Song Talk with Morry Campbell

Songtalk-brand Katch-up

Hey kids,

The month of June tends to be a little tight, so this month's assignment is, katch up. Uh...catch up.  Go back and work on any of the song challenges that we've had so far. If you've done them all, use  one of the challenges and write a second song.

I need to skip town for a few days for family reasons. So next songtalk update will be on Sunday, June 14.

Have a great week, and I'll see you all then.

All past Songtalk challenges can be found by clicking this link, or by clicking on the "Writing Challenge" link in the Categories list to the right. 

xo,

M

CORRECTION: Typo in the May songwriting challenge

Thanks to my good friend John Raymond Pollard for bringing the typo to my attention: In the May songwriting challenge, the chord progression is correct the first time it appears, i.e. I--V--vi--IV

In my detailed explanation, I reversed the vi and the IV

So, just to be clear:

Major ONE chord, Major FIVE chord, Minor SIX chord, Major FOUR chord, back to Major ONE.

I apologize for the error.

M

Thank you, Mr. Smith: May songwriting challenge

A hat tip to Mr. Gordon Smith, who is responsible for May's songwriting challenge:

Write a song that uses, in the chorus, verse, or both, this popular chord progression:

I--V--vi--IV

That's Major I, Major V, minor vi, Major IV

If you need examples, here's the video Gordon found and forwarded that inspired this one:

Also, if you are instrumentally challenged, I've made a basic piano version of the chord progression, at 2 different tempos. Recorded with my non-keyboard playing fingers, it's not a master work, but it will allow you to try out different melodies over the top of a chord pattern. I can't post links to them here without them being sent out as a podcast, but all supplemental audio for this and future songwriting challenges will be kept on this page.

Have fun, and keep on writing.

United for the Ride

Sometimes I think Terry Christopher has more energy in his little finger than I can muster in my whole body.

Recently, Mr. Christopher (in all of his spare time) put together a CD project, called United for the Ride, which will benefit the 2009 Braking the Cycle bicycle ride from Boston to New York City and the sponsor of said ride, the New York City LGBT Center. He approached all the artists, coordinated the mastering process--hell, he even did some design work on the website.

And in honor of him and his heroic effort, I'm putting out this additional project call. In anticipation of the 2010 edition of the United For the Ride effort, write a song that could be considered for the project.

 It doesn't have to deal directly with HIV or AIDS (though it could), but something "uplifting" or "hopeful" or "I will survive-ish" or...you get the idea.  You'd have to be willing to donate the proceeds of the sale of the song to Braking the Cycle/LGBT Center of New York to be on the CD.

In his own words, here's how Terry describes the songs he's looking for:

I just wanted to reiterate that the message of the songs is so very vital. If you can start with Hope and Perseverance as the main anchoring message to your song, that would be awesome. Love, Sense of Self, Determination etc...are also great, positive, hopeful themes in these songs.

There is no "due date" on these songs for now. I'll keep you posted on that front. However, if you'd like to get an early jump on it, and would like more info, you can get in touch with Terry here.

Triple meter

Time for the April songwriting challenge. And here it is: write something in triple meter. A waltz, if you will. 1-2-3. 3/4 time signature.

I'm not sure why triple meter has fallen out of favor. Used to be big. We're going to bring it back.

And it's not as if no one writes in triple meter anymore. But it is harder to find examples than I thought it would be. I found these: Goo Goo Dolls: Iris , Dixie Chicks: Bitter End , Annie Lennox: Cold , The Beatles: Norwegian Wood , Cold Play: Sparks , James Taylor: Sweet Baby James . (The links take you to the Amazon page where you can find the albums these songs are taken from).

And okay, the Goo Goo Dolls song moves from 4 to 3, and if that's what you want to do, shift meters, go for it. But the main feel of the song should be in 3. That's the challenge.  Have fun, be brave, and go triple.

March SongTalk challenge: write some bones

As promised, this writing assignment involves working with a chapter in the book we're talking about, Writing Down the Bones. If you don't have it yet, you can still click on the link within this posting, or click on the picture link on the page in the left-hand column, and buy it from Amazon.

So here's the challenge for March, based on the chapter First Thoughts from the book: Get a notepad of some kind, and write in it for a pre-determined amount of time every day for a week. If you already keep a journal, then you're set. If you don't, start one, at least for the next week.  Write every day, and write for the same amount of time.  If it's five minutes, let it be five minutes.  If it's ten, make it ten. Twenty minutes, thirty--whatever is doable for you. Keep in mind the following rules:

1. Keep your hand moving
2. Don't cross out
3. Don't worry about spelling, punctuation, grammar.
4. Lose control
5. Don't think.  Don't get logical.
6. Go for the jugular

Ms. Goldberg goes into much more detail in the book, so read on for further advice on how to make that work for you.

Anyway, back to the assignment. After you've journaled in this way for seven days, on the eighth day, go back and read what you have written. Look for something, anything, that sparks your imagination, and write a song around it.

Have fun, and we'll see you on Monday, March 9. And, if you're not a current member of the group, feel free to post a link to your results, or leave a comment about your experience.

Introducing "Songtalk Recommends"

From time to time, I'll recommend a book, or a CD, or something else, and it will appear right up there on the lefthand side of the screen.

In my writing group, we're going to start working with a book called  Writing Down the Bones. I've taken a few playwriting classes, and even more songwriting classes, and in every one of them, this book has come up. So we decided we might profit from reading it as a group. In fact, March's songwriting challenge, to be posted on Friday, will have something to do with the book.

So if you don't have it, click the link above, under Songtalk Recommends and get it now from Amazon. And if you click from this page, Songtalk makes a little cash. So thanks.

Playing with the blues

In college I took a class in Improvisation, and was part of an improv comedy troupe for a short time (I think we did two performances).  One of the exercises, or lessons, or whatever we're calling them, involved making up a blues song on the spot.  We were asked for a subject, and someone shouted out "Slime!"  So we had to improvise a chorus of the Blues on the subject of slime. For some whacked out reason, I still remember the little verse I came up with:

It's the Blues, baby!

Backtracking a little here, but if you want to keep up with the group, then write a Blues song.

Try to keep it to the traditional 12-bar format, i.e.

/I***/I***/I***/I***/IV***/IV***/I***/I***/V***/IV***/I***/I***

There's an optional IV in the second measure, and optional turn-around on the final measure.

Some examples of the 12-bar blues in popular music:

Areosmith:   Roadrunner

The Beatles:   Yer Blues, and 

Why Don't We Do It In the Road

James Taylor:   Steamroller

And a few examples from independent music:

Dan Manjovi: Love Handles

Frank Grimaldi: Long Distance Runner

Just a few examples.

If you need help, try the Wikipedia entry for the Blues.  It's quite informative, and even the experienced musicians might learn a thing or two.