Aspiring Songwriters Turn to Steele – Jeffrey Steele
I could write about country songs 24/7, but it would take a miracle for me to actually write a country song. A good one, anyway. I do have a rhyming dictionary on my bookshelf but just because I can throw “haze” and “mayonnaise” into a chorus doesn’t make me a viable hitmaker.
Or does it? I’ve always believed that songwriting was a gift. You either have it or you don’t. (I don’t.) But Jeffrey Steele has just unleashed 14 new country songwriters into the world. He’s the guy behind everything from Rascal Flatts’ “What Hurts the Most” to Tim McGraw’s “Cowboy in Me.” A couple weeks ago, he shared his secrets with a handful of wannabes from all over the U.S. (and even one from Australia) at his Songwriting Boot Camp in Nashville. From 16 to 65, these writers came together, at a cost of about $2000 each, to learn how to write the next hit song. They worked in groups, checked out the Bluebird Café and Edgehill Studios Café, and visited with another brilliant songwriter, Craig Wiseman, to see what the days and nights of songwriters are really like.
Beyond learning about the business of songwriting, I hope Steele taught these hopefuls that a good idea can come from anywhere. That way, we’ll get more fresh ideas. Like songs about finding love while selling turnip greens. Or leaving every light on, in case she comes back. Or regretting a breakup every time you hear Tim McGraw. Songs like that will continue to differentiate country from every other genre.
What happens next is up to those newly minted songwriters. It’s like taking golf lessons from Tiger Woods. He can bestow upon you all his knowledge but you still have to get through the qualifying round yourself. Maybe one of those boot campers will write song about the experience. If it helps, I have a whole page of words that rhyme with Steele.
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kentucky girl says:
This makes me glad and mad. I’m glad that good songwriters are teaching new ones how to craft great songs, but also mad because then all the songs will sound the same. I think songwriters get into rutts and write about the same things over and over again, so does his mean Nashville will have even more Steele-like songs like he does for Rascal Flats? I agree its a gift but think songs should come from inside your heart, not from a “coach.”
hotelmotel says:
Good songs are not something that come like a gift from God, out of thin air. Good songwriters spend long hours working hard to perfect their craft. Sometimes you hear a songwriter say, “The song just wrote itself.” But oddly enough, only songwriters, who have spent long hours perfecting their craft, experience these epiphanies. The fact that only songwriters experience these epiphanies strongly implies that these epiphanies are the result of hard work as well as inspiration.
We often hear that people are “naturals” at what they do. Usually these alleged “naturals” have spent a long time working hard to perfect their craft. For instance, few lawyers trying their first case give a masterful performance. Few teachers do a brilliant job their first day at work. With time and effort, most teachers and lawyers can become competent. A few can become outstanding. It is the same with songwriters. There are only a few exceptions.
The possession of the talent needed to become a songwriter is a gift, but becoming a songwriter requires extensive work honing one’s craft. And that’s why people like Steele can help, by providing models of excellence to emulate.
I don’t think songs are going to sound the same merely because some songwriters study with Jeffrey Steele. The best fiction writers are avid readers of great literature, they spend a lot of time analyzing fiction (great and bad). But that hasn’t led to all fiction being the same.
In fact, I think the more songwriters study the works of other songwriters, the more likely we are to get innovation. Innovation often arises when somebody sees a problem and finds a solution to it. Learning to spot problems requires familiarity and expertise. The better songwriters become at analyzing the music and lyrics of other songs, the better they will become at writing their own.
mjayhill says:
Two thousand dollars to learn how to write like Jeffrey Steele? Well, g**damn! I guess I’ll just go and sell all my Willie, Kris, and Dylan albums, and get a second job to learn how to write like Jeffrey Steele. After all, he’s written a few decent country songs, hasn’t he?
