Fiona went to SongPosium in Nashville in September and came back with a bunch of contacts – people in the music industry who would be willing to talk to us via Skype Internet magic.

She has arranged for one of those contacts, Robin Earl, to talk to us during our November meeting this coming Tuesday, November 10th.  Robin Earl and her husband Gary own a recording studio in Nashville, and they produce music for TV/Movies/Commercials.  Robin is also a vocal coach, and Gary does tracking and sales workshops for the music industry.   Robin will be talking to us about how things work on Music Row in Nashville… how songs get in and go through… and some do’s and don’ts for songwriters who don’t live in Nashville.  She will also talk about her career in music, how trends change in country music, and what she sees coming and going.

It’ll be a great presentation!  Thanks for arranging it, Fiona!   And of course, we’ll be critiquing each other’s songs, as usual, during the second half of our meeting.   The meeting agenda is posted and distributed via email.

See you Tuesday at 7:00 pm!

Do you know what your vocal range is? That is, do you know the lowest note you can sing and the highest note you can sing? I don’t. But I should if I want to write songs within that range.

At last month’s Charlotte NSAI meeting, several members who attended the Swannanoa Gathering gave a few pointers they had picked up there on vocal techniques, and it seemed that there was interest in learning more. So, in this month’s meeting this coming Tuesday night (September 8th), we will be watching a video titled, “The Total Singer,” taught by Lisa Popeil, voice coach (www.popeil.com). It covers range, breathing, larynx positions, power techniques, control of nasality and breathiness, vibrato, ring, registers and break elimination, and support. After watching it, you will be able to do a better job of delivering your songs to the world.

And of course, we’ll be critiquing each other’s songs, as usual, during the second half of our meeting. It’ll be a good meeting! Don’t miss it!

See you Tuesday!

Steve, Fiona, and Angelo

At this month’s Charlotte NSAI meeting tomorrow night (Tuesday, June 9th), we’ll be watching the taped presentation Ralph Murphy made last month at NSAI Nashville’s Pro Teacher’s night. Ralph’s presentation is on “Business Basics for Songwriters. “

About Ralph Murphy

Born in England and raised in Canada, the well-traveled Ralph Murphy has worked extensively on both sides of the Atlantic during his music career. His first #1 song in Europe was “Call My Name” by James Royal (1966). After several years as an artist and producer, Ralph moved to New York in 1969 to produce the band April Wine (two gold albums; one platinum). In 1971, Ralph had his first Country hit in Nashville with “Good Enough To Be Your Wife,” #2 for Jeannie C. Riley. By 1976, Ralph and business partner Roger Cook opened Pic-A-Lic Music in Nashville. During the decade of its existence, the company prospered, more of Ralph’s songs became hits (“He Got You” for Ronnie Milsap; “Half The Way” for Crystal Gayle), and Ralph served as president of NSAI. Ralph is now Vice President for ASCAP Nashville.

Ralph is an interesting guy and a very entertaining speaker. It’ll be a great presentation!

And of course, we’ll be critiquing each other’s songs, as usual, during the second half of our meeting.

Steve, Fiona, and Angelo

During our May meeting we will be visited by this years winners of the CMT songwriting contest! David and Mary Beth have agreed to visit with us via the wonders of the Internet and Skype. They will share their story and advice on going from beginner to winner. They will also dissect their song and explain the challenges they overcame getting it radio and contest ready. Come and join us for some good practical advice and to celebrate with them on their success.

9th Annual NSAI Song Contest Winner: “Damn, I Miss You” by David Stewart/Mary Beth Stone

David Stewart is an award-winning songwriter whose songs have been published in Nashville, New York and Los Angeles. Previously, Stewart had four songs make it to the Top 5 status in the NSAI/CMT song contest and has been recognized by the Songwriter’s Guild of America with the Abe Olman scholarship. While most of his time is devoted to writing individual songs, he has been involved in numerous special music projects – ranging from playing with his band to composing and producing music for children’s storybooks/tapes, and writing songs for various indie films. Music is and will always be his first love. He is thrilled to be, along with Mary Beth, the winner of the grand prize this year.

Mary Beth Stone has enjoyed being a regional coordinator for NSAI since 1998. A finalist in the Lilith Fair songwriting contest, she has also placed in past CMT/NSAI song contests, the Billboard songwriting contest, the Austin Songwriters Group songwriting contest and the Song Door contest. Stone is an alumna of the ASCAP Advanced Songwriters Workshop and has been an annual recipient under the ASCAP Plus Awards program for the last decade. Recently she became a reviewer for democheck.com and is co-owner of Signature Tours, Inc., a company providing custom-created tours of New York City. As much as she loves it, she hopes to trade in her view of the Hudson for one of the Cumberland.

Members and vistors alike, you don’t want to miss this meeting!