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 – …
conventions
Using Non-Verbal Hooks in Your Songs
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 …
Chord-based and conversational songwriting with Sean Bertram
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 …
How to write songs with a looper pedal with Rachel Raditz
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 …
Bob Wiseman on pushing your songwriting envelope
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 …
All about the pre-chorus
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 …
Industrial music according to Scrape
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 …
Complexity in songwriting: When is it too much? with David St. Bernard
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: …