March 2004
Guild Tidings
The official Publication of
The International Songwriters Guild
Volume 9, No. 3
NEXT MEETING
5:00 PM
Sunday, March 7th, 2004
The International Songwriter's Guild meets the first
Sunday of every month at the Central Florida
Musician's Union building at 3020 East Robinson (at
the extreme east end of Robinson less than a block
from Herndon Airport).
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
Membership Coordinator
Susan Foster-Trewick (407) 679-4017
Web Consultant
Asli Walker (407) 359-0506
January 2004
Guild Tidings
The official Publication of
The International Songwriters Guild
Volume 9, No. 1
President's Letter
Dear Members,
It may seem like a strange suggestion, but I
want to remind you that it�s getting close to
time to submit Christmas songs. This is the time to think about it and get your songs to publishers. December is market time.
Last meeting was a blast! I came up with the idea of teaching how a song can be put together in proper form. Member Yolanda Patrick had started writing �My Baby is Coming Home�, and I suggested that the song could be about our armed forces overseas. As a group, we changed the lyrics so that �Baby� referred to a soldier away in combat.
It was really good having Jeff Mason back from his Disney engagement in Japan. He really helped with the rewriting of Yolanda�s song. In fact, everyone in the room took part and contributed ideas; I think we�ll do this more often.
I�m bringing articles about B.B. King to the meeting; he seems to be hot right now. Member Jim Dolan recently sold him an original song, �Blue and Pensive Mood�; King is supposed to record the song soon. I�ll talk about Jim�s contract at the meeting.
Well here we are, close to meeting
time again. I hope to see all of
you there on Sunday.
Best ever,
Russ Robinson
The Sound of Words
By Matt Griffin
Competent lyricists can express ideas cleanly, fitting words with a similarly-clean melody (this assumes you have an existing melody to work from; not always true, of course). In this sense, writing lyrics is not much different from writing a short story. You organize your ideas and put them together line by line, paragraph (verse) by paragraph.
But one of the big differences is this: the typical story writer really doesn�t care much how the words sound (OK, there are exceptions; certainly Shakespeare wrote beautiful-sounding words). The writer crafting words for a song cares very much. If you can compose lyrics that both express your ideas and are highly singable, then you�re only a solid melody away from producing some terrific material.
What are �singable� words? They are words that are easy to pronounce and sound great to the ears. Certainly you want to avoid tongue twisters; �indefatigable� and �chrysanthemum� are poor choices simply because they are hard to say, much less sing. Certain consonants produce more pleasing, singable sounds than others. Favor L, R, M, N, and S sounds, especially on words the singer might hold a few beats. Also very nice: F, D, P, Sh, Th, and W. Generally avoid harder consonants like K, G, and T unless a harsh sound is what you�re going for. Vowel sounds matter as well. For instance, long-E and long-I sounds can come out kind of brassy or tinny, depending on how they�re used. Long-A, long-O, ah, and oo (as in �pool�) give a word a nice full sound. The only rule, though, is: how does the word sound when you sing it? Sing it aloud and let your ears decide.
The last sounds in a lyric line are especially important. End lines in smooth vowel sounds or soft consonants (L, R, M, S, V, Z). You�ll really want to avoid hard consonants here, unless you are intentionally going for laughs or have some other good reason for the unpleasant ending.
Of course, single words rarely stand alone in a song. When you�re stringing together words, how they sound together is more important than how they sound individually. In particular, pay attention to word transitions. �Top pop� doesn�t work because it�s almost impossible to sing it without it sounding like �topop�. But �pop top� is singable (as every Jimmy Buffet fan knows) because the mouth can handle the transition from P to T easily. Try reading your lyric aloud. If it�s easy to read, you are in good shape. If the words fall off of your lips like honey from the hive, you�re in terrific shape.
Certainly you don�t want to abandon the message you�re trying to convey. But in a song lyric, how the words sound to the ear is just as important. The best song lyrics manage to do both, and do it seamlessly. Good luck!
ISG Bulletin Board
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.
(Thanks Art Cappuccio !!!)
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
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 email him at isgorl@cfl.rr.com . 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 with the ISG. For more information on display advertising and/or classified advertising for non-members, please call Russ or Matt or email: isgorl@cfl.rr.com .
The Springboard Musician�s Association was launched on January 31st. The new group has started several Tampa-area open mic events.
For more information, visit their website at www.yourspringboard.org or call Gigi Swanson at 1-866-864-0501.
The USA Songwriting Competition is accepting entries through May 28, 2004. Songs may be submitted in 15 categories including Pop, Rock, and R&B. Cost is $30 per song submission. Prizes for winners include cash, merchandise, and radio airplay.
For more information, visit the website at www.songwriting.net or call toll-free 1-877-USA-SONG.
ISG member Gar Brandt appears at the open mic at Lighthouse Caf� on the fourth Friday of every month. The open mic is held from 7:30 to 10:00 (sign-in starts at 7:00).
For location and details, go to Gar�s website at www.garbrandt.homestead.com .
"Wednesday Nights 9:00pm - 1:30am
Underground Bluz - METRO (On the corner of Kirkman and Conroy)
"V." - LIVE! Piano/Guitar
Songwriters/Performers are all welcome to perform.
Originals encouraged.
Also....NERO 5/2004...stay tuned..."
Why isn't your gig announced here? Call us with your appearance schedule!
Place your classified ad or gig announcement here! Free to ISG members as always! Just get your text to Matt by the print deadline (usually the Friday 16 days prior to the monthly meeting); email is best ( isgorl@cfl.rr.com ).
NOTICE: Matt has a new internet service and that means the ISG has a new email address!
Please address all future Guild correspondence, including Guild Tidings article submissions, classified ads, etc., to isgorl@cfl.rr.com .
New members always welcome!!!
No critique session in February.
(1) It Just Popped Out Janet Jackson
(2) Glad I Could Help Justin Timberlake
(3) Yet Another Mag Cover Jennifer Lopez
(4) That�s Incredulible George W. Bush
(5) I�ll Be Back, Gov Arnold Schwarzenegger
(Just Kidding)
� 2004 ISG