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The Muse's News |
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Issue 6.7 - October 2003
ISSN 1480-6975
[ Back to The Muse's News Index ] [ Home ]
This issue sponsored by:
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I n T h i s I s s u e :
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@-- Editor's Musings
@-- Copyright & Publishing Q&A with Nancy A. Reece from Carpe Diem
Copyright Management
@-- Music Reviews - by Ben Ohmart, Stacey Board & Gian Fiero
@-- Songwriting Book Review - by James Linderman
@-- Musical Notes - Songwriting Contests & Market Info.
@-- Muse's Clues - Songwriting Web sites that inspire - brought
to you by singer/songwriter & teacher, Irene Jackson.
@-- Featured Article - A NEW METHOD FOR WRITING SONGS
- by John Tunney
@-- Band In Spotlight - Damone: Interview with the band
- by Lauren Jonik
@-- On Site Featured Article - An article already online for your
viewing pleasure.
@-- Classifieds & Useful Services
@-- Contact information
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ISSN 1480-6975. Copyright 1998/99/00/01/02/03 - Jodi Krangle.
For more contact information, see end of issue.
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WANT A PIECE OF THE MUSE'S MUSE? :)
Visit http://www.cafeshops.com/musesmuse for great Muse's Muse
products like mugs, mousepads, shirts, and even wall clocks!
Start your own store too - with no up front costs!
See http://tinyurl.com/cqij for more details.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
S p o n s o r M e s s a g e :
(Please support the sponsors that support this newsletter! Thanks!)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
TAKE ONLINE SONGWRITING CLASSES AND GET CONTINUING EDUCATION
UNITS
If you are looking to progress in your professional development
or need assistance in financing your online education,
Berkleemusic now offers more flexible options with Continuing
Education Units (CEU). If you are a teacher or employee in the
music industry, you may be able to seek Employer Reimbursement
for all or part of the cost of your online education.
Songwriters: sharpen your craft with Berkleemusic.com, the online
extension school of Berklee College of Music. Whether you're a
relative beginner or an experienced writer, our online courses
will help you generate more and better ideas, master the elements
of style and structure, and express yourself more effectively in
words and music.
Learn how to build great lyrical ideas into great songs. Discover
tips and techniques the most successful writers use in their
music. Master powerful programs like Finale and ProTools to
notate your songs and make great-sounding demos. These are just a
few of the skills you can develop this spring in our online
school. Study anytime, anywhere with Berklee's award-winning
faculty. Work with other serious writing students in a rich
learning environment.
Registration for November 17, 2003 is open now!
Visit Berkleemusic.com to enroll today!
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E d i t o r ' s M u s i n g s :
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Hi everyone. Here we are, heading into the month of October. I
have to confess that this is my favorite month out of the year.
The weather is just about perfect for me, the leaves are turning
colors, and this is, of course, the month of my birthday (and
several other of my friends, actually!). Gotta love that. :)
Hope you all have a very productive and fulfilling month!
I have some great news for folks that have been passing on press
releases to me and have been mystified about what I do with them.
Well, up until now, I couldn't do ANYTHING with them. But I now
have a place on The Muse's Muse for you to submit such things to
specifically. The latest three releases are displayed on the
index page of the site. For more details, check out
http://www.musesmuse.com/pressreleases/ .
Along with that, the message boards have all been newly updated
with some great new features! I hope you'll drop by and have a
look for yourself. It's a great way to get to know your fellow
songwriters! http://www.musesmuse.com/forums/index.php
I'm going to mention it again - though only briefly - that I
still have that subscription drive going on. Only 10 new
subscribers need to be attributed to you (have those folks
interested email me at jodi@musesmuse.com with their interest and
mention your name and email address as the person that told them
about it) in order for you to win a Muse's Muse t-shirt or mug.
Here's what they look like: http://www.cafeshops.com/musesmuse .
And as extra incentive, the person who has gotten the largest
number of sign-ups by the end of the year, will also get a free
NSAI (http://www.nashvillesongwriters.com/) membership for 2004!
Now on to this month's raffle winners. :)
* Malcolm More from Peterborough, UK has won a copy of "How to
Get Your Music in Film and TV" by Richard Jay (reviewed below).
