Young songwriters learn craft in three-day event

Aspiring songwriters from across the country gathered in Sisters last weekend for the Americana Song Academy For Youth, held in several venues around town.

The song academy, started by Brad Tisdel in 2007, brings artists together in a non-competitive environment where they learn the art of songwriting and performing.

The three-day academy brought students from Colorado, California, and Oregon together to learn from musicians who come to town to teach.

This year, artists such as Keith Greeninger, Anna Tivel, Nathaniel Talbot, MOsley WOtta, Jeffery Martin, Bob Hemenger and local Sisters artists served as instructors and taught individual classes.

There were classes such as "Song Writing for your Unique Voice," taught by Keith Greeninger, which focused on how unique everyone's voice is and how much an artist can change the mood of a song just by changing the voice.

Anna Tivel taught a class framed by this description: "Alone in an empty room: a bucket of paint & images to breathe life into song." This class focused on finding inspiration for songwriting and using your surroundings as inspiration.

The classes were very different, but both contributed to the students learning about performing and songwriting from artists who have a wealth of knowledge to give. The opportunity to work with these musicians on writing and performing is a once-in-a-lifetime experience for students. Several of the instructors said that the song camp is a great opportunity for them to take a step back from their busy schedule and enjoy teaching the students.

On Saturday night students performed what they had been working on at a private concert at The Barn. The experience gave students the chance to feel what it's like to perform on stage.

The event was capped with a Sunday night Celebration of Song at The Belfry, where students and instructors performed and celebrated song with the public.