"Song Chronicles" With Louise Goffin

The name Louise Goffin invokes a strong sense of reverence among songwriters because of her parents - the legendary songwriters Carole King and Gerry Goffin. 

Louise never shies away from talking about them in a very matter of fact style that acknowledges the obvious, without overpowering her own personality, individuality, and musical style. She's found a terrific way to balance all of that, and created her own place in music. 

I took a master class on songwriting with Louise online in June 2020 through the Songwriters Association of Washington, and it was one of the most enjoyable experiences I've had in learning about songwriting. 

Louise has established a career as a songwriter, guitarist, vocalist, producer, and essentially a "Jill Of All Trades" - and done everything exceedingly well. And on top of all that, she's added "podcast producer and host" to her extensive resume.

Her first podcast, The Great Song Adventure, was co-hosted with Paul Zollo, author of Songwriters On Songwriting, in which he interviewed both of Louise's parents, and More Songwriters On Songwriting. That podcast featured songwriters like Chrissie Hynde of The Pretenders, and Mike Stoller, partner of the late Jerry Leiber. And Louise interviewed her mother in a five-part series.

Louise currently has another podcast, Song Chronicles. She's interviewed a wide range of music industry folks, like songwriters, independent artists, international stars, producers, engineers, music executives, attorneys, and others involved in the business. She offers a "sneak peak" into the real workings of the music business you can't get anywhere else. Louise talks to her guests in a fresh, breezy, fun style that makes you feel like she and her guests simply dropped by your house and you're all chatting away in your living room. 

She is also the founder and executive director of the Goffin & King Foundation, a not-for-profit devoted to helping aspiring songwriters achieve their potential. 

You can find Song Chronicles on a variety of platforms, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, the Podbean app, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, YouTube, and Facebook. It's on Instagram at @songchronicles.

Find out more about this dynamic musician at louisegoffin.com, and on Instagram at @louisegoffinmusic. 

Louise has lived her life in a way that acknowledges and honors her parents, yet lets her carve out her own place in the sun. Do find out more about her!

Nostalgia Trip? Not Exactly

I've been listening to a lot of songs I grew up with - mainly by acoustic acts like James Taylor, America, and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. And people are basically saying I'm on a nostalgia trip.

Well...not exactly.

See, I'm not really one for nostalgia. I won't play a song just because I listened to it as a kid, or as a teenager. That doesn't interest me.

I've been playing these songs because of my own songwriting.  

I've discovered that my songwriting style is very similar to the acoustic acts I grew up hearing. It's what I've got in me. I couldn't do death metal if a great white shark was coming after me. And that's okay. 

So now I listen to them with a "different ear" - a more technical one, as in, trying to understand the mechanics of these songs: "What key is this in?", "What is the BPM?", "What's the song structure?", "How is the song arranged?", "What's the strumming pattern?", "Why did they use that chord progression?", and other questions my 11-year-old self would've never asked. She wouldn't have cared. She was listening as a fan.

I'm listening as something else now: a songwriting adult. And that means being a little more careful to really listen critically. 

It doesn't ruin the magic for me, though. Quite the opposite. I enjoy them more because I understand what makes them tick much better.

It's pretty cool, though, when my 11-year-old self comes back, and sits with me. She likes the music more now too!

"How To Win Friends And Influence People"...Sorta

I've noticed something since I took up songwriting: people seem to be more interested in me.

Which is intriguing, since I generally don't like a lot of attention.

I get why they're interested: people love music. But people who basically said "That's nice" when I said I was a photographer now perk up when I say I'm a songwriter. 

It's almost like my social status has shot through the roof. People are more likely to suggest meeting up for coffee, or drinks. And people who never seemed to particularly like me suddenly want to ask me questions about myself.

If you want to feel like a celebrity, or "win friends and influence people," mention that you're a songwriter in an elevator conversation. 

But try not to let the attention go to your head. Gotta pretend to be humble!!!

Silence

I read something two days ago that a musician wrote about needing to hear something "all the time." He said he would create a sound if he didn't hear something. He didn't like silence.

It would seem logical that a musician wouldn't like silence...right?

Well...not exactly.

As wonderful as music is, it can still "take up space in your brain." It takes a huge amount of energy for your brain to process it. 

Yes, this is coming from having been a psychology major, and studying cognitive psychology. I won't bore you with the details, but basically your mind periodically yells "Leave me alone! I need a break!", even from music. 

I often turn off music and the TV when I'm home alone. I also sit quietly during songwriting sessions, or when I'm drawing or painting. I don't want any "outside stimuli" then. I need to focus on what I want to do with a song, a drawing, or a painting. My mind already has enough going on then.

And of course, there are "rests" in songs. I always have to refer back to my music theory books to remember the symbols for rests, like for a quarter note rest, but I'm trying to learn to write rests into my music. My music is generally kind of mellow, but my listeners might still like a quick break occasionally. 

And "silence" is never really totally silent, is it? You can always hear the outside world when you're sitting silently, like traffic going by, birds chirping, etc. Your inside world seems to amplify then, too. Your thoughts can make your mind get pretty loud. So in those cases, silence is simply the absence of sound you bring into your surroundings.

So sound and silence go hand in hand for me. The "key" here is embracing both of them.