Songwriting News
SSA Top 10 Songwriting Contest Now Open
The Songwriting Society Of Australia (SSA) is holding its Top 10 Songwriting Contest at the moment. From what I can see there are no genre categories to speak of so all songs submitted regardless of genre will be judged on its merits in one group.
The prize breakdown is as follows (all money in Australian Dollars):
- 1st Prize – $1500
- 2nd Prize – $1000
- 3rd Prize – $500
- 4th Prize – CMC Productions Workshop (Pat Pattison & Steve Seskin)
Entry fees (per song submitted) for the contest are:
- SSA Members – $20
- Associate Members – $30
- Non Members – $60
Further details regarding the SSA Top 10 Songwriting Contest can be found on the SSA MySpace Page.
Entries close on 31 July, 2009 but I’m not sure if the contest is open for Australian songwriters only so if you live outside of Australia and you’re interested in entering it would be best to check things out a bit more beforehand.
Good luck,
Until next time, happy writing,
Corey Stewart
Singer/Songwriter/Musician
Keywords: songwriting contest, songwriting competition, songwriting, songwriter, songwriting tip, songwriting help, songwriting idea, songwriting blog, songwriting zen, corey stewart
Songwriting Zen Forum Is Now Closed
A couple of days ago I decided to take down the Songwriting Zen Forum.
The reasons for closing it down are twofold:
First of all, I didn’t have the time to devote to it anymore. For all of its good points, phpBB (the software I was using to produce the forum) gave me too much of a steep learning curve to tackle and besides, starting up a discussion forum is easier on something like Facebook.
Secondly, (and the most important reason) The forum has been over-ridden with SPAM to the point where the it has become unmanageable and because of phpBB’s steep learning curve I’ve been unable to control it.
For all the people who have registered and contributed I want to first of all thank you very much for the time you’ve put into your comments and discussions and at the same time I want to extend a sincere apology for not continuing on with it.
I do however, have a Songwriting Zen Facebook Page ready to go so I’ll be moving the forum there. Check out the page and become a fan.
Stay tuned for more information. I’ll let you all know when it’s ready to go. I’d love to pick up the songwriting discussions where we left off.
Until next time, happy writing,
Corey Stewart
Singer/Songwriter/Musician
Keywords: songwriting, songwriter, songwriting forum, songwriting tip, songwriting idea, songwriting help, songwriting resource, songwriting blog, corey stewart
A New Format For SCALA Songwriting Workshops
Songwriting association SCALA (Songwriters, Composers & Lyricists Association) have been running something called the “Join Us” songwriting sessions since March 2004 in which I’ve had the pleasure of hosting a few times.
Essentially, a guest speaker would take the first hour on a specific topic and the second hour would be an informal songwriters circle.
For 2009 there is going to be a change in format for the “Join Us” sessions. The change of format will go like this… (taken from the SCALA group email)
SCALA’s “Join Us” Songwriters Workshops kick off for 2009 on Tuesday April 21 at The Joiners Arms.
The two-hour sessions, starting at 7.30pm, will run in a slightly different format this year.
The first hour will feature some in-depth discussion around two or three pre-selected songs, each of which will be performed on the night by the songwriter. The songwriter should be able to introduce their song in terms of its motivation, as well as its lyrical and chordal structure.
If the songwriter is seeking further assistance with the song, they will explain what they are looking for from the discussion eg appropriate chords/melody for a missing bridge, improving the contrast between verse and chorus, suggestions for lyrics. The work must be significant in terms of its level of completion.
Artists wishing to present a song need to register their interest in doing so with the evening’s organiser before the start of the session, preferably by email in the period between “Join Us” sessions. Each song is to be presented and discussed by the evening’s group for about 20 minutes. This is a great opportunity for all concerned to really get involved in the craft of songwriting.
The second hour will take the form of a “Songwriters’ Circle”, where each person who is willing presents a song for immediate comment before moving on to the next person in the group. This can either be a completed song or a work in progress needing some assistance.
This will allow all attendees to showcase a song in a supportive environment and get some constructive feedback.
Performers wishing to perform a song and have it discussed in the first hour on April 21 need to contact David Robinson (joinus@bleakumbrella.com) as soon as possible. Selected songwriters will be notified and confirmed in the week before the session.
