Cedar Run Song Workshops: Class Descriptions

This class is intended for those students who have already had basic songwriting classes, are consistently writing, and feel that they are ready to take their work to the next level. Kate will offer hour-long individual sessions in which she will help you look at original songs that you bring to the session. In tutorial fashion, she will work with you to help your tune(s) become all that they can be. These sessions, which offer an unbelievable opportunity to work one-on-one with one of the best songwriters in the world, are available for an extra charge of $50.00 per hour. What a great way to make your schedule at Cedar Run this year one that you will always remember! See our Registration page for fee information.

Some of the most moving and powerful songs are those in which the songwriter puts her or himself in another person's shoes. No one did this better than American troubador Woody Guthrie. Whether it was Midwestern coal miners, immigrant farm laborers, or female union organizers, Woody knew how to empathize with the people that he wrote about, and bring their experiences to life through song. In this workshop, we will examine the linguistic techniques Woody used to paint a scene and draw listeners into it. We will also examine a song or two by instructor Alastair Moock, including one in which he puts himself in Woody's own shoes. Then we will take what we've learned and apply it to our own empathetic songs.

Effective songwriting depends not just on the content of the language, but on the *sound* of the language as well. Rhyme, rhythm, cadence, alliteration, repetition, chiasmus - that's right, chiasmus! - are just some of the concepts that we will examine on our way to improving the sound of our writing. Prepare to bring a song you're willing to workshop with abandon!

Want to write a song, but having trouble getting started? Why not make your task easier by just concentrating on half of the process. It's been said that it's actually impossible to write an original melody at this point in musical history. So, let's just borrow one and get started. If you're having trouble with this concept, remember - we'll be continuing an old folk tradition in the process: Dylan borrowed Woody's melody from "1913 Massacre" to write "Song to Woody;" Woody borrowed the Carter Family's melody from "When The World's On Fire" to write "This Land Is Your Land;" and the Carter Family borrowed many of their melodies from their neighbors - who did not have recording contracts. So, join Alastair and move the folk tradition forward while easing an age-old writer's dilemma!

What makes a compelling melody? Why do some melodies seem to work better than others? Can we find inspiration or ideas from traditional melodies? From songs that stick in our heads? In this class, we will lok at our own melodies and at the melodies that move us. We'll explore why some melodies seem to work better thatn others - and how chord choices affect melody. We'll spend time looking at each other's melodies and will do in-class exercises to learn how to make our melodies more dynamic. (Students will need to bring their instruments.)

This is a class for guitarists who have mastered the basics of the instrument and would like some extra little tricks. We'll learn right-hand percussive technique and do some work with open tunings (D and G). We'll also learn about the exciting world of partial capos and answer that age-old question: what do you do with this thing? We'll look into some fairly simple and straight-up things that we can do to spice up our songs with some easy-to-learn guitar runs. If time allows, we'll also look into the blues and maybe check in on some western swing.

You started writing that song with the BEST line you EVER thought of. You got it all done and realized that something was just not working. If it turns out that the problem is that "best line you ever thought of," are you willing to chop it out? Rewriting can be as simple as changing your song's point of view from first to third person, or as dramatic as scrapping the original idea and allowing the song to be what it deserves to be. It's an act of non-attachment and the thing most likely to take your songwriting to the next level.
Bring a song to class to be Ruthlessly Rewritten by the whole group. Don't be scared! You can always "revert," but you probably won't want to.

You know that tune that makes you pause, close your eyes, and sigh "oohhhh, I LOVE this song"? Some songwriter did something right. But what? We are often so emotionally invested in our old favorites that we have never though about them objectively. In this workshop, we're going to figure out exactly what it is about these songs that makes them so effective, and learn how to apply those discoveries to our own writing. Workshop participants should come prepared with two lifelong favorites (or recent ones!), both audio and lyrics.

Your first verse should have an aroma. Your chorus should crunch underfoot like seashells on pavement. Dom Perignon, on his very first sip of champagne, said, "I am tasting stars!" Emotion is closely tied to the senses, and your songs should be loaded with images that appeal to taste, touch, smell, sound, and sight. Until someone invents the scratch-and-sniff .mp3, we have to rely on words to create sensory environments. This class will playfully explore the "show 'em, don't tell 'em" philosophy of songwriting. Bring songs and a lifetime of sense memories to play with.