* Jobe T. Lewis from Collins, Colorado, has won a copy of
IndieMusic.com's "Musician's Toolkit" (for details on this
package of useful indie musician-related tools, see
http://www.musicianstoolkit.com/muse/)
* Tom Loosmore Jr. from Littleton, NH, has won a copy of VSS's
helpful songwriting organization product (for a review of
Lyricist & information on a discount offered, see
http://www.musesmuse.com/vss-review.html)
Keep inspired and keep writing!
--Jodi
Back to Menu
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S p o n s o r M e s s a g e :
(Please support the sponsors that support this newsletter! Thanks!)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
NEW: LYRICIST VERSION 3 SOFTWARE: IT'S BEEN A LONG TRAIN RUNNING!
Sept 25, 2003. Virtual Studio Systems, Inc. is proud to announce
Lyricist V3 - The Songwriter's Best Friend: the
first-of-its-kind word processor designed for musicians,
songwriters, and poets. The software includes a Rhyming
Dictionary, Thesaurus, Album Categorization, Chord Charting,
Chord Generator, Song Arrangement, On-Line Copyright Link. The
version 3 release adds an Enhanced User Interface, Support for
Piano Style chord symbols, Nashville Number System support, and
Song Key Transposition - all in one user-friendly package. Check
out the review at http://www.musesmuse.com/vss-review.html .
Muse's Muse visitors can take home the product for $5.00 off the
V3 introductory sale price of $39.95 just for purchasing through
the purchase button provided off of the review.
For more information, visit the review url above or call us at
888.732.1176 inside the U.S.A. and Canada or 603.726-4499 outside
the U.S.A.
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C o p y r i g h t & P u b l i s h i n g Q & A :
With Licensing executive Nancy A. Reece
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TOPIC: CLEARANCE
Q: I promoted a talent show, the turnout was not favorable.
In the agreement with the talents, one of clauses reads as
follows: "The organizers are hereby absolved of any blame or
repercussions arising from performance of the work and the
individual performs the work of his/her will. The work performed
at the event will be recorded, and if necessary/required, is one
of the works which will be edited and included in the video which
will be produced and published at a future date". My question is:
Do the clauses above entitle me to publish without the consent of
the performers?
A: Thank you for writing. I'm not sure what legal counsel you
had in preparation for your event. I am not an attorney but I
can quote one:
"Section 106's authorization language is rooted in two distinct
theories of liability: contributory infringement and vicarious
liability. Contributory infringement occurs when "one who, with
knowledge of the infringing activity, induces, causes or
materially contributes to the infringing conduct of another."
Vicarious liability arises when a corporation's "right and
ability to supervise" the infringing activity "coalesce with an
obvious and direct financial interest in the exploitation of
copyrighted material---even in the absence of actual knowledge
that the copyright monopoly is being impaired."
I would be very concerned about your right to duplicate the
performance without written permission from both the underlying
work's copyright holder, (the publisher/songwriter) and if the
talent performing used a pre-recorded track, the sound recording
copyright holder.
Your release for the right of publicity of the actual performance
may or may not have been properly secured. I would seek out the
advice of an entertainment attorney for additional perspective
and assistance.
*****
ABOUT NANCY A. REECE:
Since 1998, Nancy Reece has been providing a question and answer
forum for Muse's Muse readers. Now all of the articles, forums
and Q&A's are compiled into an e-book called REAL ANSWERS TO REAL
QUESTIONS: THE SONGWRITER-PUBLISHER FORUM .
For information on how to pick up your copy today, visit:
http://www.musesmuse.com/realarealq.html
How to Ask a Question:
If you have a question for Nancy about publishing or copyright
administration, you can e-mail her at nreece@musesmuse.com.
Please indicate in the subject of your e-mail that your
submission is for The Muse's Muse guest forum, Real Answers to
Real Questions. Thanks!
Back to Menu
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M u s i c R e v i e w s :
by Ben Ohmart and Stacey Board
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Sparlha Swa – "Uprising" (by Stacey Board)
The arrangement is sparse but the vocals and the melodic content
are quite potent. Sparlha has a lovely, supple voice with a nice
range and rich tone.
