Four worksheets that take a song from a first feeling to a finished draft. Use them in order, or jump to whichever fits where you are. Words and music feed each other, so the path is a guide, not a rule.
Each worksheet does one job. Together they cover the whole arc of writing a song: finding the words, shaping them, building the harmony, and writing the melody that sits on top.
When: you have a feeling or a topic, but no words yet. What it does: generates vivid raw material through ten-minute object writing, then helps you find the angle and the metaphors worth keeping. This is where a song usually begins.
Download PDF ↓When: you have pages of raw writing and need to make sense of it. What it does: groups your strongest phrases by the feeling they carry, so the song's threads become visible and you can pull the best lines forward. The bridge between free writing and a structured lyric.
Download PDF ↓When: you are building the music, with or without finished lyrics. What it does: locks your key and main progression, gives every section its own progression, and keeps a bank of alternatives with notes on feel and use. If you write music first, you can start here.
Download PDF ↓When: you have chords and a structure and want a vocal melody. What it does: maps scale degrees over each chord, section by section, so the melody you sketch sits inside the harmony and lands its tension and resolution on purpose. Usually the last step.
Download PDF ↓A typical path: 1 and 2 build the words, 3 and 4 build the music, and the two tracks talk to each other the whole way. Start wherever the song is loudest. Everything you type saves automatically, and each worksheet prints to a clean PDF on its own.
A nine-step path from a vague feeling to a finished lyric. Work top to bottom, or dip into any step. Object writing is the engine: write freely and concretely, then mine what you wrote for angles, metaphors, and lines.
Name a topic, theme, or feeling. A word or short phrase, like "returning home" or "reckless love". Goal: name it, do not write about it yet.
Pick one concrete object connected to your theme. Set the timer and write freely for ten minutes through all seven senses. No rhyme, no rhythm, no editing. Goal: vivid, specific sensory memory.
Now let the writing reflect. What does the scene mean, or point to? Blend the senses with a little commentary. Goal: find emotional or narrative direction.
Re-read what you wrote and circle the strongest images. Goal: choose a perspective and tone.
List the key words of your theme, then gather rhymes and word families for each. Goal: raw material for lines. Type a keyword and open it in RhymeForge.
| Keyword | Rhymes & word family | RhymeForge |
|---|
Play in the "key" of your concept. Try adjective-noun or verb-noun collisions ("wrinkled flame"). Ask what your idea is like, and what else shares those traits. Goal: fresh metaphor containers. Open CollisionLab ↗
Pin down the speaker and the stakes. Goal: a clear point of view.
Choose a form and start slotting your best images and lines into place.
Draft freely from your material, then revise for clarity, originality, and emotional movement.
Gather the standout phrases and images from your free writing and group them by the feeling they carry. Each cluster becomes a pool you can pull lyric lines from. Best used after the Lyric Expansion sheet.
Map scale degrees over each chord, section by section, so your melody sits inside the harmony. Fill the reference once, then sketch ideas per section. Open the chord builder ↗
Write your key's notes against their degree and role. Fill once and refer back.
| Note | Degree | Role |
|---|
| Note | Source | Context / colour |
|---|
For each section, list its chords and sketch the scale degrees and melodic idea over each.
Lock your key and main progression, sketch a progression for each section, and keep a bank of alternatives with a note on the feel and where each one fits. Open the chord builder ↗
A progression and a short note for each section. Leave blank what you do not need.
| Section | Progression | Notes |
|---|
Collect alternatives. Note the vibe, where it could go, and why it works.
| Progression | Vibe | Where to use | Why it works |
|---|
How do you get from one section to the next, and back home to the tonic?