Coursera Songwriting (Curso)

8/9/2019 Coursera Songwriting (Curso)

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Coursera Songwriting

Update and Thank You!Hope you are well. I wanted to share a few important notes:•

• The Lesson 6 Assignment is due on Thursday. The peerreview deadline is Sunday.

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• Students earning a minimum score of ! will receive aStatement of Accomplishment. Statements will "eavaila"le at http:##www.coursera.org#account#records "yne$t Tuesday.

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• %lease ta&e the time to complete the %ost'Course Survey athttps:##class.coursera.org#songwriting'!!#(ui)#start*(ui)+id,-. /our feed"ac& will help improve the course.

/ou can also 0nd a lin& to the survey on the leftnavigation panel of the class site.

As the course is coming to an end1 I want to say what a treatit2s "een1 and what a great learning e$perience for me.

Teaching stimulates more learning for me than anything else.

3hen I try to articulate something clearly enough for someoneelse to understand it1 it ta&es on a whole new loo&.

4ne of my favorite "ands in the 6!2s was %rocol Harum. Here2sa snippet of a lyric from their third al"um1 Shine on Brightly 1that2s "een with me for all these decades:

The lesson lies in learningAnd "y teaching I2ll "e taught

5or there2s nothing hidden anywhereIt2s all there to "e sought

I2ve learned a "unch from your posts: such thoughtful andinteresting discussions. /ou2ve not only helped me clarifysome of my ideas and ways of presenting the material1 "utyou2ve also alerted me to trou"le spots that we2ll try to

http://www.coursera.org/account/recordshttps://class.coursera.org/songwriting-007/quiz/start?quiz_id=174https://class.coursera.org/songwriting-007/quiz/start?quiz_id=174https://class.coursera.org/songwriting-007/quiz/start?quiz_id=174https://class.coursera.org/songwriting-007/quiz/start?quiz_id=174http://www.coursera.org/account/records


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address the ne$t time we oer the course again1 over thesummer.

The peer review process certainly stirred the pot and started agood deal of productive conversation. 5rom my viewpoint1peer review is valua"le not "ecause of the grades andcomments you get "ac&1 "ut "ecause you have to assess thewor& of others. That7s where real learning ta&es place1"ecause it ta&es you a step deeper into the whole thing:learning "y doing1 then learning "y trying to articulate theprinciples to other fol&s. I hope that has happened foreveryone in this class. %riceless.

8ecently1 when my new "oo&1 Songwriting Without

Boundaries, came out1 I did a seminar tour that included9oston1 Austin1 ashville1 Los Angeles1 ;el"ourne1 Sydney19ris"ane1 and a few other cities1 ta&ing attendees throughsome of the concepts of the "oo&: four -'day sense'"oundwriting and metaphor challenges. Here7s a description frommy Introduction:

minutes1and ?! seconds. It will help you "e more vivid and speci0c inyour writing1 and the timed writing will help your speed ande@ciency.

The second challenge is on metaphor. It as&s you to use yournew'found s&ill at sense'"ound writing in a step'"y'stepprocess for 0nding metaphors. 9y the time you 0nish1 youshould "e a pro. This challenge also contains timed writing tohelp you chop away the under"rush in your writing faster.

Then challenge as&s you to e$tend metaphors1 learn to


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e$plore them deeply1 and see them from reversed directions:"oth Ba pac& of hungry wolves is a hurricane1 and also Bahurricane is a pac& of hungry wolves. /ou2ll write a > or -!minute response to each prompt1 mostly four pieces each day.

The 0nal challenge as&s you to do it all in rhythm and rhyme.Again1 "ecause the writing is timed1 it forces you to go deep1(uic&. It teaches you to thin& ahead rhythmically andmanipulate rhyme more Duidly.

In every city1 seminar participants formed groups to ta&e thechallenges together. Some groups as few as > or 61 some upto !. They put together 5ace"oo& pages for posting1 or =ustdid it through email1 depending on the si)e of the group. The

feed"ac& was fantastic.


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•

• Creative 3riting: 5inding /our Koice•

ust go to www.patpattison.com and clic& on 4nline Courses.

5inally1 my than&s to Coursera for the opportunity to reach somany people at the same time. Ama)ing.

Than& you all for such a rich and rewarding e$perience.

3rite 5earlessly1

%atMon 1 Sep 2014 9:00 AM PD

Week 63ee& 67s materials will go live today at -M:!! p.m. ew /or&time. The assignment is due on Thursday. The peer reviewevaluations will "e due on Sunday. This wee&1 you2ll "ewor&ing on phrasing1 the B"ody language of your song. I2llwor& through a song called B%ieces1 ad=usting its phrasing tosupport the emotion of the lines1 and then apply the principlesto BHo"o 3ind. /our =o" this wee& is to apply the phrasing

principles to the song you wor&ed on in wee& >. /ou2ll "esurprised at how dramatically things can change with a fewsimple phrasing ad=ustments.

