What's in a Song

By: Scarlet Keys
  • Summary

  • This is a weekly podcast about the craft of songwriting hosted by Berklee College of Music Professor Scarlet Keys. She takes deep dive into the craft, technique and art of songwriting in conversations with eminent songwriters, producers, and other creatives asking questions only a songwriting professor would ask so listeners can walk away inspired and armed with clear and actionable tools and techniques they can apply to their songwriting.
    © 2024 What's in a Song
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Episodes
  • Creating metaphors with Pat Pattison
    Aug 5 2024

    In this episode, Pat Pattison, author of "Writing Better Lyrics" walks us through step by step of how to find metaphors. This is the exercise I gave to writer Madi Diaz that she talked about in the previous episode.

    Pat talks about the difference between simile and metaphor for songwriters, passing metaphors and central metaphors and takes us through a song by Eli and Fur and Gillian Welch.

    https://www.patpattison.com/

    Mixed by Peter Sykes: https://www.petersykesmusic.com/

    Otto Gross: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMnxx19QD-vxD4wnYGTn3Jw


    Scarlet's website:

    https://www.scarletkeys.com

    Scarlet's instagram: https://www.instagram.com/scarletkeysofficial/

    To purchase Scarlet Keys' book "The Craft of Songwriting:

    https://www.amazon.com/Craft-Songwriting-Music-Meaning-Emotion/dp/0876391927/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2PP55NU6E9ST6&keywords=the+craft+of+songwriting&qid=1659573139&sprefix=the+craft+of+songwritin%2Caps%2C153&sr=8-1



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    54 mins
  • Madi Diaz on writing process, and the magic of co-writing
    Jul 25 2024

    My guest today is one of my former students singer/songwriter Madi Diaz


    Madi grew up in Pennsylvania where she was homes schooled by her mother and took piano lessons from her father at the age of 5.


    After high school, Madi was accepted to Berklee College of Music and met her first collaborator Kyle Ryan which led to her recording her first record skin and bones in Hawaii.


    Later, Madi went on to tour with the civil ward and Landon Pig. She was featured in Paste magazine as on of teh top ten buzziest acts at SXSW and had songs featrured in ABC family’s Pretty little liars, Drop dead Diva, Army Wives, had her song “The End of the Day” featured on the television series Nashville performed by Connie Britton and Charles Esten.


    Since then she had gone on to record several albums, was a guest on Last Call with Carson Daly, and went on to tour with Harry Styles band playing guitar and singing back up vocals and supported Kacey Musgraves on the UK and European legs of her Deeper Well World Tour.


    Madi has released 6 studio albums and 4 EP’s


    Today we will talk about so many things that are helpful for songwriters from the biz to inspiration to writing to a prompt for a film placement and listen to a few songs off of her most recent album “Weird Faith”. A case for co-writing and preparing to write.

    https://madidiaz.com/

    To support this podcast: https://buymeacoffee.com/scarlet.keys

    Mixed by Peter Sykes: https://www.petersykesmusic.com/


    Scarlet's website:

    https://www.scarletkeys.com

    Scarlet's instagram: https://www.instagram.com/scarletkeysofficial/

    To purchase Scarlet Keys' book "The Craft of Songwriting:

    https://www.amazon.com/Craft-Songwriting-Music-Meaning-Emotion/dp/0876391927/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2PP55NU6E9ST6&keywords=the+craft+of+songwriting&qid=1659573139&sprefix=the+craft+of+songwritin%2Caps%2C153&sr=8-1



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    1 hr and 13 mins
  • What we can learn from Billy Eilish and Bonnie Raitt about great melodies
    Jul 9 2024

    In this minisode, I talk about writing melody and thinking of melody as the song's tone of voice.

    Auditioning melodies to make sure we pair the best notes with our most important words and the power of unstable notes in writing great melodies.

    To join my summer songwriting class "Writing Better Melodies" click here:

    https://www.eventbrite.com/e/melody-writing-intensive-tickets-943422099897

    If you sign up before July 15th, you will receive a free copy of my book "The Craft of Songwriting: Music, Meaning and Emotion" or some "What's in a Song" swag.

    Mixed by Peter Sykes: https://www.petersykesmusic.com/

    Otto Gross: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMnxx19QD-vxD4wnYGTn3Jw


    Scarlet's website:

    https://www.scarletkeys.com

    Scarlet's instagram: https://www.instagram.com/scarletkeysofficial/

    To purchase Scarlet Keys' book "The Craft of Songwriting:

    https://www.amazon.com/Craft-Songwriting-Music-Meaning-Emotion/dp/0876391927/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2PP55NU6E9ST6&keywords=the+craft+of+songwriting&qid=1659573139&sprefix=the+craft+of+songwritin%2Caps%2C153&sr=8-1



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    22 mins

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