Chet came on board as a song writer client in 2009, and he’s an example of what all serious song writers should be doing…..Chet is always writing, always promoting his songs, networking with other writers and singers and getting his songs heard by radio and internet stations, competitions, and wherever he can share and promote his music.

Here’s one of Chet’s songs he co-wrote with ADN song writer Larry Clark, called “Before She Can’t Remember”. It’s a tender heart-felt song about Chet’s mother. The song was nominated and won “Song of The Month” on www.songramp.com.

Way to go Chet! Keep up the good work! Twist of Lemmon Music is proud to be your publisher!

BEFORE SHE CAN’T REMEMBER

Chet A Blum / Larry Wayne Clark
C2009 – - – All Rights Reserved

I say, Mom how was camp Switona
That summer of thirty-three?
She says, Oh it was great I swam the lake
All the boys were after me
I say mom did you have fun yesterday?
I don’t know what did I do?
I remind her that we were together
Oh that’s right I had lunch with you

Chorus: I tell her it’s not her fault
She’s outlived her memory
I want her to know how much I love her
Before she can’t remember me

I wish I could make her young again
Give back what the seasons stole
Once I leaned on her, now she leans on me
As parent and child change roles
She looks at me with frightened eyes
Says, why did things end this way?
And I put my arms around her
There’s really not much to say

Chorus: I tell her it’s not her fault
She’s outlived her memory
I want her to know how much I love her
Before she can’t remember me

Bridge: Yesteryear’s faded glories
Are there for her to claim
But I see the clouds in her eyes
When she call me by my brother’s name

Chorus: I tell her it’s not her fault
She’s outlived her memory
I want her to know how much I love her
I’m trying to show how much I love her
Before she can’t remember me

 My musical friends… this is where we need to head back to if our real desire is to make music. I’d love to be able to honestly tell you that the machinery of the corporate music industry could make mega star careers for all of you. I know better. That will only happen for a select few. There are simply too many musicians, singers and talented folks all clamoring for their shot at the big time. But think for a second… is this the only option on your dream? Does it begin and end with making a great demo, shopping it to the labels and then calling it quits when you don’t get a big recording contract? I sure hope not. Besides, you might not fit the usual superstar mold. If you still want to sing… I believe you have an audience out there.

Today, we need to forge our own careers. We need to think small, mobile, and no further than the next couple of house concerts. You’ve heard of house concerts, right? With facebook, Youtube and Myspace, your fans can be geared up for house concerts on a moment’s notice. Find your die‐hard fans in the next city; simply ping them and let them know you’re coming to town. Put them in charge of making sure friends come to see and hear you play in their family rooms or back yards. It works. People come WITH MONEY! This is especially true in the smaller towns.

So how do you make this happen for you? I would say you need great songs to begin with.  Artist Development Network can help you with co‐writing and recording if you want a professional touch. Then you need to learn to play and sing those songs on a single guitar. This is not difficult if the songs are great in the first place. Next, you’ll have to make some fans. Go to the social networks. It helps to have some great photography and great demos up too.

Again, A.D.N. can help you there as well. Next, you just announce that you’re coming to town and you want to do a house concert. I would work outward in a radius, branching further and further from home over time. And for those of you that don’t have relationships and commitments…put your stuff in storage and tool around the United States for a few years doing this. You will have a huge fan base if you stay with it. All you need to do is make enough money to get to the next gig. Not too hard. You’ll get fed at the houses where you play. Your fans will probably be eager to let you spend the night too. You get to meet people. You get to listen to your fans tell you stories, you get to be a full time performing artist. Praise the Lord. Can I get an Amen? Pass the peas. 

At first when I started wondering if a person in their 30s, 40s or 50s could do this, I was taken back by the idea. Since then it’s really grown on me. Why not? I don’t think you’ll be any worse off if you take a few years off and go for it. If you’ve got kids you’ll need to limit this work, of course. But if you’re free, really free… why not go for it!