What makes a good song? Lyrics? Rhythm? Progressions? Melody? Certainly, all of these factors contribute to a world-class song, but bringing a real compositional sense to the melody is the key to evoking an emotional response. Words can get stuck in the head, but melodies go straight to the heart. What transforms those thoughtfully hand-crafted words into something infinitely singable is a good melody. The astute songwriter approaches any composition with an awareness of how the movement of the melody implies chord changes and variations on those changes. Awareness of these issues will allow a songwriter to deliver something that is both comforting and fresh. Old standards earned their place in large part because the melodies are so stirring. Whether from show tunes, jazz, folk, old time country, The Beatles, traditional Irish songs, famous symphonies and sonatas, or timeless hymns, melodies are what capture our imaginations. They run through our head unbidden, and always bring with them an emotion. In this workshop, we will look at the role of melody in a good song. We will cover some basic writing theory that would be good for any songwriter to know, including voice leading, reharmonizing a melody, and writing melodies for existing words, as well as starting with a new melody and choosing the right words to go with it. Amp up your songwriting with some easy-to-use compositional common sense. You will be glad you did. Songwriters of all levels are welcome. Come ready to roll up your sleeves and write some great music!

Every other musician plays an instrument, something that is outside the body. And singer/songwriters use their bodies as a whole instrument to create music. This presents specific challenges and opportunities for students of singing to learn how to maintain vocal integrity, while engaged in their craft. And it can also be the source of great joy! In this practical , hands-on workshop, we will address many issues that relate to singing both lead and harmony vocals effectively. We will look at ways to produce sound that are healthier, more sustainable, and more effective. We will sing individually and as a class as we learn to find our inner voices and blend with others.

In this hands-on workshop, we discuss what the craft of songwriting has contributed tothe telling of stories of historical merit, and we will discuss and demonstrate how to use songwriting in the present time as a tool for communication. The world is full of stories that need to be told - stories of courage and heroism of every manner...stories that are left out of the mainstream media. From stories about children who are killed in the inner city to tales of whimsy and humor...songwriting can be an excellent form of journalism.
But what does it mean to research a song? What does it mean to bring integrity to the process? Over the course of the week, we will discuss and demonstrate ways to use our craft as a tool for real communication in this modern world.
Each student is asked to birng a story, a newspaper clipping, a portion of a book, or something else that will serve as the spark for a new song. We will all work on new material throughout the week and encourage each other gently down the path of songwriting journalism.

As the title implies, in this class we'll be working on the craft issues involved in lyric writing - things like scan, rhyme scheme, and - horrors! - grammar. Have you ever heard a performer singing a song that just sounded rushed? Too many syllables per line, with ragged rhythms that seemed there only because the lines were too wordy? Have you ever heard a lyric using bad grammar just because it fit a melody? Have you ever wrestled with soft vs. hard rhyme? In our lyric writing workshop, we'll tackle all of these issues and more, working with our own original lyrics, dissecting famous lyrics, looking at how well-known songs might have been re-written, and, if we're really brave and looking to be challenged, spending some time rewriting each others' lyrics. Our goal: enriching our bag of tools for honing and polishing our lyrics!

This class is intended for mandolin-curious guitarists. After all, the diminutive "king of instruments" looks just like a little guitar, doesn't it? We'll get to know the mandolin, learn some scales, and how to tune it in standard mando tuning. We'll learn a Celtic tune and and old-time tune (more, if time allows), using both TAB and our ears, starting off slow and working toward a little speed with which to wow our friends and relatives back home. On the way, we'll look at right-hand techniques like muting and tremelo, and I'll provide a list of great listening CD's for the new mandolinist in each of you.
Participants in the class will need to provide their own mandolins and have a working knowledge of basic guitar.

So, you're all warmed up and ready for your next gig. You hit the stage, playing. Toward the end of that first song, you realize that you have no idea what to say when you stop playing. So, you don't say much of anything, and you zoom into the next song. Then as that one comes to a close, you're faced with the same dilemma all over again. So, you take shelter by diving right into the next song - 'cause it's all about the music, right?
Well, the answer is - maybe. But why be satisfied with presenting a string of songs, when you can bring to the stage a well-crafted, pre-meditated, multi-layered show? Yep, it's true. Those spaces between the songs are tools for reaching your audience, just as surely as your best songs are. And they canbe just as reliable for you as tools for keeping yourself relaxed, anchored, and, most of all, in touch with your audience.
This course will concentrate on turning a set into a show by examining the spaces between the tunes and making some conscious decisions about what to do with them. We'll look at different types of song introductions and work on writing and crafting some to go with your material so that you can use them on your gigs. We'll look at purposeful silence as a way to introduce a song, as well. We'll also work on preparing to improvise between songs and how to rescue an intro gone wrong. We'll look at humor, with an eye to the humorist's tools of timing, character, and irony. We'll talk about ways to weave smaller groups of songs together into mini-sets within your longer sets. By the end of the week, you'll have some concrete and practical tools to help you establish a good, relaxed relationship with your next audience. Bring a recorder to class, along with writing materials. We'll be writing and performing for each other often.