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Welcome to The SongSchool Podcast!
Without a song, there’s nothing to sing, and bringing songs to their full potential is a passion for Hall of Fame Songwriter Beth Nielsen Chapman who’s wit and expertise on The Songschool Podcast guides each songwriter in the “hot seat”. Using humor and original techniques, her feedback helps to open up the channels of creative flow and raise the bar lyrically and musically to make every song airtight. Beth believes that teaching someone how to write a song relies on teaching craft but also inspiring others with super cool tricks to get into the current of creative flow and become instilled with the intrinsic value of their story as well as awakening in each person a sense of how to nuture the ability to claim their creative self-worth!
We are accepting submissions from all over the world! You can enter your song below to be critiqued on the show.

About Beth

Beth Nielsen Chapman is an eclectic, critically acclaimed American singer-songwriter. A member of the Songwriter’s Hall of Fame with 7th #1 hits, and songs sung by Elton John, Bonnie Raitt, Bette Midler, Willie Nelson, Olivia Newton-John, and Neil Diamond. With 14 albums of her own, numerous film and TV placements hits like Faith Hill’s “This Kiss”, and multiple Grammy nominations, she’s kept busy despite adversity. Losing her first husband to cancer, then herself surviving breast cancer and a brain tumor, it is a deep well she taps into at her shows, workshops, and keynotes for healing, inspiration and the creative flow. For more information about Beth’s teaching and speaking events, click here.

About the Show

Beth’s style when critiquing a song is fun and adventurous. She begins by analyzing and drawing out what is working and then identifying what can be better. She uses imaginative tangible examples to help songwriters create new space in a song to open it up like a magnet to more creative flow. Directing students to lift out and place re-writable lines onto “The Altar Of Things That Aren’t Going Anywhere” is a perfect example of Beth’s humorous way of tricking the mind into clearing verses or lines out of the way. Then you can dive back into the childlike play of the initial inspiration to bring forth new lines that are even better.

1. Each episode will start with an intro from Beth with some stories and fun-- including the “Beth-ism teaching tip” of the month.
2. Next we will feature a few critiques, either with the songwriter in the studio performing their composition live or else down the line. Beth will give feedback and encourage discussion with the songwriter who is in the hot seat.
3. There will also be “special (legendary) guests” from songwriters to “song people” i.e. those in the business of guiding songwriters. Many fascinating discussions around the paradox of creative freedom and what makes something commercial. (Beth’s T-shirt says *“Don’t plant your seedlings too close to the superhighway of the music biz!”*)
4. Every episode will include a segment called “The Perfect Song” which may even be the one you send in! If one of the submissions is airtight and ready it might be featured in this spot! Otherwise Beth will be taking suggestions from listeners as well as legendary guests on what they consider a perfect song and we’ll choose one and take it apart and see what makes it tick!

SUBMIT YOUR SONG TO BE CRITIQUED ON THE SHOW

Because there are plenty of good songs, Let’s make yours great.

Thank you to our Sponsors

…and to the friends of our show…