Liquid Notes – for helping your understand chords and growing your chord palette
RhymeGenie and Tunesmith – a fully-functional rhyming dictionary with all the nuances – Allister was very impressed, and keep track of all your collaborators and commercial pitches with Tunesmith
Maybe you didn’t ask for it but we did it anyway – the 90’s song draft – this time with Canadian songwriters. Blair Packham sat in for a sick Bruce, Vanessa joined the gang for her song picks, and much fun was had. Of the many writers of the Great White North, here are a few highlights:
Julian Taylor is a Canadian singer-songwriter formerly with the band Staggered Crossing. His songs have appeared in television series including Degrassi: The Next Generation. He now fronts the Julian Taylor Band. Julian dropped by the studio with his daughter Ella. We talked about:
Virtuoso harmonica player and singer-songwriter Harpin’ Norm Lucien joined us to talk about two of his songs and why you need many, many harmonicas, ideally on a Batman-style utility belt. Sherry Jacoby filled in for Neel – thanks Sherry! We talked about:
how to write simple songs that are also nuanced and have substance
starting your songs with the chorus or the title
how to incorporate sing-alongs in your performances
Toronto singer/songwriter Michael Thorner dropped by the studio for a chat about his music. He brought two catchy tunes from his recent webcast/album release The ehMTee Show; Don’t Let it Go and Point Edward Fair. We talked about:
What a pleasure to have Dokter Nomi back in the studio to share his hooky pop tunes. This time, one of them was produced by our very own Neel Modi. During the show we talked about:
It was Canadian Mental Health Week‘s 66th year and we thought we’d put a spotlight on songs that talk about the challenges of maintaining mental health.
South Sudan-born, Toronto-based indie fusion singer, model and writer Amanie Illfated joined us to talk about her songwriting journeys across nations and cultures. Guest host and singer-songwriter Kayt Lucas filled in for Phil – thanks Kayt! We talked about:
Amanie’s journey from Regina to Toronto at age 16
blogging and modelling as they apply to songwriting
trance vs. pop
the use of melodrama and operatic aspects
the influence of a multi-cultural Toronto on Amanie’s music
using different languages in your lyrics
connecting emotionally with your audience
setting and achieving goals in life, but also appreciating the process of getting there
We figured it was time to talk about rhyme; a cornerstone of songwriting. So we invited one of our favourite singer/songwriters – Blair Packham – to take a closer listen to songs with a plethora of rhymes and one with virtually none! We talked about:
The songwriter’s personal approach to rhyme
Does rhyme distract from the the emotion of the song?
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