From The Complete Singer-Songwriter
By Jeffrey Pepper Rodgers
Backbeat Books
More about the book. >>>

Also...check out the Words and Music blog, with notable quotes from great songwriters, quick spins on new music, and more. >>>

Here’s a selective list of Web sites, publications, organizations, and other resources for songwriters and musicians. Links are included wherever possible and the listings are regularly updated and expanded (feel free to submit comments and suggestions).

Book listings below link to Amazon and Powells (where purchases support the maintenance of this site) or to Elderly, a comprehensive mail-order source for music books as well as CDs and instruments. You can also browse book covers and synopses on Powells by clicking here.

Books and Articles by Jeffrey Pepper Rodgers

WRITING

MUSIC INSTRUCTION/REFERENCE

Ben Bolt, Music Theory for the Rock Guitarist, Mel Bay. >>> Amazon, Elderly

Elvo S. D’Amante, All About Chords, Encore Music. In-depth study of chord theory and progressions, with exercises and quizzes. >>> Powells, Amazon

Pat Pattison, Writing Better Lyrics, Writer’s Digest Books. >>> Powells, Amazon

Jack Perricone, Melody in Songwriting: Tools and Techniques for Writing Hit Songs, Hal Leonard. >>> Powells, Amazon

Jeffrey Pepper Rodgers, ed., Songwriting and the Guitar, String Letter. Includes workshops on melody and lyric writing, chord theory and progressions, and guitar gear. >>> Powells, Amazon

Rikky Rooksby, How to Write Songs on Guitar, Backbeat Books. Detailed theory-based instruction on melody, harmony, rhythm, and chord progressions. >>> Powells, Amazon

Peter Blood and Annie Patterson, eds., Rise Up Singing: The Group Singing Sourcebook, Sing Out! Lyrics and chords to 1,200 songs, from folk ballads to '70s rock. >>> Powells, Amazon

WholeNote, www.wholenote.com. Guitar site includes free lessons; see Basics section for guitar-oriented tutorials on music theory.

Guitar.to Player, guitar.to. Clever on-line programs for finding/naming chords on piano and guitar (in standard tuning or any alternate tuning).

The Online Guitar Archive, www.olga.net. On-line guitar tablature.

LITERARY GUIDES

Annie Dillard, The Writing Life, Harper Perennial. An intense and poetic exploration of the creative process. >>> Powells, Amazon

Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life, Anchor. A funny, smart, and encouraging book by a novelist and nonfiction writer. >>> Powells, Amazon

William Strunk Jr. and E. B. White, The Elements of Style, Allyn and Bacon. The classic guide to clear and concise writing. >>> Powells, Amazon

SOFTWARE

Lyricist, Virtual Studio Systems, www.virtualstudiosystems.com. Software for organizing and storing songs. Includes guitar chord diagrams, thesaurus, and rhyming dictionary.

MasterWriter, www.masterwriter.com. A songwriter's tool primarily for brainstorming lyrics, using an extensive database of rhymes, phrases, alliterations, and pop culture references.

SongMaster, Shubb, www.shubb.com. Software for building a database of songs (lyrics and chord charts), with tools for transposing and assembling set lists. Available with GigMaster (see Performing section) or by itself.

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PERFORMING

VENUES

Musi-Cal (www.musi-cal.com) and Mojam (www.mojam.com). Two entry points to the same huge database of live music events: use them to find venue ideas (including house concerts and off-the-beaten-track venues) and submit your own gigs for listing. Data is also licensed to other sites.

Pollstar, www.pollstar.com. Concert industry site includes a searchable database of events.

Houseconcerts.com, www.houseconcerts.com. Site run by Texas house concert presenters lists venues and sells a book on hosting house concerts.

House Concerts, www.houseconcerts.org. Free, comprehensive guide to playing and hosting house concerts.

Concerts in Your Home, www.concertsinyourhome.com. Resources for house-concert performers and hosts.

Folk venue listserv, lists.psu.edu/archives/folkvenu.html. Discussion list for presenters.

Acoustic Guitar Summer Study, www.acousticguitar.com/summer/welcome.html. Listings of music camps and workshops, updated annually.

