Get Your Hands on a Free Song Template in PDF, Excel, or Google Sheets
(For when that 3 am voice memo just kinda… exists)
Songs are as unique as the people writing them, with their own arrangements, melodies, and styles, but what happens when you come up with a great idea, record a voice memo, only to wake up the next day and go: wait, what was I even saying about “Ocean Jeans” again?
If you’ve ever found yourself trying to write more complete songs, faster, then structure is the key to unlocking your creativity.
Our free songwriting template gives you a pop song structure you can use in Excel, Google Sheets, or an awesome printable PDF. It’s designed to help you keep ideas flowing, avoid writer’s block, and work with the most common frameworks in popular music, all without killing the fun part.
Download our song structure templates
Picking your format: Same templates, just in whatever format makes you happy.
If you love printouts and scribbling in the margins like a detective trying to crack a mystery.
Download PDFExcel
If you’re one of those people who finds comfort in rows and columns and emotional spreadsheets.
Download ExcelGoogle Sheets
If you want the flexibility of opening it anywhere with a decent connection and a bit of desperation.
Open in Google SheetsSong Structure Templates
Think of each template as a simple map. You fill it in as you go, and tweak it until it sounds like your song. Pick a structure, fill in the blanks, finish the song (or at the very least get it good enough that you stop calling it “the verse thing”…).
Song Structure #1
This is the classic verse-chorus setup, with a place for a bridge and an optional third verse.
- Verse 2 is where you add movement, detail, or a new perspective.
- The second chorus is often where the emotional peak happens.
- The bridge shifts the scenery a bit, so that final chorus really lands.
A brief intro.
What’s the song about? Set the scene.
The main idea, the hook, the bit everyone remembers.
Deepen it, complicate it, add some details.
Repeat it (or tweak it a bit).
Shift the perspective or the energy.
(Optional) Only if the story needs it.
Big finish.
Wrap it up, fade out, or just stop like you meant to. (Also the place to whisper “yeah” meaningfully.)
How to Use This Songwriting Template
The goal is to get your ideas somewhere to go, not to turn you into some sort of songwriting robot.
Pick a structure
Choose what feels right for your vibe: verse-chorus, build up with a pre-chorus, maybe a bridge lift, and so on.
Brainstorm song ideas
Write down all your angles, emotions, images, and lyric lines. Don’t judge them yet. (If you’ve never written a terrible line on the way to a good one, congratulations! You must be a wizard…)
Work on chord progressions
Pick a progression that fits the emotional direction of your song and keeps things moving.
Craft the melody & write the lyrics
Aim for the hook, and keep an ear on how each section flows into the next.
Refine the structure
Tweak sections as needed. The goal is momentum, not perfection.
Test, revise & record
Run through it on guitar or piano, get feedback, then do the classic songwriter move and tell everyone it’s not finished (even though it probably is).
Need a bit of a kick start? Have a look at the Song Idea Generator or the Random Song Generator.
A Not-So-Complicated Songwriting Formula
Give this a go with the template and you’ll have a good idea of how to turn vague notions into actual finished songs.
“A song idea is basically just three things: a concept, a title and a rough plan of what’s going to happen in the song.”
In other words: come up with something to say, something to name it, and an idea of the route you want to take. Without a clear plan you’ll just end up wandering around in the dark until you get bored and give up.
What Makes a Hit Song
Just pop through this quick checklist as you fill out the template:
Check back for more Songwriting Tips
Songwriting is an art that’s always evolving, and you should too (your process, that is). Using a template helps break a song down into key bits, making it easier for your wild ideas to actually make sense.
Need a break from the songwriting musings? Try Sunset Songs on Instagram Story or go child-friendly with Good Morning Song for Kids.
