Week 1 – May 7, 12:45-2:15, Hawkins Conference Room, Cyert Hall, CMU Campus

Getting to know you.  Everyone (including Brian and Deborah) will introduce themselves and say something relevant about their background and interest in songwriting.  Brian and Deborah will outline the course, and then lead class discussion of tools for writing lyrics, and strategies for starting and finishing songs, providing guidance, information and tips as needed.  As time permits, Brian and Deborah will demonstrate lyric writing, starting/finish songs, etc., with a couple of their own songs.  Students will be encouraged to start a daily habit of “object writing” or “destination writing”, and to start brainstorming ideas for a song or songs.

Week 2 – May 14, 12:45-2:15, Hawkins Conference Room, Cyert Hall, CMU Campus

First steps.  Students will bring their brainstorming ideas to class; no idea is too small (even “I can’t think of anything” is an idea for a song!).  Students will separate into two groups, one mentored by Brian and the other by Deborah.  Using student ideas as examples, Brian and Deborah will discuss a couple of popular song structures, and the process of putting chords and melody in a song.  At the end of this session, each student should have the basic sketch of a song, that they have developed individually or in collaboration.

Week 3 – May 28 (!!!), 12:45-2:15, Hawkins Conference Room, Cyert Hall, CMU Campus

Revisions and refinements.  Again students will separate into two groups, not necessarily the same groups as in Week 2, and again one group will be mentored by Brian and the other by Deborah.  All four main ideas in the “course objectives” above will be reviewed in group mentoring conversations.  The “work” will focus on refining/revising/completing lyrics and music.  At the end of this session, students should have most of a draft of their song, or a pretty good idea what they can do during the next week to get there.

Week 4 – June 4, 12:45-2:15, Hawkins Conference Room, Cyert Hall, CMU Campus

Performance.  Each song will get a performance (with student’s permission of course)!  If the student is comfortable performing their own song, then they will do it.  If not, then Deborah and/or Brian will perform their song.  (Very likely this will involve some offline communication with students during the previous week.)  Brian and Deborah will offer to record performances for students who would like that.  Students may introduce their own songs verbally, and they may react in a graceful, supportive way to others’ songs.  The session will end with a general discussion of songwriting and the students’ next steps as songwriters.