Odie Blackmon - Middle Tennessee State University

Experiential Learning Scholars Program
EXL Award Nomination Form
Nominee Information:
Name:
Odie Blackmon
M # (student): _______________
E-Mail: odie.blackmon@mtsu.edu
Phone: 615-330-3782
Category of Award:
_____ Outstanding Student Award
X
Outstanding Faculty Award
_____ Outstanding Administrator Award
_____ Outstanding Community Participant Award
Nominated by:
Name: Odie Blackmon Position/Title: Assistant Professor of Recording Industry/Commercial
Songwriting Concentration Coordinator
E-Mail: odie.blackmon@mtsu.edu Phone: 615-330-3782
Provide your rationale for giving and EXL award to the person nominated.
Professor Blackmon deposited $ 10,000 in the Songwriting Programs account in January of 2015
from a post semester/December fundraising concert where Commercial Songwriting students had
the opportunity to perform as the opening act for Country Star and MTSU alum Eric Paslay at
the Listening Room in Nashville. Also in Spring 2015 he created two new experiential classes
for the songwriting concentration: Songwriting Instrumentation: Guitar and Songwriting
Instrumentation: Piano. Both classes are designed to increase songwriting students technical
playing abilities and understanding of music theory through “playing based” instruction instead
of traditional classical notation methods. Both classes have the approval of Chairperson Keel
and will soon be considered by the curriculum committees to become prerequisites for the
experiential class 3020 Commercial Songwriting. Professor Blackmon also recruited and hired
adjunct professors with esteemed professional backgrounds. Guitar teacher Jerry Kimbrough
who is a studio guitarist that can be heard on major record labels like RCA, Disney, Warner
Brothers, and Sony. Melissa Taylor is a Simply Music certified piano instructor with fifteen
years of experience as a music publisher on Nashville’s music row.
Spring 2015 professional guests hosted by Professor Blackmon included Woody Bomar,
legendary publisher associated with Sony Music and founder of Little Big Town Publishing
Company, Rich Karg, former RIM student and professional songwriter for Green Hills Music.
Scott Gerow, MTSU Music School alum, owner of Battery Lane Music and professional
songwriter for film and tv, and Bobby Taylor, Grammy-nominated songwriter.
Professor Blackmon organized a “MTSU Student Songwriter Showcase” with performing rights
organization American Society of Composers and Authors at their Music Row office. Twenty
major publishing companies including, Warner Chapel, Round Hill Music, Creative Nation, Sea
Gayle Music, and Sony/ATV were in attendance. This is a typical “job” interview for
songwriters where they play their new songs for publishers that are looking to sign new writers
to a contract. MTSU students that performed were Zach Russell, Nick Carpenter, Kyle
Crownover, and student group Maybe April.
Working with the late George Jone’s wife Nancy on the “Life and Music of George Jones” class,
Professor Blackmon learned that there was a need for summer employees at the soon to be
opened George Jones Museum in late Spring 2015. He sent out emails to all RIM students and
passed on over twenty names to the museum. They hired several students that had gone through
the George Jones class as tour guides because they already knew his history. The first employee
hired at the museum was MTSU/George Jones class student Bethany Scott who Nancy Jones
drove to Murfreesboro and interview personally.
Fall 2016 saw the introduction of a new experiential class, “Songwriting for Jingles, Film, and
TV”, created by Professor Blackmon and adjunct professor Jerry Kimbrough who has written
jingles for clients Coca-Cola, Cartoon Network, Maker’s Mark, and Warner Chapel Music
Production. Students learn to diversify their income stream by learning to write songs for
alternative markets using Pro Tools recording software. Warner Chapel Music VP Arron Gant
was a special guest.
Professor Blackmon solicited and received space at ASCAP on Music Row for the 4020
Advanced Songwriting Class to meet six times over the semester. This allowed for close
proximity to working professional guests. Guests included Grammy winning artist Alison
Krauss, Grammy winning songwriter R.L. Castleman, #1 hit songwriting duo/artists “John &
Jacob” and their manger Mike Doyle. Mike’s company also manages Garth Brooks and Meghan
Trainor. Other guests were RIM alum and hit songwriter Erin Enderlin, BMG publishing
“Creative Director” Daniel Lee, #1 hit songwriter Hugh Moffat.
Professor Blackmon collaborated with MFA Audio coordinator Bill Crabtree to have his audio
graduate students record songwriting students songs in a professional studio with professional
musicians. Blackmon hired the AFM union studio musicians, booked Omni studio, and selected
the songs to be recorded. Students got to produce their own music with world class musicians at
a world class studio where many gold and platinum records have been recorded.
Also in Fall 2015, Professor Blackmon was awarded a grant he wrote from the Academy of
Country Music’s Lifting Lives Foundation for $ 10,000. The money will fund the “Music Row
in Murfreesboro” program which will pay professional songwriters, music publishers, and
musicians $ 200 to $ 400 to cover their travel expenses from Nashville and to say thank you.
This should help getting more experienced professionals on the MTSU campus. Blackmon is
collaborating with EMC professors Todd O’Neil and Bob Gordon to allow EMC students to
video the songwriting and music business pros workshop with the students and MFA Audio’s
Bill Crabtree to allow MFA student’s to record the pros. This small amount of money will
provide experiential education opportunities for students of several disciplines.
Professor Blackmon also applied for and received a grant of $ 1,500 from the EXL Advisory
Committee to pay for travel expenses associated with EXL teaching certification training offered
Spring 2016 from the NSEE’s Experiential Education Academy.
