Written by: Matt Tiller
Published: Saturday 20th August 2011

There has been a massive resurgence in musical comedy in recent years, so we asked guitar strumming comic Matt Tiller what comes first...

It's usually the funny. Or what you hope is funny. It's a line or a chorus or a joke that you can hear in your head set to music. In your head it is hilarious and sounds amazing. It is orchestrated even though all I play is guitar and piano (a bit). I wander about hearing my own voice singing tunes in my head. It's lucky this only happens to me. Although several other comics have told me how my tunes have entered their heads and remained on repeat for a long time. I'm surprised none of them have killed me.

Often I find that if you come up with a tune first then it's unlikely to be funny. You have a lovely tune but you try and fill it with rhymes. There is a sweet song I wrote recently and I tried and tried and tried to crowbar words into it that fitted the story of my show. I failed. It remained just a nice tune. And it's no good singing a nice tune if people are expecting jokes. They stare at you.

What's the process then?

I hope that the words stay in my head until I have reached a guitar and then play along with my head until the tune matches. And this often leads to other discoveries, asides and all that musical comedy nonsense. Often it takes a lot of editing to get the lines completely right. Other times it comes almost in an instant... the song I wrote about kidnapping George Osborne came very quickly, for example. I added a few bits to it and edited lines but the anger spewed out. And a knob gag, but it's a good one, so it's valid and staying.

Is an original comedy song better than a parody?

As a writer of original songs I'd say yes without a shadow of a doubt, original comedy songwriters are just better people morally and artistically. Musical comedy can get a bad name because there are comics who change the words to songs and just fill it with filth and (cheap, not beautifully crafted!) knob gags. These people should of course be impaled on their instruments. But it's no different to hack stand-up. There are stand-ups who get laughs in mainstream clubs who I and many people would feel are not creating anything particularly worthwhile. Equally there are plenty of stand-ups who can kill in that environment and create something interesting.

Most, if not all, comics have jokes that get easier laughs. The excuse we use is that they help us get through the harder material. But then maybe we should just make our 'harder material' funnier. That's always the answer. Be funnier whether you've got a guitar, a piano, harpsichord, triangle, kazoo...

And there are great examples of parodies and inspired musical ideas that use other people's music. Bill Bailey's interpretation of Cars is just one example from a musical genius. It's brilliant and so much more than a parody. Complex, but funny.

Also original songs can be great but aren't always particularly funny. I've got many that fall into that category. Take someone like Tim Minchin. I didn't find his first Edinburgh show very funny, but he's an amazing musician and he creates a spectacle. Many of his songs are just great songs - White Wine in the Sun, his Christmas song, is moving and sweet. Some are very funny, like his F*ck the Pope tune. But he's creating a totally different experience to a club comic with a guitar or even someone like Phil Nichol who can belt out a great tune and be incredibly funny, clever, thought provoking and nuanced.

Like any form of comedy it's about creating something that will get the attention you need from the audience - whether that's a set in a stand-up club or or an Edinburgh show.

Matt Tiller's show 'Just Du-et' is on at the Caves every day at 7:35pm. Listing