Songwriting lessons from Gloc-9 and Yeng Constantino
“Having a talent for singing is one thing; having something to say is a different thing.” As someone who has built a legacy on the strength of his original material, Gloc-9 knows a thing or two about writing songs. That’s especially important these days, when local audiences seem to care as much about an artist’s creative point of view as they do about pure vocal prowess.
“’Yan ang magbibitbit sa ‘yo nang mas matagal,” the icon tells Lifestyle Inquirer. “Puwede kang kumanta ng kahit anong kanta na isinulat ng iba. Pero hangga’t meron kang sariling mga storya na puwede mong i-share, ‘yun ang mas maganda sa tingin ko.”
Listen to people, to yourself
Now, while the hip-hop icon believes songwriting—or at least an interest in it—can be encouraged at a young age (he started at 12), the new “The Voice Kids” coach isn’t about to force it on his mentees in the show’s upcoming eighth season. Kids should be kids, he says, and they should be allowed to play and let the curiosity that comes with innocence work its wonders.
But at a certain age, young hopefuls, he says, should start experimenting and figuring out what kind of artists they want to be.
“Para ang bata nasa murang edad ay magkaroon ng boses na gusto nilang iparinig sa mga taong dapat nitong dapuan ay nakakatuwa,” he says. “Dahil alam mo na aware sila sa kung ano ang dapat mangyari at sa dapat hindi mangyari.”
After all, songwriting doesn’t have to look like songwriting at first. Yeng Constantino started out by reading poetry. When she was around eight or nine, her father—a former librarian at the Ateneo de Manila University—would bring home books and compilations of student poems. And she would just get lost in them.
“Kahit hindi ko naiintindihan ‘yong malalalim na mga salita, I read them and eventually learned from them,” the pop-rock icon—who’s joining Gloc-9 and Julie Anne San Jose in the coaching panel—tells Lifestyle Inquirer. “A huge chunk of who I am as a songwriter is because of reading those books.”
More than reading, Constantino says listening is another foundation for storytelling—and eventually, songwriting—that can be honed early on. “Listen to people’s stories,” she says. “Listen to yourself. If you’re affected by an event or emotion, you can remember that and turn it into a song someday.”
Authenticity is key
Both Gloc-9 and Constantino could go on and on about their respective songwriting processes. But at the end of the day, that part of the craft is personal and unique to everyone. The steps you take to get there are crucial.
And they would rather focus on why you want to get there.
“Just stay genuine and authentic,” Constantino says. That’s something she learned the hard way. “It’s so easy to get swayed in this industry—I was a victim of that, too. I got confused about what my actual goals are.”
Being “genuine and authentic” may sound romantically abstract, but after 20 years in the business, Constantino now has a clearer idea of what those words mean.
It means music artists can have different facets and still be true to themselves—and, in her case, that the Christian worship singer, the cutesy, quirky anime lover, the “hopeless romantic ugly duckling,” and the balladeer who listened to Rey Valera and Ogie Alcasid can all coexist within her discography.
It means recognizing your shortcomings and not seeing them as failures. “I tried writing in English, but it didn’t work out, so I went back to my core. I feel blessed na tinangkilik ng mga tao,” Constantino says. “Kapag ipinilit mo kasi ang sarili mo sa banga na hindi naman hulma sa ‘yo, you will just suffer.”
It means being teachable while keeping boundaries clear. Sometimes she defers to her management—especially when she realizes she’s in the wrong. Still, there are things about her as an artist that no one can touch: “That’s the core of my music and how I use my words.”
Reciprocating kindness
But knowing yourself is only part of the equation. For Gloc-9, authenticity should come with compassion. “What you end up writing also boils down to how you were raised at kung ano ang intindi mo sa salitang compassion,” he says. “I believe na ang isang taong hindi marunong magmahal nang tapat ay hindi puwedeng magsulat ng kanta tungkol sa tunay na pag-ibig.”
“Dapat natural na nangyayari para mas totoo. The moment na maglagay ka ng hindi totoo, malalaman ng tao,” he points out, adding that compassion also applies to the people who helped him along the way. They might not have been songwriting mentors in the traditional sense, but their kindness still helped shape him.
“’Di puwedeng petiks ka lang—kailangan mong ipakita na hindi sayang ‘yong kabutihan na ibinigay nila [sa’yo],” he says.
Some won’t listen, and that’s okay
After all the philosophizing comes the real work—and this is where things can get tedious and, oftentimes, disheartening. You will write bad songs. Constantino knows this very well because she has written “so many of them.” But don’t throw them away, she says.
“Keep them in your pocket. You can edit and improve them as you mature. It can take months, or maybe even years. But you will get there.”
They say that songwriters are only as good as their last hit. While there’s some truth to that, you don’t have to be a prisoner of your own excellence or feel pressured to replicate past successes. Constantino admits she will never have another “Hawak Kamay”—that part of her life had already been written.
But we can always choose to move forward. “Sometimes, we write songs only a few people listen to, songs people don’t listen to at all—and that’s okay,” Constantino says. “What’s important is that you allow yourself to grow, and in the process, see yourself get better.”
“The Voice Kids” airs Sundays, starting Sept. 13 on GMA 7
