Songwriting lessons in London
One-to-one coaching to write songs that say what you actually mean. In Islington, four minutes from Highbury & Islington station.
Almost everyone has at least one song stuck inside them. The difficult bit is the one between feeling something and turning that feeling into three minutes of finished music. Our songwriting lessons in London give you a one-to-one coach who'll work through the craft with you (lyrics, melody, chords, structure, story) until you have songs you're genuinely proud of. No formulas, no clichés, no "write what's popular right now". Just your songs.
What you'll learn
Melody writing: what makes a melody memorable, what makes it forgettable
Lyric craft: image, specificity, point of view, prosody, the difference between writing a poem and writing a lyric
Song structure: verses, choruses, bridges, pre-choruses, when to break the rules
Harmony for songwriters: chord progressions that serve the song
Hooks and earworms: what they are and how to write them on purpose
Co-writing: how working sessions actually work
From bedroom to finished demo: turning songs into recordings (with our music production lessons if you want them)
Songwriting lessons for every kind of writer
Brand-new writers
You don't need to be able to play an instrument yet (though it helps). You don't need to have written anything. Your tutor will start with simple exercises designed to get songs out of you fast.
Working writers
If you've got dozens of half-finished ideas and a hard drive of voice memos that you can't turn into finished songs, you're not alone. The most common problem is editing, not generating, and that's exactly what one-to-one coaching is for.
Songwriters on an instrument
We frequently pair songwriting lessons with piano, guitar or music production lessons, building the technical chops in parallel with the writing.
Songwriters at school / college
Music GCSE, A-level and BTEC composition coursework: we can support all of it. Bring the brief and your tutor will work with you.
How lessons are structured
Every songwriter is different, so there's no one-size-fits-all syllabus. Roughly, expect lessons to mix:
Listening sessions
Analysing songs (yours and other people's) to understand what works and why.
Writing exercises
Short, focused prompts to build specific skills.
Workshopping your songs
Your tutor helps you finish what you've started, or push existing songs further.
Demo and production
Getting your songs out of your head and into a recording.
How to start
1. Book a songwriting taster
£49 for adults, £27 for under-12s. One 1-to-1 with the tutor who'd teach you forward. Come with a song you're stuck on, an idea you can't finish, or just curiosity.
2. Pick a membership
Adult or shared. Every membership includes a free practice room and free concert rehearsals where you can hear your songs played by other musicians.
3. Write
Plenty of our songwriting students perform their own work at our seasonal student concerts. It's one of the best gigs in London for original songs.
Who teaches songwriting at Planet drum
Our songwriting coaching is led by professional players, composers, and active performers with deep knowledge of song structure and production:
Vladimir Gilis
Our songwriting teaching is led by Vladimir Gilis, a multi-instrumentalist who writes and produces his own original music alongside his playing and teaching career. Vladimir studied classical piano first, then graduated at a jazz guitar conservatory, and that combination of harmonic depth and improvisational flexibility shapes how he teaches songwriters. Whether you're writing on piano, guitar or in music software (a digital audio workstation), he can meet you on your instrument and help you push your songs further.
He's played at venues including the Royal Festival Hall, Womad and the London Jazz Festival, worked with artists including Cerys Matthews, John Reynolds and Paprika, and plays guitar and sings in the Planet drum house band at our seasonal concerts. Songwriting students can often perform their own work at those concerts if they want to.