October 2007: Now the Leaves are Falling

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Here’s what’s in this month’s newsletter (click a chapter title to go straight to that chapter):
All About American Songs Volume 2
October Songwriting Challenge
October Poll: Happy Halloween!



All About American Songs Volume 2

As you know, my new CD, American Songs volume 2 is finally out and it is available at Amazon.com and at Bull Moose Music stores in Maine! Woohoo!

Well, each week, I have been writing about the stories behind each of the songs. If you're interested in who wrote "Oh Susanna" or what happened to Evangeline and Gabriel in the original poem "Evangeline" or if you'd like to see the original sheet music for "Gum Tree Canoe", you can read all about the songs at Please Come Flying. I'll be writing about the last few songs during October, so stay tuned for the stories behind "This Land Is Your Land," "Goin' Home," and more! (While you're there, you can also watch a very funny video about a lady with a monkey on her head...)

Don't forget you can listen to these three songs for free:

• Oh Susanna
• Unclouded Day
• Oh Sister

If you like the free songs, please pass them on to your friends. And of course, feel free to send me a note to let me know what you think!


October Songwriting Challenge: Now the Leaves are Falling

If you live in the North like me, it is time for hot cider, apple picking, and falling leaves. I love to watch the leaves fall (and I love to kick them around once they're on the ground!)

In the spirit of Autumn, this month's songwriting challenge is:

Write a "falling" song

"What in the world is a falling song?"

Sometimes a song's melody can help to tell the story of the song. If a song is about climbing a mountain, the melody might go from LOW to HIGH to help paint the picture of what is happening in the song. Click here for a good example in Climb Every Mountain from the Sound of Music.

See if you can write a song where both the melody and the words are falling at the same time.

"Ring Around the Rosy" is a perfect example:

Ring around the rosy
Pocket full of posies
Ashes, ashes
We all fall down

What happens in the last line? The words are about falling, but also the melody falls from HIGH to LOW.

Your falling song could be about anything: a cat falling from a tree, a sleeping boy falling out of bed, roses falling from someone's arms, or even falling in love. Just make sure that the melody also falls from HIGH to LOW.

Bonus: Add some actions. In "Ring Around the Rosy," the singers fall straight down. But if your song is about falling leaves, how would you fall? In a straight line, or slowly, drifting side to side? How about if you fell down a hill...would it be more of a tumbling action? Have fun!

If you are 12 or under, you can enter your song in the I Wrote a Hit Song! contest. Click here to learn how.

October Poll: Happy Halloween!

What is your favorite Halloween costume you ever wore? If you post a comment here to describe it, I'll pick one entry to win a free copy of American Songs volume 2!

This is me and some of my siblings on one of my favorite Halloweens (I'm the one with the crown):

September 2007: Picture This!

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Here’s what’s in this month’s newsletter (click a chapter title to go straight to that chapter):
Josephine's New CD! American Songs Volume 2
The Mysteries of Harris Burdick Story Writing Contest
September Songwriting Challenge
September Poll: Say Cheese!



Josephine's New CD! American Songs Volume 2

I've been working hard all summer on a new CD, American Songs Volume 2. It's a collection of some of my favorite old traditional songs, including "Oh Susanna," "Gum Tree Canoe," and "This Land Is Your Land." I'm so excited that it's finished, and I hope you will like it! There are even three preview tracks that you can listen to for free:

• Oh Susanna
• Unclouded Day
• Oh Sister

There's also a chance to win a free CD on the Oh Susanna page at my blog, Please Come Flying. You can order American Songs Volume 2 right now on Amazon.com and soon, it will be available on iTunes and maybe even in some stores near you! I hope you'll enjoy the songs!


The Mysteries of Harris Burdick Story Writing Contest

I know some of you are quite familiar with the very cool book, The Mysteries of Harris Burdick (you can click here to hear a couple songs that students have written using pictures from the book).

Well, I was excited to find that there is now a brand new Mysteries of Harris Burdick Story Writing Contest for grades 2-8. I know many of you are just bursting with Harris Burdick stories...I hope you'll write one down and enter the contest!

(You can also visit my blog, Please Come Flying, to read more about the book.)


September Songwriting Challenge: Picture This!

Inspiration = something that gives you an idea, feeling, or thought

Songwriters find inspiration all around them. We get ideas from past memories, from nature, from the people around us, even from daydreaming. And just like the Harris Burdick pictures have inspired stories, pictures are also a great place to look for inspiration for a song.

This month's songwriting challenge: Use one of the pictures below as inspiration for your song

Tips:

• Choose one picture to start with
  
• What does the picture make you think of?
  
• How does it make you feel?
• Is there a story you can tell about the picture?
  
• How many details can you notice? Do you think the water in the first picture is cold? Do you think the squirrel's fur is soft? How many colors can you see in the flower? If you want, make a list of every detail that you see and imagine.
  
• Don't forget to include some of those details in the song.

About the photographer: Michelle Zlimen (Micky) is a terrific photographer from Minnesota. She took the photo that is on the cover of my new CD, American Songs vol. 2 (you can see it here), and she took all three photos shown below. If you want to be inspired by more of Micky's photography, please visit her website. If you write a song about one of her photos, you can also send her a message. I bet she'd love to hear from you!

And of course, once it's finished, you can always enter your song in the I Wrote a Hit Song! contest. :)

Photo #1: Dreams of Summer

Photo #2: The Cute Thief

Photo #3: A Peek at What Is to Come

September Poll: Say Cheese!

What is your favorite family picture? Post a comment here to tell us about it.

(I have a lot of favorites, but one of mine is a picture of my 2-year old niece, Cella, after she spread an entire jar of Vaseline all over her face & head! If I can find it in my box of photos, I'll post it here for you...it's great!)

