---
title: 'A Super Effective Shortcut to Songwriting with Emotion'
source: 'https://youtube.com/watch?v=2EtcpMRs-l0'
video_id: '2EtcpMRs-l0'
date: 2026-07-31
duration_sec: 83
---

# A Super Effective Shortcut to Songwriting with Emotion

> Source: [A Super Effective Shortcut to Songwriting with Emotion](https://youtube.com/watch?v=2EtcpMRs-l0)

## Summary

This short video discusses why writing songs for film and TV briefs is fundamentally different from writing songs on your own. It explains how the constraints of a brief make songwriters more deliberate about chord progressions, rhythm, and melody, and it encourages songwriters to try taxi.com to find a brief and practice writing to it.

### Key Points

- **The topic: film & TV briefs** [00:03] — The video opens a session about writing songs specifically for film and TV briefs and why this differs from normal songwriting.
- **Pushing songwriters into new territory** [00:17] — A brief that asks for a specific mood or reference forces songwriters to move beyond their usual habits and try a new creative approach.
- **Leaning on songcraft** [00:30] — Songwriters must consider how chord progressions, rhythm, and groove contribute to the requested mood in the brief.
- **Heightened sensitivity to emotion** [00:54] — Writing to a brief makes you very sensitive to details like whether your melody is somber enough for what the client is asking for.
- **Actionable tip: try taxi.com** [01:08] — The speaker recommends visiting taxi.com or similar sites to find a real brief and practice writing to it, saying it will change how you think about songwriting.

### Conclusion

Writing to film and TV briefs is a powerful practice that forces songwriters to consciously shape mood and emotion in their music, ultimately transforming their songwriting mindset.

## Transcript

such a fun session because we were talking about how to do film and TV briefs, or how to write songs specifically for film and TV briefs. And the conversation was really around why is it different? Like why is writing for
film and TV different to just writing a song normally? And I love this discussion because it really is one of those types of songwriting that pushes you as a
songwriter into this new territory. You know, when you've got a brief and the client is asking you for a specific mood or you've got to try and emulate a certain reference, it really pushes you to say, "Okay, what kind of songcraft
can I lean on? How are my chord progressions creating the mood that I need to create? You know, what is the rhythm doing? You know, do I need to slow it down, speed it up? Do I need to change the groove entirely? Is my melody
somber like they're asking for?" All of these things really become heightened and and you become very sensitive to the when you're writing to a film and TV brief. So, if you're a songwriter and
you've never tried a film and TV brief, go on taxi.com or one of those kinds of websites, find a brief and just see what happens when you try and write to the brief. It really will change the way you think about songwriting.
think about songwriting. Happy songwriting. Bye.