Replay: Hayes Carll shares Five Things He's Learned about Songwriting – in Five Songs
Check out the first five minutes of his recent class.
“Whether you’re an aspiring songwriter, a hobbyist, or a fan of music who is curious about the process of making it, it is my hope that we’ll have fun exploring some songs that are important to me, and that you’ll leave this session with some new understandings about the craft, and a renewed appreciation for the beauty and power of a well written song.”
– Hayes Carll, Five Things I've Learned about Songwriting – in Five Songs
Hayes Carll is a multi-award winning singer-songwriter based in Nashville, whose latest release, You Get It All, turns droll confessions, messy relationships, motel room respites, and an exasperated, hitchhiking God into modern nuggets. Here’s the first five minutes of Hayes’ two-hour class, in which he shares the Five Things He’s Learned about songwriting – through five great songs that helped give voice to his heartaches, joys, and aspirations.
Five Things I’ve Learned about Songwriting – in Five Songs offers Hayes’ personal exploration of the craft of songwriting by means of five songs that mean something special to him personally. In the process, he covers topics such as the call to action within a song, the impact of narrator perspective, the use of language ranging from vague and poetic to specific and personal, the role of humor as a tool, and the power of the chorus and repetition.
Eager to know more about how great songs work – and how great songwriting happens? This class is for you.
The New York Times has likened Hayes’ ability to undergird humor with a weightier narrative to Bob Dylan. When he talks about the sounds that are in his own head, Hayes mentions Randy Travis. That juxtaposition defines the singularity of his career: He exists in a space of his own, informed by John Prine, Tom Waits, and Dylan but also by Travis, Kenny Rogers, and Hank Williams, Jr.
Those influences have already resulted in two Americana Music Awards, a Grammy nomination for Best Country Song, and multiple Austin Music Awards. He’s had the most-played record on Americana radio twice. Hayes songs also regularly appear on the screen and have been recorded by Kenny Chesney, Lee Ann Womack, and Brothers Osborne, to name a few.
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