Go deeper. Write stronger. Finish with a body of work you’re proud of.
Our 10-week Songwriting Intensive is for songwriters ready to move beyond the basics and into the artistry of their craft. Whether you’ve been writing for years or recently returned to it, this course helps you write with more skill, consistency and creative satisfaction.
This is for you if you:
- Want to refine your writing and elevate your creative output
- Feel stuck in old patterns and want fresh approaches
- Are craving deeper understanding of songwriting tools and techniques
- Want mentorship from an experienced songwriter and educator
- Are ready to write a complete, cohesive body of work
- Thrive in a structured, supportive and creatively charged environment
Over 10 structured lessons, you’ll explore core songwriting tools and techniques designed to elevate your creative process. Each week includes a lesson, a songwriting task, and personalised mentor feedback to help you integrate your learning through practice.
You’ll walk away with:
- A new body of completed songs
- Clear, practical songwriting tools you can use again and again
- A deeper understanding of how to shape compelling songs
- Greater confidence in your creative voice
- A lasting sense of creative momentum
Songwriting Intensive Overview:
Lesson 1: Quantity Builds Quality & What Makes a Good Song
Kickstart your writing practice with consistency, and learn how to craft clear, resonant messages that connect emotionally with listeners.
Lesson 2: Melody & Mood
Shape melodic contours to create emotional depth and interest in your songs.
Lesson 3: Harmony – Major Keys
Use diatonic harmony to support mood, movement and storytelling in your songs.
Lesson 4: Lyric Writing – Show, Don’t Tell
Create vivid, image-rich lyrics by showing rather than telling, using action, detail and emotional perspective.
Lesson 5: Harmony – Minor Keys & Beyond
Explore minor key harmony and non-diatonic chords to add texture, surprise and expressive depth.
Lesson 6: Song Structure & Contrast
Use repetition, pre-choruses, bridges and dynamic shifts to shape compelling and emotionally impactful song journeys.
Lesson 7: Rhyme & Rhyme Schemes
Work with perfect, near, additive, subtractive and consonant rhymes to create tension, flow and coherence in your lyrics.
Lesson 8: Rhythm & Groove
Experiment with phrasing, groove, syncopation, silence, and rhythmic variation to bring life and originality to your songwriting.
Lesson 9: Poetic Devices
Enhance your lyrical voice using metaphor, extended metaphor and sensory language drawn from memory and lived experience.
Lesson 10: Editing & Refining Your Song
Learn practical tools to revise, refine or reimagine your songs — and finish with work you’re proud to share.
Songwriting Lessons
Mentorship & Feedback
Write 10 Songs in 10 Weeks
Includes:
Completely online
Works with all timezones
Small Peer Group Support
How the Course Works
Francesca de Valence
Songwriting Course Teacher
Francesca de Valence is an award-winning songwriter, educator and founder of I Heart Songwriting Club. With a Masters in Music and both music and education undergraduate degrees, she has taught at the Queensland Conservatorium of Music, spoken at conferences around the world, and facilitated songwriting workshops for APRA AMCOS (AUS/NZ), IMRO (IRE), UBC (BR) and more.
Simon Shapiro
Songwriting Course Mentor
Simon Shapiro is best known for writing songs with and for established artists such as Darryl Braithwaite, 1927 and Shannon Noll. The published songwriter co-wrote the hit song ‘Beyond These City lights’ which Jayne Denham took to the top of the country charts in 2013. His soundtrack also won the Park Music Film Music festival Gold prize.
Helen Shanahan
Songwriting Course Mentor
Mushroom Music published songwriter, Helen Shanahan has won ‘Song of the Year’ (WAMi), the Telstra Road to Discovery songwriting award, has toured the UK, USA and Australia and has played support to Passenger, Missy Higgins and Matt Corby. Helen is currently recording her second studio album.
Game Changing Course
“I absolutely loved this course. The weekly feedback from my mentor and peers kept me motivated and focused, and the lessons were the perfect length — diverse, practical, and immediately useful. The biggest shift for me has been in how I approach storytelling in my songs. There’s so much more clarity in my writing now. Showing up to write every week has been game-changing. Despite having a lot on my plate, I’m still writing a song each week and truly honing my craft. The phrase ‘songwriters write songs’ really stuck with me — it helped me embody what it means to be a songwriter. I’m feeling more confident in my songwriting than ever before. I’m also becoming more open to feedback, seeing it as part of the process rather than something to fear. This course has helped me grow in every way.”
“This course was fabulous — the detailed exercises, mentor feedback and peer support were incredibly inspiring. The lessons opened up new creative doors for me, especially in understanding rhyme types, using non-diatonic chords, and crafting mood through song structure, harmony and melody. I even picked up a new instrument (keyboard) and started learning finger-picking on guitar! Most importantly, I no longer feel so alone as an independent artist. In a world full of cover versions, it reminded me how valuable and worthy original music really is.”