definition of gestalt: a thing, its context or environment, and the relationship between them." Wymore, 2002
www.g-gej.org/7-1/d-f.html
A song is merely a system of patterns, and in order to have a song flow and 'make sense' one has to step back and see the set of patterns as a whole. Too many times I have come up with a cool riff, or lyric, and forced a song around that great piece. Great songs aren't forced. Great songs flow from one pattern to the next.
Gestalt writing would be blurring your focus of one specific point in the song in order to bring the entirety of the song into focus. If you don't understand the full meaning of this term that's good, because I don't fully understand it either. My friend Tom has tried again and again to explain this process to me, but I've never felt as if I've fully understood what he's trying to tell me.
If anyone is interested in learning more about this style of song writing please contact me and I will put you in touch with my friend Tom. He also teaches guitar in Sacramento, California and the surrounding areas if anyone is interested in taking guitar or music theory lessons.
Some other tips I have encoutered in song writing are:
Two forms of KISS: Keep it simple, stupid, and Keep it short, stupid. Keeping it simple will ring true with anyone who has learned how to play a great song. More often than not a great song will sound complicated but really be composed of only a few simple patterns. Complexity doesn't make a song great, rather the opposite. The second KISS, keep it short, stupid is to force the writer to write more. Shorter songs mean more songs mean more writing. More writing means more experience. Not to mention, if you're just starting out and your song writing is lousy, shorter songs will mean less suffering by your listeners. :-)
Knowledge is your friend. Too many times I've heard too many excuses for not learning music theory. Learn it. Even if the style you're going for is to break all the rules. You need to know what the rules are, to know that you are breaking them. Also learn your music history, what may be a new cutting edge sound to you, could be old hat to someone who has heard band X from decade Y. Know your stuff.
I know much about music and songwriting, but what I know pales in comparison to my friend Tom who is finishing up his degree in music as a guitar major. If anyone would like to know more about songwriting theory, or found what I had to say a little too obvious, contact me at dsakima {at} gmail and I will be glad to put you in touch with my friend Tom. He also is available for guitar lessons, classical/acoustic/electric, in the Sacramento and surrounding areas if you're interested in learning.
Thanks for reading, feedback appreciated.
posted by Derrik @ 5:28 PM
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