Photo by Dean Kalyan

Be sure to check out Part 1 and Part 2 of this 3 Part series on songwriting.

Eric Harper destroys guitars. No, I don’t mean that in a ‘Jimi Hendrix – light it on fire and watch it burn’ sort of way, nor do I mean it in a ‘Kurt Cobain – Swing the guitar like an axe into the drum set’ kind of way either… Eric destroys guitars with his fingers. Literally. One look at his instruments makes you feel sorry for them… while simultaneously sparking a curiosity as to what kind of music leaves sawdust in it’s wake. Eric’s musical weapon of choice is Flamenco.. and he wields it well. 

His guitar playing and producing has graced several Baha’i albums that we love, and when we saw he was posting songs almost daily onto his ReverbNation page, we had to check it out. The songs are eclectic, as you would expect from someone who’s influences run from Heavy Metal to Flamenco. Some of his songs have lyrics, but many don’t. Eric doesn’t constrain his writing approach by requiring lyrics. His focus is to create a singularly massive music library for licensing to film and television. With the catalog of songs he has been developing as well as the songs he already has being placed, Eric is headed towards success. Sit back and enjoy our interview with Eric Harper and his song-a-day experience.

---

A Little Background:

How did you get into songwriting?
I got into songwriting as a natural desire to want to uplift people’s hearts. I started playing with music at the age of 7; mostly creating and experimenting with sound and notes, etc. When I picked up the guitar at age 12, I started learning other people’s songs so that I could get ideas for my own music. The first song I learned was ‘Stairway to Heaven‘ and immediately borrowed that chromatic descending harmonic structure from the first 3 chords in the song for my own music.

Who long have you been writing songs for?
I guess my first real song would have been composed around the age of 14. A full song with lyrics and all. It also happened to be the time that I realized that I have no talent for lyrics. HA! I can write a song in about 5-10 minutes but it might take me close to 6 months to churn out decent lyrics. Of course, if you’re a client and want something in one day I can always write about something meaningless like crickets, or chocolate frogs or teenage love. 😉

Do you have any formal training?
Yes. I started taking piano lessons when I was seven… but that only lasted three months. (I didn’t really like my teacher.) After that, I studied drums for six years. (Ah, the marching band years! FUN!) When I was twelve, my Junior High School offered a guitar class so I picked up the guitar and started studying that as well. After the first year of classes my teacher sat me down and told me that if I just wanted to go off into a private room and practice she would give me an A for the whole year; She said she had nothing more she could teach me. Of course, I told my mom and she signed me up for private lessons with a guitar instructor named Craig Dell. The encouragement I received from my Junior High teacher and Craig Dell were the reason I stayed with guitar. At the age of fifteen my family moved to Portugal and I entered into the Conservatory of Music of Braga. Man, did they ever kick my arse! Never have I endured such intense study as I did there. I studied classical guitar for a couple years in the conservatory and then moved my studies to the Professional School of Music of Porto where I studied for an additional three years. After Portugal, I moved to Boston to continue my studies in music at Berklee where I majored in Film Scoring.

The Song-A-Day Challenge:

Tell us a bit about what made you decide to write a song a day?
Simple… Income. I have a family that I have to provide for and I’m the sole provider right now. If I don’t write, we don’t eat. I’ve been licensing my music for about five years, but nowhere near as aggressively as I am now. I had a couple experiences that changed my approach:

One: I got a nice fat check for one of my songs that played on ‘How I Met Your Mother’… and the song only played for 3 seconds.

Two: My buddy who’s been doing the Music Licensing thing for the past four years now has around 850 songs. He told me that last year he made a quarter of a million dollars in sales.

The last thing that helped me decide to pursue music licensing more aggressively is that I realized that it could actually help fund my true dream. (something super secret that is in the works) It took me a while to come to peace with the idea that my true dream probably wouldn’t be my main source of income. But once I did it was an easy jump into the music licensing boat.

What is your typical writing frequency?
I try to write a healthy balance of 22 songs a month. That way I can spend the weekends with the family. I try to start around 10 am and not go beyond 5 pm if I can help it.

When you write are you trying to achieve something or just seeing where inspiration takes you?
Both. Sometimes I have a goal in mind. Like, “Gee… I think today I want to write something like E.S. Posthumus.” Other days I just sit down and see where my fingers land on the fretboard.

When did you start your song-a-day challenge and how long are you going to go for?
I started in January of this year. (2013) And I’m up to 79 songs. I actually behind schedule because I’ve been called to travel for performances. This has taken me a bit off track, but my goal is 1000 songs in four years.

