Songwriting

Songwriting is a craft with deep roots in popular music tradition and a set of principles that, once understood, can be applied, subverted, and reinvented in endlessly varied ways. The study of songwriting is concerned not only with the practical skills of composition, melody, harmony, and lyric writing, but with the analytical understanding of why certain songs work: how arrangement, form, and production choices interact with emotional content to create music that connects with listeners. It is a discipline that requires both creative ambition and the willingness to examine your own work rigorously.

At Leeds Conservatoire this three-year full-time programme develops your craft through a combination of analytical study and creative practice. You will explore the structures, techniques, and creative decisions behind influential songs and records, using analytical tools to study arrangement, songcraft, and formal organisation. Through lectures and peer discussion you will sharpen your technical vocabulary and deepen your compositional understanding, developing a more focused and reflective approach to your own creative work.

Leeds Conservatoire's environment, within a city with a significant live music scene and music industry presence, is a genuine asset for a degree in this field.

You will work on your own music throughout the programme, applying what you learn analytically to the development of your creative voice. The ability to give and receive constructive criticism, to revise and refine your work in response to feedback, and to understand your music in the context of the broader field are all central to the curriculum.

Graduates of songwriting programmes go on to careers as performing songwriters, session musicians, composers for television, film, and advertising, music producers, artists and repertoire professionals, music educators, and in a wide range of other roles in the music industry. Many also develop portfolio careers that combine performing, writing, teaching, and production.