How to Write a Great Song in UNDER AN HOUR

Рет қаралды 56,039

Күн бұрын

Join our international Songwriters Community - get access to free workshops, live feedback sessions with Keppie and Benny, and more: howtowritesongs.org/community/
In this video, I show you a 5-step process to write better songs, faster - and demonstrate through actually writing a brand new song, with the timer ticking! The goal is to get a great first draft - one that is a full song, start to finish.
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ABOUT KEPPIE
Hi I'm Keppie! I'm a professional songwriter, and songwriting teacher. I've been teaching song and lyric writing for over 10 years now for some of the best contemporary music colleges in the world- Berklee Online, the Sydney Conservatorium of Music's Open Academy, as well as for the Australian College of the Arts. At other times, I've taught for the Australian Institute of Music, as well as the LA School of Songwriting.
My goal is to help people write better songs! My experience in the classroom, with thousands of students at this point (many going on to find careers and success in music), is that your songwriting, like all things, can get better with meaningful, deliberate practice. My intention is to share the skills, knowledge, information, and ideas that I've gathered with anyone who wants to improve their songwriting.
Keppie's music is here:
www.keppiecouttsmusic.com/music
ABOUT BENNY
Hi I'm Benny. My passion for music and creativity stretches across multiple disciplines and art-forms. I am a founding member and songwriter / lap-slide guitarist for one of Australia's best and most bearded country-bluegrass-folk bands, THE GREEN MOHAIR SUITS. To date the Mohairs have released 4 full-length albums and tour both nationally and overseas.
I am also the Founder and Head Producer of SILAMOR STUDIOS, a boutique studio specialising in Composition for Film, TV and Interactive Media. I write extensively across various instrumental and lyric-based genres and has been commissioned for major projects by Adobe, Cathay Pacific and Audible. I currently release original songs under the name SILAMOR.
I am also passionate about education and have taught song and lyric writing as well as film composition for JMC Academy, Collarts and the Australian Institute of Music. I design and regularly facilitate workshops on creative process and innovation.
Links to Bennny's music are here:
The Green Mohair Suits
open.spotify.com/artist/7M3Zf...
SILAMOR
open.spotify.com/artist/5HOpa...
www.silamor.com/music
Work Flow Audio:
/ @workflowaudio-studymusic9916
00:00 Introduction
00:26 Step 1 - Start With a Title
01:34 Step 2 - Pick a Song Form
02:07 Step 3 - Write the Chorus
04:22 Step 4 - Create a Song Map
06:29 Step 5 - Write the Verses
07:52 The Full Song

Пікірлер: 189

@blackto0oth 9 ай бұрын

Your channel is a gold mine to aspiring songwriters 🙏

@migrantfamily 9 ай бұрын

Writing to a deadline has turned out to be the most sure fire way to make me finish songs and not work the ideas to death. But one hour, that’s super tight.

@prtlndtheband 9 ай бұрын

It takes some courage to put yourself out there like that. Really well done. It’s better than 99% of all the songs I’ve ever written. That’s inspiring.

@chipgaasche4933 9 ай бұрын

She had this already written.

@hammill444 9 ай бұрын

@@chipgaasche4933 is that the case?

@NicoGee1 8 ай бұрын

Truly agree🙏🏼🙌🏼💪🏼

@hammill444 8 ай бұрын

@@chipgaasche4933 Well, the, that’s a total cheat and tenders this video lesson completely useless.

@davidduarte2887 7 ай бұрын

@@chipgaasche4933nah sounds like you’re envious and trying to bring her down. Pros can do this stuff pretty quickly then go back later and edit to make it better.

@Martinroque77 9 ай бұрын

This is my favorite kind of videos, either on KZfaq, or DVDs or documentaries. I just love seeing other people's process. I mean, talking about the process is one thing, but seeing it in progress and how they manage time, that's priceless!

@KateSloan 9 ай бұрын

So cool to see your process like this! And it’s amazing that you can teach songwriting WHILE you’re doing it!

@KateSloan 9 ай бұрын

@@hoimoitoigoi Feel free to write something better if you think you can!

@ranaghazzaly4115 9 ай бұрын

I'm doing a 30-day songwriting challenge this November and I had no idea ho would I finish a song this fast and on a daily basis so your video is so on time for me THANK YOU!!

