the Art of Modern Songwriting in the Streaming Age

The ultimate goal of the Technique is the

One Hour Session

a new Song , make it two, from Spark to Spunk

in 60 minutes.

the Art of Modern SongWriting

in the Streaming Age

The Stian Summer Technique bySaabye

The Art of Modern SongWriting in the Streaming Age is a complete easy to read Method Book. It seeks to answer many of the obstacles that SongWriters nowadays face in this age where Streaming Services has become king, yet where everyone, with or without a record label, have a realistic shot at releasing Music alongside the most successful Acts of today. However competition for bandwidth is fierce, and though the big established record labels always has the upper hand, that independent Artists can only dream of, you as a SongWriter more than ever before, is in a great position to have a real go at it. That if;

as, the Algorithms of Streaming Services like nothing better, than popular Songs! The more popular, the more the Songs get promoted to the crowds.

Without compromising, I have organized all my Methods, all my Techniques, all my Tips and Tricks that I have collected during a lifetime as a SongWriter into this one Book. It takes very little notice to any specific Period in the History of Music, its DNA is to stay focused on pure SongWriting and not on the ever-changing Music Production styles:

SongWriting from Spark to Spunk

It is ultimately also a bird’s-eye view into the making of wannabe PopStar Stian Summer, based on my, hands up, very personal, Synthesis of Modern Popular Music. Additionally, between the lines and beneath the illustrations, it is the tale of me as an Artist both Audio and Visual, SongWriter, Performer, Musical Entrepreneur, Writer and everything I stand for, hopefully told with both some humour and negligible intellect.

This is indeed my Revolution, my Rebellion, it is all that I know of, as of today, and the framework of what I will strive for, for the rest of my life. So, the Book had to be as good as I could possibly make it, no hold barred and totally truthful, where I only talk about things that I know of and what works for me, where I don’t know, I will not pretend to know!

Prologue

I simply love writing Songs, new Songs, sitting down in front of my Piano with an open mind and then within a little Hour having recorded 15 odd or so ideas for Verses, Choruses and probably a few Bridges, that will become one, or make that two, new Songs. This, the One Hour Session, is the goalpost of the Technique and is the last concluding Chapter in this Book.

Before I set out over the next 282 pages, I will introduce 4 small clips from Songs that all are results of One Hour Sessions I have had while writing the Book during the lockdown period in the Spring of 2020, all using nothing but the Technique.

These 4 Songs are, with 48 others all going to be released over the following 52 weeks after the publication of the book as I have promised to put my ‘head on the block’ so to say, to go and find out in public if the Technique will be successful works for my yet un-known alter-ego wanna be Pop Star, Stian Summer. I write all the material myself, beginning to end, it’s all me, except with 2 of the 52 Songs where I had a great drafted Lyric from some really good Lyricist given to me that eventually got me started.

Stian will be releasing a new Song, written using only the Technique, every Monday for a full calendar year. Each release will be accompanied by an analyse of the Song Elements and both FretTab & Scores thus effectively building up a Song Book over the year.

The 4 Song clips are from 4 different One Hour Sessions, and are all in their simplest Pilot form yet, not much of Arrangement nor Recording and the Lyrics are still in-complete. This is not the point;

the Technique is not about Arranging & Recording Masters...

it’s pure Song Writing;

Chord Progressions, TopLines (Melody) and Lyrics.

I often work in Trilogies, 3 Songs around the same Theme and Vibe, while holding firmly on to my own Sound and Style throughout. The first Song is from my Stockholm Trilogy.

The Song - Dancing in your Shadow

The start of 2020 saw a return to a more uplifting Nu-Disco vibe and faster Tempos than in a long time , a trend that was already on the ‘up’ prior to the lockdown. I enjoy Disco, have always done, this Track is part of the Nu-Disco Trilogy

The Song - Who Are You

The late Eighties was a fine period for British Music, and I have so much fun in merging it with the Sound of the 2020’s. From my 1980 vs. 2020’s Trilogy comes

The Song - Kissing that Girl

The last Song clip before we get going with the Technique is part of a LA series, I feel LA has a lot to offer and there are some real interesting things coming from that scene. The Tempo is slower than the rest.

The Song - Hit and Run

Welcome

At first, a warm welcome to my Technique Book, such fun I had writing it that I actually learned how I indeed write those Pop Songs myself, how I do them my own ways, however, I was actually surprised by how much text it summed up to in the end, and believe me; I have had to cut it much down for the sake of everyone, I did not want it to be too much of a ‘Beat About the Bush’ - more an ‘Easy to Read’ and ‘Get on With it’.

This takes me right into how all you people, as readers; you’d be a seasoned SongWriter, a Musician really wanting to learn SongWriting or somebody simply puzzled by it all, thus it’s well fair to ask what’s the best way to go about reading all this.

Good news first; there is no firm way to read eBooks - thanks for that - so jump around at will, and for me... I have had the chance to add Audio ad-lib a plenty and Illustrate as much as I wanted. So, you now go choose yourself the way you like to do today, choose another way tomorrow if you will or do any combinations you like over time.

