Songwriting Foundations

Chords, melody and form without reading music.

Enough theory to write on purpose rather than by accident.

Notes and keys, practically

The minimum theory that pays for itself immediately.

1. The piano roll is a map of the notes
2. Major, minor, and why they feel different
3. Finding the key of a loop you like
4. Scales as a safety net
5. Intervals and how they sound

Chords

Progressions that work, and why.

1. Triads: the three-note building block
2. Four progressions behind thousands of songs
3. Inversions and voice leading
4. Sevenths, suspensions and colour
5. Borrowed chords and modal interchange
6. Write a sixteen-bar chord progression
7. Chords check

Melody

What makes a line memorable.

1. Contour, range and repetition
2. Call and response
3. Writing a melody that fits your chords
4. Motifs and development
5. Write a hook over your chords
6. Songwriting final