Getting Started With Songwriting
With Irwin Sparkes
FREE
A compact guide to understanding the process of songwriting. Here we will be discussing some of the core elements of songwriting - lyric writing, melodic development, chords, rhythm, and general songwriting principles.
This course aims to give you an insight into how professional songwriters go about their craft and also shows, in real-time, how inspiration and creative decisions are sparked simply from the process of writing.
- Featuring Irwin Sparkes of the UK pop rock band The Hoosiers
- An introduction to the craft of songwriting
- Over 2 and a half hours of video tutorials and course texts
- Lifelong and unlimited access
Course Content
The course is divided into 3 main sections - lyrics, melodies, and rhythm. In lyrics, we explore the themes and narratives we want to convey with the songwriting. Moving onto melodies, we start to build the main verse and chorus hooks that build any great song - alongside this, chords start to emerge! Finally, we look at building a rhythm section, which is where the whole piece starts to come together. The goal here is not to make a finished and highly polished product, but to get the core ideas into your DAW.
- A songwriting guide for those already comfortable with basic musical concepts
- An overview of the process, looking at how to bring all your musical knowledge together into a demo song.
- Almost 3 hours of tutorials, accompanied by Irwin Sparkes of the hit UK pop rock band The Hoosiers and White Tail Falls
It was hearing from someone who had done it all before us who was able to light the way.
We're all trying to get to the same destination, and that's "making great music".
Lead singer and guitarist of The Hoosiers
How It Works
Our online Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) - Our innovative online Course Reader is like a video player, eBook reader and interactive learning tool all rolled into one. Access your materials anywhere on a laptop, tablet or phone at anytime and track your progress through the course by marking sections as complete.
The Video Tutorials explore the songwriting concepts we cover in the course, and the course texts act as a written reminder so you can remember the core points. We highly recommend paying close attention to the videos as that's where the bulk of the course is delivered!
Didn’t quite get it first time? Don’t worry, you can re-watch the material as much as you like. Once you've claimed the course to your account it will never expire.
Course Structure
Getting Started with Songwriting (with Irwin Sparkes)
Most contemporary songs will need a rhythm section - chords and melody isn't enough! In these videos, we look at building the bass and drum tracks.
Course Instructors
Irwin Sparkes is a member of the English pop rock band The Hoosiers (lead vocals and guitar), accompanied by Alan Sharland Alan Sharland (drums, percussion, vocals).
The Hoosiers' first single, Worried About Ray, reached number 5 on the UK Singles Chart in July 2007. In October 2007, they released their debut album The Trick to Life, which reached number one in the album charts. The band released their second top ten album The Illusion of Safety in August 2010 and was preceded by the lead single Choices, released on 1 August 2010, and which reached the UK top 20.
Irwin is also releasing music with his solo project, White Tail Falls, entirely self-produced with a more folky-authentic vibe.
Joining Irwin Sparkes is Bradley Jordan who is the course content coordinator here at ThinkSpace Education. In his own words, he is the "dummy behind the camera", but Bradley is also a professional gigging musician, having played synth/keys for Gwen and The Good Thing at Glastonbury Festival in 2016.
Through his work for Guy as a music editor, Bradley has worked for companies such as Marvel, DreamWorks, DQ Entertainment, and many more. Most recently working on Robozuna, an animated Children’s TV show for ITV and Netflix.
I really like the way they teach, I like the way they show you how to do it, and they follow that up with the practical uses.
Great content. The information is presented in a clear and engaging manner.
Frequently Asked Questions
If you are thinking about taking the course, there are some requirements you may want to consider. Here are the most frequently asked student questions to help you to assess whether the course is right for you.
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- An introduction to the craft of songwriting
- Featuring Irwin Sparkes of the UK pop rock band The Hoosiers
- Over 2 and a half hours of video tutorials
- Lifelong and unlimited access