THE INDIE BIBLE PRESENTS THE ULTIMATE INDIE BUNDLE!

This is incredible offer that allows artists to gain access to $340 worth of music directories for only $59.95.

The ULTIMATE Indie Bundle consists of this year's edition of The Indie Bible, The Indie Venue Bible and Indie Bible ONLINE as well as a copy of next year's Indie Bible ... all for only $59.95! Over 50,000 music listings in all including Radio Stations, Music Magazines, Venues, Labels, Distributors and much more!

Click here for details and to order online.

Muse's Clues - Richard Miller

©2014-2015 Richard Miller. All Rights Reserved.
Used By Permission

Friendship Makes Us Fresh

It has been a year of change.  Twelve months ago I was a moderately successful computer programmer in the Pharmaceutical Industry with a good income and a reasonably secure financial future but no outlet for music and not particularly happy.  My only connections with music were either the stereo or the guitar.  However, after an exhausting day in front of a computer screen if I sat down to listen I was usually asleep in less than 10 minutes while if I picked up the guitar I fumbled mindlessly through the same set chords I’d been repeating over the last millennia, getting nowhere, giving up in frustration and going to bed.

To break out of this rut the best thing to do seemed to be to chuck the job, buy a wreck of a house, fix it up and drive the cost of living down to a point where, at best, a modest career as musician would keep body and soul together or, at worst, a part-time job at the local cafe would be enough for the basics allowing both of us to concentrate on art (mine’s aural and hers is visual).  We thought about applying for a government bail out if things went wrong but that, it would appear, is limited to wealthy bankers and major corporations.  Anyway, I digress.

The basics are done on the house and we are at the the point where attention can start to turn towards art.  Therein lies the dilemma.  Where to start?  Well, it seemed logical to follow on from last month, Meet and Greet, and this is the time of year when the thoughts of many turn towards home so I picked up on a helpful suggestion and looked into Message Boards related to songwriting.

There are lots and lots to say the least but there are a couple that look more interesting than most.  The first is very close to home:  The Muse’s Muse Message Board is a rich source of information and interaction.  There are now over 10,500 members (Is it time to update the introduction on the front page of the website?) and the members, in my experience, are scrupulously polite and constructive.

Another site that was brought to my attention is Just Plain Folks.  Wander around the site and you can’t help but get enthusiastic for the philosophy.  I can’t say too much about the Message Board yet because the confirmation email seems to have disappeared into the ether.  I will chase that up and provide more detail later.   Their Facebook page is pretty active so it should be fairly easy to sort things out.

Finally I came across this site:  MeetUp quite by accident.  It really belongs in last months post as it is more inclined towards like minded people meeting up but it looks interesting.  There are two groups local to Leuven dedicated to music and songwriting.  I’ve joined both and will let you know if and when there is any progress.

With the holiday season in full swing commitments are numerous and time is precious so it is time to dash.  We wish you all a happy and heart warming holiday season, good times with friends and family, the chance to reflect on the year past, re-invigorate for the year to come.  Spread a little peace and happiness.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Richard Miller is a caterpillar who has begun his chrysalis phase. Originally from Maine, Richard has, via a series of mis-adventures and accidents, worked as an accountant in the English Midlands, a systems programmer on the South Coast of England (where he also pursued an illustrious career in rugby) and a statistical programmer in Belgium. Now he has put all that aside, bought a house, stripped it back to the brick and started to renovate it from top to bottom while simultaneously transforming himself from a results oriented automaton into a winged song writer. You can peak inside the chrysalis at: www.vanishingpirates.com.

Featured Article - By Brad Dunse

QUICK TIP: Are Your Phrases Universal?

Thanks to my wife’s recent trip to the grocery store, I have a little songwriting gotcha that can sneak up on you without even noticing it.
 
So my wife was picking up a few things at the store when all of the sudden a young lady from the checkout frantically popped in the isle and grabbed a bag of walnuts. I’d guess the young lady was helping a customer yet in line. The checkout gal might have even been mumbling to herself in panic flipping the package over several times in her flustered state until she asked a stock boy.
 
“Are these shelled walnuts?”
 
To which he looked at them and said, “I don’t know.”
 
They were in a little panic over this question of shelled walnuts. Finally, my wife helped them out and said they were shelled walnuts, because if they weren’t, you’d see the shells.
 
Okay, now it seems pretty obvious to me that a package of walnut halves do not have shells on them, but evidently not to these two young folks. In fact, my wife and I thought it incredible they didn’t know this.
 
That got me thinking can we do something similar with our songwriting and not know it? Turns out we actually can.
 
We’ve talked in the past about using the right language for the genre, right? I mean we wouldn’t have an old school country tune and say, “Yo, bro… I’m headed back to the crib,” because that could mean an old corn crib on a farm and not someone’s inner city home.
 
