Female GN Songwriters

Elecktrablue,

Hope you don't mind a bit of input from one of those "above referenced men".
I for one love getting the female perspective when posting on SSG.

I am also interested in reading the work of male and female writers.

I can understand your desire for a sort of "Women's Songwriting Collaborative." I just hope that it won't stop you and others of your beautiful gender from posting elsewhere as us men need all the help we can get.

Celt

Even though I am a testosterone laden manly man, I can pretend to be sensitive and sincere. And as I like to say, once you can fake sincerity, you've got it made.

You should give us a try.

Electrablue,

I'm not sure if we would have enough interested participants to form a "the other side of songwriting" forum - although it is an interesting idea. Songwriting is all about putting yourself and your emotions out there for the world to see - whether you are a man or a woman. And I would be willing to bet that all of us - including the men - have to conquer the same self doubts and insecurities you mentioned before we gain the courage to put our lyrics up on the pages. I would suggest giving the other songwriting forums a chance. I (a female by the way) used to be a very active participant of the SSG and Songwriters forums. The only reason I'm not right now is that I'm currently focusing on other things. I can say from experience that the guys in those forums (at least when I was a part of it) seem to appreciate the more "female oriented" writing as well as the soft and lyrical music as much as anyone. Also you would be in very good company as a woman in those forums - you should check out some of Jamir's work. Her music is very soft and lyrical as well as often very personal - and it is very well received. And she is just one example of several very talented women making their marks in those forums.

:) Portia

mmm...(I am male but..)....I dont think as Men n Women we really differ?...at least not enough to be segregated......People...male or female are not going to judge anyone at all (or at least shouldnt)....I mean....going through my song books..90% of the songs i have wrote are very very sensitive songs to me and could be described as being effeminate n out of the ones ive posted on here no ones mentioned it at all....and im male lol......and at the end of the day....unless you state "This song is about me"....No ones probably even gunna associate it with you personally.....or whever the feelings/opinions in the song are "wrong" or whatever.....Basiclly what im trying to say is id be all for the Womens own posting area but theres no reason you cant post on the other ones.....We are all song writers and/or critics....We are not physycologists or judges....I dont think youve anything to worry about :)

All the best

+

I agree with what's been mentionned that there's not much difference between women writers and men writers. My specialty on the guitar is finger picking, but I don't consider myself effeminate. Neither does my girlfriend...

And I also write from the heart, as you can see via my columns and in my new book. (and I don't apologize for the shameless self-promotion...)

Don't be afraid to expose yourself; I think that any comments from "women songs" comes from the boring kitsh stuff like "You Light up my Life" or anything by Celine Dion. Which, in most cases, is written by men anyway. Be yourself and no one will even notice or care whether it was written by a woman or a man.

Hey Elecktrablue,

Well, I personally think its a good idea! I've been reading the SSG posts for quite a few weeks now, but I haven't gotten up the courage to post anything of my own yet...

Something like a "Women's Songwriting Collaborative" might be a great starting place.

I guess my whole point in even suggesting this is my own inherent "shyness" and, to be perfectly honest, the fact that sometimes I am intimidated by men and men's opinions (in a most respectful way!). For example, I have a wonderful friend. He's my oldest, dearest and best friend of nearly 30 years. I trust him with my life. I would tell him anything in the world. BUT....... he so intimidates me because he is SUCH a wonderful singer/songwriter/guitarist, that he has NEVER heard or seen ANYTHING that I've ever written (and at this point in time, I'm not too sure that he ever will). I know in my heart that he will give me nothing but positive feedback, but that's not what I want and that's not what I need. And, again, I don't mean any kind of "male bashing" at all, especially since men are my favorite sex (!), but, men also have a tendency to want to "fix" things for women. I don't want the words that come from my heart "fixed". I think that what I am looking for in this sort of "Women's Songwriting Collaborative", are other women who also feel this inherent shyness and intimidation and even knowing that men are going to come in and read our posts (and comment on them), it might possibly give us (me) that sense of privacy that I personally can't feel in the other groups. It's not any of you at all.......... it's my own personal insecurities, and those insecurities of other women like LittleGreen (btw, that's one of my favorite Joni Mitchell tunes!!!), who might like to have our own place to "hone" our craft before submitting it to those of you whose opinions matter so much.

Personally, on several occasions, I have had my lyrics written and tabbed and ready to post to the other groups, but I have yet to be able to bring myself to hit that "Submit" button.

If my suggestion, though, is going to cause bad feelings among GNer's, then I'll drop it completely, or try to do it through another venue. Maybe LittleGreen and I (and whoever else might want to participate) can get together on MSN or AIM or YIM and once we get to the point where we feel that we can confidently match wits with all of you wonderful male writers, then you'll probably see much more being posted by the female members of GN to the already established songwriting forums.

Does this make any sense or am I just being a wimpy @ss girl? :D

No bad feelings here. If a Women's Songwriting Forum is what you feel you need then by all means go for it. I understand your shyness and your feelings about your work. I don't think I could participate if it weren't for a screenname to hide behind. All I ask is that you don't give up on the other forums. I have found most of the people here to be very supportive
and open to all regarless of sex, age ,race or all the other crap that keeps people apart in this world. Remember opinions are just that and we all know what they are like. Hope to see your work posted somewhere soon.

Celt

Unfortunately, there is a "mechanical" problem, in that we can't create a closed forum for you. If Nick creates a WSG, it will still be open to all GN'ers. And it will highlight that the songwriters are all women, which will defeat the purpose, I think.

You could create your own web space and invite people to check it out. PM Nick or I to review this further.

-Laz

Oh, no! I never intended for it to be closed!!! I fully realize that EVERYONE will have access and be able to participate, but, what I was hoping for was a Women's Songwriting Group under "The Other Side" forum. I also fully realize that not a whole lot of men visit or interact with "The Other Side"..... mostly because all the really good stuff isn't there!!! :D Which is why I was hoping that, posted under "The Other Side", while we will still attract men, and their posts would be appreciated and well received, my thought was that it would give us women a "semi-private" place to interact with each other. I've discovered that women's approaches to songwriting differ greatly from men's. That women's ideas of collaboration differ greatly from men's.......... I'm not saying that there's anything wrong with it..... that's what makes us men and women, after all! My end hope for this would be to eventually empower enough women, to give us enough self-confidence to enable us to hit that "Submit" button under SSG or the GN Songwriting Club and to feel like we can competently join in with those forums that we now find rather intimidating. But, no, a closed forum never even entered my mind!!! :D

Don't worry if you no one understands your dreams and desires. Don't tell yourself you cannot achieve success because your dreams are too small or too big. Dreams are necessary! If your songs are enough to ignite you and excite you then it's worth pursuing. Whatever desires burn within your heart about who you really are or desire to become, is proof of your ability to achieve it. To achieve success you must move with deliberate action that reflects the choices and decisions of who you really are. When you do that you'll find yourself making the right decisions that guide you towards that success you see "inside".

Not so many words, post a song an see what turns about. I never tire of reading, listening and meeting great positive minds.

joe

Not so many words, post a song an see what turns about. I never tire of reading, listening and meeting great positive minds.

joe

Yup, try posting your song here on the Other Side, and see what happens.

-Laz

OK........ I'm going to do it now before I lose all my nerve, but I am going to post it in the regular GN songwriting forum............. OMFREAKINGAWD! I may have to go hide in the closet for a while! :oops: :shock: :(

I did it! http://forums.guitarnoise.com/viewtopic.php?p=103760#103760