With all due respect...
And not to be a downer....
For me the thought someone teaching song writing, sounds like a greed tactic.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I've never heard of anyone who "made it" ever mention anything like, " I have to thank my song writing teacher for where I am today."
I consider myself a very, very serious song writer. I consider myself a type of painter, or sculptor, a multi-track being my canvas, my guitar is my brush and my voice is a pallet of robust colors of paint. Some days, I feel that if I had any talent, I would not have time to be posting on HR.com. Other days, I feel that if was just a little smarter when I was younger, just was a little luckier, perhaps I would have had a hit.
I've without a doubt heard some great, great song writing talent in the clinic, this inspires me, hey if there is great song writers here, maybe I ‘m not quite as unique in the non discovery situation and maybe I do have talent.
That being said, songs come to me. I never wake up in the morning and think, " today I will write a song." or "I'm bored, might as well go and write a tune."
No, for me, songs simply come to me. While I'm driving my car, taking a shower and mostly, when I'm playing guitar or playing with the keyboard. Of course, I do try and succeed in tweaking them, a chord change here or there. And then when a band gets a hold of them they can change dramatically but, still they are the same song that somehow arrived in my head while doing the dishes.
AND I HAVE HEARD OF BIG, BIG NAMES HAVE THIS HAPPEN TO THEM.
I'm not comparing myself to these talents, James Taylor/ Paul McCartney, but if that is one of the probable many ways of song writing techniques, then that is the one I use.
That being said, I simply do not accept that song writing can be learned or taught.
Maybe it can be developed up, like in the case of George Harrison, but I do not think that taking a class, reading a book, or a song writing video by Paul Simon, is going get anyone to write a song like Something.
Putting 3 chords together and singing, "I love you honey", six times in a row, does not classify as song writing either, other wise, the great POP song writers of our time, would never have bad albums.
This again is meant not to be offensive, I'm just surprise no one has mentioned it.
Sean