Robin Frederick is a celebrated songwriter, author and children’s television contributor. She has written and produced more than 500 songs for television, records, theater, and audio products. She is a former Director of A&R for Rhino Records, Executive Producer of 60 albums, and the author of top-selling songwriting books, including Shortcuts to Hit Songwriting, Shortcuts to Songwriting for Film & TV, Song Starters, Study the Hits, and The 30-Minute Songwriter. Her books are used in top universities and music schools in the U.S. to teach all levels of songwriting.
As the head of the A&R/Screener team at TAXI.com, the independent music A&R company, Robin has given songwriting feedback to hundreds of successful and aspiring songwriters. She has also trained industry veterans in the most effective way to share their own knowledge and experience with up-and-coming writers and artists.
Robin is a former Vice President of the Los Angeles Chapter of the Recording Academy (the Grammy organization) and past President of Los Angeles Women in Music. She has written for mainstream music publications on the songwriting innovations of Nick Drake, including extensive album notes for recent re-releases of all of Nick Drake’s recordings.
Our connection goes back to the early days of the Disney Channel when I hosted Disney’s premiere children’s series, You and Me, Kid. You see, Robin wrote the words and music to theme, titled Just You and Me Kid! ~Sonny.
In this episode, Robin reveals..
-How writing her first musical at 15 led to a career as a professional songwriter
-Why many of her her songwriting students in their 50’s, 60’s, 70’s and even 80’s want to write songs
-How she learned by listening to one of the greatest songwriters of the modern era.
-How the Beatles revolutionized songwriting in one night
-How songwriters are able to reinvent themselves throughout their career
-The big break that led to writing hundreds of songs for Disney Channel
-The inspiration behind writing the theme for You and Me, Kid
-What to do when you are presented with an opportunity to do something you’ve never done
-How she broke the ceiling at a time when women didn’t produce music
-The difference between inspiration and creativity
-The biggest mistake songwriters make with their inspirations
-The meaning of songcraft and how to use it to take the listener where they want to go
-The importance of collaboration in writing songs
-Why she considers herself as a song doctor
-How to study the similarity in artforms to solve problems in your writing
-The most rewarding aspect of writing her memorable songs
Official Site: RobinFrederick.com
Robin’s Bio – In her own words: https://robinfrederick.com/origins
Books:
Shortcuts to Songwriting for Film and TV
Song Starters: 365 Lyric, Melody, & Chord Ideas to Kickstart Your Songwriting