Workshops
Writing Great Choruses: A Songwriting Workshop with Lilly Bechtel
Saturday, May 17th from 1:30 – 4:30PM
In this collaborative workshop, we will dive into the question of what makes a great chorus and how we can strengthen the choruses in our own songs. What are some of our favorite choruses and what do they have in common? What makes a refrain effective, and how can we use repetition more thoughtfully and effectively?
This workshop will consist of a dynamic blend of writing, reading poems, and listening to music, and will leave students with further prompts, writing exercises, and tools to expand their sense of possibility in their songwriting. The overarching workshop structure will move in response to the curiosities and goals of those present, and beginner songwriters (as well as the songwriting curious!) are welcome and encouraged.
Skills Required:
This workshop is open to all levels — no prior songwriting experience is necessary. Curiosity, a love of music, and a willingness to experiment are all you need! Ages 18+.
What to Bring:
A notebook and something to write with
Optional: the name of a song with a chorus you love (you can also email this ahead of time to Lilly at nightteachermusic@gmail.com)
About the Instructor:
Lilly Bechtel is a poet, musician, and trauma-informed yoga instructor with over 15 years of experience leading creative writing and mindfulness workshops. Her music has been noted in Relix magazine and featured on NPR, and her writing has appeared in Poetry, elephant journal, The Huffington Post, Barrow Street Journal, The Faster Times, The Brooklyn Rail, and USA Today.
Lilly is a recipient of a fellowship from The Vermont Studio Center, and in July 2020, she completed her MFA in Poetry from Warren Wilson College. Since returning to her hometown of Charlottesville, she continues to write and perform music under the name Night Teacher. She is currently at work on her first poetry collection, The Likelihood of Touch, as well as her next album, In a Past Life I Was a Human Being, which will be released in October 2025.