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Two-Chord Seed: A Song Built on Em-C, and Where It Needed a Third

E minor (Em–C), capo 4 to put the melody between D4 and B4 · ABCB

Voice Memo Triage: Turning Four Hundred Fragments Into a Short List

n/a — this is a cataloguing method · n/a

Walk and Hum: A Forty-Minute Filter With No Phone

No instrument — find the key at home afterward · none enforced

Melody Before Words: Writing a Tune on a Neutral Syllable

F major, sung on 'da' throughout the first pass · decided after the melody, not before

Borrowed First Line: What a Public-Domain Lift Costs a Song

A minor (Am–F–C–G) — the borrowed line forced a minor reading · ABAB with an unrhymed closing couplet

The False-Start Log: Fifteen Minutes That Salvages a Dead Idea

No key required — this is a text-only drill · none enforced

Title-First Writing: Let the Hook Line Pick the Song's Job

D major (D–A–Bm–G), capo 2 for a softer verse · AABA on verses, free on chorus

Object Prompt: Write a Song About the Thing in Your Pocket

Any — pick the key after the third line lands · ABCB

The Three-Note Seed: Starting a Song From a Fragment You Can Actually Remember

C major, no capo (test in G and D before committing) · ABAB

Case: The Shrinking Verse — 8 Lines, Then 6, Then 4

F# minor (F#m–D–A–E), drop D tuning · ABCB across both verses

The Dynamics Map: Arrangement Decisions Made While Writing

D major (D–A–Bm–G), drums enter at verse two · AABB in verse one, ABAB in verse two

Place-Name Verse: Rhyming With a Town You Have Actually Been To

Any; use the same two chords for all eight lines · ABAB, with the place name used as the rhyme itself

Seven Ways to Vary One Chord Loop Without Changing a Chord

A minor (Am–G–F–G) with a modified second pass · ABCB

Pre-Chorus: Pick One Job, Question or Lift

B minor (Bm–G–D–A); pre-chorus stays on Bm–G only · verses ABAB, pre-chorus AABB

Sensory Detail Prompt: Eight Lines With No Sight and No Sound

Write unaccompanied; harmonise later · ABAB with one deliberately unrhymed line

The Second Verse Problem: Four Jobs That Solve It

C major (C–G/B–Am–F) with a walk-down in bar four · ABAB in verse one, ABCB in verse two

Verse Line Length: Counting Stresses Instead of Words

G major (G–Em–C–D), no capo · ABAB

One-Word Chorus: Eleven Ways to Repeat a Single Word

Any key; keep the same four-bar loop under every pass · none — the repetition is the structure

Arrival and Company: Why a Chorus Needs Both Ends

E major (E–B–C#m–A), no capo, chorus melody peaks on B4 · ABAB across the chorus, hook repeated unrhymed

Where the Hook Sits: First Line, Last Line, or Middle

A major (A–E–F#m–D), chorus lifts to the fifth · AABA, with the hook as the repeated A

Bridge Prompt: Two Lines the Narrator Would Never Admit

Any; play the bridge on the song's existing loop, inverted · CCDD — two new rhyme pairs, neither borrowed from the song

Five Harmonic Moves That Make a Bridge Feel Like Elsewhere

C major verse/chorus, bridge on Am–F–C–G starting on the submediant · CCDD in the bridge, matching neither verse nor chorus

What a Bridge Is For: Four Things It May Change

Same key as the song — the bridge changes texture, not tonality · CCDD — a new pair, deliberately not rhyming with the verses

Vocal-First Demo: Recording the Voice Before the Chords

Record the vocal a whole step below the written key to protect the top notes · no changes at demo stage

The One-Take Demo: Five Minutes of Setup, One Pass, No Click

Whatever you can sing on the first take — usually a step below the written key · fixed at this point; no lyric changes in the demo