In November, songwriting students from Griffith University Queensland Conservatorium in
Australia collaborated with MTSU songwriting students. Some of the songs were chosen to be
recorded with professional players at RCA/Victor Studio A in Nashville. This is the second year
that Professor Blackmon has collaborated with Griffith University.
Currently, Blackmon is creating a practicum course for songwriters that should be available Fall
2016.
** Nominees will be asked to submit documentation supporting their nomination.
February 10, 2016
Carol Swayze
University College Administration, EXL Scholars Program
Middle Tennessee State University
I offer my wholehearted thanks as a nominee for the Outstanding EXL Faculty Member
Award. I accept the nomination and wish to be considered for the award. It has been my
goal, since becoming a faculty member at Middle Tennessee State University, to craft
experiences for my students that will not only offer them the opportunity to learn
practical skills in the Recording Industry field but to take them to settings where they will
attain first-hand knowledge of the music business by talking to and working with industry
professionals.
In order to provide first-hand experience and practical skills for my students, I introduced
an experiential course, entitled “Songwriting for Jingles, Film, and TV,” with the
assistance of Jerry Kimbrough, adjunct professor at MTSU and a commercial songwriter
for Coca-Cola and the Cartoon Network. Additional experiential classes in song
instrumentation – for guitar and for piano. The purpose of these courses is to encourage
students to diversify their songwriting abilities in order to meet the demands of a complex
and ever-changing music market.
While working directly with ASCAP (the American Society of Composers, Authors, and
Publishers), I took my “Advanced Songwriting” students from an MTSU classroom to
meeting on Music Row in Nashville, bringing them into contact with Grammy Awardwinning artists and songwriters (Alison Krauss and R. L. Castleman), artist management
(Mike Doyle/Major Bob Music), and industry publishers, such as BMG Muisc
Publishing. Through these efforts, undergraduate students were able to collaborate with
world-class artists and record their own music in a top ranked studio with professionals
from the American Federation of Musicians.
Added to this one-of-a-kind exposure, I established and organized the “MTSU Student
Songwriter Showcase,” during which MTSU students were able to perform their original
compositions for over twenty major publishing companies, including Sony/ATV, Round
Hill Music, Warner Chapel, and many others, to give them experience for their future
ventures in the job market.
The culmination of these endeavors was a fundraising concert that saw MTSU’s
“Commercial Songwriting” students performing as an opening act for country music star
(and MTSU alum) Eric Paslay at the Listening Room in Nashville. This fundraiser
brought $10,000 to MTSU’s Songwriting program in order to continue bringing students
experience, skill-building, and opportunities that only MTSU can provide. I am currently organizing a new practicum class that will use the ACM Lifting Lives
grant I received for $ 10,000.00. This grant will pay professional to drive to
Murfreesboro and work with my students. I have also solicited involvement from the
Professor Bill Crabtree and the MFA Audio Production program as well as Bob Gorman
and the EMC’s multi-camera classes. The grant that I wrote will fund experiential
learning for songwriting students by working with pro writers, MFA Audio students by
recording the sessions, and EMC students by capturing the sessions on video.
I’m including a link to the “MTSU Songwriting” Facebook page for details on all of our
experiential activities.
https://www.facebook.com/MTSU-Songwriting-852327314845931/
Thank you again for your nomination, and I appreciate your consideration.
Odie Blackmon
Advanced Commercial
Songwriting Course Syllabus
RIM 4020-001
Fall Semester 2015
Classroom: Ezell 120
Office: Ezell 106A
Email: Odie.Blackmon@mtsu.edu
Class Hours: 4020-001: 1:00 pm - 2:20 pm T/TR
Office Hours: 2:30pm - 3:30pm Tuesday, 12:00pm - 3:00pm
Friday
Course Description:
This course will push the songwriter to find his/her voice/style
through the constraints and structure of specific writing
assignments. Lectures will be based upon the needs of the class,
current trends in hit songs, and timeless examples in classic
songs.
This course is an experiential learning course. This course
includes a hands-on learning project (applied learning, service
learning, creative activity, teacher education, laboratory, co-op, or
internship). MTSU wants to provide relevant real-world learning
opportunities that will benefit students. This course will count
toward completion of the designation, EXL Scholars Program.
For more information about the EXL Scholars Program, check the
website: http://www.mtsu.edu/exl/. It is strongly recommended
that your retain copies of all coursework as it will be helpful if you
wish to pursue the EXL Scholars designation.
Course Outcomes:
- The ability to dissect hit and classic songs and learn from them
- Start to identify traits of your own voice/style as a songwriter
- Solo, Co, and Three-way writing and discussion of process and
experiences
- A realistic knowledge of the songwriting marketplace
- The ability to journal consistently and use as a tool to generate
ideas
Required Text: “Hit Songs Deconstructed” internet subscription
service. Students can buy a semester subscription on-line at the
discounted rate of $ 30.00 at
www.HitSongsDeconstructed.com/MTSU.
Hit Songs Deconstructed provides in-depth analysis of the craft
and trends shaping TODAY'S hits. The reports spotlight what
makes a contemporary song a hit and provides actionable insight
and best practices to help prime songwriters, producers and
music industry professionals for success in a very competitive,
fast changing musical landscape - while remaining true to their
unique artistic vision.
Class Materials:
Access to a MP3 recording device or phone recording app for
recording class assignments.
