Last Saturday morning, about 20 SAW members gathered for a fascinating grammar lesson in songwriting, by Matt Holsen.

"This was a brilliant session, titled "Chord Grammar." Matt began by saying that just like the English grammar we grew up with, there's a musical chord grammar that we've internalized as well. It's different from that in other cultures, but ingrained in us - we don't need theory to know what's right for our ears. And then he did an overview of the theory about what's inside us - circle of fifths, relative minor substitution, tritone substitution - with examples that brought it in focus and a thoroughly engaging conversational style. I helped run these sessions 10 years ago, and this was among the best I've seen. Jay Keating and Paige Powell, great job organizing!" - Dan Grove

Handouts from Matt's session:
SAWtoolbox1outline.docx
SAW Toolbox1 Examples.pdf

SAW's Songwriters Toolbox meets the 4th Saturday of the month, at The Surge in McLean, at 10am. Don't miss May's Toolbox, hosted by Mike Ryan!