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 [email protected]
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 [email protected]
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 [email protected]
