A friend of mine that I have written some songs with has released his first debut CD. He also just released a video for his single, “Heaven Knows.” Adam wrote this song after he and I spent a few hours going over songwriting and tips and tricks. He went home and used some of the things I showed him and came up with this great song. Adam used songwriting craft along with personal feelings and experiences to really write something special.
Here is another new song that I wrote recently. It is called, ‘I Feel Free.’ ~~ Chad
I Feel Free
by Chad Shank
I fill up with gas at a 2 pump station
On the outskirts of civilization
Out here where I can roam
The rat race I run away from
So I can breathe in freedom
The prairie feels like home
PC:
City’s where I make ends meet
back there I’m Mr Corporate
Stuffed into an office
Out here I’m king not a worker bee
CHORUS:
Country air
Windows down
I Feel Free
Getting out
On the road
I Feel Free
As the sun’s sinking down over the corn fields
I Feel Free
V2:
The way time is flying it won’t be that long
I can quit my job and say so long
Can’t wait til I’m retired
Get back to rural America
No concrete hysteria
The place where I’m revived
PC:
Watch the sunset and stars come out
Sinking slow on the horizon
Man it’s really something
It’s those simple things that what life’s about
CHORUS
Bridge:
Hello Farmland
It is always good to see you
But let’s not wait so long for next time
CHORUS
©2012 Chad Shank, Rowley Street Music
Here is a new song that I co-wrote with a great friend and songwriter, Janice Gilbert. I cut the demo at my place in Minneapolis. Check it out! ~~ Chad
When She Puts On That Lipstick
by Janice Gilbert and Chad Shank
Verse:
She’s a foxy little vixen
With a wild look in her eyes
Wearing rich velvet lipstick
The way she moves should be a crime
The whole town’s been talking
About where she was last night
Was alone when she walked in
But walked out with a new guy
She had him on her hook
She was playing the game
No one can resist that kind of bait
Chorus:
When she puts on that lipstick
Boy, you better forget it
She knows she’s got ‘em watchin’
She can feel it in their looks
When they stare longer than they should
When she puts on that lipstick
This ain’t the first time this has happened
Feel sorry for the last guy
She used her body to trap him
and she took him for a ride
She was chasing dollar bills
She was playing the game
No one can resist that kind of bait
CHORUS
Bridge:
When she puts on
On that Lipstick
They forget their common sense
And get stuck with
Sorry regrets
But she knows just what she’s doin’
Chorus
©2012 Janice Gilbert and Chad Shank
People usually understand the idea of a songwriting class, or seminar…but I find that, at first, my clients are a little confused by 1 on 1 songwriting lessons. They understand piano and guitar lessons, but maybe not quite songwriting lessons…..Doesn’t everyone know how to write songs? You just write. Well….yes and no. We all have been listening to songs since our parents played or sang us lullabies. Songs are not in short supply. We hear them all the time. We know what great songs sound like, so we can write them, right? You do hear them, but do you really know what is going on mechanically with the lyrics, melody and harmony that make it a great song?
In my songwriting lessons, it is my goal to share with you the knowledge and know-how to write better songs than you have ever written. Songs that people not only like, but LOVE. Songs that connect and get people emotionally….and maybe even financially invested in you. (Insert smiley faces and dollars signs)
How can I teach that? Well in my lessons, I break down songwriting concepts into very basic and fundamental theories and ideas. Some of those concepts are hidden in plain sight, we hear them subconsciously and don’t really know what is happening….but what if you DID know what was happening and could do it on purpose? THAT is what songwriting lessons are about. We will look at your current writing….or maybe you haven’t written yet, but want to know how. We will break it into very simple, yet powerful chunks and nurture your creative songwriter.
So right now I am offering anyone who emails me, and lives in the Minneapolis or the Twin Cities area a free 1 hour songwriting lesson/coaching session. Yes, I said, if you live in Minneapolis, I will meet with you in-person and give you a free 1 hour lesson/session. That is worth $60! —- WAIT….but what if I DON’T live in Minneapolis? Well for you guys, I am offering a free song critique. I will critique one of your songs and give you some pointers on how to make it better. That is a $20 value….FREE.
All you need to do is EMAIL ME. Also be sure to follow this site and sign up to get my email updates….I am working on booking some new songwriting classes, workshops, and I am working on some new songwriting E-Books!
~ Chad
As soon as your songs are on a fixed media….written or recorded…you can claim copyright, even if it is not registered with the government. You can use the ©2011 YOUR NAME and claim ownership of what you created.
But what does copyright really get you? What is a copy right?
Copyright offers some basic rights to the owner:
Five exclusive rights:
(a) to make copies of the songs through print or recordings
(b) to distribute them to the public for profit
(c) to the “public performance right”; live or through a recording
(d) to create a derivative work to include elements of the original music; and
(e) to “display” it (not very relevant in context).
If you are releasing your song commercially, you should register it, find more info at Copyright.gov.
So what can you do with the rights listed above? Make money!!
There are 4 basic ways that songs can earn royalties…these are evolving all the time with online streaming, etc.
(1) royalties from “print rights”
(2) mechanical royalties from the recording of composed music on CDs and tape
(3) performance royalties from the performance of the compositions/songs on stage or television through artists and bands, and
(4) synch (for synchronization) royalties from using or adapting the musical score in the movies, television advertisements, etc.
Do you have a song that you need a professional recording of?
That’s what I do, get at me,
~ Chad
