VERSECRAFT
Write the words that stick — rhyme, meter, and song structure.
From finding a rhyme and counting syllables to timing a song’s structure, suggesting a chord progression, reading a tempo’s feel, and timing a live set, VerseCraft pairs free hands-on songwriting tools with practical guides and a richly illustrated museum. Write smarter, finish more songs.
Songwriting Tools & Calculators
Free tools for every stage of writing a song — rhyme finder, syllable and meter counter, song structure timer, chord progression suggester, BPM to mood guide, and setlist timer.
Rhyme Finder
Look up perfect rhymes for a word from a curated list of word endings — built for working out a lyric's rhyme scheme
Syllable & Meter Counter
Count syllables per line of a lyric and check whether your verse scans evenly against a melody
Song Structure Timer
Turn a section-by-section arrangement, a tempo, and a time signature into a running song length
Chord Progression Suggester
Pick a major or minor key and get its diatonic chords, plus common progressions mapped onto real chord names
BPM to Mood & Feel Guide
Enter a tempo and see where it lands on the standard Largo-to-Presto scale, plus the feel that range tends to carry
Setlist Timer
Add up song lengths and the gaps between them into a total set time, with clock times for every song
Songwriting Craft Museum
Wander an immersive museum of the story of songwriting — the songwriters and composers who shaped popular song, the sheet music and notation that carried it from ear to page, the iconic songs that became standards, and the instruments songs get written and worked out on, each in its own gallery, so you can get to know the people, artifacts, and ideas behind the craft.
Tour the museum →From the Journal
Practical guides on rhyme and meter, song structure, chords and harmony, and the songwriting process, alongside the tools that put them into practice.
How to Write a Rhyme Scheme That Doesn't Feel Forced
A forced rhyme is usually a word problem in disguise. Here's how to spot one, and four practical fixes that keep a rhyme scheme intact without twisting the meaning.
Syllable Counting for Songwriters: Making Your Lines Scan
A verse with wildly different syllable counts per line is usually a verse that's fighting its own melody. Here's how to count syllables quickly and use the count to fix a line that doesn't scan.
Verse-Chorus-Bridge: A Beginner's Guide to Song Structure
Most songs you've ever heard use one of a handful of structural templates. Here's what verses, choruses, pre-choruses, and bridges are actually for, and how to arrange them into a song that holds together.
The Nashville Number System Explained
The Nashville Number System writes chord progressions as numbers instead of letters, so a chart works in any key. Here's how the numbering works and why session musicians rely on it.
Common Chord Progressions Every Songwriter Should Know
A handful of chord progressions show up across decades of popular music because they simply work. Here's what makes five of the most common ones tick, and when each one tends to fit.
Finding Your Hook: How to Write a Chorus That Sticks
A hook is the phrase a listener remembers after the song ends. Here's what actually makes a hook memorable, and a process for finding one instead of waiting for it to appear.
Keep Learning
Plain-language explainers on rhyme and meter, song structure, and chords and harmony, plus the songwriters, notation, songs, and instruments that shaped the craft — everything you need to dig deeper and finish more songs.
Visit the Learn hub →