Workshop Intro
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‘ THE SONGWRITING WORKSHOP SESSIONS’ ‘One2One Recording’ The Workshop Sessions So why our Songwriting workshop? QQ. What is our background? Q. Why not just look online for answers to general song writing issues? So why join our on line song writing workshop? – Some of you may just be interested in song writing as a hobby, as a bit of fun or probably we suspect many of you would like to seriously develop your songwriting skills and who knows where that may lead? Next let’s introduce the team • Principal Songwriter and Studio Producer – Bill Smith • Songwriter, Keyboards and music theory – Terry Brame • Session Guitarist / songwriter /arranger – Mark Powell • Video and film consultant – Rob Ryder Play Video ur team will bring a wealth of experience to the workshop with hands on tips and shortcuts for song writing. This will include many filmed video clips with explanations of keyboard Ochord and guitar sequences to help begin your song-writing journey. First up is Terry our keyboard player who brings a technical understanding developed over many years in the business. He will explain the different examples in a user friendly way and with a clear focus on not trying to over sell the technical aspect. Throughout the sessions Terry will be showing some really interesting chord variations and how they may fit into some of the more common song sequences Mark is a competent and experienced guitarist who will help you work with songwriting tips and in particular talks through his interpretation of songs by a number of different artists and writing styles from “The Beatles” to David Bowie, songs and why they were so original and brilliant at the time. So before we get into the workshop the following may be of interest to some new songwriters: I ’m often asked: ‘As a singer is songwriting something I should consider?’ - Absolutely! When we talk to any of our music industry contacts the one thing that comes up time and again is ‘Do they write their own material?’ – Song writing skills are an absolute important tick in the box which we will cover later. So, before we get into the full scope of the session I want to explain a few issues that will become very obvious as the workshop develops. For example don’t get too critical of the song choices that will be played throughout the full workshop as these are just for us to explain the example in an audio or video form. As we have said with all music styles it’s important to keep an open mind irrespective as to whether or not you like the song or the singer. We have also tried to cover as many varied but related topics as possible both from our previous Workshop and the different questions raised by singers working with us in the studio. For example; Q1 - Help with home recording, Q2 Where would I send a demo of my songs and where do I find the contacts? Q3 What about protecting my songs through copyright. And a host of other related questions. hrough the workshop we have tried to include many hints and advice learnt over many T years in the business and what will quickly become evident. Whilst the songs we have selected through the workshop may not always be to your taste as we said earlier the audio clips we have included are used to demonstrate a particular aspect of the song whether it be the structure, lyric or whatever in between. For example a song maybe written 40 years ago and although recorded in a different style or composition to today’s music may well still have a melody or lyric that could be easily adapted to a modern song so be prepared to look at all options. Something to think about before we get too far into the workshop is the following: How many times have you heard the phrase "I don't really like them" referring to an artist or band? You have probably said it a few times yourself I know I have. You might be surprised at the way your views can change. After all if a song sells millions of copies there is a fair chance it's pretty good! Sometimes it is so easy to be blinded by your own personal taste. So when you hear a new song, take a step back and put your songwriting head on, try to forget who the artist is and whether or not it’s your taste then try to figure out why it's a hit. It might just be catchy, so why is it catchy? It might be a lyric that you really like or just a melody that you find interesting long after the song has ended. When I first started writing songs if I’m honest I didn’t really have any idea what style or direction I was heading in working with just basic chords and trying to add a melody. If you are new to songwriting then listen to the wide variation on any radio station and you will quickly realise that music covers a massive territory of style and taste which is why it can be such a great passion. One important point to make is that in the past there have been numerous examples of where a songwriter has written a really great song and then nothing more…. why? It would seem reasonable that if a songwriter could write a brilliant song that tops the charts for many weeks and makes a fortune in royalties then why stop? The answer is they haven’t stopped but coming up with another great song may well take years so as they say one step at a time! k back to the workshop – important to say right at the beginning, however, the workshop is not a music lesson for keyboard or guitar although we have tried through examples of both Oto explain a particular piece or sequence within a song. o this first video will be a typical example from Terry that will be repeated throughout the workshop and in this example he talks about Sworking with a few simple chords – easy to play and leading the transition into a chorus or a bridge from a verse. Play Video ext we introduce Mark ahead of some typical examples of a N guitarist’s approach to song writing. In particular the audio and video examples are much easier to understand and in the past studio sessions have really helped through the questions and answer sections that we included later. Play Video aybe you want to learn more about the structure of a song, why songs are sometimes written in certain keys, key changes or just general tips for starting songwriting and M recording. We have run a number of workshops to help with explanations as to how generally songs are written and the importance of understanding major and minor keys and how effective chord changes can be. The Workshop was initially also intended for group participation so we have adapted the individual sessions along the same lines incorporating the total feedback but with a clear focus for an ‘on- line’ course. One interesting response to our early workshops was the feedback where many people said that they really enjoyed the almost ‘storybook’ tales and examples quoted by a number of successful and well-known singers. In particular how some of these songwriters laboured at the start of their careers. We have therefore included a few sections particularly under the individual songwriters together with a number of useful tips to encourage your journey. Although the individual headings are self-explanatory there are a number of examples where an artist or subject is re visited in further parts of the course. Melody or Lyric – which comes first… (Module 1) o Let’s come back to the Lyrics SMelody Songwriter x workshop singer / songwriters comments – (module 8) E ‘Putting my lyrics to music’ Richie Stevens (module 1) A basic song structure (Module 2) he all important Intro: Rhyming. T Poet or a lyric writer. The all-important ‘Hook’ How do we get to a potential chorus / hook? Understanding the structure of a song. The Chorus. Pre Chorus, The verse, The bridge, The title, The Link. How do I understand what key to sing in? How to know what key I'm playing in? Key Changes. Pitching: (Module 2 & 5) Lyrics / melodies with a repeat. Piano versus guitar (Module 6) Composing without an instrument (Module 6) Harmonies: (module 5) inging in Harmony: 12 Bar blues sequence, understanding keys (module 4) S‘Spoken Word’ Yossi Goodlink. (module 8) Singer / Songwriters (Some useful facts and information.) (Module 8) Bob Dylan Jimmy Webb Paul Anka Billie Eilish Adele Gary Barlow Bryan Adams MNEK Savan Kotecha Berry Gordy Holland, Dozier, Holland Ashford & Simpson Smokey Robinson Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong Robert 'Mutt' Lange Paul McCartney Rickie Lee Jones Soccer Mummy Taylor Swift Randy Newman Max Martin Randy Edelman Ed Sheeran Guy Chambers The Flaming Lips Kelly Jones Allen Toussaint Justin Bieber Ami Wedge Human League Carol King, Gerry Goffin, Paul Simon, Neil Sedaka London Grammer Keith Urban Cindi Lauper Amy Winehouse Dolly Parton James Scott Collaborating (Module 9) alking away from a collaboration Copyright W Copyright Infringement PRS www.prsformusic.com Collaboration Approaching Record Companies. (Module 10) ecord Companies - What’s in it for you? A&R ( Artist and répertoire) R Royalties Studio Related (Module 7) SD Amazing slow downer Studio Recording Techniques A Thinking outside the box Writing Blocks Understanding Keys (module 4) How do I know what key I’m playing in? The four chord trick -Axis (module 4) Music Streaming (Module 11) Compoze Collaboration Circle of fifths (module 4) Should I critique my music? (Module 13) ‘Songspace’ Home Recording Garage Band Compression / Limiters and EQ ( Ex The mastering handbook –Bobby Owsinski) Quantize etc.