by Phil Emery | Aug 24, 2023 | Blog
I’ve been asked to be a juror for an “artist of the year” type of competition. In the past, I’ve submitted entries into many competitions with varying amounts of success, but being on the other side of the process has been quite the eye-opener....
by Neel Modi | Mar 3, 2020 | Blog
I recently finished reading a great book by Marc Myers entitled Anatomy of a Song: The Oral History of 45 Iconic Hits that Changed Rock, R&B, and Pop. Myers interviewed the people involved in historically significant songs from the 1940s to the 1990s. He ended his...
by Donna Maurer | Sep 9, 2019 | Blog
There are many benefits to your musicianship when you learn and master playing an instrument. You increase coordination, cognitive skills that include better memory, and create a higher level of social awareness. The piano works as a wonderful starting point for most...
by Neel Modi | Jul 15, 2019 | Blog
Sometimes, the hardest part of the songwriting process is getting started. Once I’ve got an idea, I can hash out lyrics and music fairly easily. Getting past songwriter’s block usually involves coming up with a title and a hook to the song (Thank you, Nashville). More...
by Neel Modi | Jun 4, 2018 | Blog
The question of the perfect fifth has been simmering in my mind for some time now. It started when we started investigating chord substitutions on Song Talk Radio in 2016. For that show, I looked at the Circle of Fifths as a great tool for making chord choices when...
by Vanessa Vreeland | Jan 28, 2018 | Blog
When I joined Song Talk Radio as social media maven over a year ago, I knew nothing about songwriting. In the past, I learned to read music and play a few instruments including flute, bass clarinet, French horn and the drums. But I had never entertained the thought of...