Australian Idol Sings (and Writes) Full-Time

You can read a story about Lisa Mitchell, a 6th place finisher in Australian Idol, here. It's shameless self-promotion, not unlike what I do here, but it's nice to see an Idol wannabe sticking with it and writing her own songs...

Of particular note is the quote below...

"I'm just doing my own thing and writing my own stuff. For me songwriting is as much a part of music as singing...I just want to build it from lots of live shows. I've had people coming up to me at live shows who aren't from Australia maybe from England or something and they don't know who I am and ask 'what's your name I really liked your set', so that's really good when that kind of stuff happens."

Good for her... and the songs are good!

How To Write Songs : Your Own Story

How To Write Songs :: Your Own Story :: How You Write Your Songs

The above link is from ultimatesongwriting.com for those writers who want to share some songwriting tips in that community... of course, you can do the same here... just comment for me...

This is what the site suggests:

• What is the story behind your music? Do you have great tips to share about how you write your songs? Let the world know! For instance, (you can mention)
  - How do your songs get started?
  - Where/how do you get your ideas?
  - What inspires you the most?
  - How often do you write?
  - What do you write first? Music or lyrics?
  - What is the actual process involved in writing your songs?
  - How do you make your songs stand out?
  - What are your best songwriting tips, tricks or techniques for writing a good song?
  - What is the main reason for your success as a songwriter?

Should songwriters move to major music hub? - The Songwriters Show

This week's episode (episode #4, week of August 17/07) of "The Songwriter Show" discussed the issue on whether it's neccesary for a songwriter to move to one of the major music hubs like L.A., NY, or Nashville in order to succeed. The featured artist was a "non-performing" songwriter - Casey Hurowitz. I like that moniker... I'm going to use that ("non-performing songwriter" not "Casey").

Listen for yourself... I think that the show gave a helpful hint to NOT move to Nashville, but to take a trip to Nashville as the Songwriters' Mecca and attend the Bluebird Cafe for one of its songwriter-in-the-round series... Then he suggests hitting L.A. or N.Y. to network (not get a deal necessarily) and do it properly - i.e. film/TV placement is L.A., while rock/jazz/blues is N.Y.

My question is with technology so prevalent and people writing and recording in their home studios, why do we need to make that trek except for its obvious nostalgia advantage. I can see a trip to Nashville being an inspiration, but when you can record an album in your home studio, it's really needing to make those connections and here in Toronto, there is a great music scene to try to make those connections...

Of course, if anybody reading has those connections, well then, connect me!

Songwriting: How To Get Ideas

Just passing on an article I noticed about the songwriting process...

Songwriting: How To Get Ideas

By Dan Palladino

I get a lot of email where songwriters ask how to come up with musical ideas. Following are some of the methods that I have used:

Since lyrics don't come easily for me, I'll discuss that topic first. Fifty percent of the battle is keeping your mind open for little lines that might be floating around, as you go about your daily routine. I've gotten great ideas during one on one conversations with others. Invariably, someone will say something that strikes me as funny or poetic and I'll make a note of it. It's just a matter of being on the look-out. I'd say that I'm equally participating in the conversation and trying to get some good lyrics out of it too. Sometimes, you can get even better stuff by eavesdropping on outside conversations. I know it sounds rude, but we're doing it for art's sake, right? Again, we're just keeping our ears and minds open.

TV, film and books can also be a good source of ideas. How many times have you been sitting in front of the tube, half asleep, when a good line just popped out at you? If you've trained yourself to be alert, it happens often. I always make sure there is some paper in the room, so I can quickly jot down the new gem.

So, what do we do with all of these little fragments? I enter everything I've collected into a notebook. Most of the time, I forget about it until I'm ready to write something. There's an advantage to letting the stuff sit for awhile: After some time has passed, it's very obvious which lines have potential and which are throw-aways. I don't like to put too much thought into it. Let your gut tell you if something is worth further development.

