Songwriting with Danny Boyle

Just before breaking up for Long Leave, students had the exciting opportunity to join singer, songwriter and founder of Songwriters International, Danny Boyle, for a virtual interactive workshop on Thursday 11th February.

After recently attending one of Danny’s workshops herself, Lara Rawlings, Music Teacher & Assistant Director of Music, could not wait to share the experience with her students. The afternoon focussed on how to write catchy hooks, the importance of the chorus and how to make money from writing a song.

“Regardless of age and experience, it was humbling to see today that over 50 members of Leighton Park share the same passion of song writing. Some students are just starting out in their song writing journey, others may have been writing for a few years. Whatever our experience, Danny inspired us and added a great deal to our knowledge of the song writing process.” Enthused Lara.

Danny has vast experience of the music industry having written with the likes of Amy Winehouse, Little Mix, Jason Derulo, Sam Smith, Pixie Lott, Tina Turner, Girls Aloud, Backstreet Boys and other international stars.

Attracting the attention of Prestige Artist Management at the age of 15, he has gone on to sell out five UK tours and work across Europe and parts of Asia with major labels. He has most recently worked with Modest Management who look after artists including One Direction, Little Mix, 5 Seconds of Summer and Olly Murs.

Lara continued “As Danny said, learning how to write songs has a lot of value; it can be a great hobby, a way to express emotions, a way to transform written language such as poetry, or even a perfect escapism during the pandemic.

You may want a career in song writing, music production or as an artist! We are very grateful to Danny for sharing his expertise today and we hope to be able to welcome him to the Park soon to work further with our students. Who knows, maybe one of them could be the next Ed Sheeran or Laura Marling!”