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I sincerely hope that some of you give some serious thought to what I’m about to say and do respond. There are a lot of very talented lyricists on this board without a doubt. How serious I do not know. Some of you may only write for the pleasure of writing and that I can understand if that is what you want. However there are some of us with goals in mind. Some of us that would like to use our talents to either make a living or supplement the income we now have. In turn this would give our work much greater exposure to the public at large also.

I’m not afraid to tell you a little about myself. This may help you in deciding what you are looking for. I’m 42 years old and not getting any younger. I love to write and always have. I love music and always have also. From my early teen years I was involved with many different bands as both a guitarist and a singer (usually backup, lol). Needless to say this was before the Internet was around. Our resources were few and we did what we could. When I was in my 20’s I was in a band that was finally fairly stable for the first time. We were good and may have had a chance if we would have had some original music but copy was our bread and butter. We played around at several of the local clubs for a while. Entered and even won some talent shows hoping to be noticed. But we were young and just didn’t have the insight into the business. We had no one to offer use words of advice and frustration soon set in. The end was near.

That was then. Today it has been some time since those days. Since I started playing rock and blues was all I was interested in. Now country music is where the heart is. Well I don’t look back but only forward. Songwriting is something I truly enjoy. Unfortunately I have limited time to do this because I must make a living for my family. So I do have goals other than to set around and write songs to file away. I would love to supplement my income with this and in turn be able to do it even more. I’d love for people to be able to hear my songs instead of just reading lyrics on a screen or piece of paper. I know I’m not alone in this. So now finally we get down to the purpose of this long, long post. I have spent a lot of time in the last few weeks researching available resources for myself to do this. Well I have found very little indeed. So below I will propose something to the serious lyricist on this board with the same goals in mind.

I have talked to a few of you that have the same goals. You may have the same problems as me. I have tried putting music to my own songs but I am not a band and lack the knowledge of writing country music. Demo research will soon turn you cold after you see the prices and we all know you need a state of the art demo if you want to stand a chance. Some of us would like to start with an MP3 site but don’t have the available resources and can’t find then. We may post to board after board with no results. Sound familiar to any of you? Well what if we put our heads together to help each other achieve our goals. Instead of just posting our songs on boards to never be seen after they scroll off let’s be more active. Together maybe we can help each other achieve some of our goals. There are those that are further along than us who could no doubt help to point us in the right direction if they would. And we can continue to research and even create better resources for ourselves. This forum would be a good place to start. I would even be willing to start a website dedicated to just this. But I do believe we can make a good start here with participation. I would be willing to lead, help, whatever we need to help reach our goals. But if we don’t do something things will never happen for us and that is a fact.


Sincerely,
David Fontaine

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Hey David,

I understand where you are coming from. I, too, consider myself a serious minded lyricist. I feel I'm moving forward and making progress. I have some demos in the works and am nearing the pitching stage of my life. I will tell you a bit about my progression, it's my story. I don't offer it up as a how to, but as a could do and maybe some will be able to take something from it and maybe someone will post something I can learn from. I'm so glad you asked this question because I think the majority of what we need to hear are positive stories of people who are moving forward.

This is my story...

As a melodic lyricist, I know from reading that publishers want a full package--words and music, so I had to find a collaborator. I write country music also and decided to join the Nashville Songwriters Assoc, Int'l (NSAI) www.nashvillesongwriters.com and start going to a regional workshop near me.(They do more than just country) People drive from as far away as an hour to attend meetings, but for me it has been well worth it. Nothing beats meeting people in person and in your area. The workshops are great. We meet twice a month, work on a professional songwriting education cirriculum, get peer and pro critiques of our songs in a positive environment. Don't worry about having music 'cause I put my accapella songs up for critique at my meetings. Our coordinator brings in special guest to talk about the music business, give critiques, offer advice, etc. This is where I met my writing partner. He came looking for a lyricist to work with. This has been the single biggest step that helped me. It was $100 to join NSAI for the year, but all regional workshop meetings are free for me. I get instant support, instant advice and I meet a lot of people who are further a long than I am and I can ask them tons of questions and learn.

My partner has his own 8 track and equipment and we have completed 1 demo and are almost done with two more. We sent of first one in for a free pro critique from NSAI. They gave us great feedback and we are going back for more. NSAI will submit your material to publishers if they think it's really good. Our evaluator said if we were interested in making her suggested changes, she'd submit it to the NSAI panel for review to go forward to publishers. It's a long shot, but it's a real chance. We are making contacts through our meetings and will be sending out our stuff to them as well as to publishers.

