this workshop is amazing. I am a HUGE fan of Larry Dvoskin as of right now.

Larry's speech bubble is going ''how the hell did we go from Simon & Garfunkel to this in 45yrs'' Wonder what he thinks 13ys on - man he must have some dark nights of the soul listening to the radio today.

After listening to the stages of production of the song by the gym teacher, I must say: Larry, you're a genious!

The quote is from Confucius "the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step"

"Clay can be molded" into the third version, but only because she was lucky enough to have Larry come by and want to help. Alas, most of us will never be that lucky. Luck is a big part, but someone with production talent has to feel sorry for you enough to do something that dramatic.

What a great guy! I only stumbled upon him in these old workshop videos a couple of days ago. Many thanks Larry and also the college and uploader. Onto the next one!

So many wonderful things I can say about this teacher, but all I can say is thank you for sharing this. Vibrant students too.

Thanks for making these videos available. I'm enjoying them.

"To make 1000 steps, 1 has to be made" chinese saying

Once I saw Chevy Chase I couldn't unsee Chevy Chase.

@thomasandrewhumphreys6821

3 жыл бұрын

Call him Lar

thank you so much for posting this video, It's actually making a huge impact on my life , my perception about music, It feels like some of the things that are being said are things I always thought about but never knew how to contextualize. thanks.

Larry is the coolest. Got a lot of out of this!

1:10:55 whatever that "music" playing is; it's hurting my ears. when it was over I didn't feel ill anymore.

the last parts were awesome very intuitive thank you

This is Really Great stuff to be teaching to these folks! ...Thanks Larry

Hi Larry! i've watched your series on songwriting a few times now as well as others on youtube and you've helped me in so many ways that i just want to say a big thanks and i hope your writing is going good too! i know it's a long shot but i'd like to send you something and just hear feedback

I know! I wish I was in this class

plenty of insights. thank you, Larry

Hi mate, I am not from the US our school system is different but I think you'd call it community college. It's a 4 year course 3 years in class 1 year doing 2 internships. Electronics these days made a shift to more microcontroller based stuff so I'd definitely readup/experiment with microcontrollers and digital technology. I build props for other performers and I use Arduinos and FEZ Pandas they are off the shelf super easy to use and dirt cheap.

I love larry dvoskin's voice. It's not particularly great but it's soothing to me!

that song smoke gets in your eye , is about eletricuting gods father , and dropping sense to; till he comes down, and if he Really is there, there will be fire! ~2019!

Amazing posting, very helpful. Thanks!

TRUTH is perceptions , is in the eye of the keyholder , thats why we learn , and why i go backwards to regain, you have to kearn larry from of off a music video or your not hip!!!

Great info. I'm really enjoying this series. One small thing though, and it really doesn't matter to the point of the series, but the quote he wrote on the board, "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a singe step." (or, more correctly "begins where one stand.") is a well known Chinese proverb written by Lao Tsu (Laozi) in the Tao Te Qing, but it also commonly mistakenly attributed to his contemporary Confucius.

@leroyjones6170

7 жыл бұрын

True

@isaacdynys6518

3 жыл бұрын

Not true

they teach this class at a community college? why did i ever go to university?

wow. that song flip was night and day.

Funny you mentioned stairway to heaven Tyler…I wonder if today that song would even get airplay. I doubt LZ would allow them to butcher it down to 3 1/2 mins . But I feel the same way…I don't even listen to the radio anymore because it's all generic crap with no substance ! If artists wrote music like the 70's era sound I'd be all over it…unfortunately the younger audience today are programmed . I'm the same way when I attempt to write …if it isn't comparable to anything before the dance music and hip hop train…the perfectionist part of me takes over and says ahhh f@%# it ! I'm hoping I'm not crippled by arthritis when the world decides what good music is ,and what makes it on the radio.

that's nice.... thanks

wow its worth the times watch this video clip

The song Strange Fruit was bitter bitter so there is always an exception . 27

This is great, it's ALMOST as good as being in the class... except I can get drunk while I participate!

thats Beautiful..Its American! Its New York!

American Graffiti was actually set in 1962 "where were you in '62?"- yes?

five minutes 💗 !!! ~zsv sincere!

My question that remains unanswered is: Can a gifted songwiter take any music piece and match it to any lyrics? Some write music, some write lyrics, few write both.

@mwatkins0590

8 жыл бұрын

+AvaPxiaO with practice.

manz i reallly wrote this song the lyrics and the beat , and the music video .. ~ZXX, &nd got paid 55,000 after being offered 55,000,000 ... i still love um even though the secret ride is over! 💕 ~scrubz| (never new about the game till yesterday __sorry fellas god lost) ~iloveyathough!

Why go to uni or college in general? All the do is tell you stuff that is in books, so just read the books or download the audio colleges these days :D I studied electronics and 98% I do in my business I learned myself.

Lots of drummers in the class I suppose.

1:07:11 I think that dude just ate one...

I was in the 4th grade too...lol

I WROTE TEEN SPIRIT YOU CAN ASK ANYBODY THAT WE KNOW LARRY IN THE INDUSTRY!!! ~TRASH IS WHAT I MEANT B THAT VIDEO , AND ME IS THE 2ND VERSE!! I WAS 8 OR SOMETHING!

im definitely in the wrong classroom !!

nobody knows TLC

A tapeworm!

