Songwriting camp in Stony Point NY - Summer Songs

 I recently spent six days in Stony Point, NY at the Summer Songs songwriting camp. Had a great time. Did my first co-write, first time on stage with a singer, first duet.

Worked on a few things, the original song was Crazy for Loving You, a cowrite with Rhetta Collier.

https://youtu.be/J0McvcfXFYk?is=ABU7611TzGQQ4lev

Not sure why this song isn't showing on my channel, billchin-bw4zz

https://www.youtube.com/@billchin-bw4zz

Anyway, I am happy with the way the end result. 

A bit more about the camp, about 60 attendees. Median age, skews older. Maybe 8 people under age 30, many are recent retirees. Camp involves classes in the morning, song circles, performances on the main stage, plus a few other group events. It isn't cheap, but isn't expensive for six days of camp, meals and accommodations.

Guitar progress Winter Dreamland and more

It's been a while since I posted. I made some progress on guitar. I now have three guitars, the entry level Enya Go, a mid level Ibanez, the third is a Taylor GS Mini.

My original song Winter Dreamland is quite a bit better than my song Kindness of a Stranger a year earlier.

I am in the slow learner category. Many three month beginners can do more than I can at 21 months. I am enjoying the journey and enjoy what I can do. Certain skills such as lyric writing and arranging, are well developed from my many years on other instruments.

I participated in February Album Writing Month 2026. Mostly I did skirmishes. These are one hour songwriting prompts with an unofficial deadline of one hour to write and record. I am still very much a beginner on guitar, so little chance I can record in that time frame. I did try and complete the lyrics in the hour. I found some remarkably deep lyrics from seemingly random prompts.

A few more that I like:

Nobody Sees Me

Sun and Reign

Action not Words (Acta non Verba)

Quiet Desperation

Translucent Heart

Winter Dreamland