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Songwriting
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Joined: Jan 2002
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OP
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Joined: Jan 2002
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This will be my 10th year doing FAWM: February Album Writing Month. Several other folks from this forum have joined in along the way. The challenge is to write 14 songs in the month of February. I know of no other more encouraging and insanely inspiring site dedicated to the practice of rapid songwriting. It has evolved over it's 15 or so year existence into a world-wide community of thousands of people; some never having written a song, to several who crank out 30+ in a month. Discussion forums abound, with collaboration, creative block removal tips, lyric craft, song craft, you name it. I have had some years where I meet the 14 song goal, some years where I haven't, but never a year where there isn't at least one song that I like listening to and performing again. (Hey, if you don't enjoy your own songwriting, then there's a problem!) I can see my songwriting skills evolve over this period, and very often I will set some goals ahead of time for things to try out. The forums for the site will start dialing up activity anytime now. PG products are particularly well suited for this fast, frenzied, frenetic festival of songwriting. You'll see me over there as scottlake . This year, I want to do more pop-rock stuff ala Nada Surf, Death Cab for Cutie, etc. I will probably also do some ambient/soundtrack type things, as well as some bass-focused compositions. I know Kevin Emmrich participates as well as a few others from these here forums. www.fawm.ORG Make sure you do ORG, not COM. -Scott
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Songwriting
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Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 1,815
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Expert
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 1,815 |
Yup, I participate every year (2008 was my first). The best part of it all is the community (sound familiar?) -- It is just great fun. I tend to get 3-5 songs every year that are keepers as is or are keepers after some post-FAWM editing. Here's one of my favorites from last fawm: I Must be A Ghost . It was written as a one hour skirmish. You are given a title and you write and record a song in one hour -- so, of course some boo-boos are in there. I have added another verse post fawm to make it more performable as a single guitar/vocal at open mics (but I haven't re-recorded it yet). ... and yes, I do use BIAB on a few tunes every year, too.
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Songwriting
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Joined: May 2012
Posts: 2,936
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Joined: May 2012
Posts: 2,936 |
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Songwriting
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Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 16,350
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Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 16,350 |
Y'all absolutely amaze me. A serious goal for me will be to write 14 songs over the next two years. Really.
J&B
Our albums and singles are on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, YouTube Music, Pandora and more. If interested search on Janice Merritt. Thanks! A few of our videos are here on our website: https://www.janiceandbud.com/our-music.html
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Songwriting
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Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 1,815
Expert
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Expert
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 1,815 |
Y'all absolutely amaze me. A serious goal for me will be to write 14 songs over the next two years. Really. Maybe that is a good reason to give it try!! You may not come up with anything that is "new" or a keeper -- or you might just pleasantly surprise yourself. Once you get started you realize it isn't that hard. BUT you have to tell your internal critic to stay out of it and just write and record. I end up writing a few that end up sort of weird.
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Songwriting
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Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 7,913
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OP
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Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 7,913 |
Correction, this is my 11th year.
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Songwriting
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Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 7,913
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OP
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Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 7,913 |
J&B. You can do it and once you catch the fever there is no turning back. I assume it's somewhat like what they call runners high. A few songs in the first week and you're addicted.
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Songwriting
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Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 16,350
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Veteran
Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 16,350 |
J&B. You can do it and once you catch the fever there is no turning back. I assume it's somewhat like what they call runners high. A few songs in the first week and you're addicted. Y'all absolutely amaze me. A serious goal for me will be to write 14 songs over the next two years. Really. Maybe that is a good reason to give it try!! You may not come up with anything that is "new" or a keeper -- or you might just pleasantly surprise yourself. Once you get started you realize it isn't that hard. BUT you have to tell your internal critic to stay out of it and just write and record. I end up writing a few that end up sort of weird. Well as former runners and current mountain bikers we get the athletic high but you guys are forgetting the creativity element that you have. In mountain biking racing you can have all the motivation in the world but it means nothing if you don't have the legs. Y'all have a gift. Bud
Our albums and singles are on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, YouTube Music, Pandora and more. If interested search on Janice Merritt. Thanks! A few of our videos are here on our website: https://www.janiceandbud.com/our-music.html
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Songwriting
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Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 7,913
Veteran
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OP
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Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 7,913 |
I thought the same thing about other folks that were in FAWM before me, but really, just give a try to the community and see what happens.
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Songwriting
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Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 7,913
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OP
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Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 7,913 |
www.fawm.org is live for 2017. Join in
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Songwriting
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Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 7,913
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OP
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Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 7,913 |
Some of my compositions for this year, two of which are from the week2 challenge to transform a classical piece of music (I cheated, mine are both impressionist period! As far as I know) A redo of Erik Satie's Trois Gymnopédies: https://soundcloud.com/rockstar_not/whisper-gymnopedies-scott-lakeFirst couple of melody phrases from Fauré's Pavanne in a prog-rock parody. I have to admit, I did like how the lead synth and lead guitar harmonies ended up. https://soundcloud.com/rockstar_not/pavanica-scott-lake Gotta redo the render on this one, it's a little hot in the high end. I would redo the bass tone also, but I had very little time to get the whole thing committed to 'tape' yesterday.
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Songwriting
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Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 5,139
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Veteran
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 5,139 |
I'd be happy to finish one song in February. 
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Songwriting
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Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 1,815
Expert
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Expert
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 1,815 |
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Songwriting
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Joined: May 2012
Posts: 2,936
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Joined: May 2012
Posts: 2,936 |
Love you videos Kev. Wish you had time to do more....
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Songwriting
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Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 2,522
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Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 2,522 |
Great job on the vids! Thanks for posting.
