Rhythm and Flow: A Songwriting Workshop, will be presented on Saturday, May 2 in partnership with 7DrumLessons Studio and Flashband at the 2015 Funk Parade. This free event, facilitated by award winning singer and songwriter, Mary Alouette, will discuss musical form, melody and style with a strong focus on pop and contemporary songwriting to discover what elements make a song a hit. This workshop is part of the Ourselves: We Sing series from Washington Performing Arts.
This workshop on poetry and songwriting is for adults interested in learning how to create their first song or improving their current songwriting skills. Attendees need no prior experience, just an idea and a desire to write music. This is the perfect opportunity to take that tune in your head and turn it into a song. Experienced songwriters who have a solid grasp on the craft of songwriting and the music industry will have the opportunity to hone their skills.
Ourselves: We Sing is a suite of programs created by Washington Performing Arts’ Mars Urban Arts Initiative designed to explore poetry as an art form and its varied interpretations and presentations. By examining the political, spiritual, musical, historical, and personal meanings of poetry in society, Washington Performing Arts aims to convene artists and writers from the academic communities and the performance communities to present the similarities between music and poetry.
Washington Performing Arts will work with the local creative writing community, local scholars, and local musicians to explore the global themes of expression, aesthetic variation, and intent in song and verse. This unique suite of programs will also incorporate the music and poetry of local musicians and poets as the Mars Urban Arts Initiative seeks to explore and showcase poetry’s role as a connector and an art form that provides endless opportunities for engagement and expression by artists and audiences alike.
The Mars Urban Arts Initiative is a new initiative created by Washington Performing Arts in May 2014 through the support of Jacqueline Badger Mars and Mars, Incorporated. The Mars Urban Arts Initiative seeks to fuel joint planning between Washington Performing Arts and grassroots neighborhood arts makers, local businesses, arts institutions, and local residents. Through the Initiative, Washington Performing Arts utilizes its resources and connections with national and international artists to facilitate artist-to-artist dialogue, the sharing of artistic principles, and programs that amplify the voice and prominence of artists (performance/visual) living in the Washington, D.C. community.
Event Info: Saturday, May 2, 2015 from 12:00 pm to 2:00 pm at 7 Drum Lessons Studio, 2008 8th St NW, Washington, DC 20001. Don’t forget to bring your own instrument. It is recommended that you bring a notepad and pen and a portable audio recording device. This is a free event, but you must RSVP at http://register.washingtonperformingarts.org/auxiliary/Reserve.aspx?p=2963
