Aspiring musicians looking to snag a spot in the top 40 participated in a class this semester to learn about the secrets of writing a hit song. Ball State recently introduced a new course that teaches the fundamentals of how to write song lyrics worthy of radio airtime.
Students in the class will be showcasing songs they've written in the class at a concert starting at 8 p.m. tonight in the L.A. Pittenger Student Center Tally. The show is free and will feature a variety of different musical styles.
Students were taken beyond their comfort zones by writing lyrics for songs outside genres they generally listen to. For instance, those who prefer rock music will be told this week they have to write a country song. This stretches the ability of composers in the class to write and challenges them to take newly learned writing skills fundamental to one area of music and apply it to their favorite genre.
"One of the main things I learned over the course of this class was how many styles are actually out there," senior Greg Konieczny said. "There's so many ways to write a song, and a lot of the ways you're not going to like because you may find it difficult, but there might be some way out there that you haven't tried before that really works for you."
Two separate courses, Songwriting I and Songwriting II, comprise the class, said music technology program director Rick DiGiallonardo, who created the courses earlier this year. In Songwriting I, students learn the basics of songwriting and are introduced to the intricacies behind the success of every major hit. Songwriting II builds off the first class and is for students who have songwriting experience or pass Songwriting I with a high grade.
"The class is actually called Commercial Songwriting, but I didn't want to use the word ‘commercial' because sometimes that puts a negative spin on it," DiGiallonardo said.
The class is specifically designed for anyone who plays music, but even if they don't and they're an aspiring lyricist or songwriter, all students can come in and learn, DiGiallonardo said.
Having composed with such artists as Elton John and Rick Springfield, DiGiallonardo has real experience in the international music industry. In the '80s he was also part of the widely successful rock band Quarterflash, which was made up of a group of musicians signed to the major record label Geffen Records and handpicked by David Geffen himself.
In Songwriting II students learn how to rearrange music that's already been written, including popular songs heard on the radio.
"I gave them a list of the most famous Paul Simon tunes, and with those chord progressions they had to write their own song," course instructor Jackie Allen said.
Allen, like DiGiallonardo, also has real experience in the industry. She is a Blue Note Recording Artist from Chicago who has been singing jazz professionally since 1992. She currently has nine albums released, the latest, "Starry Night", was released early this year. She has toured both nationally and internationally, singing from France to China and many spots in between.
"Jackie knows her stuff," Konieczny said. "The good part of having Jackie as an instructor is she can help us when it comes to figuring out a specific melody in a song because when you deal with jazz, especially as a singer, you're going to be much more focused on melody. She's definitely been a positive element."
DiGiallonardo said more music business-oriented classes are also coming in the near future, including courses on artist management, music publishing and an entrepreneurial class that will show students how to create music businesses.
"We're going to have other classes such as legal aspects of the music industry and marketing of recorded music, which will address how to get your music out in the market for people to hear, and we will talk about legal issues that occur while you're marketing," he said. "One class will feed into the next, and they'll all complement each other."
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