Canadian Song Writer and Piano Man Mike Wilkinson shows you where you should take your Song Writing

By Mark Grove

Calgary, Canada Based Piano-player Michael Wilkinson is another artist who favors original material and wants his music to be the star in his show, not him. He says that he writes and composes music that has to wow him before he comes out with a full song. This Berklee College of Music student has specialized in songwriting and piano, and has a Masters Certificate in Songwriting, Music Business and Technology.


Michael has has been a writer of music and lyrics for a decade, and played piano 19 years. Mike has been with Berklee for 3 years and plans to be like the Alan Parsons Project and write material, that will be able to keep him out of the limelight and make a living doing what he loves best, as a composer, piano player and writer.

When you compose music on the piano, what is your main objective? To come up with something based more on classical music or a combination of genres such as rock, jazz and classical?

My main objective when writing music on the piano is to come up with something that sounds different and unique to me. I find that I don’t really have a genre in mind when I am writing music. I find my songs more in the soundtrack genre of music. They are more mellow and instrumental. If you were to classify them, I would probably classify them more Jazz than classical, however, they don’t really have a jazzy feel to them.

Do some of your songs have lyrics, or are you just doing strictly instrumentals for now?

I write both music and lyrics however, I write each of them as separate entities. Each of the songs (music or lyrical) can be used in separate projects. I find that each of the lyrics and music come at separate moments in time, so it’s tough for me to sit down with a musical idea and write lyrics, or vice versa.

Could you name a teacher from Berklee, or musician that you regard highly as being a great songwriter that you’ve learned from?

This is a tough question, because many of my instructors at Berklee have been great inspirations and great guilds for me. I know that one of the most influential instructors I’ve had so far is Jimmy Kachulis. He was the teacher I had for three of my songwriting courses. He always encouraged me and was always so supportive of my goals. I had a lyric writing instructor who was the same. Shane Adams was always so supportive of my music and always made me feel like my music and my lyrics were worthwhile. I also had a business instructor who also would say that he could see all of my goals coming true in the near future and he always supported me in my ventures. His name is George Howard.

Do you have any plans to play with a band in Calgary and play the club scene? Or are your music career plans different?

I don’t really have any plans to play around the city, as a performer. If the chance comes up, however, I don’t say no. But I don’t really like to perform my own stuff. I would rather stay behind the scenes and have the music be in the forefront.


To listen to Mike’s piano composition’s, go to : http://go.berkleemusic.com/music4ever

You can also email Mike at:mikesmusic@shaw.ca

Piano and keyboards are more involved in the making of music, and seem to complement different genres. Take a listen to Mike’s Mp3’s of original piano rips.

Mark Grove--CGP

Bluesman Cadillac Zack and his Gear

These are a few of Cadillac Zack's gear pieces he uses for different gigs and studio sessions. I love writing about gear, and I'll give you these valuable pictures of a 1968 35 watt Silver Face(Fender)Super amp. A (Boss)DD3 Digital Delay, and a Boss Super Chorus.


I didn't include a picture of Zack's Jimmy Vaughan Fender Mexican Strat because I have a fantastic! picture of it just below in the main interview with Zack
playing it.

Zack will hate me for showing his gear before the interview, but I thought it was important for gear hounds and Zack's fans to see not just what Axe he uses, but his accessory gear as well. I'll have another gear article with Zack at a later date.


Who needs to watch Kung Fu movies, people knitting or being stupid, when you've got blues artists like Cadillac Zack you can learn something from to help your guitar playing, and get the right gear.

Mark Grove

http://www.myspace.com/cadillaczackbluesband

Songwriters,Write Songs For Free And Prosper!!

Most Songwriters write songs for the wrong reason. I said wrong reason, in the singular. They think that every song they write has to be part of an album of their band, or one of their so called signature songs in order to make money. Then when they aren't successful at first they get frustrated and don't write as much. Then if an album isn't successful or they get bad reviews they literally give up, because media or other musicians don't like their songs. You have to think differently than that.

Or you could take up Shark Petting in the Indian Ocean. Tough choice I know, it's a head scratcher.


Write songs to gain experience and offer to write songs for free on your band website. Don't even try to sell them as Mp3's. That's defeating the purpose of songwriting when you first start writing songs. Do it mainly to learn as you go along in your career as a songwriting musician. If you really are a dedicated writer you won't be able to stop writing songs. As Canadian Bass Player Mike Nelson said about Pete Denomme...

"Pete's a Songwriting Machine!"



Thinking Differently About Marketing Your Songs By Pushing The Free Line:

What I mean by that is offer your songs for free on your band website to your fans and other musicians. You'll develop fans more willingly and organically if you offer your songs for free at first, and fans won't think you're just trying to sell them something. As well, offer to write songs for other bands for free. What? You're probably seething and frothing at the mouth now, especially the musicians who actually make money as songwriters. Yes, offer to write songs for free.

Don't worry if a band actually uses it and makes money from a song you wrote for them. So what. The more artists you help by writing free songs for them the more experience and songwriting chops you'll gain as a result. Start approaching record labels and songwriting groups to learn what is involved in writing or marketing song.

Eventually, become part of Songwriting societies that protect your songs like The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) and The Society of Composers Authors and Publishers (SOCAN) in Canada. Keeping on pushing the free line offering to write free songs for studios who need song writers.


But songs on your band's CD's are keepers and should be protected. Learn all you can about royalties, protecting your songs and keep pushing the free line.


Mark Grove