What does your typical writing process / schedule look like?
A CUP OF COFFEE A MUST!!! I can’t think without my cup-o-joe, so the first I thing I do is make myself a latte. I don’t even say good morning to my wife and baby boy until I have that coffee… Just kidding… That would be ridiculous! (No, really, I don’t say good morning to them.) Then I open up Logic Pro and start to build my idea from scratch. I usually get an idea right when I wake up, but if I don’t, I’ll pick up my guitar and noodle. If nothing comes from that, then it’s off to play video games! Yes, that’s right… video games. But I’ll only do that for about thirty minutes and then get back to the drawing board. If nothing comes to mind still, then I’ll jump-start the process by creating a generic flamenco tune.

What I’ve found to be most important is that I create something… regardless of quality. This is important for aspiring composers to understand. A composer cannot cannot CANNOT sit around and wait for inspiration to come. We have to be like those aggressive fisherman from Boston who go after the fish they want to catch. If they don’t go after the fish then they don’t get paid and that results in no income. It’s that simple. The universe is always asking “How serious are you about this?” And the response should always be “I’m dead serious”. By writing a song that I’m not inspired to write, it creates a certain kind of magnetism that draws the inspiration to me. Of course, having a good arsenal of theory in my belt helps greatly on those days when I’m just not ‘feeling it’. But from there, I find that inspiration starts to flow more and more fluidly. But I can’t stop; I always have to be writing. Every day. Every freakin day.

How does that process differ from your typical writing process?
Simple. Detachment. When I’m writing songs that I “care” about I tend to be too attached to the end result. I love the song too much. Love can actually deter you from finishing something. When you hate something it can do the same. With writing a song-a-day, you don’t have time to love or hate it. You simply have to get it done. No excuses. You’re detached from the loving or hating it. Which is actually one of the coolest things in the world. It’s very magical.

[quote] “O My brother! When a true seeker determineth to take the step of search in the path leading unto the knowledge of the Ancient of Days… He must so cleanse his heart that no remnant of either love or hate may linger therein, lest that love blindly incline him to error, or that hate repel him away from the truth.” – Bahá’u’lláh (Selections from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh p.192) [/quote]

Do you make lists of song topics which you choose from or do you just see how the day feels?
I make a list of song genres. I’m working on growing my Flamenco category right now and then off to more genres. Though if I’m randomly inspired to write a rock song I’ll go with it.

Do you co-write with others.. or is it strictly you alone?
I would love to because I think greater songs can come from people collaborating. But right now, with juggling family and the strict work schedule I have, there just isn’t time.

What has been the biggest challenge with the process?
Mixing and mastering. I’m not trained in either so I had to learn from scratch. The beauty of writing a song a day is that you learn how to do things really fast. If I can’t figure something out, there’s always a YouTube video out there with a wicked tutorial. Gotta love YouTube!

What was your biggest Ah-Ha moment during your song-a-day challenge?
Getting the kick to punch and the snare to not sound like poo. I still struggle with those two. It’s crazy how hard it is to get a kick to sound as punchy as the kick in ‘Gangnam Style‘ (for example). Sure, the song might be cheesy and silly but that kick sounds awesome!

How did writing a song-a-day affect your writing ability and/or process?
It’s taken the fear out of “I can’t do that” and turned it into “How can I do that?” One of the best examples was the song  “Pompeii” by E.S. Posthumus. I always loved that song but always thought I couldn’t write something like that. Then one day I woke up and thought “Why not?” So I did. Writing a song a day makes things not such a big deal. When things are huge in our minds it makes it hard to accomplish anything. But if you see hills instead of mountains then they’re much easier to overcome.

Was there any unexpected consequences?
Yes. Juggling family life and music life. It’s hard to put the creative mind down once it’s turned on. It just stays on ALL THE TIME and won’t leave me alone. When I’m done at 5 pm I do my best to be PRESENT with my family. That’s a very hard thing to do, as the inspiration (or Holy Spirit, whatever you want to call it) doesn’t care what you’re doing or how important playing at the park with your baby boy is. It’s just always on; Always communicating; Always sending new ideas. The good news is that, if an idea comes, I don’t have to stop what I’m doing anymore and rush to the studio to jot jot it down before I lose it. I simply tell the inspiration “Not now. I’ll come to you in the morning.” And if the inspiration isn’t there in the morning, tough. I still work.

