Songwriting and Production Lessons Los Angeles
Songwriting and Production Lessons in Los Angeles: Finish the Song You Started
I teach private songwriting and music production lessons in person at my studio in Los Angeles, near Fairfax and Melrose next to West Hollywood, and live over Zoom. Bring lyrics, chords, voice memos, melodies, or half-finished ideas, and we turn them into real songs and demos. Lessons are $40 for 30 minutes or $60 for an hour, after a $20 intro.
$20 for 30 min, credited toward your first month · in person in LA or online
Do you teach songwriting and production together?
Yes. A lot of lessons start in the writing and end up in demo production and arrangement. We shape the song on piano or guitar, then build the demo in your DAW. Ableton Live, Logic Pro, FL Studio, Pro Tools, Reaper, and GarageBand all work. More on production lessons in Los Angeles.
Who teaches the lessons?
Me, Thaddeus Arndt. I'm a pianist, producer, and music teacher in Los Angeles. I've played piano for 22+ years, produced and engineered for 10+, and I have a BA in Music (piano and music technology) from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
How is this different from a songwriting school?
It's one-on-one and built around your songs. We work on the exact problems in your music, without a big certificate program or somebody else's curriculum.
How much do songwriting lessons cost?
Lessons are $40 for 30 minutes or $60 for an hour. Most songwriters get more out of the full hour. The first lesson is a $20, 30-minute intro, credited toward your first month if you keep going, and it can be in person if you say so when you book.
Who this is for
Writers and producers with ideas who get stuck at chords, song form, melody or arrangement, and anyone whose loops never become full tracks.
What we work on
Verse and chorus structure, chord progressions, lyric pacing, melody choices, demos, production direction, and actually finishing songs instead of getting lost in them.
Why this is different
Theory doesn't come first. Your song does. We start with your idea and bring in theory, piano, guitar, or the DAW when the song needs it.
- We start with music you can actually hear and use
- Technique gets built around what you want to play
- You leave every lesson knowing what's next
- The intro is where we pick your path
Choose the path that matches your goal.
Voice Memo to Song
Turn a phone idea into a song you can work with.
Chords and Melody
Stronger progressions and better top lines.
Finish More Music
Get songs out of your notes app and finished.
Songwriters students often connect with
Artists you love help us find the sound and feeling you're after, without the lesson turning into a copy job.
Olivia Rodrigo
Chords that move you, blunt lyrics, and songs you can play early on.
Billie Eilish
Minimal production, close vocals, and atmosphere around simple ideas.
Noah Kahan
Acoustic storytelling, folk-pop structure, and choruses that pay off.
Laufey
Jazz-colored harmony and piano movement a songwriter can use.
The finish-your-song plan
Most songwriters who come to me are stuck in the same place: an eight-bar loop that sounds good on repeat, a verse with no chorus, or a folder of voice memos that never turned into songs. Here is the plan I use to get one of them finished.
Intro, 30 minutes, $20: you play me the idea and we name the thing stopping it, whether that is a missing chorus, a loop that will not turn into sections, or a melody that will not land.
Lessons two and three, an hour each: song form. We turn the loop or the verse into real sections, write the missing part and test chords and melody against your own words.
Lessons four and five, an hour each: arrangement and the demo, in Ableton, Logic, FL Studio or whatever you already use, until you have a version you can play for people.
Between lessons you get a short assignment, and you can text me questions; I usually answer with a quick video.
At the hourly rate that plan comes to $260 ($20 intro plus four hours at $60), paid lesson by lesson with no package or contract. Some songs need fewer sessions, some need more, and you decide after each one whether to keep going.
In person at my LA studio, or live online
Lessons happen in person at my studio in Los Angeles, near Fairfax and Melrose next to West Hollywood. The $20 intro can be in person too; just tell me when you book. Not in LA? Same one-on-one lessons, live over Zoom anywhere in the United States, at the same price: $40 for 30 minutes or $60 for an hour. Want to produce your own demos? See production lessons or DAW lessons for Ableton, FL Studio, Logic Pro, Pro Tools, and Reaper.
What should I bring if my song is barely started?
A voice memo is enough. So is a verse in your notes app or a few chords you keep coming back to. You do not need to tidy the idea up before I hear it. The unfinished part tells us where to start.
Say you have a verse you like and no chorus. We can play it through, find the line the song keeps circling, and try a change in melody or harmony when that line arrives. You hear the options against your own words instead of collecting another rule about songwriting.
Can I write songs without already playing piano or guitar?
Yes. We can start from a sung melody or lyrics and use piano or guitar to try chords underneath them. If you want to learn an instrument as we go, we build the parts your song needs first.
That might mean learning one chord change well enough to sing over it. Once you can hear what the change does, the theory has somewhere to land. Piano lessons can also be a separate path if you want more time at the instrument.
Can we turn the song into a demo?
Yes. We can move from the writing into arrangement and recording in Ableton, Logic or your current DAW. A rough demo helps you hear where a verse runs long, where a chorus needs room, and which parts are competing with the vocal.
If the software is the part holding you up, look at online production lessons. My lessons versus YouTube guide explains when feedback on your own song is worth getting.
The piano behind the writing
This is me at the piano in my studio. An instrument gives us a way to hear your melody against different chords before we commit to an arrangement. Bring the voice memo you keep replaying, and we can start there.
Common questions
Do I need to play an instrument?
No. It helps, but we can start from voice memos, lyrics, melody ideas, or a few basic chords.
Can we work online?
Yes. Online lessons work well with shared demos, lyrics, and DAW sessions.
Can songwriting connect to production?
Yes. A lot of lessons drift from writing into demo production and arrangement on their own.
Start With the $20 Intro Lesson
Book it and we'll meet at my Los Angeles studio or on Zoom. Just tell me which when you book. We talk about what you want, pick a lesson path, and you leave knowing what to do next. The intro is credited toward your first month.
Book the $20 Intro