New classes teach lyrical approach to penning songs

By Joanna Horowitz
Seattle Times staff reporter

There is a giant board on the north side of the Songcraft room, one of Experience Music Project's newest exhibits. Words haphazardly cover the surface like a blown-up version of the magnetic poetry seen on dorm-room fridges all over the country.
The mission here: Make lyrics from the jumble. Visitors have left snapshots of songs, "I got a light in a deep well/it's about to deny me of longer soul" or "Rock away the tears."

If these are the start of a great new song, who knows, but what's good or bad is subjective, said Jon Auer, former frontman of The Posies. Auer, along with Seattle musicians Sean Nelson of Harvey Danger and Christy McWilson from country-rock band The Picketts, will teach part of a six-month EMP/University of Washington songwriting-certificate program, which starts in October.

Anyone who can play an instrument well enough to record a song, UW student or not, can apply for the program.

"There's really no one correct way to do anything," Auer said. "All I can really hope is they'll find something in there that is of use to them."

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