She also has quite a talent for melody and groove in her songs.
The 13 songs are largely what I might describe as meditations,
soul searching with an uplifting message. Her guitar playing is
quite good, varied enough to carry off the sparse arrangement of
voice and guitar when those are the only instruments. To be
accurate, "Mama" is only voice and snapping, and clapping. The
message is missing nothing.
I think the title "Uprising" is an interesting one for a very
simply arranged CD, because this CD stands up and demands to be
noticed. The title alone might lead you to expect massive loud
forceful songs, but Sparlha Swa's voice and delivery of the songs
are like a whisper that is just as loud as a scream and much more
effective. She is a very talented singer/songwriter and
"Uprising" is packed with 13 solid songs.
http://www.sparlhaswa.com/
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OTHER NEW MUSIC REVIEWS SINCE LAST MONTH INCLUDE:
Tricia Greenwood (by Ben Ohmart)
http://musesmuse.com/columnistsgreylogs/archives/00000525.html
Grey Larsen & Paddy League (by Ben Ohmart)
http://musesmuse.com/columnistsgreylogs/archives/00000533.html
Bob McParland (by Stacey Board)
http://musesmuse.com/columnistsgreylogs/archives/00000532.html
Kenny Davidsen (by Stacey Board)
http://musesmuse.com/columnistsgreylogs/archives/00000529.html
Sparlha Swa (by Stacey Board)
http://musesmuse.com/columnistsgreylogs/archives/00000531.html
The Garrison Project (by Stacey Board)
http://musesmuse.com/columnistsgreylogs/archives/00000530.html
Orphan Project (by Gian Fiero)
http://musesmuse.com/columnistsgreylogs/archives/00000523.html
Melissa Van Der Scafe (by Gian Fiero)
http://musesmuse.com/columnistsgreylogs/archives/00000522.html
---------------
******
For bios on each of the reviewers, see
http://www.musesmuse.com/musicreviews.html . If you're considering
sending in your own CD for review, you can also view that page to
find out which reviewer reviews your genre. Thanks!
Back to Menu
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S o n g w r i t i n g B o o k R e v i e w : by James Linderman
How to Get Your Music in Film and TV by Richard Jay
http://tinyurl.com/o8lb
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It has become increasingly common for major labels to use a
film's impending success at the box office as a vehicle to
introduce a new artist to the world or to make a marginal act
into a household name.
We can assume that it would have taken a lot longer to make
Evanessence a platinum selling artist without the movie Daredevil
which starred Ben Afleck. Titanic confirmed superstar celebrity
status for Celine Dion and the impact that the movie O Brother
has had on a whole generation of Bluegrass artists is just
staggering.
'How to Get Your Music in Film and TV' shows a marginal interest
in how these signed artists are "developed", by the deals their
major labels make within the Hollywood film industry. Its real
intent is to help those of us who are struggling along without a
Big 5 deal to perhaps put a song or soundtrack to a film, maybe
putting a couple of thousand dollars in the bank and collecting a
royalty from our music to pay for more gear, or some new wheels
or maybe another case of Kraft Dinner.
Richard's book does this by shifting our interest away from music
labels (remember - they are the ones who don't return our calls
and ignore us at industry events if we are not already famous)
and radio ( remember - they are the ones who will never, ever
play our music because we didn't happen to write one of the eight
or nine songs they play over and over...) Ok, so I'm a little
bitter, but Richard is right. Film and TV offer some new
opportunities to be heard and filmmakers and TV producers need
mountains of music to bring what hits the screen to life.
Richard starts his book 'How to Get Your Music in Film and TV'
with a brief history of film music to offer some perspective on
where that part of the industry is coming from and it's actually
very interesting. He then gets right into his topic which is who
you would have to get to know to get your music on the screen and
what will they then want you to know about yourself and your
music to make it happen.
A major distinction that the book makes is whether you are a
composer (with, perhaps, some very cool music to offer that might
be played behind a scene where say... a bus with a bomb on it
zooms perilously around a city out of control) or whether you are
a songwriter (with, say, a gorgeous ballad that will bring an
audience to tears and keep them in their seats during the closing
credits.)
