Fallen Angel: A Review

There are “six types of songs that shaped human nature - friendship, joy, comfort, knowledge, religion and love songs” (Levitin, 2008, pg. 7). When writing, I chose to use this concept to find inspiration on which to write about. In the end, I chose to write about a mixture of friendship, comfort and joy, writing from personal experience about feeling down and not being able to see the good in things.

“The clearer your concept, the more professional your song” (Citron, 1985, pg. 17). The concept I had was personal which inspires many current songwriters in the modern music scene (such as Ellie Goulding’s ‘I Know You Care’, written about her father leaving her). When writing the lyrics first (which as Ed Sheeran says, is the most important – Access Hollywood, 2012), I found describing my own pain and putting it to paper comforting which is what helped to create a heartfelt and emotional song – with lyrics such as ‘Don’t’ try to numb the pain with liquid amnesia’, getting the point across that drinking alcohol won’t solve anything. Like Sheeran, I wanted to recreate what he did with ‘Small Bump’, “[Packaging] a weighty lyric about a miscarriage into a palatable three-minute pop song. (Pearson, 2014)

When composing the melody of the song, I chose to use simplistic chords of C, F & G for the majority of the song with slight variations at the end of the chorus. I did this so as not to distract the listener to the meaning behind the lyrics and replace it with meaningless riffs that are similar to many of the ones in the charts. Writing a finger-picking pieced helped to show off my newly honed skill and also added to the sad and sombre piece. Furthermore, I decided to hit the bottom string against the fret to create a beat which is another thing Sheeran does in songs such as ‘Take It Back’ and ‘Don’t’ (when played live). The reason behind this was to create a ‘fuller’ piece and also to make the actual rhythm stand out as well.

When it came to performance, I thought that it went okay however there were some things I could’ve improved upon. As it was a live performance, I’d only one take and I slightly messed up the lyrics at the start however carried on. Moreover, during the bridge, as I don’t think the capo was tight enough, the strings buzzed and therefore it put me off, meaning I had to improvise with the finger-picking.

To improve the song, I think a violin in the background coming in on the chorus would have given the song a bit more strength and dynamics music wise, in such that coming in quiet at the chorus then getting louder would have personified the feeling of hope. Also, to compliment the bridge, I think mimicking the notes on a piano would also have helped to give the piece more of a classical feeling as well as having the violin and the guitar, however it would’ve given the piece a bit of diversity, taking inspiration from songs such as Clean Bandit’s ‘Mozart’s House’, combining modern music and classical.

Bibliography

• Access Hollywood (2012) Available at: http://www.accesshollywood.com/ed-sheeran-talks-musical-influences-writing-songs-and-the-pitfalls-of-signing-with-a-label_video_1405986 (Accessed: 18/01/2015) 
• Citron, S (1985) Song Writing: A Complete Guide To The Craft. New York: Limelight Editions. p.17
• Levitin, D (2008) The World In Six Songs. USA: Dutton Penguin. p.7
• Pearson, R (2014) Sheeran The Showman. Evening Standard. 25^th March, p.19.

Discography

• Clean Bandit (2013) ‘Mozart’s House’ [New Eyes]. United States: Atlantic Records 
• Ed Sheeran (2014) ‘Don’t' [X]. United States: Asylum Records
• Ed Sheeran (2011) ‘Small Bump’ [+]. United States: Asylum Records
• Ed Sheeran (2014) 'Take It Back' [X]. United States: Asylum Records
• Ellie Goulding (2012) ‘I Know You Care’ [Halcyon]. United Kingdom: Polydor Records

Fallen Angel - Lyrics

Tonight I know you won't be feeling alright, just know that you are not alone
Hold on and don't turn off the light, even the best of us can't find home

It's hard to imagine a world where, things are looking up
It's out there for everyone, that feeling of being loved

And all of the love and all of the hurt will subside
Please forget the pain, just dry your eyes
And hold onto that feeling, I know you'll get through
It's not the end cause you deserve happiness too
My fallen angel

Don't try to number the pain with liquid amnesia, I promise that you won't forget
An eternity, forever sleeping, it's not your time don't end it yet

People don't always see the pain in your heart, but that doesn't mean they don't care
Don't go through it all on your own for a start, just tell someone no matter how scared

