Online Songwriting Courses
Our 4- and 12-week online songwriting courses are authored and taught by industry experts and the same renowned instructors that teach at Berklee College of Music's Boston campus.
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AI for Songwriters
New! 4-Week Course
Level 1
Credit:
$515
AI for Songwriters is designed for songwriters who are eager to explore how artificial intelligence (AI) can ignite their creativity. Whether you’re new to AI or already have some experience, this course will introduce various AI tools and demonstrate how to use them to generate fresh musical ideas, craft unique lyrics, and compose memorable melodies.
Arranging for Songwriters: Instrumentation and Production in Songwriting
Level 2
Credit:
$1,545
Non-credit:
$1,290
Create a unique sound and explore tools and techniques that will help you craft songs with the instrumentation and production to support your intended emotional meaning.
Artistry, Innovation, and a Sustainable Career in the Music Industry
Level 6 (Proof of a Bachelor's Degree Required)
Credit:
$2,817
Non-credit:
$2,615
This course highlights the many paths and combinations by which artists, performers, songwriters, producers, composers, and creators pursue their goals in music to get paid and build a sustainable career. Learn how to monetize essential income streams from publishing and licensing, to streaming, touring, social media, fan funding, sound design, production, and more.
Proof of a bachelor's degree is required to enroll in non-degree, graduate-level courses.
Commercial Songwriting Techniques
Level 2
Credit:
$1,545
Non-credit:
$1,290
Learn to write for commercial success by reproducing the time-tested characteristics of hit songs while maintaining your own unique voice.
Contemporary Techniques in Music Composition 1
Level 3
Credit:
$1,545
Non-credit:
$1,290
Develop a unique compositional voice to write music through the study of modern twentieth century compositional techniques.
Contemporary Techniques in Music Composition 2
Level 4
Credit:
$1,545
Non-credit:
$1,290
Gain a solid knowledge of modern instrumental writing and competence using twentieth century techniques in composition. In addition, you will gain enhanced listening skills to identify and appreciate new musical styles, and be capable of implementing these skills in your writing, enriching your capacity to express yourself in this intellectually stimulating musical idiom.
Creative Writing: Finding Your Voice
Level 2
Credit:
$1,545
Non-credit:
$1,290
Learn to write clearly and strongly in your own unique voice, bringing your full self to your writing process every time you write.
Creative Writing: Literature Studies for Musicians
Level 2
Credit:
$1,545
Non-credit:
$1,290
Strengthen your writing skills and creative expression by exploring works of fiction, personal narrative, poetry, playwriting, and even music journalism.
Creative Writing: Poetry
Level 2
Credit:
$1,545
Non-credit:
$1,290
Learn to craft and control your writing, enhance your ideas, and write better lyrics through the study of poetry.
Culminating Experience in IDMS 1
Level 6
Credit:
$2,817
Non-credit:
$2,615
The culminating experience course requires students to complete a significant culminating project based on the designated areas of concentration in the interdisciplinary music studies master’s degree and represents the highest expression of their learning at the graduate level.
Culminating Experience in IDMS 2
Level 6
Credit:
$2,817
Non-credit:
$2,615
The culminating experience course requires students to complete a significant culminating project based on the designated areas of concentration in the interdisciplinary music studies master’s degree and represents the highest expression of their learning at the graduate level.
Culminating Experience in Songwriting 1
Level 6
Credit:
$2,817
Non-credit:
$2,615
Culminating Experience in Songwriting 1 is the first of two intensive directed study classes focused on proposing and executing a portfolio of original material recorded at a professional level as well as a business and career plan.
Culminating Experience in Songwriting 2
Level 6
Credit:
$2,817
Non-credit:
$2,615
Culminating Experience in Songwriting 2 is the second of two intensive directed study courses focused on proposing and executing a portfolio of original material recorded at a professional level as well as a business and career plan. In this second phase, you will focus on creating market-ready final recordings and designing next steps in bringing your product to market.
Genre Survey for Songwriters: Analysis and Application
Level 6 (Proof of a Bachelor's Degree Required)
Credit:
$2,817
Non-credit:
$2,615
This course explores top examples of representative songs from different popular music genres, as defined by Billboard.com, with the goal of analyzing and understanding the musical components that determine the nature of these genres, resulting in a successful songwriting process, according to music industry standards.
Proof of a bachelor's degree is required to enroll in non-degree, graduate-level courses.
