Apple Offers Free Songwriting Workshop

Everyone has a song inside. On March 22 and 24, Apple Stores around the country will show you how to get it out of your head and into an MP3 you can submit to American Idol.

Apple promises,

You don't have to know how to play an instrument, write a song, or even sing in tune. With GarageBand and a little inspiration from the Apple Store expert staff, you'll learn everything you need to write, compose, and record your first hit song.

This free one-hour workshop covers music-making basics and gives you songwriting tips from the pros. You'll learn about song structure, chord progression, lyrics, and just what makes a great song great. You'll also get to explore GarageBand hands-on and see how fun and easy it is to create music.

You then have until March 31 to submit your tune to the American Idol songwriting competition. According to the site's Songwriter's Guide, songs are judged on potential, not production value:

A simple vocal recording accompanied by a guitar or piano will be enough for us to hear if your song could work for American Idol. Our skilled production team can then work their magic and complete the musical arrangement around your song if you make it through to our finale.

I like that. I hope we'll have a chance to hear the initial version of the winning song. It was fascinating to hear Spencer Critchley's GarageBand sketch evolve into a finished recording in his article "The eSession Experience: Online Recording for All," and seeing one of these tunes performed live in front of 40 million viewers would be inspiring.