Songwriting

Instructor: Johnny Keener

Study the craft of songwriting with singer/songwriter and producer, Johnny Keener. This session, we will dedicate classes to examining the lyrics, structure, music, and arrangements of your favorite songs, and to applying this understanding to your own work. We will discuss the songwriting process, and you will receive feedback from the group as well as individual feedback from the instructor as you develop your ideas.

Learners in this course will:
* Improve their critical listening skills and achieve an understanding of song structure
* Identify their individual goals as a songwriter and achieve an understanding of how to work towards them
* Receive feedback on works in process, with the goal of completing an original song


Materials required: 
* Whatever you require for note-taking
* A smart phone with a basic audio recorder or some other way to make simple audio recordings (recommended)

Additional Information:
* A basic proficiency on your instrument (or, in the case of computer-based composition, a working knowledge/proficiency of the needed software/programs) of choice is required.
* Before the class begins, each student will be asked to send the instructor three of their favorite songs. Consider choosing songs with elements that you would like to examine and further understand, or that you wish to incorporate into your own work.