How To Write Songs

Category: Uncategorized

  • Analysing Sting’s Songwriting Process

    Analysing Sting’s Songwriting Process Studying the songwriting process of established songwriters is a great way to get an insight into other ways of thinking artistically. This in turn broadens our pool of creative knowledge to draw from. In this article, we take a close look at 17-time Grammy Award Winner Sting and discover some of…

  • A How-To Guide for Writing Choruses

    A How-To Guide for Writing Choruses A chorus is not just the bit where the lyrics repeat. It’s something else entirely. In this article, we tell you what a chorus is, different types of choruses, as well as 3 practical tips – one lyrical, one melodic, and one chord-based – that will help you write…

  • System #3 to Help You Always Make Time for Songwriting – Seeking Accountability

    System #3 to Help You Always Make Time for Songwriting – Seeking Accountability In a world where time is a precious commodity, finding ways to make time for songwriting can be a constant struggle. Plenty of songwriters have told us how they lack the discipline to stick to a schedule. In this article, we’ll discuss…

  • 5 Creative Chord Progressions to Reignite Your Creativity

    5 Creative Chord Progressions to Reignite Your Creativity In this article, we’ll go through 5 captivating, out-of-the-box chord progressions, each using different chords outside their key, that any songwriter can use immediately to make your chord progressions more interesting, sophisticated, and creative. This article is a summarised transcript of our video “5 Out-of-the-Ordinary Chord Progressions…

  • Upcoming Songwriting Workshop | ‘Understanding Chords: How to 10x Your Chord Options in 2 Simple Steps’

    This is a totally hands-on, practical workshop. We’ll tackle two of the biggest questions in songwriting: ‘How do I know what chords to use?’ and, ‘How do I write more interesting songs?’ Click here to register. In this 90-minute workshop, we’ll explore a process for writing chord progressions that doesn’t feel random, doesn’t get repetitive and…

  • System #1 to Help You Make Time for Songwriting – Practice Daily

    System #1 to Help You Make Time for Songwriting – Practice Daily We received loads of responses from a survey we sent out to our subscribers asking “What’s your biggest challenge with songwriting?”. One of the most common responses was that it’s difficult to make time to get any songwriting done. In this article, we’ll…

  • ‘Write a Song in 60 mins’ Workshop—Oct 21/22 2023

    This is a totally hands-on, practical workshop. In 60 minutes, we’ll be working through a 5-step process for writing great songs, fast. You will come away from this workshop with a finished first draft of a song. Click here to register now! If you are a songwriter of any level of experience, and struggle with…

  • Step #6 of Writing Great Melodies – Introduce Some Variation

    Step #6 of Writing Great Melodies – Introduce Some Variation Once we have the framework of our melody set up, a question that often next comes to mind is “Where do I go from here?”. In this blog post, we’ll talk about how introducing variation can help differentiate sections. We’ll also discuss methods you could…

  • Flip Method #6 – Pairing

    Flip Method #6 – Pairing Clichés are great. They’re relatable, well-known and convey what we need to in a short and sweet way. However, because of all these same traits, they can also come off as dull and overused. In this blog post, we take a look at pairing – a method to flip around…

  • Habits of Highly Successful Songwriters

    What if I told you that some of the greatest songwriters out there love to venture outside of their comfort zone? 🤔 They’re not just waiting for inspiration to strike, but they dip their toe into unknown territory to lend fate a helping hand. You might be surprised to learn that Dave Grohl – front…

  • Flip Method #5 – Swapping

    Flip Method #5 – Swapping So many songwriters default to clichés when they write their lyrics. This is completely understandable – after all, clichés are well-known and relatable. However, they are also uninteresting and stale. In this blog post, we’ll discuss a simple technique we call “Swapping”, that can be used to create new phrases…

  • Flip Method #4 – Inverting

    Flip Method #4 – Inverting Clichés are an integral part of songwriting, but they can sometimes become stale and lose their impact. In this blog post, we’ll discuss inverting – which is one of the ways we can switch up well-known clichés, and create memorable lyrics. This blog post aims to summarise the fourth part…

  • Flip Method #3 – Extending

    Flip Method #3 – Extending Clichés are well-known and relatable. In fact, that’s a large part of the reason that we as songwriters even use them. However, because they’re so well-known, they’re also often stale and overused. In this blog post, we’ll talk about how to add depth to your clichés by extending them. This…

  • 7 Traits of Highly Effective Songwriters

    7 Traits of Highly Effective Songwriters It’s one thing to be able to write a great song. However, it’s an entirely separate thing to be able to write great songs consistently and be a great songwriter. In this blog post, we’ll countdown what we think are the 7 traits of highly effective songwriters. This blog…

  • 4 Creative Songwriting Prompts and Projects

    Five times a year, we run Songwriting Groups. The groups run for 8 weeks, and everyone receives a fresh songwriting prompt every 2 weeks: 8 weeks, 4 brand new songs. The songwriting prompts are designed to give a holistic range of projects to spark creativity in a variety of forms – coming from different creative…

  • Flip Method #2 – Magnifying

    Flip Method #2 – Magnifying Consider the commonly known cliché “Diamonds are a girl’s best friend”. It’s very relatable because it’s known so well, but at the same time, that makes it predictable. And when something is predictable, it becomes boring. In this blog post, we’re going to discuss another method we can use to…

  • How to Write a Song—Starting With Chords

    How to Write a Song—Starting With Chords Songwriting is a creative process that can sometimes feel challenging, especially when it comes to finding the right balance between music and lyrics. By understanding the importance of chords and how they lay the groundwork for your song, you’ll gain valuable insights and techniques that will help make…

  • Songwriting for Beginners: A Simple 5-Step Blueprint

    How to Write a Song for Beginners The video tutorial above is a step-by-step guide on how to take your song from just an idea to a finished song. Below, we’ve summarised the main points, but make sure to watch the video to see Keppie and Benny put the steps into real-time practice, demonstrating a…

  • How to use simple chords to write great songs

    If you want to learn how to write a song, understanding how chords work is essential and in this video we look at how you can create interesting and impactful chord progressions using the basic concept of HOME and AWAY functions. This fundamental piece of music theory is a valuable tool for songwriters of all…

  • Top 5 Songwriting Exercises for Coming Up With Great Song Ideas: #5—Chorus Writing Prompts

    What a Chorus is not I have some important news about a Chorus—news that took me way too long to properly understand: If I had realized this a little sooner in my songwriting career, it would have saved me 10 years of learning the hard way. One other thing that the Chorus is NOT: Thinking…