Towards a Songwriting Practice: Building and Nurturing Your Creative Toolkit
Join Madison-based musician Maddie Batzli for a 6-session songwriting course! The course will be hosted half in-person at Muso Madison, half online via Zoom. See dates below for details.
The course will include:
Hands-on melody and lyric writing exercises
Practical tools for building strong songwriting habits
Sharing our work-in-progress songs in small groups (via recordings and/or in person)
Breaking down the elements of a song
Optional attendance at Muso Madison’s open mic.
The course is intended for a range of experience levels, from those who haven’t written a song before to those who have written multiple songs but may be struggling with writing consistently. Some prior experience writing poetry, journaling, AND/OR some musical background is useful for getting the most out of this class. Maddie has a pop/folk/singer-songwriter style and teaches from that background, but all writing styles are welcome. Content will focus on vocal melodies, lyrics, chord progressions, cultivating personal taste, and learning/experimenting by ear. We will not be learning about how to write sheet music or tab, how to play an instrument, in-depth music theory, or how to write instrumental-only music. The course is geared towards adult learners.
Course sessions:*
Feb 20 – In person at Muso – 6:30-7:45pm
Feb 27 – Virtual via Zoom- 6:30-7:45pm
March 6 – In person at Muso – 6:30-7:45pm
March 13 – Virtual via Zoom – 6:30-7:45pm
March 20 – Virtual via Zoom – 6:30-7:45pm
March 27 – Optional Open Mic at Muso (attend and observe and/or perform)
April 3 – In person at Muso – 6:30-7:45pm
*Participants must sign up in advance, and are committing to attend all sessions (barring unforeseen circumstances). Because this course material builds on itself and intends to support habit formation over time, participants may not sign up for just one course session.
For more details and to register, go to https://www.linesoundslike.com/courses/songwriting-course-2025 or reach out to Maddie at line.sounds.contact@gmail.com.”
About the Instructor: Maddie Batzli is a Madison-based singer-songwriter who writes, plays, and produces under the artist name LINE. Maddie has released music both with a band and as a solo project. Maddie’s writing spans genres from folk-influenced solo guitar and piano ballads to moody indie rock to danceable synth-pop, always maintaining core through-lines of intentional lyrics, infectious melodies, emotional vocal delivery, and variations on pop song structures.
Maddie’s family and mentors encouraged them to explore art from a young age, and at the core of Maddie’s teaching philosophy is a goal to support others in nurturing their own relationship to creativity. Maddie believes having a creative practice enables a deep and life-giving connection with self and the world around us, and approaches songwriting not as a means to an end but as a lifestyle practice.
