I’ve been working with Mel for a while now, both 1on1 and through Story First Songwriting, and it has completely changed the way I approach songwriting for the better. I came in with a ton of ideas and no structure, getting lost in overthinking how to shape them. Mel brings clarity and structure while still protecting creativity. The training is so deep and feels practical+human, and you can really feel how much she cares about the craft and the people she works with. So happy to be part of it !

I am so grateful for this training. It is engaging, and the videos and other training materials are top quality, and presented in an easy to follow format. After having a creative block for a long time, I am finally writing again! This is not a course where you sit alone watching videos with no support. Melanie has put a lot of work into building a community and keeps us engaged with writing prompts, weekly song analysis, and has developed some amazing writing tools. Thank you Melanie!

Creatives! Remember back in the day when you met an ex-smoker who told you a gazillion reasons why smoking is so harmful? Well, I'm a songwriter (and paid writer for decades) who gave up all his BAD songwriting habits to relearn the craft. I gave up wasting time with keyboard and strings. Instead, I focus on the Story-First Songwriting structure of writing lyrics. So what? Professional musicians praise the well-written structure of my songs--even when they don't play/sing country music.

I'm finally happy with my lyrics! Thanks to Melanie and her approach of story-first songwriting. I was struggling a lot with writing lyrics. I never knew if they were good. I got stuck a lot & caught in endless revision loops. Felt like I was throwing spaghetti at the wall to see what sticks. NOW, I know how to turn my ideas into concepts that can guide my writing. It has become so much easier to plan, write and revise my songs. The training and tools inside the classroom are phenomenal.