Before you get into the room with your collaborator, it's important to familiarise yourself with their work and musical interests. Doing a little homework on your co-writer helps you build rapport and allows you to connect over common interests.

Not only is this a fundamental part of preparation, reaching out to your collaborator before the session starts also helps to sweep away any assumptions you might have and can often spark interesting creative ideas.

One of the most crucial elements of preparation is collecting a range of prompts and ideas to bring into the co-writing session. Once the session begins, these little snippets serve as catalysts for your compositions and sharing these with your co-writer will often spark creative ideas and conversations.

It's important that the 'stuff' you bring is varied and therefor provides a range of options. As songwriters we are always on the lookout for these little music fragments - often taking the form of lyrical prompts or titles, some short melodic phrases, chord progressions and rhythmic patterns or grooves.

As part of this course we're including some of the most commonly asked questions around co-writing. These questions have been collected from various sources around the world - from our students attending music colleges, our songwriting peers and our global community online.

Our first FAQ is focusing on what qualities you might be looking for when seeking out potential collaborators.

Some ideas are too precious to share, either because they're very personal or perhaps because we've already determined what direction we'd like to take them in. Whatever the reason, precious ideas should not be brought into a co-writing session and it's important we learn how to distinguish these ideas from those we are willing to share.

Clear communication is crucial throughout each stage of the co-writing process and it all begins with setting clear expectations before the session begins. Being on the same page is about bringing clarity and focus to the collaboration, but it also prevents confusion and misunderstandings from developing later on.

What does it mean to have matched levels of skill and experience? Can we even measure or quantify such a concept and does it really make any difference to the success of your collaboration?

So, you've done your preparation, you've connected with your collaborator and discovered what their musical interests are... now it's time for the writing to begin!

Having an authentic conversation with your collaborator serves many purposes. It helps to build rapport and trust, it helps your co-writer relax and ease into the session and finally, it helps you to learn more about their current mindset or situation. These details can become valuable song prompts and kickstart your session without too much pressure or difficulty.

We all suffer from imposter syndrome to some degree. In this FAQ we discuss the very real feelings of anxiety and insecurity, and most importantly, how you can manage these feelings so they don't interfere too much with the creative process.

'Finding the title' is one of the most effective contemporary songwriting methods in your toolbox, regardless of the genre or style of music you're writing in. In this video we look at how it also provides momentum to your co-writing session and often helps you out of some sticky situations.

Song Maps are essentially essay plans for your songs - a powerful way to gain perspective as you plot a course for your musical journey. In this chapter we look at how you can create your own song map to help clarify where you want the story to go and improve your chances of finishing the song well.

In this chapter we look at how a real co-writing session works, focusing on taking an initial prompt and developing it into a complete song form. The live-demonstration highlights how 'creative chemistry' can be established and built upon throughout a session - allowing each songwriter the opportunity to express themselves in a safe, collaborative environment.

It's one of the most common questions in music - is there a formula for writing songs? The answer is of course... no, however there are song FORMS and by learning the nuances of these forms you can not only move more efficiently through a co-writing session but often more effectively also.

One of the most important aspects of any creative process is allowing new ideas a chance to breathe. When applied to co-writing, it's helpful to adopt a 'yes, and' approach as apposed to using the phrase 'no, but'. This approach is crucial for effective collaboration and is one of the most noticeable differences between solo writing and co-writing.

Sometimes it happens. For no particular reason, the session keeps grinding to a halt and you're getting the feeling that no amount of time is going to help. In these situations, what's the best course of action?

Imagine you're on a date. Imagine that your date starts talking about how well its going, highlighting the specific techniques that are helping to build trust and establish a connection. What a mood killer! In this way, co-writing is just like dating... don't talk about it whilst doing it.

In this FAQ, we look at some mental approaches that may help structure a session, as well as some very practical tips and strategies for moving the song along in those middle periods where momentum may stall a little.

Another great question we often hear is in relation to getting a complete song finished in a single 3-hour session. In this video we break down how you can use time-pressure to your advantage and gamify the whole process to achieve this goal.

It's one of those potentially awkward conversations but it doesn't need to be, especially if you get it done right up front. More importantly, songwriter splits are a big part of a professional co-writing process and can help clarify the roles that each collaborator will play. In this video we look some ways of simplifying the process so it protects all parties and respects the contributions of those involved.

In many cases, the first co-writing session is just the beginning of a long and rewarding partnership, so staying touch is an essential part of fostering that relationship. It's also common to have created the skeleton of a song during a co-writing session, therefor subsequent collaborations are often required to complete a project and bring that song to life.

As the collaboration continues beyond an initial session, agreed file sharing protocols become necessary to avoid confusion, frustration and at worst, lost or unusable files. In this video we look at online platforms you might consider and file naming conventions, as well as conventions for exporting and transferring audio files.

At the end of the day, if you are kind, generous and organised (in short, a delight), most people will want to work with you time and time again, especially compared to someone who has lots of raw talent but is difficult to be around.

If you are ready to start co-writing and collaborating, the next challenge is finding people to work with. In this video we offer some great ways to connect with like-minded collaborators, both in person and online.

Thanks for joining us on this course. We hope you find joy and fulfillment in your future collaborations!