Connecting the Dots
Song Doctor Blog
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1y ago
This illustration was painted and posted on the Songwriting School members forum as part of Year 2 student Jo Shrigley’s assignment. The quote is from the indomitable songwriter and performance artist Amanda Palmer and the collective pronoun tweak via Jo as part and parcel of her response to class discussion on how any creative process follows a series of stages.  This comes from a way of describing creativity developed by Graham Wallas, a social psychologist and founder of the London School of Economics who published his views in The Art of Thought in 1926. And it’s ..read more
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Process Leads to Progress...
Song Doctor Blog
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1y ago
Pic by Kyle Glynn on Unsplash This week I noticed two Songwriting School students make significant personal progress in their songwriting, although they’re in different classes working on completely different things.  Students are set short assignments each week and post the results to our private members forum. One was trying a technique for creating a key change in a song and the other was using close listening to a set song as a prompt to write an entire draft. But they both made the same spookily similar comment when finished -  pretty much word for word:   ..read more
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Happy New Year...
Song Doctor Blog
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1y ago
Happy New Year to all readers! I kicked off 2023 presenting the Song to Stage Songwriting Retreat held in Martinborough at the Brackenridge Country Retreat. It was a blast working with all these songwriters, with much enthusiastic discussion - in session and out. Hopefully, they’ve also taken away enough food for thought to last the year! (back row) Neville Stewart, Juliette McLean, Nick Feint, Pete Norris, Farley Hokopaura, (front row) Janet Muggeridge, Rachel Hird, Kay Hitchcock, Joanna Shrigley, Jane Shearer, Tracey Haskell, Meg Collins One issue I raised was how ha ..read more
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How to Get a Gig
Song Doctor Blog
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1y ago
​ ​As songwriters, performing your own songs live achieves some important outcomes...    1. Connecting with an audience in real life is palpable. You can feel it when a song truly ‘lands’. Anything from people shutting up and actively listening to changes in body language from literally leaning in to moving with the beat to whoops, hollers & folks singing along are all indicators that your audience is right there with you. Applause is only one part of the equation. 2. The audience gets an opportunity to meet you post-show, either when you’re packin ..read more
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Is there a right way to start writing a song?
Song Doctor Blog
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1y ago
​ Is there a right way to start writing a song? Which comes first? Words or music?  One of the things you might notice about successful songs is that they share common features like a identifiable structure or form, the lyrics use rhyme at the end of the lines, there’s a hook or a really singable bit - usually a chorus, and there’s a repeating chord progression. Successful songs are easy to remember and often have titles in the chorus. They have a particular groove or feel and they’re recognisable pretty much instantly. But though successful songs have lots in common, they weren’t all ..read more
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Hold Yourself Accountable
Song Doctor Blog
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1y ago
One of the things that helps songwriting is, er, writing new songs! There comes a time you can’t buy another ‘how-to’ book’ or watch another ‘learn how write a hit song in 15 minutes’ Youtube video. You actually have to write something. But, and there is a big but, it can feel like the last thing you want to do and some day can turn into some week can turn into some month can turn into... never happens! Over committing, burn out, overwhelm, fear of failure, fear of success, perfectionism, negative environmental elements can all contribute to procrastination, feeling blocked, d ..read more
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Put Your Best (Song) Foot Forward
Song Doctor Blog
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1y ago
Gary Ewer is a Canadian songwriting educator with many other strings to his formidable bow – although he plays trumpet! But before I mix the metaphors any further, let me give you some backstory. A year ago Gary, who writes a daily songwriting blog, had commented favourably on an article I’d written for the fabulous US music education website Soundfly’s mailer which discussed songwriting myths. Soundfly’s equally fabulous editor, Jeremy Young, alerted me to this very generous shout out and I was able to read Gary’s take and thank him. This introduced me to Gary’s wonderful blog, where ..read more
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Encouraging Fluency
Song Doctor Blog
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1y ago
  One of the things that fans enjoy about their favourite artists is hearing how they’ve created their music – the behind-the-scenes fly-on-the-wall piece-by-piece construction of a great song or recording. Watching can be a hiding to nowhere on some levels because the stars make it seem so effortless! How can these god-like creatures do this wondrous thing?!   In fact, it isn’t always as apparently easy. Remember, the story is being told not in real time but in a compressed vehicle with a limited timeframe so you’re hearing or viewing extremely edited highlights. Most biopics are o ..read more
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A Two-Way Street
Song Doctor Blog
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1y ago
I’ve been forcibly reminded this week of just how much learning is a two-way street. Not exactly a ‘duh’ moment but not far off.    I’ve been involved in mentoring and coaching songwriting students in various guises for some years now. But I also fill my own cup working with a great mentor and taking courses in supportive subjects where stars align.   It keeps me paddling in a sort of happy tidal estuary with information, experience and knowledge sharing flowing in and out pretty much simultaneously.  Quack, quack!   However, the recent conclusion of a 12 week one-on ..read more
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Quantity vs. Quality?
Song Doctor Blog
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1y ago
Photo by phil sheldon ABIPP on Unsplash ​To play an open mic you can start with one song, but two is preferable. To play an opening set for a headliner, you’ll need 25-30 minutes of material. To headline, you need at least one 50 minute set. To secure a restaurant spot, you’ll need at least 2 x 45/50 minute sets.   A single is just one song. There is no ‘B’ side in the digital world – it just becomes your second single. An EP (20th century definition Extended Play Record) is a collection (or medium length album) of 4-6 songs while an LP (20th century Long Playing Record) is usually con ..read more
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