View sample 2025 Class Schedule—2026 schedule coming soon!
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Melody Walker
Writing the Instant Classic (Two-session class)
There are myriad valid ways to write songs, but in this class we will explore the fairly narrow road of hit songwriting. The “instant classic” is a song that feels like it has always existed, like it could have been written in Tin Pan Alley, the Brill Building or Music Row in Nashville today (well, maybe the ’90s). Sometimes the strictest limitations give us creative freedom and liberate us from the impossible expectation of reinventing the wheel, or the weight of the personal memoir. This is the class for folks who have written several songs of their own but want to know how to go from good songs to GREAT songs. Songs that can connect with a wide audience and convey a clear and catchy message. Bring your big ideas, great titles, hooks, and concepts, and by the end of this session, most students will have written their own personal hit song.
Eric Long
TBA (Two-session class)
Michael McNevin
Beginnings and Endings (Workshop)
Beginnings and endings are the bookends of a compelling song. When the ear is open and waiting, that first lyric line or riff is the spark for a listener’s curiosity. It may only happen once, but it says, “There is more to come, get ready for a ride.” Can we also conjure a unique outro that brings the song home? We’ll explore examples, share a few of our own and improve our bookends for “pop” and “finish.”
If a Song Is a Sandwich (Workshop)
If a song is a sandwich, and the beginning and ending is the bread, then what’s in the middle? The hook and chorus may be the main ingredients, but it’s a bland sandwich without more in it. How about the unpredictable? How about surprises? Along with the basics of hook, chorus, verses and bridge, we’ll explore the “fixings” that make your song a tasty blend of thoughts and flavors and set your creation apart from all the other song sandwiches. Note: You will not be prompted to write a food song in this class.
Michael Mcnevin & LAURA BENSON
Get Comfy on Stage (Workshop)
Shaky knees? Forgot the lyrics? Frog in your throat? You’re not alone! Remember, most people are more afraid of public speaking than they are of death. Overcome the fear of one of these (or maybe both) in this workshop full of tips and tricks for getting comfortable onstage. If you’re already cozy up there, even if you perform regularly, you can always hone your craft and advance your stage game. Seasoned pros are also welcome!
DAVE PASCOE
Find Your Missing Chord (Workshop)
Seeking a unique and beautiful chordal soulmate for your almost-finished song? Fret not! Harmonic love is everywhere for songwriters who know where to look. In this workshop, we’ll talk a little and share a lot as we match up writers with their missing chords. Bring a new song—ideally close to finished—and an open mind.
LATE FOR THE TRAIN (Dave pascoe & Laura Benson)
Copacetic Co-Writing (Workshop)
You don’t always have to go it alone as a songwriter. This hands-on class will walk you through the art of the co-write, with exercises you can use to collaboratively write lyrics and melodies to build musical arrangements that are greater than the sum of their parts.
Devon McClive
Creative Gymnastics (Workshop)
Work your creative muscles by participating in timed exercises to create a bounty of lyrics, melodies or chord progressions in a short period of time. The more outrageous the outcome, the better. We’ll leave all judgment at the door and share our ideas. Together we’ll find the best of each of our ideas from the session and use it as a building block for a song. This will be a class to think outside the box, stretch your creative boundaries and create a batch of fresh ideas.
SEVERIN BROWNE
TBA (Workshop)
Stan DeWitt
Writing from the Big Ideas (Workshop)
Songwriters often begin with a kernel of an idea—a prompt, an object, an emotion—expanding it into a song. But another approach is to begin with a “big idea”—a larger story or concept—and fill it in from the bottom up. Stan will illustrate this approach using examples from his work, including his rock opera, Silver Bullet, and a biographical project, to walk you through the process of creating your own little big song!
Harmony Choir (Daily class)
Camp Choir is more than just a choir. It is a class on how to create and sing harmonies, and work on a couple of songs to be sung at the end of camp! There is something for every singer of every level. Come learn how to sing well with others!
Sara Glaser
Ooh Eeh Ooh Aah Aah (Ting Tang Walla Walla Bing Bang) (Workshop)
Whether it’s “Witch Doctor” or Hamlet’s famous monologue, syllables that sing delight the ear. This workshop will help you spice up the sound of your lyrics and get them to roll off the tongue. We’ll do a song-starting exercise, employing a smorgasbord of vowels to find irresistible lines around which to build songs. Feel free to bring lines from songs that are stuck in your craw—we’ll workshop them as a group.
Rebecca Troon
Morning Stretch & Tunes with Troon (Daily class)
Start the day with Troon’s voice tuning and toning, and tuning your body too. Stretch your body and voice, wake up and warm up for an amazing day.
Troon plays banjo, fiddle and guitar, so look for her “at large” in camp, coaching and chipping in on songs.
Mark Dann
Running the Basses (Workshop)
Accompany anybody on the bass after one class? Yes, it can be done. Bring a bass if you have it, or just a guitar if you don’t. If anyone coming to camp has a spare bass to loan to others, that would be great.
GarageBand 101 (Workshop)
Have a Mac? Then you have GarageBand and you can record yourself on it.
Song Charts and Cheat Sheets (Workshop)
A lyric sheet with chords written above it only works if you already know how the song goes. What if you need a chart to give to someone, or to remember how your own song goes? We’ll address all this and more.
Mark is also the camp Guitar Doctor. Yes, he diagnoses and fixes guitars. And Mark is a staple at our evening coffeehouse shows. Grab him for help on your song arrangements and/or tap him to be your backup band leader.
All Teachers & Coaches
Writing Hall for All / Pick Your Poison
Friday–Sunday, 10:30am–12:30pm and 2:30pm–4:30pm, stay in the main lodge or find a special spot to work with our teachers and coaches, with peers or by yourself. Improve your instrumental chops with our teachers; refine your lyrics or melody with a coach; jam with others in the Crafts Lodge; practice at the Amphitheater Open Mic; or go on a Haiku walk with Arturo.
Song Finishing
Have you ever been stuck on that one verse, or been unable to find a graceful exit out of your song, or just feel that your song needs some luster? Fret not! Our teachers and coaches are here to help you finish up and get your song polished for Sunday night’s New Song Coffee House!