Final performance
Final Performance night - all the songs were written during SWF week. On the last day of the the 2009 Festival, we all got together in the cafÈ to play back the last of the week’s songs. Many people had delayed their live performance until this final session, due either to completing a particular song toward the end of the week, or the time taken in developing chord sheets for the house band. So the band had to learn around 20 songs in a 3-hour... [Read More...]
Fi’s blog – Andy West ñ Live Songwriting
Andy West Andy is introduced by Joe as the bravest man at SWF as he is about to write a song live with no preparation at all in front of a crowd of songwriters. He hands round pieces of paper and asks everyone to write down prospective song titles. The purpose of this demonstration is to share one method of songwriting with the group. Drawing from his experiences in Nashville he explains how he formulated a method drawing from what worked for others... [Read More...]
House band sessions
The first house band song, performed on the Tuesday in the cafÈ. We’re two gigs in to the week now, and the house band members (Chris, Josh and me) are deep in rehearsal. The band system works like this; a songwriter completes their song (usually the same day), writes a chord sheet (or gets one of the tutors to write it), then brings this notation to our estimable ‘chord tsars’ Jo and Barry for checking. When the chart is complete,... [Read More...]
Fi’s blog – day 3 playback
Songwriting in the sunshine Todayís tutor is Andy White. He opens the session with a discussion of how he writes (chords first in Andy’s case), after which he plays a song and gets everyone joining in. Itís great and a good insight into another approach. A question is asked around some of the chords and Andy demonstrates the effects of chord changes on the listener’s mood. The first song played is a beautiful gentle song. Andy makes... [Read More...]
Fi’s blog – songs for children
John Gill, our guest tutor for the Wednesday Guitarist and songwriter John Gill is here to talk to us about writing songs for children.† He talks about his history and his experience in teaching guitar and music technology and playing in a skiffle band, touring and working etc. He starts with talking about the only people who can give critiques on a kids’ song is kids themselves. The session includes some tips on introducing fun, rhyming... [Read More...]
Lyric displays
I got the music in me! I’m getting lots of queries from current SWF songwriters who want to know how we project the lyrics for cover versions in our lectures. For those who missed it, here’s the link to the original blog entry where we discussed this in all its full technical detail. Teaching songwriting with a Mac Read More →
Xenomania
Some fascinating discussion of pop processes here, from Xenomania founder Brian Higgins. http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/culture/neilmccormick/100002407/xenomania-how-to-write-a-hit-song/ Read More →
SWF 09 – the tasks
Each of our writers chooses from a list of tasks each day to develop a particular aspect of their writing. Here are the 2009 SWF songwriting tasks. Task Brief Skill development Introductory task ñ ìMy Name Isî (This task should be completed before you arrive). Write ten titles. If you have time, choose the most inspiring one and develop it into a chorus. If you have (more) time, complete the song. Beating writersí... [Read More...]
Songwriting tutors
House band rehearsal 2008 In 2009 we were delighted to welcome back two of our 2008 tutors. Iain Archer and Boo Hewerdine (best-known for their songwriting for Snow Patrol & Eddi Reader respectively) will both be with us all week, running songwriting workshops with our core team in Bath. We were also really pleased to welcome outstanding Irish singer-songwriter Andy White, who flew all the way from Australia to join the SWF tutor team. The studio... [Read More...]