Composition notebook for Journal
Access to a computer for turning in lyrics, mp3 files and other
assignments.
Attendance Policy:
Attendance is required in order for students to be successful in
this class. Because this is an experiential class, absences will not
be excused for any reason. After two absences in Maymester, the
student will fail the class. Homework and quizzes may be made
up with a doctor’s note stating why the student was sick and that
they should not attend class. If a student is late or leaves early
they will receive a tardy grade. Two tardy grades result in one
absence. It is the student’s responsibility to get any class notes
or information missed from classmates.
Class Participation:
Class participation is an essential part of this course and
discussions will be held regularly on course and current popular
music topics. Class participation will be factored into the final
grade.
Outside of Class:
Students will be required to write or co-write at least four to six
hours outside of class each week.
Class Behavior:
Students are expected to behave in a professional manner at all
times. Unprofessional behavior will result in expulsion from
class and will negatively affect your grade.
Withdrawal from class: Students who cease attendance but do not officially drop or
withdraw will receive a grade of "F". The University withdrawal
policy for this semester is listed on this page: http://
www.mtsu.edu/withdraw/
Repeated Courses: No course may be attempted more than twice (i.e. Repeated
more than once), except upon the advice of the faculty advisor.
(University policy, catalog, p.46.)
Reasonable Accommodations For Students With Disabilities:
If you have a disability that may require assistance or
accommodations or you have a question related to any
accommodations for testing, note takers, reader, etc., please
speak with me as soon as possible. Students with a disability
must register with the Disabled Student Services office. (KUC
#120, 898-2783).
Do you have a lottery scholarship? To retain Tennessee
Education Lottery Scholarship eligibility, you must earn a
cumulative TELS GPA of 2.75 after 24 and 48 attempted hours
and a cumulative TELS GPA of 3.0 thereafter. You may qualify
with a 2.75 cumulative GPA after 72 attempted hours (and
subsequent semesters), if you are enrolled full-time and maintain
a semester GPA of at least 3.0. A grade of C, D, F, FA, or I in this
class may negatively impact TELS eligibility. Dropping or
stopping attendance in a class may also impact eligibility; if you
withdraw from or stop attending this class and it results in an
enrollment status of less than full time, you may lose eligibility for
your lottery scholarship. Lottery recipients are eligible to receive
the scholarship for a maximum of five years from the date of initial
enrollment, or until reaching 120 TELS attempted hours or
earning a bachelor degree. For additional Lottery rules, please
refer to your Lottery Statement of Understanding form (http://
www.mtsu.edu/financial-aid/forms/LOTFOD.pdf) or contact your
MT One Stop Enrollment Counselor (http://www.mtsu.edu/onestop/counselor.php).
Mobile devices- All cell phones, laptops, and tablets must be put
away during class. Anyone texting during class will be asked to
leave and given a tardy.
Diversity Statement- This class celebrates the unique ways that
people from varying social intersections have contributed to
American media institutions. Please choose your words carefully
and be mindful of difference in this classroom.
Grading: Songs will be graded solely on fulfilling the assigned
task, effort shown in presentation, and the ability to show an
understanding of subjects covered. I do not grades songs based
on my opinion of what a “hit” song may or may not be.
A=90% - 100 %
B=80% - 89%
C=70% - 79%
D=60% - 69%
F=59% or below
Testing and Assignments
Acitivity
Credit Weight
Description/Purpose
Class Assignments/ Quizzes
40%
Class presentations, quizzes,
submissions, and exercises.
Song Assignments (6)
40%
Original songs written with
specific requirements to be
completed outside of class and
turned in via email by a specific
date.
Journal
10%
Two pages per day for duration
of semester/weekends included.
Must be numbered and dated in
upper right corner of a
composition notebook. Journal
will be checked randomly and
turned in at the end of the
semester.
Class Participation
10%
Class participation and conduct
will be graded by instructor.
I RESERVE THE RIGHT TO CHANGE THIS SYLLABUS AT ANYTIME
DURING THE SEMESTER.
Odie Blackmon
Examples of Experiential Assignments
1) Daily Journal Entries- Songwriting students are required to write one
page a day in a journal for the entire semester. The guidelines are from
the “Morning Pages” chapter in “The Artist’s Way” by Julia Cameron.
Students are required to have their journal every class for random
checks and then a final grade for the whole body of work at the end of
the semester. Journaling teaches the student to write uninhibitedly and
turn off their inner editor, an important skill for songwriters. It’s also a
great resource for song ideas later.
2) Song Assignments- Student are given specific direction that reflect
the lecture and put the skills learned into action. For example a set of
parameters set for a song assignment could look like this:
Song Assignment Guidelines
1) Co-written with assigned partner
2) Up-tempo (no ballads/radio and concert promoters want it up!)
3) Use “Direct Address” point of view (DA is the most intimate and
commercial)
4) Use a “one word title.” (They are very popular, easy to remember,
and work great as album titles and on tour t-shirts!)
5) Use the popular 1/5/6-/4 chord progression we’ve studied as a
main section in some part of the song.
6) Any topic besides love. (Get outside your box!)
7) Use a three to four note reoccurring melodic motif in the chorus.
Students play their new songs for the class and professor who then
discuss strengths and weakness with the writer(s). The professor
then gives an edit assignment just as a pro music publisher would
have a signed songwriter edit their work. Co-writers are also asked
to share their experience with the class. Sometimes matches not
made in heaven offer the best learning experiences.