I've recently begun using the speed method of writing lyrics. I've found that it is very liberating to sit in front of the computer and just type away, without stopping. This means that you're not allowed to throw anything away. Whatever comes out of your demented brain is preserved forever. Once I've got the rough material down, I'll go back and see if there are any lines that could form the skeleton of a song. Just doing this exercise for thirty minutes can yield a whole tune, if you're lucky that day. Give it a try. Once you get over the whole "no editing" aspect, it's easy.

My final method of lyric writing is the title method. Again, sit in front of the computer and write possible song titles without thinking or stopping. Once you have a couple pages worth, let them sit for a day or two. Then, go back and the good ones will jump right out at you. Of course, the hard part is developing the idea into a good tune. I usually have to write about ten bad ones before I hit the one keeper.

An off-shoot of the above methods is the writing under pressure method. Get together with a songwriting friend. Now give yourselves thirty minutes, go into separate rooms and get busy! The goal could be to come up with chord changes and, at least a verse and chorus of lyrics. That's pressure! But it works very well.

You may have noticed that many of these ideas involve working against the clock. I think this is effective because it lets you get at the stuff that is uniquely you. Our first reaction when writing is usually "Boy, is that stupid!" Well, it may be! But if that's what's coming out, then that's the real you. That's the stuff that will hit listeners as being something fresh and new. Don't treat your words as if they're precious. Throw them around like old socks!

Article Source: http://www.articlesofnote.com

Dan Palladino is a guitarist, composer and owner of Riddleworks Productions. He is also an instructor in the music technology department at County College of Morris, Randolph, NJ.

CSHF - 5th Annual Gala

Just received the following email from the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame (CSHF).

• Hi Music Fans,
  The CSHF 5th Annual Gala will take to the stage Saturday, March 1, 2008.
  Following on the success of the past years, the CSHF 5th Annual Gala is moving to the larger, state-of-the-art Toronto Centre for the Arts. Conveniently located close to downtown and easily accessible by TTC, the venue serves as a first class cultural destination, making it ideal for this intimate and captivating night of rare musical collaborations and breathtaking performances from Canadian and international recording artists.
  Tickets will go on sale in fall 2007 following a press conference announcing the 2008 inductees. The date and location of the press conference will be announced shortly.
  To ensure that you are always up-to-date about the CSHF, make sure to sign up to our official newsletter.
  

Songs From Scratch

Minnesota Public Radio (MPR) has a cool little contest going on this month. Poet Stephen Burt has written some lyrics entitled Afternoon Song and three bands have put same to music. The interesting part there is to view the audio slideshows for the three bands involved as they go through the songwriting process: (The Owls, Matt Wilson, The Roe Family Singers)

Listeners may also adopt the lyrics (see below), put them to music and submit them to MPR. I may just give this a shot (if I can find some time!). The deadline for submissions is August 31/07. There doesn't appear to be a prize, other than some publicity on the MPR site.

Find out more about Songs From Scratch... and let me know if you submit a tune by commenting to this post... Ci vedimes...

These are the song lyrics written by Stephen Burt for MPR's "Songs from Scratch" project.

AFTERNOON SONG

Take a blade of grass between your teeth. Check the sun it's all alone in blue with nothing underneath.
Take a walk to the bus stop wait a while. See the driver coming up on a thousand miles.
Fifty-fifty that it's going to be going your way. Two-to-one the evening comes at you with nothing to say.
Take one take two and then take ten. We made construction paper chains. Take five take six from eleven and then, Dream houses fall to cards again.
The perfect day's the one we leave behind. So much to do ahead but I don't mind.
Crisp pollen interference patterns like a crowded pool. See nature starting up or shutting down its summer school.
Kids on skateboards take the residential corners so fast. They watch each other like a comet from the distant past.
I was to be the boy congratulated just for growing tall. When I should have been the girl who walks through walls.
Take three take four you'll be compelled to tell the world who you adore. Take eight and nine you're seventeen. The world looks back at you for seconds from behind a one-way screen.
The perfect day's the one we leave behind. So much to do ahead but I don't mind.
Three-season porches with a car door open on contentment why. In your future you'll remember we were happy on the same weekday that made you start to cry.
Take one take two and then take ten. Ear to the ground for distant trains. Take five take six from eleven and then Our houses shake the ground again.
The perfect day's the one we leave behind. So much to do tomorrow I don't mind.

