New for summer: Songwriting and Production workshop
The School of Music at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts (UNCSA) will offer a three-day workshop on songwriting and producing this summer, to be taught by guest artists—including an Emmy Award-winning composer—from Berklee College of Music, an arts conservatory in Boston.
For aspiring songwriters at least 12 years old with no upper age limit, the workshop will be Thursday through Saturday, June 21-23 on the UNCSA campus at 1533 South Main St. No audition is required to register.
Pat Pattison, who teaches lyric writing and poetry at Berklee and is one of three faculty members for UNCSA’s new Songwriting and Production Workshop, said it will offer an opportunity for songwriters to maximize their performance and expression of their ideas. “In a world filled with noise, the only way we move forward is to cut through the clutter and invest time and effort into real tools that work in effective songs and recordings,” he said.
Pattison presents songwriting clinics across the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Europe. His students include John Mayer, Gillian Welch, Tom Hambridge, Karmin, American Authors, Liz Longley, Greg Becker and Charlie Worsham. He is the author of four books about lyric writing and developed five online courses on lyric writing, poetry and creative writing.
Pat Pattison teaches lyric writing and poetry at Berklee College of Music.
Also on the faculty is Emmy Award-winning composer Stephen Webber, who has produced, engineered and played on more than 100 albums; has recorded with artists as diverse as Nas, DJ Premier, Kathy Mattea and Meshell Ndegeocello; and has performed in concert with Bela Fleck, GrandMixer DXT and Emmy Lou Harris.
Webber is executive director of BerkleeNYC, where he oversees the legendary Power Station recording studios. As dean of strategic initiatives, Webber is innovating Berklee’s curriculum across multiple campuses. He was the founding director of Berklee’s master’s program in Music Production, Technology and Innovation, and was chief technology officer of Berklee’s campus in Valencia, Spain.
Stephen Webber is an Emmy Award-winning composer who will teach during the Songwriting and Production workshop.
Clare McLeod, an assistant professor in Berklee’s voice department, rounds out the faculty. A certified master teacher in Estill Voice Training, she also trained at the National Center for Voice and Speech, and is a member of the National Association of Teachers of Singing. In addition to teaching at Berklee, she presents voice clinics regularly in Los Angeles, Colorado and Austin and continues to study developments in the voice research field.
Clare McLeod is a master teacher in voice training who will be on the faculty for the songwriting workshop this summer.
Workshop curriculum includes songwriting tools and strategies; listening like a producer; engagement; point of view/choosing the best lens; a guided tour of your voice; focus and arranging for records; phrasing/the body language of your song; an in-studio class; writing lyrics to melody; and music production.
The schedule includes two master classes, where faculty will look at participants’ songs, productions and performances, taking time to work out any kinks and focusing on tools that have proven useful to students across the globe. Participants will also have the opportunity to perform in two open mic nights.
Apartment-style housing is available for workshop participants over 18, or those under 18 who are accompanied by adult family members. Registration deadline is May 15 for those needing campus housing, and June 1 for all others.
March 28, 2018