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Paul Simon On Songwriting. Look up Martyn Joseph for songwriting Inspiration too.
Paul Simon On Songwriting.
It's great that so many people have enjoyed this video. However if you want to listen to a Singer Songwriter who, in my opinion, is one of the best in the world search out the music of Martyn Joseph. Any chance to see him live....take it! Have a listen to one of Martyn's new songs from his album "1960" due for release on 19th November 2021 • Born Too Late
Пікірлер: 188
I gotta try seriously writing an entire song just so i can say i tried
@danielmcelhatton1724
3 жыл бұрын
Same. Teyong to build up the motivation. Seen a cool saying the other day though to inspire me Even people who start projects and don't finish are cooler than people who never start any.
@alvaroschmitt2105
3 жыл бұрын
You just have to try over and over again, and every time it's get easier
@secretchief700
3 жыл бұрын
Bro literally for the first one make it super simple and you could do it in a day. Pick a song you like with like 5 chords in it and move them, so maybe if its an A move it up to a B or down to a G and do the same with all the corresponding chords. Now pick a tempo that is different to the song you took the chords from, faster or slower depending how you feel. Now pick some of the chords (two/three?) to be the verse, some for the chorus (could be the ones from the verse but in a different order or with an extra chord added, for example). Now play the verse and whistle a melody over it, make it super simple. Write some super simple lyrics that can fit the melody you whistled nicely, and play the verse and sing the lyrics. Do the same with chorus. Now play the verse and into the chorus with the lyrics, do that twice. Thats a song, a very basic song, but a song.
@ryanoneill1018
3 жыл бұрын
Don't take it seriously. Set out to write a turd and then polish it into something you enjoy :)
@dudewholikesfood6769
3 жыл бұрын
@@secretchief700 thank u
Boy in the Bubble has to be one of the best lyrics ever written. "Staccato signals of constant information A loose affiliation of millionaires And billionaires and baby".
@tsunchoo
3 жыл бұрын
He kinda predicted the internet with that one
@harrygreer6417
2 жыл бұрын
"lazers in the jungle!" agreeeeeed
@Anthony-hu3rj
2 жыл бұрын
I agree, however, instead of "constellations" he really should have said "galaxies." Constellations aren't real things, they're imaginary structures, they can't die. Galaxies, on the other hand ... A tiny, tiny nitpick.
@mytoobusr
2 жыл бұрын
@@Anthony-hu3rj Poetic licence, also the syllables and the sound of the word must have been a better fit for the lyrics. So "distant constellation" goes with the previous line 'constant information"
@Althom1990
Жыл бұрын
@@Anthony-hu3rj A constellation is just a grouping of stars. The etymology is literally 'stars together'. They exist as a pattern, as much as a galaxy does. And a constellation is not the same as a galaxy not the same thing. Both of which will die in time.
True American icon. The best singer songwriter of our time. Hands down. I’ve gotten in many arguments about this. He wrote some of his most timeless songs within days of each other.
@Wofivkelepgovkksoef
3 жыл бұрын
Beatles >
@tonym-bo8qh
Жыл бұрын
@@Wofivkelepgovkksoef HAHAHA no.....
@tbeau6663
7 ай бұрын
You mean that he's your favourite? I like him a lot........but there will be many who don't who would gladly punch your face in!! 😂🤣
Striving for this level of songwriting is easier said than done, but we should keep trying : )
@KingPhoey
3 жыл бұрын
So true.
@michaelbyrd7883
3 жыл бұрын
yea why not but you'll never do it on your own. There's no method to genius, you just are or your aren't.
@LuciensMusic
3 жыл бұрын
@@michaelbyrd7883 Im definitely not but, I do get great joy from writing and producing songs as a hobby,,I kept my day job,hahaha
@philiphicks1273
3 жыл бұрын
Paul got where he is by reaching higher, why not you?
I could listen to this man talking for hours… Just love him 💕💕
Fascinating. One of the best song writers in history.