B. W. LaRoy says:
I don’t give a rat’s patoot about paying money to someone in order to learn how to write and rhyme moon, June and spoon any better…but I do believe Steele has ripped my heart out with a new song on Joe Nichols’ new album…the song is called MY WHISKEY YEARS. I’ll spend my dollar on that 2000 times over. B.W. LaRoy
REALLY LOVE TO WRITE EM says:
i think the camp was cool.
its not about learning how to rhyme its not about telling people to copy a style of writing . its about becoming aware of your music inside your story your life put on paper thats what i think. its about the live gig the reaction , the recording studio , the politics , the rejection, the growth or lack of growth as you come through these rejections, its about what kind of writer you are alone, with a co writer or two cowriters,or a new artist or an established artist, its about learning how to find your role in the “room” who directs who challenges who edits who pours coffee and says man that was cool , you should keep that
its about the lyrics and music that has shaped your ears through life its how to approach your lyrics as dilligently as you have your instrument if your a player first.
i was taken by the the relationships with the musicans in the studio , the level of respect they have for him and him for them , and how his great songs sound greater his good ones great and his not so great pretty damn good , its about learning how to see opportunites to find an even better song that you thought was done but comes to life in a whole new way once the band gets hold of it , its realizing the music that opens up while recording to get the most out of the highly priced recording session and getting the most for your money.
another invaluble lesson was how not to get stuck “writers block” whatever you want to call it. ever! that alone was worth it .you cany believe the level of passion that goes in to it when you see it transform.
he played a song he had just written on just his guitar that sonded like a hit but when he got the band in front of him to record it it just jumped up another ten notches in the arrangements hes very aware of every note played at every moment of the process . amazing to watch , the song was cut 3 days later and copied to the note by the producer of the act.
he also informs which producers have more insight and when it calls for different treatments in the demo process. he talks about words how they can never be wasted , the story of the journey of the songs are priceless and shes a whole new light on luck and hard work and timing . the people he brought in from the most famous to the non famous ,and the past bootcampers and how theyve progressed , theres no shaping going on just actual heres whats going on right now information.
of course no one wants to pay money and if they feel like they know what they need to do they dont need to come to something like this .
i was also fascinated by the law and business side of how it all goes down
and the visual side of just being there in a town where everyones trying to get something happening!
i loved also how he took us out of the comfort zone of our own writing styles and forced us to create in situations that werent condusive to how we like to write. like if you were a piano player but had to play guitar instead or just focus on lyrics and come from a different place . it wasnt to change anyone but to put them in a new place of perspective .
one thing that was hard to wrap around was how he starts from the beginning instead of going off a line or a catchy phrase and lets the music guide him to the lyric this was far and above the most amazing part of it .he wasnt saying dont write a clever line but dont rush to it step away from it and see what kind of story is in it bring your life into it .
i also like the BMI presentation too how the payment of royalties works how they get involved , it was well rounded . he wrote with everyone too he would walk in and say what do you have and then say this is what i hear or what if you did this instead or wow this is great or not so great .
any way it was really a great deal and way past the songwriting part it was more insight to how to get to whats inside of you. i know he does a professional camp too for writers that are already sucessful but want new perspective. all in all it was well worth it for me , he forced me to look at what i am doing and what i want to do with my music .
im not sure if you’ve ever seen him play or just read the lyrics alone but there is something so unique about the way its put together .
TWISTEDSTEELE says:
I did it. I payed the money and studied with one of my favorite songwriters. Look at it this way: Monet, although dead, would have easily enticed me to pay $2000 to study in a small group with him and learn his insights and magical secrets in color. Encouraging us as we with shacky hands venture to create. Will we ever paint exactly like Monet? I doubt it. Could we use his teachings as a foundation toward our own unique creativity? AbsoFutly! Studying with Jeff Steele is like going to grad-school, only the Professor is really cool. His friends aren’t bad either. Go write a song…TwistedSteele
Johnny Lake says:
Jeffery Steele has written some great thing and has given lots of hope and inspiration to other writers by setting an example through hard work and passion that no matter what happens if you put the effort in something we will get something back. Everybody’s journey is diffrent there is only one Jeffery Steele and one of you. Thats the great thing about this life we all have our own thing … HAVE FAITH IN YOUR PASSION AND WORK HARD and at the least we’ll find happiness the rest is just icing on the cake …