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Create Your Own Comprehensive Songwriting Resource
Here is another wonderful article from Orlando of www.songwriteradvisor.com fame called “Great Songwriting Resources Are Yours For the Taking.”
It’s about how you can best use the free songwriting information found online to create your own comprehensive songwriting resource.
Great Songwriting Resources Are Yours For The Taking
By Orlando Gutierrez
If you’re looking for free songwriting resources you don’t have to look much further than your favorite search engine search box!
The Internet is chock full of juicy, free songwriting tips because songwriting webmasters have painstakingly put together many excellent websites for beginner to advanced songwriters.
If you’re a beginning songwriter and you’re not sure where to start, there’s a ton of useful information on the web if you type the keyword “beginner songwriting” into a search box.
For example, if you’re an intermediate or advanced songwriter, if you enter “songwriting tips” you’ll instantly have access to many quality, free songwriting resources!
The majority of songwriting websites on the internet have useful, instructional material, and you can assemble your own personal “how to write songs manual,” and learn quite a bit during the process as you weed through the many articles.
To assemble your very own songwriting guide all you need is a large binder, some page dividers, and a hole puncher. Then start researching the web on your own using the following topics as your starting guide:
1. Song Verse Development (what is a song verse, how to develop a verse, etc.)
2. Pre-chorus Tips (what is a pre-chorus, how to develop a pre-chorus, etc.)
3. Chorus Development (what is a chorus, how to develop a strong hook, etc.)
4. Second Verse tips (ideas for starting a 2nd verse, etc.)
5. How to Write a Bridge (what is a bridge, how to write a bridge, etc.)
6. Song Forms (how to choose, etc.)
7. Song Title (how to create, etc.)
8. Rhyming Tips and Techniques (how to rhyme effectively, etc.)
9. How to Create a Melody (what constitutes a great melody, etc.)
This is just the tip of the iceberg and definitely enough to get you started, but you get the idea!
You can either print out web pages for your personal songwriting resources or assemble them using Microsoft Word or a similar program.
Personally, when I was learning songwriting years ago I preferred using a thick binder with dividers separating the many songwriting topics I was learning about. The trick is stay organized with your songwriting tips entries from the various free songwriting websites on the net by cataloging them efficiently and accurately.
So, for this songwriting resource, the only thing you need to have is a decent hole-puncher and a binder to make yourself the ultimate songwriting guide!
By completing this project a few years ago, I was able to improve my songwriting technique drastically, and I built myself a
strong, solid basic songwriting foundation from which to build on.
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About The Author
Did you know anyone who listens to music can learn how to write quality songs because music is a hearing art form? All you have to know are the basics of songwriting. If you want to see how easy it is for free….click here!
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Orlando_Gutierrez
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I’m personally giving this a try. How about you? Let me know how you go.
Until next time, happy writing,
Corey Stewart
Singer/Songwriter/Musician
Keywords: songwriting, songwriter, writing, songwriting zen, songwriting tip, songwriting idea, songwriting blog, songwriting resource, corey stewart
My Plans For 2009
I’m using the month of December to review what I’ve done in 2008 and start planning for 2009.
I do this every year and I always get a little excited at this time because I love the thought of starting a new year with a clear slate.
Looking back I realised that I used 2008 as a year of establishing some sort of foundation for my songwriting/online music marketing activities. All was going pretty well until about July when the wheels started to fall off the wagon.
This is where I started taking too much on. This was the beginning of burn-out.
Here are 12 things I did in 2008:
1. (Feb) Shifted home office to external office
2. (Feb) Started the original Songwriting Zen Blog
3. (Apr) Started building a Songwriting Studio
4. (Apr) SCALA’s FOOM Songwriting Competition
5. (May) Songwriting Zen Forum launched
6. (May) Present Songwriting Zen Blog launched
7. (May) I’m interviewed on SongCatcher radio program
8. (Jul) Co-ordinator of the Sing Out Songwriting Project
9. (Jul) Sunday Singer/Songwriter Showcase commences
10. (Jul) I accept the 50/90 challenge
11. (Sep) I moved house
12. (Nov) Sing Out 2008 finished
No wonder 2008 seemed like a blur. Now onto 2009.
One of the first things I’ll be doing is shifting my external office back to a home office. Even though I enjoy the office environment I love my home environment even more and besides, not paying two lots of phone and internet charges will make the bank balance look a little better.
I’m almost ready to roll out another free eReport for you all. It’s called “11 More Ways To Eliminate Writers Block FOREVER!” and the title really says it all.
Other services I’ll be wanting to roll out in 2009 are:
- Song Feedback/Critiques
- Songwriting Coaching
- Songwriting Workshops
I want to be expanding my song collaboration network as well as the Open Mics plus the Singer/Songwriter Showcase concept. Maybe then I might find some time to write that Songwriting Zen book and record songs for my first CD release as well.
