Canciones conceptuales
Lesson time: (3min 1sec)
Course preview
This lesson is part of the course Song Studies: los secretos de composición de Guy Chambers
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Lesson transcript:
The Art of Songwriting: Insights on Lyrics and Concepts
So happens with feel that the lyric that Rob wrote the first time is the chill lyric. It didn't change one word. In fact, the vocal that's on the record is the first time he sang it.
That first take is the version on the record because he did try to sing it again, but he couldn't get into that emotion that he let go at that particular moment. Which is pretty staggering, actually, because it's an amazing vocal.
The Challenge of Songwriting
It hasn't always been that easy with our songs. We have had songs where the lyric has taken quite a long time.
- ROCK DJ is the one that immediately comes to mind.
- Oh, we wrote a song called Party Like A Russian. That lyric took about a year and went through over 100 rewrites.
I mean, "Party Like A Russian" is a good example of a concept song where you pick an idea.
Concept of "Party Like A Russian"
I thought it would be a good idea to have an alternative national anthem for Russia because we traveled to Russia a lot, playing for oligarchs. I thought, wouldn't it be great if we had a song that would be massive in Russia?
- We wrote it purely out of that.
- Well, we had the title "Party Like A Russian," which I think is quite a good title because they do know how to party really well over there, and they do it in considerable style.
The whole song is based around that concept, which is one way to approach songwriting.
The Validity of Concept Songs
I don't think there's ever enough concept songs out there. In other words, there are a lot of songs about breakups and someone's heart being broken. There are plenty of those songs, but there aren't enough songs about:
- A housing estate
- Breaking down on the motorway
These topics are just as valid.
A good example of a concept song is National Express by Divine Comedy, which is a song about getting on a coach.
- It's a coach ride, and all of the things that Neil, who wrote the song, sees on his coach journey.
- It's a really funny song and it's about the joy of travel. It's silly, but wonderfully silly.
Finding New Angles
Sometimes these songs are just as valid as so-called profound songs about having your heart broken or feeling insecure.
- Many songs focus on going to a nightclub and partying, which I find very boring lyrically.
- You've got to try and find a new angle.
So even if you think your life is really boring and where you're living is, you can write about the boredom of it. Of course, that might be just as interesting as writing about the jet set.
About the instructor
Guy Chambers es uno de los compositores vivos de mayor éxito del Reino Unido. Es el autor de las canciones que conocemos de la radio, del cine y de la pista de baile. Canciones que conocemos de nuestras fiestas y nuestras bodas. Canciones que medio mundo puede cantar nota por nota. Canciones que nos transportan en el tiempo a donde solíamos estar. Canciones que nos llevan más allá de lo cotidiano, hacia donde desearíamos estar; 'Angels'; 'Let Me Entertain You'; 'Strong'; 'No Regrets'; 'Millennium'; 'Rock DJ'; 'Feel', por nombrar solo algunas. "Guy fue la primera persona del negocio que me tomó en serio", dice su compañero de composición de toda la vida Robbie Williams. "La primera persona que supo ver al artista en que yo sabía que podía convertirme". La lista de sus demás colaboradores se lee como la realeza de la música pop. A lo largo de los años Guy ha escrito y producido para Diana Ross, Tom Jones, Tina Turner (cuya abrasadora versión de 'Feel' hay que oírla para creerla), Kylie Minogue, James Blunt, Scissor Sisters, Rufus Wainwright y Mark Ronson, entre muchos otros. Se exige constantemente a sí mismo, buscando nuevos empeños creativos, uno de los cuales fue crear una ópera folk infantil basada en el relato corto de Oscar Wilde 'The Selfish Giant', que dedicó a su difunta madre, Pat. El espectáculo se estrenó en el Vaudeville Theatre del West End de Londres en 2018. En 2019 Guy publicó su álbum debut de piano en solitario, 'Go Gentle Into the Light', una colección de algunas de las canciones más queridas que él y Robbie Williams han escrito juntos, con el sencillo 'The Road To Mandalay' alcanzando más de 6 millones de reproducciones. Produjo el álbum oficial del BBC Children in Need 'Got it Covered', con estrellas como Olivia Colman, Jodie Whittaker y Helena Bonham Carter, que alcanzó el número 1 en las listas del Reino Unido. Guy y Robbie Williams se unieron a Chris Heath para componer la música y las letras de la adaptación musical de la RSC del superventas de David Walliams 'The Boy in the Dress', que se estrenó con críticas de cinco estrellas (The Independent, What's On Stage) en el Royal Shakespeare Theatre, en Stratford-Upon-Avon. Guy ha producido el álbum más reciente número 1 en el Reino Unido de Robbie Williams, 'The Christmas Present', y coescribió el sencillo 'Time for Change'. Vive con su esposa Emma y sus cuatro hijos en Camden y en Sussex, donde disfruta de "el buen vino, la buena comida, el cine y prácticamente todo lo francés". "Y de escribir canciones, por supuesto". read more