AboutBill Pere Expertise Can answer questions on : Technical aspects of lyric and music compostion; How to give and receive objective critique; Arranging and production; Concrete vs abstract imagery; Use of metaphor; Rhyme techniques; Song Structure; Collaboration; Songwriter Associations; Promotion; Guitar technique;
Music Business;
Experience President of the Connecticut Songwriters Association and Director of the Connecticut Songwriting Academy; Named one of the Top 50 Innovators and Guiding Lights of the Music Industry in 2008 by Music Connection Magazine; Author of "Songcrafters' Coloring Book:The Essential Guide to Effective and Successful Songwriting."
Named Independent Artist of the Year,by the 2003 national Independent Music Conference; 30 years as a professional singer-songwriter; 16 original CD's released;
Have had songs placed on other artists' CD's. Twice named Connecticut Songwriter of the Year.
20 years as Executive Director of the LUNCH Ensemble. Have attended more than 200 presentations by top industry professionals and have critiqued thousands of songs. Have written and produced dozens of stage plays and hundreds of concert events; Have coached hundreds of aspiring songwriters, and collaborated with several award winning writers. Have written commissioned songs as an Official Connecticut State Troubadour. Music Director of youth choirs and music camps.
Organizations Connecticut Songwriters Association (President); LUNCH Ensemble (Local United Network to Combat Hunger -- Exec, Director); CMEA (Connecticut Music Educators Association); Folk Alliance; Association For Psychological Type; Songsalive;
Publications Songcrafters' Coloring Book: The Essential Guide to Effective and Succesful Songwriting
Songwriters Market (2001, 2002); Connecticut Songsmith; Contemporary Songwriter Magazine; Songwriters Musepaper;
Songcrafter's Coloring Book; Strategies for Teaching Guitar;
Education/Credentials Masters Degree Molecular Biology; Certified MBTI Practitioner (Myers Briggs Type Indcator); Connencticut Secondary Public School Teaching Cerftificate; Author: "Songcrafters Coloring Book: The Essential Guide to Effective and Successful Songwriting:
Awards and Honors Named one of the Top 50 Innovators and Guiding Lights of the Music Industry in 2008 by Music Connection Magazine; Independent Artist of the Year, (2003 national Indie Conference); Official Connecticut State Troubadour, appointed by CT Commission on the Arts, 1995 ; 1982 and 1992 CT Songwriter of the Year; 2000 Award for 20 years of Outstanding Service to Songwriters;
2002 CSA Award for Outstanding Contribution to Education through Music; Numerous awards for outstanding community outreach through music; 1997 Citation from Connecticut Legislature for exemplary dedication to community outreach through music. 1995 Renaissance Award for multiple music achievments in a single year. Invited Presenter and Mentor at various Music Conventions
Question Hello Bill Pere,
I have been writing poems (or something of the like) for the last 15 years.
Recently, a couple of guitar player friends have been very interested in writing music for some of them with the idea of turning them into songs.
My specific question is that, though when i read my poems they sound with a good metric and precise words, when we are trying to create a song out of them, its hard to find a melody that fits well with the meaning and sense of the lyrics.
What would you recommend us to try doing in order to follow the right path to create an authentic piece?
Thank you so much.
style: Acoustic, jazz, blues, ballad.
Answer Alberto,
Thanks for your question. You raise one of the most important issues in all of songwriting, i.e. prosody -- the fitting of the rhythm of words to the rhythm of music. This differentiates poetry from lyrics.
Prosody (also called metrics) is a very difficult area for many songwriters and lyricists. It is much too complex to discuss in this short space but I will list some references for you to go to which will tell you exactly what you need to know to deal with this .
The most complete reference for this issue is the book
"Songcrafters' Coloring Book: The Essential Guide to Effective and Successful Songwriting" (http://www.songcrafterscoloringbook.com).
I have devoted an entire section in the book to this question, including the issue of White Space, which is not discussed anywhere else. The amount of empty space between syllables has a lot to do with maintaining the sense of the words. This is a huge difference between poetry and lyrics, since when poetry pauses, time stops, but when a lyric pauses, the musical pulse still moves forward.
You can also find articles I've written on this topic at my website http://www.billpere.com.
Click the link for "Songwriter Tools" and you'll find a whole collection of articles, several of which deal directly with your question.
Both you and your musical collaborators should become familiar with this material.
Good luck, and I wish you success in getting the result you want with your project.
Sincerely,
Bill Pere
Founder and Executive Director, LUNCH
President and Executive Director, CT Songwriters Association
IMC Indie Artist of the Year
An Official Connecticut State Troubadour since '95
Director, CT Songwriting Academy
Author, "Songcrafters' Coloring Book: The Essential Guide to Effective and Successful Songwriting"
