So You Want to Be a Songwriter?
Composers and songwriters come to Nashville from all over the world to pursue their careers. In our program, you’ll study with instructors who are veterans in the industry. You’ll record songs at Dark Horse Studios where Taylor Swift, Keith Urban, Florida Georgia Line, Matchbox Twenty, Tim McGraw, Carrie Underwood, Alice In Chains and countless others have recorded their music.
Our 15-week program focuses on leveraging your unique creative talents so your music can interface with dozens of different sectors in the entertainment industry, regardless of musical genre.
LEARN MORE BELOW
Composition & Songwriting Program:
The 15-week, 375-hour Composition & Songwriting Program at Dark Horse Institute offers an incredible exploration of the art of songwriting. With an emphasis on writing hit songs, you will learn from the ground up. Classes will work through the concepts of music theory, MIDI production and beat making, song structure, rhyming schemes, writing powerful lyrics, studying hit song writing and production trends, writing and producing sync music for TV/film, and writing for and with other artists.
Throughout the course, there will be multiple real-world projects. Students will write, record, and pitch songs for Sync placement in TV, film, or video games. You will also create a portfolio of songs you’ve written or co-written in class. These demos will be recorded in our amazing studios at Dark Horse Recording and Dark Horse Institute. As a final project, you’ll be doing even more professional work, and writing with an outside artist in a “Writing Camp.” These collaborative writing camps are how many of the hit songs on the radio are created, and you will get the experience of learning to be intentional and universal in your writing.
Whether your ultimate career goal is to be an artist, a songwriter, a producer, or just understand how it all works — the collaboration between Composition & Songwriting, Audio Engineering and Music Business students and our location in Music City provides unparalleled opportunities for networking and industry engagement. We train our songwriters to take advantage of networking via social media and the ever-evolving platforms that will help you get your music the exposure it deserve.
Areas of Focus:
- Music Theory: Rhythm, Harmony, and Melody
- Song structure
- Critical listening
- Lyrical phrasing
- Rhyme Structures
- Songwriting strategy
- Creativity Techniques
- Constructing full-length song
- Creating a fan base
- Co-writing
- Writing for Sync
- Writer’s Camp: Writing with an artist
- Pitching your music
- Marketing techniques
Join the Music Industry
Like our other courses, our online music business program is taught in a real-world, no-nonsense, immersive setting to help you enter the entertainment industry with a competitive edge. When it comes to getting an education in the Music Business, there are surprisingly few options that are both practical and affordable. Dark Horse Institute is that option!
Dark Horse Music Group
Our Music Business program offers students the unique opportunity to manage new bands through our own indie Label. Dark Horse Music Group is is based in Nashville, the heart of the music industry. This cooperative is run exclusively by students where you will gain hands-on experience representing the diverse local music community.
Career Opportunities
That's the bottom line. When you combine your business education with an entrepreneurial mindset there are no limits to your career opportunities. Artist Management, Booking & Touring, A&R, Digital Marketing & Distribution, Music Publishing, Entertainment Law & Finance and many, many more...
You'll find our GRADUATES working with some of the most celebrated artists in the world.
Pitch Perfect
Our Music Business programs will take you behind the scenes where your class will PITCH an artist to the head of a major record label and the A & R Department.
Nothing is more important than receiving hands-on, real-world experience. Using all the tools available, you will scout out talent which has the potential to take it all the way.
Dark Horse Music Group
In our programs, you’ll work with Dark Horse Music Group, a student-run recording, marketing and project management company. Using digital marketing platforms, you’ll scout and sign indie bands, and prepare them for the production of 6-song EPs recorded by our audio engineering students on-site in Franklin, TN, just outside of Nashville. You’ll also develop the web and social media marketing tools that are essential to launching a career.
Dark Horse Institute is authorized for operation as a postsecondary education institution by the Tennessee Higher Education Commission. In order to view detailed job placement and graduation information on the programs offered by Dark Horse Institute, please visit http://tn.gov/thec/topic/authorized-institutions-data and click on the Authorized Institutions Data.