Featured Songwriter: Debra Alexander
WGS: Tell us a little about yourself... How did you get started Songwriting?
DA: When I was 4 or 5 years old, I used to watch Roy Rogers and Dale Evans on TV. They’d sing and play guitar and ride horses, and I decided that was what I wanted to do. And then I saw the Beatles on Ed Sullivan and that really did it. Those performances inspired me to be a songwriter. Also, for my 6th birthday, I saw my first movie, which was “The Sound of Music.”
WGS: What instrument(s) do you play? What instrument did you learn on?
My Mom taught me a little piano when I was very young, and then she got me a teacher when I was 8. I had 3 piano teachers over the course of my elementary and high school years, and my last teacher in High School was an Eastman graduate who prepared me for my college music auditions. I played percussion and then got recruited to play the oboe in band, and I sang in chorus. We had a great All-State chorus, and one of the highlights of my High School music experience was a singing under Robert De Cormier. In New York State, we had the NYSSMA piano music exams, and I had to play scales and arpeggios and several pieces from memory in front of a judge each spring. The stress I felt from performing in these adjudicated situations and in annual recitals propelled me towards writing my own songs. I figured if no one else had heard them before, and I forgot the words or made mistakes, no one would know! I got my first guitar when I was 14. It was a Norma from a Sears catalogue, and I watched Frederick Noad on Public Television to learn some basics. I taught myself how to play songs on the radio and got really into open tunings from listening to Joni Mitchell and having one of her song folios. I wrote my first song when I was 15.
What To Expect When You Work With A Songwriting Coach
by Debra Alexander When you set out to find and work with a songwriting coach, the obvious objective is to improve your music and lyrics. But there are many additional benefits, some of which would include the ability to: boost your creative output, determine your best songwriting workflow, learn about networking opportunities, notch new songwriting successes, and develop your understanding of which channels will get the kinds of songs you write to the audiences you desire. First and foremost, look for a coach you like and resonate with. A coach will likely offer an initial consultation to determine whether a working relationship with you will be a good fit. You may want to interview more than one coach. At the conclusion of the consultation, a coach should be able to offer a program of study that addresses your needs and your goals, give you an idea of what you should expect to achieve, and tell you how your achievements will be assessed over a specific period of time.
Word clouds: a visual way to inspire your writing
Imagine this: you are busy writing away and you get stuck. maybe you have the perfect first verse and the chorus. now what? Have you used up all your ideas? Can you really add more depth and meaning to that great hook you came up with for the chorus? Does everything you try to add seem forced and repetitious? or maybe you are staring at a title or theme and a blank price of paper wondering how to express the deep thoughts you've been thinking. One way to break your way out of this is to use word clouds to visually inspire you and collect your thoughts and themes together in one place. There are a number of word cloud generators online so just pick one and pick a method of feeding it words and you are off: