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STRATEGY FOR THE DAY: wave bye-bye

It is POURING here in LA. Non-stop rain for days. For all of you folks in places like London and Seattle, I realize this sounds like whining. But really, LA was never meant to be excessively rained on. The scrubby hillsides and earthquake-tilted canyons are saturated and starting to fall apart. There are big boulders blocking Malibu Canyon Road and mudslides of various sizes wherever you look. I love the grey skies and fog stuck in the tree tops as much as anyone (More!) but there's a limit... really!

The first meeting of my Saturday morning songwriting group was on Jan. 8 (in a light drizzle). Enrollment is limited to eight. I'm trying to create something between a class and a private lesson. Not sure yet exactly what it will end up being. Each member of the group has a three-month songwriting goal with monthly steps to meet along the way. I'm a big believer in setting up this kind of goal-oriented work pattern. I learned this some years back in a goal-setting group led by Jai Josefs (BTW, I recommend Jai's book "Writing Melodies for Hit Songs.") I had been writing songs on assignment for many years but when the TV series I was working on finally ended I found myself floating a bit, having trouble focusing on anything. I realized that when I didn't have someone else giving me a structure for writing (start date, due date, etc.) I needed to create a structure for myself. I now keep a list of projects with tentative start and end dates - not that I stick to it and I don't feel badly if I don't - but just to give me an idea of what the priorities are, what's on the front burner, what can wait till later. Right now I have about fifteen projects i want to work on. Can't keep track of the players without a score card!

I'm getting ready to teach a new round of songwriting classes and workshops. For the first time I'll be offering a three-hour workshop on the business side of songwriting. Currently I cover that in two sessions of my songwriting course but haven't previously given it as a workshop. Not too much new research to do. I'll be teaching a songwriting course at Beverly Hills Adult School starting Jan. 12 and giving workshops at Pasadena City College, Santa Monica Music Center, and University of Calif. at Irvine, all in the next two weeks.

I bought a Mackie VLZ-pro 1202 mixer today. Yay!!! It's a tiny little thing that will replace my large Mackie 24X8 mixer. No need for 24 channels of mixer any longer. Now that all the effects are virtual and mixes are done in the computer, the only thing I need is that lovely MIC pre-amp that Mackie has perfected. Sure enough, the 1202 has 4 of 'em. Mackie is so smart! I bought the unit at Ebay slightly used for half the price of a new one. Now, all I have to do is go to Ebay and SELL my old mixer and that rack of outboard gear that's gathering dust in the corner.

A marvelous video of Lemon Jelly's "Lovely Weather For Ducks"can be found at http://www.airside.co.uk/portfolio/movingimage/ljducksvid01.shtml It has lifted my spirits in the midst of the seemingly endless trail of storms. Lovely weather for ducks, indeed!

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Read A Brief History Of Love Songs by Robin Frederick at the Sound Experience Music web site.

Copyright 2004 Robin Frederick. All rights reserved.