We are entering songwriting contests, we've placed in some and we keep entering. It is my intention to use these kind of things to build my press kit. I'm learning how to play the guitar (ugh), reading songwriting books and magazine, and writing and posting on our lyrics board. Baby steps...we are seeing progress. IMO, action begets action and positivity begets more positivity.

It's one of the reasons why I really wanted to get something stirred up on this board, to see what others are doing and so we can all learn from eachother. So post your story everyone!

Hope that wasn't too boring [Linked Image],
Ashleigh

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Ashleigh, I think that’s great and wish you the best of luck. I’m so glad to see someone really putting in the effort and starting to get something out of it. I wish more of those who are starting to get somewhere would let us in on their secrets. It sounds like to me you’re on the right course. I was reading an article from a local songwriting group where the group leaders had wrote several record and publishing companies to find out just what they go for. Very interesting reading for sure. One said he wouldn’t listen to anyone who he thought wasn’t serious and preferred anyone new to be involved in some sort of group or organization. Most said they do not take anything that is not solicited by them. And if they do listen to a newcomer you had better get their attention within the first two lines in most cases or they toss it. Very tough business! I appreciate your comments and hope to see more. I think we all have something to offer in one way or another.


Thanks,
hotrod

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Well I guess I posted this on the wrong board. That’s ok, I understand. I just hooked up with two different composers today so things are looking up anyway.

See ya,
hotrod

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Hotrod,

Things are just getting started over on this board. I know that people know you from the lyrics board. Why don't you post a message over there asking those that know you and those that don't to take a look and reply to you message on this board. You've got the right board, you just need to let people know that you've got a topic over here.

I'm glad you found some people to work with. I saw that a kswartz (i think) had replied to one of your posts about collaborating. I saw that she was from Houston too. Anyway, sounds like you're moving in the right direction.

Ashleigh

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Hi Ashleigh, yea I know this board is slow. I just thought I try and get everyone here to be a little more help to each other. I have talked to a few people on this board who want more and just don't know what to do. Seems like the interest should be there. I'll give it a try at the lyric board and see what happens. By the way the two contacts that I made today were not from here, lol. But yea I do feel a lot better now. One of them is really anxious like me!

hotrod

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Hi Hotrod and Ashleigh..... I think it's a great idea to get some discussions going away from the lyric board and I'll just give a brief outline of my lyric writing history. I wrote my first lyric in October 1997 and it was just for fun. I soon became addicted and before long had several written. I entered the American Songwriter Magazine Lyric Competition and received an Honourable Mention certificate so I have kept writing ever since. Until I joined JPF and one or two other lyric sites, I had never imagined that any of my lyrics could be brought to life with music. Through JPF and other places I have been approached by several people to co-write and now have 8 completed songs. They're not brilliant but they have given me the determination to progress further. I'm working with 3 co-writers at the moment - one in Austin Texas and he and I will get together in June when I visit the US and he has offered to show me how a demo recording session works and I will be able to actually witness one of our songs being recorded - something I could never in my wildest dreams believe would ever happen to me. I have also had the offer from a company in the US to buy a song, co-written with a fellow Australian, but the contract offered wasn't acceptable but that has given me the experience of seeking legal advice on contract matters. Songwriting takes on a new dimension when it gets to actually paying money for legal advice and paying for demos etc. It's at that point I think we need to decide how serious we are about songwriting. I guess the bottom line is that none of this would have happened without being involved in lyric sites. I've learned from the other members of JPF and continue to learn. Thanks for the discussion and hope others will participate. Judy

[This message has been edited by Judy (edited 04-02-2001).]

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Hi David,

Well, I had a lot of things to say, but ended up deleting them because they weren't all that relative to your situation. I guess my question would be. What is it you are actually trying to achieve as a songwriter. Would you like to be published ot make it as an artist?

Curtis

[This message has been edited by Curtis Cameron (edited 04-02-2001).]

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Hi David,

Well, I figured I'd go ahead and post my previous comments that I cut form the last post, they may be relevent after all.

I know your frustration and struggle with it myself. Stacks of lyrics, no demos. Uuuuggg!

Personally, what I've done is I've made freinds at local music stores, local open mic's, and learned to network LOCALLY. I go see bands play at local bars, I'm on their mailing lists, I visit their websites, I show up at their shows, I say hello.

After a couple of years, you get to be PART of the music scene rather than just an observer. Close a few bars down and help the band load their gear. Not only will you make friends (musicians no less!), but you'll observe songs in action. Nothing beats a live show.

Also, I built a studio in my living room and have produced a few decent songs. Now I can show other musicians that the songs I write can be put to music and sound great. Of course writing quality songs helps attract composers.