Watch this space…
Until next time, happy writing,
Corey Stewart
Singer/Songwriter/Musician
Keywords: songwriting, songwriter, writing, songwriting zen, songwriting tip, songwriting idea, songwriting blog, songwriting resource, 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
What I’ve Learnt From Doing The 50/90 Challenge
Let me tell you, I failed miserably in the 50/90 challenge.
I can only sit here and contemplate why I’ve only posted five songs on the 50/90 website.
I know that the world isn’t going to end because of this so, instead of beating myself up over it (which I tend to do in these situations) I’m going to try and put a positive spin on it and work out what I’ve learnt about myself through this 50/90 experience.
You see, when I started the challenge I was hopeful and confident that I’d be able to do it. I had a lot of encouragement from friends and Songwriting Zen readers (thanks guys).
I had lots of songwriting ideas floating around my head, on MP3 and paper and I was positive I’d be able to make the time necessary to write, record and post the songs on the 50/90 website.
So what happened?
I started the 50/90 challenge with all guns blazing, then I got a couple of reviews that were constructive but not overly positive. This was all the evidence my inner critic needed to start undermining me.
There were many, many times where I tried to marry a musical and lyrical idea together only to have a little voice inside my head say things like.
This is absolute crap
You’re not going to make it
You’re a fraud
Call yourself a songwriter?
You can’t write hooks
This sounds like another song
Give up now
I got scared. I was scared of writing bad songs. I got scared of what other people thought of my songs. I got scared of the possible feedback.
I lost the battle with my inner critic. I gave up.
There is a real difference between challenging yourself and being competitive with others. In hindsight I should’ve seen the 50/90 challenge as just that, a challenge. It’s not a contest to see who gets to the goal first.
So what have I learnt about myself through taking part in the 50/90 challenge?
1. See the 50/90 challenge for what it is, an outlet to write songs
2. Learn to take contructive feedback and/or critisism on the chin
3. Use all experiences as a learning experience
4. Don’t do anything that I don’t feel comfortable in doing
5. Don’t make promises to myself and others that I can’t keep
Lessons well learnt I reckon. What was your experience doing the 50/90 challenge?
Until next time, happy writing,
Corey Stewart
Singer/Songwriter/Musician
Keywords: songwriting, songwriter, lyric writing, lyrics, songwriting zen, songwriting tip, songwriting idea, songwriting blog, songwriting resource, corey stewart
Songwriting Tool – Free Worksheets For The Songwriting Guitarist
Tom Slatter who runs Songwright, a wonderful songwriting blog has a free ebook to download called “Worksheets For The Songwriting Guitarist.”
I downloaded it myself and let me tell you, it’s great!
To download the ebook you need to first of all sign up for his newsletter but don’t let that deter you. Tom’s insights into the musical aspect of writing songs are fantastic reading and well worth the subscription.
Tom describes the inspiration to create “Worksheets For The Songwriting Guitarist” in this way:
“In my everyday life as a music teacher, I tend to design quite a lot of worksheets.
In my online life trying to share songwriting ideas, I’ve never put this skill into use. Until now, that is.
You see, a written worksheet can be a very useful thing. As songwriters we’re often scribbling on random bits of paper. A worksheet, properly designed, can give order to the chaos of our ideas, doodlings and scribbles.”
The ebook contains four worksheets all specifically designed for use in various parts of the songwriting process:
1. The Chord Diary
2. The Lyric Brainstormer
3. The Chord Progression Chart
4. The Song Analysis Guide
Best of all it’s FREE so what have you got to lose? I’m going to try them out myself. I’ll let you know how I go.
Click here to download “Worksheets For The Songwriting Guitarist” by Tom Slatter for FREE!
Until next time, happy writing,
Corey Stewart
Singer/Songwriter/Musician
Keywords: songwriting, songwriter, writing, songwriting zen, songwriting tip, songwriting idea, songwriting blog, songwriting resource, corey stewart
PS: Check out Tom’s band “We’ll Write” while you’re at it. It’s very cool!
Any Writers Wishing To Collaborate? Let Me Know!
I want to work with other lyricists, poets, writers and other wordsmiths.
Are you out there? If you are, I’d love to talk with you.
You see, I’m at the point in my songwriting where I want to start collaborating with other writers in a big way. For me, collaboration is the next step in my development as a songwriter.
I want to be able to shape songs out of different points of view and be challenged by sonically interpreting the experiences of others.
One of the main stumbling blocks I have in my songwriting process however, is lyric writing.
I know I have written a lot about this subject in earlier Songwriting Zen posts. I do write down the phrases I hear in conversation, I record my musical and lyrical ideas and I make copious lists of possible song titles but actually completing a song…
There’s my problem!
No matter how hard I try, my inner critic has a field day everytime I try to put lyrics down onto paper. It’s getting very hard to take my own advice and as a result my confidence as a lyricist is diminishing.
