2022 Wednesday Workshops

Songwriting can be so captivating that the process becomes more important than the final result. Sometimes you create a song more for the joy of creating than for the song itself. 

It’s a spell, and once you’re in it, you have at your fingertips the tools to create an even better song. You can start with a tidbit, but because of that spell your tidbit expands along with your imagination. A song is like a play, a short story, an anecdote, a prayer, or a symphony in microcosm.

But how to get started?  Ideas are all around you if you become aware of them (take notes, take notes, take notes!).  What makes you smile, feel sad, laugh, sing, cry, or wonder? There it is, the beginning of a song.  

What comes first, the lyric or the melody?  There’s no answer other than the lyric comes first or that the melody comes first or that they happen at the same time. And that’s the wrong question, because the inspiration comes first – or not.  See how this works? You get to decide, and your answer is correct.

It can be so simple. A simple chordal progression (3 chords, no waiting), a simple melody line, and a simple lyric structure and a simple rhyming scheme. You can add bridges, key changes, tempo changes, or use a breathtaking array of techniques to construct your song, but so often it starts with a simple idea.  Find something that’s interesting or curious to you and say it in the simplest way.  I’m not saying that it’s easy or quick. It’s generally not. But when you’re in the zone, it’s all you want to do.

Find a beat. It’s so important. It’s the momentum that carries you along on your quest and answers so many questions about how to proceed.  And the beat is part of that spell I was talking about. Then the melody adds to the spell and the lyric adds the focus as helps to put on the finishing touches. It’s as simple as that!

Bob Shane once asked me to write him a hit song about the Kingston Trio. Now I don’t know how to write a hit song, though I did accept the challenge. I’m so captivated by songs in general that any effort to that end sounds like a worthwhile pursuit, and I had some things to say about his group.

I have enthusiasm to share that might encourage someone else to learn the joys of the craft of songwriting.  Let’s explore some techniques used by some of the acknowledged great songwriters of our genre.  Simple tools that set you free to be creative, and help to facilitate both your music and poetry.  Bring your instrument of choice, though you don’t have to play to write songs. Gather your thoughts about songwriting. We’ll be wanting to hear from you.

Being a fan of The Dillards and The Limeliters, I was honored that they both covered of my songs, two tunes each. The legendary Sam Bush had a hit with my composition “Howlin’ At The Moon”, and he’s been singing it for over two decades.

(The originators of Telluride Bluegrass Festival first heard Sam’s Newgrass Revival at Winfield back in the early ’70s and the rest is Colorado history.)  The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band’s Jimmy Ibbotson sang “Howlin’…” on our Wild Jimbos’ MCA record, and it’s been featured in a movie. It’s been a good friend of mine.

And, yeah, I wrote that song for Shane, called “Singing Every Inch of the Way”. It wasn’t a big hit, but he recorded it and it’s the final song on the last recording he ever made. At the end of his memorial service last year, this recording of Bob Shane came over the speakers, singing the story of his life. Singing every inch of the way.

Let’s get together and celebrate songs! 

Class is 9:30am to 4pm with a 1-1/2 hour break for lunch.

Cost is $80.00 per participant.

Maximum of 25 participants.