If the stars should appear but one night every thousand years how man would marvel and adore. — Ralph Waldo Emerson, Leadership Wired eNewsletter, Jan 13, 2009
You know that we love Alberta Ave, and we love opportunities to get involved in art and community here. There are plenty such opportunities coming up in the next couple of months. We wanted to share them here for you.
Michael Germann will hold two felting workshops on Nov 12 and Dec 10, 1:30 – 4:00 p.m. the focus will be Christmas ornaments (The Carrot 9351-118 Ave)
Hand Drumming workshop is scheduled for Nov 12 from 2 – 4 p.m. People are to meet at The Carrot, then go out onto street corners to drum. Dress warm, (The Carrot 9351-118 Ave)
Light Up the Ave – Nov 19 – 7pm – Illumine After Party – Eastwood Community League 8pm (86 St&118 Ave)
Carrot Christmas Arts Bazaar – Nov 19, 9:30 – 4:30 p.m., (The Carrot 9351-118 Ave)
Carrot Jingle Jammin’ Christmas Caroling – Dec 16, Friday 6:30pm (The Carrot 9351-118 Ave)
African Christmas Concert – Saturday, Dec 17pm, Alberta Ave Choir, 6pm Community member’s ticket $10 purchase at the Carrot. (Concert is held at St Faith’s Church 117 Ave & 93 St) www.albertaavenuechoir.ca
Deep Freeze: A Byzantine Winter Festival – Jan 7 and 8, 92 St & 118 Ave - Surf’s Up at the Deep Freeze!! Volunteer for DeepFreeze by emailing deepfreezevolunteers@gmail.com. Find out more at www.deepfreeze.ca
SoundCloud, a website for sharing sounds, has made it possible to collect and share the songs being crafted by our Songwriters Group (sometimes known as the Bridge Songs Collective).
You can hear the latest from the group in this handy-dandy player below. Clicking links will take you to the site where you can offer helpful feedback on the songs you hear and perhaps even help them take shape!
This will also be the way to track songs tagged “Bridge Songs: Progress” as we start putting together this year’s album in the coming weeks.
Our Songwriters Group meets every second Monday and is open to anyone who would like to take their songwriting further with the support of a community of songwriters.
Topic: Genre, Country Music Meeting Date: Monday, September 20, 2010
Genre Series
The goal of this series is to explore songwriting within genres, and to learn to incorporate what fits us each as songwriters from each of the genres we study. Most of us will not likely switch our main genre or style of songwriting, but hopefully stretch its boundaries to grow as writers. With each genre, we’ll explore what defines that genre and makes it unique, a bit of the history or background to the genre and where the borders of that genre lie, if it has any. We’ll talk about lyric styles, typical instrumentation and song structure and more. Each week, we’ll challenge ourselves to write a song in the genre studied, or at least incorporating elements from that genre.
What is “Country Music”?
country music noun
a form of popular music originating in the rural southern U.S. It is traditionally a mixture of ballads and dance tunes played characteristically on fiddle, guitar, steel guitar, drums, and keyboard. Also called country and western .
(from New Oxford American Dictionary)
Country is Popular
“Contemporary musician Garth Brooks, with 128 million albums sold, is the top-domestic-selling solo U.S. artist in U.S. history”. – Wikipedia – “Country Music”
Artists like Taylor Swift continue to break sales records and have widespread appeal.
“While album sales of most musical genres have declined since about 2005, country music experienced one of its best years in 2006.” – Wikipedia – “Country Music”
What is it that makes country music so popular? Why does it connect with so many people?
Does it provide musical “comfort food” to the average, hard working, middle class North American?
Country is Broadly Defined
“In 1975, author Paul Hemphill stated in the Saturday Evening Post, “Country music isn’t really country anymore; it is a hybrid of nearly every form of popular music in America.”” – Wikipedia – “Country Music”
Country Characteristics
Often uses African and Maritime/Celtic influenced instruments and sounds (like banjo or fiddle respectively) – Wikipedia – “Country Music”
the genre of country music originated and still represents the southern united states (Wikipedia – “Country Music”), or at least a romanticized version of it.
