Brett Boles

Even though I spent $250K on my education, I still had trouble finishing songs.

I started writing before the internet had any real resources for this. So I went to school, majored in composition, did (half) a Masters in songwriting, and spent almost $250,000 learning the craft.

It sucked because even with all that money spent, I still had no repeatable process for actually finishing a song. I rarely knew where a song wanted to go, so I'd start strong and stall out halfway through.

I had no idea how to record from home and get a demo pitch-ready.

And I always wondered if what I was writing was any good.

But then I learned Prosody (marrying music and lyrics so they serve the same dramatic moment) from the BMI Workshop and from studying thousands of songs.

And I discovered Song Mapping, which meant I never had to abandon a song halfway through again.

Which led me to Off-Broadway and London credits as a musical theatre writer, a NYMF Outstanding Orchestrations Award, a Kravis Center premiere and a presentation starring Tony winner Norbert Leo Butz, 15 years inside the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop, and now I'm the vocal arranger for Randy Rainbow’s Emmy-nominated series and lyricist on the first live stage musical for a major company (that I can't disclose yet due to a pesky NDA 😅).

Want to know how I did it? Comment YES and I'll send you the details.

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1 month ago | [YT] | 10

Brett Boles

Stop writing your songs front to back!

Most musical theatre songwriters start with verse one and just keep going, hoping the song finds itself along the way.

The problem with this is you don't actually know where the song is going. By the time you get to verse two, you've lost the thread, and the song stalls out half-finished.

This leads to a drawer full of songs you never completed, a show idea you've carried for years but never touched, and this quiet fear that maybe your writing just isn't "Broadway" enough.

After Off-Broadway and London credits, a NYMF Outstanding Orchestrations Award, 15 years inside the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop, and teaching this same craft to a 700K-strong musical theatre audience (with engagement from Lin-Manuel Miranda, the Lopezes, and Pasek & Paul), here's what I'd do instead:

Songmap before you write.

This is because when you build the skeletal structure of the song first, the writing stops fighting you. You're not guessing where it's going anymore. It finishes itself.
Which leads to songs you actually finish, songs that come out stronger and faster, and real shots at getting them in front of the festivals and producers who could put them on a stage.

You can think about it like this:

Do you want to keep starting songs you never finish? Or would you prefer to build a portfolio of theatre songs you're proud to submit?

An example of a what a possible song map might look like in verse/chorus form:

1 month ago (edited) | [YT] | 14

Brett Boles

MT Writers: What stops you from finishing songs?

1 month ago | [YT] | 2

Brett Boles

I'm working on an exciting new project that will help soooo many musical theatre writers finally finish the songs and the musicals they start. Anyone excited? I know I am 👀

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1 month ago | [YT] | 21

Brett Boles

Hey all! I have a new podcast I'm doing with my buddy Josh Shelton (head of content over at Sundance, and a songwriter in his own right). First episode just dropped!

4 months ago | [YT] | 2

Brett Boles

Dropping an hour-long deep dive into the score of Hunchback of Notre Dame (Specifically the Opening Number) TODAY! 4PM EST :)

11 months ago (edited) | [YT] | 39

Brett Boles

For any songwriters who might be here, I'm running a free class this Sunday @4PM EST — you can save your spot at:

transformationalsongwriting.com/

New video at Noon EST Today!

1 year ago | [YT] | 5