June 2009
Guild Tidings
July 2009
Guild Tidings
The official publication of
The International Songwriters Guild
Volume 14, No. 7
NEXT MEETING: 5:00pm Sunday, July 5th, 2009
Officers:
President/Treasurer
Russ Robinson (407) 851-5328
Vice President/Member Reception/Newsletter
Matthew Griffin (407) 903-1212
Secretary
Jacquelyn Gould, crosstyes1@yahoo.com
Website
Carlos Colon (352) 326-4295
Membership
Gilda Corrales (407) 327-5494
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 .
ISG Summer Showcase
Mark your calendars! We’re doing a show at the Beardall Senior Center on Saturday, August
8th at 3 PM. Admission will be free and refreshments will be served, so invite your
friends. Interested in performing, members? Come to our meeting on July 5th prepared to
sing your songs. More details will be provided in our August newsletter.
President's Letter
Dear Members,
Well, here we are once again, all wound up to write our best song ever! Do you know what I
do a few days before the meeting? I take some time out during the day to mentally do some
composing. I close my eyes, turn off the TV, and come up with a topic or an idea for a
pleasant title. I find the title and subject of the song very important. Next I start
writing lyrics; I think of my content as a poem I’m fitting to music. The hardest part for
me is making it rhyme. The tune and music needed to fit the melody is not always easy for
me even though I’m a musician. It’s a challenge, but once it’s all together, it’s such a
nice feeling. I guess you all know that too!
I’d love to hear how some of you talk about how you go about writing. Who knows, it might
be helpful to others to hear how you apply your skills.
As you may know, we’re doing a show in August at the Beardall Senior Center. If you’d like
to perform, bring your songs and come to Sunday’s meeting. Feel free to call me if you’d
like some rehearsal help, or assistance putting a song together.
Looking forward to seeing all of you Sunday. Get busy and bring in your next song hit!
Russ
Think of the Performer
By Matt Griffin
As many of you know by now, we’re putting on a show in August. For me, it will be the
first time I’ll be performing publicly (other than in front of other ISG members). It got
me ruminating about how we write. Really, we should be thinking about the person or
persons who will be singing our song. I think when we’re writing we often forget to be
kind to the performer, even if that’s us.
For starters, it’s important that the song be singable. Ideally, your words will glide off
of the tongue; certainly you’ll want to avoid tongue-twisters, even brief ones.
Transitions from word to word should be clean, and the natural cadence of the words should
match up with the melody. Don’t use more syllables/notes when fewer will do. And when you
think you’re done, sing it out loud! Your ear can pick out rough spots you might have
missed during the composing process.
A common mistake of new songwriters, especially lyricists, is failing to leave a place to
take a breath. You don’t need to fill every available space with lyrics, and in fact you
shouldn’t. Give the music a chance to shine every once in a while; it has the added
benefit of giving the singer a break.
Also, it’s critical to put the performer in a good light. That doesn’t mean you have to
make the singer sound squeaky clean like Shirley Temple. But no one will want to sing a
song that makes them sound selfish or insincere or mean-spirited, especially if the song is
written in first person. Certainly your singer-character can have warts and can have made
mistakes, if there are redeeming qualities like regret, humility, gratitude, humor, or
playfulness.
If you really want to help the performer (and therefore you, the songwriter) shine, you
might consider adding something special. A number of years ago I attended a seminar taught
by songwriter Jason Blume; he called it a “magic moment”. I think it works especially well
in a bridge. Maybe your melody hits a high note and holds it for several measures, or runs
through several dramatic key changes in succession. Or your song might suddenly do
something fun and different, like sing-song rhyming or rap or made-up words or intentional
overuse of alliteration. Such a magic moment can make your song stand out in a way that
makes people want to sing it.
And isn’t that the real goal: to write a song that folks want to sing?
ISG Bulletin Board
Jeff Mason’s gig schedule:
Appearing At O'Keefe's Irish Pub, Fridays from 5pm, musicians welcome!
115 S. Rockingham Tavares, FL, 352-343-2157
Appearing at Tijuana Flats on the Patio (weather permitting), Thursdays and Saturdays at
6pm
444 S. Hunt Club Blvd, Apopka, FL 407 774 0402
Kitty Camp Pet Boarding—A loving, lakeside resort in Fruitland Park. Daily activities
include: playtime, bird-watching, brushing, petting, purring, sunbathing, catnapping, and
kitty’s favorite…mealtime! Daily/Weekly/Long Term, private rooms and suites available.
25% off weekly stay, FREE first night. Please call for details at 352-205-4284. Posted by
ISG member Jackie Gould.
Delivering high-quality FLASH streaming video! No matter what product or service you may
be offering, the power of video can be impressive! In fact, flash video is the most
effective way to deliver rich media on your website. Video grabs your visitor's interest
more so than simply text and images, or even audio. Video keeps visitors on your site
longer and often triggers a purchase! Video not only will enhance your marketing message,
but it's also entertaining. Video is useful for demonstrating your product or service, as
well as teaching, inspiring, and motivating your visitors to become a customer! So if
you're holding out with a website that may look outdated or obsolete, you may be losing
business. It's time to make a change. Visit my website at http://www.videosaysitall.com.
Thanks and call me anytime (352-326-4295)…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 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 Matt or email: isgorl@cfl.rr.com .
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 ).
New members always welcome!
June’s Top Songs—Results of monthly critique session
(1) Everything Will Be Alright by Melanie Fisher
(2) Flying Spaghetti Monster by Susan Foster-Trewick and Lisa Firestone
(3) Double Trouble by Bob Witmer
(4) Tail Light by Ester Starling and Mike Kondol
© 2009 ISG