The Dirty Linen Gig Guide, www.dirtylinen.com. Concert listings.

BUSINESS

GigMaster, Shubb, www.shubb.com. Booking and tracking software for performers. Includes SongMaster (see Writing section above).

Jeri Goldstein, How to Be Your Own Booking Agent: The Musician's and Performing Artist's Guide to Successful Touring, New Music Times. >>> Amazon

PowerGig, www.powergig.com. Resources/FAQ section includes sample performance contracts.

Quint Randle and Bill Evans, Making Money Making Music: The Musician’s Guide to Cover Gigs, Backbeat Books. Focuses on starting a cover band but includes lots of nuts-and-bolts info and advice on gigging. >>> Powells, Amazon

Alan Rowoth, www.alanrowoth.com. Tutorials page includes articles on booking, low-budget touring, and contracts.

STAGE CRAFT AND GEAR

Dan Erlewine, Guitar Player Repair Guide: How to Set Up, Maintain, and Repair Electrics and Acoustics, Backbeat Books. >>> Powells, Amazon

Frets.com, www.frets.com. Exhaustive, illustrated on-line guide to acoustic guitar care and repair.

Steve Rapson, The Art of the Solo Performer, American Success Institute. The Web site affiliated with this book, www.soloperformer.com, offers tutorials on songwriting, touring, and the music business. >>>

Jeffrey Pepper Rodgers, ed., Performing Acoustic Music, String Letter. Guide to stage craft includes an extensive section on choosing and using acoustic instruments. >>> Powells, Amazon

Mike Sokol, The Acoustic Musician’s Guide to Sound Reinforcement and Live Recording, Prentice Hall. >>> Powells, Amazon

Simone Solondz, ed., Acoustic Guitar Owner’s Manual, String Letter. Player’s guide to guitar maintenance, with sections on traveling with and insuring your instrument. >>> Powells, Amazon

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RECORDING

RECORDING PROCESS

Loren Alldrin, The Home Studio Guide to Microphones, Mix Bookshelf. >>> Powells, Amazon

Jon Chappell, ed., Digital Home Recording: Tips, Techniques, and Tools for Home Studio Production, Backbeat Books. >>> Powells, Amazon

David Franz, Producing in the Home Studio with Pro Tools, Berklee Press. >>> Powells, Amazon

Mitch Gallagher, ed., Make Music Now: Putting Your Studio Together, Recording Songs, Burning CDs, and Distributing Online, Backbeat Books. >>> Powells, Amazon

John Keane, The Musician's Guide to Pro Tools, McGraw-Hill Osborne. >>> Amazon

Ben Milstead, Home Recording Power! Muska and Lipman. >>> Powells, Amazon

Huw Price, Recording Guitar and Bass, Backbeat Books. >>> Powells, Amazon

RECORDING BUSINESS

Bug Music, www.bugmusic.com. See FAQ for music publishing basics.

The Music Biz Academy, www.musicbizacademy.com. Includes articles on promotion, copyright, and other business topics.

Oasis CD Manufacturing, www.oasiscd.com. Site includes "The Musicians’ Guide to Replication, Mastering and Promotion."

PD Info, www.pdinfo.com. Reference site for identifying music in the public domain.

Diane Sward Rapaport, How to Make and Sell Your Own Recording, Prentice Hall. >>> Powells, Amazon

Sonicbids, www.sonicbids.com. Web-based "electronic press kits" for musicians.

Star Polish, www.starpolish.com. Extensive advice section covers all aspects of the record business.

Taxi, www.taxi.com. Independent A&R company for unsigned artists and songwriters.

U.S. Copyright Office, www.copyright.gov. Includes copyright basics, FAQ, and forms.

ON-LINE STUDIO SERVICES

Mixing and Mastering, www.mixingandmastering.com. A network of engineers and producers that offers audio mixing, mastering, and recording, with per-song rates and on-line submissions.

eSession, www.esession.com. A Web service connecting musicians (including some high-profile studio players), engineers, and producers for recording projects.

Session Players, www.sessionplayers.com. For booking Web-based sessions with studio pros.

