Links And Frustration
Last Friday....
So last Friday, I made a sort of chart of our silly song that was attempting (an exercise in futility as it turned out) to demonstrate how to write a chord progression to a song that avoided every line of lyrical phrases coming in on the downbeat (one beat) of a chord change/melodic phrase. I forgot, if I ever actually knew, that the SubStack editor doesn’t like too many repeated spaces, though now I seem to recall a previous post from a year or so ago where this was an issue. I’m unsure what the reason for this is, though perhaps the algorithm suspects writers on here of frequently falling asleep while writing and laying our heads on the space bar or something. So thanks, SubStack, for just being helpful like that. /s
Anyway, I rewrote the phrasing and printed it out to take a picture of and I’ll post that tomorrow, assuming the editor algorithm on here hasn’t yet achieved total sentience and isn’t able to force unwanted edits on photographs. We’ll see.
For today, some links to stuff:
Kinda interesting from the Speed Songwriting business website. Taylor Swift is a phenomenon in her own right, and has some intriguing approaches to songwriting. Worth the read, and especially the tip about what the article calls a “swipe file” - I’m not sure about the name of that or what the origins are, but I really advocate some sort of place (I use a note I titled “Odds and Ends” on my iPhone to capture phrases that can be turned into lyrics), to write down lyric fragments, especially “hooks”, that can be used as the basis to write from.
I’ve mentioned on here before that if for whatever reason a local guitar instructor isn’t presently a viable choice for you, my personal choice as a substitute is Sean Daniel on YouTube or his website. This video demonstrates his interesting and pretty humorous approach to teaching:
Here’s some good news for artists and songwriters, article from American Songwriter:
One of the target audiences for this SubStack has always been older folks and some of the issues we face. Thanks to Acoustic Guitar Magazine for articles that recognize some of those issues:
Finally for today, a couple of links from Songtown:
How Much Should You Spend On A Demo?
For this last link below, I think everyone asks themselves questions like this, and everyone contemplating moving outside the jam/campfire playing mode should consider some of the points here, IMHO.
Regular post tomorrow!
Cheers and keep playing!
Michael Acoustic