Student Testimonials from
Songwriting Lessons

One of the necessities of being a great performer is to have a certain amount of ego about the quality of your performance and writing skills. While that ego, along with talent and drive, helps to make for a remarkable performer, it can create some off-stage challenges. There is such an expectation in the world that each performer be a "natural," that they will rarely acknowledge that they have had any degree of training, be it singing lessons, training on their instrument, or songwriting lessons or coaching. I suppose that we the public are to believe that they burst from the womb singing like a star, playing their fingers off, and writing hit songs. As a result, there are many professional artist composers who I have taught over the years who prefer not to publically acknowledge their training. I am appreciative of the willingness to share and the kind words of the artists whose words are printed below. They are each and every one, students I have had the great pleasure of giving songwriting lessons to and I am humbled by their glowing words, and yet felt that you should hear how they feel about their songwriting lessons.

Elica is the ex-vocalist for the Australian rock band, Reckless. She is beautiful, talented, extremely intelligent, driven to learn and be the best she can be. She also has a lot to say! It's a pleasure working with her. Her growth and development is a testament to the process of songwriting lessons.

When I came to David, I was a frustrated aspiring songwriter who hadn't got what I was looking for out of college. No matter how many books on songwriting I read to try and further my craft, all of them left me feeling as though I hadn't really progressed in being able to write better songs. It was really just a bunch of theory or idea generation techniques. So one day I typed songwriting coach into Google and found David and Rebeca's website. Thinking I had nothing to lose I sent David an email. Four months later I've gone from being a vocalist and lyricist to being able to craft entire songs. David's knowledge of lyrics, melody, harmony and rhythm i.e. all the parts that make up a song are unparallelled to anything else I've seen and his ability to pass on that knowledge has me leaving our lessons feeling motivated, encouraged and inspired. I'm finally starting to achieve my goals. Thank you David.
Elica Lorde Melbourne, Australia

Scott is a fantastic story of an unwillingness to let anything hold him back from his dream. He is a unique individual, who after suffering an injury that has prevented him from playing the guitar and not really gifted at singing, has persevered to gain a certain mastery over the elements of the styles of music he likes the most. After many ups and downs, he has recently completed a CD project under the band name Two Earth Hours. Scott is a testament to never giving up and allowing life to lead you to the fulfillment of what you most desire. He has powerful lyric writing skills and an extremely interesting way of putting things. I produced his first record and am looking forward to the next. Songwriting lessons have served him incredibly well. 

My name is Scott Jackson and I first met David Randle in 1998. Initially, David taught me guitar and I was impressed right away with his skill, knowledge and his ability to adapt to each of his students' musical tastes. In 2000, David offered a chance for all interested students to grow even further as he began offering group songwriting classes. It was during this period where I really blossomed in my knowledge of music as I began to truly understand chord structure and why certain chord progressions were so heavily relied on in popular music. David did a masterful job of teaching chords, progressions and keys in a way that a novice could understand. Beforehand, I had largely just played progressions or covers without actually knowing what was behind them or how they worked. After David's songwriting class, however, everything changed. I understood the mathematical precision behind music and it even gave me extra insight as to why I liked certain sounds and progressions, which was very intriguing to me. Several years later, I developed the urge to write my own music in order to release it to a CD and David was the obvious choice for assistance. I had retained most of my knowledge of chord progressions and I had developed well as a lyricist. In the several years away from David, my sense of melody had waned significantly. David picked up on this right away, re-trained me in this area and because of his tremendous skill, I began making significant improvement quickly. We began writing songs together every week and for a time we even wrote almost every day. It was during this period that it dawned on me more than ever how talented David is. It would take him hardly any time at all to fix sections of the songs that needed improvement. Furthermore, he did so without compromising the original intent or integrity of the song whatsoever. While David worked on all sections of the songs, it was usually my bridges that needed the most fine-tuning. Within the bridges, David was masterful at coming up with a progression that would achieve a very refreshing variety from what went before in the verse and chorus. And yet in spite of the variety involved, it would still fit in seamlessly with the rest of the song. And perhaps the most impressive thing of all about David is his ability to adapt to any and every musical style in the world. With David you will not have to worry about a teacher who begins steering songs towards a style that he feels most at home with and prefers. If you want alternative, David will give you alternative. If you want country, he will give you country. You can continue on with any and every possible example. There is no style in all of music that he cannot excel in and provide for you. Furthermore, all you have to do is play him a few tracks from your favorite artists and he will be able to zero in on what you want even more. You can also rest assured that with David, you have a teacher who truly cares. He was always extremely concerned with my welfare and that I was getting what I wanted out of the songwriting sessions. He truly loves what he does and it will show in his interest in you and your goals. I cannot recommend David Randle highly enough. Any aspiring writer will be amazed at how well their dreams can be realized under David's guidance. He is truly a songwriting mastermind.
Scott Jackson Two Earth Hours

Mark Romano is a talented and gifted singer/songwriter. He is amazingly well educated, and not only in his chosen field of law. I have never had another student who in such perfect order, listened to what I taught him during his songwriting lessons, internalized it, and immediately put it into a song. He has a CD in the works that is more than halfway finished with interesting and thought-provoking songs, with very expressive vocals. I really miss working with Mark. I don't think he realizes how good he could be.

