"When I hear music, I fear no danger. I am invulnerable. I see no foe. I am related to the earliest times, and to the latest"
Henry David Thoreau
Songwriting Workshops
A pessimist would say that there is a science to song writing and could no doubt reel off a string of pop acts and their most recent hits to prove their point. At the most base of levels, the pessimist would be right. If you look at the structure and usual content of contemporary pop music, it becomes apparent that there is a science to song writing. There are people who believe this to the extent that they consider there to be no artistic merit in song whatsoever. Those people are mistaken.
What these people fail to see is the fact that song can be found at the artistic core of almost every culture on the planet. From the ultra high-tech digital societies that produce 'standard' music for financial gain to pre-industrial tribes that gather together and sing in beautiful harmony of their past and hopes for the future.
But, because song has become heavily associated with money instead of the profusion of other rich and beneficial facets it offers, its power is perpetually underestimated. For instance, Stevie Wonder's seemingly innocuous hit single 'Happy Birthday' was actually a protest song, demanding that the American Government introduce a new national holiday on the Birthday of Martin Luther King in respect of his life's work. After years of letters and demonstrations, the weight of the song tipped the scales when millions of new people heard of their plight. January 17th is now a national holiday in the USA.
Whether a piece is written to be performed or simply for the artist to enjoy, the cathartic effects of writing and singing one's own experience can not be undervalued. A set of vocal cords and a page of lyrics, as anyone who owns a CD would confess, can evoke such beautiful works of art that are so genuine and heartfelt that it is impossible to turn the stereo off.
Over the past eighteen months, our tutor has prsented weekly workshops for young people in the south between the ages of ten and seventeen. Focusing initially on 'DJing skills' and poetry, rap and song writing workshops, we were amazed by the focus and talent of the young people we worked with, it seemed that each young person had an idea or story to tell and were keen to make a song from it.
Each new project we start bears new fruit and leaves the young people with a full CD of songs that they have written and/or performed. Whether a song is fat with profundity, smug with silliness or heavy with emotion, it makes no difference; the result is a tangible, physical account of hard work and good memories, and other than this, each song will be proof that the young people have contributed to the life skills of co-operation, working as a team and the ability to articulate themselves.
The aim of the workshops is to write lyrics for a backing that the young person has chosen and to teach them about structure and good song writing practise. As the subjects they choose to write about are usually very personal or contain a facet of their life that they want to talk about, the session gives them a calm place to discuss their feelings as well as form their own opinions in an artistic arena.
Music Sample (2.67MB)
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