UK Songwriting Festival - ProfilesArchive

About Me

The 2008 Festival is now over. Please check out the SWF blog for photos, songs, posts and more. http://uksongwritingfestival.vox.com/
The 2008 festival dates were 18-22 August 2008. If you want critiques of your material, please join us online at the songwriters' forum .

The UK Songwriting Festival is now in its sixth year. It's a week-long residential event, held at Bath Spa University every August.Most of our visitors live on-site during the festival; there are formal or informal songwriting activities throughout the day and well into the evening.

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Facilities
SWF students have access to our industry-standard facilities, including songwriting rooms, 5 recording studios and full-band rehearsal rooms (PA system, drums, keyboards, backline etc). You'll be working in the inspiring atmosphere of our Newton Park grounds, landscaped by Capability Brown.

Curriculum
Daily lectures deal with the process of songwriting. Sessions may cover specific techniques (making lyrics singable, chorus construction, using imagery, melodic shaping, applying music theory, chord change frequencies, composing with guitar/keyboard) or more general writing tools (beating writer's block, editing your material, avoiding plagiarism, using visuals as inspiration). Practical workshops enable students to share their songs in a friendly, supportive small group atmosphere, guided by a tutor who is also an experienced songwriter. Guest speakers from the music industry discuss their own perspective on the craft of songwriting. House band sessions provide the opportunity for you to hear your own songs played by a professional session band.

We've posted some songwriters' comments from previous festivals.

Tutors

All of our tutors are professional musicians and songwriters, and many of them teach songwriting on Bath Spa's nationally-respected Commercial Music degree programme . The tutors have extensive experience and knowledge of copyright and the music industry, and will be happy to answer any questions you may have about these areas.

Tutors' biogs

Accommodation and catering - see FAQ

My Interests

Music:

Member Since: 3/8/2006
Band Website: http://www.uksongwritingfestival.com
Band Members:

Tutors' biogs

Type of Label: Major

My Blog

We want your songs!

If you want critiques of your own songs (and the chance to add your own views about other songwriters' work) visit our new discussion forum - register for a free account and join our community of song...
Posted by on Sat, 04 Apr 2009 02:36:00 GMT

2009 Festival now booking

We're now taking bookings for the 2009 Festival (17-21 August 2009). See the main site for details.SWF main siteSWF blogTutors 2009
Posted by on Sat, 04 Apr 2009 02:30:00 GMT

SWF 2008 - last few places!

SWF Studio option is now sold out for 2008. There are still a few places left on the workshop option (which still includes some studio recording!). See the main site for more.
Posted by on Fri, 11 Jul 2008 11:36:00 GMT

Richard Thompson at SWF08

We're delighted to announce that songwriting legend Richard Thompson will be joining us as a guest tutor for part of the 2008 festival. Richard will be presenting a masterclass/workshop about his song...
Posted by on Sun, 09 Mar 2008 10:47:00 GMT

Songwriting festival 2008 - now booking!

The festival is now booking - for more info, FAQ, booking info and updates, take a look at our main site.
Posted by on Tue, 22 Jan 2008 10:04:00 GMT

Nizlopi at SWF

We're pleased to announce that Nizlopi will be appearing at the SWF 2007. Luke will be popping in during the afternoon of day 2, and will be joining the songwriters' team on our demo panel, then all S...
Posted by on Fri, 06 Jul 2007 15:45:00 GMT

Ivor Novello award winner Iain Archer confirmed as guest

We're delighted to welcome Snow Patrol's Iain Archer as our guest for the 2007 festival. A singer-songwriter for more than ten years, Iain is best-know for being part of the writing gteam behind Snow ...
Posted by on Sat, 09 Jun 2007 04:56:00 GMT

Songwriting Festival FAQ

Thanks for all the enquiries from songwriters who want to know more about what we do. See below for a few helpful links;If you want to find out more about the Songwriting Festival, please read the Abo...
Posted by on Wed, 11 Apr 2007 03:37:00 GMT

Songwriting 2007 - NOW BOOKING!

Hi everyone,This is just a quick note to let you know that we are now taking bookings for SWF 2007. We've expanded, and have more lectures, workshops, recording sessions, live band sessions, and speci...
Posted by on Sat, 24 Mar 2007 11:18:00 GMT

Studying songwriting in Bath

Here at Bath Spa we're considering setting up some study routes that would allow people to study songwriting at postgraduate level. Most applicants would already have a music degree or equivalent leve...
Posted by on Thu, 16 Nov 2006 06:15:00 GMT