There is an awesome section featuring web addresses for tip
services for the film industry including leading film/tv resource
www.cuesheet.net which the author founded before selling it to
Songlink Int'l..
Richard is also the Director of The Music Broker which is a
company that has represented artists such as Cyndi Lauper and The
Temptations.
'How to Get Your Music in Film and TV' deals with things like
marketing, making and maintaining contacts, how you will get
paid, MFN's (a must know) and all about rights and royalties.
Richard also has some mock contracts with very comprehensive
explanations which are absolutely indispensable, in my opinion.
In the back pages, Richard has added a 101 on topics like music
publishing, mechanical licenses, sycronization, what copyright
means as it relates to film music and has also provided a
checklist and a glossery.
Obviously this is an invaluable book for anyone specifically
interested in the world of film or TV music but I think it would
be a great read for anyone wanting a fresh perspective on how to
get your music out there. Imagine having the major labels all
fighting over you because your song just happened to be playing
as Toby McGuire steps out onto the screen in Spiderman Two ... It
could happen!
'How to Get Your Music in Film and TV' is sort of like a crystal
ball that you could gaze into and see what this experience and
perhaps even this career would be like and in my estimation, it's
well worth checking out. You can pick up your own copy of 'How to
Get Your Music in Film and TV' by Richard Jay at
http://tinyurl.com/o8lb .
******
ABOUT THE REVIEWER:
James Linderman lives and works at theharmonyhouse, a music lesson,
songwriting and music pre-production facility in Newmarket,
Ontario, Canada. He is the Songwriters Association of Canada
regional coordinator for Newmarket and leads a music workshop
program for Life 100.3 Christian radio. James writes songwriting
articles for The Muse's News web magazine, Canadian Musician
Magazine and Professional Musician Magazine.
Contact James at: theharmonyhouse@rogers.com
Back to Menu
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S p o n s o r M e s s a g e :
(Please support the sponsors that support this newsletter! Thanks!)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CREATE CDs ON DEMAND WITH CAFE PRESS!
If you want to have a professional looking demo but you DON'T
want to buy 500 or 1000 copies, Cafe Press' new product offering
is definitely for you. You upload your graphics (or have them
designed by someone), upload your music, and create your own CDs
- AS YOU NEED THEM. One at a time! And starting up an account is
absolutely FREE. There are no up front costs (in fact, the only
thing you DO get when you sell a CD, is PAID) and their system is
super easy to work with.
Getting your demos or your self-produced CD out there to the
masses has never been easier. Not only that, but you can sell
merchandise like t-shirts and posters the same way! No upfront
costs, no inventory, no brainer.
Click here for more information!
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M u s i c a l N o t e s : Songwriting Contests & Market Info.
In the interest of conserving space, I will only be including
changes to this listing in this newsletter. All other contests
and market information that have already been listed here, are
displayed at http://www.musesmuse.com/contests.html &
http://www.musesmuse.com/markets.html . Please check there
regularly for updates!
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BERKELEY PARK RECORDS PARTNERS WITH SONICBIDS FOR ORIGINAL SONG
COMPETITION
Berkeley Park Records (BPR) announces an exclusive partnership
with Sonicbids for online submissions to the first annual BPR
Original Song Competition. Open to all unsigned
songwriters/artists, the competition provides an opportunity for
unknown songwriters, original solo artists and indie bands from
around the world to get their music heard by top music industry
professionals. The deadline is March 1, 2004.
Please visit the BPR website at http://www.berkeleyparkrecords.com/ for
more information.
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GREAT AMERICAN SONG CONTEST DEADLINE COMING SOON!
The 5th annual Great American Song Contest offers awards & prizes
for 45 winners in 8 categories, plus a 'Lyric Writing' category
for lyricists. This year's event features well-known music
industry judges, including publishers, producers, recording
artists and hit songwriters. * All entrants receive written
evaluations of their songs.* Sponsored by Songwriters Resource
Network, an educational resource for songwriters everywhere.
Postmark deadline is Nov. 7. Visit the GAS website at:
http://www.greatamericansong.com/ or email info@GreatAmericanSong.com for
a printed brochure.