3) Pro writer visits- Students are given a class participation grade
according to their engagement with professional guests. Pro guests offer
advice and song critique to the students.
4) Studio Recording of Songs- Students are graded on how well they
work with others during the recording process. A songwriter learns the nonclassroom skills that the studio provides where the student must balance
their creative and business needs while directing a band of professional
musicians, a tracking studio engineer, a vocal/overdub engineer,
professional singers or background singers, and a mix engineer towards
the same goal. This is done during a limited amount of time due to the
American Federation of Musicians pay scale, studio costs, and normal
budgetary limitations that all publishers and songwriters face.
BMG Music Publishing Creative Director Daniel Lee at ASCAP on Music Row with students
Adjunct professor Jerry Kimbrough is a pro studio session musician and international jingle writer whose credits include Coca-Cola and Cartoon
Network.
Aaron Gant, VP of Production at WarnerChappell Production Music, was guest lecturer in the Jingle class on Dec 2nd. It was fun and highly
informative, as he generously critiqued students writing projects, fairly but frankly. Even Jerry Kimbrough, teacher of the class and a writer for
Aaron for 15 years, learned a thing or two!
Grammy Winners Alison Krauss and R.L. Castleman working with MTSU students
Grammy Winners Alison Krauss and R.L. Castleman with MTSU students
Grammy Winners Alison Krauss and R.L. Castleman with MTSU students
George Jones last duet partner and backup singer Brittany Allyn stopped by the "George Jones Life & Music" class at MTSU. It was great to hear what she
learned about singing from George!
RIM student JessiLynn Kidd at her internship working with country music stars Carrie Underwood and Sam Hunt. The internship class is Melissa
Wald’s program.
Student Performing Original Songs
Students Performing Original Songs
Students recording their Original Songs
Students recording their Original Songs
Songwriting students from Griffith UniversityQueensland Conservatorium in Australia working with Middle Tennessee State University
(MTSU) students on Tuesday! We got some great songs that will be recorded soon RCA Victor Studios Nashville in Nashville.
The Academy of Country Music Lifting Lives Foundation just funded a grant of $10,000 for the MTSU Songwriting “Music Row In
Murfreesboro” program starting next semester! chris
https://www.facebook.com/852327314845931/photos/a.852331788178817.1073741828.852327314845931/970944929650835/?type=3&theat
er
Page 1 of 1
Coming Soon
Music Row in Murfreesboro
Sponsored by
ACADEMY
of COUNTRY MUSIC ~
cX'/t;1jcX'w~
Hit songwriters and music business pros
share with MTSU songwriting students
https://scontent.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpt1/v/t1.0-9/12119160_970944929650835_709806...
2/25/2016
From:
To:
Subject:
Date:
Odie Blackmon
odieblackmon@me.com
New from MTSU: MTSU songwriting classes get a "lift" from ACM grant for visiting pros
Wednesday, December 16, 2015 12:46:50 PM
FOR RELEASE: Dec. 16, 2015
EDITORIAL CONTACT: Gina E. Fann, 615-898-5385 o, 615-713-6267
c, or gina.fann@mtsu.edu
MTSU songwriting classes get a ‘lift’ from ACM grant for visiting
pros
MURFREESBORO — MTSU songwriting students will have more
opportunities to learn from visiting professionals in the first phase of a
new “Music Row in Murfreesboro” project funded by a $10,000 grant
from an arm of the Academy of Country Music. The ACM’s “Lifting Lives Foundation” made the donation to support the
Department of Recording Industry’s ongoing Commercial Songwriting
Program expansion, program director Odie Blackmon said.
“We’ve had several of our Advanced Songwriting classes up at the ASCAP
headquarters in Nashville so we can be close to professionals,” the
professor said, “and even with the kindness of ASCAP letting us use
space, we still had a lot of obstacles for our students.”
Those obstacles involved both time and money, Blackmon said, when
students who had other classes or off-campus work had to add a twohour round-trip, with gas and parking costs, to a three-hour class.
Music business professionals regularly visit MTSU recording industry
classes on campus to offer advice, share war stories and even critique
student projects. Blackmon wrote the grant request in hopes of getting
extra funds to reimburse the pros’ expenses for their MTSU songwritingclass visits.
“The Lifting Lives Foundation apparently liked the fact that 30 percent of
our students at MTSU are first-generation college students,” he said,
“and then they saw that we have 16 full-time music business professors,
14 audio professors and one full-time songwriting professor, so I think
they felt it would be a good opportunity for us to bring some real
industry pros and even more diversity to our students.”
The foundation is the philanthropic arm of the Academy of Country Music
and develops and funds music-related therapy and education programs.
It uses donations from artists and fans to fund programs ranging from
disaster relief to music camps and music therapy for people with
disabilities and military veterans.
MTSU’s program is one of 11 new beneficiaries of the ACM Lifting Lives
Foundation’s fall grants totaling $180,000. Other grant recipients
included Alive Hospice, CreatiVets, Musicians on Call, Nashville’s W.O.
Smith Music School and the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center.
“We owe a huge debt of gratitude to the artists and volunteer board
members that donate their time and efforts to ACM Lifting Lives,” said
Debbie Carroll, ACM Lifting Lives vice president. “It’s because of their
kindness we’re able to give back and be a part of continuing the impact
made through the power of music in these communities.”