So if you’re a songwriter living in Adelaide and you’re wanting some feedback on your songs then come along to the revamped SCALA “Join Us” Songwriting Workshops. The first one is starting on Tuesday April 21st at The Joiners Arms Hotel (9 Manton Street, Hindmarsh).
I’ll be there 
Until next time, happy writing
Corey Stewart
Singer/Songwriter/Musician
Find me on Twitter, Facebook, MySpace
Keywords: songwriting, songwriter, songwriting zen, songwriting tip, songwriting help, songwriting idea, songwriting workshop, songwriting resource, corey stewart
29th Australian Songwriting Contest 2009 – Entries Close April 30th!
Hi everybody,
I just wanted to let you all know that the 29th Australian Songwriting Contest 2009 run by the Australian Songwriters Association (ASA) is in full swing. Entries for this songwriting competition (the longest running in Australia) close April 30th.
You can enter your songs in one of two ways:
- Manually by downloading an entry form (with terms and conditions included) HERE
- Online by using SonicBids
Prizes include:
- Songwriter Of The Year – $3000 Cash
- Rudy Brandsma Award – Maton Acoustic Guitar
- PPCA Award – $400 Cash
- Contest Category Winners – FREE SongCentral Memberships
Entry is open to all Australian residents however the ASA have included an international section for songwriters outside Australia. For more information go to the ASA Website.
Give it a go, what have you got to lose?
Until next time, happy writing,
Corey Stewart
Singer/Songwriter/Musician
PS: I’m not joking here 
Keywords: songwriting contest, songwriting competition, songwriting, songwriter, australia, songwriting zen, songwriting tip, songwriting idea, songwriting help, songwriting resource, corey stewart
Songwriting Zen – One Year On
Well, it’s been a little over a year since I started Songwriting Zen (on February 29th, 2008) and I must say I’m very proud of my songwriting blog.
It’s given me a forum to share with you my thoughts and feelings about the wonderful craft of writing songs. It’s also enabled me to get to know other from all over the world, the networking opportunities are endless.
One of the most interesting sides of running a website/blog is the statistics that you can collect and the conclusions you can draw from that information.
Below are the 10 most popular posts/pages over the past 12 months and the amount of views these posts/pages received:
- 11 Ways To Eliminate (Song) Writers Block FOREVER! – 305
- Aleve® “MOVEMENT” Jingle Writing Contest – 267
- Using A Thesaurus To Conquer Songwriters Block – 202
- Music – 149
- Songwriting Tool – Free Worksheets For The Songwriting Guitarist – 134
- The Singer/Songwriters Toolbox (Book 1) – 128
- 50 Songs In 90 Days – Can You Do It? – 124
- Songwriting – 120
- My New Songwriting Tool – Zoom H4 Handy Recorder – 120
- Contact – 117
What does this mean? People are looking for information on songwriting and the creative process. People want to tell the world their stories through music and that they are using Songwriting Zen as one of the websites that provides them with what they are looking for.
What are people looking for when it comes to songwriting information? Well, here are the top 10 keyterms that people are type into their search engines that lead them to Songwriting Zen and how many times these terms have been keyed in:
- song writing ideas – 150
- songwriting ideas – 129
- songwriting – 106
- songwriting help – 77
- jingle writing contest – 49
- songwriting prompts – 45
- songwriting zen – 44
- songwriters block – 40
- jingle writing contests – 40
- song writing – 36
People are looking for songwriting help, songwriting ideas, songwriting prompts and ways that they can beat (song) writers block. It’s heartening to find that what I’m doing with Songwriting Zen is on the right track.
As a songwriter I find one of the most important skills is listening. By using your ears you pick all sorts of phrases, rhythms and quotable sentences that make for good song lyrics.
When running a website/blog, the way you listen to your audience is either through your communication with them via comments and forums and/or your web statistics. I intend to write more about the songwriting process, creativity and useful songwriting tips.
This year however, I do want to expand into writing about songwriting theory and the business that surrounds the songwriting craft. More on that in the near future.
I also want to enlist your help a whole lot more. If you have any songwriting question that you want answered or have an idea for a songwriting article (or you want to write one and have it published on Songwriting Zen) then contact me and we’ll have a chat.
I’d love to hear from you. I want to listen.
