Welcome to a new genre of event - the songwriting social. Like an ice cream social, but way more nutritious. Bonnie Hayes' Songwriting Socials are designed to expand on the uncompetitive, supportive and friendly vibe of the advanced salons that songwriting coach Bonnie Hayes holds in her home.
The first part of the social consists of an open class featuring Bonnie's critiques on songwriting/production. Following the critiques, Bonnie gives a talk on a songwriting/production topic, with an (optional) assignment for the next event, which draws on the lecture. Three featured artists perform mini-sets (3-4 songs) to close out the night. All with ample time for socializing of course.
DETAILS for the Sunday, November 21st event:
CRITIQUES/ASSIGNMENT:
You may play live or bring a CD, be plugged (guitar, keys, vocals) or unplugged. You can do the assignment, or play something random, as long as you wrote part of the song. Here is Bonnie's (optional) assignment. Note: At the November 21st event, we will give priority to those songwriters who have completed the assignment. PLEASE TRY TO ARRIVE BY 5:30 IF YOU REALLY WANT A CRITIQUE. THE SPOTS FILL UP. TO DATE, EVERYONE THERE BY 5:30 HAS GOTTEN A SPOT. . .
ASSIGNMENT - "SHOW, DON'T TELL"
songwriters write songs to express emotions. but a song needs to evoke emotion in the listener as well, and it turns out that it can be difficult to find the right balance of lyrics, music and performance to make someone else feel what you’ve felt.
one way to get closer is to try to use images or other sense impressions, rather than using “emotion words” that express emotional states of mind, such as “pain”, “sorrow”, “rage”, “longing”, “joy”. if you tell me you’re lonely, I might feel sorry for you, but I might not really feel sadness or longing. if I go into your house one evening and see one plate and one wine glass sitting by the sink, or if you come to a wedding alone and watch with a fixed smile on your face as couples dance, than I might feel more.
we can use pictures, but also smells (hospital smell is sad, gardenias is sexy, or whatever), sounds ( a song you remember dancing to with your crush at your first high school dance), and textures (the feel of the breeze blowing in your window as you lie awake at night, unable to sleep, or dream).
the exercise here is to show a person’s emotional state without using any of those handy “emotion words”. granted, in songs, there’s usually a point where we sort of “come out with it” emotionally. but I think the most powerful songs paint pictures and let the listeners do the feeling. think of it as a movie; there’s not a voice-over telling that the person is sad; you see them sitting by the window burying their face in their hands. i think it’s important that we try to do that in songs.
this technique also leads to more unique lyrics. everything we see or hear has subtext, context, but much of it is known only to the person who notices it. so a bunch of random, private images aren’t going to be evocative. try to connect the images to memories or other associations that have a universal or cultural resonance. wet dog fur reminds me of a guy I loved who loved his dog more. nobody knows that about wet fur and me, but if I link it to remembering a summer I spent wanting something that i couldn’t have so bad, it is meaningful to almost everyone. try to link private emblems of emotion to a universal or cultural feeling.
the assignment, then: select an emotional state. then think how that can be expressed without using “emotion words”.
LECTURE TOPIC:
"Harmonizing A Melody"
FEATURED PERFORMERS:
Larry Block
www.larryblock.com
Alexis Harte
www.alexisharte.com
Jackie Dunn
For those who don't know Bonnie, she's is a stud of a songwriter who has written for Bonnie Raitt, Bette Midler and countless others, toured as a keyboardist for Billy Idol, and is a Grammy-nominated producer. But most importantly, she is a teacher and mentor extraordinaire.
We are pleased to have West Coast Songwriters and Blue Bear School Of Music as sponsors for these events!
We promise to make you feel welcome. Please come be social!
Bonnie & Stacy
p.s. If you have questions, contact Stacy Kray - on FB or at
stacy@stacykray.com
DETAILS:
Union Room (address above)
Sunday, November 21st from 5-8 pm
(critique sign-ups at 4:30 - SHARP !)
http://www.theunionroom.com/
ADMISSION:
critique $20
entry before 8 pm (includes watching lecture/critiques) $10
entry after 8 pm $5
ALL AGES VENUE
TRANSPORTATION:
Close to Union Square BART/MUNI
Parking in garage at O'Farrell/Mason $10 with validation
FOOD & DRINK:
We ask that people come hungry or thirsty or both to support the venue. We recommend the corn shrimp fritters paired with a top-shelf tequila. . . . menu here:
http://www.theunionroom.com/
PLEASE COME BE OUR FAN ON FB IF YOU WANT NOTICE OF FUTURE EVENTS, OR IF YOU WANT TO GAB WITH US AND OTHER SONGWRITERS. . .
http://www.facebook.com/bonnie.hayes.songwriting.socials
