Saturday Sessions: Tim O'Brien on songwriting

Grammy winner Tim O'Brien has always been interested in history. His music has include bluegrass, blues, folk, country, and swing, and he has investigated his family's Irish background in song too.

About songwriting, he says, "I have various ways I go at it. The main way for me though is to work on, to study on, topics. I read a lot, or I watch movies, or whatever it is, or observe a lot of times over a lot of years. Then all of a sudden I get a way into something, a way to put something I've been interested in all those years into a song. It's usually some sort of phrase that sings right, what my English teacher called prosody."

This is part of an ongoing series here at Music Road. Join us on Saturdays for ideas from your favorite musicians about teaching, learning, and creating music.

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