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DAVID BROWN’S SONGWRITING BLOG

2008-05-06T09:26:50-05:00

Wonderful article about co-writing!!! Check it out!

http://measureformeasure.blogs.nytimes.com/author/dbrown/

David Brown is a songwriter, arranger and producer who has written hit songs for dozens of recording artists, as well as music for film and television. Recently, he has co-written songs for country music stars LeAnn Rimes and Keith Urban (including the Grammy-award-winning song, “You’ll Think of Me") and recently collaborated with Neil Young on his records “Living With War” and “Chrome Dreams II.” He lives in Los Angeles and Nashville.

Song Skills Workshop w/ Arnie Roman November 28th, 2009

2009-09-04T09:18:10-05:00

Song Skills Workshop w/ Arnie Roman
1 Day Intensive / 10AM-4PM / Saturday, November 28, 2009
OPEN TO ALL!
If you are a pop songwriter who thinks you trend towards country - or a country songwriter who trends toward pop - this workshop is a must! Arnie Roman has been able to write successfully in both worlds earning Top 10 records on all charts. This workshop welcomes the beginning songwriter along with the more experienced writer looking to take their craft to the next level. Popular songs of all genres will be analyzed and decoded to see how and why they work as hit songs. Melody, harmony and lyric will be discussed as individual elements and how they equal more than the sum of their parts in a well-written song. Songs by workshop attendees will be reviewed and all are encouraged to either bring their song recordings on an iPod or a CD. There will be a piano in the studio but we ask that you bring your own guitar if that is your instrument, and of course you are welcome to just listen and learn!

More information here: http://songhall.org/index.php/news/entry/song_skills_workshop_w_arnie_roman/

Download application: http://www.songhall.org/forms/SongSkillsAppFall09.pdf

Writing for “Idol”—Jason Blume

2008-01-31T10:12:16-05:00

These notes come from a recent workshop led by Jason Blume in Nashville!

Writing for “Idol”—Jason Blume workshop 1/15/08

The “Idol” shows go by different names in other countries, such as “Pop Star” or “You Can Be the Next Star”. Other countries’ “Idol” shows are most likely NOT going to want pop ballads, but instead rock, like Daughtry. They’ve also mentioned Rihanna and Beyonce for the kind of hip, pop/rock songs they prefer. American Idol may still want the power pop ballad, plus Eurovision asks for that style (in SongLink International).

Jason offered a site with information about the various international “Idol” shows:

http://idolforums.com/index.php?showforum=1

He also gave contact information to 19 Entertainment, including a Nashville rep:

19 Entertainment Chris Oglesby
33 Ransomes Dock OWM/19 Entertainment
35-37 Parkgate Road 1604 17th Ave. South
London SW11 4NP Nashville, TN 37212-2813
UK

Jason provided other organizations for pitching nationally and internationally:

imdbPro.com
Billboard International Talent & Touring Directory
SongLink International (http://www.songlink.com)
Myhitfactory.com
Songquarters.com
A & Registry (http://www.musicregistry.com)

Jason said that we should be our own publisher, creating a professional looking letterhead with a name that sounds “big” (like “Global Music”). He said we need a great, fully produced demo and should contact people (like Chris Oglesby) and say something like “I’m an independent publisher and I have a song I feel strongly about.” If the song has to be translated, we need to give some of our publishing to the translator (10-20% usually).

His advice for writing “Idol” songs was to be sure NOT to refer to singing, being on stage, winning a contest, etc. The song should be more universal, so any one can relate to it and about something positive. Don’t make it too specific to “Idol” because you’ll want to be able to pitch it elsewhere if you don’t get it placed with any of the “Idol” shows.
There were 10,000 entries to the American Idol contest last year, so finding a unique twist or angle would be very important.

The songs need to have a broad range, over an octave, with a melody that soars. Melody is very important for “Idol” songs. For demo singers, Jason Blume mentioned his web site, which has singers he has personally worked with. Someone also mentioned another web site, http://www.demosingers.com.

JIMMY WEBB MASTER CLASS / CD RELEASE / OLMAN AWARDS

2007-06-06T10:30:09-05:00

Hello Everyone,
It was quite an event last night at The Cutting Room as we celebrated the release of Vol.5 of our Songwriters Hall Of Fame Best Of Showcase CD, the awarding of the Abe Olman scholarships, and a master class by singer/songwriter Jimmy Webb.

I am still taking in all that I heard from Jimmy as he played snippets of his songs interspersed with his comments about his songwriting process. I especially appreciated his candor as he discussed the everchanging music business as he began his career - the coming of the Beatles and it’s affect on the American songwriters - and the state of the popular song today. One word he mentioned early on that resounded to me was simply - DISCIPLINE! Doing it - writing - taking a step forward with each song - and getting better at it. Even for a master the process of getting more in touch with your craft and expression is an evolving process.

Jimmy then gave up his seat at the piano and invited Tiffany Randol to perform. Tiffany’s song “Let U Go” is included on the SHOF CD. Jimmy then took questions from the packed crowd.

The evening concluded with Jimmy performing his song, “If These Walls Could Speak”! THis is now my favorite Jimmy Webb song - WHAT’S YOURS!!!

The SHOF thanks Jimmy Webb for sharing his gift with us and contributing so much to the great american songbook!