August 2014
Guild Tidings
The official publication of
The International Songwriters Guild
Volume 19, No. 8
NEXT MEETING - 5:00pm Sunday, August 3rd, 2014
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
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.
Any Details not in this newsletter are at:
WebChatter
By SusieCool
I just wanted to let you know of a couple of Videos by an amusing guy called Brett Domino.
The subject is "How To Make A Hit Pop Song".
Part 1:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JV2s0UIPOQY&list=PL_uv8Ybuic9CekUqSbfanrNnExqyswJoI
Part 2:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5xIUeNJIrak&index=2&list=PL_uv8Ybuic9CekUqSbfanrNnExqyswJoI
Potpourri
By Jeff Mason
Time flies! It seems like yesterday that I was preparing to take Loudon Stearn’s
six week course “Introduction To Music Production.” It was a free online course presented by
Berklee College of Music. That was back in January and I promised a review in the spring. Well,
here it is. I’m sorry I took so long!
This is a complex and time consuming class. It is, however, well worth the effort
if you are producing your songs on a DAW(Digital Audio Workstation). I took an unusual approach
to this class. I decided that I wasn’t too concerned with getting a credit. I realized my
schedule was too busy and I wouldn’t have time to complete the weekly assignments. I watched the
many hours of video and completed the weekly quizzes. I, also, made copious notes which I’ve
saved for future reference.
The class takes us through all the stages of the recording process. Beginning
with the Signal Flow and culminating with the final lesson on Synthesis. Along the way we are
introduced to all the tools of the trade. You may find a video on You Tube in which Loudon gives
a summary of the course. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pgIQ7ouOw4M
One of the more useful features I’ve found with Berklee’s courses are the
course archives. It is possible to visit the web site and revisit the lessons at one’s leisure.
Revision is a key element in any learning process. The same element applies
to the songwriting process. In Nicholas Tozier’s blog we can find a list of “8 Bad Habits That
Hinder Your Songwriting.” The third mistake on this list is “Never Reviewing Your Notebook of
Ideas and Drafts.” You have to return to the well, repeatedly. This web site is a gem for
songwriters with many valuable tips and insights. I liked the list “13 Love Song Ideas That
Listeners Love.” http://nicholastozier.com/write-a-love-song-13-ideas/ Browse through the ideas
and see if your creative juices begin to flow.
My dictionary definition of the word potpourri is as follows: A combination
of incongruous things. I realized when I sat down to write this article that I had a potpourri of
ideas running around in my head; hence it’s title. If you follow my train of thought you may see
the songwriting process, at it’s initiation, as another potpourri of scattered ideas. On the same
web site I found an interesting link to an article about Australian songwriter Nick Cave. The
article is titled “ The Sunday Songwriter: Dracula,Jesus, and Marilyn Monroe -Nick Cave’s
Influences.” Written by Mary Popova and hosted on her blog “Brainpickings.”
http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2012/03/30/nick-cave-influences/ In this piece, Ms Popova
directs us to a handwritten note by Nick Cave in which he lists his creative influences. It is
another potpourri or as Ms Popova calls it; the ecosystem of ideas.
Finally, I’d like to extend my gratitude to Joanne Pepitone. She came to
our last Guild meeting and provided us with some important information about the music business.
She saved the best piece of advice until the end of the meeting when she told us about the ISRC
(International Standard Recording Code.) This is the explanation from ISRC web site: “The ISRC is
the international identification system for sound recordings. Each ISRC is a unique and permanent
identifier for a specific recording, independent of the format on which it appears (CD, audio
file, etc) or the rights holders involved. Only one ISRC should be issued to a track, and an ISRC
can never represent more than one unique recording. ISRCs are widely used in digital commerce by
download sites and collecting societies. An ISRC can also be permanently encoded into a product
as it’s digital fingerprint. Encoded ISRC provide the means to automatically identify recordings
for royalty payments.”
This is as important as copyright. To obtain ISRCs you can apply from
their web site https://www.usisrc.org/ “There is now a one-time $80 application fee for the
allocation of a Registrant Code. The Registrant Code is yours for life and it will allow you to
assign up to 100,000 ISRCs each year.”
I would advise all songwriters to become more aware of the legalities
pertaining to publishing songs in this ever changing world. 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 Fiddler's Green
Saturdays July 26th, August 2nd and 9th, 5 to 8pm
544 W. Fairbanks Ave,
Winter Park, Fl, 32789
407 645 2050
Connolly's Irish Pub
Thursday August 7th from 8pm
323 N. Ronald Reagan Blvd,
Longwood, Fl, 32750,
407 767 0600
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
No Song Contest for July
New members always welcome!
© 2014 ISG