@warren52nz
3 жыл бұрын
@Adam Schiff I like Billy Joel but he never really made an impression on me. Not sure why. Good songs, no "magic". Also the production of his recordings was uninspiring, I think that's probably why.
Graceland became a metaphor for spiritual renewal... Brilliant.
I really think that Paul Simon is, after Paul McCartney, the best composer of the 20th century...Nothing less...Of course in the category of pop songs. McCartney or Simon dit not write novels or write jazz music… But what a great talent these 2 have…
@camilochaves4771
3 жыл бұрын
You're forgetting John Lennon and Bob Dylan, but good effort
@PierreBeaudoin
3 жыл бұрын
Camilo Chaves ...Maybe Lennon second... but I prefer by very far Paul Simon than Dylan... not in numbers...but in quality...
@camilochaves4771
3 жыл бұрын
@@PierreBeaudoin Those four are my favorite songwriters and I think no other rock or pop star even gets close to them. Having said that, I think both Lennon and Dylan are musically less talented but much better lyricists. They have intangibles that the Pauls don't have.They have more layers than the Pauls. Both Dylan and Lennon can be cynical, desperate, pathetic and weird. The Pauls are virtuosos but are unable to be as unhinged or produce as surrealist imagery as Lennon or Dylan .
@PierreBeaudoin
3 жыл бұрын
Camilo Chaves ...yes I totally agree with you on that...Lyrics from Dylan and Lennon are more profound than Paul...These four are pure geniuses and we will sing their songs for a long time
@camilochaves4771
3 жыл бұрын
@@PierreBeaudoin Totally agree my friend. Nice to talk to people with similar tastes. Cheers
Always loved Paul Simon and the Graceland album.. "She said baby take me dancing, but they ended up sleeping in a doorway"
Top man. Great songs.
3:37 Paul is so right, most of those girls never actually exist
@Hexspa
3 жыл бұрын
They do just not as written.
@scotsman6712
3 жыл бұрын
yeah i wrote a song about a love letter to me that I found on the street.- never happened.
I've written many songs where whatever nonsense words I use to temporarily shore up the vocal melody actually become the final lyrics. Nothing else works. Sometimes you can't fight it, they came from SOMEWHERE....
@nothenryporter81
3 жыл бұрын
Sometimes the nonsense words are just a garbled initial transmission and eventually something more profound will reveal itself. Dylan advised that if you're stumped just forget structure, meter, etc. and write what you want to say in plain language. Eventually the right line will emerge.
@stevenjones6780
3 жыл бұрын
So true! It's like breath, set, sing...
Just listened to his newer song 'dazzling blue', he,s 70 and sounds the same as he did when i was a kid...Thank God for Paul Simon.
Song writing comes from nothing,but being there at the right time with an ear to hear
@herbertwells8757
3 жыл бұрын
No that's song stealing.
@JohnnyArtPavlou
Жыл бұрын
I bet a songwriter, will tell you that 1 in 50 songs comes like that. The rest come from sweat and toil.
I don't see why anyone disliked this video it can only help
@nothenryporter81
3 жыл бұрын
Garfunkel's seven burner accounts.
PS is up there. Wonderful songwriter. Very inspirational for myself. 🥃
after years of listening to songs I enjoy, learning how to play my instrument, and developing my vocal style, I finally began to share my songs here last year. Glad I found this, it's all things I have known, but great to hear it from the mouth of a great songwriter. 🐰❤️🇺🇸🎸🎵🤝✌️
I have reason to believe that we will be well received. I’m going to Graceland, Graceland Memphis Tennessee! I’m going to Graceland!
@jacobgrenell4437
4 жыл бұрын
Dyn Jarren have a fun time dyn
What a cool story about how that song came about. I’m a long time fan of S&G
Want more of this kind of interview!!!!!
