Artist-In-Residence
Three-Day Songwriting Workshop
Kevin has songs on the radio and gold records on his wall. He knows how to deliver a song, but he also knows how to teach songwriting. He's done so at Junior colleges, adult schools and to private students. His B.A. from Pomona College in English and Music Theory allows him to speak to the technical side of both music and lyric writing, but his day to day work in the pop, country and TV world has taught him to communicate those ideas simply. So the workshop is designed to be intense yet nurturing, serious yet fun. Students of all levels will sharpen their songwriting skills by receiving constructive and instructional feedback.
Here is a brief outline of what a workshop looks like:
Day 1
Objective: To break down a song into its component parts.
Method: Each student will bring in an original song to be analyzed and critiqued through the lens of structure, meter, rhyme, lyrical clarity and musical creativity.
Goals: To learn the basics of songwriting; to gain insights from peers and professionals; to write lyrics that are compelling and music that is memorable.
Day 2
Objective: Write a complete song in a day.
Method: A title, image or subject will be given at the beginning of the day and students will write a complete song, bringing their own unique perspective to the title, image or subject. Students may collaborate with one or two other writers, depending on class size. Kevin will coach, advise and encourage each individual throughout the writing process.
Goals: To learn how to brain storm, find ideas and commit to them; to become proficient at writing to assignment and deadline; to learn how to collaborate with other songwriters.
Day 3
Objective: To explore the business of songwriting; to discuss recording and pitching songs; to prepare previous day’s song for performance; to celebrate students accomplishments by having a…
Performance
An evening concert of the work created by the workshop participants plus a performance by Kevin Fisher singing songs of his that have been recorded by Rascal Flatts, Sara Evans, Uncle Kracker, and many others.
Additional Notes
The program is completely customizable: The number of days can be increased or decreased; lyric writing, music composition, business, recording can be emphasized or de-emphasized; a simple or full band, professional recording of each student’s song can be created within two weeks of the end of the workshop.
Objective: To break down a song into its component parts.
Method: Each student will bring in an original song to be analyzed and critiqued through the lens of structure, meter, rhyme, lyrical clarity and musical creativity.
Goals: To learn the basics of songwriting; to gain insights from peers and professionals; to write lyrics that are compelling and music that is memorable.
Day 2
Objective: Write a complete song in a day.
Method: A title, image or subject will be given at the beginning of the day and students will write a complete song, bringing their own unique perspective to the title, image or subject. Students may collaborate with one or two other writers, depending on class size. Kevin will coach, advise and encourage each individual throughout the writing process.
Goals: To learn how to brain storm, find ideas and commit to them; to become proficient at writing to assignment and deadline; to learn how to collaborate with other songwriters.
Day 3
Objective: To explore the business of songwriting; to discuss recording and pitching songs; to prepare previous day’s song for performance; to celebrate students accomplishments by having a…
Performance
An evening concert of the work created by the workshop participants plus a performance by Kevin Fisher singing songs of his that have been recorded by Rascal Flatts, Sara Evans, Uncle Kracker, and many others.
Additional Notes
The program is completely customizable: The number of days can be increased or decreased; lyric writing, music composition, business, recording can be emphasized or de-emphasized; a simple or full band, professional recording of each student’s song can be created within two weeks of the end of the workshop.