Arcadia Academy of Music is excited and pleased to announce the launch of our very first Songwriting Course. In this 16-week program, students will both learn how to write and create their own original song but also learn how much of the music they listen to undergo the same process. Guided by our professionally trained instructors, they will journey through self-discovery of their creative and musical abilities. Students will learn the building blocks of how to create a song and culminate their experiences through a live performance at the very end of the program. Nothing is more expressive, or a showcase of skill and hard work than writing your own piece of music and sharing it with the world!
We believe songwriting and composing is a necessary part of Arcadia’s educational curriculum since it is interdependent on traditional lessons on an instrument and builds a strong theory education. This dependence on a songwriting program comes from it offering a more personal, more creative, and probably more enjoyable curriculum than traditional lessons or theory lessons. It offers the opportunity to our students to find a more whole, inspiring, pleasurable, and rewarding experience as a growing musician. Also, it is evident that many students do not properly learn theory, and teachers find it difficult to strongly encourage a theory education. With an interest in songwriting and composing, students will be applying their theory knowledge to writing their own music, and this would encourage them to put more effort in their theory education. As their theory progresses, their songwriting skills also progress, and they learn to explore more ways of writing music.
You feel like you have something to say.
Many people write because they have a message they want to share with the world. Sometimes the message is religious or moral. Sometimes it’s an attempt to share something positive with the world. Other times, the writer is promoting an idea or cause they believe in.
You’re “inspired” to write.
I have had many people tell me that they just “woke up with this song in their head” or that they were “given” a song and didn’t really know where it came from. Sometimes inspiration just strikes and it seems as if we are simply writing it down as it comes to us.
You enjoy performing and want to perform original songs.
Some people love to perform, but they aren’t into performing cover songs. So, they write their own material. Often these people are trying to define themselves as performers.
Writing is therapy.
I’ve often written simply because it feels good to bleed on paper and get it all out. In most of those instances, I had no intention of trying to get someone to record the song or even for anyone else to hear it. I just wanted to get my stuff off my chest.
You want to hear others sing your songs.
These are the writers working toward the goal of hearing artists record their songs and make money from them. Therefore, these writers have to work differently, because they are trying to speculate what an artist might say and to become a “voice” for that artist. This is their big reason for songwriting.
Simply love the process of writing.
These writers just like to write. So they do. Not for anyone else. Not to get something worked out. Just for the satisfaction of having written.
Why do you write?
Discovering your true motivation and reasons for songwriting can help you figure out how and what to write. If you write for yourself, you write differently than if you are writing for others to perform. Writing for therapy is completely different than just writing to write. Many of us write for all of these reasons at one time or another. Give it some thought. Figure out what causes you to write songs and you’re onto something interesting.
Taken from a post from May 5, 2019 by Marty Dodson