Blackmon, who expressed his gratitude to MTSU colleagues Dr. Samantha
Cantrell, proposal development specialist in the Office of Research
Services, and Pat Branam, director of development in the Office of
Development and Advancement Services, for their help with the grant,
said he intends to expand the “Music Row in Murfreesboro” project as
interest, time and funds allow. Students in the Department of Electronic Media Communication have
already mentioned videotaping the visiting songwriter sessions, both for
their own project proficiency and to archive for future songwriting
students to view.
“These visits are so beneficial to our students,” he said. “I’ve seen
repeatedly how much affected our students are by these professionals
sitting down and talking with them.”
You can see a brief thank-you video from the Commercial Songwriting
Program students to the ACM Lifting Lives Foundation at
http://ow.ly/VVq6Y.
For more information about MTSU’s Commercial Songwriting Program,
visit http://www.mtsu.edu/programs/commercial-songwriting. More
details on the Department of Recording Industry are available at
http://www.mtsu.edu/recording-industry.
—30—
MTSU is committed to developing a community devoted to learning,
growth and service. We hold these values dear, and there’s a simple
phrase that conveys them: “I am True Blue.” Learn more at
www.mtsu.edu/trueblue. For MTSU news anytime, visit
www.MTSUNews.com. MTSU Music Row in Murfreesboro.jpg - MTSU assistant professor
Odie Blackmon, standing, discusses songwriting techniques with
commercial songwriting students in his Ezell Hall classroom in this file
photo. The Academy of Country Music's Lifting Lives Foundation recently
gave the program $10,000 for the new "Music Row in Murfreesboro"
project to bring more music industry professionals to songwriting classes
at MTSU. (MTSU file photo by Andy Heidt)
From:
To:
Subject:
Date:
Odie Blackmon
Carol Swayze
Songwriting students recording their original songs at OMNI Sound in Nashville
Wednesday, December 02, 2015 12:20:18 PM
Here’s a link to see how famous this studio is: http://www.omnisoundstudios.com/
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Charles Blackmon
Carol Swayze
Grammy Winning songwriter today
Friday, February 19, 2016 6:36:59 AM
01 All Kinds of Kinds.m4a
ATT00001.htm
ATT00002.htm
Carol, If it is possible, please add this week’s events to my application for the EXL award.
Thanks,
Odie
On Tuesday, I lectured on “Songs of Social Commentary” to my Advanced
Songwriting (RIM 4020) class. Today I followed up with a visit from Grammy
winning songwriter Don Henry. http://www.donhenry.com
Before Don came to visit the students had to listen to three of his “socially
conscious” songs, read his bio, and write a one page response. This ensure that
they are engaged with the visitor and ready to discuss his song craft and strategies.
Don is known for being a songwriter’s songwriter and famous for songs such as
“Beautiful Fool” about Martin Luther King Jr. and JFK, All Kinds of Kinds by Miranda
Lambert, and Grammy song of the year “We’re Have You’ve Been” by Kathy Mattea.
Students asked questions about Don’s approach to melody and specifically he talked
about how he tries to write songs of social conciseness without alienating his
audience. Henry also talked about the business of a professional songwriter.
Next week we will look at our notes of Don’s comments of how he crafted Miranda
Lambert’s top 15 hit “All Kinds of Kinds” while listening to her recording and then
dissect what we learned from Don’s comments.
MTSU songwriting students are learning the craft of songwriting from some of the
actual hit writers. To have the person that wrote the song tell them exactly what
they were thinking during the creative process and why they made the decisions
they made during
the process is proving to be an invaluable experience.
Don Henry’s visit was made possible through a grant funded by the ACM’s Lifting
Lives Foundation.
From:
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Subject:
Date:
Odie Blackmon
Alton Dellinger; Amy Macy; Beverly Keel; Charlie Dahan; Chris Haseleu; Cosette Collier; Dale Brown; Dan Pfeifer;
Dana Potter; Daniel C. Rowland; Darryl Leach; Daudi Fletcher; Deborah Wagnon; Frank C. Baird; Ernest F. Cannon;
Gloria Green; Grant Greene; Jared S. Reynolds; Jeffrey Izzo; Jerry Kimbrough; Jewly Hight; James Piekarski; John M.
Dougan; John Hill; John Merchant; Joseph Akins; Matt Foglia; Matthew O"Brien; Megan F. Salladay; Melissa Taylor
(mtaylorpiano@gmail.com); Melissa Wald; Michael S. Fleming; Michael L. Hanson; Mike Alleyne; Natasha Branch;
Odie Blackmon; Olivia K. Young; Paul Allen; Paul Fischer; Rich Barnet; Sarah Bailey; Stacy L. Merida; Tammy R.
Donham; Tisha J. Simeral; Ken Paulson; Zeny Panol; Rachel R. Helms; Lisa McCann; Gregory N. Reish; Yvonne
Elliott; Abby C. White; Val Hoeppner; Andrew Oppmann; John M. Goodwin; Rob Janson; Trevor O. deClercq; Bill
Crabtree; Zak Denham; Todd O"Neill; Jimmy W. Hart; Billy Pittard; Gina Fann; Carol Swayze
Sunday Brunch
Saturday, November 14, 2015 9:32:37 AM
Friends,
Tomorrow, MTSU Songwriting students Merideth Oswald, Corey Fisher, Caitlin
Spencer, and Jordan Peffley will be performing at 11:30 for The Listening
Room Cafe’s Sunday brunch in downtown Nashville.
Reservations are suggested. I’m attaching a brunch menu. Hope to see you
there!
