Grantee: Scott Ryan

Scott Ryan has been writing songs for more than fifteen years, and has been a professional musician either part or full time since graduating with a music degree in 2007. He plays shows all over the country, has recorded multiple records and his music has been used to score films and television shows. In addition, he has taught guitar, voice and songwriting to various skill levels.

Scott Ryan presented professional songwriting classes to those in our community looking to learn new techniques and skills to hone their craft, called BASE Songwriting Workshop. Scott says, “The name BASE represented this being both a foundational course for teaching the arts, and the hope that it would be seen as a place of safety for many different people to come and partake in the class. As much as anyone can study and learn about music, as with any art form, there’s still magic in it. My approach is to help songwriters understand where their strengths lie and learn to use what they are good at to their advantage, as well as push them to experiment with new methods.”

WITH SAGA SUPPORT

SAGA support helped to increase the marketing efforts of these classes as well as underwrite the ticket prices and venue. With a low entry cost and wider marketing reach, the impact of these classes could be significant, providing instruction to songwriters who would gain skills and confidence to seek out other opportunities to showcase their music in local venues and grow the overall music scene.