Show date: Dec. 10, 2024
The second of four batches of listener and guest songs for our songwriting challenge 2024 to write a holiday song.
Melanie Peterson shared her song All Roads Lead to Christmas. Download the lyrics to follow along.
- using conventional holiday images in fresh new ways
- writing melodies that are sing-song and nursery rhyme-like
- writing with an economic use of language
The Noble Kind shared their song Christmas Again. Download the lyrics to follow along.
- ways to create a strong contrast between your verse and chorus by simplifying your chorus
- what a strong, lovely bridge!
- recontextualizing titles from classic holiday songs into their song
Don Thomson and Neel Modi (yes, our very own) shared their song Bulls in a China Shop. Download the lyrics to follow along.
- making it clear what your song is about with concrete images
- rhyming or not rhyming – what does it do for your song?
- having clear roles when you’re collaborating
Thank you to Melanie, The Noble Kind, and Don & Neel for the awesome songs!
If you didn’t hear your song in this episode, worry not, you’re in the queue for one of the next two episodes, so stay tuned.
Show date: Dec. 06, 2024
Our first batch of listener songs for our songwriting challenge 2024 to write a holiday song.
Victor Hathaway shared his song Keeping Christmas. Download the lyrics to follow along.
- Pulling off a melancholy song on the ukulele
- Phil was reminded of the songwriter Moondog
- Changing the lyric and message a bit in your final chorus
Steve Johnson shared his song Psychedelic Christmas. Download the lyrics to follow along.
- Incorporating Christmas images in a fresh way
- Being intentional about chord choices to create interesting moments
- Writing a funny or clever songs can create emotional distance from your listener
Alex Whorms shared her song This Christmas. Download the lyrics to follow along.
- Internal rhyming in the bridge
- Using music theory in a crafty way to make it sound easy and natural
- Another example of a bridge that is different enough and still unified with the song
Thank you to Victor, Steve, and Alex for the awesome songs!
If you didn’t hear your song in this episode, worry not, you’re in the queue for one of the next few episodes, so stay tuned.
Show date: Nov. 25, 2024
Jimmy Dunne Says is a collection of author and songwriter Jimmy Dunne’s best bite-sized stories that Americans everywhere are spreading and sharing. These stories are heartfelt, smart, and thought-provoking, and some will have you absolutely belly-laughing. Some stories about navigating everyday life today, some that take you right back to your childhood days. You’ll see why stories such as Downsizing virally swept the country—about discovering that one thing you didn’t know you had… “enough.” Or Stories that will have you laughing out loud taking you back to your first dates, stories about the art of being a father… essays that you’ll be sharing with your family and friends. One thing is for sure. They’ll remind you how truly blessed you are—to be alive right now, with so much possibility knocking on your amazing door.
We talked about:
- The essence of creativity
- Writing a book vs. writing songs
- Songwriting as storytelling
- How the value of music, and life, resides in the spaces
- How lucky we ought to feel that we get to do this thing called songwriting
- How modern artists both need to be and can be business people too
Show date: Nov. 18, 2024
Hailing from the quiet, wooded, mountain towns of New England, Nathan Jacques is a singer/songwriter now based in Los Angeles, CA. Contrary to his geographical roots, Nathan paints deeply woven narrative stories in cinematic soundscapes that are undeniably and irresistibly Western.
Starting with his 2021 debut album, ‘Loud Mind’, Nathan has been building his brand and following, offering something different than the traditional country trend taking Los Angeles and the rest of the country by storm. His unique sound features powerful yet soothing baritone vocals shepherding audiences through dramatic stories in song. Showcasing a wide range of influences, listening to Nathan Jacques feels like traveling through time and dreams into landscapes of classic films and records of old.
Nathan shared the process behind his song All I See. Download the lyrics to follow along.
We talked about:
- The passing away of Quincy Jones
- Memetic music, a term we learned about after last week’s episode with Nancy Blue
- How Nathan was very deliberate about his verse melodies to maintain tension
- Writing an upbeat song with dark lyrics
- What it means for Nathan for be a “Western” artist and how that differs from Country Music
- How Nathan wrote notes for a larger concept album and story first
- Keeping the chords simple, but playing with tension and release by holding onto chords for extended time
- Be sure to check out Nathan’s music videos – they are fantastic!
Show date: Nov. 04, 2024
Nancy Blue has about 50 songs completed, many of which are similar to “jazz standards”. One person described her song “Darn Good Things” as like a classic Holiday song (not lyrics but melody and chords). But now it’s a new time – she began the jazz focus in 2012, now she’s on to making an album with soul/disco/funk/pop grooves. She’s a late bloomer and hopes to inspire folks over 50 who haven’t begun to be a musician, painter, business owner, dancer, etc to do that thing NOW and not listen to anyone saying they can’t begin to do art, or be creative, or own a business, because of their chronological age.
Nancy shared the process behind her song Bumble Bee. Download the lyrics to follow along.
We talked about:
- Our songwriting challenge for 2024 to write a holiday song. Please send us your answers to the challenge by November 18!
- How Nancy’s flautist performed his part to emulate the movement of a bumble bee
- Learning music theory by studying piano, and then with a jazz guitarist who was taught by Charles Mingus
- How difficult it is to arrange jazz music electronically
- If you want to introduce jazz into your songwriting, study some jazz standards
- How’s it’s perfectly fine to be an amateur musician and/or songwriter and not a superstar
- Ways to “find your people“
- Post-show discovery: Memetic music, a term we learned about after the show with regards to the flute imitating a bumble bee
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