Songdrops Q and A

Here are some questions people have asked me over the years, and my answers to them.  There are more in the “comments” section at the bottom.

 

When did u first start making these songs?

I wrote a few of these songs more than 6 years ago, including The Duck Song, Honey Bear and Unfinished Song.  Back then I had no plans to do kids songs at all, and they just sat in a drawer.  The summer of 2008, I decided to start writing and recording songs for kids, and that fall I started recording.  Since then I’ve written about 100 more songs. (A lot of them are still waiting in line to be recorded).  Some weeks I write 2 or 3 songs, and sometimes I go a month or longer without writing one.

“Love Is” has a piano in it…..who plays that when ya play guitar?  -Number 1 Fan

Hi Number One Fan (and thanks!). Scott Martin, who does keyboards for most of the songs that have keyboards, played piano for Love Is. Then Richard D. Lewis played keyboards to add strings and other instruments.


OMG! My favouroute song is THE DUCK SONG! I just wanted to ask, who sings the duck song???

I sing all the songs. Most of them are sped up after I record them, and that makes my voice sound higher.

 

Do you make songs by yourself?

I write the songs myself- the words and melody.  I record some of them with just me and my guitar, but most of them I have help.  I can’t play keyboards or piano, so I have someone play keyboards for me (on most songs, that’s Scott Martin).  I also sometimes work with an engineer (Tony Crank)  and with other musicians.

I love your songs! They are so funny! Are ducks your favorite animals?

Thanks! Hmmm. I haven’t really thought about what is my favorite animal. I like most animals but I don’t know if I have a favorite. I’ll have to think about that 🙂

 

Are there any plans to put your songs on karaoke?

Yes, but not very soon. I hope to have a CD of just Karaoke tracks of a lot of the songs on iTunes one day.

Is there a piano part for the duck song? if there is would you mind writing it out for me?

I do have some simple, basic piano sheet music that I’ll try to put on the site soon.   (feel free to remind me in a few weeks.)

i like every single song by you you should come on a tour i bet litte kids would enjoy it.

Thanks 🙂 Right now I’m focusing on writing and recording songs. When it feels like time to take a break from that, I’ll see what’s next…

what are the chords you use for the duck song??

There’s a link on the duck song page of Songdrops to a page that has the chords. It’s FFCG all the way through, capo 4th or 5th or 6th fret, depending on your voice…

You are awsome

Thanks. Glad you like Songdrops.

 

Does anyone else help you think of words for your songs? 🙂 🙁 8);) 😮

Once or twice someone has helped me with a line of a song. But most of the time it’s just me, for better or worse

 

Can me and my friends do songs of yours and make a cd?

For that kind of question it works best to email me. Bryant (@) songdrops.com . Thanks.

 

What’s your favorite song? and why? also your songs are amazing and inspiring, my younger cousins always enjoy listening to them when they come over 🙂

Thanks! I’m glad your cousins like Songdrops. I usually really like whichever song I just finished writing 🙂 I don’t know if I can answer why, but my favorite funny song might be “Before I knew how to rhyme”. My favorite sweet/funny song is probably “The Valentine’s Day Song”. And my favorite sweet songs are probably “Love Is” and “Just as You Are”.

 

Are you going to write another i gotta pea song?

I don’t think so.  Sequels are almost never as good or as liked as the original, so it’s a tricky thing…

 

You should put just the background music of some songs up for people in case they want to sing it somewhere

That’s a good idea and it’s been on my list, but it might be a while before I have them available…

 

What was the very first song you wrote

Hmm. The first song I remember writing is one I wrote when I was around 11 or 12, about our dog. I still remember it. 🙂

 

What is your favorite color

Cobalt blue (rich deep ocean blue)

 

Why did you make the duck song the duck song 2 and the duck song 3?

I heard an old joke about a duck going to a bar asking for grapes, and I thought it could be a good song. i changed it to a lemonade stand, changed it to glue, and added the ending where the man takes the duck to the grocery store… After that an idea for Duck song 2 came to me, then an idea for Duck Song 3 came to me. I think that’s all of them, at least for now.

 

When you wrote the Valentine’s Day Song, what inspired you?? thx, Natalie ;-1

It was 2 days before Valentine’s Day last year, and I thought it would be fun to write a Valentine’s Day song. So I started thinking of ideas and that’s the one that came out. It’s probably one of my favorites.

 

Dear Bryant, Where do you get all of your funny, creative ideas?? THank you for your time, Mr. Oden. Sincerly, Natalie PS My favorite is the Valentine’s DAy Song!!

Thanks Natalie. I don’t know where I get the ideas. Usually I just sit with my guitar and think of things. Sometimes when I’m driving on a long trip ideas come to me… I like the Valentine’s Day Song too.

