by Christopher Ward
Hope you enjoyed week 1 of the S.A.C. Songwriting & Blogging Challenge 2014. I look forward to hearing some of the songs that were written. Let’s move on to week 2 which is about growing a songwriter’s antennae.
The best lyricists are the most observant ones. No matter what they’re doing – riding the bus, eating breakfast, reading the paper – their writer brains are always ticking and when an idea presents itself, they don’t let it get away. As an assignment in honing your powers of observation, head out into the day with your antennae up – on your own, cell phone out of sight – and let an idea find you. It could be a sign in a window, a bit of overheard conversation, a headline.
After watching the video below, spend 10 minutes a day for the next 5 days in 5 different places, i.e. subway, take-out counter, coffee shop, etc., and turn on your antennae. Jot down some song ideas based on each of those 10 minutes. Then, at the end of the week, choose your favourite and write a song.
Deadline is March 3 – Please post the following in the comments below:
1. Link to your blog
2. SoundCloud recording of your song.
Songwriters Association of Canada 
This is one of my favorite pastimes. I look forward to week 2
LikeLike
Roger that, and we’re off! Fab assignment, and I haven’t even watched Sir Paul yet!
LikeLike
Great post – i find i get a ton of ideas from listening to great phrases. I also have a funky uncle that can rattle all kinds of them – then i like to create a story around them. I think it was T Bone Burnett that said – that there are only 3 kinds of songs – songs about love, songs about sex and songs about war. GIven that i am co-writing with my 11 yr old – that kind of leaves those topics off the table – ha ha
LikeLike
Funny stuff! But the love could be about-swimming or the love for Kitkats, the sex-well-girl or boy jazz (gender ideas) and the war could easily be whether a bath is in order(11 year olds usually have something to say about that-Cookies for breakfast?Homework?-so many different kinds of wars!-Your comment inspired me-Thanks!
LikeLike
Too funny – I hadnt really thought about it that way either – Wow – you are so right – I will see if I can weave that thinking into the next few weeks projects!! thanks a bunch
LikeLike
Christopher has such an amazing timbre in his voice that invokes a nurturing response, I am in appreciation for the inspiration and guidance he is providing! Paul isn’t too bad either! Looking forward to feeling inspired in this deep freezer!
LikeLike
Good morning Christopher and Lily and new songwriter friends!
I sure had a hoot digging into our Week 2 Challenge 🙂
My website link http://www.robyndewar.com/
My blog link for week 2 http://robyndewar.blogspot.ca/
My sound cloud link to my week 2 song called “Melting Away”.
Stay warm friends! take care, Robyn
LikeLike
PS https://soundcloud.com/robyndewar
LikeLike
Well here is my blog link to week 2 :
http://www.goodrockindan.com/1/post/2014/02/sac-challenge-week-2.html
Here is the link to my Soundcloud song No More Time : https://soundcloud.com/goodrockindan/no-more-time-sac-a
Thank you for reading and listening
GRD
LikeLike
http://songwritingchallengeannabelle.wordpress.com/
LikeLike
Finished the blogging and the songwriting assignments for Week 2! The song is called “A Sky Full Of Cranes”. It can be found at; https://soundcloud.com/matt-gerber
My blog about this week (as well as the lyrics for “A Sky Full Of Cranes” is on my website;
http://www.mattgerbermusic.com/
LikeLike
Very cool song Matt and I love the title!
LikeLike
Thank you Christopher!
LikeLike
Here is my blog and web site:
The song is called “The Way You Dress”
soundcloud.com/sherashakera
amsforartmusicsongs.blogspot.ca
Peace/love from:
Shera Shakera
LikeLike
Ok here’s my song and blog for this week – Breathing Beside You.
http://www.anastacemusic.com/blog/sharp_scissors
The muse was a little feisty but we wrestled it out of her in the end…
LikeLike
Lovely song Anastace and it sounds like you really embraced the challenge!
LikeLike
Hi everyone,
Song for week two I wrote is, Hey Little Baby.
Song link:
Blog: http://carolinoro.wordpress.com/2014/03/02/s-a-c-challenge-2014-week-2/
More snow. . . and more snow. There has got to be a song in these snowbanks.
