Instant Songwriting:Musical Improv from Dunce to Diva Part 3 (Distinguished Level)

By Nancy Howland Walker

Instant Songwriting is the ultimate how-to book for musical improvisers and an excellent resource for songwriters. With over two decades of musical improv experience, Nancy Howland Walker guides you with clear, logical and fun step-by-step exercises, from the very basics of putting a song together, to highly advanced song techniques.

Whether you are new to the art form or experienced, your songs are improvised or written, or you do this for fun or profit, Instant Songwriting helps you take your song skills to the next level. Musical tracks are included for each exercise – to accompany you as you practice and master each step along the way.

Part 3 will teach you to become distinguished above most musical improvisers out there, and to create well formed songs.

Now go and become the Songwriting Diva you were meant to be!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Nancy Howland Walker
• Release date: Jun 13, 2012
• ISBN: 9780985465223

Nancy Howland Walker

Nancy Howland Walker is a full time SAG/AFTRA actor, writer, teacher and trainer who has been performing, teaching, directing, and producing improv since 1989. In Boston, she was the Artistic Director of TheatreSports and ImprovBoston (New England's longest running comedy troupe). In Chicago, she is the Executive Director of Chicago Improv Associates, which offers improv-based entertainment and corporate training.Nancy’s specialty is musical improv. She has sung short-form musical improv games with ImprovBoston, the International Improvisational Theater League, TheatreSports, Just For Laughs, and the Disney Cruise Line. Nancy has also sung in long-form improvised musicals with ImprovBoston and the Free Associates (Divamatic, an improvised cabaret), and in 1998, Nancy created, produced, directed and performed in the critically acclaimed show MUSICAL! the musical, the country’s first two-act completely improvised modern Broadway style musical, which opened in 1998 at Chicago’s Royal George Theatre, and has had runs in Boston, Nashville and various theaters across the country.Nancy has developed one-day, weekend, and full eight-week musical improv curricula for improv schools, troupes and festivals, and has taught the subject to packed classes all over the world.

Book preview

"Instant Songwriting is a colossal banana split of everything you’ll ever need to know about the subject; decadently generous, delightful, satisfying and sweet as can be. I learned a lot from this book, and Nancy Howland Walker kept me laughing all the way. Standing ovation!"

- MICHAEL POLLOCK, Musical Director, The Second City LA

People snuck into Nancy's full to the brim Song Improv class because word of mouth about them was so great! I sat in on one of the classes (as producer of the Fest) and was impressed by Nancy's teaching style, her great personality and knowledge of the subject.

- SUSAN SANTANIELLO, Producer, Funny Women Fest

Instant Songwriting

Musical Improv from Dunce to Diva

by

Nancy Howland Walker

PART 3

Musical Improv 301

(Distinguished Level)

Published by Satyagraha Publishing

Smashwords Edition

copyright 2012 Nancy Howland Walker

This ebook is licensed for your personal education and enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

The following songs are reprinted with permission:

Over the Rainbow (From The Wizard of Oz)

Music by HAROLD ARLEN Lyrics by E.Y. HARBURG

Copyright © 1938 (Renewed) METRO-GOLDWYN-MAYER INC.

© 1939 (Renewed) EMI FEIST CATALOG INC.

All Rights Controlled and Administered by EMI FEIST CATALOG INC. (Publishing)

and ALFRED MUSIC PUBLISHING CO., INC. (Print)

All Rights Reserved Used by Permission

The Ballad of the Shape of Things by Sheldon Harnick

Copyright 1950 by Sheldon Harnic

Copyright Renewed. International Copyright Secured. All Rights Reserved.

Used by Permission of Mayerling Productions LTD., administered by Williamson Music, A

Division of Rodgers & Hammerstein: An Imagem Company

Peace by Marshall Stern

Copyright 1994 by Marshall Stern

All Rights Reserved

Dedication

This book is dedicated to my wonderful husband Marshall Sweetie Stern. We wouldn’t have met and become friends if not for musical improv. In the summer of 1999, Marshall had won a scholarship to study at Players Workshop of the Second City. A friend of his dragged him kicking and screaming to my weekend musical improv class. It should be understood that Marshall was a professional songwriter in Nashville at the time, and he HATED musical improv. But lo and behold, he LOVED the class - besides being fun and having a very intelligent and sexy teacher, it freed him up from over-thinking songs. His improv songs got immensely better, and he got unblocked for his written songs. We now teach musical improv together, among other improv classes (check out our Zenprov podcast on iTunes or at www.cia.libsyn.com!) We live each day with laughter on our lips and songs in our hearts!

Acknowledgements

When you are a first-time author (and writing on a budget!), you rely on wonderful, wonderful friends and co-workers and even strangers to help you through the process. First and foremost, I want to thank my Editor Katie Flohr O’Sullivan for spending so much time and expertise with me. Jerry Schulman, for legal help (hey - when you’re quoting songs, you have to be careful!), Mike Brown for additional publishing legal advice, cover artist Dick Hannus with Hannus Design who kept me from making any design faux pas, and Mary Olivieri for some copy writing help. My thanks to Charna Halpern, who agreed to write the foreword without a moment’s hesitation, even though she is the busiest woman in improv! Also huge thanks to all my contributing musicians. Their tracks make this book a practical course so readers can gain actual experience, rather than just theoretical knowledge. Special shout-out to Michael Pollock for going the extra mile and reading the entire book to give me a fabulous quote for my back cover. And finally a tip of the hat to Marshall Stern who helped me get my website and audio tracks working. Big love and thanks to you all!

Table of Contents

Foreword

Introduction

Part 3 - Musical Improv 301 (Distinguished level)

Chapter 8 - Parts of a Song

Chapter 9 - Song Formats

Chapter 10 - Musical Games 301

Afterword

About the Author

Connect to the Author

About the Musicians

Appendix

A - List of Exercises

B - List of Musical Tracks

C - List of Games

D - Topics

E - Song Titles

F - Song Styles

Foreword

By Charna Halpern

I am a