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THE METRO DETROIT SONGWRITING CONTEST WELCOMES ENTRIES
This new contest honors the best of Southeast Michigan's
songwriters with a $1,000 Grand Prize, plus 9 other winners, and
publicity and performance opportunities. All musical styles are
welcome. The deadline is March 31, 2004.
For rules and an entry form, go to www.detroitsongs.com or send
SASE to P.O. Box 701698, Plymouth, MI 48170-0969.
Further questions, email michigansongwriters@juno.com.
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TAKE "SUCCESFUL LYRIC WRITING" WITH SARA LIGHT ONLINE ONLY AT
SONGU.COM
Join Tony Award nominated lyricist and hit songwriter, Sara
Light, for this exciting online course beginning September 25th.
Also, as a member of SongU.com, you can take over 30 self-paced
courses that are available online 24 hours a day, 365 days a
year. No airfare, no hotel costs, no time constraints. Right
from your own home, you can get quality education and personal
attention from a faculty of active hit songwriters and successful
independent artists.
Back-To-School Special for Musesmuse members. Use redemption
code: MMU8303 when you enroll for one year at SongU and get an
additional 3 months free!
Click Here to take the campus tour today!
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REAL ANSWERS TO REAL QUESTIONS - THE SONGWRITER-PUBLISHER FORUM
IS NOW AVAILABLE !
This 112 page DigitalWebBook is a compilation of 5 years of
correspondence between the Muse's Muse Readers and guest
columnist, Nancy A. Reece of Carpe Diem Copyright Management in
Nashville, TN.
Topics Include: Demo/Recording Agreements ~ Licensing ~
Collaboration ~ Pitching/Representation ~ Audio Files on The
Internet ~ Registration ~ Partnerships ~ Performing Rights
Organizations ~ Children's Music ~ International Questions ~ Work
For Hire ~ Plagiarism ~ Derivative ~ Works/Parodies ~ Clearances
~ Trademarks/Servicemarks/Names ~ Publisher/Writer Splits ~
Books/Sources/Resource Guides ~ Management Agreements ~
Publishing Agreements ~ Production Agreements ~ Estate
DigitalWebBooks (DWB) are 3D page turning digital manuals that
are E-mailed to you as an attachment that can be saved to your
desktop and viewed off line. For best results, the DWB may be
viewed on-line for access to website links referenced throughout
the book.
It's a truly amazing experience! Order yours today!
http://www.musesmuse.com/realarealq.html
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GET DISCOVERED: ENTER THE 4TH ANNUAL CMT/CMT.COM NSAI SONG
CONTEST:
Winners get their foot in the door of the music industry! Last
year's Grand Prize Winner, Tracey Naples, signed a label deal
with DreamWorks Records. If you write the winning song, you'll
receive an invitation to perform on CMT's Most Wanted Live stage
during Fan Fair, a trip to Nashville including airfare and
accomodations, guaranteed appointments with publishers and record
labels, a mentoring session with an award-winning professional
songwriter. Plus, you'll get your song pitched for one year, a
Taylor Guitar model 214, an AKG C-3000B studio microphone, and so
much more.
Final Contest Deadline: November 29, 2003. To enter visit
http://www.cmt.com/comm/sweep/nsai/2003/
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BERKLEEMUSIC.COM WEBSITE LAUNCHED
Berklee College of Music has launched its Berkleemusic.com web
site after nearly two years in development. This ambitious new
offering provides songwriters opportunities to take online music
writing courses and explore new music career directions. Users
can create a personal or band web page containing bios, MP3s,
images, reviews, news, and links that are useful resources to
potential employers, collaborators, and students.
Click Here for more information.
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LADYSIXSTRING ANNUAL LYRIC CONTEST
Lyrics Only! Ladies Only! Best entry receives a Stardust Venus
Guitar & Marshall Amp ...plus... lots of other super cool prizes.
Open to all female amateur and professional songwriters. All
ages. All styles. Winners will be selected by an expert panel of
music industry judges. There is a $10 entry fee per entry.
International entries accepted (void where prohibited). Made
possible by LadySixString, Daisy Rock Guitars, Alfred Publishing,
Women Who Rock Magazine, StringItUp! & The Indie Bible. Postmark
deadline is December 31 of each year. Late entries will be placed
in the following year's competition.
