Have a listen to an informative and lively discussion on chord substitutions. In this show we talked about:

* the Circle of Fifths

* Nashville numbers

* one/four/five chord progressions

* the sixth, seventh, and ninth chords

* how easy it is to use the Circle of Fifths to add colour to your song

* Chord Substitution on YouTube

* Learning on lynda.com (at your local library)

On this highly informative and entertaining show, we talked with John Glover:

* how John adapted his guitar playing after a hand injury

* the difference between “cathartic creativity” and the hard work of writing songs

* Justin Rutledge‘s songwriting workshop

* lyrics versus poetry

* playing with Willie P. Bennett

* starting the writing of a song with a melody and a chord progression

* “Object writing” as a songwriting exercise to build sensory awareness

* “Secret Agent Man” as inspiration

A very special show with Song Talk Radio’s co-host and co-creator Bruce Harrott, showcasing and discussing the process behind some of his best songs. We talked about:

* Bruce’s traditional approach with writing lyrics first, and trying a different approach now

* working with different producers

* The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron

* writing about real experiences (“staying true to the story”)

* using different melody/chords in bridge vs. verses

* chord substitutions

Maple Blues Award Best New Artist nominee and harmonica player, Son Roberts stopped by the Song Talk Radio studios with guitarist John Crosbie and had a fun and wide ranging conversation about writing blues influenced tunes.

Here’s what we talked about:

* The Maple Blues Awards

* collaborating

* Son Roberts Lyrics – Not Nuff NIght

* Son Roberts Lyrics – Cold Black Chair

* Listener’s question: Am I being too self-critical?

* Legato

* non-standard blues

* Son Roberts official website

* Son Roberts on Facebook

* Son Roberts on Twitter

* Son Roberts on YouTube

* Buy “Tell That Story” on iTunes

 

What a delight to have Peter Light in the studio and hear some down-to-earth songwriting. I Let Her Go was a unique take on “the one that got away”. Charlie’s Playin’ the Blues was a cool tongue in cheek visit to the world of traditional blues – done with great craft and artistry.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fy6uMXwF9us

The awesomely talented former recording engineer Bob Guido shared some absolutely mesmerizing sounds with the Song Talk Radio audience. With his guitar and effects he played Letting Go, a dreamy instrumental which showcased Bob’s mastery of melody and form. His second tune Wake Up Call featured Bob’s vocals and lyrics in a haunting arrangement that called for more love in the world. Some of the topics that came up included:

* El Capistan echo box

* WET reverb box

* Brian Eno

* ambient music

* making lyrics sound musical (phonetics)

* Groove Salad – Internet station for ambient music

www.bobguido.bandcamp.com

www.bobguido.com

Our very own Tweeting SongBird, Janice moved to the other side of the mic. We talked about her having Opera training and her natural bluesy style.

Some stuff we talked about:

* Yamaha’s Ticket to the Juno’s Songwriting contest

* Entries in the contest

* Ren & Stimpy

* Sonja Seller’s Show on Song Talk Radio

* Megan Lindsay Voice Teacher

* Janice’s Lyrics

* Janice’s Songstress event

* Radiohead – Supercollider

* Music publisher agrees to pay $14m to end Happy Birthday song lawsuit

Toronto based duo Audio Insurgency dropped by the Song Talk Radio studio to share two very cool tunes. One was in a demo form, the other an instrumental track with the vocals still to be added in. Audio Insurgency has been making music for the past 2 years in genres ranging from EDM to orchestral. Their aim is to entertain and inspire. To make people feel feelings. To make them feel alive and energized, sad and in need of a warm cup of tea, and everything in between. Audio Insurgency has recently written the soundtrack for two short films and is working on an EP to be released in summer 2016.

Scott B Sympathy returned to Song Talk Radio to talk about how his songwriting process has evolved over twenty years, why you should write everyday, and why every song doesn’t need a bridge. He also played Downhearted live, and played back Come & Go from his Massey Harris album.

We talked about:

* the power of the pick-up (musically speaking, of course)

* the new Apple Music Memos app

* crowdfunding for your album / tour / world dominance

* RITUAL – use the code CJRU for $15 free credit

Madrid, Spain born indie-folk songwriter Daniel Caceres has traveled to Toronto for a year and stopped by the Song Talk Radio studios with some great folky songs. He’s played in bands back in Madrid but is now exploring writing songs on his own.

Stuff we talked about

* download Daniel’s lyrics

* Daniel on Soundcloud

* Rhyme schemes

* Writers’ Block: Getting unstuck when you get blocked on a song

* Dynamics in songs

* How to choose song structures

* Rhyme Genie

Daniel’s Performance Videos