	David is a truly inspiring talent whose passion lies in songwriting and in helping others to develop their songwriting skills. During my sessions with David, I learned music theory, the essential tool for any budding songwriter. Starting with the basics such as the I-IV-V progression, David took me through complex jazz progressions, the use of plagal cadences, third relations, relative minors, to more advanced theory such as changing keys in songs. David helped me understand theory by dissecting a song that I knew and loved and showing me how the song worked. With each new lesson I was given renewed appreciation for the fundamentals of music theory which I could then take and work into my latest song. Unlike many teachers, David has a unique ability to make the difficult easy to understand. One of his analogies resonates with me even today: music theory is to the musician as color is to the artist; each technique, musical progression, use of unconventional chords, and lyrical development is like a new color-it is ultimately what will allow one songwriter to distinguish his or her songs from another. I couldn’t agree more.
Mark Romano San Diego

 
It was just absolutely a fun time working with Craig. He is from South-African heritage, and I've got to believe that there are influences in his experiences that a lot of the rest of us just don't have. Craig is another non-singer, who chose the path of expressing himself through the power of songs. Everything that I remember him bringing in to work on was a delight, skillfully crafted and heartfelt. Craig maximized his growth by not only taking songwriting lessons, but guitar lessons as well.

I met David Randle a number of years ago by chance in a music store. He mentioned he was a guitar & songwriting coach and after a few great tips right there on the spot, I decided to take formal lessons. From my first session, I grasped what a natural gift David has for teaching and he would always share EVERYTHING at his fingertips. I studied for a number of years, and my guitar skills went from total beginner, to very adequate (the only reason I am not better is because of MY lack of time spent honing my skills). I have also taken group as well as private Songwriting Classes with David. A fellow musician once asked me "'well how can someone "TEACH" songwriting, isn't it just a natural talent". Well that could not be further from the truth. Writing songs requires a skill set, knowledge and practice - just like anything else. David has always given his all and been willing to share everything he has to offer to take a song from CONCEPT through finished work. I would HIGHLY RECOMMEND his classes!!!
Craig Ballen San Diego

After working for a couple of months with Elica Lorde, vocalist for the Australian band Reckless, I got to meet her lead guitarist Blackie. After him hearing Elica rave about the quality improvement in her writing as a result of studying with me and also seeing it firsthand in better lyrics and melodies, Blackie started working with me himself, taking his own songwriting lessons, privately. Blackie's a super individual and is dedicated to his craft, and between the progress he is showing and what Elica is showing, I expect big things from the band Reckless.

	David is awesome! After only 4 lessons with David I learned more about music theory and songwriting than I did in 2 years of music college. Now, going on 3 months, I've found I have a renewed energy for writing, with more ideas and tools to write the kind of songs that I've always wanted. If you're looking for a teacher with all the knowledge and tools to craft you into the best songwriter you can be, look no further!
Blackie Majik Lead Guitarist with Reckless Melbourne, Australia

Richard C. Christian is a complex and talented artist. He is principally an actor who came to work with my wife, Rebeca, on his acting chops. As his strengths developed, he was highly interested in developing his singing voice as well. This was one of the main reasons he came to the Singing Lesson Expert, because of her prowess in teaching both acting and voice. During the process of gaining more control of his voice for singing, Richard realized the great benefit of writing his own songs, both emotionally and economically. So he began studying his own creative process for becoming a songwriter through private songwriting lessons. I enjoyed working with Richard immensely, and I expect the world to discover him as a successful actor, and if he opens the window, as a successful singer/songwriter as well.

David Randle is a master Artist/Song Writer. He explains concepts specifically for your learning style/level. You learn basics without it being boring. He incorporates his master view in even the smallest detail and does this with the enthusiasm and love that you see from a child when they are first falling in love with an instrument (very cool). His primary concern is with your development and it shows with his attention to where you’re at in that moment and in what’s next to learn. You’re in good hands with David and I would recommend studying under this Master.
Richard C. Christian Actor, Los Angeles

Songwriting is a life's work. The more you write, the more feedback you get about what works for you and what doesn't. Carve out time every day and work on your craft, and if you realize that you need some training or coaching with private or group songwriting lessons, or a master class for song evaluation, My Songwriting Coach is here to help.