Carol
LikeLike
So there’s nothing like a deadline to push you to complete a project, excited that the lyrics are done until i re-write them over and over again, ah hah. The songs in my head but I cant make a demo on my own so I do an accapella version for my producer to decorate. This is how I write, cant wait to hear what he does with it. https://www.facebook.com/editnote.php?draft¬e_id=682731068432604&id=675423035830074
All About You http://youtu.be/bx0ID9gRuF8
LikeLike
Still not sure whether to post links here or the Facebook group, so I’ll do both. 🙂 Quite a pleasure to be part of this, even during some crazy busy weeks. Next 2 submissions will be from various hotel rooms! 🙂
Week 2 blog at… http://roysunstrum.ca/blog.html
Week 2 song at… https://soundcloud.com/roy-sunstrum/falling-through-the-cracks-of
LikeLike
Here’s my blog link and song, “Fighting for Air” : (hope this works….new to blogging, just put it together few days ago)
http://judiblueyes.tumblr.com/
LikeLike
Cool song Judy and I love how connected your voice and the song are!
LikeLike
Here is a link to my Blog
http://megsrathwell.wordpress.com/2014/03/02/week-2-sac-cha…ngs-in-6-weeks/
and to Soundcloud
LikeLike
I will try the link to wordpress again!
and sound cloud
LikeLike
Hi, for some reason my soundcloud link is corrupted, so I will send you to my page, the song for this week is California Sun!
my blog is
LikeLike
I enjoyed the fact that this assignment reminded me to open up my eyes and ears and really be in the moment. I needed this right now!
Here’s my song, “Like Nobody’s There”:
And my blog:
http://www.kellymcquillan.com/happenings.html
LikeLike
Great song Kelly with really original lyrics. Is it my imagination or is everyone writing about being cold? 🙂
LikeLike
Thank you, Christopher! Hopefully we’ll all be writing about spring and summer soon – lol! : )
LikeLike
Here is my blog for the week and my song “Visitor” Looking forward to listening to the new songs!
http://www.liminalmusic.com/s-a-c-songwriting-challenge-week-2/
And the soundcloud link:
https://soundcloud.com/liminalmusic-1/visitor
LikeLike
nabs-d
Here is my song ” Ya Habibi” My Love in Arabic, forgive my singing I don’t consider myself a singer, but what a fanastic way to conenct with songwriters and singers. Happy writting.
https://soundcloud.com/nabs-d1/ya-habibi
LikeLike
Week 2 is done. Here is my song “Winter You’ve gone too far. It has been a tough winter with lots of personal obstacles. This song reflects my feelings and my mood, it isn’t all bad. Here is my blog http://kimberleybeyea.ca/winter-youve-gone-too-far/. Here is a link to the song and lyrics. https://soundcloud.com/kimberley_beyea/winter-youve-gone-too-far-sac
LikeLike
1. http://scottmackay.ca/
2. https://soundcloud.com/scottmackay/if-you-were-to-leave/s-RYE7R
LikeLike
Very touching song and a really strong vocal Scott! Did you connect this song to the assignment?
LikeLike
Thank you so much Christopher. I appreciate you taking the time to do this. It’s great to work the songwriting muscles 🙂 The song itself was a product of ideas I’ve collected over the last little while. Things I’ve heard on TV, heard in songs, read in books ect. I did take notice of a rose at the grocery store the week of the assignment. That rose wasn’t the root of this song but it did find it’s way into the lyric. I find in most cases my songs are the result of several observations colliding together. Thanks again for the kind words 🙂
LikeLike
LikeLike
Here is my blogpost and song for week 2, excited for what adventures week 3 holds!
http://emilymacmusic.blogspot.ca/2014/03/week-two-song-2-doing-same-thing-as.html https://soundcloud.com/emilymacmusic1/doing-the-same-thing-as-last
LikeLike
Ahhh, I’m very happy with week 2. I discovered something about myself. I’ve always known that when I’m reading, I get distracted by the sounds around me. Little did I know how useful that would be, sitting in Tim Horton’s and leaving myself open to the conversations going on around me…
Nonetheless, my song inspiration came from the quickest glimpse at a commercial I was skipping on my PVR. Three days of working on the song, and a few hours to get it recorded, and here we are.
LikeLike
Great song Allister and I love how you’ve embraced the challenge!
