Hello!

Welcome to FranklinTaggart.com, the official virtual home of musician, songwriter, entrepreneur, coach, consultant, teacher, and blogger, Franklin Taggart. I hope you'll stick around and see what I'm up to. Comments are welcome, and please look me up on Facebook and Twitter and follow me there. If you need to get in touch send me a note at franklintaggart @ gmail.com(take out the spaces first). Hope to see you around sometime...

Hum(When you don't know what to write, write about not knowing what to write)

Hum – Franklin Taggart written in January 2012

This could be an interesting day

I’ve got your attention, but nothing to say

I could take you for a tour of my psyche

But it wouldn’t be much of a ride

I could spit out my deepest emotions

But then I’d be empty inside

I could sing you a story and moral

But preaching just isn’t my style

So I wonder if you wouldn’t mind

If we look at each other and hum for a while

Chorus: mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm

I could sing you a song about politics

But I’ll never change the world

I could sing about lovers and heartbreak

But there’re too many songs about girls

I could sing you a song about crying

But I’d rather go for a smile

So I wonder if you wouldn’t mind

If we look at each other and hum for a while

I could sing you a hymn about glory

But I’m far too enchanted with hell

I could sing you a song for the ages

But this morning ain’t going so well

I could give you a false sense of anything hopeful

But truth kicks the ass of denial

So I wonder if you wouldn’t mind

If we look at each other and hum for a while  

Beginning Fingerstyle Guitar Workshop, Feb 18th at Loveland Music

Contact Loveland Music to reserve a seat: 970-622-0080

Songwriting Challenge

This week's challenge is:

Write a four line verse or chorus(you decide) that has no more than five words in each line and doesn't use the word "the" in any line.

Send me your example and I'll compile a collection to put up on the site. If any of you write a song using last week's exercise, send me an mp3 or a video and I'll put it up online.

Thanks!

For Now, by Colin Forhan(written using yesterday's songwriting exercise)

Songwriting Exercise

Want to write a song and don't know where to start? Remember a situation. Answer these questions:

1. What happened? Be specific and describe vividly as much detail as you can.

2. How did you feel about it? Try to be as specific about body sensations as you can.

3. Then what happened?

4. How did you feel about it?

5. Why did you feel that way?

6. How do you feel about it now?

The answers to these questions in this order will very probably give you a story and structure for a song.

Answer 1 = Verse 1
Answer 2 = Chorus 1
Answer 3 = Verse 2
Answer 4 = Chorus 2
Answer 5 = Bridge
Answer 6 = Chorus 3

It may be rough at first, but I expect with some tweaking and editing you'll have something great to work with.

Comments welcome. try it and see what happens...

All you need to know about choosing a path

This is as clear and concise an example of the considerations we all make in choosing our career(and other) paths. If you apply this you just saved yourself a $150.00 coaching fee(and a load of depression).

The Loveland Guitar Society

For the past couple of months I've been attending the Cheyenne Guitar Society meetings at the Plains Hotel in Cheyenne(first Tuesday of every month). I've enjoyed my time there and have been mulling the possibility of starting a similar group here in Loveland. Today I met with Angela and Greg at Loveland Music and they have agreed to be the hosts of meetings. The Loveland Guitar Society is born! We'll be meeting the last Thursday of each month at the Loveland Music store at 343 E. 4th St. in downtown Loveland. It's an open meeting, free of charge. Anyone who plays or enjoys guitar music is encouraged to attend. If you'd like to inquire please send me a line at lovelandguitarsociety@gmail.com, and be sure to see the new blog site at http://lovelandguitarsociety.blogspot.com(not to mention facebook and twitter).

Settling In

We've been settling into our new home in Loveland, CO since November 7.  It's a lovely place with more than enough room for our lives. Monica hit the road the day after we moved in and was gone for most of the next two weeks. Bodhi and I got busy with familiarizing ourselves with our new locale, finding such necessities as pizza delivery and sources of our favorite root beer. We welcomed a new member of our family, Sylvester the gerbil who has quickly endeared himself to everyone. So it's time to start getting ourselves embedded in a new community.

I'm starting to make some connections in the local music world. I'm hoping for some part time work this month, and I'm playing some open mics and jams to introduce myself to the locals. I'm also excited about finding places in both Fort Collins and Loveland to host the MusicBizEXP clubs. Starting in January I'll be teaching a weekly songwriting class for teens at the Harrington Arts Academy, and I hope to offer similar classes at Boomer Music in Fort Collins and other venues in Northern Colorado and Cheyenne.

We also have found a delightful community resource in the Chilson Center, a recreation center run by the City of Loveland. I've been happy to start swimming every day, and they have an indoor water park that Bodhi and I love. Monica's been a few times, too, although she says she's not all that excited about getting wet(except for maybe the hot tub). Good thing they also have exercise equipment and a ton of classes to choose from :)

I'm always amazed at how it feels to be in the West. The dry air and space and cold truly feed my soul, and even though circumstances may not be easy, I'm still very happy to be where I feel this good. I'm grateful to every person who helped us get here. There have been literally hundreds of you, so I'm sorry that memory and space are limited so as to not mention your names. I'm especially grateful for our families. Mom let us stay at her house and provided some much needed support in a few pinches. Monica's parents and my Dad also continue to lend their generosity to our family. Never let me forget how much tangible love I've received from all of you. Thanks, indeed.

With Monica and Bodhi at Tom Forhan's for one of our farewell house concerts before we left Maryland.

Moving

I'vestayed longer at my current house than any other house in my life. 10 years. In other words, this is the longest amount of time I've ever gone without moving. We're getting ready to make the trip to Fort Collins, Colorado on Sunday. A new home with new possibilities, closer proximity to some family, further away from others, a chance for me to come back to where I am from, and for Monica and Bodhi to go where they've never been. Such an adventure...

The past few weeks have been jammed with activity. I've played six house concerts, Monica's been teaching and consulting, Bodhi's been pretty bored with all of his friends in school while he waits for us to get to where he'll go to a new school. On top of that we've been doing the usual packing, sorting, selling, giving away and throwing away that goes with moving. The hardest part is not having time to sufficiently visit with and properly say goodbye to all of our friends here, not to mention that we're total stress bags that you wouldn't want to talk to anyway.

If anyone reads this, please tell everyone else we know to read it, too. I've loved living in the DC area. It was a happy accident that I landed here in the first place, and you've seen me and my family through the very best and the very worst of times. It's scary to leave you all behind and go somewhere where we have to start pretty much from square one; meeting people, setting up businesses, enrolling in school, jumping in to a new group of school parents. We will miss each one of you in your own very special way. Thank you from the far reaches of my heart for all you've done for me, Monica and Bodhi. Please stay in touch. With today's technology distance need not interfere with our friendship.

We'll be back soon enough. Monica is teaching some food and nutrition courses at TAI Sophia in Columbia, and we're already anticipating our summer trip next year to come back for an extended visit. It's also our hope that you will feel welcome in our new home. We will be looking for a place that will be able to accomodate friends and family for extended stays. As always we love you and are grateful for your friendship. Please come by and help us pack, load or write on a box, and I hope you'll be joining us for our send off party at Rachel and Henry Cross' house in Takoma Park on Saturday the 24th. Please send me a note if you'd like the address.