I've led many songwriter's workshops, and they are very different fdrom songwriting workshops. I've never led a songwriting workshop and woulkd have to find a different mind-set to do it. I don't even think I could tell myself how to write songs. Some songwriters are intuitive and write when the spirit moves them. That's how I am. Others write religiously; or semi-religiously almost every day, whether the Spirit is moving or sound asleep. For them, songwriting is a discipline. Neither approach is inherently superior. Intutive songwriters still must hone their craft, and those who approach songwriting in a more regular, disciplined way still need to have something to say.

I've always found it interesting to hear other songwriters talk about the way they write songs, pulling out phrases and lines from songs they've written to illustrate their point. It's less a Songwriting For Dummies class than a mutual exploration of the mysterious process of writing songs.

If you want to write songs to make money, I'm not the man to talk to. Commercial songwriters have a different perspective and apporach.