Download the PDF of these lyrics

A Cavalcade Of Stars To Judge Songwriting Competition

A galaxy of legendary musicians including Brian Wilson, Tom Waits, Ray Davies, Nelly Furtado, Jerry Lee Lewis, Loretta Lynn and Frank Black are the judges of this year's International Songwriting Competition.

Wannabe songwriters' entries will be listened to by the A-list panel, who will award one lucky winner $25,000 in cash and a further $20,000 worth of prizes. Two runners-up will also take home cash prizes.

Ornette Coleman, former New Order star Peter Hook, The Cure's Robert Smith, Darryl 'D.M.C.' McDaniels, The Strokes' Julian Casablancas, Macy Gray and Sean Paul are also on the judges' panel.

The deadline for submissions is October 15th.

Taping With The iPod - Using Apple's iPod As A Recording Device - Belkin TuneTalk Stereo Review

I don't own an iPod, but hey, so many people (and songwriters are people too) do... here's a link to an article about using an iPod as a recording device:

Taping With The iPod - Using Apple's iPod As A Recording Device - Belkin TuneTalk Stereo Review

And Wired magazine has its How To Wiki on the same subject... I'd copy it here (I think they allow that for non-commercial use), but I'm providing the link to it as well as it's constantly changing (as Wikis are wont to do): Lay Down Tracks On Your iPod (Wired HowTo Wiki).

• Using the barely noticeable line-in jack on Belkin's TuneTalk accessory, singer-songwriter Jimmy Camp --> recorded his entire Captain America album on his iPod. You can use your pocket player as a one-track recorder too. Just remember: Camp's technique prevents post-recording level correction, overdubbing and sampling, so you'll need to play guitar or keyboards while you sing (or invite someone over who does). Here's what he did plus a few bonus suggestions from some savvy readers:
  1. Use three microphones: one for the main instrument, one for your voice, and another to pick up ambient room sound. Connect them to a simple mixer and route its output to the TuneTalk's stereo input.
  2. OR use three identical portable recording units and mix the recordings down to stereo on your PC (using freeware like Audacity). This will allow you to level voice, main instrument and ambient sound much better, plus you do not have to operate the mixer while recording. As a simple mixer costs as much as two basic portable recorders, the cost is the same.
  3. OR buy a multitrack audio interface --> for your pc/mac, which should cost less than 2 Ipods. Cheap mixers can be had new for less than $100. Buying used off craigslist will get you more for your money.
  4. VERY IMPORTANT: Check your levels. Since you're recording all instruments to one track, ensure your mixer's volume levels are set correctly; you can't go back and turn up the volume on the guitar once the recording is made.
  5. Do lots of takes. You're not paying for a studio or engineering help -- the trade-off is tons of trial and error.
  6. Try different rooms. Record all over the house (including the bathroom) and experiment with adding or removing rugs from a room's hardwood floor.
  7. Get it out there. Camp recorded all 10 songs and submitted them to iTunes within three days. He insists you could really do it in one.

Recording for the Guitarist

I know it's loaded with product-specific references, but there's some good basic info in it as well... I'm talking about M-Audio's piece on Computer-Based Solutions for the Recording Guitarist. I think it's well worth the read...

(DISCLAIMER: I owned the MobilePre and I now own the Fastrack Pro...)

The Songwriter Show

I'm on vacation, but I actually brought along my notebook and have grabbed a wifi link from an open network and thought I'd just update my site with a new site I found here at The Songwriter Show... as related on the podcast's website:

• The Songwriter Show is dedicated to those incredibly talented folks, and for anyone who simply enjoys good music.
  The show brings you news, information and interviews with what’s happening in the world of music, and songwriting. Each week we play some of the best podsafe music ranging from Thrash Metal to Acoustic Folk and everything in between.

So, it's well worth a listen to see what the show can offer to you in your songwriting endeavours... Listen for yourself below...

Keep the faith and ci vedimes...