May 2012
Guild Tidings
The official publication of
The International Songwriters Guild
Volume 17, No. 5
NEXT MEETING - 5:00pm Sunday, May 6th, 2012
Officers:
Newsletter/Articles
Jeff Mason, jeffrey_mason@me.com
Meeting Coordinator/Critique scoring/CFMA Liason
Matthew Campbell, matthew_sax77@yahoo.com
Membership/Certificates/Contact
Susan Foster-Trewick, susiecool2001@yahoo.com
407-760-2153
E-mail Contact, isgorlando@gmail.com
Website
Carlos Colon, videosaysitall.fl@gmail.com
352-267-5911
Treasurer
Asli Goncer, asli@cfl.rr.com
Secretary
Jacquelyn Gould, songsuite@gmail.com
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.isgorlando.org or myspace page at http://www.myspace.com/internationalsongwritersguildorlando
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 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.
What Makes A Great Song?
By Jeff Mason
What makes a great song? It’s a good question. The problem is that it’s subjective. Personal taste dictates what we like as individuals. I think a great song must have a lyric that most people can identify with. I don’t think a song about my favorite pair of socks has universal appeal. A song about the end of a relationship, however, seems to connect with many people.
Paul McCartney wrote Yesterday in 1965. It has since been recorded by over 1500 artists, because the lyrical content has a universal appeal. It’s a lover’s lament. McCartney must have given some thought to the question, because in 1976 he wrote in the song Silly Love Songs: “You’d think that people would have enough of silly love songs. But I look around me and I see it isn’t so.” He was certainly considering to whom his song would appeal.
Yesterday spans a significant amount of time, meaning it is timeless and cannot be dated. This is another criteria for a song to be considered a great song.
Greensleeves is another much recorded song. It has been around since at least 1580 when it first appeared in printed form in “William Ballet’s Lute Book.” It’s another lover’s lament. Like Yesterday, it has a memorable melody. The Christmas song “What Child Is This?” uses the same tune, and Elvis Presley performed Stay Away in the 1968 film Stay Away,Joe also set to the Greensleeves' melody. A memorable melody is another important ingredient in a great song.
Writing a song is like baking a cake. The word “ingredients” is an interesting way to look at writing a song. We’ve covered a couple of the ingredients already. So I Googled the question “what are the ingredients of a great song” to see what others thought are necessary in the mix and came up with some interesting points of view. Check out Peter Link's informative blog at http://sparks.infonetportal.com/2010/04/the-5-necessary-ingredients-of-a-great-song/ . He has some interesting thoughts on songwriting. One of his special ingredients is "the hook." Peter Link says. "The hook, handle or title should all be one-in-the-same and be the central idea of the song. It should be the strongest and most focused concept - what the song is about. It should also be accompanied by the strongest and most memorable (sticky) musical phrase. It’s the essence of the song and usually it’s found at the beginning or the end of the chorus.”
Yesterday is not in a standard verse and chorus form. It does, however, conform to some of Link’s thoughts. Greensleeves is presented in a standard verse and chorus form. This is unusual for a song that is this old, and I suspect that it may have been rearranged in a more modern era. It does begin each chorus with the title lyric “Greensleeves.”
Another problem with songwriting is that the rules are not fixed. Our songs must conform and yet be creatively different. It’s a problem to be solved each time we sit down to write. More on this subject next month.
ISG Bulletin Board
Videography and website management services at a price you CAN AFFORD. Capturing your wedding or event on video may not be in your budget but you’re hoping that you may have something left over to hire a videographer. I will fit your budget. My goal is to offer my services to those who otherwise would have to pass because of funds. This is your special day and you most definitely want to capture those moments. Visit my website at http://www.videosaysitall.com . Thanks and call me anytime (352-267-5911)…Carlos Colon
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 Jeff Mason at the meetings or email him at jeffrey_mason@me.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 contact Jeff by the print deadline (usually the Friday 16 days prior to the monthly meeting); email is best ( jeffrey_mason@me.com ).
Why isn't your gig announced here? Call us with your appearance schedule!
Jeff Mason's Gig Schedule
Scruffy Murphy's,
2625 Edgewater Dr,
Orlando, Fl, 32804,
407 835 7150
8 p.m. to Midnight
April 26th and May 10th
The Farmer's Market,
Parking area in front of
Infusion Tea,
1600 Edgewater Dr,
Orlando, Fl, 32804,
407 999 5255
April 19th
6 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Tijuana Flats,
444 S. Hunt Club Blvd,
Apopka, Fl, 32703,
407 774 0402
Tuesdays from 6 p.m.
Weather Permitting
Earth day Festival
Lake Lotus Park
1153 Lake Lotus Park Rd
Altamonte Springs, FL 32714
(407) 293-8885
Jeri Simpson 11:00am
SusieCool 12:00 noon
Asli Goncer 1:00pm
Jeff Mason 2:00pm
O'Keefe's Irish Pub and Restaurant,
115 S. Rockingham Ave,
Tavares, Fl, 32778,
352 343 2157
April 27th from 8 pm
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. http://www.myspace.com/internationalsongwritersguildorlando
Past Certificate winners can be found at https://sites.google.com/site/isgsusiecool/home/resultslist-2
ISG april critique results
1. When Your New Love Lets You Down by Will Campbell
2. Same Ocean by Jeri Long Simpson
3. Just The Same by Melanie Fisher
4. I Just Want To Be A Woman by Will Campbell
5. Two For One by Susan Foster-Trewick/Sheila Dixon
New members always welcome!
© 2012 ISG