@fuegamami 8 ай бұрын

i think u inspired me doing the same for november!! thank u ❤

@ranaghazzaly4115 8 ай бұрын

@@fuegamami aww this makes me so happy i’m excited for you and I hope you learn so much through this challenge 🥰🥰

@daydreamer28 9 ай бұрын

This song needs to be released! This so good! And video actually very inspiring, thanks as always❤

@Mikaflyd 9 ай бұрын

Hope this turns into a series, love watching the thought process

@KenDavis761 9 ай бұрын

I do that in iHeart - but I think it's more about writing a bad song in an hour. I actually do some prep before my one hour session, but the goal is get a complete song in an hour with no worries about quality. Interestingly our proceses are almost identical! Really enjoyed watching someone else do this. Great vid.

@haphapp7282 9 ай бұрын

Exactly. The hardest part is making a dogshit first draft/accepting that the first version isn’t going to be very good.

@downstairsgearnguitars-kc7uq 9 ай бұрын

Inspirational!!!

@EduardoHernandez-zr7dw 7 ай бұрын

I loved this song and the lyrics. Definitely inspired me to keep writing even when I feel like I can’t come up with anything. Thank you for this video

@danwilhite 9 ай бұрын

Great song!! I'll try this method, especially the writing the chorus first part. Verses come to me much easier...so I have a ton of unfinished songs that have verses and no chorus. Thanks!

@adamhowardschneider357 9 ай бұрын

speaking from experience- this is hands down the quickest way I know of to write a decent song 'out of thin air'. Bravo! great content, Keppie. Also, and I know this is probably more of a country thing, when I write that chorus first, assuming my title/hook appears in the last line (usually as the last words), I try to hammer out that penultimate ('setup') line in the chorus and then draw a roadmap straight to it.

@NicoGee1 8 ай бұрын

Nice. Great tips Adam!

@adamhowardschneider357 8 ай бұрын

@@NicoGee1 HMU if you wanna write some country w me!

@muffin_shorts 9 ай бұрын

I've been looking for something like this for a couple months. And finally I ended up with this great pattern for making a song. Thanks a lot!

@laurab5296 9 ай бұрын

Thanks so much for showing the whole process, so inspiring!

@micahpalacee 8 ай бұрын

dropping banger songs and vids out here 🔥🔥

@charlesle8650 9 ай бұрын

Just simply brilliant and inspiring. So far this is the most constructive tutorial video about how to write songs i’ve ever watched from you Ms. Keppie. Absolutely amazing. Lots of love from Vietnam. Thank you for everything you did. Charles.

@jonnyarmstrong 9 ай бұрын

Superb. Stuck in my head now. Fantastic!

@PurchaseReviews 3 ай бұрын

You are freaking amazing!!I love your videos. Straight to the point, no beating around the bush. The song maps take a lot of the stress out of it. Thanks again.

@midnight_4-202 9 ай бұрын

Thank you so much for taking the time to make this, it's really helpful for someone wanting to start writing

@myfavoriteperson 9 ай бұрын

Keppie, thank you so much!!!! Your stuff is just blessing my life so much! Thank you!

@dratuagreg 9 ай бұрын

This channel is absolute gold! Love your content

@ndrew-- 9 ай бұрын

And a crowd goes wild! Awesome. Well done. Thank you Keppie.

@autumn-works 7 ай бұрын

I'm a mom with 2 kids as well... finding your channel was so encouraging for me! I'm trying to get back into the habit of songwriting. And now with limited time, I have to be very efficient with the small amount of free time that I have! thanks for the great tips in this video!

@doggy7210 9 ай бұрын

That was a really good lesson, and a gorgeous song!

@fattmusiek5452 8 ай бұрын

This video (found from subbing to your email re: songwriting) is a great resource. It provides solid tips on efficiency with songwriting- golden nuggets of wisdom gained over time, such as how important finding the song's concept early on and naming the song helps the process so much. Also, I found the tip to plan early on how the song will start and how it will end to be helpful. As well as "write the chorus first." Thanks for the great video!

