I was thrilled to be asked to return as host of the 2021 OMA Awards at the Biltmore Theatre in Oshawa, and was honoured to win the 2021 OMA for Songwriter of the Year award. If you missed the big show, you can catch the replay here on YouTube.
Planks and Marietta, was also nominated for Durham Song of the Year, and can be found on my new EP I Will Stand, out now!
For a song with a central storyline around life changing in an instant, ‘Blink’ sure took a long time to be fully realized. I first put pen to paper after a period of writer’s block, and willed it into existence after giving myself permission to write a song that sucked. That song (about losing a dirty sock in the the dryer) cleared the cobwebs for what was to become ‘Blink’.
Once the first draft was in decent shape I brought it into a writing session with songwriter James Linderman, where we discovered the walking baseline that grounds the song. Next up… the demo.
Blink will be released on all streaming platforms April 29! Presave here: https://show.co/TVjBs4o
Okay so this online songwriting course with Pat Pattison is in full swing, and after another set of great video lectures on Prosody, we are tasked with this weeks assignment to come up with an unstable verse that leads into a stable chorus primarily using number of lines and line length.
[excerpt:] Prosody, the most important concept in great writing: All the elements of your song should work together to support the song’s central message and emotion. Prosody will make your song stronger and more focused, using structure and phrasing to highlight important ideas, and deepen emotional impact — techniques that have helped Pat’s students, including John Mayer and Gillian Welch, win Grammys and write number one songs.
I chose to continue with the song idea i developed during week one’s assignment using the song title “The Good Old Days” with the influence of a song idea i had for “Horses, Harley’s and Hard Times”. I tell you these last two weeks lectures and exercises have rejuvenated my approach to songwriting, and (to my delight) fuelled me to develop the rest of this song! Now I am certain I’m going to find more and more ways to make it stronger as these lessons continue to sink in, but so far I’m pleased with my progress. (I even took these strategies into a co-writing session this afternoon to revive a song that was stuck, and boy oh boy I cannot wait to continue where that session left off.)
For the assignment I used the Who, What, Where, When, Why, How, to keep me on track as I flushed out my verses and chorus, and was mindful of the POV while I wrote and rewrote new options. Picking up the guitar and discovering a melody for both chorus and verse was like… wow where did that come from?! (insert iPhone recording here so I wouldn’t forget it) Then I took another crack at singing my verse/chorus ideas to the melody… verse: stable? stable? unstable!… ahhh chorus… stable! Note here that i believe i tend to lean towards stability in my writing, and in the past if I managed to write something unstable it was a fluke! Well. No more!!
I should mention that my AWESOME (wait till you meet him) co-writing partner is also taking this course, and we were totally over the moon in our session today at how these tools made us more focused and productive. I’m also looking forward to examining my catalogue of songs ‘in development’ with these new tools in week three.
So now its on to further tweaking of my lyrics (i know, no need to be perfect) and recording Assignment 2 for submission! I’m telling you people, if you are not signed up for this course it’s not too late. check it out here 🙂 and lets toast to your next song!
Happy writing!
Here is my submission for Assignment 2:
(with a little tip from our SAC mentor Debra Alexander on How To Format Lyrics)
[unstable verse]
I remember climbing to the top of this hill
on the backside of my steed
never knowing if all this hard work
would break me
[stable chorus]
The good old days are on my mind
The good old days and the hard times
I’d trade in every one
For one more setting sun
I wanted to express my thoughts about Wonder Women VI, while I’m still warm with the energy that rose from the stage of talented artists ranging from singer songwriters, to spoken word, to visual artists, to stand up comedians. It felt like the intensity grew as the evening progressed and emotional waves washed over us with every new performance, audience and artists knit together, lifted each other up and roared with empowerment. This day, International Women’s Day we celebrated our differences and common ground, this day we celebrated our strengths and our weaknesses, this day we embraced each other as mothers, daughters, friends, lovers, and independent artists. It was an incredible culmination of strength, conviction and love, and I was honoured to participate and bear witness.
A mountain of gratitude must be erected for the awe-inspiring commitment and enthusiasm of Arlene Paculan and Kat Leonard towards a week of successful concerts and free workshops, and the grand finale that was International Women’s Day and the Wonder Women Concert to spread empowerment through art!
Check out the full gamut of awesome performers that made this event a huge success!
For the next six weeks I will embark on a free online songwriting course run by Coursera and led by the master himself Pat Pattison. Not only am I eager to immerse myself in the course curriculum, but equally so to engage with the Songwriters Association of Canada community by blogging about our experience.
I’ve been following Pat Pattison’s school of thought when it comes to Writing Better Lyrics for a few years now with a few editions of his book under my belt. He has much to share that I can take into practice as I develop my songwriting skill set.
My songwriting journey is relatively fresh, having writing just over 30 songs (most of them in the last year) and often I feel like I’m sitting down with my guitar for the first time. I’m almost halfway through a commitment I began last October to write one song a week for a year, and I feel like some new inspiration and focused reinforcement of key principals will leverage my songwriting and help me tell more engaging stories that connect people to the songs.
There is much that I am looking forward to delving into over the next few weeks, but most of all connecting with my fellow songwriters, learning about what inspires them and how they take on doing the work that is songwriting.
Let’s get started!
