Hit Songwriting Course
How to write a hit song… and sell it!
This songwriting course is designed to bring the hit songwriter out in you at our West London studio. From basic music theory to melody and lyric writing, idea generation and quality control to pitching and business. Special emphasis is placed on the all-important lyrical and melodic hooks where you will learn a lot of insider secrets that should make your writing take off like never before. And, even better, based on these secrets there will be some incredibly innovative and useful writing exercises exclusive to our school. Watch your writing skills improve in real-time! At the end of the course, your group will be able to further apply that knowledge by co-writing a commercial song with a No.1 hit writer, which we anticipate will be pitched to labels and artists worldwide. We focus on a commercial song because a commercial song needs hooks, lots of them. A dance record with vocals or an indie track may only need one-but still a good one. And if you’re worried about ending up sounding too commercial-fear not! Our songwriting method includes provisions for putting the brakes on and staying on the right side of cool!
There are no prerequisites or equipment required if you wish to study top-line songwriting, but knowing your way around an instrument and/or a DAW would be handy if you want to write your own backing tracks. See our songwriting article for more information on some of the jargon.
With a number one with All Saints and over five million records sold, Alex Von Soos is our songwriting specialist. Check him out on our instructors page.
The courses are designed for optimised learning so you take in the content in a day, recap in between sessions at home, and come back a week later for the next session of learning. This makes use of an educational practice called The Spacing Effect. Evening courses run two sessions per week for three hours each.
“Great content, really useful techniques that I think have saved me years of frustration on trying to figure out why my songs were “just not there”. Love the tools you gave us on melodic rhythm to provide contrast and build, and then release into the chorus. Learnt a lot about what makes a hit commercial song and what I can do to make my songs better” Allan Cuevas
“The course was excellent. It’s like being handed a deluxe toolbox for songwriting that you will use forever. I have learnt so much about how to write quality and catchy songs. I know my songwriting practice will be changed for the better since I have done this course!” Christa Wright
“The course was brilliant, the small class size ensured we received individual attention. Alex was very knowledgeable, encouraging and reassuring so the nerves I had before the course disappeared. The content we covered was amazing, I wouldn’t have thought of the stuff we covered in a million years. It made course fee well worth it 10 times over!” Monica Holcombe
STOP PRESS: We have just finished setting up a new one day Taster Course which runs over one full day at the same West London venue. Many elements – especially the lyrical side of the Main Course are touched upon, albeit briefly, and everyone is guaranteed to feel that they’ve learned something about songwriting that they never knew before. The price for the taster course is only £69 and there will be a £40 discount for everyone who takes the full course!
TASTER COURSE BREAKDOWN:
• Current chart hits under the microscope
• Hallmarks of a great lyric
• The importance of titles & concepts
• Rhymes, repeats and lyrical “glue”
• Lyric brainstorming sheet
LUNCH
• Practical lyric writing exercises
• Most common song structures-including when to hit the chorus
• Intervals leading to stable and unstable notes; also major and minor scales
• Basic chords explained
• Melodic Rhythm – the “secret” ingredient
• The best job in the world – creativity and “the buzz”. Also, how much can a top songwriter earn?
TEA
• Hallmarks of a good chorus melody
• How not to write a song – typical beginners’ mistakes and how to avoid them
• Publishing-copyright, royalties, sync and splits
• Arrangement and all parts of songwriting-the balance between simplicity and complexity with music being a piece of art where all component parts have to work together
• More current chart hits under the microscope
• Q&A session
Taster Sessions
| Date | Time |
| Saturday 25th February | 11.00 – 19.00 |
| Saturday 3rd March | 11.00 – 19.00 |
| Saturday 10th March | 11.00 – 19.00 |
| Saturday 24th March | 11.00 – 19.00 |
| Saturday 2nd April | 11.00 – 19.00 |
Full Course £349
Week 1 – Introduction to The Craft of Songwriting
• The best profession in the world – creativity and “the buzz”
• Is there a formula for writing hit songs? There is!
• Classic hit songs & current chart toppers under the microscope
• Hooks = Hits!
• The importance of titles
• How not to write a song – typical beginners’ mistakes and how to avoid them
• BusinessWise – How much can a top songwriter earn?
Week 2 – The Musical Framework
• Basic music theory-what every songwriter needs to know
• The hunt for “magic notes”
• Basic chords explained
• Keys and the Circle of Fifths
• Inversions, pedals and advanced harmony
• Song structure - Verse, Chorus, Bridge, M8…
• BusinessWise - Copyright and splits (who owns what) all explained
Week 3 – Idea Generation & Arranging
• Riffs
• Drum loops and patterns-Groove and Rhythm explained
• Bass lines
• Sounds & production tricks
• Arrangement-the balance between simplicity and complexity
• Quality control
• BusinessWise – Publishing, sync and royalties
Week 4 – Melody and Lyrics part 1
• The low-down on “Catchiness”-what it is and how much of it we want in our songs
• Melodic Rhythm – the “secret” ingredient
• Getting your lyrics noticed and lyrical hooks
• Metaphors, similes, oxymorons -greetings from Ancient Greece
• Rhyming patterns and tips like using Dummy Lyrics
• BusinessWise – Record labels, managers and publishers -the deals; Pitching your songs
Week 5 – Melody and Lyrics part 2
• Chord notes and passing notes
• Tension and release – the power of emotion
• Tricks to ‘beef up’ your chorus
• “The Brainwash”-fun exercises to write better hooks consistently
• Lyrical repeats and other forms of “glue”
• Titles revisited
• Practical lyric writing exercises
• Useful sources of reference – time to get inspired
• Extended Q&A session covering all the course material
Week 6 – Co-Writing a Song With A No.1 Hit Selling Songwriter
• A whole day of writing a commercial song. There is no pressure to create a song fit for pitching, but if things turn out better than expected and it cuts the mustard, it could be submitted to music industry professionals.
New Year 2012
| Date | Time |
| Tuesday 17th January | 18:45 – 21:45 |
| Thursday 19th January | 18:45 – 21:45 |
| Tuesday 24th January | 18:45 – 21:45 |
| Thursday 26th January | 18:45 – 21:45 |
| Tuesday 31st January | 18:45 – 21:45 |
| Thursday 2nd February | 18:45 – 21:45 |
| Tuesday 7th February | 18:45 – 21:45 |
| Thursday 9th February | 18:45 – 21:45 |
| Tuesday 14th February | 18:45 – 21:45 |
| Thursday 16th February | 18:45 – 21:45 |
| Tuesday 21st February | 18:45 – 21:45 |
| Thursday 23rd February | 18:45 – 21:45 |
Spring 2012
| Date | Time |
| Saturday 14th April | 11.00 – 18.00 |
| Saturday 21st April | 11.00 – 18.00 |
| Saturday 28th April | 11.00 – 18.00 |
| Saturday 5th May | 11.00 – 18.00 |
| Saturday 12th May | 11.00 – 18.00 |
| Saturday 19th May | 11.00 – 18.00 |
Early Summer 2012
| Date | Time |
| Saturday 9th June | 11.00 – 18.00 |
| Saturday 16th June | 11.00 – 18.00 |
| Saturday 23rd June | 11.00 – 18.00 |
| Saturday 30th June | 11.00 – 18.00 |
| Saturday 7th July | 11.00 – 18.00 |
| Saturday 14th July | 11.00 – 18.00 |
Summer School Intensive - All 11am – 6pm. Same course, same amount of hours, same price, but can be done in one week! Please see our summer school page for information on accommodation. July 16, 17, 18, 19, 20 and 21