Have you ever caught your child humming a tune, making up lyrics, or singing about their snack? That’s songwriting in action! At Freebird Music Studios, we believe every child is a natural creator, and songwriting is a powerful way for them to express themselves, build confidence, and develop musical skills—all while having fun!
In this post, we’ll share how we introduce songwriting to kids in a playful and age-appropriate way, and how you can nurture that creativity at home.
What Is Songwriting (Kid-Style)?
Songwriting for kids doesn’t have to mean complex rhymes and polished melodies. It can be as simple as making up a silly song about a favourite toy, a story about an animal, or inventing a tune about things that happened in their day. The key is freedom, fun, and imagination.
Our goal? Help children find their voice and turn their ideas into music.
Why Songwriting Is Great for Kids
🎵 Encourages self-expression
Kids can share how they feel or tell a story that’s uniquely theirs.
🧠 Builds language and literacy skills
Creating lyrics improves vocabulary, rhyme, and storytelling.
👐 Boosts confidence and emotional intelligence
Sharing a song they’ve made can be empowering and validating.
🎶 Reinforces musical concepts
Kids naturally explore rhythm, melody, and structure when they write songs.
Introducing Song Structure: Verses & Chorus
One of the fun ways we guide kids through songwriting is by helping them understand the basic building blocks of a song: verses and choruses.
🎤 Verses are the parts of a song where the story unfolds or ideas change.
🎶 Chorus is the repeating section that brings the song together—often the catchiest part!
Even young children can start to recognize and create this structure. For example:
- Each verse can describe something different (“I saw a dog / I saw a cat…”), while the chorus stays the same (“La la la, it’s a wonderful day!”).
🧩 This kind of repetition and pattern recognition is great for early learning!
Rhyme Time! ✨
As kids build their songs, they naturally start to look for rhyming words—which gives their brains a great workout!
Whether it’s:
- “cat” and “hat”
- “sun” and “fun”
- or making up their own silly rhymes like “blibble” and “nibble”…
…they’re learning phonemic awareness, playing with language, and developing important pre-reading and literacy skills.
How We Teach Songwriting at Freebird Music Studios
In our Strummingbirds Program (ukulele for ages 5-9) songwriting is woven into musical play. Here’s how we approach it:
- Start with a theme (e.g., animals, the weather, a color)
- Use familiar tunes as templates (like “Twinkle Twinkle” or “The Wheels on the Bus”)
- Encourage silly or simple lyrics (there are no wrong answers!)
- Introduce structure with repeating choruses and build verses together
- Add instruments or body percussion to bring the song to life!
For older children in private or semi-private lessons, we might explore coming up with unique melodies or creating new chord progressions on the ukulele or piano.
Try It at Home: A Simple Songwriting Activity
- Pick a topic your child loves (like dinosaurs 🦕 or pizza 🍕).
- Ask a few questions to spark ideas:
“What does the dinosaur like to do?” “What kind of toppings are on the pizza?” - Use a familiar melody like “Mary Had a Little Lamb” and insert their ideas into the tune.
- Sing it together, and repeat a chorus line to give it structure.
- Celebrate their rhymes! If they say something like “The pizza is fun, I eat it in the sun,”—cheer them on!
🎤 Bonus: Record it on your phone and play it back. Kids love hearing their own songs!
Want to Nurture Your Child’s Inner Songwriter?
Our group classes and private lessons are a great place for kids to explore songwriting and more. In our music programs, we create a space where kids feel safe, supported, and inspired to create.
✨ Songwriting is such a wonderful gift that we can give children—it helps them feel seen, heard, and empowered. ✨
Curious about our classes?
Check out our May/June programs—registration is open now!
Have a little songwriter at home? We’d love to help them shine. 🌟
Freebird Music Studios 
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