LikeLike
Keeping up is hard. Here’s my blog and song for Week #2.
http://rogerbeckett.blogspot.ca/
Before it’s too late
https://soundcloud.com/rogerbeckett/before-its-too-late
LikeLike
The song is finished for this week, but I don’t have a work-tape yet. I hope that the lyric (posted in my blog) will do for now. I’ll post a SoundCloud link next week.
http://thoughtsandoddsandends.blogspot.ca/
LikeLike
Okay, here’s my song for this week:
https://soundcloud.com/midnight-mama-music/workin-it-lucy-w-t
LikeLike
This might be the link for my blog: http://thoughtsandoddsandends.blogspot.ca/2014/03/normal-0-false-false-false-en-ca-x-none.html
LikeLike
Hey Folks – here are my links to the blog and to a very rough demo of my song for Week 2 – ‘Better Off Burned’ – have a great week 3!!!
LikeLike
Hi Carrie – This is a really well-written song and I can tell from your blog how much you’ve put into rising to the challenge! Thanks – it makes it worth it for me.
LikeLike
This week was “falsetto week” for me so everything kinda sounds like the Bee Gees:
https://soundcloud.com/matthewhiscock/matthew-hiscock-its-crazy-to
LikeLike
Hey Matthew – Let’s declare national falsetto day! Cool song.
LikeLike
This week was super hectic for me, next week is going to drive me to the edge lol- so I wrote a song for myself to “Hold On”
https://soundcloud.com/vionproduction/holdon-acousticver
Blog post:
All feedbacks welcome 🙂 And if you want to co-write, give me a shoutout on twitter or email me ~
LikeLike
My tune is at: https://soundcloud.com/seersongwriter/story-time-at-the-donut-shop
Blog is at: http://jonathanchurcherdotcom.wordpress.com/s-a-c-six-songs/
LikeLike
http://joycegrennan.wordpress.com/2014/03/03/week-two-s-a-c…his-weeks-song/
https://soundcloud.com/angelhousemusic/it's-in-God's-hands-to hold
LikeLike
I messed up on the soundcloud link so here is the proper one.
https://soundcloud.com/angelhousemusic/in-gods-hands-to-hold-written
LikeLike
I left a reply earlier and for some strange reason it didn’t stick. So here we go again. My song is on.
https://soundcloud.com/angelhousemusic/in-gods-hands-to-hold-written
and my notes are on http://angelhousemusic.wordpress.com
LikeLike
Sorry my notes for week two challenge are on http://joycegrennan.wordpress.com
LikeLike
Had lots of fun putting this one together this week. So much out there in the world that if we just stop to look at…we get to see…
My Soundcloud – Just Go Out
My blog
http://abeautifulcrash.blogspot.ca/
Cheers
North
LikeLike
This is brilliant work North. Your song could be the theme song for this week’s challenge!
LikeLike
Thanks Christopher,
Pretty cool thing you are doing here, and it is great to see so many songwriters not only participating, but keeping up with the challenge. Thanks for your comments. They mean allot.
LikeLike
I will put up the link to my blog. I am unable to sing this week so it is only the blog.
Wanda Gail
LikeLike
Hello again fellow songwriters! WEEK 2 is in the bag. Here are the links to my BLOG and NEW SONG “Pickin’ Up The Shards”
https://soundcloud.com/scottperriemusic/pickin-up-the-shards
Keep up the great work. xo
LikeLike
Here are my links for week 2.
I’m still without my computer/tools, so another handheld recorder, off the floor recording. Now I’m just hoping my laptop WILL come back *le sigh*
song Afterglow –
https://soundcloud.com/kamiio/afterglow
week 2 blog –
https://amandabellemusic.jux.com/2558186
Going to go enjoy some listening time now 🙂
Cheers,
Amanda
LikeLike
Really strong, original work Amanda. I’d love to hear you with a band!
LikeLike
Thank you so much Christopher. I appreciate your time and the way you are helping us to think and write differently. Very valuable!
LikeLike
My blog for week 2: http://annidelsol.tumblr.com/
As I mentioned on the Facebook page, my voice is barely there to talk, let alone sing so I posted the lyrics in the blog and will record the song as soon as I can.
