Fall 2010: Won't You Play a Simple Melody?

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The Moon Shines Bright onto the River
I Wrote a Hit Song! Contest Winner
SFK Bookclub
Fall Songwriting Challenge
Poll: Hearing Isn't Everything


  The Moon Shines Bright onto the River


This year's summer programs were so much fun. If you haven't already had a chance, please stop by the Listening Room to hear the 2010 Class Song, "The Moon Shines Bright onto the River." While you're at it, you can listen to songs from previous years as well!

I Wrote a Hit Song! Contest Winner

Congratulations to Hannah, age 10...Hannah wrote a hit song!

Hannah, from Nibley, Utah, wrote a song called "Believe" and you can hear her play it on piano at the I Wrote a Hit Song! webpage. It's a beautiful instrumental song that Hannah wrote because as she wrote in her email, "it helps me believe." Please stop by and leave a comment for Hannah to let her know how much you enjoyed her song.


 SFK Bookclub

The Arrival by Shaun Tan

Okay, this isn't a book about music at all. So what is it doing in the SFK Bookclub? Well, since this issue of the newsletter is devoted to songs without words, I thought I'd feature my favorite book without words. Shaun Tan's book is entirely told in pictures, and it took him five years to write! Read more about this book...


Songwriting Challenge: Won't You Play a Simple Melody?


Since the latest I Wrote a Hit Song! contest winner wrote a terrific song without any words at all, your challenge is to try to tell a musical story without words. There are lots of ways to do it. In my song, Lullaby, I tried to capture a calm, soothing mood using only keyboard and humming.

Fall '10 Songwriting Challenge:
Can you write an instrumental song?

Here are some things to think about:

1. What kind of mood do you want the listener to feel? Happy? Excited? Sad? Scared?
   
2. How will the music you play need to sound in order to create that mood? Will it be fast? Slow? Loud? Soft?
3. What instrument will you play it on? Don't play an instrument? Try humming, or singing fake words (da-da, dee-bah). The great jazz singers did that all the time...they called it "scat" singing!
   
4. Let the music change and grow. A story or song that is exactly the same all the way through will get boring. Perhaps there could be a soft moment in your loud song. Or a part where your quiet song gets more intense, or the melody shifts higher or lower or changes completely.
   
5. Have fun!
   

Poll: Hearing Isn't Everything

If you can't see the poll, just click here. (Once you vote, you'll be able to see other people's answers, too.)