Hit Songwriting

Hit Songwriting Super-Course | London

This course combines the best material of our Hit Songwriting, Chart Music Production, and Advanced Songwriting & Vocal Production Courses in an exciting 8-session programme that will transform the way you write, produce, record and perform your music.

The main focus of the course is not so much the technical production aspect-we cover this in much greater depth in our other courses-but the emotional side of music. Taking the listener on a journey from beginning to middle to end involves a deep knowledge of all the elements that are under our control as writers, producers and performers.

You may be proficient in one area (i.e. lyrics, programming, singing) but in today’s music business you really need to understand how the many different facets of modern music creation are brought together and have a good grasp of all the skills involved, even if you end up collaborating with someone who complements your strengths.

Many of you will have experienced the painful reality of being turned away by industry gatekeepers or struggling to build a fanbase. Help is at hand! Have a look at the exciting topics we will be covering in this course:

Days 1&2: The Foundations Of Great Songwriting

• Is there a formula for writing a hit song without sounding formulaic? There is!
• The Five Emotions that underlie every element of every song-in any style of music!
• Melodies that move people-how to write from the heart whilst knowing exactly what you’re doing
• Lyrics that tell a story or describe a special moment in time-no more generic filler or embarrassing rhymes!
• Start writing your own lyric from scratch and rewrite and polish it with the help of the tutor and the whole group

Days 3&4: Further Breakthrough Songwriting Principles And Exercises

• Chords that build the emotional foundation for the song – no more head-scratching or using bland apps.
• Melodic Rhythm-a hugely underrated skill that will make a big difference to your songwriting if you master it
• Chorus development and insider hook writing tricks that you’ll wish you’d heard about sooner
• Many unique concepts and practical exercises that are far removed from boring music lessons: The Zookeeper, The Assassin, The Brainwash
• Finish the song you started on day one and walk home with a polished professional lyric you can use for your own songwriting career

Days 5&6 : Production: The Crucial 4th Pillar Of Songwriting

• How to listen to music-really listen-to reveal the beauty of modern songwriting and production and how you can use examples from the best craftspeople in the business to polish your own songs to a higher degree than ever before
• The three assets that any track needs to have in order to resonate with the audience-and the industry!
• The importance of rhythm and groove how to build exciting drum tracks
• Assemble a professional sound palette to supercharge your songwriting-you will be amazed at how much more inspiration you’ll get from using pro sounds rather than what is built into Garageband or smartphone/tablet apps! Some of these sounds and effects are free or very cheap-but you need to know where the pros look!

Days 7&8 : Final Advanced Insights, Singing&Vocal Production And Practical Work

• Advanced melody, harmony and lyrics including in-depth analysis of recent hit songs with the help of a unique, high-tech songwriting “dashboard”
• How to sing like a pro and how to produce singers like a pro-the mysteries of vocal technique, recording and editing revealed, including the all-important psychology of singing!
• Bring in your own material and have it optimised by our instructor Alex Von Soos which means you will be co-writing with a No.1 writer without having to give up any of your publishing share!
• “Career Advice”: a personalised training plan for the time after the course so you can get to where you want to get without too many detours!

It really is a complete, totally integrated system for coming up with with beautiful music that moves people. You will appreciate music-including your own-like never before and whether you want to become professional songwriters yourselves one day or simply write your best songs ever, you will find all the secrets revealed in this course-just bring your own talent and luck!

We’re confident that our course presents superb value for money-why sit through months or years of degree courses that are padded out with filler material and spend thousands in the process? Or, even worse, acquire the knowledge you need in piecemeal fashion from Youtube videos, cheap online tutorials or ineffective weekend courses? Plus, much of the material presented here is simply not available anywhere else, because it is based on our own obsessive research into what makes a great song great!

“Thanks Alex for delivering such a brilliant course, I really enjoyed it and am amazed at how much I have learnt from you in such a short space of time!  I never thought that I could realistically become a proper songwriter as I wasn’t sure I had what it takes but now I am starting to believe that I may do and I am looking forward to making it a part of my everyday life. Thought I would just be a singer but wow, now I know why I’ve always had an ear for music as well asa way with writing words – it was to be a Singer-Songwriter! Who knows I may even be half as good at it as you are someday :-)” – Lucinda Wilson

“The course was amazing. It’s the education I should have had at school. I have learnt so many new ways of writing and analysing. It was a fun course to do and I couldn’t believe that the lessons were all day as the time just flew by each time. I’ve found a new love for listening to Radio 1 which I lost many years ago. It was thoroughly enjoyable and Alex just has so much knowledge that he is happy to share with people. The course is terrific value for money. Everyone’s equality and diversity was recognised and everyone was treated with dignity and respect. If you only ever do one thing in your life, make sure it’s this course.” Mike Wheeler

“I really enjoyed every second of the course and will try to take every new tool and tip on board. Already listening completely differently to songs on the radio.” – Ruud Boon

“Alex is friendly, resourceful and very approachable. He creates a friendly, relaxed, non-judgmental environment where we all felt at ease. He is very passionate in what he does and that reflects very well onto the course. Alex has been very generous in sharing his knowledge with us, he always answered our questions in great detail, and provided excellent, detailed and very honest critique on our lyrics (and any other material which we brought in even though it was not part of the course).

Before starting the course I was a bit skeptical about how much this course was going to give me in terms of knowledge. How wrong was I!!! I now feel like I’m a far better songwriter and looking back at my old songs I can clearly see where I was going wrong. It’s unbelievable that you can progress so much in such a short time of 6 weeks! I can now write lyrics and melody, which is on par with songs in the top 40 chart! The wealth of information given in this course, which you can’t find in any textbook or the Internet, the little but important tricks, and Alex’s exercises puts you light years ahead in terms of songwriting.

All in all, this course has exceeded my expectations by miles, I never in a millions years expected to progress immensely and that so much information could be jam-packed in such a short time. I am very glad that I did this course; it was a real pleasure to work with Alex and to meet some fantastic people on the course!” – Hakan Burcu

“Many thanks for a brilliant course! You’ve really pulled back the curtain on songwriting and I can’t wait to start applying it all to my own songs – it’s great! Thanks :)” – Mike Campbell

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Songwriting Super Course | 11:30am to 6:30pm | £599

A) Winter Intensive: January 9-19 with rest/assignment days from January 13-15
B) Spring Weekend: April 14&15, 21&22,  28&29, May 5&6
C) Summer Intensive: August 25 to September 2 with a rest/assignment day on 29 August
D) Autumn Weekend: October 27&28, November 3&4, 10&11, 17&18

2019: Similar schedule

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