Best,
Odie
http://www.listeningroomcafe.com/brunch-weekend/
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Attachments:
Charles O Blackmon
Carol Swayze
slide show for committee
Monday, February 15, 2016 1:45:21 PM
Song Titles.pdf
ATT00001.txt
Carol, I use Keynote slideshows for all of my classes. It provides great visual learning and doesn’t use up
trees! I’m sending you an example of a lecture on “Song Titles and Plot Devices” designed to help
young songwriters come up with ideas and not just wait for inspiration. That’s what professionals have
to do! As you will see, I give a description, show examples of popular songs (new and old from
different genres), and then give some pre-writing instructions. The student will have an assignment
where they come in with several ideas for each category. I then incorporate these into my songwriting
assignments for practical use.
Song Titles
Song titles suggest a story, convey a mood,
and establish a flavor.
Good titles capture the essence of the entire
song in just a few words.
Most of all, intriguing song titles attract
people.
Coming up with a good title is an important
skill needed for writing hit songs.
Coming up with a fresh title has been long considered a smart
way to start a song.
“The public buys songs, not because it knows the song, but
because it knows and likes the title idea.”
Irving Berlin
“I write titles and work backwards from there.”
Sting
“If you start out with a tangible, then the whole song stays
more focused. I almost have to do it that way.”
Jimmy Webb
Strategies
for
Song Titles
1) Color Title
Helps you think in concrete
images rather than in abstractions
and to utilize a time-honored
device with built-in memorability
that makes for a distinctive title.
Purple Haze
Purple People Eater
Purple Sky
Purple Rain
Deep Purple
Purple Heart
Green Onions
Green Tambourine
Green River
Green Light
Bein' Green
Little Green Apples
Green Eyed Lady
White Wedding
White Christmas
Nights in White Satin
White Flag
White Room
White Horse
Paint The White House Black
Pink Houses
Pink Bedroom
Pink Cadillac
Pink
Pretty In Pink
Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots
Black Hole Sun
Back In Black
Long Black Train
Little Black Dress
Black Dog
Black Widow
Black or White
Blackbird
Paint It Black
Tie a Ribbon 'Round the Ole Oak Tree
Yellow Raincoat
Yellow
My Old Yellow Car
Mellow Yellow
Yellow Submarine
Yellow Ledbetter
Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
Don’t Eat The Yellow Snow
Blue Turns To Grey
When The Stars Go Blue
Blue Moon
Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain
Blue
Blue Bayou
Baby Blue
Angel In Blue Jeans
Blue Suede Shoes
Red
Something in Red
Little Red Corvette
The Lady in Red
Bleed Red
Red Solo Cup
Red Lipstick
Little Red Wagon
Don’t It Make My Brown Eyes Blue
Mr. Brownstone
Bad, Bad Leroy Brown
Brown Eyed Girl
Old Brown Shoe
Sweet Georgia Brown
Brown Sugar
Charlie Brown
Touch of Grey
Grey Street
Grey Cloudy Lies
Greyhound
Best I Ever Had (Grey Sky Morning)
Grey Day
Mother Grey
2) A City, State or Foreign Place Title
Like color titles, place titles exert the appeal of
the concrete and specific.
And of course it's the specific (rather than the
general) that leads to the universal.”
State Titles
Texas Flood
Mississippi Queen
Rainy Night In Georgia
Kentucky Rain
Sweet Home Alabama
Hotel California
Deep In The Heart Of Texas
California Girls
Jersey Girl
Leaving Louisiana
North To Alaska
City Titles
Angel From Montgomery
Does Ft. Worth Ever Cross Your Mind
A Baltimore Love Thing
That’s How I Got To Memphis
NEW ORLEANS LADY
Detroit Rock City
New York Minute
Jesus Just Left Chicago
Angel of Harlem
Foreign Place Titles
Back in the U.S.S.R.
April In Paris
China Girl
Bombs Over Baghdad
Blame It On Mexico
Werewolves In London
Diamonds From Sierra Leone
Prewriting Suggestions
The plot of most place songs seems to break down into three
major categories:
1) Remembering the place with either joy (“Moonlight in
Vermont”) or regret (“Galveston”);
2) Heading to, or back to, the place (“New York, New York,”
“California, Here I Come”);
3) Singing its praises (“Chicago”).
One way to go about the title hunt would be to pick one of
those plot lines and work from there. Another would be to get
out an atlas and choose a place that hasn't been overmusicalized and perhaps link the name alliteratively; for
example, “Nantucket Nights,” or “Meet Me in Monterey”
3) A Day, Month or Number Title
This strategy draws again upon the appeal of the specific.
Day Titles
Saturday Night Fever
Manic Monday
Ruby Tuesday
SUNDAY BLOODY SUNDAY
Wednesday Girl
Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)
Thursday’s Child
Sunday Morning Coming Down
Tuesday’s Gone
Month Titles
End of May
November Rain
Sometimes It Snows In April
Fourth of July
Waiting On June
If We Make It Through December
Wake Me Up When September Ends
Number Titles
Three Times a Lady
9 to 5
Heaven on the Seventh Floor
Five O’Clock Somewhere
Sweet Little Sixteen
Give Me Three Steps
One Love
Eight Days A Week
8-6-7-5-3-0-9
These Four Walls
Prewriting Suggestions
You could begin by writing down in the middle of a blank page a
day or month that hasn't produced a well-known song and see
what connections you make.
Just as with place names, alliteration links well to days
months.“(“Mine Till Monday,” “See You in September”).