And all of the love and all of the hurt will subside
Please forget the pain, just dry your eyes
And hold onto that feeling, I know you'll get through
It's not the end cause you deserve happiness too
My fallen angel

[Bridge - Finger picking]

And all of the love and all of the hurt will subside
Please forget the pain, just dry your eyes
And hold onto that feeling, I know you'll get through
It's not the end cause you deserve happiness too
My fallen angel

Fallen Angel

When writing a song to perform as part of my assessment, I thought long and hard about what to write and how to show how far I've come since starting the module. Obviously I needed to write a piece that would suit my voice and also sound nice when played on the guitar however the main thing was that it was difficult to start. I found finding inspiration a tricky thing. You can be influenced by everything and anything around you however it is only when you're in a certain fame of mind that you can start writing a coherent piece as opposed to writing jumbled gibberish.

"The clearer your concept, the more professional your song" (Citron, 1985, p. 17)

When I first came up with the title 'Fallen Angel', I wasn't feeling particularly good about myself and was quite lonely, and I just started thinking of phrases and putting them to a tune. I first came up with the first bit of the chorus "And and all of the love, and all of the hurt will pass" (later changed to subside). I tried different ways in which to sing this and the one that ended up fitting, was the one I used. 

From there, I started coming up with other phrases that I thought sounded good and were more poetic in which the words didn't outright say the message, but the connotation behind it was open to interpretation by the listener. "Liquid amnesia" was a phrase that I was quite proud of because it comes from the saying that you drink to forget therefore, using those two words in that way, gave the song a bit more of an 'Ed Sheeran' lyric ring to it, proving how his lyrics inspire me.

Guitar wise, I chose to use simple plucking and a bit of finger picking in the bridge as a way to show off my newly honed skill but also an attempt to write such a piece. I think it also helps to create a peaceful and beautiful type of melody to add to the tone of sadness. It marries well with the idea that the song is heartfelt and the lyrics are there to be listened to and thought about, as opposed to a riff being memorised that means nothing. 

Finally, I wanted the piece to almost personify the journey of someone battling with the demons inside their own head. The song starts with simple plucking (C, F, G chords) which carries through to the bridge. At the bridge is the finger plucking bit which then builds into the final chorus of strumming which uplifts the piece and shows that climb to a happier state of mind. The bridge where I finger pick helps to represent how things have to get worse to get better, which in terms of music, as opposed to the several strings being plucked at one, it goes to just one at a time (the worst point in our lives) to strumming all the strings, a climax in the song representing the good things to come. 

Musical Inspiration

One of my favourite singer/songwriters is Ed Sheeran who writes from pop to R&B and even raps.
"A country boy from Suffolk  he looked like a toy - small, cute and cuddle and cartoonish. His music was bedsit folk-pop with some decidedly white rapping throw in." (Timde, 2014).

This description albeit can be seen as a bit patronising, is mostly true and is why I see Sheeran as such an inspiration. He's not from a background with money, he's worked his way to where he is now, moving to London and playing at open mic nights. Something that takes dedication which is inspiration on how anyone can make it, not just someone who was born with a music studio in their bedroom.

"On the up-tempo Bloodstream and the Dylan-esque stream of consciousness You Don't Need Me I Don't Need You, the frenzied crowd participation went to the back row of the front tier" (Aizelwood, 2014)

He performs at gigs with just a microphone, guitar and loop pedal, which I also think is inspiring and something to look up to. At many big festivals such as Glastonbury and Radio One's Big Weekend, he is alone on stage with his guitar and loop to thousands of fans which would give anyone a rush.
"He's a polyglot, raised on folk, R&B, hip-hop and rock in equal measure and comfortable, incorporating each of these genres in his compositions." (Cox, 2014)

In an interview with Access Hollywood, he stated that he's influenced by artists such as Bob Dylan, The Beatles and Eminem and when presented with the statement that they're all different, he replied with "They're all good lyricists". (Access Hollywood)
Also in this interview, he stated that he always write lyrics first, which is what I started to do and found it easier to write a tune for words as opposed to words for a song.

An article in the Evening Standard stated that "Small Bump showcased Sheeran's ability to package a weighty lyric about a miscarriage into a palatable three-minute pop song" (Pearson, 2014). This way of describing one of Sheeran's songs is something that I want to get across when I write a song. Lyrics that mean something as opposed to being meaningless and unoriginal that exist in todays music charts is something I strive for