Toronto Songwriting School

What a waste of time.

Songwriters of all levels seeking guidance to move songs from the heart out into the world are in good hands with the Toronto Songwriting School. Mary keeps the administrative side of things running smoothly, providing excellent information and support from inquiry through to program delivery, while Murray shares his extensive knowledge about songwriting with patience and wit. When you're ready for the next step, Murray's also skilled with recording and production processes.

Taking peoples money to record at your "studio" and you don't even record or mix properly? I paid you for 2 hours, so that you could take your time and do the job properly, The session only ended up being for 45 minutes. What a shame. Lack of knowledge. Enjoy the extra cash you got.

The Toronto Songwriting School (TSS) was exactly what I needed to establish a regular songwriting practice. The TSS helped me to move from "trying to write" to "writing" and connected me with a community of co-writers that I collaborate with regularly. I've participated in two parts of the Toronto Songwriting School: Beginner Songwriting Classes (2) and the Art of Song weekend. I'll be starting my first Original Song class in a few weeks. I recommend starting with the Beginner Songwriting Class because I guarantee you'll gain confidence and learn something from it no matter your skill level. The classes ensure that I am writing something every week and remind me not to be too precious about my creative process. The Art of Song provided incredible inspiration, a productively intense writing experience, and an opportunity for in-depth reflection about songwriting. I've written more in the last year than ever before and owe quite a lot of that to Murray, Mary, and the TSS. One thing to keep in mind, as you think about engaging with TSS, is that you get out of it what you put in. To put it another way, it's important to come with motivation, openness, respect for other collaborators, and a "yes and" rather than "yeah, but" kind of attitude. Murray is a great teacher and creates an environment for you to maximize and develop your abilities. That said, you have to put in the work if you want to feel awesome about your songwriting development. Anyway, join a class and give it a try.

If I could give higher marks for this organization, I would! I have been working with Murray and Mary at the Toronto Songwriting School since 2016 in various capacities. The hands on approach to the art of songwriting, in unparalleled and I speak from experience, having attended many workshops of other orgs. First of all, for the beginners, there is a step by step process, dissecting songs to understand structure. There are Lyric classes, and Intermediate classes for those more seasoned writers. The weekend workshops have been so informative, with great guests and particularly offering a touchstone during the pandemic. And let me tell you about the getaways! I had so many music places on my bucket list that I never would have gone alone, but when I was part of this group, we did things I could have only dreamed of..in Nashville, New Orleans, Newfoundland to name a few. By far my favourite thing though, has been the one on one studio time with Murray. To date, I have recorded over 15 songs and the productions have all been above average. It's the best money I have ever spent and is by far, the most reasonable having experienced other studios. Bravo, and thank you for helping me with my mental wellness over the years!

I can give the recording studio at the Toronto Songwriting School the highest praise. Murray Foster provides the total package of support. He is a song editing genius and together we got my songs ready to record. He acted as recording engineer for my 9 song EP, adding bed tracks and producing the final mix. Working with Murray was inspiring and a total blast from start to finish. I can’t wait to do it again!

I really enjoyed the Songwriting for Beginners course. Before taking it I had tried reading some books about the subject and had been struggling to get my writing started. Now I'm finding it a lot easier to get going. The course covered a lot of ground in just a few short weeks and left me with concrete tools to use for crafting songs. It also was just plain fun! On the administrative side I can attest to Mary being very responsive and helpful, and in class Murray is a very engaging and knowledgeable teacher. Overall it was a very positive experience and I look forward to learning more with this school in the future.