How to Write Your First Song

Ever wanted to write a song, but not known how?

This course will introduce you to the tools and techniques you need to write your first song. You’ll look at some of the fundamentals of songwriting, building your knowledge as you progress.

By the time you’re done, you’ll have gone through the process of writing your own song, working with pitch, melody, chord progressions and more.

Learn how to write a song

The art of songwriting is one that just about anyone can learn. Whether or not you’ve tried your hand at music composition in the past, this course gives you the opportunity to get creative.

As you work your way through, you’ll learn how to make a song, exploring the main steps involved in the process.

Explore the principles of songwriting

Writing songs is an enjoyable and creative way to express yourself. With this course, you’ll discover the underlying principles of song composition.

As well as looking at how to set words to a rhythm, you’ll examine what an effective melody looks like, and how to structure your piece. These techniques can help you write future songs on your own.

Create a song of your own

If you’re struggling with how to write song lyrics or what to write a song about, we’ve got you covered. Each week, using specially-commissioned lyrics, we’ll build up a song and encourage you to do the same.

World-renowned musician, Martin Simpson, will use the same words and techniques and we’ll check in with him each week for inspiration and guidance on the songwriting process.

We’ll also talk to experts in music and psychology as well as established musicians and songwriters to find out what makes a song successful.

Whether you’re a complete novice who has never written a song in their life, a budding amateur looking to develop further skills or an accomplished professional brushing up on the basics, this course will deliver comprehensive practical and theoretical knowledge to help set you on your path.

While it will be useful to have access to a musical instrument this is not a requirement, you can participate in the course just using your voice or with freely available music software.

• What's involved in songwriting?
• Welcome to the course
• Getting started
• Writing your song
• The songwriting challenge
• Words, music and time
• Welcome to Week 2
• The five musical elements
• Setting words to music
• Time and pitch
• The songwriting challenge
• Working with melody
• Welcome to Week 3
• The ingredients of melody
• What makes an effective melody?
• The songwriting challenge
• Chords and chord progressions
• Welcome to Week 4
• Major and minor chords
• Chord types and chord progressions
• The songwriting challenge
• Song forms
• Welcome to Week 5
• Chorus, verse, refrain
• The songwriting challenge
• Putting the elements together
• Welcome to Week 6
• Arranging your song
• Final course assessment
• The songwriting challenge