I have decided the best way to give back is this thread

[Casey H]

I Got A Lot Of Splainin To Do Lucy!

Casey,
1. If you sign an agreement today, any earlier placement should not be affected, If you are the publisher for that piece keeps this all clean. If you are not then yo get into the retitle mess. You should notify the holder of that cue that it is now registered to another publisher to cover future play.

Ricky
Thanks.... I'm still confused (maybe it's my own thickness) on the scenario...

In 2006, I place my song, "The Sky Is Blue" (original copyrighted title) on my own with the TV Show "One Life To Kvetch" with my own publishing company, "Mensch Songs". In 2009, a music library offers me an exclusive contract whereby they become the publisher. I fully disclose the prior placement and they are OK with it.

We keep the original title and change the publisher on it with ASCAP from "Mensch Songs" to the library's publishing entity. There are old cue sheets filed from the shows on "One Life To Kvetch" with "Mensch Songs" as the publisher. I assume that those older cue sheets would be completely unaffected by this change and if "One Life To Kvetch" is re-broadcast, the publisher payments would still go to Mench Songs. (?)

Sounds logical to me but just checking... I'm sure someone else has or will have the same question.

Thanks again!!
Casey

[Cat Herder]

Tim, counterpoint is a melodic function that is neither Parallel, Contrary, Similar nor Oblique. It is in fact a complimentary counter melody. It can be overdone for sure. I can see instances where it can be present throughout a piece, and equally I see pieces that are perfect to my ear where it can come and go. I would say; and I am open to counter views on this (no puntal intended) that both the chorus and verse should have counterpoint, and it should be consistant. Where it plays in the mix is a matter of artistic choice, but don't write a butterfly melody that just flies all over the place. The development of counterpoint is as important and should take the same careful development as any componet of the piece. It is not their to compete nor stand with the melody like you may find in a fuge. It is there to enhance and build texture and mood, or tension. Here is a little ditty I wrote a few years back so excuse the samples, but it is a fair example of counterpoint. I am afraid this will show why I am a producer now.

http://www.studio51music.com/counterpoint

[Cat Herder]

JD, Matt gave you the only answer you will ever need. I sometimes laugh at people who say I want to write for TV, and when I ask what they watch they say "I don't watch TV". I suddenly go into convulsions.

[mojobone]

Thank you, Cat Herder, for a terrific thread!

A little more on counter-melody, if I may: Can percussion carry a counterpoint line? Yes, but technically, if it's done with non-pitched percussion it's known as counter-rhythm; you hear it a lot in hiphop. Some jazz drummers can maintain as many as three counter-rhythms at once. Paul McCartney is largely credited with bringing counterpoint basslines to pop/rock music. Counterpoint lines that come in and out with song sections are very common in electronica. (probably because of the mute buttons on the Alesis MMT-8, but that's a whole 'nother article, right there) Call and response can sometimes also be a form of counterpoint, if there's a a variation on the melody involved and it's in the form of a round; the technical point being that the melody and counterpoint or counter echo occur simultaneously/are heard together. For some great examples of countermelody, check out what the low brass is doing in any of John Phillip Sousa's marches. A fugue can have lots of counter-melodies, but usually one or two at a time. When you have more melodies and counter-melodies going on at once than you can completely pay attention to, it's what psychiatrists call a fugue state.

[jparker]

Hello Mr. Herder,

Do you think it works better for a composer to find one or two styles or genres that they enjoy doing or can do best, or does it work better to be more flexible and compose many different types of music? I've seen people be successful both ways, but I just wondered your opinion based on your experience.
I enjoy writing many different kinds of music and I believe I suffer from I what call Musical ADD. Comes from listening and playing music for 4 decades. I'm just about 18 months into my attempt at a music career and wondered if it would be more beneficial to focus on a couple of certain genres and become more skilled in those instead of trying to write for every opportunity I see and not ever find a niche.

Thanks in advance for your time, and this is a great thread you have started!

Also, thanks for a great mentor session in the Drive-By Mentor Sessions on Saturday night at the Road Rally - best 10 minutes of the whole trip!

Jeff Parker

[kitchensinkmusic]

This is a fantastic thread and I really appreciate the time and thought that has gone into every single idea that's been tossed around here....

On the subject of counterpoint (and BTW I thought Cat Herder's definition is as good as it gets) it is worth mentioning that long before there was anything resembling chord theory, music was linearly (melodically) conceived and chords we're the result of simultaneous voices. As the contrapuntalists of the Renaissance and Baroque slowly moved towards our major-minor system, discarding the other Church modes, the idea of chords and their inversions became a means of understanding harmony. Kind of like the way a tree ring slice sample would tell you something about a tree.

Every chord type that we utilise today has it's origins in a specific melodic setting. Even exotic stuff like Augmented sixth (Italian, German, French), Neopolitan 6th, Augmented, minor #7, etc, whatever - these all arose from melodies and accompanying counterpoint and indeed three of them don't exist outside these contexts (Italian, German and Neopolitan 6th).

[Cat Herder]

Hey Jeff,

"Jack of all trades, master of none" this is an old saying with plenty of punch still left in it. I know a number of composers, successful ones, who can write in a number of genres. And they do a respectable job, but they all have one thing in common. They know their limitations and stick to them. They have core strength genres that they kick butt in, and that are respectable in other genres, but there are other composers who have those genres as core strengths and will do their own butt kickin'. The issue is what are you "REALLY" good in, not what do you "think" you are good in. Whether it is genre, instrumentation, or life in general; "Play to your strengths." If you play to the other fellows strengths he will mop the floor with you every time. No, I am not saying that a hip Hop writer cannot kick booty in Orchestral score, and maybe even in Dance, Electronica and Rock. He may be fair in Country, fair is not good enough, Good is not good enough, and sometimes in certain circumstances Great is not good enough. My most successful writers know what they are good at, thier core genres. They know that is their bread and butter, and until you are making peanut butter and jelly sanwiches you better stick to the bread and butter. Should you foray into areas you want to write in, sure, once you are good enough. People who take careful small steps trip less that people who clod hop all over the place. Remember this if nothing else "PLAY TO YOUR STRENGTHS" I hope this helps.

[Cat Herder]

Thanks for that addendum to my comments Richard. It is something I preach everywhere I go, and there are composers that are just a counterpoint away from success.

[vasek.g3]

Dear Mr. Herder,
thanks for your time and generosity.

Vašek

[Cat Herder]

Vasek,

Thank you for doing what you do, it makes the world a better place. The world is not all about us, it is about the music we make.

Dave