““The world doesn’t need any more songs…unless someone’s gonna come along with a pure heart and has something to say.””

— Bob Dylan

Don’t let Bob Dylan intimidate you.

You can find your unique voice as a songwriter and contribute something worth saying. If you are serious about writing better songs, these lessons, videos, resources and wisdom from successful songwriters can help you get there. This course has eight lessons, laid out like a college level class. In this self-paced format it’s completely up to you to make the most of it. Your drive to learn is in charge.

You may approach this course in two ways:

Sequentially, lesson by lesson over two or three months, or more – culminating in the main course project – a co-write with one of our hit songwriters - in the music marketplace. Or, you may browse a la carte from any section. Play. Pause. Repeat. At any point you may decide to do the capstone project, a co-write with one of our faculty songwriters. In our view, following the sequence of the lessons will likely benefit you the most. But different people learn in different ways. Either way, you set the pace.

You are in charge.

Take a look at the Syllabus, recruit a friend or two to join you and subscribe for access to everything. The sooner you begin, the sooner you will become a better songwriter.

SYLLABUS

Overview

A self-paced course in songwriting to equip a songwriter with improved skills, inspiration, information and collaboration. Course includes videos, readings, exercises, a brief overview of publishing, copyrights, royalties. The capstone project is a co-write with a hit songwriter from Songwriting University. The student will learn by study and by doing, including creating a new song in the music marketplace.

Download full course syllabus

Objectives & Competencies

Create an ongoing source and process of generating new songs
Study and practice making good musical and lyrical choices
Gain new insights into what makes a good song work
Learn the dynamics and benefits of collaboration
Attain a general understanding of publishing, copyrights and PROs
Co-write a new song with a hit songwriter and demo the song

Your Instructors

Billy SPRAGUE • Mike REID • Gordon KENNEDY

COST

Tuition is included in your S.U. Premium subscription.

Required textbooks: Around $40. Not purchased from us. Every serious songwriter learns from other songwriters, especially the great ones. Our course requires four books from which the readings are drawn. Used copies can be found online.

Co-write fee: $349. Normally $499 but with a monthly subscription you save $150.

TOOLS REQUIRED

A notebook of your choosing, something to write in and also archive the PDF files you can download; your creativity; imagination; voice and instrument of your choice.

TEXTS REQUIRED

Throughout each lesson, you will gain the necessary skills to becoming a better songwriter. Your lead instructor, Billy Sprague, will guide you through each of the 8 lessons. To take full advantage of the course, you will need to purchase the following books to completely engage and follow along.

• The Songwriter’s Guide to Mastering Co-Writing by Dodson/Mills/O-Hanlon

• Songwriters on Songwriting by Paul Zollo

• New Songwriter’s Guide to Music Publishing by Randy Poe

• The Craft of Lyric Writing by Sheila Davis