Inclusive Songwriting Workshops by Dan Whitehouse
I’m writing to share a technique called THE IMMERSION METHOD. I’ve found it to be a great ‘song starter’ within songwriting workshops. I’m a singer songwriter and community musician based in Birmingham. My new album Dreamland Tomorrow due on May 1st 2020 will be my 2nd release on Reveal Records and I’ve been delivering songwriting workshops for MAC Makes Music since 2010. I find the balance of my own songwriting and community music works well and the two things feed one another.
The Frustrated Songwriter’s Handbook by Karl Coryat and Nicholas Dobson
This book is all about The Immersion Method of songwriting, and I discovered it in 2009, when BBC 6 Music DJ Tom Robinson invited me to take part in a songwriting retreat in rural Kent. He advised I purchase and read the book before I ventured out to the retreat, and I can say with confidence it’s the best £15 I’ve ever spent!
The Immersion Method (IMM)
‘The Immersion Method’ is an approach to songwriting, centered around immersing oneself in the process of creation, and (temporarily at least) snubbing any desire to produce end product. It is best described as a game. There are rules to follow, there’s a recommended environment, and a target of generating lots of new raw material, up to 20 new songs in a day!
I like this method because although it is a writing technique at its core, the approach is performance based. The idea is that all musical actions are recorded in real time and rarely repeated. The aim is to connect with our inner child, our playful creative self that perhaps we’ve lost, or at least had ironed out of us over the years!
I’ve found the approach to often be a great match for the needs of community music participants. All of the suggested games are quick and easy to action, allowing different participants to ‘pass the baton’ amongst the group and lead different parts of the workshop/songwriting process.
Some of my favourites are:
Newspaper Headline –headlines and advertising slogans can be great inspiration for titles and opening lines of songs (don’t forget you can use google for this too).
Radio – turn the radio onto a music station for 10-15 seconds. Then try to remember and replay what you heard.
The Reverse – try playing something and spin it backwards
Melody Anagram – pick a melody, figure it out and then change the order
Mouth Music – Remember when you were 15 years old and you would tell your friends about this rocking new song you heard?
Picture – use google images or use a photograph from your collection to inspire a lyric
Alliteration Attack – Pick a word at random, then choose another word that begins with the same letter or combination of letters, e.g. Sultans of Swing
Here is an example of the radio game, taken from a MMM project ‘Out Loud’ at Hallmoor School in Birmingham
Turn the radio on and invite participants to listen for 10-15 seconds
Hit stop, invite participant to sing back what they heard and immediately start recording into the looper.
2. Lost in translation, a new melody is born, playback this melody, edit, slow down, speed up, repeat notes as the group sees fit.
Biography
Dan Whitehouse is an acclaimed and award winning singer/songwriter whose new album Dreamland Tomorrow is due for release May 1st 2020 on Reveal Records Dan has toured and collaborated with label mates Joan as Police Woman, Kris Drever and Eddi Reader alongside his own shows and festival appearances.
Twitter: @dan_whitehouse
Reviews
“Lyrics which involuntarily swerve your gaze to the sky” - Music Week "Sensational!" - Tom Robinson, BBC Radio 6 Music
“delicate voice and subtle melodies”- THE TIMES