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:
Rhyme AND Reason
What Rhymes with "Silver"?
You have a great song, well on its way, but you can't seem to get that last Rhyme in to complete your rhyme scheme and you are ready to throw away the second verse altogether! Never fear, Below is a list of Rhyming tools and resources to get you out of almost any Rhyming Challenge!- Rhyme Zone: Find rhymes, synonyms, definitions, and more! http://www.rhymezone.com/
- SongRhyme: A cool rhyming word generator of perfects and close rhymes by and for songwriters - http://songrhyme.com/
- Dillfrog: A searchable rhyme data base that lets you select the type of rhyme you are looking for http://muse.dillfrog.com/sound/search
- WikiRhymer®: a free online rhyming tool. has a pro version as well for $7 per year. www.wikirhymer.com
- B-Rhymes: A rhyming dictionary that's not stuck up about what does and doesn't rhyme. It gives you words that sound good together even if they don't technically rhyme. www.b-rhymes.com/
- Visual Rhymes: Lets you pick what kind of Rhyme you are looking for - End rhyme, double rhyme, First syllable rhyme, etc. http://www.visualrhymes.com/index.php
- Rhyme Brain: Rhyming dictionary to search for perfect and close rhymes and a songwriting mode where you can put your lyrics in and search for useful words as you go. http://rhymebrain.com
You Want Me to Read about Songwriting?
There are many many books available on writing songs... so many that it can make your head spin off! Reading the thoughts and methods of master songwriters is a great way to expand your repertoire of tools and techniques that help make your songs even better. Many of these books have prompts and exercises to help you get out of ruts or look at things in a new way. They also are a great way to get insight into your existing songs.
Dictionaries: A key tool for songwriters
Being unique and original can be hard work. Give your songs an extra edge by making sure you are using words with depth and meaning. These online dictionaries and thesauruses are a great way to search for the perfect word. They are also a great way to help fill the well - getting you a larger vocabulary to work with to express yourself through 
- Dictionary.com: With more than 70 million monthly users worldwide, Dictionary.com is the world's leading and most definitive online dictionary.
- Urban Dictionary: A user curated collection of slang words and phrases
- Visuwords: Look up words to find their meanings and associations with other words and concepts. Produce diagrams reminiscent of a neural net. Learn how words associate.
- Merriam-Webster: For more than 150 years, Merriam-Webster has been one of America's leading and most-trusted provider of language information. Dictionary, Thesaurus and other tools.
I Needed Inspiration!
Great documentaries and lectures
Leonard Bernstein - The Unanswered Question:
The Unanswered Question is the title of a lecture series given by Leonard Bernstein in the fall of 1973. This series of six lectures was a component of Bernstein’s duties as the Charles Eliot Norton Professor of Poetry for the 1972-73 academic year at Harvard University, and is therefore often referred to as the Norton Lectures. The lectures were both recorded on video and printed as a book, titled The Unanswered Question: Six Talks at Harvard.- Musical Phonolgy http://youtu.be/MB7ZOdp__gQ
- Musical Syntax http://youtu.be/r_fxB6yrDVo
- Musical Semantics http://youtu.be/8IxJbc_aMTg
- The Delights & Dangers of Ambiguity http://youtu.be/hwXO3I8ASSg
- The XXth Century Crisis http://youtu.be/kPGstQUbpHQ
- The Poetry of Earth http://youtu.be/OWeQXTnv_xU
There is a Perfect Melody Out There Somewhere
A melody (from Greek μελῳδία, melōidía, "singing, chanting"), also tune, voice, or line, is a linear succession of musical tones that the listener perceives as a single entity. In its most literal sense, a melody is a combination of pitch and rhythm, while more figuratively, the term can include successions of other musical elements such as tonal color. It may be considered the foreground to the background accompaniment.
Songwriting Lesson for Beginners to Advanced
Andrea Stolpe is a Songwriting instruction for melodic, lyric, and harmonic ideas from Berkleemusic.com instructor and writer of "Popular Lyric Writing: 10 steps to Effective Storytelling"
Songwriting Gurus
These coaches and educators are committed to the craft of songwriting. Feeling stuck? Not sure how to take you songs to the next level
Groups and Associations
Joining a songwriters group or association is a great way to connect with other songwriters. They foster a sense of community, and advocate for songwriters to governement and other organizations. They also often have many invaluable resources and learning programs