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10044297
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The importance of this program arises from the collaboration achieved between songwriters that can perform, workshop and network with other performers in their craft. The group is focused on songwriting with an emphasis on clarity and telling a story. The goals of the group are to encourage songwriting, introduce songwriting shows to audiences in our area and to enlighten the public about the craft of songwriting and its value just as art shows present physical representations of creativity and art.
The program offers a great deal of flexibility in its format for attendees with varied songwriting interests and abilities. Some of the attendees play instruments and some are curious about songwriting and the process. Lyrics can sometimes only pare up with others that play instruments and put music with the words. Some writers don’t sing, but enjoy hearing others perform their songs. Some of the performances can be a cappella. Some members of the group write one to three songs between sessions and some write more. Sometimes as busy as life gets, writers don’t get to write new material between meetings. We don’t pressure anyone to write, and we don’t criticize anyone. We treat each other with respect. We don’t discuss politics, use profanity or write antagonistic lyrics.
The group meets once a month and listens to each other’s songs, brainstorms ideas, discusses chord progressions and encourages each other to keep writing. At the end of each session, we pick three prompts to spur us on with ideas for the next month. The prompts can be objects, phrases, feelings, colors, senses or any other topics members think of. Our writers can use the topics to help them write a song or two before the next session.
The focus is not on the beauty of the voice or skill of the instrumentation, but the clearness of the pronunciation and the effect of the song. We work on making sure the audience can hear every word. We are not professional musicians but we are creators of musical stories and that is the beauty of it. The sessions are open to anyone visiting the museum. Genres are not specified. Songs can be instrumental, folk, country, bluegrass, Americana, Blues, Humorous, Jazz, R&B, electronic, and even pop, to name a few. Writers are allowed to bring CDs for sale and to accept tips after performances.
As an extension of this program, each quarter we invite songwriters to attend the “Writers-in-the-Round” or WITR concerts. WITR consists of three to five writers together in a circle or on stage. Each writer introduces themself, gives the title of their song and then sings it with or without accompaniment. Writers can take questions from the audience following performing their song. Discussion will follow concerning the origins of the song, how they wrote it or the song’s inspiration.
Sign up at www.highlandsappalachia.org coming soon.
