We’re going to do one thing particular right now. For the reason that starting of SongTown, I’ve had members ask me if I’d break down a tune – from the start of the concept and inspiration, how he wrote it, to the way it grew to become a serious label minimize. And I’ve at all times been hesitant as a result of songs don’t at all times begin the identical means. Typically you begin with a keyboard sound, typically you begin with a melody, or a title or a lyric line that pops in your head. So I by no means preferred to advertise a system of “easy methods to write a tune”. However I assumed there have been some attention-grabbing issues concerning how this explicit tune happened, and I needed to speak about that with you right now. This tune is “Atypical Heartbreak”, recorded by Dan Smalley on Massive Machine Information.

Chapter 1: Genesis of the Song

If I’m going again to the genesis of this tune, I’ve acquired to begin with a couple of yr in the past. I purchased a Fender Bassman amp from 1972 – I’ve at all times needed a kind of classic amps. I grew up enjoying in rock bands down in Alabama, and once I was 19, I moved to New York Metropolis and acquired into the programming world of writing hip hop and R&B. I lastly made my approach to Nashville 15 years later and began writing nation songs, however I used to be by no means on the normal aspect of nation.

So once I plugged on this amp and heard that twangy guitar sound it was like my unconscious was saying, you’ve acquired to play this guitar lick. I’d have made sense for me to go to one thing extra funky, however for some cause this nation guitar lick got here into my head. I don’t know the place it got here from, I simply heard it. So I began making an attempt to place some chords behind it, and it was extra 70’s / 80’s nation – it had that snap. It simply impressed me.

And for about two months, I’d simply play that riff time and again with these chords, and I didn’t know why. Typically I really feel like, trying again over my profession, that my unconscious is aware of much more than my acutely aware does typically. So I form of carried that round and each time I plugged into that amp, I’d attempt to excellent the best way it sounded and excellent that lick.

Chapter 2: The Co-Write

About eight months in the past, a buddy of mine requested me if I needed to co-write with this up and coming artist in Nashville, Dan Smalley. I listened to Dan’s voice, and it was that very conventional nation factor – so I instantly went to that guitar riff.

I arrange an appointment with Dan, and I knew that he preferred Alan Jackson. So I mentioned, why don’t we herald my buddy Mark Irwin, who wrote an enormous hit with Alan Jackson? It may very well be enjoyable. So we sit down, and the very first thing I love to do after I get to know the artist slightly bit is ask them if they’ve a title or concept that they need to write that day. It will get the artist concerned within the course of; it will get them invested – and also you need the artist to care in regards to the tune.

So Dan throws out this title, “Atypical Heartbreak”. And if you happen to’ve heard my video on the “discuss sing” technique, when anyone within the room says one thing, I are inclined to sing it. So I jumped into that chord development and the primary two strains simply got here out. Dan lit up; he thought the vibe, the groove, the chords actually match what he was making an attempt to do as an artist.

From that time, we stopped and talked in regards to the totally different angles we might write it as, and settled on the concept after slightly dialogue. Dan actually preferred the truth that I had modified it to “an bizarre heartbreak tune”, slightly than simply “an bizarre heartbreak”. It gave us one other degree of what we might do with the lyrics.

As soon as we had that, we went to a verse, and since we had these lengthy strains within the refrain, I needed to cut that verse up and make quick little bursts of three notes. I simply love that form of distinction. And when you’ve gotten a melody that’s that set, it makes it tougher to put in writing the lyric since you’ve acquired to inform a narrative with simply these three little notes time and again. So at that time, it’s a little bit of a problem, however the trick is to make it sound prefer it simply rolls off the tongue.

So we got here up with the opening line – “performed the idiot / broke her coronary heart / walked away”. Then the subsequent line is slightly longer for variation – “that’s when it began getting tougher to sleep / on this mattress / want I’d have thought it out slightly higher as a substitute”. And that’s the entire verse – 4 strains, however it tells a narrative.