URL for more information:
http://www.ladysixstring.com/lyricwritingcontest
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OUR COMMON GROUND PRESENTS SONGWRITING PERFORMANCE & YOU
This series of educational seminars offers valuable information
on the creation and performance of music. All musician
instructors are published songwriter/performers who have studied
their craft and gathered together to share their expertise with
you! The cost is $25.00 per person for each day, all fees go to
support Our Common Ground nfp (Our Common Ground is a not-for-
profit organization that strives to educate, support and grow the
arts throughout the Midwest. It is currently open to visual art,
music, original film, dance and written works.)
When: October 11, 18, 25, 2003
Location: The Globe Theatre, 105 N. Third Street, Greenville, IL
For more information and to register, email Adrilark@aol.com with
the subject of "Seminar"
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M u s e ' s C l u e s : by Irene Jackson
©1998-2003 Moonstone Productions All Rights Reserved. Used By
Permission
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In my six or seven years online, I've met many fine songwriters
and people involved in all aspects of songwriting. I've met a
few others too, but that's for another time :-)
Jodi Krangle was one of the first songwriters I interacted with
way back in 1996 when the internet was just beginning. We had a
common interest in creating a community for songwriters and
supporting them in their attempts to learn more about the craft
and business. And let's face it, in this crazy world of
songwriting, we all need as much support and community, and HELP,
that we can get!
Jodi's Muse's Muse website has become a wonderful resource and a
good first step (and second and third!) for many songwriters
looking to expand their horizons. Brian Austin Whitney's JPFolks
has also become a "must visit" website for songwriters and
artists. And more recently, a website launched by Danny Arena
and Sara Light is making its way into many a songwriters'
bookmark file.
The website is called SongU.com (http://www.songu.com/?sa=3), and not
only is it a well-designed site, but it has much to offer
songwriters in many different aspects of the craft and business.
It is designed like a songwriting university campus, with a
yearbook, a "lounge" where you can listen to a jukebox featuring
songs by staff and other students, a campus tour, and self-paced
courses in everything from writing lyrics, music, performing,
commercial songwriting to the business of it all. I should also
mention that Jodi and I have both contributed courses to
SongU.com, along with songwriting "gurus" Pete & Pat Luboff,
songwriter Kim Copeland, producer Galen Breen, and many others.
Not to mention, of course, Danny Arena & Sara Light who each have
extensive backgrounds in songwriting and teaching, along with a
few cuts and awards and a recent Tony nomination to boot!
There is a tuition fee, but if you're not sure about forking out
the bucks, you can take a sample lesson and try it out, sign up
for the newsletter to find out more, or join one of their free
monthly e-Workshops to see what they're all about first. When
you pay the annual fee, you can take any of the courses you like
at your own pace (or ALL of them, if you want to!) and be a part
of the discussion boards, have your own yearbook page, and upload
some songs if you want to. There are scheduled chats around
various topics such as setting goals, and as soon as you join,
you get a guidance counselor who will orient you to the website
and offer suggestions and feedback. With your fee you also get
one free song evaluation by a trained SongU coach.
Have I left anything out? I probably have because there's just
too much to mention in one mouthful! I sure don't want to sound
like a salesperson, but I can tell you that SongU.com is
definitely worth a window shop :-).
******
Irene Jackson is a performing songwriter from Victoria, BC in
Canada. Aside from writing, recording and performing, she also
maintains a website for songwriters that includes tips, articles
and more links of interest. Her eagerly anticipated CD "Catnip" is
finally here, and her earlier recordings have had attention
everywhere from Japan to South America.
Songwriting Tips: http://www.irenejackson.com/tips.html
Homepage: http://www.irenejackson.com/
Songs on MP3:
http://www.mp3.com/artists/20/irene_jackson.html
Back to Menu
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F e a t u r e d A r t i c l e :
A NEW METHOD FOR WRITING SONGS - by John Tunney
© John Tunney, 2003 All Rights Reserved. Printed with
Permission.
