SongWriting Class with Brendan McLeod (week 2)

Hey – you! You wanna write some sweet tunes? Good. Songwriting class is the place to go. It’s awesome business. Here’s how it works:

at the start of each session, two students play their favourite tunes for everyone to listen to, and we all sit around on the floor with our eyes closed blissing out. If that’s too hippy-sounding for you don’t worry. Then we get to work. Each class, we will separate into groups and write a song in a different genre: rock, folk, hip hop, emo, trance (just kidding, maybe). If that sounds too hard don’t worry. It’s just about exploring. There’s also an open mic at the end of each class, where we get to perform for each other. AND we record all our songs on fairly pro equipment and get a song at the end of each session. Sound amazing? Wait – there’s more. Everyone gets a lamma! Just kidding. But who needs lammas when you have music? In this class, we’ll learn about the building blocks of what makes a great song: amazing lyrics, beautiful melodies, killer choruses, monster hooks, and suitable arrangements. Because this is a writing class, our emphasis will be on how words work in a song, so you can definitely take this course if you don’t play an instrument. However, if you do play an instrument, all the better! Bring it along.

Brendan McLeod is a writer and musician based out of Vancouver. He performs as a solo musician, as well as with his folk band, The Fugitives, which has toured to ten countries internationally, been nominated for a Canadian Folk Music Award, and were recent participants in the Peak Performance Project. He is also the author of a novel, a play, and a monologue. He is a former Canadian SLAM poetry champion and World SLAM runner-up. He teaches spoken word at Langara College, and is an active youth educator with a variety of organizations, including: Wordplay, the Vancouver East Cultural Centre, Travellin’ SLAM, and FreeWrite!