What You'll Learn

Commercial Music Song Writing Method: How to Write Pop Songs

The Commercial Music Songwriting Method for TMO’s Commercial Music pathway, taught by the founder of the RAM Commercial Music Course.

How can I Learn to write Pop Songs that Become Hits?

Nick Ingman has arranged, produced and conducted for the biggest names in British music. In this masterclass he does what almost nobody teaches: he takes a proven hit apart, bar by bar, and shows you how to build your own in its place.

This isn’t theory you’ll never use. Across ten lessons you’ll deconstruct a landmark record and reconstruct it with your own material — your groove, your riff, your bassline, your chords, your melody, your lyric, your arrangement.

How Can I Learn to Write Pop Songs?

Ten lessons. Ten interactive apps. One finished track.

Every lesson has a purpose-built app that plays back everything you’ve made so far. Build a riff in Lesson 4 and it’s still there under your melody in Lesson 7. By Lesson 10 the Reconstruction Assembler plays your complete original song end to end.

Why is this The BEST Songwriting Course?

Interactive, not passive. Every app produces real, playable music — not quizzes, not text boxes.
The ear leads. Hear every decision the instant you make it, against your own track.
Industry method, not classroom theory. How arrangers, session players and producers actually work.
Portfolio output. You finish with original material, not lecture notes.

Who is this Write Pop Songs Course For?

Composition and songwriting students, conservatoire and university musicians, producers, and working professionals who want the commercial writing method taught by someone who’s spent a career doing it at the highest level.

Composers, arrangers, songwriters, and musicians with a good ear who want the harmonic vocabulary that underpins real commercial work — whether that’s advertising, brand sound, film, or simply writing music that sells an idea as well as it sounds.

Students working towards our List D Creative Freedom list.

School music teachers for KS3, GCSE and A Level students – this is a perfect, ear-first (not overly dependent on traditional notation) harmony course for students with media related briefs (similar to GCSE, A Level tasks) that teaches the history of music via harmony in a very accessible way.

How is This the Best Songwriting Course?

· Tempo and key as strategy

· groove, displacement and anticipation

· riffs that survive repetition

· basslines that lock

· chord progressions with real push

· engineered melodic memorability

· prosody

· arrangement and layering

· the finished song

Nick Ingman: “The earworm and the ostinato together — a magic combination. Sold millions of records.”

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need to read music?
No. The apps use an interactive keyboard and a colour-coded rhythm grid — click, hear it, adjust. Notation is shown but never required.

What level is this for?
Roughly Grade 4/5 upwards, through conservatoire and undergraduate to working professionals. It assumes musical ability but teaches everything specific to commercial writing from the ground up.

Do I need music software or a DAW?
No. Everything runs in your browser. No downloads, no plugins, no subscriptions. However, DAWs are strongly encouraged if you are serious about songwriting.

Who is Nick Ingman?
One of the most respected arrangers, producers and conductors in the British music industry, with credits across decades of major recordings and a career spent at the top of commercial music-making.

Will I have a finished song at the end?
Yes. Every app saves your work and passes it to the next lesson. By Lesson 10 the Reconstruction Assembler plays your complete original track end to end.

How long does theis songwriting course take?
Ten lessons, self-paced. Most take a couple of hours each including app work — but the apps are creative tools, so many people stay far longer.

Can I use my own key, tempo and chords?
Yes. Every app lets you set your own root, tempo, register and progression. The deconstructed hit is the model — the song you build is entirely yours.

Do I keep access?
Yes, lifetime access including all future updates.

Is this just songwriting theory?
No. Every lesson ends with you having built real, playable musical material. There are no reflection essays and no comment boxes — you learn by making.Can I use what I write commercially?
Absolutely. Everything you create is your own work, yours to develop, record and release.

Can I get support for my song writing?

Every lesson includes video examples and further reading alongside the written content, and every app is built so nothing is ever “locked” — you can reset, start again, or simply explore until something clicks. There’s no way to get permanently stuck and you can always email us for support (robin@the-maestro-online.com).

Your Maestro Teacher

Who is Nick Ingman?

Nick Ingman is one of Britain’s most versatile and prolific arrangers, composers and conductors, with a career spanning the worlds of pop, classical and film music. Born in London in 1948, he studied at Berklee College of Music and the New England Conservatory in Boston before completing postgraduate studies in composition with Dr Edmund Rubbra at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.

