Write a hit by the end of the weekend, no matter what your experience level, with help from chart-toppping songwriters and musicians, including Ivor Novello and Brit award winner Nick Hodgson
Overview
Following the success of our masterclass with Justin Parker, London Songwriting School is hosting another unique 'Introduction to Songwriting' course in association with The Guardian.
This course could see you writing the next 'Umbrella' before the weekend is out. This action-packed weekend course provides mentoring and practical assistance from a heavyweight panel of professional songwriters, who'll help you create an original song, and learn how to sell it.
Hitmakers for the likes of Kylie, The Saturdays, and Backstreet Boys will take you through the songwriting process, from generating initial ideas to publishing the finished product. Plus you'll get feedback from guest tutor Nick Hodgson, lead songwriter and drummer for the Kaiser Chiefs.
Course description
Working in small groups, you'll gain invaluable Insight into professional methods, and the secret tricks of the trade. As well as lessons in melody, phrasing, hooks and themes, you'll learn what makes a hit through examining song DNA, as well as how to develop ideas by analysing structure and genre. You'll also receive tips on how to get your songs placed, and how to promote them – and yourself. The price of the course also includes ongoing support and feedback from the London Songwriting School, to help you put what you've learned into practice.
If you already have a song that you have written, you can sign up to an optional additional session on the Saturday evening (from 5pm) where you will get an hour one to one with one of our professional songwriters who will critique your song, suggest improvements and give you a clearer picture of how to progress, both creatively and commercially. This is an additional cost of £50 and there are 9 slots available.
No knowledge of music production or ability to play an instrument is necessary as additional songwriter musicians will be on hand to work with the students.
Tutor profiles
Adj Buffone was the guitarist and co-writer in the gold album-selling band Kubb. He was then signed as an artist to RCA (Sony) before moving into songwriting and production. He has toured with Pink, worked with Enrique Iglesias and collaborated with some of the UK's top producers, including Youth (The Verve) and Hugh Padgham (Sting).
Singer-songwriter Gerard O'Connell was signed as an artist to Island Records before moving into songwriting. He went on to become an in-house songwriter with pop production outfit, Xenomania where he worked with a variety of artists including The Wanted, The Saturdays, Kylie Minogue and Diana Vickers.
Fred Cox is a 21 year old song writer and producer, originally from Coventry. A multi instrumentalist, Fred has become one of the most in demand young songwriter/ producers in the UK and over the last 18 months, he has been working with a diverse range of artists from Wretch 32 (Levels/Ministry Of Sound), Etta Bond (Syco/Sony), Tanika (Tim & Danny Records/Virgin), Little Nikki (Columbia) and Maiday (Atlantic/Warner Chappell). Fred has also scored numerous films, including commissions for the BBC and last year signed his publishing deal with Trevor Horn's 'Perfect Songs'.
Guest tutor
Guest tutor will be Ivor Novello and Brit award-winning songwriter Nick Hodgson, the lead songwriter and drummer of Kaiser Chiefs. Together they released four studio albums and had a number one hit with the song 'Ruby'. Nick left the band in 2012 to concentrate on songwriting and production. He has also written songs for artists such as Shirley Bassey, Mark Ronson and Duran Duran.
Testimonials from previous Guardian Masterclasses
Gerard was amazing with our songwriting group - he really allowed our song to come together organically and let everyone have a say.
After having been on the course experiencing the course I didn't feel short changed at all, outstanding value for money!
Details
Dates: Saturday 18 and Sunday 19 May 2013
Times: 10.00am–5.00pm
Location: The Guardian, 90 York Way, King's Cross, London N1 9GU
Course price: £500 (inclusive of VAT, booking fee, lunch and refreshments) or £550 (with added one-to-one tuition)
Number of places: 24
To book
Click here to buy tickets online
To contact us, click here. Terms and conditions can be found here.