@marionsuke1650 9 ай бұрын

Great lesson! Thank you for sharing this process 😊

@dw1208 9 ай бұрын

That’s a hit. Great lesson thanks👏🏻

@lisavento7474 7 ай бұрын

LOVE LOVE THIS, helps to hear what I've already been doing and yet enhances it and makes it easier. I find it easier to write melodies also as you kind of did. You've done this a TON and speaking as a visual artist i can encourage that THE MORE YOU USE YOUR RIGHT SIDE OF THE BRAIN THE MORE IT WILL POUR OUT! The more i draw or illustrate, i SEE things in sleeping and waking and throughout the day so to all, KEEP DOING IT.

@beaux.official 8 ай бұрын

You’ve been such an inspiration to me and have definitely helped me on my song writing journey 🙌🏻❤️

@juiettepayne2480 9 ай бұрын

Let's go! Love it Keppie!

@Jeronimo365 8 ай бұрын

These kinds of detailed, step-by-step structures are really helpful. General principals are great but they don’t get stuff on the page. I could do with a workbook full of these. 👍

@vendelbo3869 8 ай бұрын

You are an amazing teacher, easy to understand, yet so nuanced. Thank you so much

@zollyclaman 8 ай бұрын

Love this so much. I feel like we needed some more airtime about the step where you choose the chords. So we’ll done.

@QuincyKane 9 ай бұрын

Great job! This is very inspiring!

@amandaforshort 7 ай бұрын

So awesome!! I am actually downloading patreon now to support and learn more. Your channel really is gold 🥰

@michaelpimenteljr3530 4 ай бұрын

So much talent. You are so inspiring.

@benhanbury 9 ай бұрын

I really enjoyed this video, thanks for explaining your process - writing a song seems like quite an intimidating process but I found this breakdown very helpful, subscribed!

@jordanryals309 9 ай бұрын

Next, you should do a video where you build off of what you created here and perfect the song and maybe even add that Pre-Chorus. Just show how you would bring it to its finality. To where it’s ready to be recorded.

@clivebarnett9673 9 ай бұрын

An absolute pleasure to watch! Such cool chord choices too. Love the pinky thing you do to get ring finger pressure on the B chord. I'm experimenting with different processes. Writing from the Title is really useful. It anchors the song and keeps one focused. My song 'Deep Water' the Title. I got the idea from a warning sign in a park. Loved it in Nashville, but didn't get cut.

@mjdguitar 9 ай бұрын

some of the best content of this kind. thank you

@ShannonMarie_aguafiestasvlogs 9 ай бұрын

Great video! Love your channel :)

@CaptainVelveeta 8 ай бұрын

@ 03:46 you immediately surpassed my songwriting ability by being happy with 'good enough'. I can't tell you how much time I spend, or waste, looking for 'better' just because I can't be happy with 'good enough'. Thanks for the inspiration.

@JasonKing1970 9 ай бұрын

As usual you are awesome! Thank you

@FMTRIP 9 ай бұрын

Amazing. I write songs and this video is a great help to understand the process, especially if you do it as a professional activity. Thank you, Keppie!

@FinishingTheScore 8 ай бұрын

Fabulous video! Thanks so much for all the great content. :D

@BauerBeauty 8 ай бұрын

Wow girl u just whipped that right up! Impressive !

@raphaelgomes2947 3 ай бұрын

I really like your process for the lyrics and how to use the structure lf the song! The only thing i wish had come up in the video is how/why you chose your chords and chord progressions, how they differed but still related in the chorus versus the verses. Overall great video and great song!

@user-gm2tb8wk1s 8 ай бұрын

I love this song you wrote!

@Willsonix 9 ай бұрын

Brilliant, that was great and I’ve realised that I already do some of this which is a bonus. The last song I wrote started from a title I had already written down.

@fxdaly 4 ай бұрын

Thanks. That was excellent.

@keko4301 9 ай бұрын

Thanks for the lesson Tips for concentrate a feeling in a song

@Nuovaterra 8 ай бұрын

Great video, thank you so much. I like a lot your way to explain the method and the feeling of "enjoy the moment" while you write a song. It's funny that one of my first songs I wrote 40 years ago was "Rose's perfume" dedicated to my grandmother Rose with similar mood and way of thinking you have in the video (but not so good result about music and lyrics also because my bad english). So great memories to me watching your video. Thanks

@loyaltothecoil7786 7 ай бұрын

This was great.. thank you

@alienhalfbreed1301 9 ай бұрын

Thanks for sharing your knowledge

@SlowDriverSean 3 ай бұрын

Love it!

