The Complete Songwriter Expert Track

We’ll start with the building blocks of a song, like the lyrics, harmony and genre. You’ll then learn how to analyse songs critically, unpicking the themes and messages, and understanding how dynamics, tone and repetitive hooks shape sound.

Now you've learnt how songs are made, take a step back to think about how to develop your own. It starts with unlocking your inner creativity, whether through finding inspiration or a fixed routine. You'll find plenty of ideas in this module.

Verse, chorus, bridge and more: songs need a structure to tell their story and make sense to the listener. Once you know the song structure conventions, you're then free to break (or shape) the rules to fit your own style.

You've ticked off song inspiration and structure — now it's time to think about lyrics. Learn how to write as a character; in a confessional style; or with imagery and metaphor. You'll also touch on editing and refining your work, too.

You'll now explore how to give your song its own unique sound through elements like chord progressions and scales. You'll also start to look at your overall approach to songwriting, and see how all these moving parts fit together.

Folk, pop, soul: discover the instruments, singing styles and types of lyrics and melodies that feature in a wide range of genres. It's all to help you apply your learnings to your own writing, or to create your own take on a classic style.

What's the creative process like? How do you find inspiration? How could you use your imagination effectively? You’ll touch on all this — together with writing tips and techniques — to develop the ideas and themes that spark your own song creations.

With your ideas blossoming, you’ll need to know how to collect and organise them properly, refine your overall writing process, and write more purposefully. You’ll cover all these elements in this module, as well as tips and suggestions for translating your ideas into fleshed-out concepts.

Whether you start with a tune, a title, or a turn of phrase, try out different ways of crafting a song to see what works best for you. Along the way, you’ll draw a clear line between your inspiration and your own songwriting voice.

Learn how to shape your inspiration into a fully-fledged piece of songwriting. You’ll discover key songwriting tools and software, as well as tips and tactics for researching new ideas, overcoming stumbling blocks and working around your mistakes.

Starting from your very first draft, you’ll learn how to shape and refine every element of your song, think more objectively about your writing, and understand how parts like the melody and lyrics work together for a successful piece of music.

From double acts to entire teams, you’ll explore famous instances of co-writing and uncover how and why writers work together. You’ll also examine the benefits and pitfalls of partnering, to use for your own approach to songwriting.

In the first module on this course, you’ll discover the history and stories behind a range of musical genres, learn how to identify and analyse them, and explore how they influence, complement and compare with each other.

What is pop music? Who is it for? And how did it develop? You’ll find answers to these questions and more in this detailed module, which examines the history, lyrics and techniques of pop music, as well as its many subgenres.

With roots in creating music for the ‘common’ man, the folk and country genres famously feature storytelling and acoustic elements, with a strong focus on the structure of their songs and lyrics. Learn more about the genres, their subgenres, and how they blend together.

Explore electronic music and synthesising techniques like sampling and looping; learn about a range of electronic styles from early hip-hop to modern dubstep; and uncover how this enduring style of music shaped the rave scene and culture in the 80s.

From the iconic 12-bar blues to the energy of punk and glam rock’s trademark flamboyance, explore one of the most varied genres of all. Uncover rock’s huge cultural impact, get to grips with chords, and touch on technical elements like bent notes and time signatures.

From double acts to entire teams, you’ll explore famous instances of co-writing and uncover how and why writers work together. You’ll also examine the benefits and pitfalls of partnering, to use for your own approach to songwriting.

With every topic under the sun to choose from, how do you decide what you want your songs to be about? In this introductory module you’ll experiment with different creative writing techniques, find inspiration and uncover your own unique lyrical identity.

Drawing on examples of influential lyrics and songwriters throughout history, in this module you’ll immerse yourself in the technicalities of style, form and formatting — from rhyme schemes and classic structures, to how to use melodic math.

There’s more to lyric writing than just choosing words that sound good. In order to connect with your audience, you’ll need to have a strong understanding of literary devices — from imagery and metaphor to tense and characterisation. Here, you’ll take your lyrics to the next level to make them truly memorable and unique.

Every genre of music has its own indicators and tropes, and understanding these can be helpful when it comes to crafting your lyrics for a specific musical style. You’ll examine these in more detail through this module and learn how to spot the patterns and styles that really speak to you.

Learning to write with other artists, songwriters and even teams is a vital skill for every lyricist. In this module, you’ll discover some valuable tips on collaborating and getting the most out of the co-writing process.