Studio drum tracks: www.e-studio-drummer.com (Phil Robertson), www.daveweckl.com, www.drumsforyou.com.

Strings/fiddle parts: www.e-fiddler.com.

Horn charts and tracks: www.hispeedhorns.com.

Studio-Aid, www.studio-aid.com. Low-priced guitar, bass and drum tracks, geared toward the home-recording singer-songwriter.

Sterling Sound, www.sterlingsound.com. One of New York's top mastering studios offers reduced-rate AfterHours services for indie musicians.

StudioTraxx.com, www.studiotraxx.com. Web portal for hiring studio musicians and collaborating on-line.

NetMusicMakers.com (www.netmusicmakers.com) and Indaba Music (www.indabamusic.com). Two sites that combine social networking with virtual studio capabilities, providing a platform for finding musicians and working together on songs and tracks.

ON-LINE MUSIC STORES

CD Baby, www.cdbaby.com. The "musicians’ backdoor" of the indie music store has useful links and articles.

Snocap, www.snocap.com. For selling digital downloads anywhere on the Web. Sign up through MySpace Music to automatically embed a download store on your MySpace page.

TuneCore, www.tunecore.com. Digital distribution to iTunes and other music download sites.

earBuzz, www.earbuzz.com. After membership fee, artists receive 100 percent of CD proceeds.

Folkweb, www.folkweb.com. Web store for indie folk and acoustic music.

Insound, www.insound.com. Rock-oriented indie music store.

iTunes, www.apple.com/itunes. See the artist and label sign-up page.

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GENERAL BUSINESS

Judith Folkman, ed., The Musicians’ Atlas, Music Resource Group. Annual music-business directory. >>> Amazon

Greg Forest, The Complete Music Business Office, Hal Leonard. More than 125 contracts and forms, on paper and on CD. Sample contracts can be found here. >>> Powells, Amazon

Bill Henderson, ed., Pushcart’s Complete Rotten Reviews and Rejections, W.W. Norton. Comic relief for when you’ve heard too many discouraging words. >>> Powells, Amazon

Michael Levine, Guerrilla P. R.: How You Can Wage an Effective Publicity Campaign . . . Without Going Broke, HarperBusiness. Not written specifically about music, but applicable. >>> Powells, Amazon

Donald S. Passman, All You Need to Know About the Music Business, Simon and Schuster. An authoritative, accessible, and highly readable guide. >>> Powells, Amazon

Peter Spellman, The Self-Promoting Musician: Strategies for Independent Music Success, Berklee Press. >>> Powells, Amazon

David Wimble, The Indie Bible, Big Meteor. Directory of radio stations, publications, sites for promoting music. >>> Powells, Amazon

Randall D. Wixen, The Plain and Simple Guide to Music Publishing, Hal Leonard. Clear, concise, and useful discussion of a vital topic for songwriters. >>> Powells, Amazon

Peter Irvine Law. This musician/lawyer offers an email "Ask an Attorney" service, where you can get advice on a specific legal issue for an affordable fee. >>>

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ORGANIZATIONS

TRADE

Folk Alliance, 962 Wayne Ave., Suite 902, Silver Spring, MD 20910-4480; (301) 588-8185; www.folk.org.

Future of Music Coalition, c/o Michael Bracy, 1615 L Street NW, Suite 520, Washington, DC 20036; (202) 429-8855; www.futureofmusic.org. Focuses on technology and public policy. Also offers free advice on health insurance for musicians.

Nashville Entertainment Association, P.O. Box 158029, Nashville, TN 37215; (800) 555-1212; www.nea.net. Membership services for breaking into the Nashville music industry.

Nashville Songwriters Association International, 1701 West End Avenue, Third Floor, Nashville, TN 37203; (615) 256-3354; (800) 321-6008; www.nashvillesongwriters.com.

National Association for Campus Activities, 13 Harbison Way, Columbia, SC 29212; (803) 732-6222; www.naca.org. Connects educational institutions with entertainers.

The Songwriters Guild of America, 1500 Harbor Blvd., Weehawken, NJ 07086; (201) 867-7603; www.songwriters.org.