His career began as assistant arranger to record producer Norrie Paramor, working alongside Cliff Richard and the Shadows, before he went freelance in the mid-1970s. Since then he has arranged and conducted for an extraordinary range of artists, including Paul McCartney, David Bowie, Elton John, Björk, Radiohead, Oasis, Madonna, Eric Clapton and Tina Turner — work that has yielded fourteen UK No. 1 singles, five double-platinum albums and three Grammy nominations.

Nick’s film credits as orchestrator and conductor include Shakespeare in Love, Billy Elliot, Captain Corelli’s Mandolin and The Passion of the Christ, and he conducted the original recording of Jan A. P. Kaczmarek’s Oscar-winning score for Finding Neverland.

Alongside his work in pop and film, Nick built a substantial career at the coalface of British advertising and production music. Early in his career he composed extensively for music libraries, including the theme tune to the BBC television series Keeping Up Appearances, and in the late 1970s he joined the newly formed jingle company Mingles Music as resident writer, producing television and radio jingles and commercials alongside David Mindel and David Seys. It was through this world of commercial writing that he formed connections which would shape the rest of his career — he met composer Andy Hill at Mingles, later collaborating with him on the 1981 Eurovision-winning entry “Making Your Mind Up” for Bucks Fizz.

This grounding in commercial music — writing to brief, at speed, across every conceivable style — became the foundation of his teaching. Ingman was persuaded by his former teacher Graham Collier to bring this expertise into academia, joining the Royal Academy of Music’s Jazz Department in 1987 to give occasional lectures on commercial music; demand proved so strong that within a year the Academy asked him to establish a full Commercial Music Department, which he directed until 1997. He has continued to work in advertising and media music throughout his career, remaining closely involved in recording film music and composing advertisement jingles, and has stayed close to contemporary developments in commercial pop and broadcast music, contributing his work to Audio Network’s production music catalogue, which supplies music for television, film and advertising worldwide.

In 1987 he was invited by the Royal Academy of Music to establish its Commercial Music Course — the first of its kind in the UK — which he directed for over a decade. He was made an Honorary Associate of the Royal Academy of Music in 2001 and holds an Honorary Fellowship of the London College of Music, where he served as Visiting Professor.

What are Our Music Masterclasses Like?

Our music masterclass courses are self-study digital courses embedded with information, interactive music software (scores), exercises, objectives, tasks, teaching pedagogy and videos of celebrities and international level musicians explaining and demonstrating key skills. Certificates are awarded at the end of each course.

Our Platform: How do we teach and you learn?

🎵 Why Choose Our Music Learning Platform?

Unlock a rich, flexible, and inspiring music education experience designed for musicians of all levels. Whichever area of musical learning inspires you, our world-class performers offer it all.

A Quick Look at a Typical Masterclass Course

Sample Interactive Score

Course Dashboard with Progress and Points

Thorough Musicianship
Creativity, improvisation, and ear training are seamlessly integrated with popular, gospel, classical and jazz melodies to help you achieve true musical freedom.

Unique Learning Journey
Our tailored methodology emphasises improvisation and aural skills first, with notation used to support—not restrict—your creativity.

Certification
Courses include clear objectives, tasks, and fun quizzes that lead to downloadable certificates—perfect for motivation and recognition.

Gamification
Track your progress and climb the league tables by earning certificate points and logging in regularly.

️ Interactive Software
Our custom music software links visual notation with sound to enhance your creativity and understanding.

Celebrity Masterclasses
Learn from internationally acclaimed musicians and award-winning performers through high-quality video lessons and real-world demonstrations.

Expert Pedagogy
Each self-study course is structured with professional teaching principles, goal-setting, progress tracking, and step-by-step tasks.

Flexible Learning
Study from home, at your own pace. Affordable monthly fees and no need to travel—music learning that fits your lifestyle.

Human Touch
Get personalised support from our expert team and request custom courses tailored to your goals.

Personalised Experience
Receive bespoke course recommendations and guided learning plans based on your interests and skill level.

For All Levels
A wide range of self-study courses, celebrity masterclasses, and optional 1-1 lessons designed for adult and teenage musicians, university/conservatoire students, home schoolers, and music therapists.