Compose

Yourself

with Donovan Dorrance

Write 10 Songs in 10 Weeks!

A 10-week, live, intensive workshop for songwriters and composers at any level.

This LIVE 10-week workshop is designed for songwriters who are looking for:

Course Highlights

This will immerse you in a creative, collaborative experience that inspires your songwriting journey while helping you develop a substantial catalog of original songs:

Extended Projects: Work on pieces
over time and collaborate with classmates.
Class Album: The course ends with
a class album and a listening party.
Songwriting Growth: Build a catalog of original songs and refine your skills.
Extended Projects: Work on pieces over time and collaborate with classmates.
Class Album: The course ends with
a class album and a listening party.
Songwriting Growth: Build a catalog of
original songs and refine your skills.

Workshop Features​

Membership in the Sustainable Songwriting Collective: As part of your enrollment, you’ll join the songwriting community at golden lotus studio. Key benefits include:

Participation in The Weekly Prompts on Saturdays at noon EST

Community creative co-working sessions; tech + theory office hours, song circles

A private forum for assignments and correspondence

Access to The Weekly Prompts on Saturdays at noon EST

A supportive environment for extended
creation with a growth mindset

A private forum for assignments and correspondence

Expert Guidance​

In each of the 10 classes, composer Donovan Dorrance (known for his work with Dorrance Dance) will guide you through:

Writing your own original
music from scratch
Developing first drafts into
completed songs
Exploring lyrical, melodic,
and instrumental elements
Writing your own original
music from scratch
Developing first drafts into
completed songs
Exploring lyrical, melodic,
and instrumental elements

Meet Your Instructor:

Hi, I'm Donovan

Donovan Dorrance hails from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, where he trained as a multi-instrumentalist. After earning a Bachelor’s Degree at UNC, he moved to Brooklyn to work with Dorrance Dance, his sister’s dance company, later becoming music director and composing original music for the company. He has received two New Music USA project grants (2016 and 2024) for scoring dance works Myelination and The Center Will Not Hold respectively. Dorrance joined the staff at golden lotus studio in 2020 where he loves the community and feels right at home.

Our Commitment to You:

10 live zoom calls with your cohort that are recorded so you can go back and watch them again, if desired

Instruction, guidance, motivation, and exercises that will allow you to finally finish several of your songs by the end of the course

A joyful, unique approach that fosters collaboration, builds trust quickly, and offers a rare sense of belonging and support in the online world.

Support and feedback from a like-minded group of songwriters from beginners to touring musicians, all facing similar challenges and victories on the same path as you.

Plus, the cohort will produce a class album by the end of the course, complete with a celebratory online listening party!

Access to The Weekly Prompts on Saturdays at noon EST

Instruction in the contemplative tradition that honors a wholistic approach to art making

Individual attention and support from a professional songwriting instructor with the unique ability to support both professional songwriters and those trying songwriting for the first time.

Loads of tips, tricks, and techniques that you can use again and again for the rest of your songwriting career

Access to a private online forum to ask questions, post assignments and connect with your community

Compare Pricing:

UDEMY COURSE

$50 - 200

1 – 6 HOURS

$$$ spent to work with…no one.

BEST OFFER

COMPOSE YOURSELF

$1400

$769

10 WEEKS

for 10 songs in 10 weeks

BERKLEE ONLINE

$1500

12 WEEKS

$100+++ x 12 weeks…

Registration for this workshop closes
January 10th!

Days
Hours
Minutes
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Sign up now!

As a total beginner, this class blew my mind because I didn’t think I could write a song and I wrote several. It was so fun to follow his exercises and within minutes have super fun lyrics. It was great to be in an environment with all levels of musicians and be a part of a community of music makers. 

- Macy M.

golden lotus studio is a jewel, a great big YES. A nourishing, vibrant incubator for growing as a creative musician, breaking through old rules, hearing the songs inside and expressing them in new ways, and having fun doing this with other like-minded musicians from all over. Highly recommended.

- Rob R.

The class was ideal for me. It presented a variety of useful techniques that help a songwriter, even someone who has never written a sing before, to produce interesting and effective first versions of songs. It allowed me to learn “song writing basics”, and encouraged me to continue writing songs after the course ended.

- Keith W.