I am new to songwriting and not sure where to start

SongU.com is a great place to get started to gain a solid foundation in the craft and business of songwriting. All the courses in our extensive catalog are numbered as 100, 200, or 300 to assist you in choosing the ones that are at the right level for you. A good place to start is by taking the Do-It-Yourself (DIY) courses at the 100-level in lyric writing, music, and commercial songwriting. These courses focus on fundamentals that every songwriter needs to know. You might also enjoy taking part in any of our 100-level Instructor-led feedback and mentoring sessions, where you can get professional feedback on your lyrics and songs or have any of your songwriting questions answered. In addition, after completing your Talent and Goals Profile, you will receive a Personal Learning Plan (PLP) to assist you in making the most of your time at SongU.com based on your specific needs and goals. As you gain more information and confidence in your songwriting, you might even want to take part in one of our Song Challenges and find co-writers. Here are answers to some of the most commonly asked questions about songwriting.

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I am NOT a beginner

SongU.com is not for beginners only. Our Full-Access Membership is for writers of all levels, from novice to advanced songwriters with cuts and publishing contracts to their credit. Our 200 and 300 level courses were developed specifically for advanced and master-level training. This includes our small-group feedback and mentoring sessions that are tailored specifically to the songs and questions you bring to the session. Your full membership also includes a personal member website that is viewable by the public and allows you to upload and showcase unlimited MP3's. Our one-on-one coaching service allows you to work directly with hit songwriters, publishers and producers to fine-tune your songs for today's market. And if you are a songwriter who is actively pitching your songs, you will find that SongU.com provides "Open-Door" pitching opportunities each month where you can pitch your songs directly to music industry guests. Read more about SongU.com courses and mentoring, our one-on-one coaching service or pitching opportunities.

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I am looking to meet co-writers

At SongU.com we have had great success in co-writer hookups, many of which have led to publishing contracts and recordings. Members find collaborators in a variety of ways such as meeting in the student exchange area of the Discussion Board, during instructor-led courses, through our online clubs, by participating in our regular Song Challenges, and using the SongU.com Yearbook.

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I am just looking for more outlets to pitch my songs

Our guiding philosophy at SongU.com is education. We recommend SongU.com to anyone who thinks that there is always room to improve their songwriting craft and skills. That is why our full membership tuition includes access to all our courses and mentoring sessions for no additional cost. Rather than just throwing money into demoing songs and then pitching them, we focus on courses, coaching and co-writing to help each writer make every song the best it can be. We believe one of the reasons our members have been successful with pitching at SongU.com is because of our focus on the writer, their education and the song. With this in mind, see pitching at SongU.com for additional information.

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I lead a busy life. Can I fit this into my schedule?

Full-Access Membership at SongU.com is like a buffet. You are not expected to do it all at once. It does not take much to get your money's worth at SongU.com, so you do not have to be on the site every day, or every week or even every month. We offer the ability to watch and listen to the transcript of any course for which you are registered, including our feedback and mentoring sessions. Since full membership at SongU.com costs only about the price of one guitar lesson a month, even if you put in 12 hours at SongU.com during the entire year, we'd like to think SongU.com was a good investment on your part.

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I write lyrics only

We have many lyric only members who benefit from a wide variety of SongU.com features, including:

• Courses and mentoring sessions - For members who are lyric-oriented, we recommend taking additional lyric courses to fine-tune your craft. In other words, if you are solely going to be a lyricist, you need to be the best you can be. In addition, many of our lyricists take some music or commercial songwriting courses to work on increasing their knowledge and skill in that area. You would also want to bring your existing lyrics or new ones to one of our regular feedback and mentoring sessions so you could have them evaluated by one our faculty. Learn more about SongU.com courses and mentoring.
  
  
• Co-writing – Being a lyricist only, it is important to gain collaboration experience, particularly with co-writers who are strong musically. This is the best way to create a complete song. Since you cannot demo or pitch lyrics only, co-writing is an important skill for lyricists to master. This is why we offer our Full-Access Members several avenues to help them hook-up with potential co-writers, including searchable member websites, discussion boards and clubs. Members also meet each other in classes or feedback and mentoring sessions. In addition, we offer regular Song Challenges in which we pair up participating writers to co-write. During a recent “Spring Fling” song challenge we paired up writers to co-write a song outside of their main genre. One pair of co-writers wrote a song that ended up getting cut on a Blues compilation album with several well-known artists, including John Lee Hooker.
  
  
• One-on-One Coaching - For specific feedback on your lyrics you can use our Coaching service. They will evaluate your lyrics and provide personal feedback based on your goals and aspirations. Learn more about one-on-one coaching at SongU.com.
  

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I write music only

For members who are music-oriented, there are opportunities to not only improve your craft but also to pitch your songs to some of our Film/TV outlets. Naturally, we recommend taking additional music courses. You can bring your existing compositions or new ones to one of our regular feedback and mentoring sessions to have them evaluated. If you are interested in meeting lyricists, you can search member websites in the SongU.com Yearbook, check out discussion boards and clubs, and meet in classes. We also offer regular Song Challenges in which we pair up participating writers to co-write.

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The genre I mainly write in is one of the following: pop, rock, country, urban, adult contemporary, singer-songwriter, Christian

When it comes to great craft, most of the guidelines and information in our courses cut across all genres. We have a large variety of coaches and instructors who between them have professional experience and success in almost every genre of music. In addition, many of our ongoing pitching opportunities are with film and media outlets that are looking for songs in all genres.

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My time zone or schedule does not allow me to attend classes

Regardless of where in the world you live, or your personal schedule, you will be able to participate in all aspects of SongU.com. Our Do-It-Yourself (DIY) courses, one-on-one coaching, pitching opportunities, discussion board, co-writing challenges, and member websites are all available to you 24 hours a day/7 days a week. For any instructor-led course that meets at a time that is inconvenient for you, we offer the ability to watch and listen to the transcript of any course for which you are registered, including our feedback and mentoring sessions.

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I am not a computer whiz and do not have a high speed connection

SongU.com was designed to be easy to navigate for the average computer user and does not require a high-speed connection or special equipment. Our GEN 101 Orientation to SongU.com course will walk you through all the features of the site and how to make the most of it based on your personal goals. The best way to find out if it is a good fit for you and your computer is to try Full-Access Membership free for 10 days.

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My songs are on CD and not in MP3 format

Because. SongU.com is done entirely online, you will need to have your songs in the appropriate MP3 format to participate in feedback and mentoring sessions, coaching and pitching. In this day and age, being able to work with MP3's is simply part of the job description for a songwriter. We have a Do-It-Yourself (DIY) course available GEN 110 - Preparing Your Audio for SongU.com that will walk you step-by-step through creating an MP3 of a song from CD.

 

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