4.8
stars
760 ratings

Pat Pattison

108,306 already enrolled

Offered By

Berklee College of Music

About this Course

46,700 recent views

There’s a songwriter lurking somewhere inside you, peeking around corners, wondering if it’s safe to come out. Now it is. This course is an invitation to let your inner songwriter step into the sunlight. All it takes is a simple “yes” and you’ll be climbing that windy hill, marveling at the view.
If you haven’t written any or many songs, this course will show you an efficient, effective process for tailoring songs to express your ideas and emotions. If you have, you’ll look at your process differently, taking control of aspects of the process you may have not noticed.

The course will start by examining the tools available to you, all revolving around the essential concept of prosody. You’ll learn to use your tools to enhance your message—to work compositionally at the same time you’re developing your ideas.

You’ll be working both lyrically and musically, though musically it’s not necessary that you either read music or play an instrument. If you play, great, and you’ll be encouraged to play and record your musical responses to the assignments. If you don’t play, the course offers you a number of musical loops to work with. All you’ll have to do is sing your melodies over the loops.

Assignments will ask you to post something for peer review—sometimes lyric lines or sections, sometimes melodies, sometimes both. None of it has to be polished. The course is about writing, not performing.

Most important, you’ll have a lot of fun.

Flexible deadlines

Reset deadlines in accordance to your schedule.

Shareable Certificate

Earn a Certificate upon completion

100% online

Start instantly and learn at your own schedule.

Beginner Level

There is no prior experience or knowledge required to enroll in this course.

Approx. 17 hours to complete

English

Subtitles: French, Portuguese (European), Russian, English, Spanish

What you will learn

Define and identify the point of view, form, and the "who, what, where, when, and how" in a song

Identify whether a lyric is stable or unstable through the use of line lengths, number of lines, stressed and unstressed syllables, and melody

Utilize the various rhyming techniques to evoke specific emotions in a song and define the difference between Assonance and Consonance rhyme

Use phrasing to clarify your ideas

Skills you will gain

Music
Music recording
Poetry
Songwriting

Flexible deadlines

Reset deadlines in accordance to your schedule.

Shareable Certificate

Earn a Certificate upon completion

100% online

Start instantly and learn at your own schedule.

Beginner Level

There is no prior experience or knowledge required to enroll in this course.

Approx. 17 hours to complete

English

Subtitles: French, Portuguese (European), Russian, English, Spanish

Instructor

Instructor rating

4.84/5 (129 Ratings)

Pat Pattison

Professor

Liberal Arts and Sciences

173,699 Learners

7 Courses

Offered by

Berklee College of Music

Berklee College of Music was founded on the revolutionary principle that the best way to prepare students for careers in music is through the study and practice of contemporary music. For more than half a century, the college has evolved to reflect the state of the art of music and the music business. Berklee serves distance learners worldwide through its award-winning online extension school, Berklee Online.

Syllabus - What you will learn from this course

Content Rating97%(17,690 ratings)

Week

Week 1

1 hour to complete

Welcome to Songwriting: Writing the Lyrics

Welcome to the course! Here we will cover all the details about the course and what you'll need to know to get the most out of your experience.

1 hour to complete

5 readings

Week

Week 2

5 hours to complete

The Journey of the Song

By the end of this lesson, you will see how to develop your song idea so it creates an interesting journey from start to finish. You’ll understand your options developing the point of view of your song and will be introduced to the songwriter’s six best friends.

5 hours to complete

4 videos (Total 34 min), 5 readings, 2 quizzes

Week

Week 3

3 hours to complete

Stopping and Going

By the end of this lesson, you will understand the concept of prosody as it relates to the number of lines/musical phrases in a section and to line lengths/musical phrases. You’ll create both stable and unstable line/musical groupings, using an odd or even number of lines and musical phrases. Using these tools, you’ll write a verse and chorus.

3 hours to complete

6 videos (Total 45 min), 3 readings, 2 quizzes

Week

Week 4

4 hours to complete

Sonic GPS—Mapping Your Song with Rhyme

By the end of this lesson, you will understand the relationship of rhyme schemes to prosody. You’ll create both stable and unstable sections, using various rhyme schemes to show your ear the way to go home. Using these tools, you’ll write a new verse and chorus.

4 hours to complete

13 videos (Total 143 min), 3 readings, 2 quizzes

13 videos

Rhyme Scheme, Part 19m

Rhyme Scheme, Part 214m

Perfect Rhyme6m

Family Rhyme18m

Finding Family Rhymes2m

Additive and Subtractive Rhyme10m

Assonance Rhyme5m

Consonance Rhyme12m

Using Rhyme to Generate Ideas12m

Organizing Your Ideas by Developing Rhyme Schemes, Part 117m

Organizing Your Ideas by Developing Rhyme Schemes, Part 217m

Stable and Unstable Tones, Part 17m

Stable and Unstable Tones, Part 2 6m

3 readings

Lesson 3 Suggested Reading10m

Lesson 3 Song List10m

Join Your Study Group10m

1 practice exercise

Sonic GPS—Mapping Your Song with Rhyme30m

Reviews

4.8

254 reviews

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TOP REVIEWS FROM SONGWRITING: WRITING THE LYRICS

by CCFeb 11, 2020

The best way for me to express my appreciation for this fabulous course would be to start sending stronger songs out into the world. Thank you so much, Pat!

by LZJan 18, 2022

This course led by Professor Pattison is informative and vivid, especially when the professor is giving examples, which really helps me understand those new concepts and keeps me from dozing.

by FFDec 23, 2016

Amazing and powerful tools to craft my songs. Immediate implementation to solidify my learning. Peer reviews gave me a sense of community during the course.

by DRMay 20, 2020

Great course. It not only taught me new techniques, but it also put a name to the things I was already doing in my day to day songwriting. I would definitely recommend it!

View all reviews

Frequently Asked Questions

When will I have access to the lectures and assignments?
Access to lectures and assignments depends on your type of enrollment. If you take a course in audit mode, you will be able to see most course materials for free. To access graded assignments and to earn a Certificate, you will need to purchase the Certificate experience, during or after your audit. If you don't see the audit option:
The course may not offer an audit option. You can try a Free Trial instead, or apply for Financial Aid.
The course may offer 'Full Course, No Certificate' instead. This option lets you see all course materials, submit required assessments, and get a final grade. This also means that you will not be able to purchase a Certificate experience.
What will I get if I subscribe to this Specialization?
When you enroll in the course, you get access to all of the courses in the Specialization, and you earn a certificate when you complete the work. Your electronic Certificate will be added to your Accomplishments page - from there, you can print your Certificate or add it to your LinkedIn profile. If you only want to read and view the course content, you can audit the course for free.
Is financial aid available?
Yes. In select learning programs, you can apply for financial aid or a scholarship if you can’t afford the enrollment fee. If fin aid or scholarship is available for your learning program selection, you’ll find a link to apply on the description page.

More questions? Visit the Learner Help Center.

Songwriting: Writing the Lyrics