In a Songwriting & Recording Project class, the goal is having a completed written song and recorded single. The process for writing a song and recording it, can be very different for every person. We take a bit of a different approach and incorporate color into our songwriting teaching method. Color has been proven to be very influential in many aspects of life, and now we have extended this into the songwriting world. It has been proven in all of Pamela Parker's songwriting workshops and continues to hold strong as a method that is highly affective.
Each song starts from a color the student picks on the first day of class. It is then taken through the necessary steps to be written in a form (i.e. verse, chorus, verse, chorus bridge, double chorus end), and chords are picked that sound like the color of choice. Each student listens to the spectrum of chords and chooses the one they believe to match the color of choice. The songwriting portion can go through many different stages and may not be the same for everyone. One student may write the words and melody first, then try and figure out the chords that go with that melody. Another student may write the music part first and then add the words and melody that go over that chord progression. Students keep a journal where they are encouraged to do 15 minutes of free writing daily to help with their creative outlet.
The recording portion of our class is technical and musically based. Each student learns the basic ins and outs of Pro-Tools and is able to help run sessions by the time the semester is over. However, the student acts mainly as a producer producing their own track. It can be expected that each student will go away from this with the ability to construct a song from beginning to end and have the knowledge to run a session in order to track and record the necessary music to allow the song come to life. Students pick the style of song they want to record, instrumentation of the song (string quartet, horn section, double the vocals, make a beat, play live drums, etc...), musicians to play on the song, helps with the mixing (is the voice too high, does the guitar need to be lower?, etc...), and basically oversee the process from start to finish explaining exactly what they want to hear happen with their song.
After the song has been written and recorded, it's time to share the song with the world. First, before sharing with the entire world, we will help each student copyright their song, so they own all the rights to it and can do with it what they want. Remember, if anyone other than the student helps write any part of the song, they are also part owner of the song. If someone helps with the chord progression to a song verses the melody of the song, it is a different part of the copyright. This is all explained during class time.
Depending on the process and ability of the student, the timing can be different for each student to reach a finished song and record a single. Some people want to produce more in the production like a string quartet and a choir, while others just play their own beats and music parts themselves from a keyboard using midi sounds or sound libraries. Some sessions might have 30 tracks, while other only have 12. We promote both ways and support the process of each artist as an individual pathway in order to get to their own desired goal of the finished product that sounds exactly the way they want it to sound. We take each person through recording, producing, arranging, instrumentation, writting charts, rehearsing with a click for studio precision, and the art image creation for their product from seed to flower. Semester Recording Project classes are beginning on a semseter basis and will be running all year round. For a complete schedule CLICK HERE.
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Cost for the Songwriting and Recording Project Class is $250/month
