James Lin Yuxi
DMC 2A02
0432744
Feature Writing CA3
13 September 2005
Singing A New Song
Stardom is anyone’s game nowadays as stages for ordinary folk to shine are given more frequently than a decade ago. With the influx of singing competitions like American Idol and its many spin-offs both local and foreign in the last few years, one cannot help but wonder if reality television directors are trying to make everyone a star.
While some cynical producers in the music industry label the cream of the crop that emerge from these contests as ‘manufactured’, many others seem eager to sign on the budding vocalists.
One outstanding example is William Hung, who did not get past the qualifying rounds of the American Idol competition. He accepted his rejection, inspired and touched the hearts of many people with the words, ‘I already gave my best. I have no regrets at all.’ A producer offered him a contract after seeing his humility and sincerity. His novelty albums sold like hotcakes though he was not the most accomplished of vocalists.
While common people might not have the same rare opportunity, it does not mean that their passion and skills in music cannot be nurtured and bear fruit.
An interview with Jonathan Huang Mu En, a freelance art director for advertising copy and print, reveals the technical stages of professional recording.
The first stage is composing a song or using one written by others. Next, a rough recording along with lyrics and musical scores will be sent to a studio. The producer at the studio will then record the track, this time with the artiste, editor and ensemble of musicians, after listening to the rough recording and deciding what sound effects and additional musical instruments suit the song. Once that is done, the songs are transferred onto compact discs and sent to the compact disc design and printing house. After this, it’s up to the marketing agent to bring them to the stores.
Jonathan describes the studio producers as “people who ‘feel’ out the song. Good producers are able to detect and correct even the slightest decibel distaste.” Most people will not be able to afford to use a good recording studio and producer, which are as vital as having good vocals, musicians and lyrics. Studio producers charge by the hour and rates can come in the thousands, to tens of thousands if they are renowned in their trade.
This means many years of hard work and savings for talented but undiscovered songwriters, not to mention the compact disc design and printing house and marketing agent’s fees. This is why music artists earn less than half of the profits from album sales.
However, because of advanced technology which is currently non-exorbitant and readily available, crystal clear recordings can now be made with the help of a laptop, recording software, an audio mixer, microphone and musical instrument of your choice. Instead of costs coming up to thousands for each song recorded at the studio, one can now record many high-quality songs at home with a gratifying capital investment of a few thousand dollars.
For a song to be worth recording, it must have lyrics worth listening to. There are proficient musicians and singers with so much soul in them, but no spirit. Britney Spears is a good example of an artist with good tunes but still have much room for improvement in her songs’ lyrics.
Singers who only perform remixed versions of other artists’ compositions can be considered only as vocalists, not singers. Artists who do not compose their own songs or mainly sing the good old Christmas carols just a little differently should be accurately called nominal musicians.
The word ‘music’ originates from Muse, a Greek goddess. Music has always got to do with our spiritual lives, convictions and passions. The difficult part of song composition is not the tune but the penning of all these intangible parts, including our feelings, into a song people can identify with.
Sylvester Lim, a third year Mass Communications student at Ngee Ann Polytechnic, started composing songs about nine months ago.
Questioned about his gifting, he answered, “I received no formal training. All you need to compose a song is inspiration and conviction. Passion for my God just overwhelmed me and that made me write those seven songs.”
Emphasizing on how easy it is to make a song, he said, “The technical part of song composition requires only a basic knowledge of song structure and an intermediate level of skill in playing any musical instrument. Even if you do not know how to play a guitar, you can still use your voice to make music to everyone’s ears, acapella style. The human voice is the best musical instrument because it is expressive and can display a wide range of emotions.”
When asked if the songs are the collective summary of experiences in his life, he replied, “The lessons I have learnt from the Bible and my life are in those songs. Also, they are the fruits of the intimate relationship I have with Jesus. I pray for inspiration from God to weave and craft these experiences into songs.”
Music should always be about the truth as well. A song with no authenticity is only as good as nursery rhymes like Humpty Dumpty, which has almost no relation or application to real life.
Writing song lyrics you do not genuinely mean from the bottom of your heart just to sell albums equates you to a commercial artist, whose songs people will probably forget within five years. Using controversy and sexual themes the way Eminem and Madonna wrote them will only make you an entertainer and actor but not a powerful songwriter. Only the truth can touch and convict the hearts of men.
John Newton, who wrote ‘Amazing Grace’, is an icon and father of music who sang in spirit and in truth. He left behind a lasting legacy permeating the world outside church walls and speaking to the souls of men.
Even the concept of love in today’s music is totally flawed and incomplete. The love portrayed in current music talks only about infatuation between a boy and a girl, or even members of the same sex.
The unsung heroism of love in the family is neglected in present songs by the supposedly omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent love in a boy-girl relationship. The selfishness often displayed in boy-girl relationships is justified in songs of bitterness about breakups, drawing empathy and sympathy with a false account of the two-sided story. The moral issue of selfishness and overdependence is also overlooked.
Lamenting that “music nowadays is all about self-glorification, self-serving human love and self-worshipping idolatry”, Sylvester advised song composers saying, “Never prostitute your music to suit the lowest common taste.”
Sylvester encouraged aspiring song composers to present their songs to larger audiences and be open to advice so that they will improve. When he shared his song with others, three-quarters said they liked it and the rest encouraged him to improve.
He said, “A good song must speak to other people’s lives and convict them with your conviction. I compose songs for God and the Church. I hope to see songs of mine that are of good quality be used as anthems to proclaim my faith, edify fellow Christians and transform music.” (1205 words)
THE END
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