Songwriting is an art form that combines creativity, musical knowledge, and a deep understanding of human emotions. Whether you’re a seasoned musician or a beginner with a passion for music, honing your songwriting skills can open up a world of possibilities. From crafting catchy melodies to penning poetic lyrics, the art of songwriting requires dedication, practice, and the right guidance.
In today’s ever-evolving music landscape, online courses have become an invaluable resource for aspiring songwriters. These courses offer a wealth of knowledge, practical exercises, and insights from industry professionals, all designed to help you unlock your creative potential and take your songwriting to new heights.
In this article, we’ve curated a list of the 11 best songwriting courses available online.
1. Lyrics Writing Course by Jacob Carter
This comprehensive online course is designed to teach aspiring songwriters and lyricists how to write compelling and impactful lyrics. Led by lyricist Jacob Carter, the course aims to help students unlock their creativity and find their unique voice through lyric writing.
The course consists of six modules covering various aspects of lyric writing:
- Finding Your Inspiration: Students learn different creative writing methods to find inspiration and discover their songwriting style.
- Lyrical Structure and Style: This module explores lyrical structures, rhyme patterns, song formats, and how melodies are constructed by analyzing famous songs and songwriters.
- How to Write Lyrics: Students learn techniques to turn their ideas into complete song drafts and refine their lyrics.
- Developing Songwriting Depth: This module focuses on using literary devices like imagery, metaphors, and characterization to add depth and meaning to lyrics. Famous song lyrics are analyzed as examples.
- Understanding Genre: Students study the conventions, themes, and patterns of different music genres to write lyrics tailored to specific styles.
- Learn How to Co-write: The final module covers the important skill of collaborating with other artists, songwriters, and teams for co-writing songs.
The course includes HD video lessons, printable resources, practical exercises, and real-life examples. Students have lifetime access to the materials and can study at their own pace. Upon completion, they receive a certificate.
You can check out his free guide on lyrics writing before joining his course.
2. Songwriting: Writing the Lyrics – Berklee Online (Coursera)
This course, taught by Pat Pattison, a professor at Berklee College of Music, focuses on the art of lyric writing. It is part of the broader “Songwriting: Writing, Arranging, and Producing Music Specialization” offered by Berklee on Coursera. The course is designed for beginners and covers essential aspects of lyric writing, including point of view, form, and the use of rhyme and rhythm to evoke emotions. Students will learn to identify stable and unstable lyrics, use various rhyming techniques, and clarify their ideas through phrasing. The course includes 12 videos, readings, quizzes, and peer reviews, providing a comprehensive learning experience.
3. The Lyric Writer’s Workroom – Songcraft
The Lyric Writer’s Workroom by Songcraft is a specialized course aimed at helping songwriters refine their lyric writing skills. This course emphasizes practical exercises and techniques to enhance creativity and lyrical expression. It covers various aspects of lyric writing, including the use of metaphors, imagery, and storytelling. The course is structured to provide actionable insights and exercises that can be immediately applied to improve one’s songwriting craft. While specific details about the course content and structure are not provided in the search results, it is known for its focus on the practical side of lyric writing and its ability to help songwriters find their unique voice.
4. Commercial Songwriting Techniques – Berklee Online
Authored by Andrea Stolpe, this course is designed for songwriters aiming for commercial success. It combines theory with concrete skill-building exercises to help students create memorable melodies and lyrics that connect emotionally with listeners. The course covers a ten-step process for writing hit songs, focusing on creating patterns of content and using all senses for creativity. Students will learn to streamline their writing process, apply songwriting strategies, and connect with their audience. By the end of the course, students will have three fully written songs and ideas for future projects. This course is ideal for those looking to write songs that appeal to a broad audience while maintaining their unique voice.
5. Lyric Writing: Tools and Strategies – Berklee Online
This course, also taught by Pat Pattison, is designed to sharpen lyric writing skills and discover techniques that have helped his students win Grammys and write number one songs. The course focuses on generating better ideas, finding the right words, and organizing rhythms and rhymes into compelling verses, choruses, and bridges. Students will learn to create vivid lyrics by mastering the elements of structure and building great lyrical ideas into great songs. The course includes practical exercises and assignments that help students brainstorm ideas more freely and structure their lyrics more effectively. It is suitable for both beginners and seasoned writers looking to enhance their lyric writing skills.
6. The Art of Songwriting – The Open University (FutureLearn)
This course offers a practical introduction to the mechanics of songwriting, covering fundamental musical concepts such as melody, rhythm, harmony, metre, and key. It explores the relationship between words and music, providing tools and techniques to create effective melodies and chord progressions. The course features insights from established musicians and songwriters, offering a comprehensive understanding of what makes a song successful. Students will learn to set words to rhythm, identify effective melodies, and structure their songs. The course is designed for complete novices, budding amateurs, and accomplished professionals looking to brush up on the basics. It includes practical activities and encourages students to create their own songs using specially commissioned lyrics.
7. How to Write Lyrics – The Song Foundry
This comprehensive online course by The Song Foundry focuses solely on lyric writing. Through over 5 hours of video lessons and a 32-page course pack, it covers essential lyric writing topics like using rhyme schemes, structuring lyrics, writing singable lyrics, and prosody (fitting lyrics to melodies). The course aims to help songwriters develop catchy, well-structured lyrics that connect with audiences. It includes modules on finding lyrical hooks, creative writing strategies, metaphors/similes, and more advanced techniques.
8. Songwriting: Lyric Writing – Elevate with ICMP
This online course from ICMP (Institute of Contemporary Music Performance) is dedicated to lyric writing for songwriters. Over 6 modules, it explores song structure, rhyme schemes, storytelling devices, and genre conventions. Students analyze influential lyrics, develop their unique voice through practical exercises, and learn to set words effectively to rhythm. The course provides a wealth of writing tips and techniques from experienced lyricists.
9. The Singer Songwriter – Berklee Online (Coursera)
Part of Berklee’s “Singer Songwriter” specialization on Coursera, this course focuses on lyric writing and marrying lyrics to melodies. Students learn songwriting fundamentals like prosody, developing ideas, using rhyme/rhythm effectively, and clarifying their lyrics through phrasing. While no instrument is required, those who play can apply the lessons to write and record their original songs.
10. Songwriting Simplified: Music Theory, Melody & Creativity – Udemy
This beginner-friendly Udemy course covers the full songwriting process from music theory basics to writing lyrics, melodies, and chord progressions. Students learn how to construct catchy melodies, use common chord progressions, and write lyrics over their musical ideas. By the end, students will have written a complete original song, making it ideal for those new to songwriting.
11. Writing Song Lyrics: Create and Combine with Melody – City Lit
This short online course from City Lit is geared towards songwriters and instrumentalists looking to improve their lyric writing abilities. It covers lyric generation techniques, understanding melody structure, meter, rhythm, and marrying lyrics seamlessly to melodies. Students collaborate, receive feedback, and work towards recording their own songs by the course end.