Newsletter Vol. 2 # 38 – May 25, 2003
Welcome to the latest issue of Guitar Noise News.
In This Issue
- News and Announcements
- New Lessons and Articles
- Sunday Songwriters Sessions
- Reviews
- Thoughts and Feedback
News And Announcements
Greetings!
Welcome to Guitar Noise News!
Before I forget, Paul’s tinkering with the site again! And he’d like your opinions on his latest idea on redoing the home page. Check it out here on the Your Suggestions for Guitar Noise Forum page.
Be sure to drop him a line with your ideas and comments.
To another topic:
It’s easy to get all caught up on the “glamour” side of fame. But there’s often another side as well. Most times, though, unless an artist is in the spotlight with his/her good works, we might not ever even hear of it. So when my eye caught this item in the news, I thought I’d share it with you:
LONDON (Reuters) – Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour donated $5.88 million to charity on Tuesday to house hundreds of homeless people and low-wage workers in central London.
The 59-year-old rock star said he was inspired by a similar community project developed in New York.
“I’ve seen what has been achieved in New York and am passionately behind this London project,” he said in a statement.
The “urban village,” administered by the Crisis charity, aims to house 400 residents, including the homeless and public service workers like nurses and teachers who have been priced out of the soaring London housing market.
Crisis said a site for the scheme has yet to be chosen.
New Lessons And Articles
Great tips from Chris and something completely different from a new writer highlight our latest lessons. Here are two new pieces that have gone online since we last chatted:
Where Do You Go From Here?
by Chris Juergensen
Most people learn from their mistakes. Chris Juergensen, Guitar Noise’s man in Tokyo, is kind enough to let you learn from his! Here are some really great tips on numerous topics, complete with a few “life’s lessons.”
Introduction To The 5-String Banjo
by Russ Sprouse
I’m truly excited to bring bluegrass banjo player and new writer, Russ Sprouse to your attention. He debuts the first of a series of lessons on the 5-string banjo. If you’ve ever wondered about this beautiful instrument, here’s your chance to learn more. And if you don’t have a banjo, you get a great lesson in open G tuning!
Sunday Songwriters Group
The Sunday Songwriters Group is a Guitar Noise exclusive. Conceived by Ryan Spencer and Nick Torres, the idea is to give songwriters a weekly exercise in order to help develop their lyric-writing skills.
It’s open to everyone. Got an itch to write? Jump on in! Even if you don’t write, you should feel free to critique. After all, you probably have experience listening to songs, no?
For more info, visit the SSG FAQ.
And now that you all know what’s going on…
SSG week 32
This week, your mission, should you decide to accept it:
Do you remember the beginning of Mission Impossible?
It always started with Mr. Phelps sitting there having a conversation with his little reel to reel tape recorder.
This week’s topic was delivered by our own Little Marc.
Write a song, directly addressing somebody who isn’t actually there.
At times we have a tendency to write songs FOR other people (an ex/current girlfriend, your boss etc) – heck sometimes we just do it to make ourselves feel better… But that’s not what this exercise is about:
The point is to write in a conversational way, with the lyrics being part of a dialogue. You can write in any style + in any mood (chatty, dismissive etc.)
In other words, you are writing TO someone and not FOR someone. Subtle difference yet very important.
Good luck and good writing.
(This topic posting will self-destruct in five seconds.)
Reviews
Damien Rice: O
This week’s review comes to us from Peter Allen, one of our (very) active Forum members. Pete was kind enough to send in his thoughts concerning the latest CD by one of Ireland’s finest songwriters.
Thoughts and Feedback
Wow. I’ve run out of staff members to interview! What am I going to do?
The answer is in two parts: This week I’m going totake a break and give you a short newsletter. Next week, we’ll start in on some of the projects we’re all working on and perhaps sneak a look at a few of the lessons you’ll be seeing in June and July.
I hope you all have a grand week. Stay safe.
And, as always,
Peace
David
