Our very own Neel talks about creating non-standard time-signature based EDM music. Past guest and composer Frank Horvat co-hosted while Neel’s better half, Hema handled the social media. Some stuff we talked about: Dave Brubeck Goldie – Timeless Writing Better Lyrics – Pat Patison Frank’s webpage Dave Brubeck’s Take 5 One of a Mind lyrics No …
Multi-platinum hit songwriter Shelly Peiken, has written songs for, and with, Ed Sheeran, Keith Urban, Celine Dion, Cher, Reba McEntire, Christina Aguilera, Meredith Brooks, Britney Spears, Natasha Bedingfield, NSYNC, Miley Cyrus, Selena Gomez, Idina Menzel and Demi Lovato. Shelly Peiken is also a successful author who has written a book detailing her experiences in songwriting – …
In our latest theme show, we explored non-verbal hooks in songs. We looked at Lou Reed’s Walk on the Wild Side, The Police Do Do Do, Da, Da, Da, Da and we played The Parkdale Hookers “Stop Draggen’ us no where, baby“. It was just the gang so its always a lot of fun. Stuff we …
Up and coming singer-songwriter and Humber College music student Sean Bertram joined us to talk about his education and his chord-based approach to songwriting. Blair Packham subbed in for Phil – thanks Blair! And welcome to Raphael, our new technical and audio specialist – welcome to the team! We talked about: why bother making an …
The very talented singer-songwriter and improvisational artist Rachel Raditz brought one song to Song Talk Radio that she had written previously. The other she made up on the spot in the middle of the program. “Back in Hali” about a friendship that might be more set in Halifax had an unconventional structure and a melody …
Producer, composer and Blue Rodeo founder, Bob Wiseman stopped by to share tips on pushing your songwriting approach to get out of a songwriting rut. Listen to the episode here: Some stuff we talked about: Working with songwriters Blue Rodeo BobWiseman.com Bob Wiseman on Wikipedia Download lyrics for “The Reform Party at Burning Man Download the …
The show you’ve all been waiting for…or maybe that was just Neel. The Song Talk Radio Team tackles the subject of the pre-chorus; what it is, what it does for a song, and why have one? Singer/songwriter Melanie Peterson joined us to perform one of her songs as an example, “Been So Long.” To add a few …
The Song Talk Radio team of Bruce, Neel, and Phil received an education in Industrial music with Eric Scrape. Here’s some of what you can learn by listening to the show: What makes it “industrial” Industrial love songs How it got started during the punk music years Why Scrape starts with a beat Electronic Body …
Singer / songwriter Davis St. Bernard stopped by and we explored the issue on complexity in one’s songwriting. What we talked about: How to Write Songs on Guitar: 2nd Edition, Expanded and Updated SongStudio Songwriting workshop Non-traditional song structures modulations Finding your vocal range Jimmy Web gets snubbed by the Grammy’s Listen to the full show: …
Kirk Felix arrived at our little studio with a whole band; bass, violin (fiddle), and cajon. As we did our sound check the Song Talk crew all savoured the gentle, soothing and heart-warming sounds of a folk ensemble. Patrick Ballantyne sat in for Neel Modi who was on assignment. In addition to two very authentic folk songs (Dusty …
Singer/Songwriter Jordan Paul stopped by with a couple of brilliant songs. His sound has been described as “if Queen, Mimicking Birds, Radiohead, and Led Zeppelin all had a beautiful love-child.” A clever songwriter at only 24–his writing and musicality is well beyond his years and his voice is otherworldly. Paul’s new single ‘Rain’ is coming out …
Songwriter, composer, and music teacher Frank Horvat joined us to talk about scales, the different kinds and colours of chords, and using chords as a palette for your songwriting. We covered: Intervals (2 notes) and triads (chords with 3 notes) Major and minor triads and their different tonal colours The hardly-ever-used diminished (or seven) chord …
The always entertaining singer/songwriter TC FolkPunk returned to the show and played a couple of punky solo electric guitar songs and talked about playing solo without a band with just an electric guitar. Some Stuff We Talked About TC FolkPunks first appearance on Song Talk Radio Lyrics: Sort of Like Danielle & The World of You T.c. Folkpunk: …
For this special theme show, each of the hosts presented a song with “unusual” or hard-to-decipher lyrics. We delved into a discussion around understanding the intentions behind and interpreting the songs. Download the lyrics here: Unusual Lyrics Neel’s selection: A Self Called Nowhere by They Might Be Giants Bruce’s selection: McArthur Park by Jimmy Webb (performed by …
Faaria was one of our first guests on Song Talk Radio (check out her first episode) and she joined us once again with new songs about relationships, where none of them are autobiographical (or so she claims). Stuff we talked about: writing from different point-of-views relationship songs how practicing songwriting can affect the enjoyment of …
From the moment Blair Packham started to speak, we knew we were in for some great lessons from a master songwriter and experienced teacher. If You Were Mine featured a great bridge and instrumental break. In Her Dreams started out as a story of a woman in a call centre and moved to a daughter caring for an ailing …
The ever talented Liz Jaremyn returned with two great songs. Here’s some stuff we talked about: Liz Jaremyn’s previous show in 2014 Download the lyrics for Liz Jaremyn’s songs Overcoming writer’s block vs forcing it exploring song structures How many sections should your song have? Liz Jaremyn’s YouTube Channel Writing Better Lyrics – Pat Patison …
Bruce, Neel, Phil and Janice spent most of an hour on the subject of song structures with 4 different examples. We talked about: the prologue verse (I Left my Heart in San Francisco) writing for musical theatre (My Funny Valentine) the connection between segment style and lyrical content (Band on the Run) Sloan’s song with …
Seasoned professional guitarist, singer-songwriter, and all-around nice guy Scott Neary shares some of his best kept songwriting secrets. Scott also accompanied the talented jazz songwriter Steven Teatz for his appearance on Song Talk Radio. We talked about: The great chorus debate – to repeat it verbatim or not? Why you should whistle your melody Why, …
Have a listen to an informative and lively discussion on chord substitutions. In this show we talked about: the Circle of Fifths Nashville numbers one/four/five chord progressions the sixth, seventh, and ninth chords how easy it is to use the Circle of Fifths to add colour to your song Chord Substitution on YouTube Learning on …
What a delight to have Peter Light in the studio and hear some down-to-earth songwriting. I Let Her Go was a unique take on “the one that got away”. Charlie’s Playin’ the Blues was a cool tongue in cheek visit to the world of traditional blues – done with great craft and artistry.
The always brilliant Braeden Mitchell returns to Song Talk Radio to talk about co-writing, writing songs for other artists and getting back into the songwriting groove after taking a bit of a break. Some stuff we talked about: How to write songs for other artists SAC Songwriters Challenge Keeping a list of song titles place the strongest …
One in the Chamber (Mike Baise – vocals, rhythm guitar, Cecil Eugene – lead guitar, vocals, Christian Dotto – bass, Gerrod Harris – percussion) join us to discuss their songwriting process as a band. We talked about: bringing a song to the band to be fleshed out singing lead vocals with lyrics written by a bandmate …
Frank dropped by Song Talk Radio again, this time with songs from his recent release, Strange Machine. We talked about: using wikiloops for free backing tracks unconventional time signatures, and unusual uses of 4/4 the differences between art songs and pop songs a modern twist on the protest song Frank’s experimental writing process using Logic Listen to …
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