Mark Winkler

The Songwriter’s Handbook

During the pandemic, I achieved two major milestones: I finally tackled the daunting task of cleaning and organizing my garage, and I wrote my book on lyric writing. Having taught the subject for over twenty years at UCLA Extension, The Songwriting School of Los Angeles, and in private lessons, I already had a solid syllabus filled with effective exercises and a structured approach to lyric writing that had helped my students succeed. However, it wasn’t until the pandemic gave me the time to truly focus that I could dive deeper into the project. I quickly discovered that sticking rigidly to the syllabus made things feel dry. So, as in my classes, I infused the lessons with personal anecdotes and insights from my own experience as a working songwriter and performer for over three decades.

This chapter, in particular, stood out to me. Over the years, I’ve noticed that many of my songwriting students were also performers. When I asked simple questions such as “Which song in your set gets the best response?” or “What do you want your opening song to achieve?” many were unable to answer. This gap in their understanding is what led me to dig deeper in this chapter—to help both songwriters and performers connect the dots between crafting lyrics and creating a compelling performance.

CHAPTER 15
Performing Live

Like me, a lot of songwriters in my classes are also performers. I’ve been touring and singing at different clubs and festivals all over the world for more than thirty years. I was not born a great performer, but through the years, I’ve learned some hard-earned lessons about performing and being on the road. Once I got the hang of it, performing to a live audience is one of the most satisfying things I do. And in today’s world, now that streaming and digital downloads have reduced revenues for songwriters and artists, live performance is where the money is at for a performer.

Here’s what I learned the hard way:

1. Only do a maximum of three new songs per show. You do not need to do a whole new selection of songs every time you perform. Doing songs that you’ve already done leaves more time in rehearsal for the new songs. Then, if you follow my rule number two, it gives you the security of knowing that no matter how well the new tunes go over, you have some “road-tested” songs that work. Once I have a solid beginning and closing for my show, I tend to keep them for many years. That’s how important they are. Willie Nelson has been singing “Whiskey River” for over forty years as his opener. You need an opening song that you really have under your belt. In addition to saving you time in rehearsal, you have one more tune in your set you can knock out of the park . Because the minute you hit the stage there are millions of other things that suddenly come to mind, like…

“Oh no, I can’t hear myself!”
“Wow, this is a full house, and the crowd is really receptive!” or “Where is everybody?”
“The stage has a sprung floor and I’m bouncing up here.”
“There’s my old friend and his new wife in the front row, I haven’t seen him for years.”

It hits you at once and you want a song that you could continue singing even if a bomb would go off next to you. You want your closing song to be an emotional and musical peak of the show. The kind of song that incites the audience to want to bring you back for an encore.

2. Record your performance. Video’s best (but audio works as well). It shows you what you do right, and it shows you what you did wrong. It can break you of some bad vocal and physical habits (for example: making faces or smiling during a sad song). Performers who say they can’t record their shows because they don’t like the way they look or sound, need to get over it. At first, we all are surprised at the reality of our performance. But the more you see yourself, the more reality takes over.

Most importantly, it tells you to which songs the audience responds, and which ones aren’t grabbing them. If you have at least a quarter of a house, the response should be fairly reliable from show-to-show in telling you what songs are reaching the audience. And remember, no matter how much you like a song that you wrote, the audience is never wrong. I literally count how long their applause lasts. Plus, if there are whoops and cheers after a song, even better. If, after a song, there is little applause (“crickets”) and people are coughing and talking during the song, these are all bad signs. The only thing I notice is that, generally, ballads get less applause than my more “energetic” songs. However, after the show featuring some of my best ballads, people come up to me to tell me how much they liked the slow song that made them cry. The songs that the audience likes will become your “tentpole” tunes that your set will be built around.

3. Know your tentpole tunes. These are the songs you knock out of the park. You can identify them because they’re the ones that get the most applause and enthusiastic comments after a show. Keep them in your set and weave your new material around these songs. Even if a new song gets tepid applause, you’ve got the tentpole song coming up next to keep the momentum of the show going. Surprisingly, tentpole tunes work in almost every venue and in front of every crowd. They are worth their weight in gold.

4. The sound person is your friend. Make sure you can hear yourself in the monitors. I like to have two monitors in front of me, placed like ears at each side. Don’t have too much reverb on the sound; it can mess with your pitch. Go out of your way to have a good relationship with the sound person. Ask their name as soon as you arrive and be sure to remember it.

5. Dress like you’re appearing at at the most prestigious venue of your genre. Look like you’d like to be seen in a perfect world. Don’t dress like you just came from work. Look at the successful performers who are most like you and style yourself accordingly.

6. Have “musician-proof” charts. Most solo acts don’t travel with a band, or even a keyboard player. Make sure your music is easy to read, legible and has clear notation for everything that makes the arrangement special to you. I used to have the worst charts, with a lot of confusing changes and handwritten edits on them. Don’t waste valuable rehearsal time spending ten minutes explaining what you want during a two-and-a-half hour rehearsal of ten or twelve tunes. Always start a rehearsal with a couple of easy tunes to get your chops warmed up and to get everyone’s spirits high, then give them the bad boy that’s may be a little more challenging to play.

7. Don’t speak to musicians in “singer-ese.” It’s not that difficult to learn the standard language of your craft: take a class in music Sit down with a friendly musician and go through your charts to make sure you know the correct terms for all the components of your song. The more you can speak to musicians in their language, the better it will be for you.