I talk with artists all day long who really want a career in music. They don’t necessarily want to be rich; they just want to make a living doing their music. House concerts are a realistic way of doing this. You don’t need a band. You don’t need anything but great songs, some CDs, a car, a portable laptop, a guitar (or keyboard) your sweet voice and a cell phone. 

Artist Development Network can be a big help in getting your singing career together quickly. Come to Nashville and co‐write some amazing songs. We’ll get you recorded just right and give you the tools you’ll need to start this ball rolling. From that point on, it’s up to you and your adoring fans. I’m betting you can do this. ☺

If you feel lost in a world of changing technologies and changing plans in the music industry, and you feel you need some guidance, do not hesitate to contact us here at Artist Development Network. Whether it is answering your questions about what to expect from record labels, what your demo should sound like, or even song critiques, we are here for you. Don’t get swept away in the changing world, step up and be a landmark!

http://mashable.com/2009/12/25/music-industry-predictions-2010/

Here’s a little ditty… about Jack and Diane. What a great song. What’s the message of the Jack & Diane story? I think it goes way deeper than just small town football stars and their girlfriends. Scratch and dig deeper; it’s a multi-layer lyric. It’s also a story about self-made obstacles. We’ve all seen these mini series play out in our hometowns. Take a snapshot in time and someone owns the world; then fast forward two years later and they’re not even on the radar. The usual culprit is an abrupt change of direction. Enter drama.

I’ve seen the routine over and over. The promising star or starlet gets the industry machinery going, camps get set up, big plans get made, label deals get inked and lots of money gets spent. And then, out of nowhere, the next big thing pulls the plug. Sometimes they don’t even know they’ve pulled it and it’s over. Doesn’t matter though. The end result is the same.

I have a lifelong relationship with a very talented guitarist friend. She’s not only a brilliant player, but an excellent singer/songwriter as well. I’ve watched her systematically destruct label deals and almost everything good in her life for over two decades now. I’ve been in many bands with this talented woman. They all implode in short order. Once the perfect combination of excellent players is found, we’ll have a brief moment where everything’s coming up roses. Then, like clockwork, she’ll begin to have huge mood swings, her personal life will begin to fall apart, she’ll get short and disrespectful with her band members, and then one-by-one, the supporting talent bails. Ultimately, the labels and the agents get nervous and her phone stops ringing. She will then go through a period of depression, usually a couple years. She might even move hundreds of miles away. Then, one day, like the sunrise, she reappears and the cycle begins a new. Unfortunately for her, she’s now in a position where her looks are slipping, she’s tired and too old to really set the world on fire. This routine has been going on since she was a kid.

What’s the deal? Is this chance? I don’t think so. Maybe once or twice might make it chance. This is a simple case of destructive behavior (the symptom) coupled with insecurity (the real problem). Yeah. I bet if we could get a little sodium pentathol in her (the truth drug) we’d get to the bottom of things. I honestly think she’s scared of success. She’s scared of competing. Real competition seems to be the great leveler. I don’t care how big you are in your small town, things will be different out in the real world. You won’t be the one and only and the focus of everybody’s attention on the world’s stage. All your little insecurities are going to come back to haunt you if you’re lucky enough to make it that far.

There’s always something about ourselves that we don’t particularly like. It might be our nose, our vibrato, bingo arms (that flappy part of the upper arm skin that is all too noticeable when someone stands up and yells BINGO!) or our butts or even the sound of our own voice. Whatever it is, it becomes the focus, our obsession, and given the right set of circumstances (the prospect of real fame), these obsessions can become overpowering. We develop temporary OCD and focus on things that don’t matter while ignoring all of our positive attributes. Then when it’s all too much to handle, we’ll set fire to our careers so we’ll have a good story down the road as to how and why we’re a victim of circumstance. Oh the drama.

