To help your songwriting with a focus on the benefits of innovative songwriting software, tools, resources and programs for your songwriting craft and career.

From Songwriting Software Plus - June, 2005

For the latest updates to Songwriting Software Plus
click here to the What's New For You page.

To search Songwriting Software Plus or the Web via Google click here.

Play Music - Music Notation Software - Notation Technologies has revolutionized the music notation software market by creating Play Music…the easiest music composition software available and quite likely the most affordable. No Music Theory knowledge needed. Just play or point and click - Play Music’s user friendly interface will easily guide you through the composition process…simply click on the instrument sounds you want and Play Music will play back your song! Add lyrics and print out your masterpiece. Even beginners can compose music the very first time they use Play Music! Click here for more information and to purchase Play Music.

Contents:

Hello

First up: Editor's Note from the laptop of Robert Curtis,
your songwriter in residence at Songwriting Software Plus.

Followed by Items:

1. Guitar Software - From Learning To Burning
2. One Minute To Better Songwriting With Evyn Charles
3. This Month's Notable Quote
4. Songwriting Software Plus Super Savings Zone

Editor's Note:

Of all the various instruments available popular songwriters primarily gravitate towards either the guitar or the piano (keyboard).

Guitars and keyboards allow easy ways to play and communicate the harmony and rhythm of your song and keep your mouth free to sing and convey the melody and lyric of your tune.

And of those two guitar is more popular most likely because you can learn to play it rather easily, at least in a basic sense, you can take it pretty much anywhere and quite often they're relatively more affordable in many cases.

If you go the route of an electric guitar then you've also got a lot of sound variability as well that can add interest and styling ability to your songs and performance.

Today's issue will highlight some better guitar oriented programs and resources to walk along the road from learning to burning :-)

Item 1

Guitar Software - From Learning To Burning

There are a variety of programs available today to help your songwriting on guitar from the first time you pick up the instrument, to learn it, all the way to recording a cd, to burn it.

Learning And Improving Your Guitar Playing

If you're just starting out or have gotten to a certain point in your playing acumen and want to develop more capability there are a number of programs to help carry your skills further.

One of the most popular lines of guitar learning software is the offering of programs from eMedia. Their series covers everything from beginning guitar to specialized areas like rock or blues. And they have a program called eMedia Guitar Songs that helps you learn songs in various styles - great for enhancing your songwriting music writing pallete.

Also worth checking out are the noted Alfred company's CD-ROM programs for learning guitar. These programs follow their well known books but are interactive. You can peek at each title and their particulars here.

For a nuts-and-bolts ebook geared towards just the essentials for songwriters check out From Guitar Owner To Guitar Player by Songwriting Software Plus' very own guest tipster Evyn Charles.

Writing Guitar Chord Charts For Your Songs

Once you are at a comfortable level of playing ability for your writing you'll likely want to create at least chord based lead sheets of your songs for reference as you play or refer back to later.

A primary songwriting program on Songwriting Software Plus that is well geared to guitar chord entry and song construction by chords is Lyricist.

Lyricist is an all around program for your songwriting with great support for lyric development and for chord based lead sheet production Lyricist is hard to beat. It can even automatically click in guitar templates that show exact fingering positions.

Another chord entry based program for song construction is the best selling program from PG Music - Band-in-a-Box with versions for Windows PCs and Macs.

With Band-in-a-Box you can construct an entire full band arrangement to any number of classical and contemporary styles all built around your chord progression.

Software For Writing Guitar Music

For those talented souls who want an organic way of notating music consider programs that do it automatically from your playing.

In this department check out DigitalEar and Intelliscore. And these programs can create the notes for you without you having to have any notation ability.

At the other end of the spectrum there are two leading programs for music notation, Finale and Sibelius, that do an excellent job but note you're best suited for these programs if you're well versed in music theory and application.

Recording Your Guitar Playing

To record your guitar playing and frankly all your instruments and vocals in the realm of software there are a handful of top programs for Windows PCs and Macs. These programs are typically referred to as sequencers and handle both midi and audio recording quite handily.

For a most affordable and capable option for PCs check out PG Music's PowerTracks now in a completely new version 10 with many incredible upgrades. This program is quite frankly pretty phenomenal in general and it sells for a most affordable $49 US.

Moving up the line your looking at programs like Cubase and CakeWalk and similar for PC and these programs come in lite versions that are often quite potent for songwriters.

For Mac you're typically looking at Logic and Digital Performer and Logic has an excellent entry level version Logic Express.

Stringing This All Together

Now you should be versed, at least in a foundational way, on what programs can help you out for the different processes involved in writing and recording your songs with guitar.

Once you've written, recorded and mixed your song you're ready to burn it to CD

End of Item

One Minute To Better Songwriting With Evyn Charles:

What can grow your guitar playing the most?

Since this issue is focussing on guitars it prompted me to pass along a guitar specific songwriting tip for this month.

In my book From Guitar Owner To Guitar Player my biggest proclamation for improving your guitar playing is to play with other people.

This might not necessarily be on stage performing, particularly at first, but at any time simply getting together with others who might play guitar too, or keyboard or any other instrument, and playing is a great way to work on developing your skills.

I'm talking skills not only in terms of your direct playing ability but also in terms of developing your sense of time and rhythm.

The overlying consideration in practicing by yourself or in a group is to have fun and enjoy yourself.

Happy strumming,

Evyn

Evyn Charles is a full time independent singer-songwriter and musician in Los Angeles and a graduate of the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston. In addition to regularly performing on his own he's played stints as varied as Club Med to currently being heard on the Orville Redenbacher popcorn commercial as well as playing with numerous classic touring acts.

He is also author of From Guitar Owner To Guitar Player - the no fluff guide to playing guitar readily geared to songwriters. Click here to learn more about From Guitar Owner To Guitar Player and check out Evyn's own site by clicking here.

For Inspiration And Thought On Your Path To More Songwriting Success:

"Knowing is not enough! You must take action."
-- Anthony Robbins

Songwriting Software Plus Super Savings Zone:

Lyricist - the premiere indispensable and affordable lyric and lead sheet music writing program that incorporates chord charting (guitar, piano and the Nashville Number System), key transposition, word processing (formatting, spell checking, etc.), thesaurus, rhyming dictionary, media file launch, song organization, emailing of your songs capability plus more!  All the essential tools of the trade for writing and polishing lyrics and preparing lead sheets of your songs.

Performing Songwriter Magazine said this about Lyricist - "...what it does, it does well." March/April 2004

Click here for all the benefits Lyricist gives your songwriting and enjoy the Songwriting Software Plus discount - save $5.00. Or try it FREE for 30 days. CD or download.

MasterWriter - the most comprehensive program for writing lyrics with a recorder for melodies and preprogrammed grooves. Easy to use as your word processor. Won Best of Show at MacWorld Expo and has received rave reviews in every major music magazine. Endorsed by ASCAP, BMI, SESAC, NSAI. Used by hit songwriters including Gwen Stefani, Rob Thomas, Jimmy Webb, Kenny Loggins, Trent Reznor, Clint Black, Jeffrey Steele, and many more. Windows and Mac compatible.

Click here to read more about MasterWriter and save big with Songwriting Software Plus. Or try it FREE for 30 days. CD or download.

Information & Credits

Songwriting Software Express is published monthly by Songwriting Software Plus: Robert Curtis, Editor.

You can send your feedback to feedback@songwriting-software.com.

Your privacy is assured. Click here to view our Privacy Policy page.

Songwriting Software Express and the Songwriting Software Plus web site were
developed and continue to be run and grown using the Site Build It! web site system.

Subscription Information