Songwriting II
Songwriting II is a 10-week workshop, which includes lectures, exercises, and the critiquing of student projects. The prerequisite is Songwriting I (10-week), or the equivalent; Level II courses work best when students know the fundamentals and have experience with the workshop process. Farther down, you can view a syllabus for this course.
It happens in a darkened club. On a spotlit stage. Or behind the soundproof walls of a studio. A song unleashes its power and who knows where it’ll go? Songs fuel desire, inspire hope, break hearts, rock worlds, unite people, shake booties, turn blahs into blues, and sometimes make us feel as good as James Brown. All in a mere few minutes.
If you dream of taking your music beyond the shower, you’ll want to do it right. Here you’ll learn the time-tested elements of songwriting craft and how to market your work.
Whether you dig pop, rock, hip-hop, R&B, or country, we’ll show you how to write songs that soar.
This course helped me develop my songwriting abilities and write great songs that I am really proud of. My teacher and classmates were so supportive and I learned a lot from the songs they shared.
Karen Rempel
writer
Upcoming Classes
Check back soon. You'll likely see options when we finish our next schedule.
Syllabus
This course helps you sharpen your skills at songwriting craft and work toward completion of one or two songs. Writers often repeat Songwriting II to continue their projects. Course components:
Lectures
Writing exercises
Workshopping of student projects (each student presenting work two times)
This course focuses on both individual and collaborative songwriting with an emphasis on the creative process from multiple angles to assist the student in developing a variety of skills and approaches.
Week 1
Refresher of Songwriting Basics I: Nuts and bolts. Historical overview.
Week 2
Refresher of Songwriting Basics II: Form. Structures. Templates.
Week 3
The Art of Collaboration I: Team songwriting. Plot/character/storytelling. Musical thinking
Week 4
The Art of Collaboration II: Song as an imperative in the music industry. Strategies for making a living as a songwriter. Finding the right team. Setting music to lyrics/lyrics to music.
Week 5
Integrating Music Technology: Rundown on music technology. Music-making tools (programs and programming). Crafting strong demos.
Week 6
Techniques: Structural aspects—“hearing” rhythm, rhyme, and form. Making smart compositional decisions. Hooks.
Week 7
Sharpening Your Collaborative Craft I: Co-writing models—lyricist/composer, Nashville, production-driven.
Week 8
Sharpening Your Collaborative Craft II: In-class co-writing and partner projects.
Week 9
Song Sharing: In-class performances. In-class lyric readings.
Week 10
The Business of Songwriting: Royalty streams. Performing rights organizations. Overview of publishing, master, and synch rights. Songwriters associations.
Note: Content may vary among individual classes.
Related Courses
In(verse): Poetic Techniques for Non-Poets
Borrow the secrets of poetry to make all forms of writing better—fiction, nonfiction, scripts, anything.
Poetry Writing I
Maximum potency. Minimum of words. The art of poetry.
The Writer’s Mind
Explore the hidden depths of your mind, in your writing process.