Amy Hoffman

Biography

The Amy Hoffman is a pop-rock band based in Boston, MA consisting of college students from Berklee College of Music and Northeastern University. The songwriter of the band is Amy Hoffman, who is in her second semester at Berklee after transferring from Belmont University in Nashville, TN. Amy is originally from Joplin, MO, where she played guitar in a rock band called The Colors You Can't See. Amy has been playing guitar seriously for the last 8 years and has been writing songs since her early high school days. Her influences for guitar include Johnny Lang, Jimi Hendrix, and Stevie Ray Vaughan. For song writing Amy's influences range from Say Anything and The Rocket Summer to John Mayer. While The Amy Hoffman as a band has yet to play shows in Boston, Amy has played shows across the country as a solo act, including annually at the benefit concert "A Voice for Love", where all the proceeds of the event are donated to the organization Love146 which helps fight human trafficking. Along with doing concerts Amy enjoys performing for friends and family. In late October, The Amy Hoffman released their first EP on Noisetrade.com. The EP is called "The Scholarship EP" with all the proceeds going to the Missouri Scholars Academy, which is a summer program that allows 330 of the top rising high school juniors in the state the chance to realize their full academic potential. The album can be downloaded for free on Noisetrade, but donations are appriciated. So far the EP has been downloaded by over 200 people and raised $500 for the academy. The band hopes to promote the EP more by doing shows in the Boston area and elsewhere across the country.

Interview

How long have you been playing guitar?

Amy: I've been serious about it for probably 8 years.

Who is your biggest influence?

Definitely Jonny Lang, got really into Blues guitar after seeing him at 11 or 12. Classic blues guitar: Stevie, Jimi, of course. Songwriting wise, I start playing more pop-rock stuff, The Rocket Summer, Say Anything, and Mayer, of course, is a huge influence.

What is the process that you go through when you're writing a song?

It varies, it changes over time. More often than not, I come up with something on guitar before anything else. I'm a guitarist before anything else I do musically so that tends to kick of the process but other times it's a melody, rhythm, or something in my head that clicks.

Would you say when you come up with a guitar part is it the chord progression first? Or is it a riff or melody?

It changes every time, it varies. A lot of time I'll get a bass line in my head and build a chord progression from it. For example, a couple weeks ago I started building chord progressions around a minor 7 sharp 5 chord because it is such a gorgeous chord. It changes every time but more often than not I find chords I love and build around them.

When you do write lyrics for the songs, do you write the words and try to fit a melody around the words? Or vice versa?

It kinda comes at the same time, typically I'll have a rhythm in my head before a melody and kind of fit it to that so it comes together.

How is the form of a song decided?

I have a whole lot of ideas that come together and tend to naturally form itself. My song "Best of Luck" came together with me thinking that there wouldn't be a chorus to the song, it would be AABA form. Sometimes I just decide I don't want to write verse/chorus/verse/chorus but it just kinda comes together on its own based on parts fitting together.

What influences your lyrics?

I draw from experience. Either things I've lived, things I've observed, and things I'm passionate about. I try to go deeper than just a relationship. Especially in the genre that I write for, it's just this sappy love song or a big bad breakup song. The stuff I write comes more as a learning experience kind of thing, where I say "I've gone through this, how can I build on it?"

How do you decide on how to use certain techniques on guitar?

With "Roads" I was practicing the technique because I loved it, I learned it from the John Mayer song that used it. The song came together with me goofing off with that technique and me trying to find other ways I could implement it because it's so much fun to use. All of a sudden, there was that chord progression, just from F shape to a C shape, and it clicked like nobodies business. A lot of [songs] have worked out that way, I picked them up just from jamming and listening, and start messing with it on my own. I come up with something that works but it will always change a lot from that first thing I use, it'll mold and evolve until I'm really happy with it and until I master the technique. Typically, I start prematurely playing with it before I really have it down and see where it goes from there and make it my own.

Where do you play?

I have a show in North Carolina next semester, played in Nashville last week, I feel like I play every time I travel. I play basement-esque shows. A show in North Carolina was held in a big church last year, campuses, cafes, clubs.

How does the band work together? Does someone write a song and say "here it is"?

Pretty much, I've written everything we've worked with except for this one song that isn't finished yet. We were just jamming one day and came up with the bass line for it and I harmonized over the bass line. It sounds awesome, it's completely different from everything else but I love it, it's a lot of fun. More often than not I'll bring in a song and we'll just jam over it and see where it goes. The other musicians pick it up quickly, it's just a matter of getting everything to fit well.

Analysis

Roads? Where We're Going, We Don't Need Roads

"Roads? Where We're Going, We Don't Need Roads" is a mid-tempo pop song written for acoustic guitar and voice in the key of D major. Structurally, it is built upon a simple verse/chorus pattern, with a bridge after the second chorus to introduce a new motive. Unlike the majority of pop singer-songwriter guitar work, the guitar plays a vital role in the piece, providing the rhythm, harmony, and a weaved-in melody. Creating a full, warm sound, the tonal quality of the song is characterized by a constant finger picked guitar line akin to the chugging of a train.

"Roads" begins with a verse, using a repeating chord progression of IV - I. Through the fingerpicking and slight alteration of the chords, the guitar line creates a subtle melody inside of its rhythmic pulse. It counteracts with the vocal melody and fosters a sense of polyphony. The vocal line is more complex than a typical pop song, the contour tends to conjunctly descend at first but later ascend. Hoffman sings of a topic very personal, creating a close connection with the listener in typical singer-songwriter fashion. After multiple repetitions, the light, airy quality of the IV - I is cemented down by a IV - vi - V - I - V progression. The V chord creates a wanting for resolution that pushes the music into the chorus.

The chorus follows a vi - IV - V - I pattern then repeats, omitting the I while adding tension through the lack of resolution. The way it begins on a minor chord helps convey the tense emotion found in the lyrics. Sonically, the guitar work is similar to the verse but the vocal melody is stronger and simpler. A strummed V chord at the end of the refrain helps to push the music forward into the next section while creating dramatic tension. The constant fingerpicking disappears and creates a sense of uncertainty for what is to happen next. This is useful for moving into the bridge. The bridge enters with a soaring, emotive vocal melody and strummed chords, staying home to the key in a vi - V - I - vii - vi - V progression. Hoffman adds a new sense of urgency and a completely new feel to the piece by giving up on the soft fingerpicking and introducing a strumming pattern. After a short interlude, the chorus melody and chords return but with a similar strumming pattern, increasing the intensity of the music and adding new excitement to it.

Activities Done

We sat down with Amy in her apartment to interview her and talk about her music. We filmed her performing multiple songs and listened to the recordings she had done. Afterwards, we sat together and analyzed the music to discuss how the elements of her music played a role in her work.

What We Learned

We learned about where musical ideas can come from and how musical works are pieced together. Every artist has a different creative process and it is interesting to see how it leads to the creating of a song. Inspiration can come from something as simple as a chord to something derivative, such as playing around with another artist's songs.

Critical Commentary

Amy Hoffman's songs are well-developed and engaging. Her lyrics come from her own unique experiences in life, but can be easily related to by most people. Lines like "simple doesn't mean it's easy" and "I hope someday you learn to see yourself the way I see you" are thought provoking and moving. Her melodic lines in the chorus intertwine perfectly with her words, making the songs catchy and memorable.

Amy has an extremely wide vocal range, she can vary the emotion and intensity of the song by going from hushed lows to almost screaming choruses. She pairs this talent well with her defined guitar playing skill. More intricate than simple, strummed chords, her guitar work helps to differentiate her from the many singer-songwriter clones today.