Victim? Yeah…we’re the victims of our own self-made dramatic circumstance all right. Cathy Lemmon recently pinged her email list letting everybody know that we have a reality show in the works at Artist Development Network. She asked for real-life stories from people. And you wouldn’t believe how many amazing stories we’ve received or the depths of despair people have plunged into. This is all good stuff for reality television, and we can use these stories! But let me assure you… you’ll need to get past all of it if you really want to do something with your own musical career.

No drama boys & girls. That’s got to be the rule when it comes to the stage. The old saying the show must go on is the main rule the pros live by. Drama might keep people glued to a reality show, but when it comes time to perform on stage there had better be no excuses. And believe me, as the ringleader of your own career, you’ll need to have emotional headroom and compassion to help those in your crew through their own nightmares. Disasters happen. You have to be available to help key band members and personnel through difficult times. Straight up: the last person that can afford the luxury of chronic self-made drama is the star of the show.

Contact David Harper at:

musicbydavid@gmail.com

Many of you know that Taylor Swift won the night’s most coveted prize, Album Of The Year. Her sophomore release, “Fearless”, took the nation by storm and catapulted her into superstardom. The Zac Brown Band won the award for Best New Artist, beating out several pop acts. Lady Antebellum took home an award for Best Vocal Group in the Country category, and they offered a thrilling performance of their newest smash hit, “Need You Now”.

So what is it that these three big winners have in common? They are ALL songwriters! Taylor Swift, the Zac Brown Band, and Lady Antebellum either wrote or co-wrote almost every song on their respective albums! This is a growing trend in the Country genre and I believe that it is a step in the right direction for music. The most important thing I learned while watching the Grammy Awards is that it takes AMAZING songs to win the hearts of millions. If you’re discouraged that you have the vocal talent and the drive to succeed, but have yet to take a dive into songwriting, don’t lose hope.

Here at Artist Development Network, you are able to co-write with wonderful songwriters on staff, as they take your ideas and work with you to mold your perfect masterpiece. So what are you waiting for? Come write a song with us!

My mother wore the same outfit, so often, that it eventually became known as her uniform. She drove an ugly, white Rambler station wagon with no power steering, no power breaks, no air conditioning, a one speaker AM radio and crank down windows. Oh… yes, she drove that car for almost two decades too, in an area of town where the average car was a fully loaded Chevrolet, not more than two years old.

I would put together a Christmas list every year, and no matter how much I wanted to believe in Santa Claus, only necessities would arrive on Christmas morning. Privately I suspected that my father had gotten to Santa and somehow corrupted his generous and giving nature. Are you starting to get the picture here? My father was so tight… that he squeaked while walking.

Was this really a bad thing? In hindsight, I’d have to say no. I did feel a bit like an unwanted stepchild when all the other kids had way better stuff than I did. And this was especially true regarding musical instruments. I started playing drums on the plastic lids of empty coffee cans while most of my young friends had brand new, champagne sparkle Ludwigs drum sets. But as I’ve learned, thanks to facebook, I’m also the only one of the batch that went pro. Maybe fighting and scraping and clawing my way up through the ranks was in fact, a good thing for me. Lord knows, I couldn’t wow anybody with a homemade, make shift drum set. I was pretty much forced into a competitive position where I had to look, play and perform better than the guys that had all the cool new toys.

Today, I am very aware of my blessings. Seeing doctors and lawyers and professional guys at the local Guitar Center does make me chuckle sometimes. Life is not without a sense of irony. Here these guys are, finally in a position where they can afford anything their hearts desire. Some of them have basements full of Gibson guitars and pricey boutique amps. But here’s the ironic part… the thing they don’t have is the time or the days left it will take to learn to play those beautiful guitars well.

