Songwriting
I write songs in the tradition of the Tin Pan Alley style. I have gone through two periods (in the late 1990s and early 2000s) when I have tried to write a song a day.
I write both words and music. Although I like best songs from the period of 1905 to 1945, ironically, most of my song compositions end up sounding like they were written in the slightly later period of 1945 to 1955.
I also write new lyrics for old melodies, ones that are now in the public domain in the United States. I first attempted this in the 1990s, but came back to the practice in 2006 on the encouragement of Dr. John Diamond. No disrespect for the original lyricists is intended. For me, as for Dr. Diamond, the best songs have personal lyrics, which many of these old songs do not. Further, I wanted to experiment to see if the melodies, given new lyrics, could achieve some of that "interior" quality that I feel is manifested in many of the famous songs of the post-1923 Golden Age of American Popular Song.
These songs may be useful for those interested in the Great American Songbook, whether amateur or singing in cabaret, nightclub, barbershop, or jazz contexts.
(Please feel free to download the attached lead sheets. Optimistic qualification: By downloading these songs, you are agreeing that if you start to use them as part of a musical career earning more than "just scraping by," you will contact me and arrange to pay royalties.)