8. Sing songs that flatter your voice. Choose material that shows off your “money notes” or highlights the best things you do vocally. Once again, recording yourself helps You know your best notes, the best keys for your arrangements and your comfortable range, check them at the piano or with your guitar.

9. Tell your own story with your songs. Each song should come authentically from you. It should reflect how you feel and where you’ve been. Don’t sing a song if it means nothing to you emotionally. People love performers because they love their stories, and who they are, probably more than they like their voices and their songs. Each song should let the audience know more about you.

10. Have interesting arrangements of your tunes. If you’re singing a song from The Great American Songbook, Ella or Frank have probably done it about as good as it can be done. If you’re singing a current hit, you’re not going to beat Bruno Mars or Ariana Grande. You have to either pick less well-known songs (which I highly recommend) or find a way into well-known songs that is different. But true to yourself—a great arrangement can do that. Recently, I watched a documentary on Tina Turner and one of the highlights was her reworking of the Beatles’ “Help.” The original was uptempo, but Tina slowed it down and made it a very personal statement about her life that really resonated with the audience.

11. Know what you’re going to say. Don’t go on stage without an idea of what you’re going to say to introduce yourself and your songs to the audience. Magic will not happen. You won’t suddenly be brilliant and screamingly funny. You’ve got to plan it. Set up the song. Talk about why you’re singing it, a bit of background on the song and who you are. Performers from Bruce Springsteen to Barbra Streisand are masters at putting the songs they sing in context. I always write what I’m going to say and rehearse in the mirror, until I’m comfortable with it. When in doubt, don’t talk at all; bad stage patter can literally ruin a live show.

12. Be in your comfort zone. Whatever you do onstage is going to be better if you do it while relaxed, in the moment and in command of your material. Never do anything onstage that is so challenging or out of your range that it robs your whole set of you being present. I think it is always better to do a song you’re comfortable with than one you’re worried about. Having that one challenging song you don’t quite have under your belt, can take focus away from the whole show. In the early part of my career, that one difficult song ruined many a set.

13. Singing live is all about energy. Recording is about technical perfection and nailing the take that has just the right emotion. However, performing live is more about energy—the kind you bring to the audience and the kind the audience gives to you. I recommend only one or two ballads in a twelve- or thirteen-song set. There’s a saying in show business: “You’ve got to earn your ballads,” which means a live show needs to have momentum to work. Too many ballads get in the way of that and make it harder to keep the audience with you. A variety of rhythms, tempos and keys is your friend when you perform live. There are some singers who kill it live, because they literally hit the stage like a blow torch, but who aren’t as good in a studio, when suddenly the technical aspects of singing are put in the spotlight. Singing live is not about perfection, it’s about connection with the audience, giving them entertainment and a good show. They’re already on your side–they’ve carved out their evening for you and spent money for the tickets, they want to like you. Learn how harness your energy.

14. Rest on the road. When I’m traveling and touring, I make sure I get enough rest. You want your energy to peak during the show. If possible, don’t arrive at the venue straight from a plane, do a rehearsal for two hours and then do a gig. Don’t party all night and blow your voice out after the show. Remember, there’ll be another one tomorrow. Being a singer can be tough. Vocal cords are delicate things that get affected rather quickly by stress, fatigue and over-use. Take care of your instrument; it’s the only one you’ve got. Sometimes I feel like a party pooper—I get that when you’re in a new city, you want to explore it, but your priorities have to be the show first, last and always.

Songwriting Actions

These Actions are primarily for the songwriter/performers reading this book. I have found that a large percentage of my songwriting students are also performers.

1. Record your next performance. You can record it with your voice memo or video app on your phone. This only works if you are performing in a room that’s at least a quarter filled.
2. A few days after your performance, listen to the applause at the end of each song and count the number of beats they get. The average is around twenty-three If there are whoops and hollers, all the better.
3. Notice which songs get crickets (silence) or less applause. If there’s a lot of talking or coughing, that’s a negative.
4. Write down the two or three songs in your set that get the most applause and use them as the pegs to build your show around next time. Put the numbers you aren’t sure about in-between them.
5. If you’re watching video of yourself, notice if you have any annoying habits or physical ticks. I’ve mentioned my crazy right arm that keeps going up on me during a song (I’m working on it). Having your eyes closed, making faces and walking around too much are also habits to be avoided on stage.
6. Pay attention to your patter and notice if you are talking too much, that your patter doesn’t set up the song properly or is nonsensical. Generally, shorter is better.
7. You can also notice if you’re singing on pitch, if you’re supporting your voice properly and if the group is supporting you or overpowering you.

Mark Winkler is a platinum award-winning singer/lyricist who has had over 250 of his songs recorded by such artists as Dianne Reeves, Steve Tyrell, Liza Minnelli, Jane Monheit, and Lea Salonga. He has written lyrics for tunes by such esteemed composers as Wayne Shorter, Dexter Gordon, Joshua Redman, and David Benoit. He has released 21 solo albums that regularly place high on the jazz charts, and he has gotten excellent reviews including two “Top Vocal CDs of the year” in 2021 and 2023 in Jazziz Magazine. He has written songs for the hit musical revue Naked Boys Singing! and is also the co-writer for the musical revues Bark!, Too Old for the Chorus, and Play It Cool. As an educator, he has taught his lyric writing class at UCLA extension for 19 years and at The Songwriting School for over 10 years. His first book The Songwriter’s Handbook is now available. It not only teaches the craft of writing great lyrics—but it is peppered with anecdotes about his 30 years as a songwriter/performer. markwinkler.com  (Photo: Gene Reed)