I Will Be Presenting a Songwriting Workshop at Far-West Folk Alliance

[Charmed Life Picks]

In all the hubbub of running Charmed Life, I never really talk about my love of, and passion for, songwriting. I've always considered the best music holy, and a great song is about as close as I get to church these days.

Anyway, I'm thrilled to announce that I've been invited to present my interactive songwriting workshop at the Far-West Folk Alliance Conference this fall. The conference will take place the second weekend in October, at the Woodland Hills Marriott. This will be an in-person event, not remote or via Zoom.

I do an unusual thing that no one else seems to be doing out there. People who attend my workshops really love the activities and exercises we engage in. As I said, it's very interactive. It's different than anything you'll find.

Some of you know that in addition to CLP, I'm a full-time English prof. The seminar is called Lyrics & Literature: An English Professor Looks at Songs as Literature. What we do is we take song lyrics from some of the best songs ever written -- Joni Mitchell or Prine or Dylan or whomever -- and we break them all the way down into their component parts; I mean, we really go deep. We identify the nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, etc., and analyze how to writer has used those elements to create his effect, his goal. And what is his goal?

There is only one goal in all art, only one goal that matters -- to have your listener FEEL something. That's all that matters. To feel something.

Please post any questions you may have about the workshop in this thread. I'm happy to converse a bit more, when I have the time.

The songwriting muse is an evil mistress. My goal is to give you tools to tame her without breaking her.

https://far-west.org/

I'm also going to begin working on a book proposal about this very important subject, the craft of songwriting.

I have no details right now. Just wanted to let you know. More to follow.

[Charmed Life Picks]

I should add that this is not a commercial announcement. I'm not being paid for the gig, nor am I "selling" anything, other than my joy in celebrating the best songwriters on the planet.

sm

[Mr. Jelly]

Your workshop sounds interesting. It appears to me you "get" songwriting. Some years ago, I got pretty deep into songwriting, even professionally. Recently I attended a local songwriting group out of curiosity. It saddened me as it was mostly about writing modern country music with an underlying suggestion to join, at a cost, so professionals judge and make suggestions concerning your songs. What you are discussing appears to have more to do about the real creative nuts and bolts of songwriting. Good for you. There is hope!

[Charmed Life Picks]

Originally Posted by Mr. Jelly

Your workshop sounds interesting. It appears to me you "get" songwriting. Some years ago, I got pretty deep into songwriting, even professionally. Recently I attended a local songwriting group out of curiosity. It saddened me as it was mostly about writing modern country music with an underlying suggestion to join, at a cost, so professionals judge and make suggestions concerning your songs. What you are discussing appears to have more to do about the real creative nuts and bolts of songwriting. Good for you. There is hope!

Jelly, thanks so much for your post. You have keen eyes.

Yes, it's a passion and a calling, and not a business approach, although it might to lead to business down the road. So many writers, especially in Nashville, are striving to write the next "hit," like they're working in some kind of factory punching out widgets. That's certainly one way -- perhaps the dominant way -- to look at songwriting, as some kind of commodity to be marketed, and this is certainly front and center in the minds of the people at Acuff-Rose and similar song "mills."

However, I find the greatest songs, the ones that move me and others, whether popular or unpopular, come from suffering, despair and desperation, which over time coalesces, through some kind of mysterious alchemy of aging, steeping and fermenting, into compassion.

Examples:

Dolly didn't write "I Will Always Love You" to manufacture a hit.
Gordon Lightfoot didn't write "If You Could Read Mind My Mind" to top the Hot 100.
Harry Chapin didn't write "Taxi" thinking it would jump to the top of the charts.
Prine didn't write "Hello in There" or "Angel from Montgomery" to score a cross-over hit into Adult Contemporary.

No, they wrote from a need terrible need to grapple with an inner torment or hurt.