LikeLike
Here is the link to my blog: http://elliottredeker.wordpress.com
LikeLike
Okay!! I am FINALLY done week 2…. a wee bit late
Here’s the blog post:
http://rcampbell.com/index.php/2014/02/02/grow-your-antennae-week-2-and-one-sided-conversations/
And the soundcloud link:
https://soundcloud.com/robert-14-2/he-didnt-say-goodbye-sac-6
LikeLike
Awesome video. This was a bit of a challenge since I have been avoiding going outside in the dead of winter… so as my Blog will explain, I poured my feelings of February into song! Hope you like it. http://angelasaini.com/blog/blog/songwriting-challenge-week-2
LikeLike
Love your song Angela! You’ve got a really original lyric approach.
LikeLike
Oh gosh. This song did not want to be born… but I successfully finished!
My Blog: http://adriannesoundslike.tumblr.com/post/78494875825/week-2-6-songs-in-6-weeks-developing-an-eye-for
My Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/adrianne_r/stargazer-sac-challenge-week-2
LikeLike
Great work Adrianne! You are for certain the first person I know who’s gotten inspiration at a Home Depot!
LikeLike
Here’s my soundcloud link: http://soundcloud.com/guitarvydas-1/turn-the-cold-off
and my blog: http://guitarvydas.wordpress.com/2014/03/03/week-2-of-6in6/
LikeLike
Well I’ve finished week 2. It didn’t come as easily as week 1 but here it is https://soundcloud.com/debbieann7
LikeLike
The full songcloud song for week 2 is Love yourself first https://soundcloud.com/debbieann7/love-yourself-first
LikeLike
I have started a new blog on wordpress and put my week 2 homework and song lyrics on it. I hope this one works out for me. http://debbsite.wordpress.com/wp-admin/post.php?post=4&action=edit&message=6&postpost=v2
LikeLike
Week 2! Here’s the blog – song is in the blog. I will start using soundclound next week.
http://kristinestpierre.com/blog/blog/sac-challenge-2014-week-2-where-inspiration-abounds
LikeLike
So I had thought I would have gotten to my blog by now and typed up my notes .. just so emotionally and physically exhausted .. really worked this exercise to the core .. coming up with a song for my friend and neighbour and her family who have just last saturday lost their 23 year old son/brother to suicide. So, I will get to it over the next couple days though. So for now here is the song and I have since added a little opening/closer and posting the video of that too. My timeline was different as I started the exercise on the day he passed (Saturday) but luckily the exercise is much the same as I always do .. smiles…
LikeLike
Made it, by the skin of my teeth again!
Here’s my material for Week 2.
Link to my blog, with song and lyrics: http://lairdwaynerose.blogspot.ca
Link to piano track on Soundcloud (melody, but no lyrics):
Doing my best to keep up with the work everyone is doing. Man, writing at this intensity is time consuming. Kinda like being a pro! 🙂
LikeLike
Here is a link to my blog which has the link to my Week 2 song – “River of Rainbows”. I also posted a link on the S.A.C. Songwriters Challenge Facebook page – but thought I should post here as well.
http://rosannebakerthornley.tumblr.com/
LikeLike
Hi All … still trying to get the hang of this 🙂 I thought the Facebook group was the gathering point but I guess there’s two! I posted my SoundCloud link there on Sunday but I guess to be on the playlist I have to post here too … so here it is 🙂
Davy Ferguson – A Better Man
LikeLike
I’m sorry I’m late this week 😦 I definitely dropped the ball this week.
Here’s a link to my blog http://jesseweeks.typepad.com/my_quest_to_write_a_hit_s/
LikeLike
After a lot of fruitless experimentation, I decided to just get silly … and silly it is 🙂
LikeLike
Hi Everyone,
Here is the link to my blog for week 2, Grow Your Antennae:
http://brooketurnermusic.com/songchallenge/week-2/
Here is my Soundcloud link to my song, Happy Ending:
Thanks,
Brooke
LikeLike
I’m uber late… but I’m not giving up. Here’s my week 2 song and blog! Thanks!
Mae Janelle
My blog: http://maejanellemusic.com/post/79474187573/songwriting-challenge-2-antennae-so-im-super
My song: https://soundcloud.com/maejanellemusic/songwriting-challenge-2-summer
LikeLike
Pingback: Grow your antennae! and One-sided conversations – Week 2 | Robert Campbell