In January American Songwriter did 30 Days of Dylan.

I had the honor of being interviewed by Evan Schlansky.

Evan Schlansky: How did you first get into Bob Dylan?

Ruth Gerson: My first introduction to Bob Dylan was seeing him on television for Live Aid. I'd never...

Arj Barker is a rock star -- a rock star comedian, actor, and writer. I was introduced to him late in the game through the HBO comedy series Flight of the Conchords. My husband, however, can repeat some of Barker's earliest lines from when he started comedy in...

Los Angeles based vocal coach David Stroud is one of the foremost experts of voices. Before opening his current studio, Stroud was the CEO of Speech Level Singing International , and is currently CEO of DS Vocology LLC. A singing teacher to the stars, he was commissioned during...

We had a fun time with our first live interview featuring Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter Lisa Loeb. Her latest work is a children's book and album released by Sterling Publishing. Lisa Loeb's Silly Sing-Along, The Disappointing Pancake and Other Zany Songs is fun reading at bedtime and fantastic singing for the car....

Sterling Publishing will release a pop-up version of Puff, the Magic Dragon this November 15th. Master paper engineer Bruce Foster, who created the bestselling Harry Potter pop-up book, animates Peter Yarrow and Lenny Lipton's timeless song via nine lavish spreads, gatefold pops, and enchanting special effects. In the...

In our first songwriting exercise we began with a letter, writing to someone we feel intensely about, regarding something we feel intensely about. The subject could be alive or dead, real or fictional. We wrote either from personal experience or from the perspective of characters in literature or...

My kids and I have been listening to Lisa Loeb's new children's album and book, Lisa Loeb's Silly Sing-Along: The Disappointing Pancake and Other Zany Songs, in the car for the last week and we have it fully memorized. I am a huge fan of children's albums that are accompanied...

Dennis Diken is the drummer and a founding member of New Jersey's rock'n'roll band The Smithereens. I met him through my musical hero, Don Dixon. Diken is one of the first drummers I ever played with. He is a mensch, a fountain of knowledge,...

From: San Francisco Vocal Coaching's "Singing, Songwriting and Performance" Class (I've also taught it at Princeton University.)

How To Write A Song, Exercise 1 (for beginners, or for writer's block):

Write a letter to someone you feel intensely about something you feel intensely about. If you...

One of the most time consuming, "behind the scenes" components of an indie artist's career is promoting the music they've created. You may have spent a large part of your savings recording a project and now you have a limited budget to market it. What if you have an aversion...

I am often asked if it is safe for children to take voice lessons. A child's health and safety are a parent's first consideration, even when it comes to how to learn to sing. The body isn't a machine. Vocal cords are small, delicate membranes. It is easier to damage the...

Mike King teaches several music business courses for Berkleemusic.com, the online extension school of Berklee College of Music, including Music Marketing: Press, Promotion, Distribution, and Retail; and Online Music Marketing with Topspin.

His book, Music Marketing: Press, Promotion, Distribution, and Retail, was...

I went to NAMM (National Association of Music Merchandisers) for the first time in Anaheim, CA in January. It was staggering -- the equipment, the instruments, shows, musicians, merchandise, lectures -- overall, an overwhelming amount of information. It was fun to walk around in a Singingbelt t-shirt, imagining and strategizing...

In parts I, II and III of "Making A Living Making Music," you have probably started to get the idea that all the work around the work of being a musician or singer/songwriter consumes a lot of time. I haven't yet even talked about radio, YouTube, publicity, promotion, social networking,...

I had a song in an early Adrian Brody movie Restaurant. My friend Jennifer Chaiken was an intern and a producer on the film. I placed a song in the HBO documentary, Naked States, because I once did some jingle work for the brilliant composer Leigh Roberts. Director...

I didn't learn how to drive until I was 39, left NYC and moved to the Bay Area. In the early 90s, I took a Greyhound bus to most gigs. Before digipacks and cardboard jackets, I hauled a hundred jewel cased CDs in an aluminum-framed back-pack, along with a few...

I come from a long line of DIYers. No one in my family had a conventional job, except my Uncle George. He was a teacher and H.S. administrator. Everyone else in the family was in business for themselves. During the 70s and 80s, on the upper west side of Manhattan,...

"How do I get my kid to practice music?" As a vocal coach, I am often asked this question regarding my younger and young adult students. To learn music is excellent for brain development and improves brain function. Learning to sing, play piano (or any instrument) is an...

Laryngitis can cost a singer opportunity and money, or just turn a fun gig into a struggle. There are different causes for laryngitis. This post addresses the easiest one to prevent and fix: illness.

As a singer/songwriter, touring through Europe used to be tough on my throat. I often spent...

I have read the Lefsetz Letter on and off for years, written by Bob Lefsetz, a music industry attorney, consultant and taste-maker. Last week he wrote responding to Taylor Swift's song "Mean," which he understood via the Howard Stern show may be directed at him for...