by Darden Smith | Jun 23, 2018 | Events
6 String Ranch and Austin Vintage Guitars Present:
Beyond the Basics — One-Day Songwriting Workshop with Darden Smith
June 23, 2018
Austin, Texas
This tworkshop covers a lot of ground, looking at the basics of the craft, as well as the possibilities of where each participant can go with their songs. I combine nuts-and-bolts lessons learned from my years of writing with the tools for putting inspiration into practice. You’ll leave with a new appreciation of your strengths and talents, concrete ways to improve as a writer.
Saturday morning — The basics: A look at verse/chorus/bridge structure, rhyme scheme, the value of a good hook, economy of words, melody, starting the song from scratch, the rewrite, dealing with writer’s block, etc.
Saturday afternoon — Look a little deeper: What story do I need to tell? Am I telling the truth? How do I get to the heart of the song?
Price — $300
Sign up here.
by Darden Smith | Jun 8, 2018 | Events
It’s that time again.
Each year Boo Hewerdine and I get together and spend time working with participants to hone their song skills.
This one is at Halsway Manor, in Somerset.
Topics covered include:
Structure — Verse / Chorus / Bridge
Clarity in lyric
The importance of meter and rhyme scheme
The power of telling the truth in lyric using simple language
Collaboration
Writing from your life — The importance of telling your story
Creating writing projects for yourself
The habits of a successful writing life
Recognizing and building on your strengths as a writer
Boo and Darden take time during the week to sit one-on-one with each participant, helping to identify goals and create a path to success for their writing. That will look different for each student. To some it might be a roadmap to recording an album, or steps to doing more shows, making it a career. Others want to re-waken their creative energies, make a life more based around music. For many, it’s simply to become a better writer, to finish more songs.
At the end of the week, each participant records at least one song on-site with a professional engineer. The highlight of final evening is a listening party of songs written during the week.
Through a week of collaboration, group meals, evenings spent passing around songs, a sense of community is created. Many past participants keep working together long after the workshop has ended, writing songs and singing on each other’s projects.
For pricing and reservations, contact audreyripleymusic@icloud.com
by Darden Smith | Jun 7, 2018 | Events
It’s that time again.
Each year Boo Hewerdine and I get together and spend time working with participants to hone their song skills.
This one is at Halsway Manor, in Somerset.
Topics covered include:
Structure — Verse / Chorus / Bridge
Clarity in lyric
The importance of meter and rhyme scheme
The power of telling the truth in lyric using simple language
Collaboration
Writing from your life — The importance of telling your story
Creating writing projects for yourself
The habits of a successful writing life
Recognizing and building on your strengths as a writer
Boo and Darden take time during the week to sit one-on-one with each participant, helping to identify goals and create a path to success for their writing. That will look different for each student. To some it might be a roadmap to recording an album, or steps to doing more shows, making it a career. Others want to re-waken their creative energies, make a life more based around music. For many, it’s simply to become a better writer, to finish more songs.
At the end of the week, each participant records at least one song on-site with a professional engineer. The highlight of final evening is a listening party of songs written during the week.
Through a week of collaboration, group meals, evenings spent passing around songs, a sense of community is created. Many past participants keep working together long after the workshop has ended, writing songs and singing on each other’s projects.
For pricing and reservations, contact audreyripleymusic@icloud.com
by Darden Smith | Jun 7, 2018 | Events
8:00pm show
The final performance of this run of shows for Mr. Hewerdine and I.
Halsway Manor is a beautiful old house in Somerset.
You should join us.
Location is:
Halsway Lane
Crowcombe
Taunton
TA4 4BD
Tickets at the door. For more info and directions.
by Darden Smith | Jun 6, 2018 | Events
It’s that time again.
Each year Boo Hewerdine and I get together and spend time working with participants to hone their song skills.
This one is at Halsway Manor, in Somerset.
Topics covered include:
Structure — Verse / Chorus / Bridge
Clarity in lyric
The importance of meter and rhyme scheme
The power of telling the truth in lyric using simple language
Collaboration
Writing from your life — The importance of telling your story
Creating writing projects for yourself
The habits of a successful writing life
Recognizing and building on your strengths as a writer
Boo and Darden take time during the week to sit one-on-one with each participant, helping to identify goals and create a path to success for their writing. That will look different for each student. To some it might be a roadmap to recording an album, or steps to doing more shows, making it a career. Others want to re-waken their creative energies, make a life more based around music. For many, it’s simply to become a better writer, to finish more songs.
At the end of the week, each participant records at least one song on-site with a professional engineer. The highlight of final evening is a listening party of songs written during the week.
Through a week of collaboration, group meals, evenings spent passing around songs, a sense of community is created. Many past participants keep working together long after the workshop has ended, writing songs and singing on each other’s projects.
For pricing and reservations, contact audreyripleymusic@icloud.com
