I took one of my handwritten transcriptions and put it in the Logic Studio score editor this afternoon to give you a taste of his genius. I hope you enjoy it.

Original Recording:

Download the transcription: Fee-Fi-Fo-Fum by Freddie Hubbard

We could talk about motivation or anchoring overwhelming desire to the thought of writing songs, but one sure fire way to develop a consistent songwriting practice is to make it an unconscious habit.

Here are 5 tips to help you develop the habit of writing songs.

• Write nothing but song titles
  If the thought of writing a chorus, a bridge, and multiple verses is overwhelming to you, then just write some simple song titles. For song title inspiration, read my post on The Astonishing Hit-Making Magic of Song Titles.
• Write for the garbage can without feeling guilty
  The 80/20 rule will tell you that 20 percent of your writing will make the cut, 80 percent won’t. If you write 100 words a day, 20 of them might be useable. So if you need 100 words to complete your song, you need to write around 500 words. That’s why I write for the garbage can.
• Schedule songwriting appointments
  Think of something you do everyday that requires little effort or self-motivation, like eating when you’re hungry. You probably don’t need to schedule your meals in a calendar. You eat when your body tells you that you’re hungry. That’s the kind of habit you’re looking to develop with your songwriting. It’s automatic. But to get to that level, it might be useful to schedule your songwriting sessions and never break them. Keep it up for thirty days and see if you don’t get “hunger pangs” when you haven’t written anything for more than a few hours.
• Edit older songs
  Sometimes tinkering with an old song feels better than starting a song from scratch. If that feels like the case for you, then follow your desire to tinker. You’ll still be exercising your songwriting chops. Now, if you have an aversion to writing new songs you’ll need to look into your reluctance. But you can do that after you’ve developed a strong songwriting habit. Who knows, it might just disappear on its own.
• Transcribe your favorite songwriter’s songs
  Rewrite the lyrics to your favorite lyricist in long hand. Pretend you’re in their head and creating the song from scratch. Transcribe melodies, hooks, chord changes, anything to immerse yourself in the art and craft of songwriting.

As with all tips, they don’t work until you do them. Go schedule some time to write now!

(Inspired by Freelance Folder)

You can find out more about his life and music at his official site and on Wikipedia. His music will be missed but never forgotten.

One of my favorite albums featuring Joe Zawinul as a sideman is Why Am I Treated So Bad? by Cannonball Adderley. The title track features a dirty wurlitzer solo by Joe. To me, the best part is the audience participation. It’s a deep conversation between musician and audience.

Another great track on that album is Mini Mama. The transcription I’m posting below is of Cannonball Adderley’s alto sax solo. This is another soulful blues that gets the audience shouting.

Download the transcription: Mini Mama Alto Sax Solo

Off Bryan Adams’ 1980 self-titled debut album, Remember is probably the best known song. I’m not sure who played the solo, it could be Gary Breit, Tommy Mandel, or Bill Payne.

Take a listen:

The solo builds in these ways:

• By increasing the octave each pass of the motif.
• By gradually bringing in 16th notes.
• It peaks melodically at the end of bar 12 with the highest note of the solo, B.
• It peaks rhythmically in bars 15 and 16 by a repeating 16th note pattern lasting a full two bars.

What caught my ear when I first heard the solo, besides the sound of the synth, was the 16th note pattern in bar 10. It’s very guitar like and a slick departure from the original motif. It’s also perfectly placed to lead into the beautiful and simple melody in bars 11 and 12.

Download the transcription:

Remember Synth Solo

These days, transcribing is easy. There are many great freeware programs that will allow you to rip a song from your favorite CD and load it into an audio editor where you can define regions for quick playback or looping and even slow a section down–without changing pitch for more difficult parts.

Some of my greatest musical epiphanies occurred while transcribing and realizing, “Oh, that’s what the hell they were doing!” I strongly encourage you to put pen to paper and internalize and eternalize the music.