Songwriting

Turn a title, melody, lyric, chord loop or groove into a finished song. These six guides move from the first decision to hooks, prosody, energy and revision, with a playable prompt and a concrete writing task on every page.

Start here

Start with the fragment you already have.

Identify whether it is a title, melody, lyric, chord loop or groove, then use the process to add what that entry point usually lacks.

Start with the songwriting process

Jump straight inPress the triangle to hear it, the name to read it

The idea

Title and Concept
Hooks
Hooks and Toplines

The craft

Writing Lyrics
Energy Arc and Tension
From Idea to Finished Song

Also in this section

Songwriting Tips

The idea

Title and ConceptA title is a compass, not a label. Test every later choice against one line, and hear how the title sits inside the hook you keep coming back to.
HooksA hook is defined by its effect, not by its place in the form. Hear melodic, rhythmic and production hooks back to back and spot what they share.
Hooks and ToplinesWrite the vocal on top of a loop that already exists. Set the rhythm of the line first, then the notes, then the words, and hear every pass.

The craft

Writing LyricsStressed syllables belong on strong beats. Hear a line sung right and wrong, then fix the fit with rhyme, meter and images that carry weight.
Energy Arc and TensionEnergy is not volume. Turn density, register, rhythm and harmony up one at a time and hear the arc of a track lift on the way to the chorus.
From Idea to Finished SongIdeas are not the problem, stalling is. Pick one of the four ways in, treat the first draft as raw material, and work it through to a finished song.

Also in this section

Songwriting TipsWrite a clearer song by starting with one concrete line, shaping its melody around speech stress, and making the chorus audibly different.

Keep going

Melody and Form
Chord Progressions
Styles
Playing and Improvising

The other sections

Everything on this site sits in one of these, in the order they are meant to be learned.

The building blocks

Chords
Scales
Intervals
Rhythm
Reading Music

How music works

Harmony
Chord Progressions
Melody and Form
Sound and Hearing

In practice

Styles
Playing and Improvising
Production and Arranging