How do you deal with burn out or writers block when you are on such a tight schedule?
Writers block and burnout to me are two different things. Writers block comes when I have no ideas. Burnout is the actual chemical affect from working too much. For writers block I use theory to get me out of tough corners. Theory can tell me to go from the minor 1st to the minor 6th and then to the dominant 5th for two beats. The rest is just mechanical. Last year I suffered majorly from burnout. I decided to quit music for a while and took up a job at Rogers (A local Canadian cellphone company) for ten months. That was a really good break. I had a great boss, made new friends, and had a great time while gaining new skills in sales! (something that I’ve never had… Though I actually still suck at sales. I mean, come on people. Do you REALLY need to buy the new Iphone 5 when you don’t even know how to text!?)

Engaging Your Community:

Why did you announce it to the world?
Because I, just like everyone else, am addicted to Facebook Compliments and Likes. Thus when I write a new song it gets upload to my Facebook and all my other social media sites and let the compliments roll in baby! (It’s vain. I know.)

Do you get your fans involved in the process?
I tried a little in the beginning (via Facebook, Twitter, and my Email List) The response time was a bit too slow to make it work. My process is so fast that there’s really isn’t enough time to get people’s help or assistance.

Do you share the songs as they are written?
I upload them daily as MP3s to my Reverbnation page which in turn uploads it to all my social media sites and my website. I don’t give the songs away for free but they are for sale for only $1.29 each and half of that goes to Half The Sky Movement which helps ‘turn oppression into opportunity for women worldwide’.

What has been the response so far?
The response had been great. Many people are sharing with their friends and more and more opportunities to perform have come about as a result. In addition, I’ve had more opportunities with shows and I just recently won a Oil Can Guitar from Bohemia Guitars. Pretty cool!

Are there any things you could do more effectively next time to engage your fans?
Yes. I could write my fans more often with my email list. But I’m just so busy I could probably use a secretary or something.

Closing Thoughts:

What have you gained as a result of this effort? Will you continue any aspect of the song a day writing process or schedule?
I think I’ve gained a better concept on how to produce. As well as what it means to go after inspiration and not sit around and wait for it. I think that’s what true spirituality is. It’s the going after it. The effort. I mean, isn’t that how dreams come to life; By us going after them and making an effort? A sincere, gut-wrenching, I think this going to drive me to insanity, effort.

What 3 pieces of advice would you give to those writers who might be looking to experiment with writing a song-a-day?
Write. Write and write. And start with writing 3 songs a day. That’s how I started.

Any other advice you can offer to songwriters who are still trying to develop the craft of songwriting?
Learn LOTS of covers so you can get ideas for your own music. Then go play those covers in pubs or bars or restaurants. Feel what it feels like to be ignored. Sorry, but food always trumps music… and then it’s sitting in front of them on their plates they’re not really interested in your heavenly soul-stirring music. It will toughen you up as well as give you an idea of which songs turn people’s heads and make them stop eating their sandwiches to listen to you. It will tell you which cover songs will earn you the best tips. From there, you can use that knowledge to write your own songs that turn people’s heads.

Also… Write. Write. And then write more. Through quantity you develop quality.

Where can aspiring songwriters find outlets to sell their music and start earning some royalty-based income?
Any Music Licensing company that offers NON-EXCLUSIVE deals. Do not sell the rights to your music. I repeat. DO NOT SELL THE RIGHTS TO YOUR MUSIC!!! A few companies that are non-exclusive that I write for are:

Music Dealers ( http://www.musicdealers.com/ )
Crucial Music ( http://www.crucialmusic.com/ )
Pump Audio ( http://www.pumpaudio.com/ )
Tribe of Noise ( http://www.tribeofnoise.com/ )

 

A huge thanks to Eric Harper for taking the time out of his busy schedule to do this interview. His experience, in a field, which few of us have had the opportunity to delve into, is immensely valuable. We encourage you to check out Eric’s reverbnation page and listen to the songs he is posting…. and if you like them.. buy them! Roughly half of the money from each sale goes to charity.

Check out Eric Harper’s albums on 9 Star Media or read more about him on his artist profile page.

Have you ever thought about finishing up some of your rough song ideas and submitting them for a music library? How many songs do you have sitting idly on your hard drive? Songs which didn’t quite make the cut? Leave a comment and let us know if this interview has given you any ideas… If so, share them! One lucky person who leaves a comment will receive a free download of Eric Harper’s newest release ‘Ribeira’.