How to Write Songs is Keppie Coutts and Benny Romalis.
Why HTWS Exists
Our goal is to help people write better songs: songs they are proud of and eager to release to the world. We aim to equip songwriters with confidence in their craft and practice—enough to flourish in both the delights and frustrations of the creative process!
Our belief, having worked with thousands of songwriters, is that your songwriting, like all things, can get better with meaningful and deliberate practice. Our intention is to share the skills, knowledge and ideas that we’ve had the privilege of gathering over the past 20 years, with others who embrace the art and craft of songwriting.
Explore Our Courses, Workshops, and Songwriting Sprints
Whether you’re looking for knowledge and skills, or accountability, community, and feedback, songwriters at all stages can take action now.
World-class educators
Keppie and Benny have been teaching songwriting in world-class and globally recognized colleges and universities for over 15 years, including for The Berklee College of Music, the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, the Australian College of the Arts, and more. Teaching others is not a “plan B” for us – it’s a calling, a passion, and a privilege, which has been sought out by the world’s best institutions of higher learning in contemporary music education.
Professional songwriters
Keppie’s original and co-written songs have been streamed over 10 million times in the past 3 years alone; an album of original work was commissioned by Penguin Random House in 2022; and in 2024 she was a featured artist on a Grammy-nominated album.
Benny is a founding member of internationally touring bluegrass band The Green Mohair Suits, and has been commissioned for major projects by Adobe, Cathay Pacific and Audible.
Together, Keppie and Benny perform and tour as duo Names Of Birds.
Passionate communicators
Our popular YouTube channel, How to Write Songs, has well over 170K subscribers, and almost 10 million views of our videos. Our unique ability to turn theory into practice with passion, humour, and joy, has inspired songwriters around the world.
Explore Our Library of Free Resources
And rich archive of our best video tutorials, articles, and downloadables, all for free.
About Keppie
As a songwriter, I have released 3 studio albums, 2 EPs, as well as co-writing songs with other artists and bands that have collectively streamed over 10 million times in the past 2 years, and recently had an album of original songs commissioned for release on the Penguin Random House audiobook, Mothertongues.
The Boston Globe says “Coutts’s songs marry soul and folk so gorgeously, you’ll cheer when they get stuck on endless repeat on the jukebox in your brain.”
You can find my music and collaborations here: www.keppiecouttsmusic.com
In equal measure to my passion for songwriting is my love of sharing the craft with others. I started teaching songwriting on faculty at the Berklee College of Music in Boston in 2010, and since then have taught around the world, at the Songwriting School of LA, for Berklee Online, the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, the Australian Institute of Music, and the Australian College of the Arts.
John Mayer says Keppie’s “voice is beautiful, just gorgeous. She’s like a contemporary female Nick Drake…and her guitar playing is so beautiful, so raw…”
About Benny
My musical journey began with poetry and guitar playing as a young child – which led to the writing, recording and release of two original albums under my own name. I’m a founding member, songwriter and slide-guitarist for the alt-country band The Green Mohair Suits – who have to date released 4 albums and 3 eps of original material.
In 2013 I founded Silamor Studios, a boutique studio specializing in composition for film, television, gaming and video production. In addition to releasing music as Silamor, I’ve also composed for major brands including Adobe, Cathay Pacific and Citibank… and I’m currently scoring a video game in production.
I’ve also spent the past 8 years creating and teaching courses on songwriting, production and composition at universities and colleges in Australia.
You can find my music here and here.
Who is HTWS for?
We help songwriters dedicated to taking their craft to a professional level, as well as for songwriters who are interested in improving their craft and developing an engaged relationship with their listeners at any stage in their career.
Through intensive workshops, online courses, songwriting sprints, and live song feedback sessions, we help the creative process of songwriters, using craft and creativity to elevate your songs to the highest possible level.