pop

Keeping It Real with Blair Packham

This week SongTalk welcomed our old friend Blair Packham to our studio.

The Toronto-based artist, first gained attention for his work with ’80’s power pop band The Jitters. He is now an acclaimed solo artist and musician. Blair released two strongly-reviewed solo albums before shifting his focus to composing music for TV and films, teaching songwriting at the post-secondary level and in numerous special event workshops, and co-hosting a long-running major market weekly radio show about music (“In the Studio” on the BellMedia talk radio network).…

Songs from your childhood

by Phil Emery

We talked about the first songs that resonated with us as kids.

Stuff We Talked About:

Our Anthony moving on
Turns Out Radiohead’s ‘Creep’ Was Lifted from a 1972 Song by The Hollies
Moving to the minor on the 4th chord
February Album Month FAUM.org

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Shelly Peiken – writing the hit song

by Bruce Harrott

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 – “Confessions of a Serial Songwriter”.…

Pop songwriting with Amir Brandon

by Neel Modi

Pop music singer-songwriter Amir Brandon joined us to talk about two of his upcoming songs, working with producer Thomas McKay, and the stories behind his songs.

We also talked about:

Collaborating with other songwriters
Battle Royale: grammar vs. lyric vs.

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Special Pride Theme Show

by Neel Modi

To celebrate Pride in Toronto this week, we brought in five LGBTQ-themed songs to play and talk about. The songs spanned from 1983 to 2017, and included a diverse range of songwriters and topics. Musical book writer Stephen Witkin joined us for the show.…

Pop songwriting with feeling with Lora Ryan

by Neel Modi

Pop singer-songwriter Lora Ryan joined us with her guitarist Andrew Scott to share two songs and talk about her songwriting process.

Singer/songwriter Lora Ryan is poised to make some noise in the independent music scene. Born and raised in Montreal, Quebec, she recently relocated to the Hollywood of Canada: Toronto, Ontario. …

Commanding pop songwriting with the Command Sisters

by Neel Modi

Young pop sensations the Command Sisters (Charlotte and Sarah) joined us to talk about writing as a sibling duo and working with producers. Patrick Ballantyne filled in for Bruce.

We also talked about:

how to write a 2-chord song
the musical Book of Mormon
whether to repeat lyrics in each chorus
the challenge of writing direct lyrics vs.

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Movies have songs too. Here’s our favourites.

by Neel Modi

This week we picked our favourite songs from movies. We talked about:

La La Land (the movie)
People bursting into song for no reason vs. singing in sensible places in the story
The Big Chill
Movie Musicals
key modulation
Quentin Tarantino’s unique approach to picking songs for his movies

Listen to the show:

Our selections:

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Jacob Moon a song writing star

by Bruce Harrott

With 10 albums over a 20-year career, Canadian singer/songwriter/guitarist Jacob Moon dropped into the studio to share a wealth of helpful tips and clear insights. “Live a Little” is a truly exceptional tune, a perfect marriage of lyrics, melody, theme and variation. …

Super girl with a heart of armor – Jules

by Admin Bot

Singer songwriter Jules delivers three powerful tunes live in the studio. She’s just 14 and yet is well on her way along the road as a professional. Jules has been writing songs since she was 10. Some stuff we talked about:

Robyn Dell’Unto her songwriting coach
Karen Kosowski
Her new EP Heart of Armor
The benefits of attending a music camp
The importance of getting lots of support from family
Jules says “Thanks Momager!”

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Working remotely with producers: Getting a Global Groove on with Dokter Nomi

by Admin Bot

Old friend of the show Dokter Nomi came by and we talked about his unique way of writing songs, working with producers and amassing over 42,000 twitter followers!

Some stuff we talked about:

Writing music with a global flare
Working with producers including our own Neel Modi
Mikey Dorje Loopsy Dazy
Richard Citroen
Lola Dutronic
Mason Bach

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Top tips on Songwriting Collaborations w/ Patrick Ballantyne

by Admin Bot

Its a special Collaborating Show as Northwood Records artist Patrick Ballantyne stops by and we get into all the details about collaborating: how to share the royalties (evenly) and general best practices for successful experiences.

Patrick has co-written with lots of folks and has tracks by artist’s like Big Sugar, Merideth Shaw and a ton more.…

The Scenic Sound: Taking it direct to the youngin’s

by Admin Bot

Tim Stead with his band The Scenic Sound talks about how melody drives his songs, and how repetition of the lyrics helps to get their message across to their young audience. Download 5 of their songs for free.

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by Neel Modi

Blair shares the very first song he ever wrote, and talks about the difference between writing from the heart and writing from the head. And the Monster Mash.