So we know the importance of proper language for the genre, but what happens when we have more generic terms and they still leave a listener baffled?
 
For instance, if I said, “They panked the snow, so I got my skis.” There is a 99.9% chance you have no idea what I just said…
 
…unless you are from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan where the word “panked” means to pat down, and resides almost exclusively. So, if I was a songwriter living in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, I might use this term assuming everyone knows it; oblivious most others haven’t a clue to what it means.
 
You think I’m being ridiculous, right? People aren’t that sheltered to think phrases and terms are not widely known. Well, there is a geeky fun radio show I listen to which deals with just such words, phrases, slang, and more. It’s kind of a writer’s pool of turn phrases and their history. It’s called A Way With Words.
 
I’ve been surprised to find terms I’ve used in my life that show up which others have never heard, and vice versa.
 
As songwriters we deal in a world of turn phrases and slang, they make our songs interesting, catchy, and fun; but we need to make sure we don’t alienate our listener or leave them in the dark either.
 
If I were to say, “He buckled down and wrote his term paper last night,” even though that term originated when people traveled with old wooden trunks with buckles on them instead of suit cases, you’ve probably heard it or for sure could guess what my intent was.
 
But, if I said I was going to take a Georgia bath, you wouldn’t know that’s what some Floridians call washing just… well, let’s just say sponge bath to keep it family friendly.
 
So how would you know if a phrase you like or one you grew up with is wide spread enough to use? 
 
Since phrases often start either in a family, an ethnic group, or in geographical areas; you’ll want to check outside those areas. 
 
Ask on-line friends located across the country if they’ve herd of a phrase, perhaps Google it, check the Urban Dictionary, or you could even give Martha and Grant a call at A Way With Words at WWW.WAYWORDRADIO.ORG.
 
As songwriters we’re always looking for a cool phrase to turn, hopefully not date our lyric with it, and keep it universal without they’re ears stumbling over a phrase; and missing the next line because their head left the song.
 
Take a run through some of your lyrics or the one you are working on, are those cool catch phrases universal enough? Does your listener get them?
 
Until next time… keep writing from the heart!

*****

A performing songwriter, Brad Dunse is  member of ASCAP, NSAI, SongU, and Minnesota Association of Songwriters. His songs have been played on various independent, internet, and public radio stations across the country with The Wall touching a major country market station. Interested in song evaluations? Go to Brad's site for more information.

LEARN HOW TO PLAY GUITAR WITH GuitarMasterClass.net AND START COMPOSING YOUR OWN SONGS NOW!

GMC is a video lesson archive & community. GMC has tons of helpful videos, instructors and lessons. GMC also features forum for chatting with teachers and students 24/7, recording collaborations, attending video chats + content for bass, drums, singing, piano etc. All genres and styles are covered - Rock, metal, shred, blues, jazz, country & acoustic, funk.. We want you to have fun while learning - so get rocking NOW!

Get instant access to:

-14273 videos, 2262 lessons and 37 instructors.
-Register at GMC forum - join a virtual band, chat with any instructor etc
-Backing tracks at different speeds & jam loop with every lesson
-Daily updates (average of ~10 new videos per day)
 -EXTRAS: Gear-, singing-, recording-, bass-, piano- and drum lessons. GMC Theory Grimoire eBook !!!

Special for Muse's Muse visitors: 
Get a $10 discount for your first month of subscription!

LYRICIST VERSION 3: THE SONGWRITER'S BEST FRIEND

Lyricist is the first-of-its-kind word processor designed specifically for musicians, songwriters, and poets. The software includes a Rhyming Dictionary, Thesaurus, Album Categorization, Chord Charting, Chord Generator, Song Arrangement, and On-Line Copyright Link.

The new version 3 release adds support for "Piano Style" chord symbols, Nashville Number System, and Transposition features - all in one easy-to-use package - and all for only $54.95! (That's $5.00 off to all Muse's News readers who purchase from the review link at www.musesmuse.com/vss-review.html!)

This tool will revolutionize the way you write and organize your writing.
Be the best songwriter you can be and purchase Lyricist today!

FREE MELODY WRITING REPORT

Writing a great melody is the #1 component to writing a song your listeners will want to buy, and hear over and over again. If you want some easy ways to improve your melodies to start writing songs your fans will love, check out this FREE report. It'll teach you some great (and simple!) tricks for writing sophisticated and marketable melodies:

ADVERTISING RATES:
For Classifieds: US$50 Max. 7 lines (though I do make exceptions), where a line = 65 characters including spaces and punctuation. All contracts must be prepaid. Write to: editor@musesmuse.com.

Click here for Newsletter Sponsorship rates and other advertising opportunities.

Click here and go to the middle of the page to change your subscription - or click the links below.