Singer-songwriter Yvonne Lyon
This week, we had the pleasure of welcoming the incredibly talented musician Yvonne Lyon to Greenock
Writers Club to talk about all things songwriting and the impact of song in her life and its importance.
Yvonne told us about her background growing up in a busy home, and how going to sit
away at the piano was an escape and solace for her.
Yvonne has been playing instruments and singing ever since she was a young girl and has improved and honed her craft throughout the years.
Yvonne has written many incredible songs and has worked with many talented songwriters and musicians within the
industry, and most recently she worked with famous songwriter Boo Hewerdine on their new album
“Things Found In Books”, which she has been touring and performing around several venues in Scotland!
Improvised Song on Piano
Yvonne started by telling us that words don’t always have to be present to evoke deep feelings and emotional responses, and how improvisation and playing around can lead to beautiful results.
She played a beautiful, short improvised piece on the piano, which we closed our eyes and listened to.
This really emphasised just how powerful and inspiring music can be as many of our members were picturing scenes in their heads to the music or imagining words to be sung alongside it.
Connection
Yvonne shared with us the one word that comes to mind when it comes to music, and song, and that word
is “connection.”
She shared with us how words, especially in the form of song, can be so connecting to us, our emotions and one another. She also drew from examples in real life of music and our deep connection, such as elderly people with dementia who may not remember loved ones’ names but can remember the chorus of a song.
More recently, when Scotland qualified for the World Cup- the weight and deep feeling
behind the singing of the national anthem.
Yvonne also read out lyrics from a song she co-wrote with a friend pertaining to the loss of his wife, and then again she sang it for us to show how words, when sung, can hit much deeper and leave more of an intense lasting impact than just the spoken word.
Nouns exercise
Everyone in the club was split into groups, where Yvonne gave us the task of coming up with concrete
nouns and abstract nouns and mixing up descriptions to create lyrics for our very own chorus! This task
was extremely fun, engaging and incredibly thought-provoking in terms of the songwriting process. We
all found unconventional ways to join words and ideas that actually ended up sounding very profound and
interesting, and let us all turn our set ideas on their heads to create some beautiful lyrics!
Overall, the session was extremely fun, engaging, interesting and enjoyable! And Yvonne was so
incredible at sharing her talent and deep knowledge about all things music and song! Everyone at the club
was blown away and couldn’t stop singing afterwards! Thank you, Yvonne!