Cast a BIG net to catch lots of fish!

Even though writing the best, most honest and authentic song has always been my main motive, whenever I am songwriting I do always think about casting the net as wide as possible to gain the biggest audience and emotional connection with the song.

Recently I finished a song called “Dishes in the Sink” and as I was developing the music, the melody and fleshing out some of my notes for future production I developed 3 different arrangements the song could be played, performed or produced pending the venue and the artist.

1. A traditional country type feel with a faster “chugging train” groove and the 1 and 5 on the bass. Think “Simple” by FGL.

2. An arpeggiated fingerpicking songwriting type style that could be played in a songwriter café. Think Eric Church’s “Love Your Love the Most”.

3. A modern sounding syncopated “finger snaps” beat with more stops, pauses that makes the chorus bigger. Think Jordan Davis’s “Singles You Up”.

By being conscious of this strategy during the writing process it allows the song to have some versatility and optionality if an artist cuts it. I am also trying to write “musical moments” in the song arrangements where the artist will be able to create real emotional connections during a live performance.

The energy and feel of a song is heavily influenced by the venue it is played at so for example if an artist cuts “Dishes in the Sink” they could release the Jordan Davis type produced one for radio, if they do some radio interviews or a songwriting round they could play the Eric Church type version solo with an acoustic guitar and if they are playing a small town bar they could do the FGL type version for the two steppers. I think this was beautifully orchestrated in the 90’s when MTV hosted artists doing “unplugged” versions of their songs where they were actually arranged for that type of venue. One of my favourite unplugged shows was Bryan Adams as he really created some unique aspects to his classic songs.

Another benefit of “BIG net” writing is potential crossover into other genre’s as you tweak with the arrangements. If the song you are writing works with 3-4 different rhythms, optional guitar techniques etc. then an artist could possibly release it into different genre’s that may not have necessarily been the target genre.

The next song you write think about how you can make it the BIGGEST song possible in the marketing sense by casting your net really BIG!

Stay in tune and stay in touch,

Kent