What you will learn in Songwriting: Writing the Lyrics Course
- Professional lyric writing techniques
- Song structure and form mastery
- Rhyme scheme development
- Imagery and metaphor crafting
- Point of view and narrative strategies
- Genre-specific lyric approaches
- Collaboration techniques
Program Overview
Lyric Foundations
⏱️ 2 weeks
- Covers song forms (verse-chorus-bridge), title selection, and hook writing.
- Includes analysis of Billboard chart-toppers.
Poetic Devices
⏱️ 2 weeks
- Focuses on metaphor, simile, and sensory language.
- Features rewriting exercises to strengthen imagery.
Storytelling
⏱️ 2 weeks
- Teaches character development, narrative arcs, and point of view.
- Includes co-writing simulations.
Genre Adaptation
⏱️ 2 weeks
- Examines country, pop, R&B, and rock lyric conventions.
- Features artist case studies.
Get certificate
Job Outlook
- Professional value: Essential for songwriters
- Income potential: 50050,000 per song placement
- Industry demand: Always seeking strong writers
- Certification benefit: Berklee alumni network access
Specification: Songwriting: Writing the Lyrics
|
FAQs
- You’ll explore how to structure songs, including defining point of view, song form, and key elements like who, what, where, when, and how.
- The course teaches you to make lyrics feel stable or unstable through techniques like line lengths, syllable stress, and how lyrics align with melody.
- Learn to craft rhyme to align with emotional tone, and understand the difference between assonance and consonance.
- Get insight into phrasing to make your ideas clearer and more expressive.
- Build your lyrical rhythm by working with stressed and unstressed syllables, and rhythmically syncing your words with music.
- The course runs around 15–17 hours total, making it a focused yet thorough learning experience.
- It’s divided into five modules:
- Welcome to Songwriting: Writing the Lyrics
- The Journey of the Song
- Stopping and Going
- Sonic GPS—Mapping Your Song with Rhyme
- Making It Move
- Estimated time per module ranges from 1 to 4 hours, depending on the content and assignments.
- You’ll engage through videos, readings, assignments, quizzes, and peer reviews, making the learning interactive and reflective.
- Designed for beginner-level learners with a flexible, self-paced schedule, ideal for fitting into busy routines.
- No prior instrument experience or formal music training is needed—this course focuses on lyric writing, not performance.
- If you do play, you’re encouraged to sing and record melodies, but for non-musicians, musical loops are provided so you can still create musically aligned lyrics.
- The emphasis is on writing skills, prosody, rhymes, and storytelling, not on musicianship or vocal performance.
- Assignments are designed to be low-pressure, and refining ideas is more important than polishing performance.
- It’s a safe and supportive space to let your songwriting voice emerge—even for absolute beginners.
- The instructor is Pat Pattison, a distinguished professor at Berklee College of Music and renowned author with multiple books on lyric writing.
- Offered by Berklee College of Music via Coursera, adding strong academic credibility and recognition.
- With 130,000+ learners enrolled and a rating of 4.8 out of 5 (97% satisfaction), the course is widely praised by participants.
- One learner said: “I learned more in this course than in any of the workshops or books… Par Pattison is an absolute legend!”
- Reddit users note the course offers valuable technique and theory, even when audited for free—and Pattison’s framework is lauded for lasting impact.
- Yes—a shareable certificate of completion is available if you enroll and complete the coursework, great for showcasing on LinkedIn or a portfolio.
- You can audit the course for free to access most content (videos, readings) but need to subscribe to access graded assignments and earn the certificate.
- Coursera provides financial aid options and a 7-day free trial before you need to pay—flexibility to suit your budget.
- The program is part of several specializations like Songwriting: Writing, Arranging, and Producing Music, giving you options to broaden your learning journey.
- User experience is positive: “going through the course even without doing all assignments was still useful,” according to one learner.