So then our job was to complete writing the refrain, and Dan needed to place one thing in there a couple of jukebox. “Yeah it’s simply your common bizarre heartbreak tune / the sort you’ve heard 100 instances and sang alongside / with a jukebox”. It form of rolled proper in there and made the entire refrain one lengthy sentence. It’s form of such as you’re dangling a carrot in entrance of the listener, and also you’re making them take heed to the subsequent line, and I like doing that.

So I keep in mind once we had the phrase ‘jukebox’, I needed to rhyme it with ‘teardrops’, a little bit of a conventional nation rhyme. And Mark had an awesome concept there of getting the jukebox drowning out the teardrops. When it comes to the melody, Dan beloved how I stretched out the notice on “all evening lengthy”. And I at all times strive to think about the singer once I’m writing; I need to give a second for the singer, and he responded to that.

So the primary verse had arrange the plot, the character, the context, the temper. However while you get to that second verse, you need to go slightly deeper. So we thought it could be nice to have him speaking about how she had moved on and located one other love. That takes the story deeper since you may break up with anyone, however while you see them proud of another person, it nonetheless provides that additional degree of damage. It simply makes him look like much more of a idiot that he gave up this lady. So we wrote, “had all of it / screwed it up / fell aside / That’s when she discovered one other love and moved on / yeah I assume / you possibly can most likely put collectively the remainder of the story”. I keep in mind we have been form of caught on that final line of the verse for some time, and I felt like we simply wanted to reemphasize how bizarre that is.

Now on this tune, we determined towards placing a bridge, and did a solo as a substitute. However since we didn’t have a bridge, I felt like there was slightly bit extra emotional high quality that was nonetheless wanted. So we made the decision to alter one line of the final refrain so as to add slightly bit extra data. In order that final refrain goes, “it’s simply a mean bizarre heartbreak tune / however when it occurs, it feels such as you’re the one one / singing to the jukebox / drown in teardrops all evening lengthy / however it’s simply your common bizarre heartbreak tune”.

So we felt prefer it was necessary so as to add that half in; when it occurs to you, it doesn’t matter if it’s bizarre – it nonetheless hurts. And it match the singer’s character, and that’s necessary. I keep in mind once we have been writing the second verse and we had the road “screwed it up” – again within the day, saying one thing like that might be form of racy on nation radio. So I checked with him, and he was like, hell yeah, I’ll say that! So when you have a possibility to put in writing with an artist within the room, test with them if that’s one thing they might sing on stage.

Chapter 3: The Work Tape + Demo

So when it got here time to place down the work tape, we had this tune completed in about two and a half hours, simply three guys in a room with acoustic guitars. I requested Dan to play the guitar riff, and he comes up with a unique riff. Now I might have mentioned at that time, hey, that’s not the way it goes. You must play it like this. However I don’t need to try this – this can be a collaboration. So I’m at all times open. I might have been upset and went, that was my riff I wrote months in the past, however that might have blown my minimize. Be versatile and keep in mind that the tune is king. Wherever the tune needs to go that day within the room, go there. Don’t be afraid. Don’t maintain on to your unique concept if the tune needs to go someplace else, as a result of the tune will inform you the place it needs to go.

So we recorded the work tape on an iPhone, and Dan beloved it. He went into the studio and minimize a demo with a stay band. He later performed that demo for the report firm that he ended up signing with, Massive Machine Information. All through my profession, I’ve at all times been open to writing with new artists, since you simply by no means know. I wrote with Girl Antebellum on their first report earlier than that they had a report deal. You simply by no means know which artists that you simply write with are going to get a deal and put your tune out into the world.

So Dan performed Massive Machine the demo, and so they beloved it. In order that they went again within the studio with Keith Stegall, the producer, to report the tune. You’ll be able to hear the transformation from the work tape to the demo, and now we’ve acquired our fingers crossed. If all the things goes as deliberate, it is going to come out on Massive Machine Information! So glad to have the ability to share these experiences with you.

Cheers.