Music to my ears... 🎼🎶🎸
Hes so awsome....its true with songs n melody....sometimes they just pop ☝.....you dont know how or why....until your supposed to. Then its like......Woe.........ok then, whatever you say......Pauls music will live forever....just as Simon n Garfunkels.....yep
@darinjames3313
3 жыл бұрын
@@johndoe_1984 Thats deep.......do do do.....da da da da.....is this all you want to say to me??.....do do do.......da da da da??.........Dont think me unkind.....words are hard to find......But not for one our greatest Singer, Musician, Songwriters of modern times.......The Island Himself.....and an Island never cries......or dies......Paul forever
It’s all about observation. It’s amazing what pops in your head as you look around and do stuff.
So cool! Thanks for sharing.
It was simple Paul, Elvis sent you that message about going to "Graceland".
Brilliant!
I love my girl oh Donna where can you be... where can you be?
Thank you
If we add duos... Elton/ Taupin Lennon/ Macca Waters/ Gilmore
Excellent.
The times are a changing
I got no choice. If I stay here I'm gonna drown.
Is it just me, or should Ben Platt play him in a biopic
1:23 - Paul's first song he ever wrote sounds nice, although he talks about it in underestimating tone.
@salt_soop7773
3 жыл бұрын
I’ve been reading a biography on him, and he says that’s how all the songs were back then. So in that medium, it was nothing and just blended with all the other sounds of that time. He struggled to make a hit because all his songs were just mirroring what had already been done. That’s part of what drove him to study English and more complex ideas and then prompted him to start writing more complex tunes like He Was My Brother, Sparrow, and Sound Of Silence.
@01real1
3 жыл бұрын
@@salt_soop7773 I read somewhere that inspiration for The Sound of Silence came to Paul when noticing echo in his bathroom.
@salt_soop7773
3 жыл бұрын
@@01real1 that’s true as well. His writing just took a turn when he took his English courses and literature classes in college and it became more sophisticated
Oh Donna, Oh Donna...
Maybe ten people in the world could write songs as well as Paul Simon, no maybe five.
@jrpipik
4 жыл бұрын
America's greatest living songwriter.
@NisseOhlsen
4 жыл бұрын
@@jrpipik Come on. Burt Bacharach. Bob Dylan.
@jrpipik
4 жыл бұрын
@@NisseOhlsen Bacharach is only half a great songwriter, Hal David providing the words (and Bacharach never did much for me, anyway). And Dylan's output of great work -- as great as it was -- was pretty much over by 1980, whereas continued to write great songs his whole life, and of greater harmonic sophistication than Dylan, too.
@NisseOhlsen
4 жыл бұрын
@@jrpipik Exhibit A (Bacharach didn't write the lyrics either, I believe. Now, are you going to call Franz Schubert half a song writer??: kzread.info/dash/bejne/nqaXsNCChpmshps.html Exhibit B: (Pretty ordinary structure, but how about the marriage of chords, rhythm and words?): kzread.info/dash/bejne/fm15rdOKh7PQqdI.html
@forrolpgringoreturns5155
4 жыл бұрын
Thanks for posting. Where did this interview originate? Is it part of a longer talk?
Where is the rest of the interview?
Would be nice to know from what year this interview is. 1975? 1990? 2010?
@salt_soop7773
3 жыл бұрын
He sounds a bit older. I would bet it’s from the last 20 years
It's from Heaven
It's funny that people go to school and learn theory, recording, songwriting but most of them can't write a great song. Most songwriters with no formal education can't just write a great song either. Some people just have that rare gift to put something together and make it sound a certain way that makes a great song. I can't put my finger on it but It involves craft, some imagination, based on something familiar to the ear to create something transcendant that endures. Most of the time Paul can't even do it but it certainly helps that he thinks in a melodic way and two of his notes can sound better than most songs written by others.
@marcgrossman980
3 жыл бұрын
Very few people in this world can consistently write good songs. How many albums have you heard where every song is good?