Jeff
Win11, Intel i7 7700K 4.2Ghz, 32Gb RAM, 2x1Tb HD, 500Gb NVMe, BIAB/RB 2026, MOTU 828MK3 audio, MOTU Midi Express, Yamaha Montage 7, DX7II, TX802, Motif XS Rack, Roland Fantom XR Rack, Oberheim Matrix 1000, VoiceLive3 Extreme, Kontakt 6, SampleTank 4.3
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Songwriting
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Joined: Jan 2013
Posts: 1,335
Expert
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Expert
Joined: Jan 2013
Posts: 1,335 |
I'd be happy to finish one song in February. Ha....are you getting personal?  ....I'm in the same fold. I could never be happy with anything I wrote by forcing the creative process into a specified (contest) amount of time. Hence, I'd be a disappointing failure working under pressure to compete with all of you participants. I'd be happy to flesh out one song every quarter! Don't know how you do it but best to all during the competition. Back to it....
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Songwriting
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Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 7,913
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OP
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Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 7,913 |
1. It's a challenge, not a competition
2. Deadlines can surface creativity that you might habitually push down
3. Very supportive and wildly creative community fans the flames of personal creativity
4. BIAB owners and users have a very distinct and purpose fit tool for this challenge
5. Every person who has tried FAWM had some form of your thoughts of creative limits.
Creativity takes practice
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Songwriting
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Joined: Jan 2013
Posts: 1,335
Expert
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Expert
Joined: Jan 2013
Posts: 1,335 |
1. It's a challenge, not a competition
2. Deadlines can surface creativity that you might habitually push down
3. Very supportive and wildly creative community fans the flames of personal creativity
4. BIAB owners and users have a very distinct and purpose fit tool for this challenge
5. Every person who has tried FAWM had some form of your thoughts of creative limits. Creativity takes practice All points acknowledged. I should have referred to it as originally conceived being a 'challenge'. Of course, I agree...'creativity takes practice'. I think I'm just slower than others at arriving at compositions I'd be satisfied with to post for others to listen to. Obviously, I'm too self conscious in the context of a song writing challenge. As I type, something else that would be quite beneficial just came to my pea brain for those that participate....one will quickly get more intimately familiar with the interface, depth and capabilities of such a great program as BIAB/RB. Back to it....
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Songwriting
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Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 8,434
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Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 8,434 |
Boy really nice videos of your work in progress
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Songwriting
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Joined: Feb 2017
Posts: 31
Enthusiast
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Enthusiast
Joined: Feb 2017
Posts: 31 |
This will make you laugh - but I use the "extreme songwriting" method - where the goal is to write 20 songs in one day!
The most i have managed is 18, but I have done it quite a few times now (check into a motel room with a guitar and laptop)
BIAB user since Feb 2017
Songwriter for far too long
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Ask sales and support questions about Band-in-a-Box using natural language.
ChatPG's knowledge base includes the full Band-in-a-Box User Manual and sales information from the website.
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XPro Styles PAK 11 for Mac & Windows Band-in-a-Box® version 2026 (and higher) is here with 100 brand new RealStyles, plus 31 RealTracks/RealDrums!
Guess who’s back again? That’s right! It’s our XPro Styles PAK’s triumphant return with the 11th edition in this series! 100 new styles are coming your way spread across the rock & pop, jazz, and country genres. And this edition's wildcard genre explores the immense and far-reaching catalogue of electronic music! The included 31 RealTracks and RealDrums can be used with any Band-in-a-Box® 2026 (and higher) package.
Special offers available until August 31st, 2026!
All the XPro Styles PAKs 1-11 are on sale for only $29 ea (Reg. $49 ea), or get them all in the XPro Styles PAK Bundle for only $149 (reg. $299)! Order now!
Learn more and listen to demos of XPro Styles PAKs.
Video: XPro Styles PAK 11 Overview & Styles Demos: Watch now!
XPro Styles PAKs require Band-in-a-Box® 2026 or higher and are compatible with ANY package, including the Pro, MegaPAK, UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, and Audiophile Edition.
Introducing Xtra Styles PAK 22 – Now Available for Mac Band-in-a-Box 2026 and Higher!
Xtra Styles PAK 22 for Mac & Windows Band-in-a-Box version 2026 (and higher) is here with 200 brand new RealStyles!
It’s time to celebrate! Xtra Styles PAK 22 for Band-in-a-Box® is here, and we've got 200 brand-new styles coming your way!
No Xtra Styles PAK is complete without the classic rock & pop, jazz, and country volumes you know and love, and we’ve got plenty to share, with 150 styles spread across too many genres to list! Of course, it also wouldn’t be complete with our special wildcard volume to add a little spice and pizzazz to the mix. This year, because we loved it so much the first time, we’ve decided to make the second iteration of our SynthMaster volume, full of new sounds, interesting genres, and 50 engaging styles, all making use of the diverse SynthMaster plugin! Here you can find genres such as airy yacht rock, sultry electrotango, and even some synth soca funk. Don’t wait, pickup up Xtra Styles PAK 22 today!
In this PAK you can find: dulcet folk ballads, funky gospel country, Brazilian jazz fusion, upbeat 1980s pop, classic Americana, a plethora of breezy bossa novas, indie singer-songwriter, scintillating synthwave, exuberant electronica, and many, many more!
Special offers available until August 31st, 2026!
All the Xtra Styles PAKs 1-22 are on special for only $29 each (reg $49), or get all 22 PAKs for $199 (reg $399)! Order now!
Learn more and listen to demos of the Xtra Styles PAK 22.
Video: Xtra Styles PAK 22 Overview & Styles Demos: Watch now!
Note: The Xtra Styles require the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition of Band-in-a-Box®. (Xtra Styles PAK 22 requires the 2026 or higher UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition. They will not work with the Pro or MegaPAK version because they need the RealTracks from the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition.
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