Country Themes
Storytelling, simple life, traditional values, family and ‘good ol’ boys’ pervade the genre. There is also a streak of rugged individualism in many songs.
an experiment – take an hour or so to listen to a country station and keep track of the recurring themes you hear. Do they match those listed above?
Country Instrumentation/Arrangements
often sung with a vocal “twang”
often has several tight vocal harmonies
steel/slide guitar background
guitar-driven
most often in driving 4/4 time (modern country often uses a straight driving rock beat)
Listening
We listened to several songs, as this was our first group and many of us didn’t have songs to bring yet. Jennifer and Lois also brought songs to listen to by Billy Bragg and Lady Antebelum. You should be able to find many of these songs on YouTube or iTunes to listen to.
Waiting on a Woman – Brad Paisley
Truck Got Stuck – Corb Lund
John Dear – 100 Mile House
Questions
What makes each of these a country song?
Which song connected with you most and why?
Excercise(s)
The following exercises should keep us busy until our next meeting where we’ll share, critique, collaborate and tweak what we’ve come up with.
Write a country song, or a song incorporating at least two “country characteristics” from above. We’ll share these songs in a month.
BONUS EXCERCISE
Start work on your song for Bridge Songs: ?rogress. In the context of country, this could be a song about growing up, changing over time, agricultural metaphors or the good ol’ days. Of course, it needn’t be country. For more on our theme this year, read …
Wednesdays, April 7, 14 & 21, 6:30-8 pm
$90 / $60 AGA Members (+GST, includes refreshments)
Does Contemporary Art leave you a little confused? Take this new, three-week course led by AGA Deputy Director/Chief Curator, Catherine Crowston, to find out about the ‘whys’ and ‘hows’ of video, installation, performance and sound art. Designed to demystify contemporary art, this one-time course will cover the basic ideas and histories behind artistic practice today.
Week 1 - Conceptual Art: What and Why?
From Marcel Duchamp to Yoko Ono to General Idea
Week 2 - Video Art: What and Why?
From Pablo Picasso to Michael Snow to Pipilotti Rist
Week 3 -Art & Politics: What and Why?
From Jackson Pollock to Cindy Sherman to Rebecca Belmore
We started out by listening to and reviewing our nonsense/silly songs, as well as other songs we’ve written. It was interesting to hear how hard this prompt was (to write a nonsense or silly song) for almost everyone. I think the failure to complete the prompt by most speaks more loudly than if we’d all done it. We had a good long chat about whether or not a song is worth anything if it isn’t about something. If it doesn’t say something, does it earn it’s keep? Can a nonsense piece have value? And is having no value OK? That led us to a discussion about the purpose of art, and the layers of meaning in our songs. … Read the rest of this entry »
Here is a review of our last songwriters’ group, along with the prompt for our next gathering on Monday, February 15th, down at the bottom.
Conversation: Faerie Filters
Faerie is all about wonder, imagination, fantasy, play and the joy of nurturing a child-like heart. It is wonder-full. To get to Faerie, however, us adults have to claw back a barrage of self-imposed filters. We have to allow ourselves to dream, to be childlike, and even to be silly. To not take ourselves so seriously. And sometimes, we have to just remember.
We chatted about the following questions as a group;
What is your favorite fantasy/imagined world or story?
If you could change one thing about reality, what would it be?
It was a meaningful discussion and kept me thinking. Perhaps if you weren’t there you can take a moment to reflect on those questions, and one more,
Do you find it simple or difficult to “play make believe”?
Song Circle: Childhood
We listened and gave feedback to our songs about childhood. Michelle, Kristin and Dave shared. We try to provide feedback based on the following questions;
What did this song communicate to me or how did it affect me?
What resonated most about this song for me?
What is one way that I think the song could be made stronger?
Michelle and Kristin’s songs both veered to the lighter side, which was awesome. Michelle’s “fractured fairy tales” approached got us all talking. It was great to see people stretching themselves and writing outside their usual genre and comfort zone. My own song was a little darker, and I appreciated the feedback offered by Eli and others.
