Hello and welcome to the website for women and girls in music. We are a non profit to help women realize their dreams and goals in music.

We had a great (and packed) women's jam in Feb. In fact, it was so packed, that we have to move out of the studio now. We will take March off from our monthly jam as we peruse a venue that hold all of us. We will have a rehearsal before the jam at the studio which will be announced. With our younger singers, the one thing they learned is to bring their own lyrics, and to let the band know ahead of time what song they want to sing. With some of the more popular songs, we don't have them charted yet in our books. We have some great pictures in our photo gallery, I hope you take a look.

With spring around the corner, you may be thinking about your summer plans. We hope that you can help us spread the word about our summer girls rock camp called Pop Rockers. It is a day music camp at St Catherine's University in St Paul July 23-27. We have more information listed at www.PopRockers.org

Some ideas that we are thinking about is a women's drum circle, a coffee shop showcase and another radio show. If you are interested in volunteering or performing at any of these events, please email me at rebekka@bitstream.net. We really need your help if we are to be successful, so I hope that you can get involved. It not only helps you, but it helps make women look professional, network, and become a mentor for the next generation.

Can't volunteer? that's ok, you can become a member by pushing on that donate button and sending $25. That's for a year membership! Not too bad, and it's a tax write off.

Please check back soon, and stay in touch!

Rebekka
rebekkafisher@comcast.net
651-649-4877

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Questions? Leave a message on the hotline: 651-649-4877
rebekkafisher@comcast.net
Rebekka Fisher

So, you’ve got a great first verse, a cool chorus and you’ve run out of things to say, or so you think. I heard this dilemma more than any other when I work with writers. In fact, this is one of my stumbling blocks. The better writer you become, the easier this is to overcome.

First you have to ask yourself…is the hook line of my song, powerful enough to write a whole song about it? If the answer is yes, then write on!

Take a look at what you are saying in your first verse. Have you...

• Clearly defined whom your characters are in the verse, making sure you don’t have too many characters? Are you the main character and it’s clearly defined whom you’re singing to or about?
• Have you done a great job of describing what the situation is, telling us what’s brewing?
• Do we, as the listener have an idea where this dialogue is taking place? i.e. talking to yourself, at a bar, heading to the church, got your head in a photo album etc.
  

This would be the “Who, What, Where” section of the song. (1st verse)
The verse sets up the chorus, which then is the point you are trying to make with the characters and descriptions you’ve created in the first verse.

Verse two is the next set of ingredients that support the chorus, to solidify why the chorus is so important. This is where you add more content, emotionally, as to why this whole story has come about. You elaborate further as to what incidence brought you to your chorus’ conclusion. Ask yourself...

• Have I given more emotional content that moves the audience to the point of view I’m trying to convey?
• Have I made my case believable, not understating or over exaggerating?
• Could I see myself as the one being sung to as well as the one singing this story line?
• Have I moved the story line along either chronologically, emotionally, in the same way a motion picture tells a story? Remember, we’re presenting a mini, 3.5 minute long movie.
  

Some tips to remember when working on a second verse is to use action words, i.e. “ing” words. Try not to tell us what’s going on but more important, make us feel what’s going on.

Does your melodic intent match the lyrical intent?

Does your bridge answer any unanswered messages in the song? (More about this next month)

Is your hook line in the chorus powerful enough to write a whole song around it?

Hopefully, this will help you move your story line along to completion.

Now, if you’re not copying these tips and printing them to add to your songwriting arsenal, then now is a good time to start.

www.Jillholly.com
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© 2012 Jill Holly