Also, a lot of lyricists on these boards write a LOT of songs, and one composer can't keep up with all of them. Which is one reason I'd rather produce ONE lyric which is GUARANTEED to work with music, than a dozen that need to be editied and re-written.

If a lyric doesn't move a musician to music, he simply won't work on it. Similarily, if a lyric doesn't strike a reader a certain way, they won't comment.

So that is one place to start. Start with the lyrics and make sure every one is up to snuff. Secondly make a few friends locally. Support some open mics, support your local music store. And... buy a used guitar and start working on a few tunes yourself. At least then you can work out some chord progressions and some meoldies and some rhythms so when you DO work with a musician, they don't have to work from scratch. You can simply hire them to do the guitar work, or they will do it for fun and musical credit. I'm willing to share music credits with a guitarist as I'm getting started in exchange for guitar work. After all, a hundred percent of nothing is a hundred percent of nothing, and that flows both ways. Most guitarists play because they LOVE TO PLAY.

It's amazing though, how many guitarists DON'T KNOW HOW TO WRITE A SONG. Asking a guitartist to put a lyric to music is like asking a stoner to be straight... Or something like that. You get the idea anyway.

Also, maybe I didn't read closely enough, but I'm not sure exactly what your trying to propose here. Lyricists helping lyricists put their songs to music? Perhaps, but if I find a composer, I normally keep him pretty busy myself. [Linked Image]

In closing, songwriting is like maintaining a house or a car. Either you have to learn to do it yourself, from a blank sheet to a pressed CD, or hire it done and hope for the best.

Either way, it's time consuming and expensive, and your not always satisfied with the product. However, the money you invest in a studio and a few guitars is money which will always work for you, helping you grow and learn, but money spent on a bad demo is simply an expensive learning experience.

Curtis

P.S. David, I just realized having said all this, that you've done most of this, so my question is, what are you seeking help on? Music and recordings, or getting published as a songwriter, or making it as an artist?


[This message has been edited by Curtis Cameron (edited 04-02-2001).]

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Hi everyone,

I just had a mini-epiphany about lyricists having demos made of their lyrics. It is a mistake. This statement isn't addressing whether people who make the demos are legit or worth it, that is a different topic. But this statement applies to the fact that even a superbly done demo made for someone's lyrics has no real chance of advancing your career or the success of those lyrics simply because the music wasn't part of the creative process. If you co-write with someone, there is a synergy between the lyrics and the music. But if someone is simply supplying music tracks for your pre-written lyrics, I find it silly to think they could be inspired or original. Sure there may be a rare exception, but if you are going to spend ANY money on this process, take a step back and consider using those resources to find a like minded musician and work with them to write the music AND lyrics first.. then go to the demo people you had in mind with a finished song and record it then.

This is just a small part of the ongoing discussion, but I thought it was important to mention.

Carry on..

Brian


Brian Austin Whitney
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Brian,
That is a very important point that you brought up. I have learned so much lately reading all of these posts. Yes...I agree.. anyone can put a tune to the lyrics but can they do it with the heart and meaning that the lyricist had in mind??? Finding someone to work closely with one on one is probably the best way to ensure the finished song is the way you hoped...then go to the demo.
Pam

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Howdy David...

Thanks for posting this discussion topic. It is a worthy one for sure. After spending the past 8 months posting on JPF and one other board, I have to say I have learned a LOT from the folks who have shared their lyrics and have helped me hone mine. After a lifetime of writing poetry (I am 53), I had a ton of quality work in that genre, had published just about anything I ever submitted to a magazine or other publication, but music has always been my first love. Because I don't play an instrument or sing well enough (IMO) I never considered writing songs until the fall of '98 when an editor said my poems read like songs in his opinion and recommended I put some of my poems to music. I decided to see if I could learn songwriting. I have been a professional writer all my life, and actually make my living as a consultant writing "interpretive" plans for various agencies. I see songwriting as another form of interpretation...making thoughts and feelings come alive for listeners.

I got lucky. I knew I had to find a good composer to work with, so I sought out someone with connections in the Nashville scene. I found one...and he seemed delighted with the style of my writing. Said he had turned down lots of people who wanted to write with him who didn't seem to have an original thought or even the ability to write a complete sentence, much less to paint a lyrical picture for listeners. He is a great musician and we did some good stuff together. Fortunately for me, he also was willing to front the money to do professional demos. We have about 45 of those that he had done at a studio in Nashville. Even though he has a very good voice and is a superb guitarist..there really isn't any comparison between a home produced demo and one that is done by someone who truly knows the business.