August 2007: What Nonsense!

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Here’s what’s in this month’s newsletter (click a chapter title to go straight to that chapter):
I Wrote a Hit Song! Contest Winner
August Songwriting Challenge
August Poll: Nonsense Schmonsense!

I Wrote a Hit Song! Contest Winner

Congratulations to Kaylin, age 9 from North Brunswick, New Jersey...Kaylin wrote a hit song!

It's called "Kids Rule" and you can view the lyrics at the I Wrote a Hit Song! webpage. I think you'll like it! Please stop by and leave a comment for Kaylin to let her know how much you enjoyed her song!


August Songwriting Challenge: What Nonsense!

There's nothing quite as fun and goofy as a good nonsense song. One of my most recent favorites is Hoodoo Voodoo. The words were written by Woody Guthrie, but he never finished writing the music before he died. So musicians Billy Bragg and Wilco got together a few years ago and wrote the music for him. You can listen to Hoodoo Voodoo on iTunes...what do you think?

Here are some of the lyrics:

Hoodoo voodoo,
Seven twenty, one two;
Haystacks, hostacks,
A B C.
High poker, low joker,
Ninety nine a Zero;
Sidewalk, streetcar,
Dance a goofy dance.

Blackbirdy, bluejay;
One two three four;
Trash back, jump back,
E F G.
Biggy hat, little hat,
Fattyman, skinnyman;
Grasshopper, greensnake,
Hold my hand.

Hoodoo voodoo
Chooka chooky choochoo;
True blue, how true;
Kissle me now.
Click here for the rest of the Hoodoo Voodoo lyrics.

August Songwriting Challenge:
Can you write a nonsense song?

There are 3 keys to writing a good nonsense song:

1. RHYME: Give your song some rhyming words (and remember, they don't have to be sensible). Rhymes will make it fun to sing and easy to remember even if the words don't make any "sense."
   
2. RHYTHM: Give the song a strong beat & make sure you can clap (or dance) along.
   
3. HAVE FUN!: Be your goofiest, silliest, most creative self.
   

August Poll: Nonsense Schmonsense!

July 2007: I Love a Parade!

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Here’s what’s in this month’s newsletter (click a chapter title to go straight to that chapter):
I Wrote a Hit Song! Contest Winner
July Songwriting Challenge
July Poll: Parade Perfection


I Wrote a Hit Song! Contest Winner

Congratulations to Sophie, age 6 from Bailey Island, Maine...Sophie wrote a hit song!

It's called "Some Kind" and you can view the very fun (and colorful) lyrics at the I Wrote a Hit Song! webpage. Please stop by and leave a comment for Sophie to let her know how much you enjoyed her song!


July Songwriting Challenge: Hit Parade!

One of my favorite things about July 4th (besides the fireworks!) is the parade. I love everything about a parade...the firetrucks, the marching bands, and I especially like when they throw candy!

So here's your songwriting challenge for July:
Can you write a song about a parade?

Here are some HINTS:

• Follow the parade with your song
• Each line can be the next thing in the parade

If a dog comes first, the first line is about the dog.

If a frog follows the dog, the second line is about the frog.

If a hog follows the frog, the third line is about the hog.


Here are some EXAMPLES:

76 trombones: This is a great song about a parade. It was written in 1957 by M. Willson for the musical "The Music Man". (Click here to watch a video of the song and dance from the musical.) Here are the first 2 verses:

Seventy six trombones led the big parade
With a hundred and ten cornets close at hand
They were followed by rows and rows of the finest virtuosos;
the cream of every famous band.

Seventy six trombones caught the morning sun
With a hundred and ten cornets right behind
There were more than a thousand reeds springing up like weeds,
There were horns of every shape and kind.

The Court of King Caractacus: I used to sing this song all the time in grade school. Click here to watch a video and hear all the lyrics of this song. See if you can keep up with the lyrics and follow everything in the parade!

July Poll: Parade Perfection

June 2007: The More We Get Together

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Here’s what’s in this month’s newsletter (click a chapter title to go straight to that chapter):
Collaborators' Corner
June Songwriting Challenge
June Poll: Let's Get Together!



COLLABORATORS' CORNER

One of my favorite movies of all time is the original version of The Parent Trap. If you have ever seen it, you know the song Let's Get Together. Before Sharon and Susan sing "Let's Get Together," they talk about working together musically...

"You give a little, and I'll give a little. We'll compromise!"

When you write a song by yourself, you can do anything you want. You can write about anything you want, in any way you want.

When you work with someone else to write a song, it's called collaboration. The songwriters are called collaborators. Collaboration is sometimes hard because you don't always get to do things exactly your own way. But your friend will have some great ideas too, and together you can come up with something you never would have imagined on your own.

And besides, writing with a friend is really fun!

In fact, the songwriters who wrote the song Let's Get Together were two brothers, Richard and Robert Sherman. Together, they have written so many great songs, including all the songs from Mary Poppins and The Jungle Book (two of my other all-time favorites). The Sherman Brothers are still writing songs today. They have been writing hit songs together for 56 YEARS!

Here is a clip of "Let's Get Together" from the movie The Parent Trap:


JUNE SONGWRITING CHALLENGE

Try this:

Get together with a friend (or two or three) and see if you can write a song together.

Don't know what to write about?
Here are some ideas to get you started:

• Write about your favorite thing you like to do with your friend(s)
  
• Write about an adventure you and your friend(s) wish you could have together
• Write about the things you have in common and why you are friends

Don't forget!:

• Always listen to your friend's ideas
• Always share your own ideas
• Always be kind when you are working together
• Always celebrate your work!

And of course, you can always enter your song in the I Wrote a Hit Song! contest when it's finished!


JUNE POLL: LET'S GET TOGETHER!