Last Sunday marked the conclusion of the Local Voices Songwriting Workshop series, and what a great experience it’s been! All of the participants shared an interest in music and song, though only a couple had any musical training. The workshops’ design allowed everyone to discover their inner poet and composer. Through creative thinking exercises and a crash course in poetry writing, Felix Nobis had us tapping into experiences and stories to create a lyrical setting for our songs. A diverse range of topics and styles emerged, and we had the opportunity to revise and hone our lyrics in preparation for the composition workshops. Clare Chadderton, Paola del Rio and Katrina Dowling introduced us to some building blocks of music and song, helping us see how our lyrics could shape the music and the music enhance the lyrics. They then worked with each of us, helping to compose music for our lyrics and creating joy and excitement for the participants in the process. The range of songs includes:
“The pilgrims’ way”, “Cornerstone Jesus”, “Welcome to this table”, “New life and new beginning”, “God of love and goodness” and “Free agents”.
I’d like to publicly thank our workshop leaders for their generous sharing of time and skill, and for the excitement that seeing a creation come to life has brought to us as participants. I’m looking forward to a reunion of the group in a couple of months’ time to hear the polished products!
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