Songstuff Songwriting Workshops... Interested?

[MonoStone]

I'd be more interested in a production/mastering workshop... I wish my tracks sounded more crisp and finished...I mean really finished and professional. I'll get there eventually bit by bit, but if there was a workshop to help me get there I'd be interested. Or maybe there are too many factors to consider......it's just really bugging me lately. Maybe there are at least some tricks and tips that could be covered?

 

Re songwriting/lyric writing (what I read here interests me) - separate lyric writing without actual or imagined music always baffles me (and to imagine then convey it you have to be able to play it or have a real gift for composing). I think unless you have a musical partner then it's really hard... half the battle is in the phrasing and the delivery, the melody and the emotion....If you're writing as part of making the music (e.g. working out the chords, melody and words) then words come out very differently, often seeming very simple or odd when viewed outside the music, but sounding better for that as part of the whole. I agree with Hobosage that to write a song people should try to learn a few chords, it's how most of the great rock/pop writers started... pick up a guitar or get a keyboard, learn some basic chords, and start to just jam it out....

[john]

I'd be more interested in a production/mastering workshop... I wish my tracks sounded more crisp and finished...I mean really finished and professional. I'll get there eventually bit by bit, but if there was a workshop to help me get there I'd be interested. Or maybe there are too many factors to consider......it's just really bugging me lately. Maybe there are at least some tricks and tips that could be covered?

 

Re songwriting/lyric writing (what I read here interests me) - separate lyric writing without actual or imagined music always baffles me (and to imagine then convey it you have to be able to play it or have a real gift for composing). I think unless you have a musical partner then it's really hard... half the battle is in the phrasing and the delivery, the melody and the emotion....If you're writing as part of making the music (e.g. working out the chords, melody and words) then words come out very differently, often seeming very simple or odd when viewed outside the music, but sounding better for that as part of the whole. I agree with Hobosage that to write a song people should try to learn a few chords, it's how most of the great rock/pop writers started... pick up a guitar or get a keyboard, learn some basic chords, and start to just jam it out....

That might be an idea. Leave it with me and we can see what could be arranged. We are planning on some production video tutorials that should help.

Regarding phrasing and delivery, that is a performance issue. Cover bands do it all the time albeit with previously worked out phrasing.

There are however guidelines that help you write in a way that makes it easier to add melody to at a later point and tips to help you do it... Hence some workshops could be a good idea.

[MonoStone]

That might be an idea. Leave it with me and we can see what could be arranged. We are planning on some production video tutorials that should help.

Regarding phrasing and delivery, that is a performance issue. Cover bands do it all the time albeit with previously worked out phrasing.

There are however guidelines that help you write in a way that makes it easier to add melody to at a later point and tips to help you do it... Hence some workshops could be a good idea.

 

Thanks John, I'll look forward to hearing more about production stuff.

 

Re the other stuff... probably didn't explain well enough what I meant. And probably shouldn't try too hard to again or this will drag on... but I was talking about music and lyrics working together, affecting each other. Wasn't thinking about performance issues at all, purely about writing. I'll shut up now. Damn I'm rubbish at articulating. Maybe I do stuff a weird way... not that I want to change it how I do stuff... I like things that way

 

Dek

[Kel]

There are a few workshops I would be interested in, but not all at the same time, as usually happens LOL.

 

I agree a BASIC production workshop would be invaluable, but IMO it should be based around a free program such as Audacity. (That's just the one I use, I am sure there are other free ones available.) I know audacity is nowhere near as good as Pro Logic, Ableton, CUbase etc, I'm sure not many people fork out the kind of money those suites are worth with just a few days using trial version, without already knowing what they are doing. THis is where using a free program comes in, covering the basics, the terminology and the concept of chains etc. I do things in a certain order, and itps probably because that's the order Hobo (I think) suggested, but I have no idea if it is optimal. I see myself as a songwriter, not a producer, and I don't want to spend months learning how to do it.

 

Secondly, a workshop on arrangements. After the lyrics, melody and a chord progression are decided, what next? How do we decide if it needs a Johnny Cash train drumbeat, or a thumping of the kick drum? And what should the rhythm guitar do, obviously the lead is playing fillers and licks. Should I add strings or brass? Or a shuffle rhythm etc. It's easy and unproductive, and in my opinion dismissive to suggest try try it and see. There must be some way to get a feel for what arrangements to use when. Again, just the basics.

 

I think there could be a workshop on song forms too. I see so many lyrical offerings where the lyricist has no idea of the basics. They may have some gems in what they have written, but no clue as to how to where to put them. There are articles on form and structure, but nothing rams it home like seeing and hearing these things.

 

Cheers.

Kel

[john]

I'm quite happy that we will ave enough attendees to warrant arranging a few songwriting workshops. We can use them to test the waters, get some feedback and adjust for future workshops