Ali Matthews Songwriting Workshop

I'll ask a bit of forgiveness in the slow blogging on this - it's Moving Week! Every day we're taking trips to our new home, packing the last of our stuff (which in reality is most of our stuff) and trying to fill out all the change-of-address forms. Crazy week, but really exciting too!

On Saturday, we joined the awesome Ali Matthews for her all day songwriting workshop. Gerald and Ali started weekly online meetings not long after GMA Week last November. I was so excited when they started - creatively they're such a good pairing. Writing, mentoring, and lots of story sharing led to an invitation to teach a few sessions at the workshop. 

Ali and Gerald sharing their songwriting wisdom!

Ali opened the day with the basics of writing, a great listening exercise, and an invitation to be brave in our writing and creativity. Gerald finished the morning with a session on creating lyrical hooks. Over lunch, we learned more about each of the songwriters - What are you writing? What are you goals? What are you listening to these days?

Gerald opened the afternoon by showing how harmonic theory can create tension and release in your music. Ali ushered the writers in the challenge of the day - write! Try something new - find a new cowriter, try a new style, or just do something that scares you.

After an hour, we gathered to hear the results, and it was incredible. One team wrote a bouncy song for spring, a young writer created the start of a worship song, and some dug deep into their broken hearts to share their pain and hope in song.

There was such a great feeling of creativity and community in everything. Ali is so generous with her knowledge and wisdom, and it was an honour to be part of today.

Photos to come soon...