I have been teaching songwriting in Calgary all week. My students here are earnest, a little older, and great listeners. That makes it enjoyable for me. I teach them that the songs are coming to them for a reason. And the reason is that their souls are trying to help them heal. Almost always from trauma. Usually, from childhood trauma. I teach them them that as they heal, they help the world heal. Songs are like white blood cells, coagulants….for the heart/soul. The students find this theory frightening at first. Then it grows on them. They don’t want to admit to their trauma, they come in hiding it with all of their might. And usually, hiding it in their writing, from themselves. But I tell them that songs come to a songwriter to help heal emotional blows so low that their frequencies reverberate in a body and soul for a lifetime. Songs are not products for a market place. They are spiritual medicine for a world gone wrong. They help re-set the balance, in the direction of truth, connection, freedom. At least thats my theory. All other reasons for writing that I come up are not as good as this one. So I teach this. We heal when we connect with each other. As artists, we can learn to connect through our art. To ourself, then to each other. The vast majority of my students are disconnected from themselves in some ways. So I become an arm chair therapist, I try to get them to speak/sing of their deeper truths. I try take them down the road to their own voice, the voice they are most terrified of. When they land there, on the sound of their own voice, they often weep. Those are the moments I live for as a teacher. Once a writer finds their voice, they can’t forget that it exists. I hope my students will go out into the word and use that voice. It’s their decision, but if I do my job, they are now aware that they are making a decision, to use, or not use their own voice. This is what I do my best to teach.
Posted on: Thu, 24 Jul 2014 14:39:40 +0000
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