MARCH 4-8, 2013 is International Women’s Week, and LMG Productions celebrates by presenting WonderFest, a weeklong series of workshops and concerts that aims to promote an inspiring culture through art; a place for people to connect, cultivate and celebrate. WonderFest is coming March 4-8, 2013 Toronto!
YOU can help us spread empowerment through art too!
1) Choose ONE WORD of EMPOWERMENT
2) Take a PHOTO with your word
3) Tweet @LMGProductions “I’m spreading empowerment through art! #WonderFest”or email ImWorthItInfo@yahoo.ca
We would be honoured if you would join us in our passion towards encouraging and empowering individuals through art.
For WonderFest schedules and details visit www.WonderWomenWorld.tumblr.com
I am so honoured and excited to be contributing to this years celebration of International Women’s Week with my participation in Wonder Woman VI In Concert on March the 8th!
But that’s not all! YOU can help us spread empowerment through art too!
How? Like this:
1) Choose ONE WORD of EMPOWERMENT
2) Take a PHOTO with your word
3) Tweet @LMGProductions “I’m spreading empowerment through art! #WonderFest”
or email ImWorthItInfo@yahoo.ca
If you wish, there is also opportunity for you to make it into our next video as well as onto our Wall Of Empowerment at www.WonderWomenWorld.tumblr.com!
MARCH 4-8, 2013 is International Women’s Week, and LMG Productions celebrates by presenting WonderFest, a weeklong series of workshops and concerts that aims to promote an inspiring culture through art; a place for people to connect, cultivate and celebrate. WonderFest is coming March 4-8, 2013 Toronto!
We would be honoured if you would join us in our passion towards encouraging and empowering individuals through art.
For WonderFest schedules and details visit www.WonderWomenWorld.tumblr.com
I realize there is a decision for me to make within the creative process and my artistry as a songwriter.
To create from my own voice or to communicate for others?
As a graphic designer it is my commitment to excel at the later, to solve design and communication problems for clients, and support them in the expression of their brand. In this sense there is a responsibility to create from another perspective, where success is measured by insights, trends and brand engagement relevant to a strategic goal.
As both artist and songwriter, I see a new opportunity to celebrate my own voice, and what I personally have to contribute to the world. A voice I could not access as an artist through other mediums. Through music there are stories to explore that could contribute so much more than the packaged, processed products for mass consumption that keep us from feeling anything real, or connecting us to each other. This is where my passion lies, in breaking past the surface and making that emotional connection, one song at a time.
For me this is a choice to be expansive, and not limited in my creative pursuits. In this choice I empower a voice that has in the past placed the judgements of others before her own. Through music I will emancipate my spirit and create a clearing to start anew.
I choose to expand from within! Where do you stand? I’d love to hear what you are passionate about and how you are bringing your gifts into this world. Please leave a comment on the blog or tweet me @misstaniajoy 🙂
Much love,
Tania
14 weeks ago I challenged myself to write one song a week for one year! Now 2013 is here and i’m midway through writing my 14th song! So I figure its time to share with you a rundown of my progress, and things i’ve learned along the way.
Mentorship
Write something everyday. This was great advice given to me by Christopher Ward during a skype mentoring session sponsored by the Songwriters Association of Canada. Check out more of Christopher Ward’s tips “On Songwriting” for other great insights.
Accessibility
To make this possible, i have a notebook by my side at all times, and lovely iphone apps to record on the fly, whether it be in the car, in the mall, or under the covers… whatever it takes! Personally I’m at my best in the morning… but its not just about when your inspired, it takes something more to do the work when you are not (and its the last thing you want to do!).
Breakthroughs
Honestly you have to push past the fear and be willing to write something that stinks, and in return for this sacrifice of your ego, you will breakthrough to something new.
Co-Writing
Co-writing is an absolute pleasure, with many delightful returns in terms of learning, inspiration and friendships! It’s hard to tie this process down to the same timeline of one week like the others, but it is worth investing in the pursuit of co-writing to discover more about your songwriting potential, outside of your own style, and process.
Results
So here is an updated list of the songs i have written by committing to the act of writing everyday. Some days are long, but there is always a fresh start around the corner.
Week 1: You Hold The Mirror
Week 2: Daddy’s Little Girl
Week 3: Concrete Heart
Week 4: Play It By Ear
Week 5: The Good Word
Week 6: Soon As I Figure Out How (co-write with Dayna Shereck) Check out the behind the scenes on how our writing session unfolded here. We also cut a demo with vocalist Carol Kay for pitching purposes. Dayna & I felt it had a Country feel to it, so bringing Carol into the mix was a great choice to serve the style of the song. For all of you songwriters out there looking for clean demos, give Carol Kay a call and tell her i sent ya! 😉 https://soundcloud.com/cjkmusic
Week 7: Pretty Good Hurts Pretty Bad (co-write with Brian Edwards)
Week 8: Settle For Love (co-write with Candice Sand)
Week 9: You Won’t Survive is another song i had cut into an acoustic demo with vocalist Carol Kay. Believe it or not this song was inspired by a line spoken by the young female lead during an episode “The Vampire Diaries” (my guilty pleasure) which i turned around into an angst-ridden tune of my own. Have a listen!
Week 10: Fine On The Outside
Week 11: Can’t Stop Loving You
Week 12: All That Remains
Week 13: Up, Up & Away
“If you give a little love, you can get a little love of your own”
– Noah and the Whale