--- title: 'I Tried to Write a Song in Under 30 Minutes' source: 'https://youtube.com/watch?v=jzogIIIinM8' video_id: 'jzogIIIinM8' date: 2026-07-31 duration_sec: 517 --- # I Tried to Write a Song in Under 30 Minutes > Source: [I Tried to Write a Song in Under 30 Minutes](https://youtube.com/watch?v=jzogIIIinM8) ## Summary In this video, a songwriter sets himself a 30-minute challenge to write a complete song from scratch, documenting the process live. He explains how time pressure forces fast decisions and shares several songwriting tips along the way. By the deadline he has only about 65% of a first draft, but he continues for 20 more minutes to develop a fuller version. ### Key Points - **30-minute song challenge** [00:07] — The creator sets a challenge to write a song in under 30 minutes, pushing against his limitations and comfort zone. - **Decisions create decisions** [00:21] — Time pressure forces fast decisions, and each decision makes the next one easier or clearer to make. - **Mining idea files** [01:28] — He keeps separate files for melody ideas, title ideas, line ideas, and chord ideas, and starts by skimming them. - **The hook lands** [02:03] — He finds a love-song hook: 'You are the sun, the sky, you're the reason why I wake in the morning.' - **Unrhymed-word tip** [03:27] — He deliberately leaves 'day' unrhymed in the chorus so the verse can set up that sound and connect to the hook. - **E major/minor fusion** [03:55] — He works in 'E funland,' where E major and E minor coexist at the same time — a signature of funk and blues. - **First drafts don't matter** [04:47] — He acknowledges the deadline makes him default to formulaic song forms, but that's acceptable for a first draft. - **The 3-minute scramble** [05:15] — With three minutes left, he rushes through a simple verse about not needing much, just someone to hold. - **The 30-minute fail** [06:04] — At the 30-minute mark he admits he only wrote about 65% of a first draft, then spends another 20 minutes finishing it. ## Transcript verse too oh my God and I have 3 minutes to do it I am setting myself The Challenge and I'm also setting you the challenge of writing a song in under 30 minutes why am I doing this challenge I'm doing it to push against my own limitations and my own comfort zone but I also want to demonstrate that when you put yourself under just a little bit of time pressure what it does force you to do make fast decisions and very often decisions create decisions you know we make one decision and it makes the next decision easier to make or clearer to make and what I'll do is I'm kind of going through this process which again could be an absolute disaster but as I'm doing it if there are things that I'm other songwriters I will certainly Point those out so let's get cracking so to keep myself accountable to myself and to you I'm going to show you the time and the date so you know that I'm like really doing this right now now so here is the time and the date so we've got 4:08 p.m. on February the 29th and you can see my dog Kobe there who passed away 3 months ago which is sad um I'm not going to write a song about Kobe okay we'll just avoid that for the moment um I'm going to start at 4:10 which means by 4:40 I'm going to be done and then I will um play for you whatever it is that has happened within that 30 first thing I'm going to do is I'm going to look through my ideas I keep a few different files of ideas I've got Melody ideas title ideas line ideas cord to skip that one cuz I had the horrible Sensation that I was just singing a Melody that exists on the radio let's listen to this one you all the I wake in the morning you are the sun the sky you're the reason you're the sun the sky you're the reason you're the reason why I wake in the the reason why I wake in the morning funky yes funky bluy simple sun sky it's a love song it's just going to be a really simple love song okay I need to find the key I need to find some chords let's call that the hook so that's going to be the hook maybe the song will start with the hook we'll song will start with the hook we'll see I'll save that for later you are the sun the sky you're the reason why I like the sky you're the reason why I like that you are the trees you are the wind the trees the reason I hold my breath all reason I hold my breath all day just to hold you all night day just to hold you all night [Music] long we at 4:18 p.m. 8 minutes in I have a chorus let's let's hear it you are the sun the sun the sky reason why I wake in the [Music] morning you are the trees the leaves the very air I breathe when I wake in the [Music] [Music] morning and a home my breath just to hold you at the end of day so I've said day that's the last word it's un rymed inside the chorus so sneaky little songwriting tip I'm going to use the a sound inside the verse and it's going to kind of set up the hook I'm in E Funland and E Funland is kind of like e my key E's my key e my E's my key e my key but uh it kind of is e major and E minor all at the same time that is the nature of funk and blues we can kind of go back and forth between all those things enough talking more plans a whole alphabet if things don't work work out but you're the only plan I need [Music] me now I'm going to use a pretty kind of a bluesy thing bluy Vibe going on in the chorus I'm going to use kind and maybe that's a downside of 30 minutes is defaulting to some kind of formulate song form stuff but for first draft I don't care cuz here's the truth draft I don't care cuz here's the truth I can mess with it later so I might just little cute little pre chorus a I have 10 minutes to go you're my everything you're the only way I'll go you're the only way I know you're the only way I'll know you're the only way I'll go you're only way I know son okay I basically just need a verse too oh my God and I have 3 minutes to do too oh my God and I have 3 minutes to do it I just have to get something out here need I don't need I don't need I don't need I don't need a whole lot of love I don't need someone to day just to hold my hand woo all right friends for full transparency sake it is now 4:40 all right here it is 4:40 so I'm going to to play for you what I've got second verse is kind of a mish mash of nothing if the goal was to write a complete first draft in 30 minutes I failed I wrote probably the 65% of a first draft of a song so what you're seeing next is uh me working on it for an extra 20 minutes and then kind of playing through what I had um and then kind of putting it all together but what you are seeing was definitely under an you are seeing was definitely under an hour but not under 30 minutes so I'm going to try again some other [Music] [Music] time some people make a whole lot of time some people make a whole lot of PL from plan a to plan B a whole laugh for bit if things don't work out but you're the only plan I work out but you're the only plan I need when it's dark you light my wake CU need when it's dark you light my wake CU on the sun the sky you're reason why I on the sun the sky you're reason why I wake in the the very air I breathe when I wake in the [Music] and I hold my breath just to hold you at the end of the day 3 4 some people draw a line in the day 3 4 some people draw a line in the sand and then sh at the sand and then sh at the waves but I swim in your ocean of love where it's deep and I'm always going to stay cuz when it's dark you light my weake cuz you're my son my sky you're weake cuz you're my son my sky you're the reason why I wake in the morning oh your trees the leaves the very air I breathe when I wake in the [Music] morning hold my morning hold my breath to hold you at the end of the day [Music]