How do you talk about creativity? Making something out of nothing. What could be more mysterious? And yet Buddy Mondlock is wonderfully articulate about writing songs. The process is clearly fascinating to him and he has paid careful attention to what goes into making a good song. And he’s able to communicate what he has learned in 40 + years of songwriting. In one of his workshops you will hear about the many elements involved with bringing a song to life and communicating feelings and ideas through music and words. Using his own songs as examples he talks about things like painting pictures with imagery and detail, storytelling, structure and rhyming, knowing when to wear your editors hat and when to throw it away, making words and music work together, and even what it’s like to create with a partner. There will also be some fun creativity exercises that everyone gets to participate in. But in the end what he will tell you is that a good song has to come from the heart. All the cleverness and technique in the world will never be a substitute for true feeling.

 

Buddy Mondlock has given songwriting workshops for adults and kids alike. From the Napa Valley Folk Festival to an Indianapolis High School to the Berklee College of Music in Boston. He’s even led workshops across the Atlantic at the Belfast-Nashville Songwriters Festival in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The aim of that festival was to use songwriting to find common ground and bring communities together there. He’s also taught at The Swannanoa Gathering, the Kerrville Folk Festival, the Sisters Folk Festival, Cedarsongs Retreats and The New England Songwriters Retreat.

 

Buddy’s songs have been recorded by Peter, Paul & Mary, Guy Clark, Nanci Griffith, Garth Brooks, Joan Baez, Janis Ian, David Wilcox, Edwin McCain, Cry, Cry, Cry... the list goes on. He has recorded six CD’s including “Everything Waits To Be Noticed,” a songwriting and recording collaboration with Maia Sharp and Art Garfunkel. His most recent is “The Memory Wall.”