Fresh Content

Show date:  Mar. 04, 2024

Neel, Phil, Nadia, and Jason

Built on emotion-stirring storytelling and unmistakable vocal harmonies accompanied by a century-old instrument, Burnstick, a JUNO nominated husband and wife Folk duo, are intent on creating affecting music that inspires listeners to feel. The Manitoba-based duo features Nadia and Jason Burnstick, esteemed independent artists who united over a decade ago to create deeply moving, cinematic Folk music using their trademark vocal pairing, and Jason’s mastery of the lap slide Weissenborn guitar. The pair released their JUNO-nominated debut album, Kîyânaw, in 2019, from which their song, “Some Kind of Hell” took home the Canadian Folk Music Award for Single of the Year, while also receiving nominations from the Western Canadian Music Awards, and Summer Solstice Indigenous Music Awards in 2020 and 2021.

Nadia and Jason shared the process behind their song Closer. Download the lyrics to follow along.

We talked about:

  • Chad Shank’s video about songwriting from a title
  • Having the courage to excise an entire section of your song
  • Employing a call and response structure in your melodies
  • Having strong prosody in your song
  • Collaborating with different strengths – groove, lyric, melodies
  • Is rhyming a word with the same word a rhyme?
  • Finding the right key signature for a song (even if it’s B-major) and so it works with both singers

Show date:  Feb. 27, 2024

Allister, Phil, and Neel

Singer-songwriter, producer, and Song Studio maverick Allister Bradley joined us to talk us through song registrations (for Canadians).

We talked about:

  • Billy Joel’s new song and AI-driven video Turn the Lights Back On
  • Collective Societies | Copyright Board of Canada (cb-cda.gc.ca) lists ALL the organizations responsible for collecting and distributing royalties
  • What is a royalty?
  • Know the different hats you’ll be wearing for collecting royalties – songwriter, lyricist, performer, publisher
  • Understand the splits when you’re collaborating
  • What constitutes a public performance of a song?
  • If you’re an independent artist who records, produces, and releases your own music, you’re also the record label and the master record owner
  • Carefully consider your digital distribution aggregator (CD Baby, TuneCore, Distrokid, RouteNote, etc)
  • Make sure to obtain (for free) and retain ISRC and UPC/EAN codes

Resources

Show date:  Feb. 19, 2024

Neel, Phil, and Flavia

Flavia Abadía is an international DJ, MC, singer, and songwriter based in Toronto, Canada. Colombian and French-Canadian, born in France, Flavia seamlessly blends an array of musical genres, ranging from Latin and Moombahton to Hip Hop, House, Vogue, and other global elements.

With an impressive track record, Flavia’s original music has garnered over 2 million cumulative streams, attesting to her widespread appeal and creative prowess. In 2024, she is set to release her highly anticipated third album, “SALVAJE.”

Prior to this, Flavia made a significant mark in 2023 with the release of her first all-Spanish album, “Hacia La Luz,” accompanied by several genre-bending singles.

Flavia shared the process behind her song Mala. Download the lyrics, both in Spanish and the English translation.

We talked about:

  • Releasing a fully Spanish language album in Canada
  • Working with songwriters and producers with different cultural backgrounds and influences
  • Writing in the language you feel you can be clever in
  • How rhymes work in different languages (or is there even a difference?)
  • Using a Reggaeton Fusion beat
  • How Flavia records melodies on her phone and then collaborates in the studio to develop her songs
  • How writing with a melody or bassline leaves you open to different key signatures
  • If you write something cool but it doesn’t work for the song, save it for another song
  • Releasing singles or albums

Follow Flavia

Show date:  Feb. 14, 2024

Neel, Phil, and Chad

This week we were joined again by Chad Shank to talk about two of his favourite songs and why they should be studied.

Chad Shank is a Songwriter, Music Producer, and Songwriting Teacher. Chad is the founder of At-Home Songwriting, a YouTube Channel and Songwriting Education Community. He is also a Lyric Instructor for Berklee College of Music Online. He has written in many genres including pop, Country, and dance. In 2024, Chad is hosting upcoming online and in-person Songwriting Retreats, expanding on the reach of At-Home Songwriting to help writers write like Pros At Home.

Chad featured the songs What Have You Done For Me Lately by Janet Jackson and Here by Rascal Flatts

We talked about:

  • What makes a great song?
  • Groove-based music, using a bassline to drive the song, and synthesizers taking the place of horns
  • Writing melodies where the rhythm is more important than the range of pitches
  • Try writing a catchy musical interlude, it can become the main hook of your song!
  • Writing with strong prosody between the lyrics and shape of your melody
  • Introducing tension through your rhyme schemes
  • Establishing context with sense-based lyrics before getting to the emotional content
  • Being really clear about your song structure
  • How “Country music” is a really big umbrella

Check out Chad’s At Home Songwriting youTube channel and online community.

Show date:  Feb. 07, 2024

Darrin James sitting in a forest with his acoustic guitar

Darrin James is a multi-instrumentalist singer-songwriter, and producer known for his distinctive gravelly voice, thoughtful lyrics, and soulful musicianship. His eclectic production style encompasses a growing range of influences, often fusing gritty, bluesy guitar playing with rustic, acoustic elements of Americana and soul-style Hammond organ and horns.

His new album, “See Right Through,” is his fourth full-length record (formerly as the Darrin James Band), and also his most personal collection in recent years. Throughout the record, James expresses feelings of love and loss, set within a soundscape that pushes against the edges of folk music with its textured flourishes of horns, vintage keyboards, and synthesizers.

Darrin shared the process behind his song When You’re With Me. Download the lyrics to follow along.

We talked about:

  • Don’t Fall For This Songwriting Scam – Ari’s Take (aristake.com)
  • The unique structure of Darrin’s song to bring both repetition and variations
  • Should we be worried about our songs being too long these days?
  • Writing from the rhythm of your lyrics
  • Being consistent with your vowel sounds, and introducing variation
  • Jamming with gibberish to get going on a song
  • Introducing elements of darkness in an otherwise light lyric