ONLINE SONGWRITING CLASS

Are You Serious About Songwriting?

Become more creative and write better songs that move people

Is there anything more beautiful than expressing yourself with music? It’s even more exciting when it’s your own song.

But songwriting can be hard. Because where do you start and when is your song finished?

Training these music skills by yourself is difficult and sometimes you just need somebody to help you out. Somebody who can hand you the songwriting tools and songwriting tips that you need.

Join my online songwriting class and I will guide you with your personal music journey. Learn to write the music you want. Explore how you can create new music.

Find your creative voice and become a songwriter!

Can You Become a Songwriter?

Online Songwriting Lessons are for you if you have ever wondered:

  • How can I learn songwriting?
  • Can you learn to be a good songwriter?
  • How can I create my own song?
  • What music skills you need for songwriting?
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You love to create music and now want to take your creativity to the next step. Which is writing your own songs. Not many music schools are also a songwriting school. Thanks to the internet nowadays you can master the songwriting craft from anywhere. And why not learn songwriting from home? The place where you feel most comfortable. Here is how you can learn songwriting and write new songs.

  • Listen to artists that inspire you and analyse their music and other successful songs
  • Learn how chord progressions work
  • Learn how to write a melody (to chords)
  • Learn how rhyme schemes work and basic lyric writing techniques.

You can teach yourself to become a songwriter if you follow my tips above. But it can be tough because when you are stuck you will need help especially if you have no experience.

In my songwriting program, I will teach and show you all the steps of songwriting so that you can grow with each song that you write. You will develop your own style. Together we will work on your own music and I will give you all the songwriting tools you need to express yourself in songs.

Follow other songwriting students and learn to write music today!

Your Songwriting Coach

Hi! My name is Xander and I am a composer, Songwriter and Music educator with a bachelors degree in music composition. I teach many students all over the world via private music classes and via my YouTube channel, Learning Music Skills.

As a composer, educator and content creator, my goal is to share all aspects of the process of making music. I want to give everyone the tools necessary to be able to understand, enjoy and create music. No matter the genre or skill level.

I’m an expert in making difficult topics easy to understand. I break down complicated concepts into practical bite-size songwriting and composition techniques that you can use.

Songwriting coach Xander Slikker

Learn all the Elements of Songwriting

Melody

Harmony

Song Structure

Rhythm

Lyric Writing

Music Theory

Music Production

Creative Skills

Song Analysis

Free Songwriting Classes

If you want to explore my free songwriting lessons online, then I suggest you watch this playlist. It is a gathering of music classes that focus on creative songwriting techniques. And if you feel that you need more help with creating music, then don’t hesitate to contact me and schedule a songwriting class.

What You Will Learn In Our Songwriting Class

Melody

Learning how to write a good melody is a fundamental music skill that you need as a songwriter. During our songwriting classes, we will explore:

  • How to write a melody
  • What are the building blocks of a melody
  • Finding your unique melodic voice
  • Melodic development techniques
  • Techniques for finding melodic inspiration
  • And much more.

Harmony

Harmony and chord progressions are the backbone of Western music and almost all popular music. But how do you write a good chord progression? And what kinds of chord progressions are suitable for your style? What we will discover is:

  • How to write a chord progression
  • How to make your chord progression more interesting
  • Find creative chord connections
  • Advanced harmonic concepts
  • And much more.

Structure/Form

Musical form is one of the most overlooked aspects of music and songwriting if you ask me. Often times changing something in the song structure can completely change your song for the better (or worse). What you will learn in our classes is:

  • What are the basic and popular song forms
  • How to change and rework your song
  • Creative song structure techniques
  • And much more.

Rhythm

Rhythm is the drive behind any good melody or song. Rhythm is by far one of the most memorable elements in any given song or composition. For some people writing interesting rhythms comes more naturally than for others. What you will learn is:

  • How to use basic rhythmic patterns
  • How to rhythmic positions
  • How to develop your rhythm in a song
  • When to use antimetric rhythms
  • And much more.

Lyric Writing

What would a song be without memorable lyrics? The lyrics are the first thing that most of your audience will hear and connect to. That’s why it is important that you know how to write good lyrics that tell the story of your song. What we can explore in our songwriting class is:

  • Learning different types of rhyme schemes
  • How to effectively place your lyrics
  • How to write a song lyric that continues to build
  • Lyric writing techniques to generate lyric ideas
  • Much more.

Music Theory

Where would we be without music theory? Many songwriters write music in an intuitive manner. But things are just so much easier if you are able to find out what you just played or recorded. What we will learn during our songwriting class is:

  • Basic music theory to start writing music
  • Creative theory techniques for inspiration
  • How to use music theory to fix boring songs
  • Music Theory for practical songwriting use
  • And much more.

Music Production

Nowadays as a songwriter, you need to have at least some basic knowledge of recording and producing music. You have to be able to make a proper demo that you can send to other musicians or record labels. What you can learn about music production in our songwriting class is:

  • How to record music
  • How to use a DAW and its plugins
  • How to arrange music
  • How to mix music
  • Reverb, delay and distortion techniques
  • And more.

