About the course:

This songwriting course will focus on the elements of a strong melody including pitch movement within the harmonic series, characteristics of pulse, speed, and rhythm; melodic shape, symmetry, phrase and section construction, and components of musical form currently used in contemporary pop music. We will also work with melodic construction as it relates to the natural flow of lyrical meter design. Class members are encouraged to bring their instruments and any material they have already been working on.  The final class session will be a performance at a public venue for those who wish to express their music live.  This course is for anyone interested in developing a sense of how to construct a song to those wishing to refine their skills. Class size is limited to 10 members so that we can all have a chance to share and grow.   Prerequisites:   It will be most helpful if participants have an ability to read music. There is also a text for this course: “Melody in Songwriting: Tools and Techniques for Writing Hit Songs,” written by Jack Perricone and available from Berklee Press, © 2000 which the class participant is responsible for obtaining.  New copies are currently listed at $25.00.  Used copies may be available on the internet. Having music writing software on a laptop is a plus but not necessary.

 About the instructor:

Kathy Volke has been a musician most of her life. Having started on the accordion at age four, she progressed to the piano in her late teens into her early college years where she switched to the viola. Composition was her initial passion, eventually receiving a Bachelor of Music in Composition from Wayne State University where she participated in the avant-garde music movement of the area writing for synthesizer. She then launched upon a career performing as a symphony musician in Michigan, Ohio, Illinois, and Ontario. Her teaching experience includes the Detroit Public Schools where she worked under the auspices of a Detroit Symphony sponsored program to develop young string players. She has maintained a private studio with fifteen years experience teaching piano, violin, viola, theory and songwriting. One of her songwriting students placed 14^th in an international competition of some 2,600 entrants. This student has also moved on to a musical ministry in the Jackson area. Kathy is currently a faculty member at the Vivo School of Music, located in downtown Gaylord where she specializes in teaching viola, theory, songwriting, and composition.