News
Here's what will be happening on Sunday, November 7 at 2 p.m.
We will not have a live session this week, either at Artichoke Community Music or on Zoom.
We invite you to join the Reveille Retreat, currently in progress:
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/98386664331?pwd=dTAvZi9uN0ZmeXJReWRrc1Zycm5KZz09
Meeting ID: 983 8666 4331
Passcode: 115621
Here's what will be happening on Sunday, October 31 at 2 p.m.
We'll be strictly online this week at the usual time and we hope you will too!
Robert will be Coaching, with Ed Hosting.
We'll present another installment of our Masters series, this time with Boudleaux and Felice Bryant. You know their songs, even if you don't recognize their names.
And we'll play and sing. Bring a song or two to share, from the 1950s or 1960s.
Here's how to get to the workshop:
Click on this link or paste it into your browser:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83457975628?pwd=WVlYelhqbVQ0djh2SUdQNTh0eDRvUT09
Meeting ID: 834 5797 5628
Password: 228275
This week we will be on Zoom only--we won't be at Artichoke Community Music.
Next week, November 7 we'll be back in person as well as on Zoom.
We're working on a plan to present hybrid workshops biweekly, Stay tuned for details.
Here's what will be happening on Sunday, October 17 at 2 p.m.
We'll be at the usual place at the usual time and we hope you will too!
Chris will be Coaching, with Ed Hosting.
We'll do some more exploring of consonance and dissonance and take a look at close harmony.
And we'll share sone songs. Extra credit if you harmonize along.
Here's how to get to the workshop:
Click on this link or paste it into your browser:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83457975628?pwd=WVlYelhqbVQ0djh2SUdQNTh0eDRvUT09
Meeting ID: 834 5797 5628
Password: 228275
Here's what will be happening on Sunday, October 10 at 2 p.m.
We'll be at the usual place at the usual time and we hope you will too!
Carl will be Coaching, with Trish Hosting.
We'll welcome Sean Davis, writer, teacher, artist, veteran, community organizer, and fire fighter, as well as former Post Commander of American Legion Post 134, and City of Portland mayoral candidate.
Here's a link to more info about Sean.
If we have the time during the second half, we'll have an opportunity to play a cover song that you have made yours.
Here's how to get to the workshop:
Click on this link or paste it into your browser:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83457975628?pwd=WVlYelhqbVQ0djh2SUdQNTh0eDRvUT09
Meeting ID: 834 5797 5628
Password: 228275
Here's what will be happening on Sunday, September 26 at 2 p.m.
We'll be at the usual place at the usual time and we hope you will too!
Carl will be Coaching.
Here’s what Bill sent us about Sunday’s session:
Prosody: what is it, and why does it have such a big effect on how the audience perceives your song?
Things to consider:
- If you start with a lyric/story idea:
- is the feeling or intent of the lyric/story - somber/humorous/hard-hitting/satirical?
- what tempo/melody/key (major or minor) best supports and conveys the story?
- If you start with a melody/groove/instrumental riff:
-what kind of story is the melody/groove conveying to you (and your audience)?
- how does the rhythm/rhyme scheme of the lyrics “ride” on top of the melody/groove?
“Pastures of Plenty”: two different versions of the same song
- Woody Guthrie - major key
- Odette - minor key
In my songwriting experience, well over 90% of my songs start with a lyric/story idea, and the melody/groove rarely comes to me until the lyrics are done. For me, it is about putting music to a poem. I also have a pretty basic guitar/banjo skill, so I naturally put greater emphasis on the story/lyrics. Sage advice from Jack Williams, one of the best songwriters/troubadours I have met: don’t let guitar pyrotechnics steal the show from your story!
Of the few (less than a dozen) of the songs in my repertoire that started with an instrumental groove / melody line, ALL of them involved either noodling with an alternative tuning (e.g., DADGAD) or picking up a less-familiar instrument (banjo, mandolin, ukulele). That is a great way to break out of a slump and discover something new in your musical brain!
Takeaway: do a major/minor key switch on one of your songs, or any popular song. I seem to recall that some record producer took an entire album of Beatles tunes and did that to amazing effect!
Music is a mighty force!!
Here's how to get to the workshop:
Click on this link or paste it into your browser:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83457975628?pwd=WVlYelhqbVQ0djh2SUdQNTh0eDRvUT09
Meeting ID: 834 5797 5628
Password: 228275
Here's what will be happening on Sunday, August 29 at 2 p.m.
We'll be at the usual place at the usual time and we hope you will too!
Carl will be Coaching, with Trish Hosting.