 

Are you being sarcastic when answering some questions? its hard to tell when no ones actually talking

Some of them aren’t serious answers. It can be hard to tell just reading sometimes…

 

Hi i am a big fan of your songs i was living in colorado and i was wondering how did you get the idea to do songdrops

I can’t give a good short answer, so go to songdrops.com/songdrops if you are really curious. If you mean how did I start making kids songs, why did u start making all these songs, when my nieces and nephews were little I wrote some songs for them. Once in a while I would play for friends’ kids. Sometimes people would say “You should really make a kids CD”. Finally, about a year and a half ago, I decided to go for it. I’ve been recording and writing songs since then.

 

How did you feel when u got lots of views

I felt really surprised, and happy people are liking the songs.

 

Omg! i am a big fan of your music, bryant! you are a great example to kids who want to be like you. anyways, how much are the songdrops t shirts?

Thanks. I’m glad you like Songdrops. The t shirt costs depends on the shirt style. It’s all handled through Zazzle.com If you follow the t shirt link you can find specifics. I think those kind of print on demand companies are kind of expensive, but so far it’s the best way I’ve found to do it.  I think the cheapest is $12, but it’s around $6 shipping.

 

What were we thinking when you wrote “i got a pea”?

🙂

 

How do you think up all your songs? Does someone help you?

I don’t know how I think of them. Different ways for different songs. A lot of them come from just playing around with my guitar and seeing what happens. 🙂

 

Do you sing and write your songs or do you have someone write them for you? Do you have someone sing them for you?

I write and sing them.

 

It looks so nice in the county side/city where you live. 😛

Thanks. I live in Colorado, at the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, so there are a lot of beautiful places near by.

 

Hi first of all i love your songs. and will you write a song about me my name is nyke.

Hi Nyke. I just write songs that come to me, I can’t really write songs on request. Sorry. Glad you like the songs though. 🙂

 

Why did you put a short pause in between the third and fourth day in the duck song?

Well, just between you and me- don’t tell ANYONE 😉 – I recorded it “live” in the studio, playing guitar and singing at the same time, and I was running out of air so I had to let myself breathe for a few seconds. But I like the break there. Also, after I recorded it once, I decided to do another take, and the second time I just happened to start singing the “Bum Bum Bum” parts. They weren’t planned. That was the take I used. When I recorded it I had no idea at all that people would like it.

 

YOU ARE SUCH A GENIUS!!! my favorite line out of all your songs are “I know he didn’t sleep well, he musta walked all night.” I mean, that seriously made me laugh soo hard cuz i would of never though of such a complex thought about a snail. Your so great!

Thanks. I had fun writing that song, and laughed when I got that image in my mind.

 

Have you been on youtube.com

My Youtube channel is http://www.youtube.com/user/songdrops

 

Are you making a duck song 4?

They say “never say never”, but I don’t plan to any time soon…   It feels complete as a trilogy, and it’s hard to make sequels as good as the original. I’m stopping at 3 for now anyway.

 

Could u make a song about Popping Popcorn? I dont have anything in mind for the lyrics tho.. thx!

I mention popping popcorn in “My Dad”. That might be as close as I get, but I’ll keep it in mind.

 

Hey, can you post a piano part for the mother,s day song. P.S. Your songs are the BEST!

Sorry I don’t have any piano music yet. I do have an instrumental version of Mom’s Song, and I’ll try to get a link to it on the song’s page soon.

 

Why do you speed up your voice on all the songs?

Not all the songs but most. Most of the songs seem to work better that way. A lot of them also have normal speed versions for people who prefer those.

 

Why did u start making all these songs

When my nieces and nephews were little I wrote some songs for them. Once in a while I would play for friends’ kids. Sometimes people would say “You should really make a kids CD”. Finally, about a year and a half ago, I decided to go for it. I’ve been recording and writing songs since then.

 

Hi. I am impressed with the joy your music brings my children 14 and 6, and the way it opens conversations up for us. Have you considered touring? Gale

Thanks Gale. I’ve been really focused on writing and recording since this started about a year and a half ago.  It feels like I’ll continue to do that for the coming months.  Then we’ll see…

 

How can i make a song

Well, everyone finds their own approach that works for them.  Maybe start with thinking about something that would be fun to make a song about, and then write down or record different ideas that come to you. Just play with different ideas and don’t worry if they are good. Keep coming back to it, and in a few weeks go through all your ideas and see if you can put together a song from them. If not, keep coming back to it. It usually takes some time and some patience. Good luck and have fun.

 

Have you got the duck song sheet music for violin as I play and would love to play the duck song.

Sorry, not yet.

 

You sound English in some of your songs.

Sorry.

 

The duck walked up to the animal zoo and he said to the man who was running the zoo, “hey got any grapes?” thezookeeper said “no we dont sell them no more,why not look in the corner store? I bet they’ve got some!” The duck said “Im done” Like it?

Rocking.

 

Ok, I always sing I got a pea and people always laugh! Are you a psychic???

I knew you were going to ask that. 😉

 

Hey, first of all I would like to say me and my little brother LOVE all of your songs! But why do they take so long to get on iTunes? 🙂

Thanks. That’s a great complaint to get. It wouldn’t work well to have 100 songs on 100 separate albums, so I try to wait ’til I have a batch of new songs before putting them on iTunes.

 

How do you come up with all of your lyrics? I mean it’s just amazing!

