Co-Write Session Tips

You may think to yourself what does a lawyer/consultant know about songwriting?   I’ll tell ya!

I’d hook up writers, artists, and producers with sessions, and sometimes I’d get an excited call from a writer at midnight asking me to come down to the studio to hear what they wrote.  I could have waited for the bounce from the producer the next day, but I got curious. So, I’d get myself out of bed and roll to the studio. Each time it was worth getting out of bed for. Most of the stuff that I’d hear was pretty incredible and innovative. R&B beats, glossy Pop, heavy rock. Most recently, I walked into the recording of a three-part mouth-trumpet harmony – and it was better than the real thing.

I started to wonder what happened between the hours of the start of the session and the many hours later when I’d get the bounce or the occasional call and would roll up to the studio to hear an incredible new track.

So I started hosting songwriting sessions. I really got to dig in when I began hosting sessions at my house. I’d get the pizza and the donuts. The producer, writers and artist would set up in in my home-office and make a vocal booth out of my bedroom, and I’d set up camp in my kitchen on my laptop to do some work and couldn’t help but listen in. Here is some of the stuff I picked up:

First question to answer is who are you writing for? Are you writing for a particular artist? Are you writing to pitch for sync? 

Maybe you’ve booked a session with friends and don’t know who you’re writing for until you walk in and see how everyone is feeling.

It is helpful to be prepared and walk in with initial song ideas. Maybe you’ve recorded a couple hooky melodies in your iPhone voice memos or you could bring in lyric ideas from your journal or notes. You may have a song you’ve already worked on yourself that you want to bounce around with collaborators. Or maybe you’re the type of person who can walk in a room with others, get inspired and write quickly without all that prep.  Know yourself and what you need to be prepared.

Sometimes you walk into the room and you don’t know anyone you’re writing with. You may have a hard time finding common ground or inspiration ideas. What do you do then? 

Talk about your feelings! What are you feeling right now at this time in your life? What are you going through right now in your life? You should all talk about it! Are you in a transition phase? Are you dealing with some friend or fam drama? That’s a good place to start! Sometimes songwriting is a bit of group therapy. 

What type of vibe is everyone feeling? Is it an R&B vibe? Is it a Top 40 Pop vibe? Is it a jazzy vibe?

Do you have song references?  Play them for each other! What are you all listening to right now? Play some tracks that match the vibe you’re all feeling.

How fast of a song are you writing? How many beats per minute? Are you into a slow ballad-y track or do you want to write a song with a quicker pace?

Have the producer loop a beat and a bassline or some synth as an underlying rhythm for your verses.

Work on your verses. What are your verses about? Do they correlate back to your initial inspiration for the song?

Are you referencing verse 1 in verse 2? Are you clarifying verse 1 in verse 2?  Are you providing context? Do you find you’re restating what you said in verse 1 in verse 2 and not building? Don’t waste real estate. Try to say something different in verse 2 and build.

Are you saving the point you want to drive home for the Chorus? Awesome. Make it hook-y. Remember, a chorus can be anywhere! At the beginning of a song, throughout the song, after a verse, after a pre-chorus or even at the end of the song (think “Hey Jude!”). It depends on the genre you’re writing in. Don’t feel like you have to follow one structure.

In one session you may only write a verse or two and a chorus. It could be a BOP or you may not feel it. Record it anyway! You may find yourself all re-working the song into a BOP at a later session, or it may end up being a later reference for yourself to show how far you’ve come.

I was listening in on a panel where Nija (Beyonce, Cardi B) and Jesse St. John (CharliXCX, Lizzo, Kim Petras) – both superstar songwriters, talked about a session they had together.  They’re both really nice people and very accomplished. When they walked into a session with each other, they couldn’t make it work. It happens! You may walk into a session, try to write with a producer or another writer, and not vibe musically or find that it’s frustrating creatively to work together. You may hit a wall. Sometimes sessions don’t work out. It’s ok!  Don’t force it. Go grab a drink or dinner and be fast friends. 

Hope this helped!