December 2002
Guild Tidings
The official Publication of
The International Songwriters Guild
Volume 7, No. 12
What: December ISG Meeting and Christmas Party
When: Sunday, December 1st from 4 PM till 8 PM
Where: Starlight Ranch (same place as last year;
Directions: the ISG Christmas party (and December meeting) is being held at the Starlight Ranch clubhouse, 6000 East Pershing Avenue about a block east of Semoran. Starlight Ranch is on the south side of the road, and actually has two clubhouses. Our meeting/party is at the second clubhouse. You'll pass the first one on the left, just inside the entrance. Keep driving; the second clubhouse is a couple of minutes further along, and also on the left. Special thanks to Art Cappuccio for setting it up!
Who's invited: ISG members, friends, and family
What to bring: A covered dish and drinks, enough for your party.
Judy Sekenski (407-857-2234) is coordinating the
menu. If you'd like, come prepared to perform
one or more of your original songs (no
critiquing).
What to expect: Lots of music, food, and fun!
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.
Officers:
President/Treasurer
Russ Robinson (407) 851-5328
Vice President/Member Reception
Matthew Griffin (407) 903-1212
Secretary
Evelyn Nelson (863) 644-8699
Membership Coordinator
Susan Foster-Trewick (407) 679-4017
Web Consultant
Asli Walker (407) 359-0506
President's Letter
Dear Members,
This is a brief note to inform you of our latest plans. At our last meeting (November 3rd) we decided to have our regular December meeting on the 1st and our Christmas party on December 8th. But our plans fell through, so now we're going to have our meeting and party on the same day and at the same place (4 PM on Sunday, December 1st). The plans had to be changed because someone else ahead of us booked the clubroom. No problem; we'll just do our thing on the 1st.
Everyone is to bring a covered dish and drinks. There are kitchen facilities and food can be warmed on the premises. Try to plan a dish that can feed a fairly large number of people. Art said that 85% of the food last year turned out to be sweets (cookies and cakes and the like). This will be our evening meal so let's try to think. I have spoken to Judy Sekenski (407-857-2234) and she has agreed to coordinate the menu. Call her to find out what other people are bringing or for a suggestion of what to bring yourself.
Feel free to bring friends but make sure they bring food too! Everyone, practice your songs. We want everyone to "get in on the act". It sounds like fun, doesn't it?
Best ever,
Russ Robinson
Critique Scoring Primer
By Matt Griffin
One of the services I perform for the ISG is the compilation of critique scores. I've been doing it every month (with a couple of exceptions) for about 2 � years. Scoring recently seems to be rather inconsistent. I thought it might be worthwhile to run through a few pointers. Our goal: consistent scoring over the course of a meeting.
(1) First, the rules! We're giving a score of 1 to 5 in each of four categories (melody, lyrics, hook, and potential). The author(s) is/are not allowed to score his/her own song.
(2) Try to critique the song rather than the production. In practice this is not as easy as it sounds, as a bare-bones demo can make it harder to hear how good a song can be and a great demo can bring out the best in a mediocre writing effort. But as much as possible, your score should not be swayed by a strong/weak vocal, for instance.
(3) Use a consistent standard throughout the evening. We have "hard graders" and "easy graders", and people score a little differently from month to month. That's OK, but it's important to stay consistent through all of the songs on any given night. If you notice you've given a higher overall score to the 7th song of the night than you did to an earlier song you liked better, consider changing a number or two.
(4) Some critiquers like to give half-points. This is fine as long as it's between 1 and 5 (3.5 is OK, 0.5 is not). Please, no zeros (for totaling purposes, I change all zeros to ones).
(5) Do try to treat each category separately. Some folks seem to favor even scores for all categories (2-2-2-2 or 5-5-5-5); this kind of score for a song should be the exception rather than the rule.
(6) I mention this often before our critiquing sessions, but we still give far too many 1's and 5's. Reserve a score of 1 for a poor effort and a 5 for an outstanding one. In the November critiques we had an especially large number of 1's (and zeros!). This surprised me, since overall we had a really strong set of original songs at the November meeting.
Critiquing is a learned activity. Anyone can say whether they like a song on first hearing it, but breaking it down and quantifying it takes some practice. Let's all work on it!
ISG Bulletin Board
Place your classified ad or gig announcement here! Free to ISG members as always!
Furnished condominium: newly renovated fireplace, pool, sauna, washer/dryer, cable, security, full kitchen & entertainment center patio, storage, parking, clean, centrally located. $400/room/month or $850 for entire condo. Call Valerie Nager at 407-421-1596.
Printing services for Guild Tidings are graciously provided by
Printing USA, 4732 South Orange Blossom Trail (just south of
Holden), Orlando. Phone: (407) 857-7468.
Just wanted to let you know that the 2001 certificates are ready for distribution. Please see Russ at the next meeting to pick them up if you placed in any of the monthly evaluations.
Also we would like to put the first place winners on another compilation album, so please see Susan if your song placed first in the year 2001.
Why isn't your gig announced here? Call us with your appearance schedule!
Yalaha Bakery is having another Open Mic on Sunday December 22nd hosted by SusieCool. From 1:30 to 4:00pm. Food, Drinks and coffee will be available. The event is free. It is an outdoor event. Open Mic performers will receive a free coffee and danish.
E-mail SusieCool at susiecool2001@yahoo.com if you want to be on the list. (Next openings are in February)
Yalaha Bakery 8210 County Road 48, Yalaha, FL 34797
http://www.yalahabakery.com
We're always looking for material for the newsletter. If you have any information that you would like to see added to the newsletter, please see Matt Griffin at the meetings, or you can email him at griffinmc@netzero.net.
Please keep your articles brief and to the point. Print deadline for the newsletter is approximately two weeks prior to the monthly meeting.
Classified advertising may be placed free of charge to members in good standing in the ISG. For more information on display advertising and/or classified advertising for non-members, please call Russ or Matt or email: griffinmc@netzero.net
Welcome new member Michael Barry.
November TOP FIVE
Winners of last month's evaluation session
(members only)
(1) When It Hits the Ground Bob Neace
(2) You Don't Make Music Anymore Paul Vernon
(3) Sea of Love Michael Barry
(4) That's How It Goes Bill Downs
(5) Two Rainbows Matt Griffin
� 2002 ISG