Basic Songwriting With a Bosstones Legend

Lennon/McCartney, Bruce Springsteen, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards are some of music's greatest songwriters. If you'd like to one day possibly be as great as them you can take a class to help you.

Lyndon State College professor, bass player and songwriter for the Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Joe Gittleman is teaching a class called Basic Songwriting. Gittleman explained in an email that the class aims to help students become better songwriters through giving understanding of basic chord theory. This is intended to "show the relationship between melody and chords."

Gittleman "also look[s] at traditional song forms and work on projects that challenge students to create original tunes in traditional forms."

So what if you don't have much experience with playing an instrument or even understanding basic music theory? Fear not. Gittleman says that students of all talent ranges participate in the class, from those just starting out to others who have already formed their own bands and may have already written a few songs. Although, Gittleman thinks the course best suits those who may already know how to play an instrument a bit and sing a little

Music Fundamentals is a prerequisite to this course.

LSC student Derek Campbell is a member of the band Electric Sorcery on campus. Campbell said this class "has been great for learning to break songs down and examine their structure, to see, hear, what works and why."

"Examining the anatomy of a hit tune and trying to construct something that works in a similar way equals a very different approach from my usual," said Campbell.  "Gittleman is an entertaining and relatable teacher with the kind of experience we [the students] are all striving to achieve."