It might prove fruitful to think of categories that contain numbers;
for example, addresses, phone numbers, ID's, license plates,
ages, and so on.
4) Female Name Title
Of all the ways to be specific, using a woman's name in a title
seems to be the one songwriters have chosen the most in
every genre—pop, rock, country and theater.
Female Name Titles
Hey There Delilah
Sunny Came Home
Angie
Sweet Caroline
Rosanna
Jenny Was A Friend Of Mine
Gloria
Billie Jean
Elanor Rigby
My Maria
Beth
Last Dance With Mary Jane
Consider viewpoint as a design device:
You might want to treat your title as the one being addressed
(in second-person) as in “Georgy Girl,” or the one talked about
(in third person) as in “Lulu's Back in Town.”
Still another approach would be to pick a vogue name that
hasn't yet been immortalized—Debbie, Hilary, Wendy—and
thus aim for a classic.
5) Male Name Title
STAN
Jessie’s Girl
Johnny B. Goode
Jumpin’ Jack Flash
Hey Joe
Goodbye Earl
Sam’s Town
6) The Famous Name Title
Springsteen
Christian Dior Denim Flow
Tim McGraw
Willie, Waylon, & Me
Hemingway’s Whiskey
The Ballad Of Billy The Kid
Betty Davis Eyes
Buddy Holly
7) A Title With a Top-Ten Word:
“Heart, Night, If”
A virtual instant cure for the “I've got no ideas” syndrome.
Using a “top-ten” keyword—especially when it's heart, or
night, or if—three of the most popular in songdom.
Innovative writers seem never to run out of fresh ways to treat
these ordinary words.”
Heart Titles
Heartbreaker
Heart’s On Fire
Half A Heart
Put a Little Love in Your Heart
Heartbreak Hotel
Heart of Glass
Always There… In Our Hearts
Un-break My Heart
Heart of Stone
Give Your Heart A Break
Night Titles
The Night We Called It a Day
Nightshift
Stay the Night
Help Me Make It Through the Night
The Way You Look Tonight
Because The Night
Dance The Night Away
A Hard Day’s Night
If Titles
If I Could Put Time in a Bottle
If I Were A Boy
If Ever You're in My Arms Again
If I Could Fly
(If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don’t Want To Be Right
If I Fell
If It Makes You Happy
Even If It Breaks Your Heart
If I Never See Your Face Again
Prewriting Suggestions
Write the word heart on the first line of your page and just keep
writing in short phrases rapidly one after another.
Let random connections occur. If rhymes pop out, let them.
Keep your pen or pencil on the paper—and free write.
If you find you're pausing, it's because your left-brain editor is
interfering.
Do the same for “Night.”
“The foregoing examples illustrate that an “if”concept can
express various attitudes—rueful, hopeful, playful, and so on.
To connect you with your own significant “if,” the
brainstorming process will generally do the trick.
Or, you could work from specific viewpoints; for example, try
three columns headed “Mine,” “Yours,” “The World's.”
The first would naturally emphasize personal “ifs,” the second,
interpersonal, and the third, social/global.”
8) Antonym Title (OPPOSITES)
An antonym is a word opposite in meaning to another:
hot is an antonym of cold.
Antonyms make for memorability; that's why they're a favorite
device of advertising copywriters.
“Tide's in, dirt's out”
Oldsmobile’s “This is the new generation of Olds”
Motorola's “The way we put things together sets us apart”
Antonym Titles
Hot N Cold
Ebony & Ivory
Sleeping Single in a Double Bed
Easy Come, Easy Go
Full Moon and Empty Arms
Hello Goodbye
The Night We Called It a Day
Dead Or Alive
9) “Idiom, Axiom or Paragram Title”
idioms
informal expressions
“beyond belief, take it or leave it, no problem”
axioms
also called a maxim or proverb—is a self-evident truth based
on common sense, widely accepted on its intrinsic merit:
finders keepers—losers weepers or a stitch in time saves nine.
Idiom Song Titles
Dark Horse
True Blue
Another Thing Coming
Good Thing Going
Shake It Off
CHANGE THE WORLD
In A New York Minute
Axioms Song Titles
All That Glitters Isn't Gold
Every Rose Has It’s Thorn
(What Doesn’t Kill You Makes You) STRONGER
All You Need Is Love
Too Close for Comfort
Love Will Find a Way
Easy Come, Easy Go
Every Picture Tells A Story
Prewriting Suggestions
To produce idiomatic and axiomatic titles requires an alert ear
for natural dialogue, an alert eye for signs and billboards—and
a handy pen and paper for saving what you find.
When a title strikes, mull over the potential plot treatments.
Explore all the possibilities.
Ask yourself: What might the situation be? Who is thinking it or
saying it to whom? And why? What other possible meanings
might it have?
Paragram
A paragram is a play on words made by altering a word, or
sometimes only a letter, in a common expression
Very common in Country music.
Paragram Song Titles
We've Got to Start Meeting Like This
Friends in Low Places
Can't Teach My Old Heart New Tricks
Two Hearts Are Better Than One
I Meant Every Word He Said
The High Cost of Loving
10) “And” Song Titles
And…” offers a means to thrust your character into the middle
of something, into the heat of the action, the debate, the
emotion.… That single word might also prompt a more
personal, or more original lyric than you may yet have written.