We'll welcome Sean Davis, writer, teacher, artist, veteran, community organizer, and fire fighter, as well as former Post Commander of American Legion Post 134, and City of Portland mayoral candidate.
Here's a link to more info about Sean.
If we have the time during the second half, we'll have an opportunity to play a cover song that you have made yours.
Here's how to get to the workshop:
Click on this link or paste it into your browser:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83457975628?pwd=WVlYelhqbVQ0djh2SUdQNTh0eDRvUT09
Meeting ID: 834 5797 5628
Password: 228275
Here's what will be happening on Sunday, August 22 at 2 p.m.
We'll be at the usual place at the usual time and we hope you will too!
Sean will be Coaching, with Ed Hosting.
Sunday, for the 1st half, Sean will start off demonstrating some
strumming patterns.
And the second half we will open it up to sharing songs or any
other thoughts/writings.
Here's how to get to the workshop:
Click on this link or paste it into your browser:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83457975628?pwd=WVlYelhqbVQ0djh2SUdQNTh0eDRvUT09
Meeting ID: 834 5797 5628
Password: 228275
We're sorry, but...
We're not going live on Sunday, August 22 after all.
Recent developments with the COVID-19 Delta variant have caused us to re-evaluate the risk we would create by hosting an in-person meeting, and our Board of Directors unanimously agreed to postpone going live until we have a better path to meeting safely.
We'll be on Zoom on August 22, and we hope you will too!
Here's what will be happening on Sunday, August 15 at 2 p.m.
We'll be at the usual place at the usual time and we hope you will too!
Chris will be Coaching, with Ed Hosting.
We’ll continue with SSV Short Takes. We'll talk about what melody is, why getting it right is important, and how what we've learned so far is all in support of it.
And, as always, we'll share some tunes, paying particular attention to the melodies.
Here's how to get to the workshop:
Click on this link or paste it into your browser:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83457975628?pwd=WVlYelhqbVQ0djh2SUdQNTh0eDRvUT09
Meeting ID: 834 5797 5628
Password: 228275
We're sorry, but...
We're not going live on Sunday, August 22 after all.
Recent developments with the COVID-19 Delta variant have caused us to re-evaluate the risk we would create by hosting an in-person meeting, and our Board of Directors unanimously agreed to postpone going live until we have a better path to meeting safely.
We'll be on Zoom on August 22, and we hope you will too!
Masters Series: Mark Knopfler!
Here's what will be happening on Sunday, August 8 at 2 p.m.
We'll be at the usual place at the usual time and we hope you will too!
Robert will be Coaching, with Trish Hosting.
We’ll continue with the Masters Series, with a focus this week on Mark Knopfler - musician, singer-songwriter, founding member of the band Dire Straits.
If you're new to Mark's work, here is a link to a song you might enjoy.
After learning a bit about Mark and listening to a few of his tunes, we’ll share some tunes of our own, original or cover. Extra credit for a Mark Knopfler cover or a song about being in ‘dire straits’! Or…just play whatever you wish!
Here's how to get to the workshop:
Click on this link or paste it into your browser:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83457975628?pwd=WVlYelhqbVQ0djh2SUdQNTh0eDRvUT09
Meeting ID: 834 5797 5628
Password: 228275
Here's what will be happening on Sunday, August 1 at 2 p.m.
We'll be at the usual place at the usual time and we hope you will too!
Carl will be Coaching, with Ed Hosting.
Here's the plan:
Begin a new song. Start with a title.
Here are some ideas if you get stumped:
Hotter than Christmas, We never danced, Waiting for you, She grew red roses
Write a title on the top of the page. Yes, start with a title, You can always change it later.
Free write- no editing set a 6 minute timer. When done, read it out loud to yourself.
So what do you think? Are there colors, images, places, people, feelings, or any random thoughts?
Could be pure imagination, hallucination or it's real.
If you want more structure, you could use either of these chord patterns:
Em / D / C / C or C / AM / F / C
Any rhythm that works for you.
Please bring these ideas to share and any song you are ready to play for the second half on Sunday
Stay Cool!
Here's how to get to the workshop:
Click on this link or paste it into your browser:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83457975628?pwd=WVlYelhqbVQ0djh2SUdQNTh0eDRvUT09
Meeting ID: 834 5797 5628
Password: 228275
Have you heard?
We're going live on Sunday, August 22!
We'll be live and in-person at
Artichoke Community Music
2007 SE Powell Blvd, Portland, OR 97202
More info coming soon.
For our Zoom community:
Although we will be dark on the 22nd, rest assured we will be keeping our online workshops going. We're still working out how we're going to manage the two formats, but for the remainder of 2021, you can expect our presence to be primarily on Zoom.