So what’s the lesson here guys? I don’t really know… I’m just rambling. Certainly I’m not pointing fingers or making jokes at anyone’s expense. But I do recall my father’s words from years past as I write this today. I was in grammar school at the time. I think I was griping to him about the fact that Larry DeNino (a fellow 4th grader and drummer) had a beautiful new set of drums to play the local talent contest with, while I had some ratty, duct-taped thing made my Mattel. And I remember my father’s rebuttal to my passionate pleas for immediate musical sponsorship. He said: “there are two types of musicians, David… those that polish their instruments and those that practice their instruments. Be the later, my son.”

And by the way, in case you were wondering… I did win that talent show, which left Larry DeNino more than just a little pissed off.

So practice your instruments, young’ns. Your songs deserve that much.

Contact David Harper at:

musicbydavid@gmail.com

• I started writing love songs in my teens, to communicate with girls
• I grew tired of average and started hunting for chords beyond Kumbaya
• I started finding chord progressions that really interested me
• I discovered inner rhymes and interesting rhythms
• I excelled at writing ballads and ignored up-tempo songs
• I worked my butt off to write better up-tempo songs, which took while
• And lastly…I started concentrating on melody as my top priority!

This progression through the process took years! I guess I couldn’t have really skipped any of these steps, as they’re all important. But I have to kick myself for not becoming more “melody aware” earlier on. Truly, melody is the most important part of a song. It’s the very thing that listeners take away, and the one thing that is remembered long after the words are forgotten. I do not know all the verses to This Land Is Your Land. But I know the melody cold. So do you.

Here’s how I forced myself to write a better melody. It will work for you too. Are you ready? This is so simple; it’s almost laughable…

Sit on one chord for at least twice as long as you normally would when you begin to write a song. There! That’s the whole trick! LOL. If you’re going to make that song interesting, you will have to write a decent melody, right from the start. Try it. It works.

You can always go back and augment chord changes and the progressions, if you want to. You may also decide to let it lie. Melody is actually the thing, or the ingredient, that makes a song magical. There’s a little more to consider as well. Note that the melody of the verses and the melody of the choruses should be different, but they should both unfold in a familiar and natural way for the listener. Melodies should also be singable and original. This is very difficult to do. You’ll find this out. Writing brand new, interesting and easy to sing melodies could prove to be the most challenging thing you ever do as a songwriter. Perhaps that why there are so few great songs.

You’ll discover that your songs come together so much easier when you start employing the Harper Melody Method. And here’s another melody trick: When I write country songs I will often compose a unique melody hook (known as a motif) for 1) the musical intro, 2) a brief intro-related line between the end of the first chorus and the beginning of the second verse, and 3) the intro motif repeated at end of the song for closure. This is, again, more melody writing; the lines just don’t have words, that’s all. The same rules apply. This practice will glue your songs together and give them a very professional feel.

Practice these tricks that make melody an integral part of your songwriting. And if you can, give your songs many reality checks as they progress. Failing to do so spells disaster every time. You see, we as writers, and the folks that give birth to these creatures, we know our songs too well. By the time they’re mixed and mastered our ears are glossing over important stuff. Like proof reading, it’s all too easy to pass the point of no return. Have new ears critique your songs often because ultimately the public will be the judge of them. And when your song gets to people hearing it for the first time, they will give it about 30 seconds for an audition. Those little motifs and hook lines had better be there to give them a level of comfort. You either deliver what they can sing or hum along with or they’ll find another station that will.

Remember that TV series called Name That Tune? I think about that show every time I write a melody these days. Will my lyric be recognized in 5 notes? That’s my acid test, my bottom line.

Now I can guess what you’re probably thinking… most of the newer songs on today’s radio will fail this test. Yeah… you’re right. But that doesn’t get you off the hook as a budding professional songwriter. You should carefully design your songs to become standards that will enjoy years of radio play. The melody, my dear young songwriters, is the key to making that happen.

Contract David Harper at:
musicbydavid@gmail.com

* Call it trickery, call it skill… the end result of this one simple technique will result in songs with much better melodies. Learn to write like a pro.

Congratulations on a great song!

musicbydavid@gmail.com