'You Can't Teach Songwriting'!

   
    Someone said this to me recently with a look of incredulity on their faces. It was like if I’d told them that I teach ‘being tall’. Teaching something artistic is always viewed with suspicion by people for two reasons. Firstly because people prefer the myth of the tortured artist not knowing the what they’re doing (but still creating something transcendentally marvelous), and secondly because they think that the teacher must in some way dilute the personality of the songwriter by imposing rules upon them. Both of these arguments are flawed and this is why.
   
    Firstly, it annoys me that it’s only songwriting that come in for such criticism. Classical composers go to the great Conservatoires or  are mentored by other composers. Artists go to art college to learn methods, techniques and the background to the subject they’re passionate about. Creative writing courses have encouraged and refined the techniques of some of the worlds best authors. It’s assumed that a great dancer will have been to a dancing school. In fact, lets explore the dancing analogy for a moment. Dance has many forms. A dancer may be born with natural rhythm and movement and athleticism but they still have to learn the steps and techniques of the many forms of dance. As anyone who has watched Strictly Come Dancing can attest, all the contestants improve through coaching and practice. This is not to say that all of them will become great dancers but they will certainly become better dancers.
   
    I think that it’s because songwriting is seen as a low-brow art form that teaching it is seen as strange. But if you look a little closer, a song also has definite forms, structures, techniques, rhyme schemes and styles that can be learned in one of two ways. The first way would be to write 1000 songs and (hopefully) learn from each mistake. The second way would be to learn from someone who has written 1000 successful songs. If they can help pinpoint areas that you could improve, you may improve more quickly. This doesn’t sound such a stupid idea to me. In fact, I’ve seen it in the students I teach. If I can encourage them and also give them some honest feedback on their songs then this can pay dividends. Being taught and encouraged may give you some short cuts to your destination but the teacher doesn’t drive the car. You do. We just hold the map and try to help you avoid the traffic jams.  You need to write a lot of songs as well. This is how you find your voice as a songwriter. It goes back to that theory of 10000 hours of practice makes a genius. You have to put the work in.
   
    Ahhh, I hear you say. What is a successful song though, you just want to make everyone write cheesy rubbish pop music (yawn). No, all I want is for my students to fully realise the intent of their idea. I would say that a lot of songwriters write songs that they hope will communicate what they are feeling to an audience (especially the students on the course). My job as tutor is to help them achieve this. I find it exhilarating that once the students are on the course their songwriting becomes much braver, more wide ranging, more experimental and more prolific. By pushing the boundaries of their songwriting they generate their own style. This is the opposite of the teacher imposing rules.
   
    The final thing I want to say is that the greatest satisfaction in teaching songwriting is that it legitimises ‘being a songwriter’ for the students. To say to someone that it’s OK for them to dedicate all their energy to the thing they love, the thing that people have discouraged them at or looked down on them for makes me very happy.
   
    I’m teaching at http://www.uksongwritingfestival.com/
   
    Can’t wait.
   
    Keep up the good work!