Foundation Diploma in Professional Musicianship - Songwriting

The module is designed to afford students the opportunity to develop their songwriting analysis skills and broaden their knowledge of a wide range of musical styles, with specific focus on the songwriting techniques used when creating and performing original songs. These are skills that are invaluable to anyone wishing to create enduring and moving song material.

The module will be delivered in two sessions each week, focusing respectively on songwriting techniques and live performance. Lecture-based classes will explore elements of ‘songcraft’, such as harmonic progression, melodic contour, lyric creation, rhythmic lyrical structure, song form and song structural dynamic, with a focus on industry-relevant professional songwriting skills.

Students will then have an opportunity to apply these techniques and realise original compositions in a Group Performance Workshop session, where they will receive lecturer and peer feedback on their work. Study in this module should not be considered in isolation but will be most effective and authentic when informed by, and referenced against, study in the Song Stylistics and Creative Music Theory modules.

Many successful writers working within the industry have not only developed their own unique personal approach to writing, but also have a robust understanding of working in a variety of musical styles.

In this module the student will have the opportunity to explore specific composition and arrangement techniques when working in a wide range of genres. This will enable them to more fully understand the process and mechanics of songwriting, while also informing the development of their own songwriting style.

This module is designed to support songwriters in further developing their knowledge and skills relating to the live performance for their original songs. Lecture-based classes focus on how arrangement, instrumentation, dynamic range, song form, structure, and performance approach. This learning is then applied in group performance workshops, where students implement arrangement and performance techniques, and have the opportunity to give and receive peer and lecturer feedback.

The Module culminates in a summative assessment, evaluating a Live Song Arrangement Performance for one song, in the context of the Module’s Learning Outcomes.

The module is designed to afford students the opportunity to develop Live Arrangement skills and broaden their knowledge of a wide range of musical styles and approaches. These are skills that are invaluable to anyone wanting to present song material live.

An understanding of fundamental music theory concepts will enable students to better understand the mechanics of what they are playing and how it fits within a creative musical context. It will also allow students to communicate more confidently with other musicians and allow them to articulate their musical ideas more concisely. An introduction to these concepts will enable students to further explore their compositional creativity by revealing potential harmonic and rhythmic possibilities which may have been previously unexplored.

The ability to navigate the world of Digital Audio recording is an essential part of the modern musician’s skillset. Over the course of this module, you will learn how to set-up a virtual recording ‘session’, create high-quality audio and virtual instruments recordings, and manipulate these recordings quickly and effectively. You will be encouraged to apply these skills to original writing, enhanced by knowledge acquired in the Music Theory component of the module.