Because I am rather prolific...no one composer can keep up with me...so I now work with several with whom I have developed a good synergistic relationship. I am at their mercy, however, when it comes to posting things like MP3's since I don't have a clue on how to do that. One of my composers does have an MP3 site, so occasionally, one of my songs will appear there and I can direct folks there to listen to it.

I am also working with one composer who writes for movies and Broadway. He does full orchestral productions...and although we have just started working together, we already are getting some great responses on the ones we have done from the producer folks he works with.

At present, I have a number of songs under contract with publishers, one publisher in Canada and two in Nashville. The publishers don't make any money unless a song gets cut, so they actively pitch the songs to those avenues they feel are appropriate. However, I also know that the greatest success we have had so far has come from the hired "pluggers" we have working for us in Nashville. We have had songs on official HOLD with numerous artists, including Alabama, Diamond Rio, Sammy Kershaw, Tracy Byrd, Lorrie Morgan and the Dixie Chicks. None of them ever got to the actual cut stage, but I am hopefull that this will happen in time and with continued effort (and money) on our part.

Given all this...I believe that networking IS the best answer for all of us. I have found most of my composers and collaborators from JPF and one other board. They were folks who liked my lyrics and contacted me about working together. I have done at least 30 or more collaborations in the past 8 months as a result of posting here (out of over 450 songs). I am VERY serious about my songwriting..and because I am NOT a performer and have NO aspirations of being one, I HAVE to find folks who will cut my songs. I am willing, therefore to try any avenues to get to that point and feel I have made some great progress in the past two years to get to the stage I am at present.

I totally agree with Ashleigh on the benefits of going to workshops, joining organizations, and just plain getting involved with the music scene. I read everything I can get my hands on. The local music scene where I live is fairly limited, and Denver is very active but mostly in genres which do not appeal to me...like hip-hop, goth and rap. I am a member of COMA, however, which is a VERY active organization and regularly sends out notices of opportunities for musicians. Songwriting is not their priority, however, but there is an NSAI chapter in the Denver area. That is about a 4 hr round trip for me, so I don't get there too often. From talking with a number of other JPF friends, I am thinking that there are many of us who live in somewhat rural areas who post here partly because we can get some of that networking happening that is much easier for people who live in some of the bigger cities.

One thing I have offered to do for JPF is to help organize some workshops...since I teach event and conference planning at the university here and wrote the textbook on that subject.

I'd like to be part of whatever can get generated.

Thanks again for stirring up some good discussion here, David.

Bobbie


They'll tell you success in the music biz is all about who you know...but the truth is...it's about who knows you.

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David ...Good topic...read with a lot of interest. I'm at the beginning stages...
but feel I've learned a lot here since November. I'm so thank ful for this site..because like many ..i live in rural route Hills and valleys ..4 hours from Pittsburgh and 4 hours from Philadelphia.
Until last year, I didn't know I could write anything, would have defined a bridge.., as
access over a body of water...and now I have a few demos a few more in process and have co-written several more. This was accomplished as a result of the writers I've met at this site. To further this craft,
I want to start attending workshops. Monthly..Songwriting meetings..unless I'm willing to spend 4 - 8 hours (total round trip)driving are going to be hard to get to.
But I'm hoping to get some CONCENTRATED
time in at workshops....
Was Glad to see Bobbie Gallup's offer to
set up JPF workshops...Hope that turns
out to be feasible.

Good luck David...and to all
in advancing this Craft that we love.....

Kaley

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Wow! What do I say after all that? I only hope that a lot of people on this board do see this post. All of you have offered some good information for those of us just getting off the ground so to speak. This is exactly what I meant by lyricist helping lyricist.

Judy thanks so much for your story and comments. Money is no doubt a large problem facing many of us in our efforts to succeed. More open avenues will certainly help.

Curtis, you offered some very good advice for any lyricist trying to get music for their words. As you may have seen I am a guitarist and have been for some time. I just need some help with this mainly. The type of music that I have always played is not the type that I want for my songs. I have found the people I’ve been looking for and hope it all goes better now. At my age (42) I’m really not looking to be an artist. Writing and creating melodies is what I love to do. I don’t have the knowledge of Bobbie but I’m getting better and my melodies are great I’ve been told. So hopefully it will all show when the time comes.

Brian, I know exactly what you are saying. But we do have to turn somewhere. Finding the right people to work with is no doubt of the utmost importance. I don’t think anyone would argue with that. I feel good about the fact that I do have knowledge of music. This gives me some control over what happens to my songs down the line.

Pam thanks for taking the time to comment. I think Brian gave us all something to think about.