Also1 I wanted to share some good news with you. 9er&lee4nline is going to award scholarships to two students whohave actively participated in the class forums and givenguidance to their fellow students. The scholarship will allowthe selected students to ta&e one of my 9er&lee 4nlinecoursesNwith a faculty mem"er wor&ing with them for -M

wee&sNwith the full tuition waived. If your name is selected19er&lee 4nline will contact you "y email.

Cheers1%atMon 2! Aug 2014 9:00 AM PD

http://www.patpattison.com/http://www.patpattison.com/


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Week 5Congratulations on your wor& in wee& . There has "een somewonderful conversation in the 5orums a"out preserving thenatural shape of language in music. It7s a rich topic1 one I

developed a full -M'wee& course on at 9er&lee 4nline calledLyric 3riting: 3riting Lyrics to ;usic.

Also1 chec& out my recent interview with onathan 5eist1 Why"hy#e$1 in his 3riting A"out ;usic "log.

Week 5's material will be ready today at 12:00 pmew York time It7s a "ig lessonO /ou have a pretty full tool"elt "y now1 and it2s time to apply your tools to a complete

song. In wee& >1 you2ll start a new song1 "eginning with a newtitle. 5irst1 of course1 ma&e sure you develop your title so itBgains weight each time you repeat it. I2ll "e wor&ing with myown title1 Ho"o 3ind1 and ta&ing it through the sameprocess I want you to follow with your title.

ow you2ll see why you spent so much time wor&ing on rhymeand rhyme types. /ou2ll go through a "rainstorming processcalled a Bwor&sheetE that uses a rhyming dictionary as a

search engine for ideasN"efore you start writing the song. /ou2ll "e ama)ed how many ideas you2ll get. 9ecause yourideas will connect sonically as well as conceptually1 you2ll "ecomposing on two levels1 and already have a leg up when youstart writing.

e$t1 you2ll write the lines of your sections. If you are writing achorus1 you should concentrate on it 0rst1 "ut don2t load it upwith too many ideas. Peep it simple. Save all those ideas forthe verses. That2s their =o".

/ou2ll wor& on melodic rhythm and melody1 using either yourown chords or one of the loops I2ve provided in the 8esourcessection of the class site. 9ecause you2re writing a melody foryour song1 it will "e important for you to match your verses ase$actly as you can1 so they can accept the same melody.

http://www.berkleemusic.com/school/course/lyric-writing-writing-lyrics-to-music?pid=5091http://jonathanfeist.berkleemusicblogs.com/2014/05/22/why-rhyme-an-interview-with-pat-pattison/http://www.berkleemusic.com/school/course/lyric-writing-writing-lyrics-to-music?pid=5091http://jonathanfeist.berkleemusicblogs.com/2014/05/22/why-rhyme-an-interview-with-pat-pattison/


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/ou2ll see how sta"le and unsta"le tones in your melody cancreate prosody.

9y the end of the wee&1 we2ll all have a song.

This will "e fun.

Cheers1%atMon 1% Aug 2014 9:00 AM PD

Wel"ome to Week #!3elcome to wee& 1 and good for you for 0nishing wee& . 9ynow you2re pretty steeped in prosody and its most eective

e$pression1 sta&le and unsta&le. /ou2ve seen it at wor& withfour tools so farNnum"er of lines1 line lengths1 rhymeschemes1 and rhyme types. This wee&1 you2ll wor& withanother tool1 rhythm

3ords have meanings1 music doesn2t. ;usic is all a"outmotion1 and motion creates e'motion. As a songwriter1 your

=o" is to marry the meanings of language to the emotion ofmusic1 enhancing "oth. The whole should "e greater than the

sum of the parts.

4f course1 lyric phrases contain motion too: rhythm produced"y arranging stressed and unstressed sylla"les into patterns.

/our =o" is to marry lyric rhythms to musical rhythms asaccurately and perfectly as you can. /our goal in this marriageis always the same: you must preser$e the natural shapeo% the lan&ua&e "y creating melodic rhythm that matchesyour sylla"ic rhythm patterns of stressed and unstressedsylla"lesE perfectly. This is called setting. It2s one of the core

meanings of prosodyNthe appropriate relationship ofelements in this case1 sylla"ic and melodic rhythmsE.

In order to set stressed and unstressed sylla"les perfectly withstressed and unstressed notes1 you must 0rst understandwhat creates stress in language and what creates stress inmusic. That2s what you2ll "e loo&ing at this wee&.


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9y the end of the wee&1 you2ll understand how to recogni)estressed and unstressed sylla"les1 and how to recogni)estressed and unstressed notes. /ou2ll see the two aspects ofsylla"ic stress: in multi'sylla"le words and in one'sylla"lewords. /ou2ll see that position in the musical "ar is the solecreator of musical stress1 and learn to set stressed sylla"les atstressed positions in the "ar1 and unstressed sylla"les atunstressed positions in the "ar. /ou2ll see that accurate settingcreates a natural'sounding line1 revealing ma$imum meaningand emotion1 while inaccurate setting always diminishesmeaning and emotion1 and lets air out of the song2s tires.

