Songwriting Circle
Community Based Creativity
Each Fortnight
Every week we pick a “Songwriting Spring Board” out of a hat, (Send your ideas in, you get to send ideas in), like… “a song about a chicken”, or “it has to have a word that rhymes with Frank”, or “Write a song after ONE glass of wine”, or … you get the idea…
Write the Song
Go write as much of a song as you can be inspired to write. Like a verse, a jingle, a lullaby, a whole song, a orchestral opus; you get the idea. On whatever instruments you desire, with who ever you want.
Record it to the best or worst of your ability.
Upload to the Weekly Group Drive
Each week – Upload your song. No apologies! (It’s ok, the more you write songs, the better you’ll get). Press Send, feel elated! Listen to the other songs in your folder; give your fellow songwriters polite & constructive feedback.
The best way to learn how to write songs, is to practise writing songs.
You can take endless courses and get a million ideas fed to you, but really, the answer you’re looking for is just the reminder to keep doing the thing you love.
Or the thing you wish you were better at.
Think about all the things you’re really good at and why. I’m pretty much gonna bet it’s because you have this desire and urge inside of you to BE good at it. And that being good at it brings you joy. (You know Joy? A feeling of Great Pleasure or Happiness, yeah, that stuff). And being Good at something – either from your own perspective (the best one), or for outside appreciation, brings a stunning sense of that stuff called well-being that everyone goes on about.
Stop saying Let’s do this, it’s time for the Big Questions.
How Much?
Yeah, fair enough.
I think if we had a weekly or monthly Songwriting Group get together, to share our original songs, at my house, then at yours, and around the circle we’d go, that we would each be happy enough to throw a few gold coins on the table for the snack plate, the bottle of wine/s, and the riff-raff admin of getting the behind the scenes sorted out.
But this is a digital group. A weekly digital group. Hard to organise the snack plate at each of our houses, but hey, I do hear cheese subscriptions are a thing- I could totally make it work if you want. Maybe I’ll make that the up-grade ha.
So the fee is small and friendly enough considering there’s no cheese and wine. Just admin and organizing. All good.
Let’s just get cookin’, times are tough;
This Songwriting Circle is Free for now, friends xx
You sound like you need more reasons…
The fringe benefits are gonna blow ye mind!
Music Platforms
No pressure or anything, but if you’re writing songs you love and you’d like to share them, there’s a bunch of ways to do that, for different purposes. Below you’ll find a bunch of platforms and some ideas about them.
Songwriting Circle Kitty
We have our own Songwriting Comp/Kitty fund. So, at the end of our Term, we’ll vote upon our favourites, & some kitty money will go towards encouraging the favourite to do a “thing” with their song… The “thing” might be to enter a Comp, produce it in a studio, perform it at a gig- the level of the “thing” is directly proportionate to your level of self satisfaction & guts.
Community
Hey look, truth be told, I’m doing this for lots of reasons, namely, to expand my musical community and offer my services as a singing teacher, vocalist or to help produce. But really, me aside, I hope you connect with other like minded individuals. You might hear a song, voice or instrumental tone that speaks poetry to your heart and you never know… you can make that change your life.
Here’s our Most Recent SongWriting Springboards
Jump on in if inspiration hits you and share your song via email or to the facebook group…
Songwriting Springboard: Paper Aeroplanes
Hello Songwriting Circle! This weeks Springboard is "Paper Aeroplanes" Feel free to write, sing, create, paint, express yourself in what ever way brings you joy. Please feel free to share it with the group via facebook, to me personally, or with your nearest and...
SongWriting Springboard: Dandelions
Hello Songwriting Circle! This weeks Springboard is "Dandelions" Feel free to write, sing, create, paint, express yourself in what ever way brings you joy. Please feel free to share it with the group via facebook, to me personally, or with your nearest and dearest or...
Songwriting Springboard: Orchids
Hello Songwriting Circle! This weeks Springboard is "Orchids" Feel free to write, sing, create, paint, express yourself in what ever way brings you joy. Please feel free to share it with the group via facebook, to me personally, or with your nearest and dearest or a...
Produce Your Songs
I learnt a long time ago that my favourite thing is sitting in my musical garage, late at night, drinking a mug of tea, doing the pre-production stage of a song I’ve written. Pre-production is taking the skeleton of a song I’d written on my guitar or keyboard, alone, and dreaming up how I want it to “be”.
The Instrumentation, speed, colours, textures, harmonies, sections, breakdowns, growth, climax, fall, beginning, end, groove… Being decisive, go with your gut, listen to ideas. And if you don’t love it at the end, go back to the drawing board and start again.
So just so you know, this community you’ve joined- them and me- We’re here to help. I have a stunning network of musicians, engineers, producers, masterers, recording studio’s- Australia and World Wide, who can help you navigate these steps if you would like. You might not need this service, you songwriting vixen you, but just so you know – we’re here.
Hey Songwriter,
Here’s some ways to share your music. Don’t be overwhelmed, it’s just a brainstorm, if you want to go down this path, just start with one and see how you go.