PERFORMANCE RIGHTS

ASCAP (New York), One Lincoln Plaza, New York, NY 10023; (212) 621-6000; www.ascap.com. On-line advice includes "Music and Money: Where the Money Comes from for Writers and Publishers."

BMI (New York), 320 West 57th Street, New York, NY 10019-3790; (212) 586-2000; www.bmi.com. See "Songwriting and Copyright" and "Music Publishing Terminology."

SESAC (headquarters), 55 Music Square East, Nashville, TN 37203; (615) 320-0055; www.sesac.com.

SOCAN (headquarters), 41 Valleybrook Drive, Toronto, ON M3B 2S6, Canada; (416) 445-8700; (800) 55 SOCAN; www.socan.ca. Canadian performing rights.

MECHANICAL RIGHTS

Harry Fox Agency, 711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017; (212) 370-5330; www.harryfox.com. Central agency for mechanical licensing in America--see Web site FAQ. Search for copyright/licensing information on millions of published songs at www.songfile.com.

Canadian Musical Reproduction Rights Agency (CMRRA), 56 Wellesley St. W. #320, Toronto, Ontario M5S 2S3, Canada; (416) 926-1966; www.cmrra.ca.

NETWORKING

Indiegrrl, www.indiegrrl.com. For women in the independent music business.

Just Plain Folks, www.jpfolks.com. On-line community for people in all aspects of the music business.

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GENERAL RESOURCES

WEB

Addicted to Songwriting, www.addicted-to-songwriting.com. Songwriting articles, tips, and links.

The Muse’s Muse, www.musesmuse.com. Vast clearinghouse of information, articles, and links for songwriters, including songwriting contests and organizations.

Indie Music, www.indie-music.com. Advice and links for independent musicians.

Harmony Central, www.harmony-central.com. Forums, lessons, gear info, and links for musicians.

GarageBand, www.garageband.com. Promotion, distribution, and community for indie musicians.

MySpace Music, music.myspace.com. Networking and promotion for musicians.

All Songs Considered, www.npr.org/programs/asc. NPR's on-line music show spotlights unsigned artists in its Open Mic. See the submission guidelines here.

Whole Wheat Radio. A webcast specializing in folk, singer-songwriter, jazz, blues, country, bluegrass, new age, classical, and world music.

MAGAZINES

The Performing Songwriter, P.O. Box 4093, Nashville, TN 37204; (615) 385-7796; www.performingsongwriter.com.

Acoustic Guitar, P.O. Box 767, San Anselmo, CA 94979; (800) 827-6837; www.acousticguitar.com.

Sing Out! PO Box 5460, Bethlehem, PA 18015; (610) 865-5366; www.singout.org.

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BOOKS AND ARTICLES BY JEFFREY PEPPER RODGERS

BOOKS

The Complete Singer-Songwriter: A Troubadour's Guide to Writing, Performing, Recording, and Business, Backbeat Books. >>>

Rock Troubadours: Conversations on the Art and Craft of Songwriting, String Letter. Features Ani DiFranco, Paul Simon, Joni Mitchell, Jerry Garcia and David Grisman, James Taylor, Ben Harper, Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds, Barenaked Ladies, Chris Whitley, and Indigo Girls. >>>

Beginning Guitarist's Handbook: 50 Essential Questions and Answers For Players of All Ages and Musical Interests, String Letter. >>>

SELECTED ARTICLES

"Start Writing Songs." >>>

"Editing Your Songs" (from the book Songwriting and the Guitar, String Letter). >>>

Browse Rodgers' published articles (including many songwriter profiles) in Acoustic Guitar by using this search form. Select "Rodgers, Jeffrey Pepper" from the list of authors. Search results include links to articles available on-line.

Feature on digital home recording. >>>

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MORE MUSIC BUSINESS LINKS

Broadjam, www.broadjam.com. On-line services for the music industry and musicians, including Web hosting and a searchable database of independent music.

CedarHouse Productions and Studio, www.cedarhouse.com. Production and artist development.

The Little Bazaar, www.littlebazaar.co.uk. CD duplication, audio mastering, and media (London).

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