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My moment of inspiration came in 1999 in a night club. I was in
the rest room of the club where people were talking, and I could
hear the music from one of the dance floors very faintly in the
background. I tried to listen to the tune and at first, I
thought the song was a song I'd never heard before - but it
sounded good! To my surprise, within the next few moments I
recognized the song as "Saturday Night" by Whigfield - a UK
number 1 from several years previously. The melody I now had in
my head was different from that of the actual song. I figured if
I could repeat the conditions at the club in my own home, I would
have a clever way of creating inspiration.
I experimented at home with an approach to reproduce similar
conditions and I was delighted to find that it worked! I had
found a way to 'can inspiration'.
The Method
To recreate the conditions of 'distortion' that were present in
the club due to the noise of people chatting, I use a normal desk
fan. I sit in front of my stereo and place the fan a foot or so
behind me on full power.
Recreating the faintness of the music is simply achieved by
playing music with the volume set at a very low level. However,
there are three different approaches I use as regards to volume:
1) I start by playing a track on zero volume and fluctuate the
volume at a very low level, trying to ensure that I don't
recognize the track playing.
2) I start at zero volume but occasionally have split second
'bursts' of volume at a level that would be high enough to
recognize the track, but recognition does not occur as I return
the volume to zero immediately.
3) I play the track at a consistently low level without
fluctuating the volume.
I use these three different approaches in combination. I've found
the first two seem to be the most productive.
I've found the method more effective if you don't allow
recognition of the track to occur. If you do accidentally
recognize the track all is not lost as you can still get ideas,
but for some reason, these are usually less interesting or too
similar to the original track.
Also, I find it helps to 'skip about' on the track - forwards and
backwards. This helps to ensure that recognition does not occur.
What To Do With What You Hear.
----------
For the remainder of this fascinating article, please see
http://www.musesmuse.com/art-newmethod.html#newsletter
******
I've always been interested in new ideas. My interest in
creativity has gone hand in hand with my interest in songwriting.
At a young age I liked to think there was a 'secret room' of
songwriters who were using an arcane system to churn out great
songs. In 1986 I started songwriting and by 1989 I had become
determined to find/create a 'system' for writing songs. In ten
years I had tried many different approaches and wrote about ten
interesting jingles and songs. Then, in 1999 I had the 'Eureka'
moment I'd been waiting for, and I found a simple method to find
inspiration for songs. I became extremely productive overnight
writing hundreds of songs and jingles. Now I'm determined to find
out if the method will work for others too. Incidentally, I'm now
also working on a project to see if I can find a similarly
productive method for writing fiction!
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B a n d I n S p o t l i g h t :
Damone: Interview with the band - By Lauren Jonik
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The high school years, however they are experienced, play a
defining role in our lives. At the time, those few short years
can alternate between feeling swiftly immediate and dramatically
endless. The intense growth that comes from every new emotion and
event is elevated to being simultaneously frivolous and
significant--- and therein lies the beauty. The music of Damone
captures the frenetic energy of this time with youthful
exuberance, subtle sweetness and irresistible charm.
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To read on about Damone and their successes, drop by:
http://www.musesmuse.com/int-damone.html
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******
Lauren Jonik is a freelance journalist and photographer who lives
in the suburban Philadelphia, Pennsylvania area. Deeply valuing
the beauty of creative expression, she enjoys combining her love
of music with her passion for writing and photography. She is the
founder and editor of an online music publication called
SoundAffects.net (http://www.soundaffects.net/). Lauren can be
contacted at: lauren@ soundaffects.net
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" O N S I T E " F E A T U R E D A R T I C L E :
Way Download Upon The Swapping River - by Danny McBride
http://musesmuse.com/columnistsgreylogs/archives/00000526.html
Danny discusses file sharing and how it endangers intellectual
property rights while giving us a very valuable history lesson
about the origins of our modern copyright law. Originally,
songwriters did not get paid for their work. Then Stephen Foster
came along and began to change everything. Irving Berlin and
others took songwriters to a place of profitability. With the
latest computer technology, we have almost come full circle. Soon
songwriters may again not get paid.
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C l a s s i f i e d s & U s e f u l S e r v i c e s :
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NEW: LYRICIST VERSION 3 SOFTWARE: IT'S BEEN A LONG TRAIN RUNNING!
