Resources
Welcome to our songwriting resources page, a curated list of links that we find useful as a collective when writing songs.
Use the shortcut Ctrl + D (Windows) or ⌘ + D (Macintosh) to bookmark this page for future reference.
Table of Contents
Ableton Live
Ableton Live
Digital audio workstation (DAW) used by the collective. Compatible with both Windows and Mac operating systems. Sign up for a free 90-day trial via the above link.
Ableton Live Project Template
Default project template used by the collective.
Ableton Live User Library
Default user library used by the collective.
Reference Manual
Comprehensive user guide for Ableton Live. The manual can be used as a guide for beginners who are just starting to learn how to use the software, as well as for experienced users who want to learn more about its advanced features and workflows.
Keyboard Shortcuts
List of keyboard shortcuts that allow Ableton Live users to perform tasks more efficiently.
YouTube Tutorials
Collection of videos that the collective have found useful or interesting.
Live Lessons Generator
Free stand alone app that allows educators to incorporate their lesson plans directly into Ableton Live via Ableton's Lessons format, which appear in the collapsible Help View panel along the right-hand edge of Live's user interface.
Official Ableton Forum
Online community where Ableton Live users can ask questions, share knowledge, and discuss all aspects of using the software.
Music Theory
Popular music learning platform. Learn the skills essential for understanding music, reading music and playing an instrument.
Interactive website created by Ableton, designed to help beginners learn the basics of music production and composition. The website includes a series of interactive lessons and tutorials, which cover topics such as rhythm, melody, harmony, and song structure.
Interactive website created by Ableton, designed to help beginners learn the basics of synthesisers and synthesis. The website includes a series of interactive lessons and tutorials, which cover topics such as oscillators, filters, envelopes and modulation.
Useful Tools
BPM to ms Converter/Calculator
Used in music production and audio engineering to convert tempo values expressed in beats per minute (BPM) to their equivalent duration in milliseconds. This can be useful for setting delays, reverb, and other time-based effects that are synced to the tempo of the music.
An interactive circle of fifths chart, a very useful music theory tool to help visualise scales, notes, chords and keys as well as the relationship between them.
Random collection of musical calculators.
Simple musical interval calculator to get the interval name and the number of semitones between two notes.
Reference table for musical notes and their frequencies, middle C is 161.63 Hz.
A chatbot powered by artificial intelligence.
Chords
Experiment with arrangements in real-time until you find something you like.
Explore music using simple geometric shapes.
An awesome way to explore chord progressions.
Select the root and type of chord and it will be displayed on the keyboard.
Lyrics
This reverse dictionary allows you to search for words by their definition.
Find rhymes, synonyms, adjectives, and more!
Find words that are related to a specific word or phrase
Search for words by their definition
2,500 English idioms, phrases and proverbs.
Sounds
Free recordings, licensed under Creative Commons.
Project Management
Online Collaboration Guidelines
Guidelines that the collective refers to when collaborating online.
Share song ideas and project files securely online. The first 14 days are at no cost.
Excellent system for maintaining an organised sound effects library.