May 2014
Guild Tidings
The official publication of
The International Songwriters Guild
Volume 19, No. 5
NEXT MEETING - 5:00pm Sunday, May 4th, 2014
(May the forth be with you)
The International Songwriter’s Guild meets at 5 PM on the first Sunday of every month at
the Central Florida Musician’s Union building, 3020 East Robinson (at the extreme east
end of Robinson, near Orlando Executive Airport ) in Orlando.
Songwriters, composers, performers, publishers, and the curious are encouraged to join
us. Non-members are invited to attend a meeting or two to get a feel for our group and
what we do. For more information, visit our website at www.tinyurl.com/isgsongs or
myspace page at https://myspace.com/21075001
The meetings will be structured as follows: 5:00 to 5:30, business and introductions.
5:30 to 6:00, presentation by a guest speaker (when scheduled), 5:30 or 6:00 to 8:00,
song critiques. Please bring a CD or I-phone or mp3 player or perform your song live, and
bring 10 or more lyric sheets. If we have at least 5 songs by members who wish to be
scored, and 6 members scoring, then we will have them entered in the Monthly competition.
Everyone is encouraged to write constructive comments on the lyric sheets.
Mr. Sondheim
By Jeff Mason
I watched a very good documentary on HBO a couple of weeks ago. It was
about the American lyricist and composer Stephen Sondheim. The title of the movie is “Six
by Sondheim” and it takes a look at his life and his art. As the title suggests the movie
is divided into six parts, each section is related to a specific Sondheim song:
“Something’s Coming,” “Opening Doors,” “Send in the Clowns,” “I’m Still Here,” “Being
Alive,” and “Sunday.”
Each song is performed and Sondheim talks about it’s origin and problems related to song
craft and how he found solutions to them.
Sondheim has said that if he were not a songwriter he would be a
teacher. He calls teaching “the sacred profession.” It’s clear to me that he is already a
teacher. I passed an evening surfing numerous web sites relating to Sondheim and came
away feeling inspired by the talent and generosity of the man. He is transparent and open
to sharing his knowledge about the craft of songwriting. The source of this generosity
likely stems from his childhood. Sondheim’s parents had divorced when he was ten and he
became friends with James Hammerstein, son of lyricist Oscar Hammerstein ll. The elder
Hammerstein became a surrogate father to Sondheim and fostered, in him, a love for
musical theatre. After Sondheim expressed a desire to write a musical, Hammerstein taught
and developed a kind of apprenticeship for the budding songwriter.
I wrote an article about Sondheim in 2010 and I was unable to find a
video of an interview that he’d done, in 1994, with James Lipton for “Inside The Actor’s
Studio.” I was pleased to find that interview on YouTube this time around.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ywB_R3Lczzw
I would recommend this interview to any aspiring songwriter. Sondheim says, “art is craft
not inspiration.” He even tells us what his favorite rhyming dictionary is and why. It’s
a 1936 Clement Wood edition and the rhyme possibilities are printed as a list. It is
easier on the eyes. His favorite thesaurus is a 1946 edition of Roget’s Thesaurus.
Another important thing is to “write away from the piano.” A song is a mini play with a
beginning, a middle and an end and his songs are character driven. Sondheim uses a
conversational approach to his songs. This is a technique which works well in musical
theatre.
If you are trying to write a song that has universal appeal think
about this Sondheim quote: “Nobody goes through life unscathed, and I think if you write
about those things, you’re going to touch people.” While it may be argued that writing
for theatre is a different beast to writing popular music I cannot dispute the wisdom of
the previous quote. Popular songs often have the loss of love as a subject and few among
us escapes that kind of pain, at some point in our lives. There is a breadth of subject
matter in all of Sondheim’s songs. Consider the reflection on life’s disappointments and
ironies in “Send in the Clowns.” This song is usually sung by an older woman but even
Sinatra was touched by it and recorded a version in 1973. On the other edge of the
subject spectrum we find a painter setting the stage in “Sunday.” There is, however, an
underlying theme of loneliness in this song about an “ordinary Sunday” picnic. Another
theme explored by Sondheim is the optimistic and sometimes disappointing quest by young
songwriters trying to make it in New York. In “Opening Doors” we find a lyrically complex
piece aided by an equally complex rhythmic structure. Seth Rudetsky brilliantly analyzes
this song on YouTube. Go to YouTube and type in “Seth Rudetsky Deconstructs.” You may
then locate “Opening Doors” by entering the song’s title. try this link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A4WF0dBwKg0 All of these songs are readily available on
the internet.
I don’t know when HBO plans to release the DVD of “Six by Sondheim” but I
plan to add it to my songwriting toolbox when they do.
See you next month.
ISG Bulletin Board
Meeting space graciously provided by Central Florida Musicians Association, Local 389.
You are invited to join the largest union in the world, representing the interests of the
professional musician. Visit their website at afm389.org for more information. You may
reach them by phone at: 407-894-8666.
Why isn't your gig announced here? Call us with your appearance schedule!
Jeff Mason playing at O'Keefe's Irish Pub,
May 1st, 15th and 22nd 6 pm to 10 pm
115 S. Rockingham Ave,
Tavares, Fl, 32778,
352 343 2157
Current members please send us your website info if you would like your site to be listed
in the ISG members page. Also if you have any songs that have placed first in the monthly
critiques, please send the mp3's to isgorlando@gmail.com if you would like to have them
featured in the ISG MySpace page. https://myspace.com/21075001
April 2014 Song critique results
1. Soul Mate by Matthew Campbell
2. (tie) Johnny Wise by Kent Trewick & Susie Cool
2. (tie) I've Got You Where You Want Me by Will Campbell
4. Lonely Man From Galilee by Will Campbell
5. We Lost Harry by Dan Arnold
New members always welcome!
Any Details not in this newsletter are at:
© 2014 ISG