Interactive Scoring for Games
Level 4
Credit:
$1,545
Non-credit:
$1,290
Learn the fundamental music approaches and skills that professional composers use to create interactive scores for games.
Jazz Composition
Level 3
Credit:
$1,545
Non-credit:
$1,290
Learn effective techniques that will help you compose jazz tunes that have a balance of melodic, harmonic, and rhythmic appeal.
Lyric Writing: Tools and Strategies
Level 2
Credit:
$1,545
Non-credit:
$1,290
Generate more and better lyric ideas. Express them in compelling and original ways with your songs.
Lyric Writing: Writing From the Title
Level 2
Credit:
$1,545
Non-credit:
$1,290
Learn to write effective song titles and discover how to build lyrics, develop the rhythms of your song sections, and create contrasting sections and ideas.
Lyric Writing: Writing Lyrics to Music
Level 2
Credit:
$1,545
Non-credit:
$1,290
Get the most out of your song lyrics by learning how to combine them accurately and effectively with melody.
Music Career Strategies: Brand Identity Development for Artists, Songwriters, and Producers
Level 5 (Proof of a Bachelor's Degree Required)
Credit:
$2,817
Non-credit:
$2,615
This course explores the intersection of branding and personal and creative identity, giving artists, songwriters, and producers useful career strategies to use when navigating their journey in the music business.
Proof of a bachelor's degree is required to enroll in non-degree, graduate-level courses.
Music Composition for Film and TV 1
Level 4
Credit:
$1,545
Non-credit:
$1,290
Learn to write music in the style of big budget Hollywood productions and gain a recipe book for writing for film and TV.
Music Composition for Film and TV 2
Level 4
Credit:
$1,545
Non-credit:
$1,290
Analyze specific genres of film and TV music in terms of melody, harmony, and orchestration, and form a template that you can apply to your own writing.
Music Demo Production for Songwriters
Level 5 (Proof of a Bachelor's Degree Required)
Credit:
$2,817
Non-credit:
$2,615
Develop your sound through song arranging techniques and by producing, recording, and mixing songs at a professional level. You will focus on creating unique instrumentation and overall sound for your original songs, harnessing the power of a Digital Audio Workstation and using professional production techniques.
Proof of a bachelor's degree is required to enroll in non-degree, graduate-level courses.
Music Production Fundamentals for Songwriters
Level 1
Credit:
$1,545
Non-credit:
$1,290
Learn how to use a Digital Audio Workspace as a compositional tool, how to arrange with MIDI, and how to engineer and produce your own recordings.
Private Composition Lesson Level 1
Private Composition Lesson Level 1 focuses on composing for a solo instrument (not piano) that meets the requirements for the Music Composition Degree Portfolio.
Private Composition Lesson Level 2
Private Composition Lesson Level 2 builds upon the skills developed in Level 1, and expands to include crafting compelling melodies, building harmonically-rich progressions, and experimenting with various rhythmic and textural elements.
Private Composition Lesson Level 3
Private Composition Lesson Level 3 builds upon a foundational understanding of music composition and prepares you to expand your skills by writing for duo or trio, including piano.
Private Composition Lesson Level 4
Private Composition Lesson Level 4 will delve deeply into the nuances of string writing, focusing on the unique characteristics and interplay of a string quartet.
Private Composition Lesson Level 5
Private Composition Lesson Level 5 focuses on the unique challenges and opportunities inherent in writing for the human voice, exploring a variety of vocal forms, including art songs, choral works, and operatic arias.
Private Composition Lesson Level 6
Conducting is an important technique and skill for a composer, as many composers are in situations where they conduct their own compositions in various settings. Beginning skills include basic baton technique, standard beat patterns, indicating dynamics and articulations, cueing entrances, leadership skills, and more.
Private Composition Lesson Level 7
Private Composition Lesson Level 7 delves into more advanced composition techniques that are involved in writing for symphony orchestras or large ensembles such as a sinfonietta.
Private Composition Lesson Level 8
Private Composition Lesson Level 8 continues advanced composition techniques of writing a large-scale piece.
Private Composition Lesson Level 9
Private Composition Lesson Level 9 is the final level of private lessons that requires you to complete a major composition project that can incorporate electronic elements or instrumentation.
Producing Songwriting Demos with Logic
Level 2
Credit:
$1,545
Non-credit:
$1,290
Learn how to produce demos and recordings that capture your songwriting abilities and show off the potential of your compositions.
