Songwriting Workshop Announcement

If you lead a songwriting organization or know of songwriters who might be interested in this unique learning opportunity, please forward this message to them. Thanks for your support!

The Minnesota Association of Songwriters is pleased to announce that Pat Pattison, professor of songwriting at Berklee College of Music in Boston, will offer two days of songwriting workshops in the Twin Cities. Among other books, Pattison is the author of Writing Better Lyrics, which has been used by thousands of amateur and professional songwriters for years.

Dates for the workshops are Saturday and Sunday, October 4th and 5th. Workshops will begin at 10 am and run until 4 pm each day. At this point, the tentative workshop location is The Tara Event Hall, 2900 Rice St. in Little Canada.

The package price for both days of workshops is $130; individual workshops are $75. Registered high school or college students may attend at $65 for one workshop or $120 for both.

Professor Pattison has provided the following descriptions of the workshops; the Saturday workshop is titled Verse Development:
- Solve Second Verse Hell quickly and easily by learning what to look for in a title and how to develop the flow of ideas BEFORE you waste time writing a lyric that dead-ends in some dark alley. Learn how to advance your ideas so the song gains rather than loses interest as it moves forward. Find out how to create a chorus or refrain that can be repeated effectively without having to change the words each time. This seminar will save you time and channel your energies efficiently, allowing you to write more songs and better songs.

The Sunday workshop is focused on Rewriting:
- This seminar, presented in a Master Class format, will use participants' songs to demonstrate the rewriting process. We will focus on various issues, including verse development, productive repetition, phrasing, effective matching of lyric and melody, structure and prosody. We'll try to focus particularly on polishing those small bumps that distract the listener and let air escape from the song's tires.

Please check your calendars and notify me ASAP if you want a spot in these workshops. Although walk-up registrations may be accepted at each workshop, depending on the number of attendees, we encourage you to reserve your place in advance. To do so, please make your check out to Pat Pattison and mail it to:

MAS
PO Box 4262
St. Paul, MN 55104

Thank you for your interest and consideration. We look forward to seeing you there!

Wayne Hamilton
President, Minnesota Association of Songwriters

Twin Cities Chapter
Coordinator