4.8
stars
811 ratings

Pat Pattison

115,785 already enrolled

Offered By

Berklee

About this Course

56,682 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

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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

Could your company benefit from training employees on in-demand skills?

Try Coursera for Business

Instructor

Instructor rating

4.84/5 (143 Ratings)

Pat Pattison

Professor

Liberal Arts and Sciences

181,722 Learners

7 Courses

Offered by

Berklee

Established in 1945, Berklee is at the forefront of contemporary music education, bringing its award-winning curriculum to more than 3.5 million students around the world. Currently comprising Berklee College of Music, Berklee Online, Boston Conservatory at Berklee, Berklee NYC, Berklee Summer Programs, and more, Berklee is shaping the key players of tomorrow’s music industry. With innovative programs in performance, production, business, theater, dance, and more, students come away from their Berklee experience with a professional portfolio, practical job skills, and a strong sense of community.

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Syllabus - What you will learn from this course

Content Rating97%(18,278 ratings)

Week

Week 1

1 hour to complete

Welcome to Songwriting: Writing the Lyrics

1 hour to complete

5 readings

Week

Week 2

5 hours to complete

The Journey of the Song

5 hours to complete

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

Week

Week 3

3 hours to complete

Stopping and Going

3 hours to complete

6 videos (Total 44 min), 3 readings, 2 quizzes

Week

Week 4

4 hours to complete

Sonic GPS—Mapping Your Song with Rhyme

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

276 reviews

5 stars
85.96%
4 stars
10.46%
3 stars
1.60%
2 stars
0.86%
1 star
1.10%

TOP REVIEWS FROM SONGWRITING: WRITING THE LYRICS

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 CTJan 22, 2017

Pat presents with a great demeanour and covers a lot of ground in this course.

I'm definitely a better songwriter for it. This includes the secret to removing writer's block.

by GHJan 15, 2021

I have been to dozens of workshops and have read dozens of books and have written hundreds of songs. I learned more in this course than in any of the workshops or books. This it top rated stuff!

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!

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.

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Songwriting: Writing the Lyrics

About this Course

What you will learn

Skills you will gain