- Streaming Services
- Independent Musician Digital Music Distribution
- Distribution Platforms
- Social Media Platforms
- Video Based Sharing sites
- EPK
- Website
- Crowd Funding Options
- Spotify. Easy to use and to discover new music. …
- Apple Music. …
- Amazon Music Unlimited. …
- Deezer…
- Tidal. High quality audio with wide range of content. …
Streaming services are usually free to listen to if you don’t mind listening to ads, or at least free for the trial period.
As far as being an independent songwriter, it takes a few thousand/million streams to make a pretty penny. So, these sites are if you want to make your music accessible to your listeners, but essentially you’re giving your music away.
These sites offer ways to sell your music directly to your listeners. Your audience can invest their money in your sound, they way they used to typically buy a cd from your busking case. They take a little cut for getting the job done, but you get most of the money from your sale. They may also have merchandise options, and different ways to help you interact with your audience (mailing list and promotional options).
I’ll put some more on here – but I’d recommend that you check out Amuse. It puts your songs onto Spotify and iTunes and all those places, and tracks your streaming numbers.
Facebook / Instagram / Twitter / Tik Tok
Don’t make me write things about them. I don’t want to. But they’re there to make sharing easy. Remember you can automate them one a week to do your stuff, so you don’t need to spend too much time looking at them if it doesn’t bring you good juju.
Youtube / Vimeo
Electronic Press Kit – One Page Links
An Electronic Press Kit is a good thing to have if you’re entering festivals, applying for music courses, song comps etc. It has your links to things, your bio, your songs, maybe a stage plan of gear you need when performing etc.
There’s quite a few out there. Either way, they get you thinking about what you might need, so you can be prepared. Which is always good.
Just a good old fashioned website. Make it super easy or a new page for every random idea you have……………………………………….
For projects you have in mind and you need a little money and motivation to kick them over. I would say a massive amount of pre-production in key. Go into it knowing what you’re gonna get out of it.
About Shelly
Singer / Songwriter / Vocal Teacher
My family used to jam around the dinner table after dinner. Most nights, instruments would be pulled out, beloved song books, forgotten song words, with family friends, or just with family. My family built this community of funny, talented, passionate people with whom I grew into the person I am today. I’ve been taking singing lessons, teaching singing lessons, writing songs and creating music for the better part of three decades. I hope you’ll join me in this new adventure of the Songwriting Circle.
Why create the Songwriting Circle?
I’ve wanted to be in a songwriting group for way too long to recall, but I’ve never been able to find the time and make the commitment. Finding the sharing night to fit into a schedule, let alone the writing time, with a young child, jobs, teaching, gigs and all the things. So making a digital forum can be used to encourage, inspire, share, gain feedback and remember to create songs. I look forward to writing and sharing with you.
Frequently Asked Questions
Learn How it Works!
How much is it again?
Individual is $30.00 and if you join with a friend it’s $40 for two people 🙂
How do I join?
Send me an email via my Contact Page and I’ll reply with payment info and all the info for starting our adventure!
To where do I upload my songs?
You’ll be sent a link to a GOOGLE DRIVE folder so you can upload your song, and listen to other songs. Why Google drive – because you can upload the song file, the lyrics and chords if you want to, and people can upload their feedback to your folder.
What are the rules?
Take the weekly Springboard songwriting inspiration idea; write a song, upload it; give feedback; listen to your feedback; grow.
How often do I do this shenanigan?
Weekly; Seven days. How else can I say this? You get the self implied deadline of one week to write your song.
Why not monthly? Cause you’ll forget about it and quit too easy.
One weeks = Two days to think about it, three days to get you kit together, one day to stress write it and one afternoon to record it. Go.
Can my child join in and do it?
Yes, of course.
However, I can not promise you there won’t be adult themes in the songwriting of a community group. I can hopefully for-see in the near future a Kid’s Songwriting Circle popping out of this.
Will there be live performance of the songs one day?
It would be epic to have an end of year concert – at a venue, or via digital format. Let’s aim for that ok?!
Can I break the rules?
Yes.
If anything at all has given you inspiration to write a song, you’ve kicked a goal in my book. Break the rules, read the rules literally or critically, do your thing. Practise writing songs. We’re here if you need us.
News and stuff…
Chord charts, gigs, songwriting ideas and more…
Singing Teachers – Byron Bay/Lennox Head
My teching schedule is all booked up, but here’s a bunch of other amazing people who can help you get your groove on as well.
“In We Dive” EP by Shelly Brown on BandCamp
In We DiveShelly Brown is a Singer, Songwriter and a passionate Vocal Coach. Lennox Head NSW Australia “Shelly Brown captivated the audience from her 1st soulful note as she moves from classic soul to jazz and Neo soul. Shelly’s voice is that of a singer’s singer and...
Uploading a project. Click Yup. “In We Dive” Shelly Brown
This is it. This is the Pre-release, the first listen, the check this out. I’ve held my breath for so long, and now.
I am Here. And you are Here. Cheers big ears! Turn it up! xx Shelly.
Get Writing!
Send a Contact Email and I’ll send you the info to get crackin!