On March 8 the Texas Chapter of GRAMMY U hosted 50 GRAMMY U members from across the state for the opportunity to attend a GRAMMY SoundChecks with GRAMMY winner John Mayer at the Frank Erwin Center in Austin, Texas. As they arrived students were escorted into the arena where they witnessed the process of a professional soundcheck and the variety of behind-the-scenes work required for high-level productions. After completing his soundcheck, Mayer held a question-and-answer session with the students and many in attendance said this was one of the most informative and inspirational sessions they ever had the opportunity to attend. Mayer was incredibly genuine and spoke to the students about his songwriting and creative process. When one student asked about the most important facet of songwriting, Mayer replied, "Lyrics, melody, and pulse."
After explaining the importance of the melody and the pulse, he went into an interesting explanation on the significance of lyrics and the affect they have on the listener. While mentioning that a great song should include all three facets, Mayer made humorous analogies to famous songs including Louie Armstrong's "What A Wonderful World" and Madonna's "Like A Virgin," challenging students to think about what these songs would sound like if they had the same melody and pulse, but slightly different lyrics.
Mayer then went into a discussion on phonetics and why some parts of songs are more memorable than others. He encouraged the songwriters in the audience to ask themselves, "Why does this lyric fit here?"
Mayer also gave the students a few words of wisdom in regards to their questions on how to effectively create music and make it as an artist in today's industry. "Define your expectations and set the goal," said Mayer. "My expectations are that as long as I can make another record, I'm good."
This encouraged students to take their creative ideas to the next level. Mayer encouraged students to write as much as possible saying, "If you consider the reaction before the action, the action has been tainted."
"Don't ever cross anything out, but circle the things you like," said Mayer.
As a final piece of advice, Mayer pointed to writing as the most important part of the process. "What you want to do as a writer is have only your instrument, tape recorder, pen, and pad. Everything else is just a distraction," said Mayer.
Following the question-and-answer session Mayer was available for photo opportunities with the students and staff. The Chapter would like to thank Mayer and his management, the Frank Erwin Center and the GRAMMY Foundation for making this event possible.