Music & Performing Arts

Songwriting Workshop

Meets Wednesdays · 6:00 PM - 7:30 PM · on Zoom Fall 2026 · registration open Free to audit

This class runs in the Fall 2026 session. Registration is open now; lessons, materials, and the class discussion board are posted before it begins.

This is for people who already play an instrument a little and want to make their own songs instead of just playing other people's. That's the whole thing.

A song is a made object. Words and a handful of chords. If you can follow steps and not waste what you've got, you can write one. We meet Wednesdays, 6:00 to 7:30, and by the end of the first class you'll have written something rough. It'll be bad. That's the point. You learn by writing a bad one, not by hearing about good ones.

You'll leave with a notebook of scraps, a few finished songs, and the habit of finishing. Three chords is plenty. I mean that. 🌞

What you'll learn

Draft a rough song by the first session
Build chord progressions using three basic patterns
Arrange verses and chorus into a moving order
Edit your lyrics down to plain, honest words
Finish and perform a song for a room

Lessons

Starting Rough
We write a bad song the first night, on purpose, so nobody stays precious about it.
Three Chords Is Plenty
You don't need to know more before you start, so we build progressions that carry a song.
- The three chords most old songs ran on20 min
- Putting them in an order that moves20 min
- When to change and when to sit still15 min
- Keeping the wrong finger if it sounds good12 min
Words That Are True
We write about what you actually know, because real is what lasts.
The Melody Problem
Landing a tune that sticks is the hard part, and I'll show you the plain way I get around it.
- Why I keep melodies simple (I have to)15 min
- Letting the chords suggest the tune20 min
- Humming it before you write it down15 min
- Recording yourself to catch the rushing18 min
- When the tune won't come, and what to do14 min
Cut It Down
Most songs are twice as long as they should be, so we learn to say the thing and stop.
Sharing the Made Thing
You bring a finished song to the small group and we give plain, kind, honest feedback.

Class discussion

The class discussion board opens when the class begins this fall. Auditors and enrolled students ask questions and share work here once the session starts.