Here’s to the next 12 months. Until next time, happy writing,
Corey Stewart
Singer/Songwriter/Musician
Keywords: songwriting, songwriter, songwriting tip, songwriting help, songwriting idea, songwriting zen, songwriting blog, corey stewart
“11 More Ways To Eliminate (Song) Writers Block FOREVER!” Is Finally Here
I know it’s been a while but my new FREE eReport, the long awaited “11 More Ways To Eliminate (Song) Writers Block FOREVER!” is finally here for you to download and share with others. Talk about hot off the virtual press and ready to be devoured by songwriters everywhere.
Feel free to download it and give it away to anyone and everyone that you think will benefit from writing more songs and not letting songwriting blocks get in the way.
This eReport is my gift to you.
I’m very passionate about the songwriting and creative processes. Having something like writers block getting in the way of that is something that writers of all disciplines dread.
Since February 2008 when I started Songwriting Zen my focus has been exactly the same. To make sure that you receive the most relevent, topical and unique songwriting information around.
I’ve always felt that it’s important that songwriters, being the backbone of the music industry are supported by organizations, associations and, most importantly their peers.
Songwriting Zen and now this FREE eReport is my way of giving songwriters a helping hand and, it’s also my way of giving back to a music industry that has helped me greatly.
11 More Ways To Eliminate Writers Block FOREVER! is a list of 11 more techniques that I use myself to get out of a rut or, to generate more songwriting ideas.
Download it, read it, print it out if you want to, and apply it to your songwriting process. I’m sure that these techniques will greatly enhance your songwriting and besides, it’s FREE!
Let me know what you think of it. Has it helped you to get out of your own rut? Any techniques work better for you than others?
To download 11 More Ways To Eliminate Writers Block FOREVER! just go to the FREE STUFF page on this website and follow the instructions from there.
What have you got to lose?
Until next time, happy writing,
Corey Stewart
Singer/Songwriter/Musician
Keywords: writers block, songwriters block, songwriting, songwriter, songwriting tip, songwriting idea, songwriting help, songwriting news, songwriting blog, corey stewart
Songwriting Zen Article Directory Is Here
I love songwriting articles, I love writing them and I love reading and learning from them.
There’s so much free songwriting information around that you’d have a huge songwriting resource if you somehow bundled it all together. The main problem is that, at the moment, you have to search high and low to find all of these gems of information.
Wouldn’t it be fantastic if it was all in one place?
In “Create Your Own Comprehensive Songwriting Resource” I talk about an article written by Orlando Gutierrez outlining the concept of putting together a songwriting resource through researching free songwriting information found online.
I thought I’d take this concept one step further and build my own songwriting article directory. A place where you can find songwriting and other related information all in one place.
So, from today I’ve launched the Songwriting Zen Article Directory.
On it, you’ll find a link to my FREE eReport “11 Ways To Eliminate (Song) Writers Block FOREVER” plus, hand picked songwriting and other music related articles for your reading pleasure that I’ve gathered from my online research. I’m constantly surfing the web looking for songwriting information. Now I have a place where I can put it all.
If you have written a songwriting article and you want it published or, a favourite songwriting article you want included in the Songwriting Zen Article Directory then contact me and I’ll have a look at it.
Even though I only finished building it yesterday I already have five songwriting articles for you to read. They are:
- It’s Time To Thank A Songwriter – Orlando Gutierrez
- 7 Tips For Better Songwriting – Kyle H
- Great Songwriting Resources Are Yours For The Taking – Orlando Gutierrez
- Tips On Songwriting – Darren Monson
- 5 Songwriting Tips – Mahmoud Ibrahim
I’m excited by the possibilities of having my own songwriting article directory to share with you all. We can all hone our songwriting craft together.
Until next time, happy writing,
Corey Stewart
Singer/Songwriter/Musician
Keywords: songwriting article, songwriting resource, songwriting, songwriting tip, songwriting idea, songwriting help, songwriting zen, songwriting blog, corey stewart
FAWM Is Approaching – Are You In?
“You can’t wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club.” — Jack London
It’s almost that time of year again where we sharpen up our pencils, clean out our ears, tune up our instruments, calibrate our home recording equipment and prepare ourselves to test our songwriting processes to an inch of its life.
Yes, it’s FAWM time.