Is this Peter Schiff's doppelganger?

34:40 -- That guy's fucking answer. What was happening in the late '80s? "A lot of very interesting pop music." Haha!!! Yeah, whatever.

Go to "Nelson Montana How To Write a Song" And it will all become painfully clear.

4:33 hhahahah

feminine does kill the way

all the hater comments all i have to say is if it was easy to write a hit or even copy someone from the radio and get noticed everyone would do it,

@whatabouttheearth

8 ай бұрын

A. It is easy to copy someone from the radio if you are a decent musician. B. Usually a "hit" is not the better music, it is the more sellable commodity to an already psychologically conditioned public.

For free demo. music, KZread: Heartbroken Song Writer. Looking for recording artist and film placement for my songs.

He wrote it for the girl he was stalking lol

i was in 3rd grade haha

to make my boss my boss; and YOU come with thats depression from the 30's,, fing iodine

A hit isn't necessarily a good song. The piano is the ultimate litmus test; if it is compelling on the piano, it probably has substance, because the piano doesn't deceive with texture. The guitar produces very naive results usually; people are fooled by voicing.

@jayceejackson3584

10 жыл бұрын

You ever tried playing some James Brown on the piano?

@cobaltjones

10 жыл бұрын

if you could play all the parts in time it would still be good.

How cliche was the written song around an hour in ?? I am not a writer, but I think my main problem is my expectations. I would have to write a song like Stairway to Heaven before my brain would even accept it and put it to paper. And yet it frustrates me to death when I listen to the radio and every song is one or two words repeated over and over, And they are auto tuned, and those two words are not exactly William Shakespeare. Will.I.Am is just the worst for this, and yet he sells millions.

So many accents.

hick...

Some good stuff here. But no mention's made of the low level of popular songwriting in the modern era. It's a very long way down from the Platters to Kelly Clarkson. No one will be playing KC in 10 yrs. "Smoke Gets' will always be heard somewhere. How about talking about that. Popular songwriting won't get better before it's acknowledged the level of crap that's being generated and released. You might get paid for landing a J.LO cut but is anybody proud of the work? Aim higher.

@avedic

9 жыл бұрын

Agreed. Imo, there IS comparable modern music to the amazing stuff made in the past. Animal Collective's _Meeriweather Post Pavillion_, MGMT's _Oracular Spectacular_, Yeasayer's _All Hour Cymbals_, Yeah Yeah Yeah's _Is Is_, and MIA's _Kala_ are all *_genius_* albums imo...and all released within the past 10 years. There *_is_* amazing music...sadly, it's just not what's top-40 radio. That's unfortunate...but at least it _exists_. The internet has simply flattened everything out. There will _never_ be another band like the Beatles because music distribution itself is just _so SO_ different. But....amazing music _does_ exist. I just wish *_that music_* was what ended up on top-40. That ended around 2000....right around when American Idol hit the scene. It's sad....or is it? I mean, at least amazing music *_does_* still exist...regardless of if it appears in top-40 pop radio or not.

@babyirene3188

9 жыл бұрын

There's art and there's formula (and permutations of both). This 'teacher' is all formula. Which is fine. Pretending otherwise is disingenuous. That's what rubs the wrong way. There's very little art involved in what the 'teacher' is pushing. And formula isn't a big part of legendary records.

its tough holding farts in lecture. if i got i silent one with no hot chicks around....well ya kno what happens next.

Why does everyone who talks on these have accent?

@Ayo.Ajisafe

9 жыл бұрын

+Cap't Jack because everyone everywhere has an accent...and i guess its in new york so there are many different accents.

1:23:13 wait...... wait..... WHAT THE FUCK?... this is even worse. SOMEONE PLEASE THINK OF MY EARS! I need aspirin. this is music for people who like American Idol audition losers.

Why would the sad sad top ten music of the iTunes echelon that gets millions of dollars in promotion, etc. be the place one would go to as the rubric or example. It’s machined to death and lyrically vapid and chipmunk voiced syrup, and so formulaic it’s dead or empty. Occasionally a good song gets on it. Never a song that will become a classic. Listen to Elliot Smith, Neil Young, Joni and learn all their songs. Go from there.

It's called plagiarism

I hope you guys didnt have to pay to listen to this pish.

my friend or today a clsssmate that "romance & spiritual song , was! boring because because you put to many walls up , (blocks) writing is simple to listener, not incorporated!! too much intelligence! knock down the barriers! dont be overly informative ____ its not real infomation!!!!!!!!!!!!?

This is a great class, but Larry calling people "hicks"? Larry, are you aware that "hick" music outsells almost ALL other genres of music? They don't need your "yo yo yo"..

that is a horid song

Loved some of the tips in these first two videos and anecdotes about the current "clear channel" reality of a failed formulaic commercial music business.On the other hand, the evolution of a schlocky formula pop song (at the end of the video) that was picked up for a mediocre zero risk movie, was very disheartening. The advice that the song you want to pitch to record executives needs to sound similar to the no-risk, non-creative crap that now dominates the airwaves...wow. Sad.

Regarding the students who previewed their efforts for class critique: Well, Dave Van Ronk once told me that I should be writing one song a day. He said that if I did that, at the end of the year, I might have one damn good song. In other words, most of the things we write, or sculpt, or paint, merit the trash can. Keep writing and eventually you just may come up with the next "Yesterday". Just sayin'.