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Song Writing & Composition Eliot Popkin

4.9
8 ratings • 8 reviews
  • Level Intermediate
  • Lessons (min)
  • 1,732 already enrolled!
  • Audio: English

Before a song becomes a chart-topping hit, it needs to be written and composed. Eliot Popkin is an award-winning songwriter, singer, and songwriting coach and will teach you how to take your song ideas to the big leagues. In Educator’s Songwriting & Composition Course, Professor Popkin begins with an overview of Harmony, Melody, and Rhythm, before moving in to songwriting exercises involving Object Writes and Rhyming Tools. The series ends with Professor Popkin covering different types of genres as well as tips on the Business of Songwriting such as protecting your music and meeting producers. Professor Popkin has over 10+ years of experience in the music industry and since graduating from the Berklee College of Music. He has also released three full albums and was the first artist to have three top 10 videos shown on MTV Logo.

Table of Contents

Section 1: Songwriting

  Introduction to Songwriting 6:17
   Intro 0:00 
   Three Main Components 0:17 
    Melody, Lyrics, Harmony 0:21 
    Rhythm 0:24 
    Golden Guidelines 1:37 
   Object Write: Ocean 3:09 
    Object Write 3:21 
    Eliot's List on Ocean 4:00 
   Melody Ideas 4:47 
    Four Notes 4:58 
    Up One Step 5:11 
    Ascending 5:71 
  Melody & Harmony 8:06
   Intro 0:00 
   Melody Lesson 1:59 
    3 Most Stable Keys 2:47 
    Unstable Notes 3:00 
    Example: Stable Note 4:58 
   Harmony Grooves 5:47 
    Groove 6:10 
    Example: Own Harmonic Groove 6:53 
  Object Write & Melody 7:32
   Intro 0:00 
   Object Write: Orange 0:24 
    Homework review 0:33 
    Homework assignment for next lesson 2:50 
   Melody Lesson 3:18 
    Stable & Unstable Tone Review 3:22 
    Example: Tones Falling 4:45 
    Example: Pick the next tone 5:30 
    Groove review 7:06 
  Rhyming, Melody, Harmony, Part 1 7:58
   Intro 0:00 
   Object Write: Ocean 0:09 
    Object Write Review 0:25 
   Rhyming Lesson 3:06 
    Rhyme Scheme 3:11 
    Example: Amazing Grace 3:41 
    Example: Beyonce- Irreplacable 4:08 
   Melody and Harmony 5:57 
    Audio Example: Combining Melody & Harmony 6:45 
    Possible Ending Note 7:33 
  Object Write to Verse 10:13
   Intro 0:00 
   Rhyming Lesson 0:19 
    Example: 'If I Die Young' 0:40 
   Rhyming Lesson, cont. 3:00 
    Words Don't Rhyme, But It Works 3:26 
   Object Write: Orange 4:28 
    Turn Object Write Into Verse 4:30 
   Object Write to a Verse 6:55 
    Finding the Rhyme Scheme 7:15 
    Changing to Not Rhyming Lyrics 8:02 
   Melody and Harmony 9:02 
    Stable Unstable Tone Placement 9:20 
    One-Bar Idea 9:52 
  Introduction to Lyrics 8:40
   Intro 0:00 
   Object Write: Ocean 1:03 
    Example: Key Phrases to Use 1:46 
   Object Write to a Verse 1:49 
    The Rhyme Schme 2:21 
    Different Rhyme Scheme 2:53 
    Example: Why Words Rhymes 4:07 
   Melody Ideas 4:16 
    Create Many Melodies With 1 Simple Phrase 4:35 
   Harmony for Verse and Chorus 6:15 
    Define Harmony 6:20 
    Example: Add 1 New Chord 6:46 
    Audio Example 7:30 
  Metaphor 5:18
   Intro 0:00 
   Lyric Writing 0:25 
    What is a Metaphor? 0:33 
    Examples: Metaphors 0:40 
   Melody Ideas 2:24 
    Arches 2:42 
    Examples: Small and Big Arches 3:14 
   Harmony Major vs Minor 3:55 
    Groove 4:08 
    Introduce Minor Chord to Mix 4:14 
  Repetition 7:23
   Intro 0:00 
   Lyric Writing 0:12 
    Example: Use Repetition to Strengthen 0:23 
    Example 2: Use Repetition to Strengthen 0:59 
   Melody Ideas 1:50 
    Truncation 2:22 
   Rhythm Lesson 3:27 
    Whole Note 3:52 
    Half Note 4:03 
    Quarter Note 4:06 
    Example 4:46 
  Imagery 9:28
   Intro 0:00 
   Lyric Writing 0:13 
    Use 5 Senses As Descriptions 0:16 
    Example: Senses As Descriptions 0:28 
    Example 2: Senses As Descriptions 1:06 
   Melody Ideas 2:32 
    Ways to Develop Melody 2:49 
    Chord & Arpeggio 4:46 
   Rhythm Lesson 5:08 
    Dotted Note 5:27 
    Clap Out Example 6:12 
  Personification 9:10
   Intro 0:00 
   Lyric Writing 0:15 
    Define Personification 0:18 
    Examples: Personification 0:29 
   Melody Ideas 3:22 
    Permutation 3:39 
    Ornamentation 3:59 
    Thinning 4:24 
    Pitch Change 4:39 
    Example 4:57 
   Song Sections 6:19 
    Different Sections of a Song 6:40 
    Pre-Course, Bridge, Breakdown, Instrumental Breaks 6:47 
  Exaggeration 14:19
   Intro 0:00 
   Lyric Writing 0:21 
    Define Exaggerate 0:23 
    Examples: Exaggeration 0:29 
   Collaboration 3:02 
    Consider When Collaborating 3:36 
   Business of Songwriting 8:12 
    Guidelines to Protect Your Song 8:33 
    Recording Demos 8:40 
    Studio Time 8:55 
    Submitting Material 9:35 
    Building Relationships 10:30 
    Getting a Mentor 11:24 
    Write Out Goals 11:44 
    Meet Other Songwriters/ Producers 12:01 
    Going to Network Events 12:19 
    Being a Professional 12:36 
    Being a Solo Artist or Starting Band 13:11 
    Performing 13:34 
  Genres 21:57
   Intro 0:00 
   Country 0:46 
    Audio Example: Keith Urban 1:02 
    Example: Rhyming Scheme 5:59 
    Stripping Instrumentation 7:42 
   Pop 8:11 
    Audio Example: Pink 8:33 
    Main Difference Between Country & Pop 13:03 
    Chorus Extension 13:33 
   R&B 14:14 
    Audio Example: John Legend 14:40 
    Reframe 20:44 

Duration: minutes

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Student Feedback

4.9

8 Reviews

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13%
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By carlos carvalhoFebruary 2, 2014
I really liked it. Well explained and not very long videos.
Thank you, I hope you get more classes like this.
By Erik Vallejo FreireJuly 19, 2013
thanks so much for this course! I can actually write lyrics for my songs now XD...
By abc123 abc123July 16, 2013
Thats the magic of good teachers. THey make the difficult things so interesting the we learn it easily and love the learning process.
By Connie TinocoJuly 3, 2013
So, excited for the next course! Thank you for your time :)
By Laura-Ann ModineSeptember 10, 2012
please please please!! do another course, i have learned so much from you and i would love to keep learning from you! i can not even tell you how much this has helped me, this is ine of the best and most amazing courses i have ever taken.
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