“And” Song Titles
And We Danced
And I Love Her
And I’m Not Telling You I’m Not Going
And Winter Came
And The Beat Goes On
And Still
And So It Goes
And The Cradle Will Rock
11) Metaphor as Design Device
A metaphor is a figure of comparison that implies some
likeness in two disparate realms thus making a verbal
equation:
“All the world's a stage and all the men and women merely
players” (Shakespeare).
That statement claims, in effect: Life = a play.
This metaphor reflects one of our core concepts as heard in
such expressions as “My role as teacher,”and “She was
upstaged by her sister.”
Thinking metaphorically draws upon the right brain's ability to
visualize, note similarities, and synthesize
Simile: A Tentative Metaphor
A simile is the most common subtype of metaphor.
It makes a direct comparison using the words like, as or than.
A simile feels tentative because it lacks the metaphor's
assertiveness.
For example, compare the relative power of the statement “All
the world's a stage” to “All the world is like a stage,” or “I Am a
Rock” to “I Am Like a Rock.”
The essential meaning is the same, but the “like” considerably
lessens its impact.”
The Verbal Equation of Metaphor
It's been observed that it's virtually impossible for anyone to talk for
more than three consecutive minutes without recourse to a metaphor.
That's because we envision so many basic aspects of life, quite
unconsciously, in terms of something else. As a consequence, when
we use certain phrases we're often unaware that we're not being
literal. For example, the following phrases may not immediately strike
you as metaphoric. Yet each embodies a verbal equation:
This Metaphoric Phrase Implies This Verbal Equation
“You won that round”
arguments = prizefights
“Jumpstart the economy”
economy = engine
“That's hard to swallow”
ideas = substances
Titles That Embody Four Basic Metaphoric Concepts
Rain = trouble/hard times
Stormy Weather
I Made It Through the Rain
Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head
Rainy Day Woman
Let a Smile Be Your Umbrella
Sun = happiness/good times
You Are My Sunshine
Sunny Side of the Street
When the Sun Comes Out
You Are the Sunshine of My Life
Life = a road journey
Somewhere Down the Road
Two for the Road
Merrily We Roll Along
Boulevard of Broken Dreams
Music = romantic feelings
With a Song in My Heart
The Song Is You
How Do You Keep the Music Playing
The Song Is Ended, But the Melody Lingers On
The Song Remembers When
Titles That Reflect Fresh Metaphor/Simile Concepts
You Ain't Nothin' But a Hound Dog
(Like a) Bridge Over Troubled Water
Everything's Coming Up Roses
Running on Empty
You Can't Be a Beacon If Your Light Don't Shine
I Don't Mind the Thorns When You're the Rose
You Are the Wind Beneath My Wings
Like A Rolling Stone
Prewriting Suggestions
Any of the foregoing metaphors may suggest a fresh approach, or you
might consider some other mainstream concepts:
Relationships are a gamble
Love is magic
Troubles are burdens
Silence is a wall
Feelings are temperatures
Infidelity is a crime
After you pick one, or come up with an original one, then comes the free
associating process. Let spontaneous phrases tumble out. If you picked
“relationships are a gamble,” start out with that phrase, suspend your
left-brain's critical judgments and let your right's randomness come out to
play. Freely jot down any related words or phrases that spring to mind–
roulette wheel, game of chance, place my bet, stakes are high. Stay in
that “flow” mode letting random thoughts connect, rhymes spill out–wheel/
deal/steal/appeal/conceal…. The longer you sustain the flow, the richer
will be the source material from which you begin to write. So keep going
and going and going. Suddenly, a phrase may come out that makes you
say, “Hey, that's it–a title.”
12) Personification as Design Device
“Personification, a subtype of metaphor, is a figure of speech
attributing human characteristics to abstractions or inanimate
objects:
“The sun smiled on the Memorial Day parade”
“Illiteracy is robbing us of future leaders”
“Inflation is eating up the profits”
Personification Titles
The House That Built Me
Rock-n-Roll Never Forgets
Hungry Heart
Highway Don’t Care
Lyin’ Eyes
Love Bites
Brother Jukebox
Blame It On The Sun
The Wind Cries Mary
13) The Question Title
Questions catch the ear.
Questions make for strong opening lines, strong song titles,
and they can supply a strong framing device for your plot.
Question Titles
Do Ya Think I'm Sexy?
Where Is the Love?
How Much A Dollar Cost?
Are You Gonna Be My Girl
When
Will
I
Be
Loved?
Is That All There Is?
What Do You Mean?
Whataya Want From Me?
How Am I Supposed to Live Without You?
14) The Phone Call Title
(Letter, E-mail, Text)
Letting the audience act as eavesdropper on one end of a
conversation offers a unique opportunity to both move a plot
forward and reveal aspects of character.
Phone Titles
I Just Called to Say I Love You
Payphone
Hello, It's Me
Operator
Telephone
Hello
Kiss Me Through The Phone
The Call
Don’t Hang Up
Letter, E-mail, Text Titles
Dear Future Husband
P.S. I Love You
If You’re Reading This
Dear John
Dear Dad
Prewriting Suggestions
Let your audience know at the opening of the first verse that
it's overhearing a phone conversation.
That enables the listener to experience the song, rather than
have to decode it. There's a big difference between surprising
your audience and baffling them; the phone call device should
not be treated as a means to “surprise.”
Every word should sound as if it's being spoken now, rather
than being thought later.
15) The One Word Title
Breathe
Radioactive
Roar
Faith
Iris
Royals
Kryptonite
Changes
Smooth
Works great on T-shirts!