Every artist borrows. The trick is what you do with it. Shakespeare re-worked chronicles, plays and poems into something richer: he even lifted entire passages when he saw fit. The Beatles lifted basslines, harmonies and riffs from Motown, Chuck Berry and the Everly Brothers, but bent them into their own sound. Even Bach and Beethoven took existing hymns and folk tunes, reshaping them until the sources were unrecognisable except to specialists. What lasts is never the raw material but the end result.
This workshop is for songwriters, lyricists and writers, and looks at how to use other people's work without simply ripping them off. We will explore practical strategies for re-shaping lyrics, poetry and the written word generally, and how to fold them into your own voice. Exercises will range from direct re-working of source material to looser experiments in style and structure. Along the way we will see how influence, theft, homage and originality overlap, and how every artist builds on a chain of predecessors. By the end, you will have a toolkit for making borrowed material truly your own.
Bring a notebook and pen and any material you have been working on (optional).
Please get in touch if you have any additional needs that would be helpful for us to know about, and we will try to arrange adjustments for you to better access the workshop. If you need to bring a carer with you, please let us know in advance so we can ensure there is enough space. Email us on admin@bristolfolkhouse.co.uk or call us on 01179262987.
Please note: All 10, and 12 week courses have a half term break in the middle. For term dates please visit our Contact us page. We are not open on bank holiday Mondays and any class that falls on these days will be made up at the end of term.
Fees
Refunds
Please see full terms and conditions for more information.
Latecomer
If a course has already started, please call the office as it may be possible to join after the start date. This may only be possible if the course is not already full, if it is not disruptive for the other students and you are aware that you have missed a percentage of the course and the tutor will not have time to catch you up. This will be at discretion of the Folk House. We run our courses termly, so it might be best to start at the beginning of the course.
Levels
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