fb-trigger

Your cart is empty!

Online Studio Class

Modern Musical Theatre Songwriting: Telling a Story From Start to Finish

Learn everything you need to write musical theatre songs for today. In this class, songwriter Zack Zadek takes you into his studio and teaches you his entire step-by-step process for writing musical theatre songs — songs that infuse pop and indie sensibilities into compelling character moments. Follow along as Zack develops the first song from a musical from scratch, and then coaches Broadway star Will Roland (Dear Evan Hansen, Billions) on crafting a fully produced demo performance, explaining everything he’s doing along the way.
$239.99

What’s included:

  • include icon

    In-depth video lessons (7h 14m)

  • include icon

    Step-by-step curriculum

  • include icon

    Online and at your own pace

  • include icon

    Watch on all devices

  • include icon

    Unlimited lifetime access

Taught by

Profile picture for Zack Zadek
Profile picture for Zack Zadek
Zack Zadek
Acclaimed musical theatre & pop songwriter with songs performed by stars of stage and screen, certified Gold with over 150 million streams, and musicals headed to Broadway.
What you’ll learn
Zack Zadek's unique, start-to-finish process for writing modern musical theatre songs
How to choose which moments in your musical to musicalize - and in what order.
How to craft melodies that use pop melodic math to make infectious hooks.
Breaking story and exploring specific characters.
Working with an actor on shaping their performance of a new song.
Fully recording, producing, mixing, and mastering a professional demo.
Breaking open the process of turning a single song into a full musical theatre score.

Class Overview

Write musical theatre songs that speak to today
Zack Zadek’s songs have been performed by some of the biggest artists in music, Hollywood, and Broadway, from Ariana DeBose, Alex Brightman, and Meghann Fahy to Tate McRae, Kathryn Gallagher, and many more. He’s been commissioned to write musicals by the producers of HAMILTON, BEAUTIFUL, and THE BOOK OF MORMON, and his shows have been developed and produced at theatres all over the world. In this class, Zack will teach you his entire process of modern musical theatre songwriting - how to tell tuneful and impactful stories. He’ll bring you into his studio and share with you his entire creative process from start to finish. Follow along as Zack writes and demos the first song for a brand new musical completely from scratch - starting from finding his initial idea, all the way through to working with Broadway star Will Roland as records a full demo. Along the way, Zack will explain everything that he’s doing. His thought process, narrative choices - every idea, decision, tool, and technique.   You’ll learn how to come up with an idea for your musical, how to break story and craft compelling characters, how to identify the first moments in your show to musicalize and hone in on a unique song concept that can stand on its own, how to use pop construction to make your song as hooky as possible, while keeping track of dramatic arcs to tell your story. Zack will walk you through melody, chord progressions, and lyric craft, how to work with an actor on honing a performance and then fully producing a professional quality demo. By the end of the class, you’ll know everything you need to write modern musical theatre songs of your very own.

Lessons (7)

Apply what you learn

Follow Zack Zadek’s proven process, step by step

In the class, Zack Zadek breaks down his songwriting and story process into clear, actionable steps. Follow along with Zack’s process step by step and write your own song for a brand new full-length musical. You can also watch Zack’s process in full first and then bring the ideas, tools, and techniques into your own projects. By following Zack Zadek’s proven process, you’ll learn everything you need to write compelling and tuneful songs like these:

Who’s this class for?
1

You're a songwriter of any level who wants to learn to write musical theatre songs and tell meaningful, character-driven stories.

2

You're a musical theatre songwriter who wants to level up your skills and further develop a modern, pop-informed approach to musical theatre songwriting.

3

You're a fan of musical theatre who wants to learn how your favorite songs from modern musicals are written and developed.

Profile picture for Zack Zadek
Profile picture for Zack Zadek
meet your instructor
Zack Zadek

Zack Zadek is a songwriter signed with Warner/Chappell. As a pop songwriter, he has co-written songs with artists on every major label group including Tate McRae’s single Slower, which has been certified gold and streamed over 150 million times. Other collaborations include Lauv, FLETCHER, Kiesza, Sara Kays, Boyce Avenue, and more. His songs have been featured in primetime shows including The Bold Type, ads for Wells Fargo, and performed on Jimmy Kimmel Live! on ABC. As a musical theatre writer, Zack was named by Playbill magazine as “the contemporary musical theatre writer you should know” and won the Weston New Musical Award for his show DEATHLESS which had it’s world premiere at Goodspeed Musicals in 2017 directed by Tina Landau (The SpongeBob Musical). He is a two time MacDowell Fellow in addition to residencies at Yaddo, UCross, VCCA, and the Dramatist’s Guild Foundation. A three-time Kleban Prize and Jonathan Larson Award finalist, he received the inaugural New Voices award from NMI/Disney Imagineering. Zack is currently writing musicals under commission from Ars Nova, Jill Furman (Hamilton), Arena Stage, Manhattan Theatre Club, and has several film/television projects in development. His first studio album will be released this fall on Warner Records.

A better kind of online class
icon
Apprenticeship-Style Learning ™
In Studio Classes, creators take you into their studios and teach you everything they actually do behind the scenes. Learn by observing the real process like an apprentice.
icon
The Start-To-Finish Process
Instead of watching surface level tutorials, watch the entire start-to-finish process of a creator to uncover every idea, decision, tool, and technique used throughout their journey.
icon
Vulnerable & Open
At Studio, creators step into the vulnerable arena and share everything. Every idea, setback, and triumph is included. Creators openly share the full process, not just the final output.
icon
Learn Insider Secrets
On Studio, accessing the world’s guarded knowledge has never been easier. Creators share their secrets, tips and tricks that are impossible to find elsewhere.
icon
Watch On All Devices
Whether you’re at home or on the go, you’ll always have access to all your class lessons across all of your devices including mobile and tablets.
icon
Unlimited Lifetime Access
On Studio, you get unlimited lifetime access to every class you purchase. Pay once and use your class lessons as valuable references forever.

Frequently asked questions

$239.99

What’s included:

  • include icon

    In-depth video lessons (7h 14m)

  • include icon

    Step-by-step curriculum

  • include icon

    Online and at your own pace

  • include icon

    Watch on all devices

  • include icon

    Unlimited lifetime access

Other Studio classes you might like

‌

‌
‌
‌

‌
‌
‌
‌
‌

‌
‌

‌

‌
‌
‌

‌
‌
‌
‌
‌

‌
‌

‌

‌
‌
‌

‌
‌
‌
‌
‌

‌
‌

‌

‌
‌
‌

‌
‌
‌
‌
‌

‌
‌