Songwriting Tools, Ideas and Inspiration

Get inspired and get writing with our articles, courses and more



Songwriting Articles

Powerful songwriting tools, ideas and inspiration.

Songwriting Courses

Premium self-study video courses you can access anywhere.

Songwriting eBooks

Unique and inspiring eBooks on every aspect of songwriting.

Songwriting Coaching

1-to-1 support with your songs via personal Zoom coaching.

Find out more

Ed Bell. The Song Foundry. Songwriting coaching. Songwriting courses. Songwriting tips.

I’m a songwriter, author and music educator.

In half my life I’m a songwriter for theatre and film, where I’ve written award-winning stage shows, written songs for Oriental DreamWorks and worked on dozens of creative projects around the world.

In the other half I help thousands of songwriters hit their goals each month, through my bestselling songwriting books, inspiring video courses and popular songwriting articles.

I don’t just do quick tips and tricks. I don’t pretend there’s some simple shortcut to success. I actually help people find the skills, confidence and creativity to write the songs they want to write – whether they’re on their first song or their thousandth.

So if you’re ready to level up your skills and have a ton of fun in the process – welcome. I’m glad you’re here.

Recent Articles

Let’s Face It: No One Knows What They’re Doing

by Ed Bell | April 18, 2015 | The Creative Habit | 0 Comments

It’s good to know things. It’s good to gain experience. It’s good to develop skills. But no matter how far you get, you’ll still more or less be winging it. And that’s how it should be.

How to Come up with 100 New Song Ideas

by Ed Bell | January 15, 2018 | Lyric Tools, Music Tools | 0 Comments

The best way to come up with new song ideas is to learn how to take old song ideas and turn them into new ones.

Five Different Ways to Start a Song

by Ed Bell | October 4, 2017 | Inspiration, Lyric Tools, Music Tools | 0 Comments

A song can come from pretty much anywhere. Here are five tried-and-tested ways to start writing your next one.

Self-forgiveness: Why It’s an Essential Creative Tool

by Ed Bell | May 2, 2015 | The Creative Habit | 0 Comments

Great artists know that holding themselves to exceptionally high standards is what makes and keeps them great. But living creatively also means giving themselves a break from time to time.

“It takes a while. It’s normal to take a while.”

by Ed Bell | March 5, 2015 | Cool Stuff, The Creative Habit | 0 Comments

One of the hardest things about being an emerging artist is that it can feel like it’s taking forever to get your shit together. Here’s Daniel Sax’s important video, The Gap, on the topic, incorporating the words of Ira Glass, host of This American Life.