Creative Skills

As a songwriter, you need to be able to find inspiration. Even when you don’t really feel like it. So how do you live a creative life? And how do you make sure that your creative music ideas keep flowing? And most important, how do make sure that your ideas are original? In our songwriting class we can focus on:

  • Techniques for generating music ideas
  • How to stay creative
  • How to evaluate your ideas
  • How to avoid a musical burn-out
  • Finding and staying in touch with your musical identity
  • And much more.

Song Analysis

Popular songs or songs by other artists are a perfect way to refine your songwriting skills. Because why try to reinvent the wheel, while somebody else has done a better job than you? If something has been proven to work, don’t waste your time.

As a songwriter and composer, you need to know how to properly analyse compositions and songs. What things are important and which elements don’t matter?

Lessons for Songwriters

  • Practise your craft often
  • Don’t compare yourself with famous artists, composers and songwriters
  • Don’t copy other works just because it’s popular
  • Find your own style
  • Stay true to what you want and what you stand for
  • Be aware of new inspirations, ideas and concepts
  • Expressing is more important than impressing
  • You don’t need to have a degree to be successful

What you should read and watch to become a songwriter

Best Books on Songwriting for Songwriters

Best Books on Music Production & Audio

Best Books on Music Composition

Learning Music Skills on YouTube

Frequently Asked Questions

If you want to learn songwriting, here are some tips that can help you. These are some possible ways for you to get started:

  • It seems obvious but it is very important that you listen to a lot of songs. Pay attention to how they used melody, harmony, rhythm, lyrics, and structure.
  • Learn some music theory. The book Music Theory: From Beginner to Expert by Nicolas Carter is one that I can recommend. Why is this important? Well, music theory is the language and logic of music and it can help you understand how music works and how to create your own. The topics that you might want to learn are scales, keys, chords, chord progressions, intervals, modes, and notation.
  • Write your own lyrics. Your words, stories and poems can convey a message, a story, a mood, or a feeling. Most people write lyrics from their own experiences, imagination, or inspiration. The book I would recommend is Writing Better Lyrics by Pat Pattison.
  • Practise writing melodies. The melody is what most people will remember. So you can understand that it’s of major importance. It’s the thing that people can actually whistle. Most people write melodies by using their own voice, an instrument, or software. The main building blocks of melodies are pitch, contour, range, intervals, and motifs.
  • Learn and experiment with harmony. Harmony is the combination of notes that support the melody. We normally call these chords and chord progressions. What you need to keep in mind is the key, mode, tonality, and tension.
  • Practise your rhythm and experiment. Rhythm is the pattern of beats and accents in a song. At the end of the day, it’s what makes a song groove or swing. When we talk about rhythm we think about terms such as tempo, meter, subdivision, syncopation, and groove.
  • Practice with different forms and structures for your works. Structure is the arrangement of sections in a song. It is what gives a song form and coherence. Some of the most common structures that you can use are verse-chorus, AABA, ABABCB, and strophic.

No matter if you write songwriter music or want to practise rock songwriting all of these styles can be taught. An instructor or teacher will guide you in finding your own creative identity. By focussing on every detail of your music he or she will know how to guide you. This can be when you are studying for your bachelor’s degree, taking a masterclass or if you are just taking a class casually.

You will write as much music as you can and whenever you are stuck you can make assignments on specific theory topics to get better.

Some of the most famous places where you can study and get a degree are:

  • New York University: NYU has a distinguished faculty of songwriters and composers, such as Phil Galdston, Barry Eastmond, and Glenn Frey. NYU also hosts masterclasses and workshops with notable songwriters, such as Ryan Tedder, John Legend, and Sara Bareilles.
  • Berklee College of Music: Berklee offers a Bachelor of Music in Songwriting that focuses on developing the skills and techniques of writing songs in various genres and styles. Berklee has a renowned faculty of songwriters and producers, such as Pat Pattison, Bonnie Hayes, and Kara DioGuardi.
  • University of Southern California: USC offers a Bachelor of Music in Popular Music with an emphasis on songwriting that combines the study of music theory, history, performance, and technology. USC has a prestigious faculty of songwriters and musicians, such as Chris Sampson, Patrice Rushen, and Lamont Dozier.
  • The Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts: LIPA offers a Bachelor of Arts in Songwriting that explores the creative and technical aspects of writing songs. Students can also study music production, performance, analysis, and criticism. LIPA has a distinguished faculty of songwriters and artists, such as Steve Levine, Jon Cohen, and Paul McCartney.

But of course, you don’t need to be a graduate or spend a lot of money getting a college or university degree. Another option is that you take private classes from a music teacher like me. You can also sign up for songwriting courses at your local music school or buy one online.

I don’t believe that there is a best or perfect age to start. No matter your age, if you have something to share with the world the time is right when you want it to be. There are many examples of composers, musicians and songwriters who become famous at a later age. And on a different note, everything depends on what your goals are and what you see as being a success. Not everybody wants to be the next Ed Sheeran. Maybe your goal is to just master songwriting enough to make some of your own tunes.