Songwriting Tuition - Putting it together

SongwritingOur Songwriting Tuition course involves a "hands-on" approach, combining the theoretical elements of songwriting with practical ideas which the student brings to the lesson, or which are decided upon by tutor and student, as a starting point to which we add and play with the elements which great songs possess.

Here is a brief rundown of the topics covered in our Songwriting Tuition classes. Songwriting
  • Song Structure - Good song structure lays the foundation for a successful track.
    • Verses - Choruses - Pre Choruses - Bridges and Breaks
    • Control the pace by lyric line structure
    • How to structure a song for best musical effect
  • Melody - Look at the difference between how Rap and Pop treat melody.
    • How to improve your own melody writing
    • Prosody - How to lock the syntax of the words into the melodic rhythm
  • Rhythm & Rhyme - These are a couple of the incredibly necessary tools in the songwriter's toolbox
    • How to recognise the rhythm of your lyric and let it drive the song
    • Internal and external rhyme patterns and how to use them to best effect.
  • The "Hook" - This is what you want 'em to be whistling after people have heard your song
    • How to recognise hooks
    • How to incorporate them into your song
    • Subliminal and overt hook types
  • Music theory
    • How to use key and time signature changes to best effect
    • Which keys suit different music types
    • How to use the "Doh - Re - Mi..." scale to recognise and write your own melodies
  • Creative Thinking - How to develop a space for imagination
    • Finding inspiration when you've "hit the wall".
    • We love what's new and yet we're always dealing with the same concepts - how do we do it?
    • Is it a hit? Does it have to be?
    • Reflecting on other creative fields such as TV/Radio ads, website ideas etc
  • Recording the song - getting it down
    • Getting your ideas across to the musicians who are going to record them
    • Developing a "producer's attitude" to your own recording
    • Songwriting tools - hardware (voice recorders etc
  • Co-Writing - You say "tomato" and I say....
    • Getting the ground rules laid up front
    • Publishing percentages for co-writers
    • The difference between a definite co-write and a "Can you help me with a couple of lines..."
    • Developing a co-writing relationship
  • Registration and Publishing
    • APRA (The Australasian Performing Right Association) - A songwriter's best friend
    • How to register a song when not a member of APRA
    • Live performance Returns for APRA members
  • Songsalive! - A collective of songwriters working together and helping each other
    • Roxanne founded Songsalive! with her friend gill moon in 1997. Stephen joined that same year and both have been working with like-minded musicians to present songwriter workshops and showcases around Sydney, and in other states of Australia. Songsalive! is now the largest independent songwriting organisation in the world and is a great resource for songwriters of all types.



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