@johnfisher8401
3 жыл бұрын
Marc Grossman Harry Nilssons Aerial Ballet, and his debut album
@herbertwells8757
3 жыл бұрын
Re: "Most of the time Paul can't even do it but it certainly helps that he thinks in a melodic way and two of his notes can sound better than most songs written by others." Which two? In any case, I think Art Garfunkel's assessment is on the mark. He says that Simon and Garfunkel were essentially record makers, and clearly Simon as a solo act continued to be essentially a record maker. A record maker is different from a songwriter. Just listen to what Simon says in this interview: it's all about cobbling together a record; it's not about writing a finished song and then recording it. Simon really fell down when he tried to make a musical. "Songs from the Capeman" was a disaster critically, commercially, and artistically. The essential problem is that when you write songs for a musical, you're writing songs for others to sing. That's what real songwriters do. It's not what Simon does. Simon makes records.
What is this interview from?
What's first the tune 🎸 or the ✍ writing
Ray Phiri was instrumental in the song Graceland being written, but does he get a writing credit? No. Paul Simon has a long history of this, going back to the 1960's with songs he wrote with Bruce Woodley of the Seekers that he took all the credit for. I mean, here he is opening up on exactly how the song was inspired but he doesn't explain why he didn't give credit to the man who opened up the inspiration to continue the song. Many of the songs on the Graceland album came out of jams with the South African musicians, but Simon doesn't seem to be able to acknowledge the fact that the songs wouldn't have happened without their input. It infuriates me. He was already a multi-millionaire by the time of this album, how would a few royalty percentage points hurt him either way? Mick Jagger and Keith Richards are two others who did similar things, not allowing bandmates who came up with initial riffs (Jumpin' Jack Flash being one) to share in the songwriting royalties. That's why U2 have managed to stay together as an unchanged lineup for over 40 years -- Bono and the Edge have always included the other two as songwriters even if they didn't contribute to the songwriting. I'm not saying you should always do that, credit where credit is due, but there's a fair balance somewhere in the middle, and as much as I think that Paul SImon is a giant among songwriters he does kind of shit me.
@nothenryporter81
3 жыл бұрын
Yeah, Simon is one of my favorites but he does seem like kind of a dick (the ripping off of songs, his petty jealousy of Garfunkel).
Hi. What is the title of the song he is singing at the start???
@salt_soop7773
3 жыл бұрын
Earth Angel
0:30 you can clearly hear the influence it had on Kathy’s Song for example
@switchswitch1898
3 жыл бұрын
Similar sounding to Jerry Garcia
I really hope he gave some writing credit to the guys who came up with the music.
@annode
9 ай бұрын
When you have professional players on your clock, whatever they contribute belongs to the project owner.
Sounds like Donna
Is it from Heaven
3:53 calling bullshit. His resentment over Garfunkle is showing. Graceland was the change where he went from writing about girls he liked to honest and personal lyrics?? His best stuff was Bookends and "paul simon"... that transition. And "bridge over.." is epic. I find graceland to be a bit affected and forced.
@urwholefamilydied
2 жыл бұрын
@David Michaels ahhhh shit. Disagree to agree to then disagree again. Diamonds on the souls of my shoes is the juvenile bullshit that's meaningless fodder. Bridge is fucking heartbreaking and real.
0:30 earf angl
Lori McKenna
Been writing for 6 yrs i still sound cheesy
Noddy
Love his songs but his vanity leaks through his conversation...not that that matters😏
@Redplanetfilms1
3 жыл бұрын
Good observation, I spent two years (on and off) working with Paul. He was one of my absolute favorite musicians, but I could see that 30 to 40 years of fame and always being pestered, affected him as a person. Paul would share intimate details with only his trusted friends but not many outside of his circle. He was acutely aware of who was who and really despised the fame crap.
The Devil incarnate. Shhhh. It’s a secret
Hahaha who doesn't exist