February 2001
Guild Tidings
The official Publication of
The International Songwriters Guild
Volume 6, No. 2
Guild Tidings
Russ Robinson
5108 Louvre Ave
Orlando, FL 32812
NEXT MEETING:
5:00 P.M.
Sunday February 4th 2001
Officers:
President/Treasurer Russ Robinson (407) 851-5328
Co-Vice President/ newsletter Susan Foster-Trewick
(407) 679-4017
Co-Vice President/ Member Reception Matthew Griffin
(407) 903-1212
Web Consultant Asli Walker (407) 359-0506
Meetings are held the first Sunday of each month at
5:00 P.M. The location is 3020 E Robinson St.,
Orlando, Florida. (The American Federation of
Musicians Union Building)
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President's Letter
Happy Valentine !
Dear Members,
Perhaps some of you have a Valentine song you'd like
heard at the meeting? I'm bringing one (Not to be
critiqued)
I'm delighted with the attendance we're getting at our
meetings. We have some real talented writers. Too,
after all my years in the Guild I find we all have a
closeness and understanding of each others abilities.
That to me is important. If we understand each other
it's much easier to tell each other what might be
better with their songs if a different treatment is
made.
Rusty Gordon returns Feb 3 (See circular enclosed).
Those of you that haven't attended one of her Seminars
or Workshops really need to do so. She has great
knowledge and you can really learn from her. After the
seminar there is to be an informal showcase for past
seminar attendees or any ISG members who wish to play
a couple of songs. (Details in "Web Chatter" article)
I'm looking forward to hearing your latest songs so
get busy and have one ready. Be sure to bring lyric
sheets. It's lots easier to critique if we can see the
words
Best ever
Russ Robinson
______________________________________________________
Ten Commandments for Songwriters
by Russ Robinson
1.THOU SHALT HAVE A GREAT AND CATCHY TITLE: is half
the work in writing a great song
2.THOU SHALT HAVE A POWERFUL FRESH ARRESTING AND
CATCHY FIRST LINE: "You don't get a second chance to
make a first impression."
3.THOU SHALT HAVE A SURPRISE IN THE SONG: Don't write
predictable or obvious plots. Where's the surprise?
4.THOU SHALT COVER A THEME, IDEA, OR SUBJECT THE
MASSES CAN RELATE TO: this will determine the
commercial value of the song.
5.THOU SHALT HAVE A SING-ALONG, EASY TO REMEMBER
MELODY: it must be unforgettable
6.THOU SHALT HAVE A HOOK THAT REALLY HOOKS: it must
catch and hold attention.
7.THOU SHALT WRITE LYRICS THAT ARE ORIGINAL AND
DIFFERENT: not run-of-the-mill copies or borrowed
ideas.
8.THOU SHALT HAVE VIVID, ENGAGING IMAGERY TO STIMULATE
THE MINDS OF HEARERS: the listener uses imagination as
he listens.
9.THOU SHALT WRITE AND REWRITE, WRITE AND REWRITE,
ETC.: it takes time to write a great song.
10.THOU SHALT WRITE A SONG THAT IS 100 PERCENT: the
song must be finished�. The hearer isn't left hanging.
_____________________________________________________
Web Chatter cybertoad2000@yahoo.com
Greetings to all those of you out there in Cyberland.
I had some good news from Russ the other day. It seems
as if the people at "Who's Who" will be listing him in
their next issue, so start looking out for this at
www. Nationswideswhoswho .com Congrats to you Russ.
It's about time!!
This is a reminder about the Newsletter website, where
we will be posting 2 months worth of "Guild Tidings"
at any given time. We hope that those of you that have
internet access will start availing yourselves of this
feature. Asli Walker is the host (thanks Asli), and
her site is http:// borrowedreality. com The link
to the ISG is at the top of her home page. We will be
sending out e-mails to those folk on our ISG mailing
list (Please e-mail us at I_s_g_2000 @ yahoo.com so
you can be added to our address book.) I will be
sending out an e-mail as soon as the newsletter is
ready for viewing (the simple version), and I will
include a link to the newsletter in this e-mail, so it
is important that you keep me updated if your address
should change.