Prompt
For our February 15th meeting, the prompt is all about getting past your own “Faerie Filters”. I think one of the best ways to do this is to just write something that is undeniably “out there”. It may be a song that you’ll just abandon after this week, but that’s OK. Here’s the prompt.
Write a nonsense song.
The song should not be serious, but silly. Something fun and frivolous. Write about food. Write about dog hair. Or human hairdos. Or a fish tank.
If you want to go really random, pay a visit again to the Random Word Generator online at …
Grab a random word and write a song about that (I was just given the “average noun” Toga). Experiment with sounds. Nonsense words. Yell! Have fun. Let loose.
The really fun part will be sharing these songs on Monday night.
There are moments in life where I am driven back to take in the panoramic splendor of creativity God has chosen to gift to his children. Tonight, at our first songwriters group of 2010, I had such a moment. The living room at Von Bieker Mansion was packed full of 12 musicians, sharing stories about music and how it’s woven its’ way through our lives. I’m not sure a songwriters group meeting has ever been as full. This is exciting.
Meeting
There were many people at the group from beyond Urban Bridge Church, which is excellent. In fact, Michelle joins us from Whitecourt, making her 1.5 hour drive the longest ever to get here. Way to go! It’s good to see the group drawing in people from all over the place around the common bond of songwriting.
We started off the night by sharing our answers to three questions;
What is your first memory of music?
Do you remember the first song you wrote?
What does music mean to you?
Through the answers we learned a little about one another, and broke the ice for the sharing that was about to take place.
Entering Faerie: Our Theme
Faerie is not the most straightforward theme we’ve ever worked with, but it’s mystery makes room for many, many concepts worth exploring. We entered into Faerie with the following words;
Play a lively tune and watch the children dance!
Wonder comes naturally. Imagination is born unbridled.
Inhibitions are learned.
Can you imagine? Can you still imagine?
Faerie is a place. A place alive and well in the imagination of children and dreamers alike. It’s a place where great truths come wrapped in simple stories, where play is as important as work and where simple belief in the impossible is possible.
Faerie is that part of childhood we never fully let go of, and can still visit from time to time. It is a commons, shared by the young and old alike. Faerie is neither too childish for adults, not too adult for children. Faerie spans a bridge between the two.
Faerie is all about wonder, imagination, fantasy, play and the joy of nurturing a child-like heart. It is wonder-full.
What will the music of Faerie sound like?
From that springboard will launch the songs of the next couple of months. Faerie is a concept mulled over by CS Lewis and JRR Tolkien, leading to their fantasy-worlds of Narnia and Middle-Earth. Eli shared a bit of an essay on Faerie with us, and he’ll send the link along shortly, which I’ll post here as well when I have it (for those interested in exploring the concept further).
So, what does a Faerie Song sound like?
Listening
We listened to three very different songs, all of which somehow dwell comfortably in the realm of Faerie. You may have heard some of them, some not. I believe all can be sampled (or bought) on iTunes.
On An Airplane, by Medeski, Martin and Wood (think of these guys as superfun, supertalented jazzed up funk for kids and their parents)
Where The Wild Things Are, Patrick Watson (from their album Wooden Arms, this song creates one heck of a mood)
We went on to share songs with one another, and a few of us got the opportunity this week. Jim started out with a tune on his dulcimer. It was awesome to hear a new instrument, especially played and accompanied by Jim. “Dulcimer pants” became the inside joke of the evening.
From Jim, we went to Nona, who shared a song on guitar with some clever lyrical devices and a great groove to it. It was Nona’s first time at a songwriters group, so way to go for sharing! It was a really great tune, especially for the first one shared.
Our final share of the night was from Brook, another first timer. It was awesome to watch Brook step out and share a song with a group (a first for him), but even more awesome when we heard his song. It was a beautiful tune painting vivid pictures of witches, dragons, a princess and powerful rescues. It draws on “Faerie” imagery to tell a love story that works both on its own and as metaphor for something deeper. The mood the song creates is tangible and I can’t wait to hear it played by more than a single piano. Thanks for sharing, Brook!
Prompting
For those of you playing along at home, here is our first prompt of the season …
Write a song about childhood.