In essence, I’m becoming snowed under with all of my half finished songwriting ideas
It’s my hope that working with other writers will enable me to learn from them. I want to have the confidence needed to look at my completed song lyrics and say “I’m really happy with that.”
Are there any writers that want to collaborate with me? If so, contact me.
Lets make beautiful music together 
Until next time, happy writing,
Corey Stewart
Singer/Songwriter/Musician
Keywords: songwriting, songwriter, lyric writing, lyrics, songwriting zen, songwriting tip, songwriting idea, songwriting blog, songwriting resource, corey stewart
Songwriting Tools – The Singer/Songwriters Toolbox + The Creative Mind
One of my main aims with Songwriting Zen is to create an online platform to promote products and services related to the art and craft of writing songs.
These products and services will either be developed by me or come highly recommended from the huge list of songwriting products out there on the web.
Let me tell you, there is a lot of stuff out there.
In saying that, it’s with great pleasure that I introduce you to the first songwriting tool to use Songwriting Zen as its means of online distribution:
For me, Cal Williams Jnr epitomises the stereotype of the working artist.
He is totally devoted to his guitar and to the craft of songwriting. So much so in fact, that he wrote The Singer/Songwriters Toolbox as a way share his thoughts on how to create a welcoming environment for the muse through everyday life.
He is also a performer who captures your imagination and leads it on a beautiful journey through his songs.
Cal has agreed to release a sample chapter The Singer/Songwriters Toolbox called “The Creative Mind” as a FREE gift for Songwriting Zen readers and everyone interested in exploring both the creative and practical sides of songwriting.
Click here to purchase “The Singer/Songwriters Toolbox
Corey Stewart
Singer/Songwriter/Musician
Keywords: songwriting, songwriter, songwriting zen, songwriting tip, songwriting tool, songwriting idea, songwriting resource, songwriting blog, corey stewart
Songwriter Spotlight – Courtney Robb
Our next songwriter to be under the Songwriting Zen spotlight is Courtney Robb, a singer/songwriter that I personally have a lot of respect for.
She is one of those rare performers that turns a rowdy crowd into a quietly attentive audience just by the way she delivers her songs.
I’m very privileged to be playing with her at the Daniel O’Connell Hotel this Sunday for the third installment of my Sunday Singer/Songwriter Session series of gigs.
Here is how the interview panned out…
Courtney Robb
Main genre
Acoustic Pop
Years writing
About 6 years
Words or music first
They usually happen simultaneously…
Why do you write
It isn’t really a conscious decision, I write because if I didn’t write I would go a little crazy.
How do you write
I generally have to be alone to write. I get distracted very easily. Once I put down the pen, it’s hard for me to get the flow back. I tend to write at night too.
This isn’t something I do on purpose, just I feel more at ease at the end of the day. I can reflect on things that have happened and how I feel. There’s something about the night that is very calming to me too, everyone is tucked away and the streets are quiet.
What inspires you
I get inspired to write when I let myself be open to all that’s happening around me and to me. Other musicians… relationships… the world around us is a smorgasbord of inspiration but you just have to let it in.
Most important aspect of songwriting
Honesty in lyrics is really important to me. As soon as I stop beain true to myself, the song starts to become a bit contrived. I feel like if I write freely, from the heart, my audience with be able to connect to the song and to me as another human being.
Advice for beginners
Write as much as possible, whether its a journal or actual songs or letters. It doesn’t matter if it’s not perfect, the more you write the easier it will flow. Never throw anything out, you never know what gems you may find when you go back through old scribbles.
Songwriting goals
I feel like I am growing as a songwriter with each song. I just hope to be able to continue to do this.
When you really think about it, songwriting is not what we do but it’s who we are. I reckon it’s the ability to make that distinction that seperates great songwriters from good ones.
If you’re in Adelaide catch Courtney and myself at the Daniel O’Connell Hotel this Sunday.
Until next time, happy writing,
Corey Stewart
Singer/Songwriter/Musician
Keywords: songwriting, songwriter, writing songs, songwriting tip, songwriting idea, songwriting help, songwriting zen, songwriting blog, corey stewart
Getting Back Into The Swing Of Things
Hi everybody,
It’s been a full on month with moving house and all but I’m glad to say that everything is returning back to some sort of normality (whatever that is).
The house looks great, feels very comfortable and the space… Well, let’s just say that I’m feeling very content at the moment. I even picked up the guitar and started writing something for the first time in a long while.
Living in a nice space certainly increases your ability to be inspired.
Now with the move complete I’m now ready to get back into songwriting, blogging and just getting on with what life deals for me. Expect more posts from now on.
Until next time, keep on writing,
Corey Stewart
Singer/Songwriter/Musician
Keywords: songwriting, songwriter, writing songs, songwriting tip, songwriting idea, songwriting help, songwriting zen, songwriting blog, corey stewart
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