Crafting compelling songs is an art that combines creativity, technical skill, and emotional expression. Whether you’re an aspiring songwriter looking to pen your first hit or an experienced lyricist aiming to refine your craft, the right course can make all the difference. With a plethora of options available, finding the perfect songwriting course to suit your needs can be daunting.
To help you navigate this journey, we’ve curated a list of the 10 best songwriting courses that offer comprehensive training, expert guidance, and practical insights.
Dive in and discover the course that will help you unlock your full songwriting potential.
1. Lyrics Writing Course by Jacob Carter
Jacob Carter’s Lyrics Writing Course is a comprehensive online program designed to help aspiring lyricists and songwriters enhance their skills and creativity. Led by lyricist Jacob Carter, the course consists of six modules covering various aspects of lyric writing. These modules include finding inspiration, understanding lyrical structure and style, crafting impactful lyrics, and collaborating with others.
The course offers practical insights, industry knowledge, and hands-on experience through HD video lessons, printable resources, and real-life exercises. Students will learn how to analyze and understand songwriting, brainstorm ideas, and structure their lyrics for maximum impact. The course also includes feedback on finished songs, helping students refine their work.
The course is suitable for both beginners and experienced lyricists looking to find their unique voice and craft compelling lyrics. Testimonials from past students highlight the course’s effectiveness in boosting confidence and providing valuable songwriting techniques.
You can check out his free guide on lyrics writing before signing up for his course.
2. Songwriting: Writing the Lyrics – Berklee Online (Coursera)
This course from Berklee College of Music on Coursera focuses specifically on lyric writing for songs. Taught by renowned songwriter Pat Pattison, it covers techniques like using rhyme schemes, developing metaphors, structuring lyrics, and marrying lyrics to melody. The course includes video lessons, peer review assignments, and a final project to write an original song lyric. It’s great for beginner to intermediate lyricists looking to hone their craft.
3. How to Write Lyrics – The Song Foundry
This online course from The Song Foundry provides a comprehensive guide to writing song lyrics. It covers generating lyrical ideas, using devices like rhyme and repetition effectively, creating metaphors, and developing a lyrical hook. The self-paced lessons allow you to learn at your own pace with lifetime access. It’s suitable for lyricists of all levels looking to improve their skills.
4. Songwriting: Lyric Writing – Elevate with ICMP
This online course from the Institute of Contemporary Music Performance (ICMP) focuses exclusively on lyric writing techniques. Over 6 modules, you’ll explore song structure, rhyme schemes, storytelling, genre conventions, and more. The course features video lessons from industry experts and allows you to get feedback on your work. It’s great for aspiring lyricists looking to develop a unique voice.
5. Writing Song Lyrics: Create and Combine with Melody – City Lit
This 6-week evening course from City Lit in London combines lyric writing with melody creation. You’ll learn techniques for generating lyrical ideas, understanding song structure, using literary devices, and marrying your lyrics to a melody line. With a hands-on approach including feedback sessions, it’s ideal for singer-songwriters looking to improve their overall songwriting.
6. The Lyric Writer’s Workroom – Songcraft
This online course from Songcraft provides a comprehensive workbook approach to lyric writing. It includes exercises on topics like object writing, metaphors, rhythm/rhyme, and more. With contributions from professional songwriters, it aims to help writers at any level develop their skills through practice. The self-paced format allows you to work through the materials on your own schedule.
7. Commercial Songwriting Techniques – Berklee Online
This course from Berklee Online teaches techniques for writing commercially viable songs across different genres. Taught by hit songwriter Andrea Stolpe, it covers topics like generating lyrical and melodic hooks, using common song forms effectively, and marrying lyrics to melodies. The course aims to help students unite their artistic voice with commercial appeal through video lessons, writing exercises, and peer feedback. It’s geared towards both aspiring and experienced songwriters looking to hone their commercial songwriting skills.
8. Lyric Writing: Tools and Strategies – Berklee Online
In this course, students learn tools and strategies for generating better lyrical ideas and expressing them compellingly in songs. Taught by renowned lyricist Pat Pattison, it covers techniques like object writing, using rhymes expressively, creating forward motion in lyrics, and more. The course aims to help lyricists find their unique voice while also making their lyrics more impactful through video lessons, writing assignments, and analysis of famous songs.
9. The Singer Songwriter – Berklee Online (Coursera)
This Specialization on Coursera from Berklee comprises four courses that provide a comprehensive education in singer-songwriting. It covers guitar fundamentals, singing techniques, lyric writing, music production basics using Ableton Live, and culminates in students producing their own original songs. With video lessons from Berklee faculty, it’s designed for complete beginners looking to develop the essential skills for writing, performing and recording their own music.
10. Songwriting Simplified: Music Theory, Melody & Creativity – Udemy
This course on the Udemy platform aims to simplify the songwriting process by breaking it down into core elements like music theory, melody writing, and creativity exercises. Taught by musician Timo Huttunen, it covers topics like major and minor scales, chord progressions, melodic techniques, and overcoming writer’s block. With over 5 hours of video content, quizzes, and supplemental materials, it’s designed to help beginner songwriters build a strong foundation in music theory and melody writing.