I'll close with a seemingly unrelated reference. Just yesterday I was watching an interview from the wonderful Rick Beato with Nuno Bettencourt, of the band Extreme. He talked about writing the song "More Than Words" and how EVERYONE hated it -- the record company, his bandmates, the roadies, you name it. But he wrote it from a very deep place. And in the end, everyone was wrong. It became a huge hit. And I would submit to you that it's because that song has HEART.

There's a saying here in Hollywood about the film business, "Nobody knows Anything," that also applies to the music biz.

sm

[Charmed Life Picks]

Here's a song that follows none of the "marketing" rules mentioned in the previous post, but will stay in my guts for the rest of my life. It's a song John Hiatt wrote about the suicide of his older brother when he, John, was a little boy. You won't -- you can't -- forget it.

Originally Posted by Charmed Life Picks

In all the hubbub of running Charmed Life, I never really talk about my love of, and passion for, songwriting. I've always considered the best music holy, and a great song is about as close as I get to church these days.

Anyway, I'm thrilled to announce that I've been invited to present my interactive songwriting workshop at the Far-West Folk Alliance Conference this fall. The conference will take place the second weekend in October, at the Woodland Hills Marriott. This will be an in-person event, not remote or via Zoom.

I do an unusual thing that no one else seems to be doing out there. People who attend my workshops really love the activities and exercises we engage in. As I said, it's very interactive. It's different than anything you'll find.

Some of you know that in addition to CLP, I'm a full-time English prof. The seminar is called Lyrics & Literature: An English Professor Looks at Songs as Literature. What we do is we take song lyrics from some of the best songs ever written -- Joni Mitchell or Prine or Dylan or whomever -- and we break them all the way down into their component parts; I mean, we really go deep. We identify the nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, etc., and analyze how to writer has used those elements to create his effect, his goal. And what is his goal?

There is only one goal in all art, only one goal that matters -- to have your listener FEEL something. That's all that matters. To feel something.

Please post any questions you may have about the workshop in this thread. I'm happy to converse a bit more, when I have the time.

The songwriting muse is an evil mistress. My goal is to give you tools to tame her without breaking her.

https://far-west.org/

I'm also going to begin working on a book proposal about this very important subject, the craft of songwriting.

I have no details right now. Just wanted to let you know. More to follow.

You are a man of many talents, Scott. I had no idea you were an English prof! I did my senior English paper in high school on Bob Dylan, and I had to really plead my case that he was a legit poet before my teacher would accept my topic. I had found a huge hardback book of his lyrics at the public library and went ga-ga! Many decades later, I am still ga-ga for Dylan. And now, no one disputes his status as a THE poet of his generation.

Good luck at your conference. If they film any of your workshop, please post a link.

[Charmed Life Picks]

Originally Posted by janinep7

You are a man of many talents, Scott. I had no idea you were an English prof! I did my senior English paper in high school on Bob Dylan, and I had to really plead my case that he was a legit poet before my teacher would accept my topic. I had found a huge hardback book of his lyrics at the public library and went ga-ga! Many decades later, I am still ga-ga for Dylan. And now, no one disputes his status as a THE poet of his generation.

Good luck at your conference. If they film any of your workshop, please post a link.

Hi, Janine. Yeah, that teacher has probably been rolling in his grave since Dylan won the Nobel. And what's amazing is he's STILL writing world-class songs. I mean, I'll always put The Beatles first, but as one individual songwriter, everyone else is a very distant second. Bob is the king, and always will be.

Janine, I'm gonna PM you here something unrelated. As to my "special talents," I place the blame for that squarely at the feet of my father and mother, along with my aunts and uncles and cousin, etc., who gave me such a clear vision, and provided such a sterling example, of what it looks like to walk upright in the world.

I grew up in Cleveland, Janine, far from the valley of sin and temptation in which you and I currently reside, the Golden State. Yep, smack dab in the middle of two belts, corn and Bible, in that order. That's the short version.

BTW, speaking of the Golden State, the Far-West moves locales every two years. It's going to be in your neck of the woods -- specifically, San Jose -- in Oct 2024.