Bobbie, I’m speechless after reading your post. You are obviously very knowledgeable and talented. Thanks for sharing with not only me but the other people on this board also. No doubt that most of us could probably learn a great deal from you as growing lyricist. My poetic skills may be lacking but I try to write from the heart. I work very hard on the melodies that I create for my songs. Hopefully my poetic skills will increase with time. I wanted to attend a local workshop that we have close to Houston but I just can’t work it into my schedule. I would absolutely love it if JPF would create a workshop for us. You have my vote!

Kaley thanks for the reply! Thanks also for sharing your story with us. I for one am all for a workshop here. Let’s hope the right people see this post and maybe something will come of it. I agree Bobbie would be great. She has the educated advantage to really help us out. I’m just a dumb old country boy living in the city, lol.

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Hotrod,

Great going with this topic! [Linked Image] I've really enjoyed reading about what is going on with everyone. I think it will help us know who to email with questions and advice. So many people at dirrefent levels with such a wealth of experience. It really is a journey, huh?

Ashleigh

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Hey Ashleigh, I'm really pleased with this post. Everyone has been just great! I hope others get something out of this topic. I know that I sure have!


hotrod

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Thanks for getting this topic started. I have found that co-writing through email does not work. You don't have the realtime interaction that is needed to make a song progress. Living in Vermont my local resources are limited. I have tried to find local co-writers and run into problems. One was very egotistical and only wanted to work on his songs and the other was very busy performing and did not want to put much time into writing. I have advertised at the local music shops for co-writers but have had no responses. This is a college town and most of the music is oriented towards that audience. I am 44 and write country, folk, rock and blues. I know there are very talented people here that play my kind of music. I just don't know how to find them.

The internet is a great tool to improve your skills but to create something special I feel you need that personal contact. I'm working on it. Anyone want to move to Vermont? [Linked Image]

[This message has been edited by Lee Smith (edited 04-04-2001).]

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Hotrod, you mentioned that a lot of us would like a MP3 site. Would it be possible you might be thinking that we go into together as a group from JPF and share a site? I intend to get my own site, but I don't have the money to get all my songs into CDs to be able to get on MP3 at a very fast rate. So I resist getting one very soon because I would not have very many songs for that site and it would soon become old hat to any one interested I'm afraid.
I just wondered if that was what you might be thinking? Thanks

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hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm?...good thoughts
Sharon....or at least the sharing of one..

KK

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Howdy Lee,

I am gonna suggest that you keep trying with the net collaborations route. I have found ALL my cowriters that way and I gotta say I have been VERY pleased with the results. You do have to be choosy and make sure that the two of you are truly compatible and can establish a good synergistic relationship. Most of my cowriting has been done off email...although eventually I did go on to meet some of my cowriters in person, just because we seemed to hit it off so well online. Sometimes it worked better in person...but usually not, to be honest. I am, I have discovered, a solitary writer. I can think better when I am alone..so initial writing and even rewriting, for me, is best not done in a group setting. I am sure it varies with individuals. I can and have written with someone else in the same room...but it is more difficult for me although there have been happy accidents.

Just thought I'd toss in my two cents and tell you to keep trying if you are having trouble finding local talent with whom to work. I live in the mountains of Colorado...where it is REALLY tough to find other songwriters.

All the best!
Bobbie


They'll tell you success in the music biz is all about who you know...but the truth is...it's about who knows you.

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Hi Sharon, I didn't really think about that but that would be just another way we could all work together. These are ideas I for one would be interested in.

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I am going to try and get enough locals together for a JPF showcase in June. I hope to make some contact's with other songwriters by doing so. I guess it's time to really look into the local scene. I'll let you know how it works out.

A JPF MP3 site is an awesome idea. Brian, can it be done? Is there enough room on your site to do this? We could limit the number of songs a person could have on the site at one time.

Lee

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People with aspirations are still needed here!

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This is a 19 year old thread! Yikes! I think the topic had to do with persons who ONLY write lyrics as opposed to music. I know many writers who do poetry in addition to lyrics ( and no, they are not the same thing ). But I think this is really about partnerships. That's how I got started in my first duo. I wrote full songs, so did the other guy, but when it came to writing songs together, I usually wrote the words and he wrote the music. It just seemed to work better that way. And the challenge was fun too. Sometimes I would try to write words to match his melody, and sometimes I would give him my lyrics and he would write a song around them.

The only thing I can think of offhand is open mics. Sometimes a poet will get up to read a poem. If the stars align, somebody might have an idea for a melody, or have one ready without words and would gladly turn over the "chore" of the lyrics to the poet.


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