Adrianne Lenker Announces Songwriting Workshop

Mikey Buishas

Adrianne Lenker Announces Songwriting Workshop

Mikey Buishas

Big Thief’s Adrianne Lenker is teaching a songwriting workshop. It’ll take place early next year through School Of Song, which has also hosted similar workshops taught by Robin Pecknold, Taja Cheek of L’Rain, Xenia Rubinos, and more.

Lenker’s class will be taught via Zoom on four Sundays in January, with lectures taking place at 11AM PT and 6PM PT, with recorded versions of the lessons available after. There will also be weekly song-sharing sessions and an hour-long live Q&A with Lenker. The course costs $160. Here’s the official course description:

In Adrianne Lenker’s songwriting workshop, we will begin with the understanding that songs emerge from an ever-mysterious source within us – our subconscious, our inner child, magic, the universe. Our primary task as songwriters is to ensure this source remains unblocked and unhindered. This workshop will cover how Adrianne navigates this unblocking process throughout all facets of life to get back to the place where songs come from.
 
Building upon this open foundation, we delve into song craft, touching on key elements of Adrianne’s approach. We’ll explore how open tunings can transform the guitar into a landscape of drones and bass lines, welcoming resonant melodies to emerge. We’ll consider how various guitar techniques (e.g. strummed cowboy chords,  fingerpicking) affect the expression of the songwriter’s identity. Lyrically, we’ll examine the process of drawing from personal experiences to create lyrics that balance the specific with the universal. Throughout the workshop, students will learn to write lyrics that highlight the beauty and magic often overlooked in our daily existence, revealing the depth that lies beneath the veneer of the mundane.
 
Join us in January as Adrianne gives our community insight into her process. You will leave the course with several new original songs of your own, and with new connections to fellow songwriters all over the world.

More details here.

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