I went to the South Florida Folk Festival in Fort
Lauderdale a few weeks ago, and was totally impressed
by the finalists in the song competition. The overall
winner was Dan Pelletier, who reminded me a bit of
Billy Joel. Cyd Ward, who played for the Christmas
concert at Beardall was one of the finalists, and she
was in the company of some fine songwriters indeed.
Maybe next year some of you should think of entering
the contest.
____________________________________________________
ISG 200 Song Contest
We'd like to invite the first place winners of the
monthly evaluations to submit their songs for the
yearly song contest. Please submit your tape/CD and
typed lyric sheet to me as soon as possible. We're
still waiting for submissions from the following:
Feb: "We Belong" by Bill Frank, Mar: "When Can I See
You Again" by Susan Mathis, May: "My Friend Jesus" by
John Fales, Sep: "Sunday" by Lisa Firestone, Nov:
"High Maintenance" by Bill Frank, Dec: "When you
Remember me" by Susan Mathis.
I will be putting the songs on a CD for submittal to
Rusty Gordon, publisher, Rustron music, so please
forward your tapes to me at: Susan Foster-Trewick,
9525 Handley Court, Orlando, FL, 32817-2779, or bring
them with you to the Sunday meeting.
____________________________________________________
Using Minor Keys
Part 2
by Matt Griffin
Last month we started a discussion on minor-key
music. This time we're going to take a look at a few
techniques for harmonizing in minor keys.
The most important point of last month's discussion,
in my view, is the notion that notes and chords from
any of the various minor keys can be combined in a
single song. This is even true of those scales, like
the melodic minor, which aren't typically used as the
"base" key of any modern song. This yields, for one
thing, a pretty large number of potential chords for a
song in "A-minor" or any minor key. Just how large is
a little out of the scope of this small article; check
out the Minor-Key Harmony chapter in Jai Josefs'
"Writing Music for Hit Songs" for more detail.
A fun, easy technique you can use in your harmonies
(and maybe already have, even if you didn't know it's
name) is called a Dorian vamp. In the vamp, the music
rocks back and forth between the root minor chord and
either the second or fourth chord of the Dorian minor
scale (either triad or seventh). So a song in A-minor
would oscillate between an Am and any of these four
chords: Bm, Bm7, D, or D7. The technique is very
common in popular songwriting; it was a favorite of
the Doors and is a part of many of their hits.
Let's talk briefly about minor-key modulation. A key
change can, of course, provide a welcome break in any
song. But according to Josefs, modulation is much more
prevalent in minor-key songs than major key ones.
Perhaps the modulation provide some relief from the
downbeat tone typical of minor keys. Two good choices
for a new key are the relative major and the parallel
major (that is, from A-minor to either C or A-major,
respectively). Since the relative major has the same
key signature and most of the same chords, that kind
of key change provides an especially subtle and
natural sound. In like manner, you may want to
consider modulating in a major-key song to its
relative or parallel minor.
So give it a shot. Here's hoping we'll hear some
minor-key songs in our upcoming ISG critique sessions!
__________________________________________________
Welcome New members: Laura Peters and Barbara Ross
Gig schedule
Lisa Firestone will be performing at Lost and Found
with her band on Wednesday Jan 31st at 7:00pm. The
club is on 17-92, just south of 434, behind the
Wendy's. This concert is one in the series of
Songwriter's Showcase of America. http:// www. ssa.cc
SusieCool will be performing at Millie's Caribbean
Restaurant on alternating Saturdays from 7:00 to
8:30pm. Millie's is at 9318 East Colonial Dr, call
ahead (407) 658-9266 to see when she's performing.
Where's your next gig? -Please Let us know, so we can
be there
Please feel free to contribute articles to the
Newsletter If you have any information that you would
like to see added to the newsletter, please see Susan
Foster-Trewick at the meetings, or you can E-mail her
at cybertoad2000@yahoo.com. Please keep your
articles brief.
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 Robinson
(407) 851-5328, or e-mail:
i_s_g_2000@yahoo.com
______________________________________________________
January
TOP FIVE WINNERS
Of last month's Evaluation Session
(Members only)
1st Place: Where do you live? Matt Griffin
2nd Place: Royal Parade Jeff Mason
3rd Place: United we stand Sharon Conway/Penny Roberts
4th Place: The Rainbow Song Susan Foster-Trewick
5th Place: Rainbow Paradise Julie Berger