Month: January 2015

Songwriting is the charmer’s art.

/ Sperry Hunt / Leave a comment

Clefs

Songwriting is the charmer’s art. When I first hear a song that moves me, I become thoughtlessly rude. My senses shift from whatever or whomever held my attention to the source. I am instantly captivated by a voice. A groove. A line of melody, A wave of harmony. Songs like John and Paul’s A Day in the Life, Leonard Cohen’s Suzanne, Joan Baez’ version of Tom Paxton’s There But By Fortune, Pentangle’s version of Lord Franklin, Jackson Browne’s Our Lady of the Well, Jimi’s take on All Along the Watchtower.
Continue reading →

Eric Ode and John Skewes at Kit Lit Drink Night

/ Sperry Hunt / Leave a comment

Eric and John

Yes, Nancy. Children’s writers and illustrators do drink beer. But I assure you it’s only to lubricate the wheels of imagination and cooperation. This event was thrown by our very own Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators of Western Washington in Seattle. Illustrator John Skewes and author Eric Ode collaborated on these two new books from the nationally acclaimed local publisher Sasquatch Books.
Continue reading →

Provenance

/ Sperry Hunt / Leave a comment

Provenance

Songs, like antiques, are more valuable with a bit of provenance. Document your music with a piece of background.

What happens between songs on stage is important. As you check your tuning, tell a story about the next number. Draw the listener in. Be clear. Don’t rush into it. Allow the moment of the last song to fade gracefully. Then set the stage for the next one with a little bit of story.

“I wrote this about my wife during a trial separation.”
“I derived the next song from my great-great-grandmother’s diary written when she was a teenager in Northern Virginia during the Civil War.”
“This is about a certain day in the life of Sir Isaac Newton.”

Prefacing your songs in this way will help guide your audience into the moment you’ve prepared for them.