Songwriting Tools

Songwriting Tools

The best songwriting tool is in your heart and between your ears, but you can make the creative process easier with these useful songwriting tools.

  • Ableton Live
    Ableton Live gives you everything you need to take your Song from a rough sketch to a fully realized production, simply and intuitively. You'll even be able to use it to perform the Song after the fact. Live organizes multiple passes of an audio or MIDI performance into individual takes. Pick the best moments of each performance and combine them to create your perfect take. Or approach sound design in a new way by splicing together random samples from your library.
  • Amadeus Code
    Amadeus Code lets you create entire songs from just a simple sketch idea. The songwriting assistant adds new content and chord progressions daily and you’re even able to continue your ideas with MIDI files generated from the app in your favourite DAW.
  • AUDOIR
    AUDOIR allows users to generate lyrics that rhyme and conform to a specific number of syllables. Simply enter a topic, mood or genre and customise the tool’s lyric suggestions to your liking. This tool doesn’t require a sign up or login so it’s really quick and simple to get started.
  • Band-in-a-Box®
    Band-in-a-Box® is so easy to use! Just type in the chords for any Song using standard chord symbols (like C, Fm7, or C13b9), choose the style you'd like, and Band-in-a-Box® does the rest... Band-in-a-Box® automatically generates a complete professional-quality arrangement of piano, bass, drums, guitar, and strings or horns.
  • Botnik
    Botnik is a machine entertainment company run by comedy writers. Their site uses computers to remix text and provide users with new text suggestions. The technology looks at the last three words of your text to suggest new words to follow. Combining corpuses re-calculates common word patterns and frequencies to create lyric suggestions.
  • Chordbook.Com
    With their online web apps you can intuitively learn guitar chords, scales and tunings online at your own pace. Choose from some of the web's most attractive online guitar interface to explore the world of chords and scales and learning the guitar. Also check out our learn guitar section where we have videos for beginners and some introductions to basic music theory.
  • Circle of Fifths
    The Circle of Fifths is an interactive online tool by Rand Scullard that was created to help you figure out a Song’s key, transpose music in different keys, compose new Songs, and understand modes, scales, and key signatures. All you have to do is write down the progression of the notes of a Song and use Circle of Fifths to adapt it or figure out what key the Song is written in. The tool uses different modes like Lydan and Locrian with all tonics and can even be used offline.
  • Crescendo Music Notation Software
    A simple and intuitive way to write musical notation, Crescendo allows composers to write, save and print their music compositions on their computer. The wide array of sheet music symbols, time and key signatures, along with a free-form layout, gives a composer optimum control over creating sheet music for their arrangements.
  • DeepBeat
    DeepBeat uses machine learning techniques to generate new rap lyrics by combining lines from existing rap tracks. The technology tries to combine new lines which rhyme and make sense when put together.
  • Doppelreim
    Their multi syllable rhyme generator is programmed to provide variety of rhymes for all kind of search requests. Also available as an app on iTunes and Google Play.
  • Finale
    Produce the music of your imagination without compromise. No other music notation software offers Finale’s level of control, letting you decide both what and how you create. At every rehearsal, know that your score will sound great, your parts are ready, and you have clearly communicated your musical vision.
  • Forte
    With FORTE music notation software, you can write sheet music using your computer in minutes and have it played back by over 100 preloaded instruments at the click of a button, as well as scan and edit physical scores quickly and with accuracy and practice a piece by playing along with a full digital band or orchestra in the comfort of your home.
  • Guitar Pro
    Guitar Pro allows you to edit your music scores and tablature for guitar, bass, and ukulele, as well as create backing tracks for drums or piano. This is a most thorough yet user-friendly tool for musicians who wish to get better, compose, or simply play along.
  • Heavy Metal Lyrics Generator
    Their AI will write the lyrics of a heavy metal song. It was trained on a database of thousands of heavy metal lyrics, using machine learning to figure out how write a new song. The lyrics it creates are unique and not a copy of something that already exists. Note: They try to filter out offensive content, but heavy metal is full of that, so it may not be appropriate for children.
  • Hooktheory Hookpad
    Hookpad from Hooktheory is a handy online tool when you have an idea, and you would like to know what it sounds like. Just visit the site and put it in. You can add notes by pressing keys 1 to 7 and set the duration of each note by pressing H, J, K, and L on your keyboard. Besides quickly adding notes, you can also choose the key, tempo, instruments, and create a simple Song with several tracks in a matter of minutes. Record the Song you created and export it so you can listen to it later.
  • JAMDECK
    JAMDECK is designed to be easy to pick up and play like a real instrument. It lends itself to the same spontaneous jams and quick experimentation that you get by picking up a guitar. Better yet, it captures audio and MIDI of your jams, so when you strike gold, your melodies are already in a format ready to be edited and produced further.
  • Ludwig
    Ludwig is software for Windows that helps you to write your own Songs. Simply enter or play a melody, and Ludwig does the rest: finding the proper chords and writing all parts of a professionally sounding band. It was never easier to compose, arrange or accompany Songs! Ludwigs artificial intelligence approach is innovative and unique: The parts are written note by note, like a human would do, achieving an unrivaled musical quality.
  • MagicScore
    MagicScore is easy and powerful music notation and composition software. Compose, print, arrange, convert music to audio with MagicScore. Write sheet music, guitar tabs and chords. MagicScore is the smart choice for musicians, composers, arrangers, teachers, students, choirs, ensembles and Songwriters.
