Posts Tagged ‘Songwriting’

TakeLessons Rock Star Teacher of the Week: Beverly M.

Monday, June 14th, 2010

Beverly MMeet Beverly M. of El Reno, Oklahoma, who is this week’s Rock Star Teacher of the Week!  Although Beverly has only been a TakeLessons instructor since February, she has quickly become an active member of our teacher community and brings over 27 years of experience to her role as a piano and music theory teacher.  She has worked with students of all ages, and her teaching style covers a variety of musical genres – everything from classical and gospel to country and blues.  Having lived in South America as a child, Beverly is bilingual and teaches lessons in both English and Spanish.

In addition to being a classically-trained pianist, Beverly is also a talented songwriter, having composed more than 200 songs – many of which have been recorded by various artists or arranged for church choirs.  As an instructor, Beverly’s greatest desire is to instill her love for making music in each of her students.  She considers music to be the “language of the heart,” and enjoys sharing her musical knowledge and love for playing with anyone who is willing to learn.

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TakeLessons Rock Star Teacher of the Week: Andrew H.

Monday, May 31st, 2010

Andrew HThis week’s Rock Star Teacher of the Week is the talented Andrew H. of Tampa, Florida!  A recent graduate of the University of Southern Florida with a degree in Music Composition, Andrew has been a TakeLessons instructor since July 2009 and has 10 continuing students with an average of 30 lessons per student – which just goes to show how much his students enjoy learning from him.  Andrew began studying piano at the age of 13, and now enjoys sharing his passion for music with his students.  In addition to piano, he also teaches singing, songwriting, music theory, opera, and theatrical Broadway singing.

Andrew’s versatility comes from his background performing and composing many different styles of music, including classical, opera, jazz and pop.  During his collegiate studies, Andrew fell in love with teaching music and has led several church youth choirs and other vocal groups, in addition to working with students one-on-one.  His lesson plans focus on learning fun repertoire that helps each student develop the techniques needed to become a better all-around musician.  Great job, Andrew – we are glad to have you working with us!


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How unique is your song title?

Wednesday, September 2nd, 2009

Jeff S, our guitar and songwriting teacher from the greater NYC area has given us his insight on how to create a great title for your song:

Some songwriters start out with a patch of melody or a line or two of lyric Songwriting as their creative catalyst.  Others, like me, usually start with a song title.  Obviously, the catchier and more novel your song title is, the greater chance it will stand out and be identifiable with you (as a the songwriter and/or artist).  While a song title is not copyrightable, a strong one can help pique interest and generate listens out of pure curiosity.

As a general guideline, it is probably best to stay away from hackneyed song titles like ”I Love You” or “I Need You”.  On the other end of the spectrum, it is also a wise idea to avoid leeching onto titles that are intrinsically and irrevocably identifiable with the original artist; that they almost become almost proprietary (and in some cases, they are). 

Such iconic songs as Paul Simon’s “Bridge Over Troubled Water”, Carole King’s “You’ve Got A Friend”, Tom Petty’s “Freefallin’ ” Bill Withers’ “Lean On Me”, and Lynyrd Skynrd’s “Sweet Home Alabama” fit under this category.  They are so woven into the pop cultural fabric that it would be fool’s gold to try to re-excavate them. These are but a few of such seminal songs, but I’m sure you get my drift. 

And more recently there’s another stockpile of uniquely indelible songs/titles like Amy Warehouse’s ”Rehab”, Katy Perry’s “I Kissed A Girl”, Coldplay’s “Viva La Vida” or Beyonce’s, “If I Were A Boy”.  All these are immediately correlated with these artists.

I am in the process of titling my 3rd artist CD and I wanted to see just how “fresh” my potential titles were.  So I typed my 3 leading title contenders into the iTunes search engine and it gave me instant insight and tacit guidance.   I emerged with the realization that I had to dig a bit deeper for a title that wasn’t overused and was able to immediately eliminate some titles that I was considering.

My curiosity was sufficiently ramped up by my research, so I decided to plug in some other titles that popped into mind.  I found 147 songs under the title, “Always” and 75 entries called “The Hard Way” or “Hard Way”.  I was surprised to see 150 songs listed under the title of Addicted “.  And this was just on iTunes, so it reflects just a microcosm.

Besides itunes, there are some other fantastic sources you can utilize (for free!) to get a fix on the creative uniqueness of your song titles.  The major performing rights organizations, ASCAP, BMI and SESAC, all have super extensive databases. ASCAP has the ACE Title Search.  On the BMI site, look for the word search at the top of their home page.   SESAC has a repertory search at the bottom of their home page.  No matter what title you come up with, have fun and try to find a previously unexplored approach to your title and craft it into something that is truly you!
Jeff S 
Jeff S

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Upcoming Music Contests

Tuesday, May 12th, 2009

2009 Great American Song Contest

The Great American Song Contest features awards for 45 winners in 9 categories and provides $10,000 in Prizes. Music-industry judges include prominent publishers, music producers, and recording artists. Entrants receive written evaluations of their songs. Open to songwriters, lyricists, and composers around the
world. Sponsored by Songwriters Resource Network, a trusted educational resource for songwriters everywhere. Submissiondeadline: October 30.

Doing Dylan Songwriting Contest

Doing Dylan is looking for original songs which sing out against social injustice, political corruption, racial bigotry, or religious fanaticism. We're also interested in sensitive, poetic lyrics mourning lost or unrequited love, offering solace in the dark hours of despair, or trumpeting a rallying call for freedom. Submission deadline: August 31.

The Great Lakes Songwriting Contest

A longtime regional favorite, the sixth annual Great Lakes Songwriting Contest is now open to all songwriters everywhere. There will be 11 winners in 2009, with the Grand Prize winner getting $2,500 cash, the headliner spot at the annual Winners' Concert, plus other goodies from the sponsors. This is a contest
run by songwriters for songwriters; they guarantee that every song will be heard at least twice from beginning to end. There are no categories, as no one likes to be put in a box, and no one likes to pay multiple entry fees for a song to be considered for different categories. Submission deadline: September 15.

Music City Song Contest: Session 4

Red Ridge Entertainment is proud to present the Music City Song Contest: Session 4, a Nashville-based competition open to both amateur and professional songwriters worldwide. Entries will be judged on originality as well as compositional, lyrical, and melodic content; therefore a professional recording is not
necessary. Songs are open to the following categories: acoustic, adult contemporary, alternative, Americana, bluegrass, blues, Broadway, cabaret, contemporary Christian, country, folk, funk, jazz, Latin, pop, rock, singer-songwriter, and standards (no instrumental compositions). Submission deadline: July 31.

Me and My Harmony-G Video Contest

The "Me and My Harmony-G Video" contest will run till June 30, 2009 during which time entrants are encouraged to post a video of their performance of an original composition using the Harmony-G
vocal pedal on YouTube.com. Submissions will be judged on creativity, originality, and product usage by peers, viewers, and TC-Helicon staff. Varying monetary prizes will be awarded to winners in the amounts of $2,000 for Most Viewed, $2,000 for Best Video, and 10 weekly prizes of $100 for Honorable Mention.

SongDoor 2009 International Songwriting Competition

The SongDoor 2009 International Songwriting Competition is now open for submissions. Awards totaling more than $40,000 (including a single-song publishing contract) and two new judges have also been announced. Songs may be entered in six different categories: Christian, Country, Pop, Rock/Alt, Soft Rock, and Instrumental. Entries are accepted online or by mail through November 15.

Thanks to our friends at Indie Music for putting together this list. We love you.

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