• Workshops
• About the Artist
• Multimedia

Songwriting

All Levels

I've been leading a songwriting workshop since 2000, in LA at McCabe's Guitar Shop, and around the country and overseas, when touring. I've taught songwriters of all levels, from beginner to advanced; many have returned to take the course again and again. 

I started songwriting in 1965, and never stopped. I've been nominated for three Grammy's, had five star reviews from Rolling Stone,  NME, and the New York Times. I can't teach you how to write a song, but I can show a lot of the ideas, inspirations and tricks of the trade you can use to help your talent blossom. We'll study songs by master songwriters like Bob Dylan, Robert Johnson, Tom Waits and Johnny Cash,  among many others.  All aspects of songwriting will be covered, with special attention placed on finding direction as a lyricist, and originality in melody and harmony. The songs of the Beatles are studied as a way to understand music theory and as a connecting point between the contemporary world and the Great American Songbook. Songs will be written on assignment and performed in the class (playing the songs in class is recommended, but optional.) The assignments attempt to hook up our newly acquired knowledge with the  things we desire to express, connecting the head and the heart. As well as songwriters, we look to painters, poets and other artists who can help us find our way toward our own unique vision. 

Subjects will include the art of contrast, the sound of words, using pictures, verse development, and the creation of new ideas.  This is not a 'Nashville' style song class. I can teach you how to do everything but write a hit. The idea is to get in touch with your deepest inspirations, and create stronger, more vivid songs that YOU really want to sing.

About Peter Case

Peter Case is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist, who has had a wide-ranging career ranging from new wave music to folk rock to solo acoustic performance. Case was born in Buffalo, New York. A veteran of several rock bands and the local bar scene as a teenager, Case dropped out of high school when he was fifteen (he would later earn a GED), and after several years of traveling arrived in 1973 in San Francisco, where he performed as a street musician. During this period a documentary about the local music scene, Nightshift, directed by Bert Deivert, captured the young Case on film. In 1976, he teamed up with Jack Lee and Paul Collins in to form the early new wave band The Nerves in San Francisco. The group's 1976 single, "Hanging on the Telephone", was later recorded by Blondie. When the Nerves disbanded, Case moved to Los Angeles and formed the pop-rock band The Plimsouls in 1980. The Plimsouls found a measure of success when their song "A Million Miles Away" was featured in the movie Valley Girl. Peter Case struck out on his own with a self-titled album released in 1986 on Geffen Records. Produced by T-Bone Burnett, the record included a number of songs co-written by Victoria Williams, and also featured the talents of John Hiatt and of Roger McGuinn of The Byrds. One of the songs on the album, "Old Blue Car", was nominated for a Grammy award. In February 2006, Hungry for Music, a non-profit organization based in Washington, DC, released a three-disc tribute to Case, entitled A Case for Case; the set featured cover versions of Case's songs performed by various artists, including John Prine, Susan Cowsill, and others.

Multimedia

Coming Soon!!