Producing Songwriting Demos with Pro Tools
Level 2
Credit:
$1,545
Non-credit:
$1,290
Jump into the world of producing, recording, and mixing songs to a professional level using Pro Tools.
Songs Unmasked: Techniques and Tips for Songwriting Success
Level 5 (Proof of a Bachelor's Degree Required)
Credit:
$2,817
Non-credit:
$2,615
This course will teach you to write better songs, and refine your tastes by studying your influences. You will become a trained detective, examining and exploring the traits and techniques of successful songs, and applying them to your own writing.
Proof of a bachelor's degree is required to enroll in non-degree, graduate-level courses.
Songwriting for Film and TV
Level 4
Credit:
$1,545
Non-credit:
$1,290
Learn how to write music that will appeal specifically to music supervisors, editors, directors, and producers across a number of genres.
Songwriting: Harmony
Level 3
Credit:
$1,545
Non-credit:
$1,290
Learn how harmony can help convey the essential emotion in your songwriting and the best ways to adapt chords and progressions to suit your songwriting style and ideas.
Songwriting: Melody
Level 3
Credit:
$1,545
Non-credit:
$1,290
Create the melodic ideas that convey the emotion of your lyrics, then learn how to develop these melodic ideas into complete sections and songs to suit your songwriting style.
Songwriting Sync Success: The Art and Craft of Licensing, Film/TV, Advertising, and Production Music
Level 6 (Proof of a Bachelor's Degree Required)
Credit:
$2,817
Non-credit:
$2,615
Songwriting Sync Success is a comprehensive look at the many enigmatic ways in which a professional songwriter can make a living beyond just “writing hits.” It draws directly from the author’s personal real-world experience to demystify these intriguing (and often lucrative) arenas of the industry.
Proof of a bachelor's degree is required to enroll in non-degree, graduate-level courses.
Songwriting Tools and Techniques
Level 5 (Proof of a Bachelor's Degree Required)
Credit:
$2,817
Non-credit:
$2,615
This course requires you to become intentional in every aspect of your writing: melodic composition, harmonic considerations, and lyric composition, all focused through the lens of prosody. You will learn to align each compositional element in relationship to your song’s central intent and emotion.
Proof of a bachelor's degree is required to enroll in non-degree, graduate-level courses.
Songwriting: Writing Hit Songs
Level 3
Credit:
$1,545
Non-credit:
$1,290
Learn to make the most effective settings for your melodic, harmonic, and lyrical ideas by crafting songs the way hit songwriters do.
Topline and Vocal Production
Level 6 (Proof of a Bachelor's Degree Required)
Credit:
$2,817
Non-credit:
$2,615
This course is devoted to the exploration of the topline—a melody with lyrics conceived to go along with an existing track. To complement the development of the topline, we will also do a deep dive into vocal production techniques, offering you a set of tools to achieve successful songwriting results.
Proof of a bachelor's degree is required to enroll in non-degree, graduate-level courses.
World Music Composition Styles
Level 4
Credit:
$1,545
Non-credit:
$1,290
Add depth and flavor to compositions in any genre by studying the characteristics of a wide array of world music compositional techniques.
Writer, Engineer, Producer in the Home Studio
Level 2
Credit:
$1,545
Non-credit:
$1,290
This course emphasizes the different roles we take on when creating and producing music. Focusing on new technology and new approaches to music production, engineering, and writing, you will transform a song from an idea to something you can be proud to have as part of your portfolio, from a songwriting standpoint as well as a music production standpoint. At the start of the course you will generate the kernel of a new song, which you will develop and produce throughout the course to achieve a final sound recording that is a commercially viable piece of music.
Writing and Analyzing Hit Songs
Level 5 (Proof of a Bachelor's Degree Required)
Credit:
$2,817
Non-credit:
$2,615
All creative works contain structure that make the success of the project more likely. In this course, you will learn to analyze specified current and recent hit songs to determine that structural basis, and apply what you’ve discovered in individual songwriting assignments.
Proof of a bachelor's degree is required to enroll in non-degree, graduate-level courses.
Writing and Producing Advertising Music
Level 3
Credit:
$1,545
Non-credit:
$1,290
Gain a practical working knowledge of composing, producing, marketing, and monetizing commercial music, from jingles to television theme music and scoring.