Sept 25, 2003. Virtual Studio Systems, Inc. is proud to announce
Lyricist V3 - The Songwriter's Best Friend: the
first-of-its-kind word processor designed for musicians,
songwriters, and poets. The software includes a Rhyming
Dictionary, Thesaurus, Album Categorization, Chord Charting,
Chord Generator, Song Arrangement, On-Line Copyright Link. The
version 3 release adds an Enhanced User Interface, Support for
Piano Style chord symbols, Nashville Number System support, and
Song Key Transposition - all in one user-friendly package. Check
out the review at http://www.musesmuse.com/vss-review.html .
Muse's Muse visitors can take home the product for $5.00 off the
V3 introductory sale price of $39.95 just for purchasing through
the purchase button provided off of the review.
For more information, visit the review url above or call us at
888.732.1176 inside the U.S.A. and Canada or 603.726-4499 outside
the U.S.A.
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NEED TO BOOK GIGS & ADVANCE YOUR CAREER? ORDER THIS UNIQUE
CD-ROM!
It is packed with essential tools to save you time and money, and
give you a competitive advantage in the music business. Compiled
by Suzanne Glass, author, speaker, and founder of
Indie-Music.com, the ToolKit comes with nearly 50 articles,
printable copyright forms, templates for common music items like
flyers, music fonts, musician papers, software, and much more for
only $19.95.
http://www.musicianstoolkit.com/muse/
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THE 4th EDITION OF THE INDIE BIBLE IS NOW AVAILABLE!
The Indie Bible shows you where to get your music reviewed, your
songs played, and your CDs sold. Now in its fourth edition, The
Indie Bible has 310 pages of valuable contacts and music-related
articles.
The 4th Edition of the Indie Bible contains:
3500 publications from around the world that will REVIEW your CD!
2900 radio stations from around the world will PLAY your songs!
350 vendors and services that will help you to SELL your music!
400 helpful resources and sites where you can PROMOTE your band!
500 sites where you can UPLOAD your band's MP3 files!
39 articles that will help your career to MOVE forward rapidly!
For details and to order online visit:
http://www.bigmeteor.com/muse/
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THE GALARIS MUSICIANS DIRECTORY - 2003 EDITION
If you are serious about pushing your music career to the
next level, getting your music into the right hands, promoting
yourself to others and creating a buzz, YOU NEED THE GMD!
Visit us to check out the demo, and see what industry
professionals say about the GMD.
Receive a 10% discount if you place your order through The Muse's
Muse: http://tinyurl.com/cqkw
=================================================================
ADVERTISING RATES: For Classifieds: US$50 Max. 8 lines, where
a line = 65 characters including spaces and punctuation. All
contracts must be prepaid. Write to: editor@musesmuse.com
For Newsletter Sponsorship rates and other advertising
opportunities, please see http://www.musesmuse.com/media.html .
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C o n t a c t I n f o & C r e d i t s :
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Jodi Krangle ............................................. EDITOR
Kathryn Obenshain ...........................GRACIOUS PROOFREADER
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The Muse's News is a free monthly newsletter for and about
songwriters. Subscribers are welcome to recirculate or reprint
The Muse's News for nonprofit use as long as the appropriate
credit is given and the ENTIRE text of the newsletter is
included (including credits and information at the end of each
issue). Others should contact me at editor@musesmuse.com.
All articles copyrighted by their authors.
Back issues and other information will be available at:
http://www.musesmuse.com/musenews.html
The Muse's News is part of The Muse's Muse, a web resource for
songwriters: http://www.musesmuse.com/
For further information, send your e-mail to:
-----------------------------------------------------------------
adinfo@musesmuse.com - How to place a classified ad, pass
on market information or sponsor
The Muse's News.
info@musesmuse.com - How to subscribe, unsubscribe, etc.
editor@musesmuse.com - To submit articles,reviews,ideas,etc.
SNAILMAIL: Please contact me first at editor@musesmuse.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Back issues of the newsletter can be read at the National
Library of Canada ecollection:
http://collection.nlc-bnc.ca/100/201/300/muses_news/index.html
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