I Had Fun!
What Title ...
I chose the Two Story House. I liked the idea of 2 stories associated with a house. I didn't try to write the complete song ... I'll leave that for another day.
I often write from a title, so I didn't have too much trouble with this exercise. I'm stronger on words than music. When it comes to writing melody, I struggle, which is why I co-write on the music.
My first attempt had such a sad ending - the guy's wife left him and the bank foreclosed and took the house ... I had to re-write it to keep the family together, and have him sell the house instead.
Comments on Pat and the Course ...
I love Pat's storytelling approach. We all do because we're songwriters are we're suckers for a good story.
The deadline pressure is necessary and I'm grateful for it. It's in our nature, as creative people, to procrastinate.
Being able to go back and make a change AFTER submitting the assignment, now that's sheer genius on Pat's part. Don't we all get that really great idea the day after we "finish" something?
Seeing the note from Pat on the coursera site re: the "point of view" quiz was very cool. It make me realize that he is still there, monitoring. He didn't just do the videos and leave us alone. There must be hundreds or thousands doing this course right now and he can't talk to us individually, but he is trying to keep the personal connection.
Coursera's technical stewardship is excellent and I will definitely consider more courses through them.
It doesn't seem to matter how many times I've gone over this material, each time I sit down to read a new book or take a course it all becomes fresh again and there are new insights gained.
Comments on SAC's Facebook Platform ....
I find the facebook group to be far even more useful than the actual songwriting course. This is an excellent way for SAC to add value to what it gives members for their membership fee, especially members who do not live in an urban center and cannot attend the workshops.
The blogging is a good way to deal with the comments of so many people. Details get lost on facebook with such a large group. It would be helpful if SAC created a "resources" page that we could all add links to, for example, the page with all the songs and lyrics.
Most of my time this week was spent reading your websites and listening
to your work. You've given me lots of ideas! I've got you all
bookmarked and I hope to go back to your sites when the buzz of the
course dies down, and get to know you all much better.
I have to say Dawn, well written blog and insight into this journey we are all on. Pleasure reading your take on it.
ReplyDeleteCheers
http://www.northeaston.ca/#!blog/c1cd6
Great Blog Dawn and I really like the idea of a Resources group tho we've probably all individually created our on own from the various people we connect with during courses like these.
ReplyDeleteAs you saw I also chose the Two Story House idea tho I went more positive by the sounds of it.
I also was pleasantly surprised to see Pat's note about "Eleanor Rigby"--just after I took the quiz, during which my first response was "both"--and then I had to figure out which one it should have been. :-) I love your idea of a resources page--I keep accidentally closing the tabs where the lists are located. And you'd think that would tell me to bookmark it somewhere... :-)
ReplyDeleteI also like the SAC Course Challenge Facebook Group. Great blog! Hey, I'm always getting great ideas AFTER I post something! Hahaha that's just typical, isn't it? Good to know I'm not the only one!
ReplyDeleteHi Dawn, I really appreciate your comments-- from so many angles-- on Week 1. Love your comment "The deadline pressure is necessary and I'm grateful for it." That's a nice way to look at it. I find that procrastination is actually a big part of my writing process (as some folks here might know!) :) Sometimes I need to encourage myself and think that procrastinating, in reality, is processing.
ReplyDelete