Songwriting Course at Arvon

Last September (2013) I attended a songwriting workshop at a beautiful old manor called Totleigh Barton, in deepest mid-Devon.

It is a creative centre run by Arvon (http://www.arvon.org/) offering residential, week long courses, in a rural location (no mobile phone signal and no internet!).

The accommodation is simple, comprising of room with a single bed, desk, chair and chest of drawers. There is a large dining room in the medieval part of the manor, a library and a converted barn (containing many sofas and a grand piano).

We were greeted on Monday afternoon by the centre staff who laid on a real Devon cream tea. As other attendees arrived the course tutors introduced themselves. They would be hosting workshops and personal tutorial time.

Our two very talented singer/songwriting tutors were

 

Boo Hewerdine (http://www.boohewerdine.net/),

 

and

 

 

 Karine Polwart (http://www.karinepolwart.com/)

 

On an Arvon course the tutors are usually joined by a guest on Wednesday.

 

 In our case this was Mark Freegard (http://kyotistudio.com/) the owner/producer of Kyoti Studios, Glasgow, who actually stayed for the whole week and patiently recorded some of

the songs written during that tme.

Most mornings consisted of a singing/vocal warm-up with Karine, followed by songwriting challenges from Karine and Boo. These consisted of writing three verses for a song on a given subject (30 minutes), then reading them out and working on them later. On occasions this meant writing the tune to another persons lyrics, or collaborating with someone.

During the week everyone helped cook a meal and wash up. In addition to the workshops, there was evening entertainment; a quiz, a concert by the two tutors, sing-arounds.

As the course progressed, some of the finished songs were recorded by Mark, who had set up his studio in the library. The CD of 20 or so songs was played in the barn on the last night. This was a great way of showing what everyone was working on during the week.

The friendships made over the week have been great, with many of us continuing to correspond via Facebook.

The validation I gained from the course has encouraged me to get on with recording my own CD. The initial tracks are currently being laid down, as time permits.

Also, I had to deal with the results from my tests for Cancer that I had shelved while I had this amazing week.