Songwriting Spark, Part 1 - Mood

Every song starts with a spark of an idea. Most of the time the spark is a cool lick that has a catchy rhythm and/or note combination that you match to a groove after its creation. Sometimes you sit down to write material for your band or a CD project and you think about exploring different grooves (shuffle, swing, two-beat, rock-beat, rumba, etc.) to add variety and spark some new directions. Sometimes you have a mood in mind.

Let's take some time and explore these different ideas this week. Listen to these three examples for their mood and let's discuss their ideas tomorrow.

1) "Sad Hours" Little Walter

2) "Blues for Big Nate" Jerry Portnoy

3) "Skeet-a-Little Taste" James Harman

4) "Snake Oil" Steve Guyger