AFTER more than 30 years in the music business, singer Horse McDonald says it is time to widen her horizons.

That's quite a statement from the artist who has toured with Tina Turner and BB King and earlier this year took to the stage of the Barrowland, accompanied by the Scottish Chamber Orchestra.

Riding a wave of creativity, she says she wants to channel her energy into the next generation of performers, and kicks off with a masterclass for four up-and-coming singer-songwriters next month at the Tron.

Fans in the audience will get a unique insight into the singer's stage presence and maybe pick up some tips on performing along the way.

"Believe it or not, I still get very anxious before a show, but I've learned how to tether the adrenalin and fire it out to the audience," she said.

"I've never been trained, but I've grown into quite a skilled singer and performer.

"Everything has developed from within me out so I can't separate where the singing improved or where the writing improved, it has all just grown organically.

"It will be really nice for the audience to sit down and see me in a very different capacity."

The four masterclass students are Jack Hinks from Edinburgh, Stefanie Lawrence from Ayr, Tracy Mack from Bedford and Scott Millington from Lancaster.

They will perform one sing each, then Horse steps in to offer some words of advice and encouragement.

Offering a look behind the scenes at life on the road, Horse will talk about her own career and musical influences, before the audience get the chance to ask a few questions themselves. It promises to be revelatory.

"I've opened myself up a little bit and people feel like they know me," she admits. "Doing this is sharing a little bit of what I do. It's not a career, it's my life."

As her songwriting has matured over the years, Horse says she finds herself tackling deep and very personal subjects she would never before have dreamed of sharing with the world.

"I think now I'm writing about things that people have empathy with, like losing their parents. There are songs that really hit people like a mallet.

"Losing my parents was a real punch to my system and the songs I've written from that time are very powerful. The person has gone away but they're still here. It's part of life.

"As I'm getting older I feel a little bit more deeply about life, about people and family. It's just part of what everyone is going through and I think a lot of people are identifying with it."

Her last album, Home, got rave reviews, and that could be because of the very personal nature of the songs.

It includes her hit Careful, much loved by Will Young and sung by him at Glastonbury in 2009, and features Night Lights, a painting by Scottish artist Jacqueline Orr, on the cover.

"I've had a lot of issues by being gay through my life and career and what is really beautiful is, nobody cares. They just love me as a person.

"I'm so unburdened and released by performing because everyone really enjoys it. I feel very lucky."

If there is one single event that has changed Horse's outlook it was getting married to her partner Alanna in a civil ceremony in her home town of Lanark at the start of the year.

She says she has found her soulmate and the strength of the relationship has boosted every part of her life.

WITH a wry smile she says: "In my time I was the only gay in the village. I wasn't, of course, but my life was very difficult and I left.

"It felt right to be getting married and it was important for me to go home to do that."

Channelling her creativity helped Horse escape the bullying she experienced as a teenager and she has become involved in anti-bullying campaigns in recent years.

"You don't realise, you're just a human being and you're not extraordinary, it's what you do that is.

"How amazing that you touch somebody. For me, my success is touching people.

"I feel like I have a gift and I've been on a journey and I'm realising now that I'm just sharing something."

l Horse: The Voice, A Masterclass, The Tron, Glasgow, September 9. Tickets £18.

Visit www.tron.co.uk