Included in the lesson are four videos from a ;aster class that

I 0lmed at 9er&lee to help reinforce the "ene0ts of preservingthe natural shape of the language.

Also1 chec& out this article on Aligning 'our (yri)al PhrasesWith 'our Melodi) Phrases.

This is where the ru""er meets the road. Qrive carefully.

A note a"out scheduling your time: spend some time this

wee& familiari)ing yourself with using Audacity orFarage9and1 and posting to Soundcloud. This will save youtime ne$t wee&1 when you will "e applying everything thatyou have learned thus far1 and spending a good deal of timerecording.

Cheers1%atMon 11 Aug 2014 9:00 AM PD

easurin& (ine (en&thHi 5ol&s1

Gm1 we7re going to see in wee& that line length is "estmeasured "y the num"er of ST8


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I await your thoughts.

Cheers1%at*ri % Aug 2014 9:00 AM PD

Wel"ome to Week )!9y now you2ve got a sense of the power of prosodyNcreatingsta"le or unsta"le structures to support sta"le or unsta"leideas. The num"er of lines you use and the way you matchthem ma&e a real dierence in the motion and e'motion ofyour sections.

9y popular demand1 I have added a "lues loop to the8esources section for you to e$periment with.

This wee&1 you2ll wor& with rhyme to help you create prosody. /ou2ll add two more powerful tools to your tool "elt: rhymeschemes and rhyme types. They will add even more depthand De$i"ility to your writing1 giving you two more ways toconstruct sta"le and unsta"le sections.

/ou2ll see how rhyme schemes1 "y themselves1 create afeeling. They can "e symmetrical1 li&e aa&& e.g.1win#spin#turn#learnE or a&a& e.g.1 win#turn#spin#learnE1creating sta"ility. 4r1 they can "e asymmetrical1 li&e a&&a e.g.1 win#turn#learn#spinE or +aaa e.g.1 win#turn#learn#yearnE1creating levels of insta"ility. All "y themselves. So your choiceof rhyme scheme ma&es a dierence. As&1 BIs this verse2s ideasta"le or unsta"le* and construct your rhyme schemeaccordingly.

And you2ll see how the si$ rhyme types wor& li&e musicalchords. They can feel sta"le perfect rhyme and family rhymeEor unsta"le to various degrees1 using more remote rhymetypes. /ou2ll learn how to open a sta"le rhyme scheme "yusing unsta"le rhyme types. It2s a great tool for &eeping yourverse rhyme schemes matched1 yet &eeping the one with asta"le idea loc&ed up tight and opening the gate for the other


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verse where the idea is less sta"le. Ta&e a loo& at 8andyewman2s B5eels Li&e Home. The four'line pre'chorus has an

+a+a rhyme scheme1 "ut the rhyme types create an unsta"le0rst pre'chorus and a perfectly sta"le second pre'chorus.


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9uy yourself a tool "elt. Let2s start 0lling it.

N%atMon 2% ul 2014 9:00 AM PD

Wel"ome to the *on&writin&+ourse!An Gpdated 3elcomeO

3hether you2re a "rand new songwriter or an old hand at it1 Ihope you2ll 0nd something useful here1 something to help you"ecome an even "etter writer.

The course is tool'"ased1 designed to dig into the craft ofsongwriting1 to show you practical strategies and techni(ues1to reveal options and opportunities you might not havenoticed. 3e2ll cover a lot of territory in the ne$t si$ wee&s. Ihope you stay for the whole course.

9efore diving into the video lectures for lesson -1 "e sure tochec& the Course Schedule1 8esources1 and Frading %olicypages for useful information a"out the course. Also1 pleasecomplete the Student Survey so that I can learn more a"outyou. /ou can access these pages1 including the survey1 fromthe left column of the course site. /ou can also access the"urrent sur$ey here .

This wee&1 you2ll loo& at strategies for 0nding and developingsong ideas1 for creating an interesting =ourney from the"eginning to the end of a song. /ou2ll loo& at Bthe "o$esNamethod for testing your song idea to see whether or not it2sa"le to cross the 0nished line. /ou2ll discover an interesting

framewor& to help e$plore your idea eectively1 in addition tostrategies for choosing the right point of view and song formfor your idea.

9e sure you have access to the following songs for this lesson:•

•


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The 9eatles•

• 4ne ;ore Qollar Fillian 3elchE performed "y Fillian 3elch•

• Still Cra)y After All These /ears %aul SimonE performed "y%aul Simon

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• In 5ront of the Alamo Fary 9urrE performed "y HalPetchum

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• It 3as a Kery Food /ear


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N%at %attison

Documents

Coursera Songwriting (Curso)