“Wanna hear the presidents’ names sung to ‘Stairway to Heaven?’” he joked.

Woodall, who began songwriting when he was 13, was thrilled when he learned that the Northern Shenandoah Valley Songwriters — a chapter of Nashville Songwriters Association International — had formed. “The club will provide an outlet for collaboration by songwriters who otherwise would not get together,” Woodall said.

Ken Moulden co-founded the group in October with his wife, Connie Urbach. “If you aren’t in New York, Los Angeles, or Nashville, it’s hard to do anything with your music. Most of the recording industry is located in those areas. Our association with the NSAI gives us a link to the industry in Nashville and other places. There are a lot of songwriters and musicians in the area and by forming a group, we can pool our talents and work together to try to reach our individual goals,” Moulden explained.

Boasting 104 chapters worldwide, NSAI is the largest nonprofit trade organization for amateur and professional songwriters. NSAI members may submit eight to 10 songs per membership cycle for evaluation by a professional songwriter.

In addition, members may attend regional workshops and participate in the Adopt-A-Shop mentoring program, which matches professional songwriters with each chapter.

The group’s members range from amateur songwriters to seasoned veterans such as Woodall, who wrote and co-wrote 12 published songs including “Bug Huntin’ Monkey,” “Goodbye Heartache,” and “Turn Back the Years.”

Moulden and Urbach are staunch supporters of local live music but see room for improvement. They hope that the NSVS may help to expand the local music scene. “We would like to figure out a way to improve the live music scene in the northern Shenandoah Valley,” Urbach explained.

Moulden echoed her sentiments, “The music community in this area is pretty thin. There are very few venues that offer live music and very little support from the community at large for these places. It’s amazing how few people will come out, even for a national act in this area. Even more disappointing to see the poor support for local acts.”

Richard Fehle of Waynesboro, Pa. has seen a marked difference in the quality of his songwriting since joining the group.

“Though I have always written, NSVS and NSAI have taught me skills that help me make my songs not only better organizationally but more commercial. I have seen my songs improve not only through my own eyes but through the eyes of others as they seem to reach to the emotions of people,” he said.

Upon completion of the review, members have the opportunity to critique each others’ songs. Members distribute copies of their lyric sheets and may either perform their song or play a recorded version.

At a recent meeting, songs in a variety of musical genres, including contemporary Christian, country, and rock ,were performed and shared.

Members were in deep concentration as they followed the lyrics for each song. Listeners provided critiques on aspects including genre, lyrics, and tempo, while the songwriter listened intently, often feverishly taking notes.

Gary Carroll shared his song, “She’s Got Melody,” which infused elements of country, soft rock, and rhythm and blues. Carroll has been songwriting for three decades and has had four songs published, including “I’m Flying” and “Today.”

Carroll discovered his songwriting talent at an early age. “I remember as a young child, just hearing music in my head and wondering where I had heard it before, then realizing I had made it up,” he recalled. “A big part of songwriting is to keep at it. Having an outlet helps a lot.”

The group meets on the second Tuesday of each month at 7 p.m. at Granny’s Public House in Berryville, but this month they have varied the schedule and will meet tonight.

“I called and told them that I thought what they were doing was great and that I was opening Granny’s and they could have meetings here,” Green said. Once Granny’s opens for business in 2007, Green plans to showcase NSAI songwriters four times per year.

Stephens City resident Pattie Luck joined NSVS because she was looking for a way to convert her poetry into songs: “I am a poet by nature and during the meetings they have been telling me how I can turn my poems into songs. They are a wonderful group of people. They really want to help each other by giving constructive criticism. They want to help us get to where we need to be with a particular song.”