songwriting notes from Road Rally 2007

This was my 3rd Rally (a music conference for songwriters/musicians/artists), and altho I had my notebook, I didn't write much down this time. I just kinda soaked it up.

But here are some of my scribbles:

RALPH MURPHY - re county music writing - especially lyrics:
-- humour, irony, detail; the woman is always right;
-- 4 to 7 repetitions of title, first use of title within 60 secs;
-- the singer is never a loser or over 30

FETT - re audio mastering
-- mastering means adding finesse, power, clarity, polish, cleaniness to a mix
-- it is NOT a fixing process

Steps of mastering:
1) - completion of the mix process - you get the stems (stereo sub mixes) as well as the final mix, the final mix is two tracks
2) a - tone shaping - looking for warmth, crispness - balance the tone & ensure frequencies are shared between low, med & high band -- this should be subtle 2) b - leveling - smoothing out the dynamics of the mix
3) - audio repair

If you are mastering an album you want to make the tone of each cut have the same tonal quality -- look for a tonal centre for the album. Also want to have a loudness centre for the album

TED LOWE - re film/tv
-- pitch music with updated sounds & great mixes
-- tempo matters - groove is more important than melody a lot of the time
-- be quirky or distinctive

FILM & TV PITCH PANEL
-- uptempo gets used more; start with meat & potatoes
-- know what you are pitching for - what would the music be used for, where do you hear it
-- if pitching with vocals -- they must be great
-- whatever you're doing, strive to do it better

A&R LISTENING PANEL #1
-- the listener should feel / have a visual interpretation of the music
-- there is a move back to music with heart & soul
-- emotion in lyric & voice -- more natural, less midi
-- makes a difference to have even one or two organic tracks if using virtual instruments
-- songs must have a really big payoff in the chorus

As noted above, one of the panelists at the Road Rally said, "whatever you're doing, strive to do it better". I seldom reach the bar, but when I do, it feels good, man. My vocal coach was the same. Encouraging, supportive, exacting. When he said it was good, I knew it was great.

It reminds me of something I read about high school students going out in the world to get jobs. They may have made it through school with a C+, but C+ doesn't cut it in most jobs. I don't want to be a C+ singer or a C+ songwriter. I want the industry to demand more of me; make me work harder than I've ever worked before; make me become more than I am; make me strive for excellence in all I do. I want to earn my "A+'s" and be proud I rose to the challenge.

do I need a licence to use music for my videos?

Q: I started a company that will make DVD slideshows and videos for families. I will use music on the DVDs that I have bought (thru Itunes or the actual album). Do I need a license to use these?

A: Yes. You may have purchased a CD or a download, but that is just for your personal listening pleasure. In order to use any song or music for DVD slideshows or videos, you need to obtain a licence.

Song copyrights are held by music publishers and/or artists, while sound recordings (the masters) are controlled by record companies and/or artists.

A synch license pays copyright owners when their music is used in combination with visual images such as music in films, TV, videos, computer programs, etc. The producer of the audiovisual production usually requests a synchronization license from the song publisher. These rights are administered and licensed by the publisher who accounts directly to the writer.

I suggest you contact NMPA and ask them to assist you in locating the person(s) you need to contact to licence each song you intend to use.
http://www.nmpa.org

The other option is to look for and use royalty-free music.