Thanks a lot, that’s nice to hear 🙂 (but I don’t have a good answer for you. Some songs come to me pretty easily, and others I spend a lot of time working on them.)

 

I was thinking, maybe if there was a song about snow on the mountains wouldn’t that sound pretty?I got the idea from your picture in the background! What if you tried that :3

Nice idea. I’ve never been able to write songs based on good ideas people suggest, but that sounds like it would be a nice song.

are u the guy who does the voice of hoops/ yoyo?? i love them and u sound like the guy who does one of their voices. and also this is the greatest inventions of a song i have ever heard in my life!! (duck song)

No, I don’t do any voices besides my songs. And thanks.

 

Do you sing the songs and edit them or does somebody else??

I sing them (most of them are sped up so my voice sounds different). I usually have help editing them.

 

Hi! My BFF and I loooooveeeee your songs! However, one small question. Did the person in the “I don’t like tomatoes” song really mean that tomatoes made him fart and was just hiding it, or did they just make him unhappy?

I don’t understand what comments like this are talking about. The character in the song is just saying tomatoes make him “farrrrrrr too unhappy”. People imagine they hear the strangest things 😉

 

Who is that girl at the start of the duck songs?

She’s an engineer’s daughter. She’s not sure what to think that millions of people have heard her voice, but I think she mostly likes it.

 

Id love it if you make a “whistle song” with sounds of whistles just like the ones on Bob the snail 🙂

Maybe I’ll do that sometime. But for now, the song “If I Were” has a lot of whistling in it. So does “Songdrops”

 

Yes, i can’t seem to find the chords for your songs on the page, is there any? or are they with the grapes?

Hey. Most songs have chords under the video, or some have a link on the song page to another page with chords. If you can’t find chords for a song, let me know and I’ll try to add them soon.

 

Are you alredy working on the next song? if you do,wats the title?

I’m always working on the next song 🙂  I like to wait on giving titles until the song is on Songdrops.

 

oh and got any duck tape

Are you the duck? How did you get on here?

 

hey bryant are you making a duck song 4

hmmmm. I feel like Duck Song 3 probably wrapped things up with the stories in 1 and 2. I have no idea if I’ll get an idea I like for another Duck Song, but if that does happen it won’t be any time soon.

 

got any grapes?

No but I have some lemonade.

 

can i help make song i love them

Thanks for offering. I don’t think that would work, but sometime I should try to do a song where people send different sounds or parts or ideas, or rhyming lines, that would be fun. Thanks for the idea.

 

Do you like ice cream?

Love it, but please stop mailing it to me 😉

 

Thanks for writing your songs! They cheer me up on a bad day :3

Thanks!

 

You just made my day! Thanks for the laugh. I am a fan!!!

Thanks 🙂

 

hey, i really like your songs. what do u use to record your songs with and what instrument do u use? thanks

A wide variety- some songs are just me and guitar singing and playing together at the same time, “live”. for other songs like I Got a Pea and the CBA song, I’ve worked with talented keyboard players. A few songs I’ve recorded just at home with a zoom h4 handheld recorder (like Facebook friend and my heart has a spark for you). So a lot of different situations.

 

I play the guitar to! got any tips for a rookie?

Hmmm. Tips for a rookie… Definitely stay with it. If you get frustrated, take a break, but come back to it. Anything worth getting good at takes practice. Also, I would start simply, with just a few chords, and slowly expand as you feel ready. Have fun with it 🙂  Truth is, I’m not a great guitar player, but I play well enough to just share my little songs…

 

I have seen the guitar chords on the website, but is it possible to get the melody/sheet music also? Having big troubles with our computer being reliable at playing youtube etc for long enough to learn the melody. Thanks

I don’t have sheet music for any of the songs yet. I’d like to put together sheet music for all the songs, but that’s some future project… Sorry I can’t help.

 

You got any more songs coming soon?

I have about 30 more songs that are ready and waiting until I can record them. I hope to keep releasing at least two or three more songs a month.

 

u said u just play guitar. but what about the ukulele song??

Yeah, that wasn’t me playing. I had a stunt double.  (My engineer, Tony, played it. I hope to learn to play it soon…)

 

Is your real voice as high as it is on your songs?

No. The slower songs, like “The Light in You” and “Love Is” have my normal voice. Also the normal speed versions of Lazy Saturday Afternoon,I Got a Pea, and Bob the Snail is my voice, with different styles or accents.

 

How long have you been playing guitar, and would you consider yourself very good?

I never thought I could learn to play an instrument, but in college there was a free weekly guitar class I went to (even though I didn’t have a guitar). I learned a few chords, and discovered I could put music to songs I sometimes wrote in my head, which opened up a whole new world. I still don’t think of myself as a musician and I’m not very good on guitar. But the great thing about the guitar is you don’t have to be very good to be able to play it while you sing, and have it sound just fine.

 

Do you have any pets?

Not right now.  I love animals though. Sometime when I have a decade without much travel, I want to get a dog and cat. Or maybe I can time share with someone 😉

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