For those who don’t know, FAWM stands for February Album Writing Month and the deal is, to write an albums worth of material in the month of February, which is set at 14 songs in 28 days. You can find out more about this brilliant songwriting concept by going to www.fawm.org.
On the FAWM website it describes the concept in this way:
“This is the club. Each February, FAWM.ORG forges a collaborative
community where thousands of musicians of all walks and skill levels
write an album’s worth of material in the shortest month of the year.
That’s roughly one tune every other day. “Fawmers” are a mix of music
professionals, students, homemakers, and folks who work dayjobs but
rock nightclubs.”
The website is easy to navigate and is very straightforward with its information. My suggestion is that you sign up (it’s free, no catch) and participate. Later on in the year they also run something called 50/90 (50 Songs In 90 Days) but we’ll cross that bridge when the time comes.
There is no real point to FAWM. It’s not a contest and no-one gets judged, it’s a concept which tests us as songwriters. How is our songwriting process? Are we ready to tackle inspiration, the muse head-on?
I’m going to give it a go, are you? Let me know if you do.
Until next time, happy writing,
Corey Stewart
Singer/Songwriter/Musician
Keywords: fawm, 50/90, songwriting, songwriter, songwriting tip, songwriting process, songwriting idea, songwriting help, songwriting zen, songwriting blog, corey stewart
Sing Out Songwriting Project 2008
One of the main things I achieved in 2008 was co-ordinating the Sing Out Songwriting Project. It was a monumental task and one which nearly drove me over the edge.
This is what happens when one person of limited time, budget and resources attempts to do the work of 2 to 3 people however, I don’t regret it one bit.
Let me give you a bit of background here.
Sing Out was initially created in 2007 by my good friend and amazingly talented singer/songwriter Heather Frahn as a “live music event with a community development twist”.
Last year I had the honour of being one of the songwriters involved with the project. This year Heather asked me if I could run it as she was touring Europe at the time. I said “yes” and the rest is history.
The premise of Sing Out is as follows:
“… connecting people through song and performance, “Sing Out!” explores the lives and stories of eight individuals from the Gay & Lesbian community with diverse and interesting backgrounds. Each life story is then presented and performed by seven of Adelaide’s finest singer/songwriter/musicians through a collaborative and creative process.”
That’s right, eight participants and eight songwriters are randomly paired up and a song is written about an aspect of the participants life. The difficulty of co-ordinating eight songwriting groups was something I wasn’t prepared for.
To compound matters, I also became one of the songwriters due to a last minute cancellation. Why don’t I just pile more work on top of me?
From the end of July to the end of November, I worked on putting together the Sing Out Songwriting Project with the end result being the Sing Out concert for the Feast Festival on November 26th.
Even though the events leading up to the concert were immensely challenging, the concert itself went without a hitch.
Everyone that was involved pulled together and we worked harmoniously as a team. At the end of it all it was a lot of fun.
The reason why I’m telling you this is that my involvement with Sing Out was one of the main reasons why I was off the air for a couple of months however, my involvement with Sing Out also gave me the clearest lessons to learn about myself and what I can achieve.
Looking back on it all, I’m actually very, very proud of myself. In fact now that I’ve proven to myself that I can single-handedly put together an event such as Sing Out, I can do absolutely anything!
Make time for my songwriting… Sure!
Practise what I preach… No worries!
Tame my inner critic to an inch of its life… Absolutely!
Embrace all that life offers me… YES!
Another thing that I learned to do was to operate my songwriting studio. Part of the Sing Out Songwriting Project was producing a CD of all the songs for sale at the concert. A couple of the songwriting groups chose to record their own works but the others used my studio.
I recorded, produced, mixed and mastered the recordings and helped with the creation of the artwork and the CD package. It was a valuable lesson in audio recording for me and an incredible confidence boost in using my studio.
If my present setup can produce a CD for sale then surely I can use it to demo my songwriting ideas? I have no excuse now.
Sometimes hindsight can be a cruel beast but fortunately, in my case it’s a bearer of wonderful insights all of which will help with my songwriting from now on.
Until next time, happy writing,
Corey Stewart
Singer/Songwriter/Musician
Keywords: sing out, sing out songwriting project, songwriting, songwriter, writing, songwriting zen, songwriting tip, songwriting idea, songwriting blog, songwriting resource, corey stewart
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