It can be based on a real memory you have from your own childhood. It can be a made up story. It can be realistic or fantastic.
It can be for kids. It can be for adults. Could it be for both?
Meeting, Again
We’ll share our songs (or what we have of them) on February 1st, when we meet again.
Last week we talked about poetic devices – language tools we can use as a songwriter to add interest to our lyrics. From Songwriting for Dummies, by Jim Peterik, here are some poetic devices we chatted about;
We also looked at some online tools to help spur on our poetry. You can find them in the post from last week.
Song Circle
Kevin, Daniel and I shared our songs working with poetic devices from last week. It was great to hear the first song in the group from Kevin.Daniel made great use of the piano at The Carrot, and we all enjoyed our lattes, and chai lattes, at The Carrot. Mmmm.
I look forward to watching these songs develop, as they all have great potential. Some may even work well for Bridge Songs: Faerie.
As we listened to the songs, we talked about the following questions;
what poetic devices stand out?
how do those poetic devices impact the song as a whole?
what is your favorite lyric in the song?
what is a lyric that you feel could be improved upon?
Learning
Because we enjoyed chatting about other things, and sharing and critiquing our songs, we only got to chat a little bit about storytelling in song, but I think the concept is fairly obvious this week.
These are songs that have a clear sense of narrative. Something happening to someone, in the broadest sense. Sometimes those stories become meta-stories, representing something larger through their little narrative. Other times, the narrative itself is reason enough to enjoy the song. Here are some general thoughts about story;
a definite beginning, middle and end (what is the plot?)
strong sense of characters (who is the story about?)
Randy Ritz describes a great story as “people in a mess”. Conflict creates interest, so what is happening to the people in your story, and how do they get through it. Or do they get through it at all?
The best stories are those we can find ourselves in, and those that reveal something to us, whether the author intended that or not. Great stories speak for themselves, so don’t feel like you have to inject a meaning or application into your song at the end. You listener is great at doing that already. We are looking for ways to connect to story all the time. We simply need those great stories to connect to. So, get out there and write one folks (see the Prompt below).
Listening
Kevin brought in a song from MeWithoutYou. Their new album, I believe, contains this song about a crow and a baker. It was verbose, for sure, but a funny, interesting story about the crow stealing treats. The song certainly was a story, but also used a lot of poetic devices, and plays on words within it’s “baked goods and birds” theme. Thanks for bringing it by, Kevin.
Prompt
Here is the writing prompt for this week folks …
Write a song or poem that tells a story, based (however loosely) on, or inspired by, an actual news story.
If you have another idea for a story, you can go with that as well, but if you are stuck, go out, buy a newspaper (tactile print seems better for this) and find a story that inspires you, begs questions, etc.
There should be one narrative thread woven throughout the piece. Think about elements that make a story great;
a definite beginning, middle and end (feel free to leave the ending or beginning up to your listeners imagination as well)
strong sense of characters (who is the story about)
“people in a mess”. Conflict creates interest, so what is happening to the people in your story, and how do they get through it. Or do they?
It can be any news story – heavy or light, current or ancient. Focus in on a person in that story, and write your story about that person. If your story is about a group of people, imagine or create a character in that group. Get specific. You can go anywhere from that point, but start out with your story, or a story you find in a paper, and then let your imagination run wild.
I can’t wait to hear – I love a good story.
Sneak Peak
Next meeting: Monday, December 7th, 2009. Lyric Studies
Next week we’ll look at abstract lyrics. Lyrics that evoke a mood, feeling, sense or theme, rather than tell a continuous story or follow a “straight line”. Not sure what I mean? Perhaps we’ll discover it together on Monday. In the meantime, go listen to some Radiohead. No really. Do.
Abstract Lyrics will be our last group of 2009. We will break for Christmas, with a few prompts to take with us, and we will reconvene early on in 2010 for a new “semester” where we’ll likely look at MUSICAL GENRES, and the challenge of stretching ourselves out of comfortable genres into new genres and the history and culture surrounding those genres.
Remember that Bridge Songs: Faerie is also on the horizon …
For Next Week
Please prepare a songwriting prompt for us, and bring it. It will be great to have a batch of prompts (songwriting challenges) to play with over the break.