Please check your messages here.

sm

[J Patrick]

That’s too cool Scott. I myself have had very positive experiences attending songwriting camps and workshops. Always stimulating and inspiring. The approach you’ve chosen will no doubt hit home with a lot of your participants. I think that for most of us songwriters the most difficult aspect of creating a song is writing lyrics. The great songwriters have a large literary toolbox…..imagery is great but putting it into a song takes that bag of tricks. I’ll alert my Folk Alliance attending friends to keep an eye out for you.

[SGFletch]

What great subject matter to explore. Good for you! I hope it is very rewarding for all involved.

[Charmed Life Picks]

Originally Posted by J Patrick

That’s too cool Scott. I myself have had very positive experiences attending songwriting camps and workshops. Always stimulating and inspiring. The approach you’ve chosen will no doubt hit home with a lot of your participants. I think that for most of us songwriters the most difficult aspect of creating a song is writing lyrics. The great songwriters have a large literary toolbox…..imagery is great but putting it into a song takes that bag of tricks. I’ll alert my Folk Alliance attending friends to keep an eye out for you.

JPAT, thanks for your post. This approach is something that is second nature to me, so it's like breathing. I also bring a lot of passion and enthusiasm to it, so we all have a good time. It's very interactive, with little group exercises all the way through the session.

Thanks again.

scott

[Charmed Life Picks]

Originally Posted by SGFletch

What great subject matter to explore. Good for you! I hope it is very rewarding for all involved.

Thanks you so much. I've talked to a lot of people about this topic, and it doesn't appear that anyone else out there is taking such a nuts-and-bolts approach to analyzing song lyrics. It's really not that difficult to recognize and learn these tools, then apply them to your own lyrics. It gives me a lot of joy to share what I've learned.

sm

[LiveMusic]

Very cool that you are doing this, Scott.

I am a dedicated, afflicted, addicted songwriter. It's hard. Few come quickly. Well, actually, quite a few come quickly, but few are finished quickly. Rewriting is 90% of it. Me, anyway. I work them until I can't think of any way to better it.

As for Dylan, IMO, nobody compares. If someone said teach me how to write like Dylan, I don't think it can be done. He's on a different plane. Mind-blowing is what it is. I suspect that he might be genius level intelligence, and not just squeaking into the lower level, deeper on in the ranks. It's hard to conceive of his command of the language. His memory is super human.

[Charmed Life Picks]

Originally Posted by LiveMusic

Very cool that you are doing this, Scott.

I am a dedicated, afflicted, addicted songwriter. It's hard. Few come quickly. Well, actually, quite a few come quickly, but few are finished quickly. Rewriting is 90% of it. Me, anyway. I work them until I can't think of any way to better it.

As for Dylan, IMO, nobody compares. If someone said teach me how to write like Dylan, I don't think it can be done. He's on a different plane. Mind-blowing is what it is. I suspect that he might be genius level intelligence, and not just squeaking into the lower level, deeper on in the ranks. It's hard to conceive of his command of the language. His memory is super human.

No argument here. I think one could make a very good case that Bob wrote as many great songs as all four Beatles combined. A once-in-a-hundred-years talent, for sure.

Thanks for your post. He is certainly one for the ages.

[Rumblefish]

Congratulations on the gig. I showcased at the Boston folk alliance many years ago and I’ve attended a couple more since then. I’m always amazed at the amount of talent gathered together at those events. I remember some great, late night, hotel hallway jams. Have fun!

[Charmed Life Picks]

Originally Posted by Rumblefish

Congratulations on the gig. I showcased at the Boston folk alliance many years ago and I’ve attended a couple more since then. I’m always amazed at the amount of talent gathered together at those events. I remember some great, late night, hotel hallway jams. Have fun!

Rumble, thanks for your post.

I'm glad to see them continuing with these conferences. COVID really threw a wrench into so many different events and gatherings. Many have not yet recovered, but Far-West appears hale and hearty.

I would normally get a room and stay over Friday night, but our daughter is due with our new grandchild (a girl!) just a few days before the conference, so we need to be available for various duties that weekend.

Thanks again, Rumble,

Scott