When I told someone that my husband and I were driving to California for a vacation, the person asked, “Why California?” I replied, “I want to sit and look out over the ocean. I want to watch the sunset in the evening. I want to feel small and to experience the immensity of the ocean, of the world—of life. He responded, “You can get the same thing at The Grand Canyon.” So why is California calling?
Pieces of paper are important to me. Sometimes they become a song lyric, a blog idea, or simply a reminder of a past event that is meaningful. I have often typed the phrases or sentences into the computer and printed them out . . . but, it simply, is not as much fun or evocative of that moment when I jotted those ideas down.
In 2007 I went to three NSAI Song Camps in Nashville. They offered one more song camp which would take place July 20-22, 2008. For NSAI Song Camp 102, Jason Blume would be the main teacher. I had read several of his books as well as some of his articles on the BMI (Broadcast Music, Inc.) website. I looked forward to this opportunity of learning from him in person.
NSAI Song Camp 301 was held October 21-23, 2007. This song camp was the last in the series and I was very excited about going. I also ordered tickets to the Bluebird Café for the late show on Tuesday night.
From the moment in November 2006 when I decided to become a songwriter my life had a purpose and a goal. Although I could dimly see my destination, I was on a day-to-day journey not knowing exactly what was next. Going to Blue Ridge Song Camp was a huge step on that journey.
After my trip to Nashville, for the Song Camp 201 in May 2007, I began voice lessons with Ron Browning. He is a vocal coach who was, at the time, also a teacher at the Nashville Jazz Workshop. In June, he was going to be on the faculty at the Blue Ridge Song Camp. Although I had only had four lessons with Ron, I already deeply respected his opinions and advice. He urged me to attend.
Song Camp 201 was offered May 20-22, 2007 and I decided to attend. It was limited to forty-two people and offered six song critique sessions. The faculty for Song Camp 201 was Walt Aldridge, Rick Beresford, Craig Carothers, Don Henry, James Dean Hicks, Ralph Murphy, and Hugh Prestwood.
I drove to Nashville on Thursday, March 29, 2007 for the NSAI Songwriter Symposium. The night before I left, I read my pastor’s sermon from the previous Sunday about providence. It convinced me to be on the lookout for providence during my trip—and assume that everything that happened and everyone I met was providential. That idea changed how I perceived the people and events around me.
When I arrived at NSAI Song Camp 101 I was eager to learn. I took pages and pages of notes. The following information from those notes captures tidbits of advice and inspiration from these wonderful teachers. Even though some of the information is specifically about songwriting, it also is helpful for anyone wanting to learn how to adapt a creative mindset.
I left for Nashville Saturday, February 17, 2007 about midday. For the song camp we were told to bring three songs for critiques but, I had five songs on my CD because I wasn’t sure which ones I wanted to share. As I got to the north side of Birmingham I slid the CD into the player and listened intently.
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