The songwriter’s group meets Mondays (generally every second Monday) at 7:30 PM. You can contact Dave Von Bieker to find out where at dave@vonbieker.com. Join us if you can!
Here is a run-down of what we went over on Monday, November 9, 2009. You can scroll down to the bottom to “play along at home” and get the assignment for the coming meeting on November 23.
Review
Last week we talked about power words – words that draw you in, or words that stick out and make you think for a moment. We talked about words that create interest. Words that are not bland. Words that pack more meaning inside them than may be expected. Words that add color. Even words we’ve made up. We listened to the wealth of words in Bruce Cockburn’s If A Tree Falls In The Forest. Then, we listened to some first drafts of songs and poems, and were challenged to improve our words choices by focussing on using strong words, rather than weak, generic words, throughout.
Song Circle
Many of us in the group shared songs or poetry we’ve been working on. Daniel (welcome Daniel!) shared a song about Johnny Cash and his dark cave experience. Some great words and images are used throughout. Dave shared the progress of his song A Place Like This. Eli shared a song he’s working on based on Ghost Riders In The Sky, which has a really great feel to it, and a lot of potential for our upcoming Bridge Songs: Faerie project. Pascal shared a poem set at a bus stop that also used some powerful words and imagery. It was great to have Angela back, and to have Kevin out for the first time as well. Our group is picking up some steam!
It was also great to share and hear feedback. We listened to each piece and then reflected on these questions;
What was the strongest word choice for me?
Are there any poetic devices that stand out?
Everyone did a good job respecting each other, yet offering constructive feedback, rather than just saying “I think it’s great”. This sharing time is definitely one of my favorite parts of the group!
Learning: Poetic Devices
We took a bit of a trip back to high school English class for this one. Actually, most of what we talked about comes from the book, Songwriting For Dummies, that we’ve been referring to fairly often.
Essentially, poetic devices are language tools we can use as songwriters to add interest to our lyrics. From Songwriting for Dummies, here are some poetic devices we can use (perhaps you also know of more)…
rhyme
alliteration
imagery
personification
simile
metaphor
assonance
consonance
anaphora
If you don’t know what any of these are, you should pick up the book (you can find it on Amazon.com) or do a search online. They’re fairly common terms.
You can also find word and writing tools online to help you with your poetic devices. Here are just a couple.
This site helps you find rhyming words, of varying numbers of syllables, to any word you type in. I’ve already used it once to replace the words “good mood” with “come unglued”. A new favorite tool of mine.
Stuck on a topic for a song, or a verse? Find a random word to spark your creativity here. You can even select how common of a word you want.
Finally, a way to wrap your head around poetic devices, and to start using more of them, is to read good poetry!
Listening
We listened to the song Basket, by Dan Mangan. We talked about the many poetic devices used throughout this song, what our favorite ones were, and what the song said to each of us. Great discussion on a great song.
I am now throwing the listening feature out to you, songwriters! Each week one of you will bring a song to our attention that has to do with the topic for that week. This coming meeting, the 23rd, Kevin will be bringing a song with a song use of narrative (storytelling).
Sneak Peak
Next time we meet, on Monday, November 23rd, we’ll look at storytelling. People love stories, even in their songs. It’s what explains the popularity of country music (yes, there is an explanation!)
After that, we’ll look at abstract lyrics – lyrics that are used to convey a mood or sense, rather than a literal story or picture. Anyone want to bring a listening song for us that week?
The Assignment
Write a song that prominently features at least one of the poetic devices we talked about today. If you cannot write a melody for it, that’s OK – at least try to formulate a lyric. Try a strong use of metaphor (write about how love is a hot air balloon, or how death is a deep freeze, etc.), or personification (ascribe human qualities to something inanimate) for a challenge.
See you on November 23rd – most likely at The Carrot Community Arts Coffeehouse (9351 118th ave) at 7:30 PM.
You know that we love Alberta Ave, and we love opportunities to get involved in art and community here. There are plenty such opportunities coming up in the next couple of months. We wanted to share them here for you.