  • MasterWriter
    Why struggle to find the right word when you can have all the possibilities in an instant? The unique tools and reference dictionaries contained in MasterWriter will help you to express yourself in a unique and more meaningful way. Used by Songwriters including Rob Thomas, Trent Reznor, Babyface, Don Felder, Rick Springfield, and many more.
  • MuseScore
    Create, play back and print beautiful sheet music with free and easy to use music notation software MuseScore. For Windows, Mac and Linux, as well as iPhone/iPad, Android, and Kindle Fire.
  • Notion™: Music Composition and Performance Environment
    Bring musical inspirations to life with the blazingly fast and intuitive Notion™ music composition and performance environment. Compose when and how you want and even enter music with your own handwriting. Take projects to the next level with deep integration with Studio One®. Hear and perform music with gorgeous samples by the London Symphony Orchestra and others. Deliver polished scores faster than ever before, from complete film orchestrations to simple lead sheets and guitar tab.
  • Notion™: Music Composition and Performance Environment
    Bring musical inspirations to life with the blazingly fast and intuitive Notion™ music composition and performance environment. Compose when and how you want and even enter music with your own handwriting. Take projects to the next level with deep integration with Studio One®. Hear and perform music with gorgeous samples by the London Symphony Orchestra and others. Deliver polished scores faster than ever before, from complete film orchestrations to simple lead sheets and guitar tab.
  • OpenSong
    OpenSong is a free, open-source software application created to manage lyrics, chords, lead sheets, overheads, computer projection, and more.
  • QuickScore Elite
    QuickScore Elite is comprehensive, integrated software for music composition, incorporating notation, arranging, MIDI and audio sequencing and recording. Create publication-quality scores, musical content for the desktop and world wide web, audio CDs, MP3s and soundtracks for film, video and games.
  • Rhymer® Online Rhyming Dictionary
    Free Rhyming Dictionary. Find rhymes fast. Create original lyrics or prose. Choose from six types of rhymes: end rhymes, last syllable rhymes, double rhymes, triple rhymes, beginnig rhymes, and first syllable rhymes.
  • Sibelius
    Sibelius is the world's best-selling music notation software. Compose, arrange, publish, and teach music writing and scoring—on desktop and mobile. Includes the free version Sibelius | First, Sibelius - allows you to write music with up to 16 instruments, and Sibelius | Ultimate - a full toolset to compose, arrange, and engrave without limits. All three versions include both desktop and mobile versions
  • Song One
    Instantly transform plain text Song sheets into transposable chord sheets with automatically generated chord symbols and matching chord diagrams. Look up all possible chord positions on the virtual fretboard and customize the number of strings, the tuning and optional capo position. Auto-play chords on virtual instruments including piano, church organ or electric guitar with a swipe of a finger and experience a more intuitive way of working with Songs. Effortlessly add chords to your lyrics with a smart chord matrix. Touch the desired notes on the virtual piano keyboard or fretboard to auto-generate all matching chord symbols with extensions and altered bass notes. Import Songs in ChordPro, OnSong and SongSheet Pro format or add your content from webpages, and much more.
  • Songspace
    Songspace helps music businesses and creators manage Song catalogs, collaborate, send music and export data easily. Combining features from Dropbox/Box, iTunes, GoogleDocs, Excel and SoundCloud in one product, it streamlines workflows such as listening, leaving feedback, searching, creating playlists, and pitch tracking, while simplifying advanced tasks like data exports, asset delivery and registration.
  • SongStarter
    SongStarter is an AI-powered idea generator that acts as your starting point to create new music. The AI generates three unique musical ideas just for you. Every musical idea is royalty-free and yours to keep.
  • Songwriter's Pad
    All the tools you need to stay creative and break through writer's block. Start on your smartphone, continue on your tablet and finish up on your Mac or PC. With SPS Cloud technology powered by Amazon, your Songs are always secure and available.
  • Suggestor (iOS app)
    Suggester is an iOS tool that helps you create chord progressions and even Songs. It basically lets you find chords that work really well together in a highly interactive and intuitive way. Suggestor is capable of helping you build complex musical phrases. When you use the app, you can perform easy editing, like changing the tempo, scales, and pick a set from an included catalog. Enter your chords, select a scale, and the app recommends scales that work well with your input. If there are chords that you want to use and are not present in the Suggestor catalog, they can be added manually.
  • These Lyrics Do Not Exist
    These Lyrics Do Not Exist is a popular website that uses AI to build completely original lyrics. State of the art AI is utilised to generate original choruses and verses, with users able to select specific topics, music genres and different moods for their lyrics.
  • Toontrack
    Creative tools for Songwriters around the world.
  • TuneSmith®
    Whether at home, on the road or in the studio, TuneSmith® provides you with all the tools you need to easily enhance your Song writing and effortlessly administer growing Song catalogs. Focus on your craft using a robust lyrics editor with comprehensive text styles, handy revision history and extensive search capabilities. Fan the flames of inspiration with an integrated version of Rhyme Genie®. Rekindle emotions of past writing sessions with a complete clipboard history of previously selected rhymes for each Song in progress.
  • Virtual Piano
    The platform enables you to play the piano instantly on your computer keyboard, mobile, and tablet. This online tool helps you learn to play a variety of virtual music instruments, become an online pianist and create your own extraordinary music! VirtualPiano.net is the original online piano platform, played by more than 19 million people a year. It is free to use by anyone, anywhere, anytime.
  • Last updated: 6/12/2023

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