@MarkRhodesSongs 7 ай бұрын

O, that's so well done! Inspiring.

@paulgtarist 9 ай бұрын

This is exciting to watch.

@michaelkelly6583 9 ай бұрын

Remarkable and thank you!

@basseyndonmusic 3 ай бұрын

Thank you very much. It's great

@user-ob6fr4gr4c 6 ай бұрын

That chorus is amazing ❤❤❤

@J.Rose9210 3 ай бұрын

This was amazing. 😮😊

@sedrickbowser3588 8 ай бұрын

I love this!!

@myfavoriteperson 9 ай бұрын

omg this is a GREAT SONG Keppie!!!!!

@acs2727 9 ай бұрын

You are incredible!

@khumo.. 8 ай бұрын

I love watching peoples artistic processes.

@sylentstorm8422 8 ай бұрын

So awesome.

@justjames1111 8 ай бұрын

Really helpful, thanks.

@bugsunplugged 9 ай бұрын

As the phone is held up to the camera in the video, I say "WAIT, WHAT!?". Hit pause. Then I open the file on my phone titled "Song Ideas" & gaze in near total disbelief at entry "Better Together" in my list. I will take it as a good sign my ideas overlap w/ Keppie Coutts. THANKS for posting!

@JamieR 9 ай бұрын

Thanks for this video! This was such a great showcase of one way to write a song. It's soo easy to complicate the process 😂

@darcymiller4819 Ай бұрын

Thank you so much!!!!!!!!!!

@abbeyna01 8 ай бұрын

Beautiful!!!!

@AndrewColyerMusic 9 ай бұрын

FANTASTIC!!❤🎉

@BJ-fj6jw 9 ай бұрын

❤ ... Thank you Keppie!

@tonyroma7599 9 ай бұрын

Your voice is as awesome as your song writing, and that’s amazing 😊

@Worship101forToday 7 ай бұрын

A ma zing!!! Thanks, Keppie!!

@tammieschiller397 7 ай бұрын

For me the next step is learning how to make a melody and create a rhythm that goes with the song changing slightly where it needs to within the feel of the lyrics. do you have videos about that? for beginners total beginners? i'm so happy to have found this community and am so grateful to you Keppie and Benny for these tutorials!

@josephl6727 9 ай бұрын

Love your voice🎉

@user-xc4yo9zr9v 8 ай бұрын

Wow. So cool. I actually really like this song.

@stevenotice2918 8 ай бұрын

your A-Dell joke, reminded me how I love to write songs in the key of A - i’m an A-ficionado! 😀.

@khumo.. 8 ай бұрын

this song is a Hit!!

@donaustin7157 9 ай бұрын

KZfaq was kind enough to put your channel on their “recommended” list for me. What a blessing that was. I was binge watching episodes. Thank you for sharing your talents. Question for you: What Martin guitar is that you used on this video? I’d like to get one. Thanks. 🤗🤗🤗💛

@izmiley 2 ай бұрын

wow, just wow haha hope I can do this someday

@sauletto1 8 ай бұрын

Liked, subscribed and bell rung. Well done . :)

@yt_blank_hank. 2 ай бұрын

Great lesson! Thx for these quick notes tho

@alexenders4304 9 ай бұрын

Ho. Absolutely love this. Would love to see more videos like this. 🙏

@trucoproductions5585 9 ай бұрын

It’d be cool if you did a follow up video on this song with how you approach the second draft

@CarryWaffleCorner 8 ай бұрын

Great advice, Keppie. Thank you.

@CarryWaffleCorner 8 ай бұрын

That's a great song, by the way, Keppie! Great!! Can you recommend a good songwriting forum or two for us? Many thanks.

@worldofstrings 6 ай бұрын

I wonder if you could do a segment on how to implement embellished, augmented, or extended chords in writing music? Much appreciated.

@michaelduke2026 8 ай бұрын

One thing I notice that you do is figure out the vocal melody quickly, and how that sits with the guitar melody. My vocal melodies tend to follow the chords too closely until I have lived with the song for a while.

@bigmatt94 8 ай бұрын

Great video! This method is definitely great for getting a first draft of a song done. I feel like you'll most likely have to edit some things to make it better because it'll be a rare to write a great song right off of the bat. Any tips for where to start if you choose to write a Verse-Verse-Bridge-Verse song?