Song Maker: Write and Play Your Own Song, Free
Classfern’s free song maker lets you write a song online: press squares on a grid of 8 notes and 16 or 32 beats, add bass drum, snare and hi-hat, then play it on a loop. The notes are pentatonic by default, so every pattern sounds good. Save it in your browser or share a link; nothing is uploaded.
Updated · By the Classfern Music Department
Works in the UK and the US. This version uses US music words (measure, half step, quarter note, staff); the UK version uses bar, semitone, crotchet and stave. · UK version of this page
Key facts
- Classfern’s song maker has 8 notes and 3 drums over 16 or 32 beats.
- The default notes are pentatonic (C D E G A), so any pattern sounds good together.
- Songs loop while you edit; choose piano, tuned percussion tubes or glockenspiel.
- Save in your browser or share a link: nothing is uploaded and there is no account.
- Good songs use repetition: a phrase, the same phrase again, then something new.
- For children from about age 5 with help; older pupils can write verse and chorus songs.
Song maker: write and play your own song
Each column is one beat; each row is a note, with the highest note at the top. Press squares to add notes (one note per beat), add drums underneath, then press Play. Your song loops, so you can change it while you listen.
Press “Start a new song” or try a starter song.
Sounds are made in your browser. A saved song stays in this browser; a share link holds the song inside the link itself, so nothing is uploaded. No microphone, no account.
How do you write a song?
To write a song, start with a short idea: a title, a line of words or four notes you like. Repeat it, then answer it with a phrase that ends on the home note. Add a steady beat, write words that fit the rhythm and rhyme, and shape it into a verse and a chorus. Play it often and change what does not work.
- Choose what it is about. One idea is enough: a pet, the weekend, the sea.
- Make a 4-beat tune. In the song maker, press four squares. Pentatonic notes always fit.
- Repeat it, then answer it. Copy your four beats, then write four new beats that end on C (the bottom row). That is a phrase.
- Add a beat. Bass drum on beat 1, snare on beat 3 of each group of four.
- Write words. Say them in time with the tune, one syllable per note. Make lines 2 and 4 rhyme.
- Build a chorus. Make a second tune that is a little higher, with words that sum up the song, and repeat it after each verse.
- Perform and improve. Play it to someone, ask what they remember, and change one thing.
How can kids write a song?
Kids can write a song by making a short tune with five friendly notes, adding a drum beat and singing their own words to it. Start with a starter tune, change a few notes to make it theirs, then add a line of words for each phrase. Grown-ups can help by writing the words down.
Ideas that work well with children:
- Change a starter. Load Hot Cross Buns, then move three notes. It is now a new tune.
- Name songs. Clap the syllables of their name and turn the rhythm into notes.
- Question and answer. One child writes four beats; a partner writes four that “answer” and end on C.
- Silly new words. Write new words to a public-domain tune, such as Twinkle, Twinkle. Example (our own): “Twinkle, twinkle, little shoe, / where did all my laces go to?”
In school, songwriting covers composing in the music curriculum: US National Core Arts Standards in music ask students to create, perform and respond, from kindergarten up; the rubric below gives a simple way to assess it. See also music games and activities.
How do you write a melody?
Write a melody by moving mostly by step (to the next note up or down), with a few jumps for interest, inside a small range of five to eight notes. Give it a high point near the middle or end, repeat a short pattern so it is easy to remember, and finish on the home note.
| Tip | Try this |
|---|---|
| Mostly steps | C D E D C sounds smooth; C A C A sounds jumpy |
| One high point | Put your highest note once, about three-quarters of the way through |
| Repeat and vary | Play the same 4 beats twice, then change the last note |
| End at home | Finish on C (the bottom row) and it sounds finished |
| Leave gaps | Empty beats let the tune breathe; singers need to breathe too |
When your tune is ready, write it down with the note writer on our staff paper page, or learn the full skill in write your own music.
Songwriting rubric
Judged by a teacher or parent (rubric) Use the three columns to talk about a song: what is there now, and one thing to try next. Pupils can use the same table to check their own work.
| Area | Getting there | Got it | Wow! |
|---|---|---|---|
| Melody | Some notes chosen | A tune with a clear start and end, finishing on the home note (C) | A tune people can sing back after hearing it twice |
| Rhythm | Notes on some beats | A steady pattern that repeats | Rhythm that fits the words and has a surprise |
| Structure | One idea | A phrase that repeats (A A) or answers (A B) | Verse and chorus, or A B A |
| Words | A few words or a title | Lines that fit the tune and rhyme | Words that tell a story or paint a picture |
| Performance | Played once | Played or sung all the way through | Performed with confidence, and changes made after feedback |
Evidence kept at home Save the share link or write the tune in letters (shown under the grid) in a music book, with the date, so you can see progress over a term.
Is there a free alternative to Chrome Music Lab’s Song Maker?
Yes. Classfern’s song maker is a free alternative to the Song Maker in Chrome Music Lab: it also runs in the browser with no sign-up, and adds note names on every row, a tune-in-letters readout, drum rows, saving in the browser, share links and a songwriting rubric for school. Classfern is not connected with or endorsed by Google or Chrome Music Lab.
Use whichever helps your class most. Classfern’s version is designed to lead on to reading music: the rows are named C4 to E5 (or C4 to C5 in the major scale), the tune is written out in letters as you work, and the same notes can be found on the virtual piano and the piano notes chart.
Can I make music online for free?
Yes. You can make music online for free with Classfern’s song maker, virtual piano and note writer, all of which run in your browser with no download or account. Write a tune here, play it on the virtual piano, then write it down on blank sheet music and print it.
Classfern’s free song maker is part of the Classfern Music Department at lessonplanner.info. It is made for classrooms and homes: no ads, nothing to install and no personal data collected.
Quiz: songwriting basics
Marked by Classfern 4 multiple-choice questions on the Classfern lesson engine. Your answers stay on this device.
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