If you tell me little about you then let me try to guide you where to start...

Are You IMPATIENT AS F***

Well I thought you’d be, and that’s no bad thing. Mind you though, you should speed-read a few things to start with. You will fare much better;

Quick Overview of the Book

-

Quick Overview of the 10 Approaches to SongWriting

(Chords, Progressions, Lyrics...)

Then either

Six Ways to Compose only using the Mother of all Clichés

- I Love You

or

Want to Write a New Song Today?

Are You WELL ORGANIZED

I’m happy to hear, that’s the way the Book ideally is best read by chance. You just read ahead from here. Don’t worry if you start jumping around, you can always head back.

Are You up for SKIMMING through the Book

to see whats IN STORE

A bit like being in a Book store, you take a Book down the shelf and skim through the Pages. By good luck, the Book is layout in a way so that it’s easy to navigate it, while scrolling through it at speed. You just continue and skim ahead from here.

Are You up for TRYING THINGS OUT right away

Maybe already in SongWriting mood, sitting with your Instrument, then you will be happy, the Book is full of Illustrations, designed to inspire as much as to explain;

Go start with Six Ways to Compose using the Mother of all Clichés - I Love You

or

Want to Write a New Song Today

Are You in for some THEORY to begin with

That’s good, a super nice way to go about this Technique actually, take a minute to understand the Music Industry of today and the challenges of SongWriters. I suggest that you start along these lines;

History of Modern Music

and

How Streaming Services Works

Now, have as much fun with the Book as I have had writing it and as I mentioned a minute ago, I so now understand much better how I write Songs, I hope from all my heart that you will too.

bySaabY

Chord Progression in G Minor

The following Chord Progression is from the Song - Coco. The four Chords highligth’s a few of my most used Tricks when it comes to altering Voicings for the better. The TopLine Coco actually starts on the Beat on a high f Note thus the 7th before it drops down the Note d, the 5th on the Gm7 Chord.

The first Chord is a standard m7 however already in the following Chord a few things happen with the Voicings. By letting the Note d ‘ring’ the F Chord becomes a F6 and follows fine after the Gm7. The Eb Chord have identical individual Notes as the Gm7 however, I found it a little flat to go down to eb in the Bass, so I hit the 3rd, the Note g, a surprising move. That Note, the g, kind off prepare us for a soft landing on the F6 in Bar 4, again exact same Notes as the F6 Chord, however this time a a Note in the Bass, again the 3rd.

Maj7 Chord Progressions

are always interesting, they possess a beautiful ‘open’ Sound whatever the Key. The one Illustrated here is in A Major and is from the Chorus of the Song - Only Dancing.

The Example shows how a single tactic one Note that spills over all the Chord Voicings give way for an interesting TopLine. The Note ab ‘rings’ pretty much everywhere both in the Chords and in the TopLine. The Note ab is already interesting on the A Chord making it an Amaj7, then making the H into a H6. There is a sense of release going into the Dbm7 Chord in Bar 3, it is purely the 5th. This TopLine is a favourite of mine and is possible by the work in the Chord Voicings.

Eb Minor 2 Bar Chord Progression

This, the 2 Bar Chord Pattern from the Song - Lucy is interesting in several ways; somehow it shouldn’t be possible to play the Chords so to speak. It changes in rapid fashion between the four Chords that changes very little in the Voicings when it comes to it.

The simple BassLine has a besotting quality to it and works on repeat yet what’s interesting is really how these four Chords works in the end. The Db Chord both plays the 3rd AND the sus4 at the same time - the 4th is very present in the LeadNote Approach - Approach 2, and often leads down to the 3rd, somehow they manage to co-exist here. I have put the Chord down as a Db11 however it could well be something different I suppose. The Bbm#5 Chord is in essence identical to the Db11 only with the Note bb in the Bass.

The Demo Recording features a Western Guitar plugging the Chords.

Complex Chord Progressions

Sometimes there are no real explanations to Chord Patterns, at least not that makes much sense, they simply work even jumping around the Circle of Fifth. This Chord Progression is from the Song - Gaia that has a little 70’s feel to it. The very first top Note, eb leading down to d, is also the TopLine, so I reflect that in my Voicings. The second Chord moves comfortably to a F6 so to keep the high d, however I chose to use the 3rd in the Bass to get a little extra. It is followed by an Eb6 before taking the unusual twist in Bar 4 essentially with a variation of a D Major Chord with the 3rd in the Bass. the high Note bb is the 3rd in Gm so that’s why I get away with it. Notice how the top Note in the Voicings slides down the Scale one step down the G Minor Scale at a time, from high eb to low a.

LeadNote Example

When it comes to the subject of great TopLines the Technique leans to the 2nd Approach - LeadNotes 4th, 6th and 9th.

These are the Notes that supply all the Tension that we craves so much before landing safely on 1st, 3rd or 5th Notes in Chords. To see and hear the LeadNotes in action in simple form, plugged against only the BassNote of the Chord. Below is both the 9th, the 6th and the 4th in use. I strongly recommend reading the Approach 2 - LeadNotes early on