How To Write Songs

Tag: how to write a song

  • 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 Books that Are Songwriter Must-Reads

    5 Books that Are Songwriter Must-Reads As professional songwriters, we have collectively read hundreds of books on the art of songwriting. What we want to do in this article is discuss 5 of the most influential and transformative books that we personally keep coming back to as songwriters. Some of these books aren’t specifically about…

  • System #2 to Help You Make Time for Songwriting – Collecting and Organising Ideas

    System #2 to Help You Make Time for Songwriting – Collecting and Organising Ideas Songwriting is a fun process. However, it becomes frustrating when you try to sit down to write and nothing comes to mind. This can cause you eventually stop making time for songwriting. In this article, we’ll discuss how you can ensure…

  • How to Use Arpeggios to Spice Up Your Melody

    How to Use Arpeggios to Spice Up Your Melody We received a message from one of our Patreon members about how their melodies always feel boring, bland and seem to have something missing. This is a common problem amongst songwriters. So, in this article we’ll tackle one of the methods you can use to create…

  • 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…

  • 3 Simple Systems to Help You Make Time for Songwriting

    3 Simple Systems to Help You Make Time for Songwriting After emailing the over 12,000 people on my mailing list and asking them the question “What is your biggest challenge with songwriting?”, one response from a subscriber by the name of Jesse particularly stood out to me. She commented on how she now has so…

  • The MAP Method – Finish Your Songs

    The MAP Method – Finish Your Songs Recently, I emailed the over 12,000 people on my email list, and asked them the question “What is your number one biggest challenge as a songwriter?”. After receiving hundreds of replies, we found that the most common problem songwriters have is finishing songs. In this article, we’ll discuss…

  • 10 Essential Chord Progressions for Songwriters

    10 Essential Chord Progressions for Songwriters If you’re a songwriter looking for inspiration then look no further! In this article, we take a look at 10 essential chord progressions and some classic songs that use them. This article is a summarised transcript of our video “10 Chord Progressions Every Beginner Songwriter Should Know”. Click here…

  • Write a Song Within an Hour

    Write a Song Within an Hour A lot of songwriters often talk about how they can’t finish songs. You hear it all the time – tales of abandoned notebooks, lone voice notes and old sticky notes on the wall. Well, this blog post will help you solve that problem by showing you a 5-step process…

  • Part 3 of The Songwriting Formula – The Song Map

    Part 3 of The Songwriting Formula – The Song Map It’s easy to think that once you have a concept and a title, that you’ll be able to plan out an entire song. In reality, a song requires structure of some kind. Similarly to how a building requires a good blueprint to model it after,…

  • Songwriter Habit #1 – Write Everyday

    Songwriter Habit #1 – Write Everyday It’s a hard thing for songwriters to hear, but highly effective songwriters practice writing everyday. This is hard to hear because it implies that getting good at songwriting requires dedication and discipline. In this blog post, we’ll talk about how writing everyday us a habit necessary to become a…

  • Part 2 of The Songwriting Formula – The Title

    Part 2 of The Songwriting Formula – The Title Songwriters regularly underestimate the power of a song title. Many think that a title is just a way of identifying a song and marketing it. However, this is simply not true and coming up with a title is a crucial part of the songwriting process. In…

  • Songwriting Tip #7 – Using Unconventional Song Forms

    Songwriting Tip #7 – Using Unconventional Song Forms In songwriting, it’s common practice for most of us to adhere to common or popular song forms such ABAB or AABA. However, this doesn’t mean that these are the only song forms we should ever use. Through analysing Queen’s “We Will Rock You”, we’ll discuss how using…

  • Step #5 of Writing Great Melodies – Repeat the Phrase

    Step #5 of Writing Great Melodies – Repeat the Phrase As most songwriters know, repetition is important when trying to write great melodies. After all, an earworm can only be formed if a melodic motif is drilled into a listener’s mind. However, we can’t just duplicate phrases note for note. We have to create variation…

  • Songwriter Habit #2 – Revise Your Songs

    Songwriter Habit #2 – Revise Your Songs The media often portrays great songwriters as simply having inspiration strike them, then magically writing inspiring songs on their first try. In reality, a lot of revision is done between the song’s first draft and the version that the listener hears. Here, we’ll discuss how revising your songs…

  • Songwriting Tip #6 – Keep It Short

    Songwriting Tip #6 – Keep It Short A common issue that songwriters often struggle with, is how to determine the length of their song. In this blog post, we’ll learn the importance of song length, by studying Queen’s famous rock anthem, “We Will Rock You”. This article is a summarised transcript of the sixth part…

  • Songwriter Habit #3 – Collecting Everything

    Songwriter Habit #3 – Collecting Everything We’ve all been there before: You get a sudden idea for a song, and you tell yourself that it’s alright, you’ll remember it later. But let’s be honest, most of the time, we won’t be able to accurately recall what it is later. In this article, we’ll teach you…

  • An Easy 3-Part Songwriting Formula

    An Easy 3-Part Songwriting Formula Do you have folders full of half-finished songs? This is a common problem and you’re definitely not alone. In this article, we’ll go through a songwriting formula I’ve learnt that has allowed me to know whether a song idea will work, and write better songs faster. This article is a…

  • Learn to Turn Basic Chords Beautiful

    Learn to Turn Basic Chords Beautiful There’s absolutely nothing wrong with using basic chords. After all, they’re safe, reliable and well-known. However, to truly make the most out of your basic chords, you have to learn how to make them interesting. In this article, we’ll take some of the most common chords on guitar and…

Weekend Songwriting Intensive - January 4-5

Ignite 2025 with an immersive weekend of songwriting, led by Keppie and Benny.